About a year ago, I met up with this man (let’s call him X) who wanted some advice on mortgage refinancing. X was referred to me by a friend. So as any financial consultant would do, I asked him to share some information with me about his existing loans, his current income etc. But what ensued absolutely changed my perspective of my career.
“I was recently divorced. My wife ran away and I have kids and a domestic helper living with me. I was hoping to free up some cash to ease my burden,” he told me candidly. I later also found out that he was required to ‘purchase’ his ex-wife’s ownership of the flat, but with his children’s needs, his finances were tight.
Considering all the potential options, I kinda hit a wall. Even after consulting with my managers, I didn’t have a good solution to offer X. All I could was to do my due diligence and explain to him each option and why they didn’t work out for him. With each explanation my heart sank further.
While the only advice I could offer was to seek help from HDB, what he said to me absolutely changed my perspective of my career. “Bro, I really want to thank you. So far you’re the first one who spent time explaining all this to me. Some more you’re not getting paid. 你的心很好 (You have a good heart).”
This was a defining moment of my career as a financial consultant. While earning a good income is important to me, I realised I also derive a deep sense of fulfilment from being able to help people with my knowledge. This experience with X was a humbling one, and really strengthened my belief in the importance of this industry.
“Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much.”
Erich Fromm
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My Money Musings 