Above Average Wealth

You can build wealth doing the bare minimum: save consistently, invest in low-cost index funds, use tax-advantaged accounts, and coast your way toward retirement. It works.

The thing is, you can build far more wealth with strategic planning.

Over the past couple of years, markets have rewarded almost everyone who simply stayed invested. Base investment knowledge is everywhere thanks to finance influencers, and most high-earning professionals I meet are at least doing something with their money. 

I’ve worked with economists, tech professionals, doctors, lawyers, business owners, and so on. Brilliant people who are performing well in their fields. And one thing I’ve noted, they have the basics covered well. That's progress.

I have also however noticed where smart people go wrong, to name a few:

• Investing randomly: Failing to align their investments with their long term goals.

• Ignoring critical factors: Such as risk tolerance and trade offs, investment timeline, or the importance of optimizing competing financial goals and objectives.

• Following the crowd: For instance, owning rental properties when another asset class would have been more optimal for their specific situation.

• Lack of strategy: Applying popular financial tips to their situation instead of a personalized strategy tailored to their lifestyle and goals.

• Misusing their registered accounts: Losing opportunities by mishandling tax-advantaged accounts.

• Overlooking tax planning: Earning well but paying more tax than necessary because they no tailored strategy is in place or deferring more taxes using the RRSP than is optimal for their situation.

All of these missteps point to one core issue: the absence of a coherent financial strategy.

Getting the basics right is important. But mistaking “the basics” for mastery is costly. The illusion of expertise can prevent you from optimizing the money you work so hard to earn.

Because making financial decisions without a coherent strategy is where high earners leave the most money on the table.