financial terrorist...
so, today I had a meeting with a financial analyst who came to our school last week to sign teachers up for a 403b program; it ended in my nearly calling security to have her removed from my classroom! think I'm kidding? read on.
last week, this woman came to our faculty meeting and made this big show about how she could help us save so much money and such and so I signed up for free consultation--FREE CONSULTATION--and she showed up today, 20 minutes late, and the first thing she says to me is "do you have a calculator?" when I said no she let out a huge sigh and said, "oh, I just can't believe you don't have a calculator!" let's review: me=English teacher, her=financial adviser, and she just couldn't believe that I didn't have a calculator. that was my first red flag.
the next red flag came when she was crunching my numbers and I said something about not being sure if I needed to get into any other retirement plans (I already have a pension plan that comes with my job) and she just stopped cold and said "do you want me to help you or do you already have this all figured out?" that was red flag number two, and in hindsight the moment when I should have asked her to leave.
so, finally, she finishes my profile (doing all the math long-hand) and tells me that she's able to get me into a lower tax bracket and I can put away $400 a month but it's going to make my net pay $250 less each month. now, $250 a month may not seem like a lot, but I am trying to pay off serious credit card debt, and right now that is just too much for me. I told her I wasn't comfortable with that number and she began the hard sell. I don't respond at all to those tactics and I told her immediately that I felt pressured and I'd like to take some time to read more and think it over, to which she responded "pressured?! well, if you feel pressured it isn't coming from me, I'm not pressuring you at all, it must be internal if you are feeling pressured!" I said that it may be, but regardless of the source I felt it and I didn't like it. I then asked her if I could start this with less money out of pocket just to get it going, and then maybe ramp up later and she says, "well, are you going to sign today?" I told her it wasn't likely and that I wanted more information and time to think, she then threw, yes THREW the information sheet at me and yelled "HERE IS ALL THE INFORMATION!" I tried to explain to her that it was information about this specific 403b and I wanted to research them in general, and that I needed to think about it.
this is when the shit really hit the fan.
she said, "you know, if I go into someones business and I spend 10 minutes talking to them about their products, I buy something from them whether I need it or not, you see, I'm guided by a spiritual core and I just don't think my ethics would let me waste someones time like that." I shit you not, those were her words--spiritual core. at this point I'd had it, I told her that I now not only felt pressured, but I was being insulted as well. she tried to say that she was not talking about me, and how I am "such a nice guy," but it was too late, I said as politely as I could that the meeting was over and I thought she should leave. she then went on about how she could not live with herself if she'd wasted someones time, and how she lives her life by karma and there is a book called The Secret that I should read, blah blah blah...during this diatribe, I'd asked her again to leave and she continued talking. I walked over to my desk, picked up my phone and said "I've asked you twice nicely, if you don't leave now I'm going to call security." with this she started for the door, but as soon as I put the phone down she turned and started talking again. she then demanded that I give her the profile back, the profile with all of MY personal information on it. when I refused she told me that it represented 23 years of her life, I stifled a laugh and started walking toward her in an attempt to back her out of the room. she told me that she must insist that she get the contract/application that was attached to the info. sheet, the blank contract/application; I told her she could have it, she snatched it out of my hand, ripped it up, and threw it away. after asking two more times she finally left, but not before turning and saying "I just want you to know that I won't be able to work with you in the future so please don't call me." this time I couldn't stop the laugh and it came out right in her face, I think she got the message and she finally left.
now, is it just me, or is this how financial advisers work? oh, and she also said Suze Orman doesn't know what she's talking about....I guess that's how she got her own show, column in Oprah's magazine, wrote eight books, has a website devoted to financial advising, and is a multi-millionaire; yeah, she knows nothing.
last week, this woman came to our faculty meeting and made this big show about how she could help us save so much money and such and so I signed up for free consultation--FREE CONSULTATION--and she showed up today, 20 minutes late, and the first thing she says to me is "do you have a calculator?" when I said no she let out a huge sigh and said, "oh, I just can't believe you don't have a calculator!" let's review: me=English teacher, her=financial adviser, and she just couldn't believe that I didn't have a calculator. that was my first red flag.
the next red flag came when she was crunching my numbers and I said something about not being sure if I needed to get into any other retirement plans (I already have a pension plan that comes with my job) and she just stopped cold and said "do you want me to help you or do you already have this all figured out?" that was red flag number two, and in hindsight the moment when I should have asked her to leave.
so, finally, she finishes my profile (doing all the math long-hand) and tells me that she's able to get me into a lower tax bracket and I can put away $400 a month but it's going to make my net pay $250 less each month. now, $250 a month may not seem like a lot, but I am trying to pay off serious credit card debt, and right now that is just too much for me. I told her I wasn't comfortable with that number and she began the hard sell. I don't respond at all to those tactics and I told her immediately that I felt pressured and I'd like to take some time to read more and think it over, to which she responded "pressured?! well, if you feel pressured it isn't coming from me, I'm not pressuring you at all, it must be internal if you are feeling pressured!" I said that it may be, but regardless of the source I felt it and I didn't like it. I then asked her if I could start this with less money out of pocket just to get it going, and then maybe ramp up later and she says, "well, are you going to sign today?" I told her it wasn't likely and that I wanted more information and time to think, she then threw, yes THREW the information sheet at me and yelled "HERE IS ALL THE INFORMATION!" I tried to explain to her that it was information about this specific 403b and I wanted to research them in general, and that I needed to think about it.
this is when the shit really hit the fan.
she said, "you know, if I go into someones business and I spend 10 minutes talking to them about their products, I buy something from them whether I need it or not, you see, I'm guided by a spiritual core and I just don't think my ethics would let me waste someones time like that." I shit you not, those were her words--spiritual core. at this point I'd had it, I told her that I now not only felt pressured, but I was being insulted as well. she tried to say that she was not talking about me, and how I am "such a nice guy," but it was too late, I said as politely as I could that the meeting was over and I thought she should leave. she then went on about how she could not live with herself if she'd wasted someones time, and how she lives her life by karma and there is a book called The Secret that I should read, blah blah blah...during this diatribe, I'd asked her again to leave and she continued talking. I walked over to my desk, picked up my phone and said "I've asked you twice nicely, if you don't leave now I'm going to call security." with this she started for the door, but as soon as I put the phone down she turned and started talking again. she then demanded that I give her the profile back, the profile with all of MY personal information on it. when I refused she told me that it represented 23 years of her life, I stifled a laugh and started walking toward her in an attempt to back her out of the room. she told me that she must insist that she get the contract/application that was attached to the info. sheet, the blank contract/application; I told her she could have it, she snatched it out of my hand, ripped it up, and threw it away. after asking two more times she finally left, but not before turning and saying "I just want you to know that I won't be able to work with you in the future so please don't call me." this time I couldn't stop the laugh and it came out right in her face, I think she got the message and she finally left.
now, is it just me, or is this how financial advisers work? oh, and she also said Suze Orman doesn't know what she's talking about....I guess that's how she got her own show, column in Oprah's magazine, wrote eight books, has a website devoted to financial advising, and is a multi-millionaire; yeah, she knows nothing.