It’s funny to think about the old stereotype of the bean-counting accountant. You know, the old-school CPA, the super-nerd who is wound up tight like a top. On a cross-country flight recently I stumbled upon Ghostbusters, the classic science-fiction comedy from the 80s. For the first time in many years I’m watching Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, and Harold Ramis, as they start their ghost-catching company in a haunted New York City. And don’t forget Rick Moranis. In his ill-fitting suit and his tie, with his dark-framed glasses and his screwed-down hair, he plays the neurotic accountant.
As a CPA, this character cracks me up.
Of course, I too am a digit head.
But I like to think the comparison ends there.
Money is a serious subject. It worries people. Some worry about it constantly, and let it get the best of them. If anything, I want to put my clients at ease. I don’t know if it helps that I choose not to overdress. But more than appearance, I think it helps that I’ve developed the skills of a financial planner. A good financial planner will remember there’s a world outside of all the numbers, that there are people with different values and different priorities. It’s still a good idea to have a digit head overseeing your financial situation. But it’s the financial planner who charts the course, and keeps perspective, and who might even catch a ghost or two.
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