These are excerpts from the author’s book “Deep,” which contains eight of his small books published in the form of Wisdom Literature covering different aspects of life: Facing troublemakers, dealing with pain, personal financial issues, gastronomy, reading, criticizing, inspiring, and feeling always good to go.

Series 3: Pocket – Your Personal Economy.

Week 44: Professional Consultation versus Traditional Advice

• There is no fundamental conflict between both of them. Traditional advice is based on life experience related to what humans have gone through, and professional consultations are based on a scientific vision to ensure the best practical results based on what could be deduced from the same experiences. The conflict that may arise between traditional advice and professional consultation is in fact possible between two pieces of traditional advice or between two professional consultations. In any case, there is no single definitive opinion regarding any financial issue, similar to all aspects of life.

• Whatever the style of advice or consultation you prefer and the experience of those who give it to you, you are the only one who is able to extract what suits you and how to apply it on the ground.

• Do not underestimate advice in the most complex financial matters when you receive it spontaneously from a simple person. Consider that advice carefully, as it may be your way out of the problem. At times, the solution to the most complex problems—even the technical ones—involves insight, which requires primarily a calm spirit to unfold before it.

• Financial management books and specialized training courses are not everything. It is good to take the initiative to read a specialized book and enroll in a financial training course, but it is important to continue reading and training. The most important is to work hard to link everything you receive from books and courses to reality and strive to apply that to your financial affairs, extracting every time the lessons learned for further enhancement.

• In mathematical equations, you get the result according to your accuracy in dealing with the correct numbers and different coefficients and variables, but it is important that you primarily use the appropriate equation. In financial issues, the matter is a little bit complicated. The challenge is often away from choosing an equation or calculating accurately; it lies mainly in your financial insight and your determination to implement your decisions more than being related to the financial approach you choose.

• Sometimes when a patient despairs after trying all advanced medical techniques to follow up on their condition, they resort to some forms of traditional medicine to treat their condition. You do not necessarily have to deal with traditional financial advice in the same way; on the contrary, it is better to consider available traditional advice in parallel as you are looking for or studying the results of professional advice.

• In some situations, there is a conflict between traditional advice and professional consultation, but this conflict is not the norm. Even when we encounter such a clear contradiction, each specific situation determines the outcome in favor of either direction prevails, and that determination depends largely on the nature of the situation and its context in time and place.

• It is always important to pay attention to the use of the appropriate means of assistance, depending on the situation and what surrounds it in time and place. Even in very serious self-defense situations, for instance, it makes no sense to use a firearm if brandishing a cold weapon is enough to keep you out of danger.

• It would be best if the professional financial consultant themselves had a deep belief in the value of traditional advice toward financial enlightenment and inspiration.

• Over time, the gist of each deep professional financial nugget of advice turns in one way or another into traditional advice and aphorisms.