Another question we got from listeners was around whether I need a financial advisor or not. And I know I'm talking to a a group of financial advisors, so the answer may be biased here, but what are your thoughts, Lizetta?

I'm a fiduciary. Of course, I can't be biased with that response. Um, I I in all seriousness, do believe that there has to be a good fit. If someone is really good at financial planning, have gotten the the tricks, the ropes and read upon it, then the answer is no. You hire out when you want extra

time, right? You want somebody else to do the work for you. You want a dialogue partner. I mean, you want somebody just to manage, you know, help manage your life uh along with you. And I say life, not just investments because it's very holistic in the approach from the way I think about it.

I think also today the American consumer has so much more choice, right? They can start their research journey themselves independently online and do that research. And we see a lot of folks talk to family and friends, right? I do think that parts of retirement as an example are very social. You retire around the same age as your family and friends, so you swap tips. Um, but I think in these moments where you have these big decisions where um, it's hard to backtrack, that's where bringing an expert in can be really helpful. And so I don't think it has to be all digital or all human. I do think that there is this hybrid, which is do your research, get informed, you know, get that information, and then go get that expert to help you make that final decision so you feel really confident.

Yeah, I you know what, I I often say emotion is the enemy of good decisions. And it's very difficult to divorce yourself from the emotions that are associated with your own decision making. I mean, I like to think that I am fairly knowledgeable and that I I understand financial planning to a a decent degree, but I have my own financial planner because I cannot remove emotion from my own decision-making process. And so, for me, a lot of times it's just having someone else to say, am I am I thinking about this correctly? Is there something I'm missing, or am I letting my emotions get the best of me, in which case if I am, it's probably not the right decision long term.