I was in Salt Lake City this week for a large event. Tens of thousands of people had come to town and the city was quite crowded. As I stood at my window on the 7th floor I looked down at the heavy traffic on the street below. The sidewalks were full, the crosswalks were crowded, and numerous police officers were directing people and traffic. As I viewed the scene I noticed an automobile had paused in the road as if the driver was considering a parking spot. The tiny space he was looking at was not even a legal spot but merely the normal space that existed between two other cars that were legally parked.
After a few moments several individuals exited from this car. I assumed the driver had decided to drop his passengers and then go park somewhere else. However, after a few moments the driver also got out of the car and began to survey the situation. As ridiculous as it may seem, he was trying to determine a way to get the car in the small space between the two other vehicles. From my vantage point directly above I could clearly see that his car was longer than the space available, and I knew he would certainly figure this out.
After much walking around, talking and pointing, to my great surprise the driver got back into his car and proceeded to attempt parallel parking. He did so by moving his car back and forth, literally an inch or two at a time, while his friend guided him. I am sure at times he bumped the cars he was squeezing between.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and called Launa over to watch with me as this driver attempted what was clearly illegal, impossible and foolish. Despite the ridiculousness of it all, the two men continued wedging the car tighter and tighter between the other two. Each time they would inch the car back and forth I would say, “They are never going to make it. They will soon give up and find another spot.” But still they kept trying.
Finally, the two men reached the point where the car could move no further. It was basically touching the bumpers of the other two cars, or within an inch of doing so both front and back. The driver then exited and surveyed his situation. His car was still only halfway into the spot he had chosen, with half of his car extending into one lane on the busy street. “Certainly,” I thought, “he will realize his mistake and decide against leaving it.” But after much contemplation, he walked away. As he did so he stopped many times to look back, possibly second-guessing his decision. But ultimately he left his car and went on to his event.
The situation led me to wonder, as I am sure the driver must have wondered, what one of the owners of the other two cars might think when they saw how tightly he had wedged against their cars. And what would they do? Certainly, they would be angry and maybe even enough to take out their frustration on his vehicle in some manner. I thought about the driver and the important event he was now attending. He would likely not be enjoying the event because his car would be on his mind, worrying about what he might find when he returned. Would there be a ticket on the window, a scratch, or would it be towed? Was all the time and worry worth it?
As I looked at his car sitting in its odd position on the street, and thought of the driver, I said to Launa, “Now there is a great analogy for some of the investment portfolios I have seen.” It is not uncommon in financial planning to find portfolios that are unnecessarily complicated. It’s almost as if some people view complication as a virtue. They will go to great lengths to solve problems when often a much simpler solution is right in front of them. In the process they create a portfolio that burdens their life with concern and confusion, the very things a good investment portfolio is designed to help eliminate.
So why could I not stop thinking about this odd driver and his complicated, unsafe and illegal parking fiasco? Because directly across the street from where he “parked”, was the well-marked entrance to a huge underground shopping center parking lot with thousands of spaces available for use at no charge that day. All he needed to do was stop for a moment from his obsession and look up, and he would have seen it.
Do you find yourself struggling to understand why you own the things you own? In your efforts to create a financial plan that brings peace to your life have you wound up with a multi-page monstrosity that you struggle to manage, or understand? Maybe it’s time to consider pulling that vehicle out of your strange parking space and find something that makes more sense. It may very well be that a much better, and simpler solution lies right in front of you.
Dan Wyson, CFP® is a long running national financial columnist, author of several books and CEO/Founder of Wyson Financial/Wealth Management 375 E. Riverside Dr. St. George, UT 84790 – 435-986-9525 Securities and Advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, member FINRA/SIPC, a registered investment advisor.