Don’t Be Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish!

I hear the stories all the time. In fact, I heard one just last night, from someone living here a long time who didn’t think twice about applying for French citizenship without the help of an attorney. Everything went pretty smoothly until she got to the in-person interview. She wasn’t prepared for the questions, so she blew it and got denied. Now she has to start over. If she had consulted with an immigration attorney, that mistake might never have happened.

The point is not to discount the value of hiring professionals. You are not expected to have the knowledge or experience of the people who are professionals in their field. So why take the risk? To save a few shekels? No offense, but that’s just plain dumb.

When someone who comes to us to purchase a property in France—one that will cost hundreds of thousands of euros or even millions—and they don’t want to spend our measly consultation fee to get what I know is very valuable advice, I think twice about the kind of client that person will be. Will they value what we do? Will they take our advice? Will they try to cut corners everywhere they turn?

The expression to describe this behavior is to be “penny-wise and pound-foolish.”

The actual phrase “penny wise, and pound foolish” is often mistakenly credited to Benjamin Franklin. But it actually originated with an Oxford Scholar named Robert Burton in his book, “The Anatomy of Melancholy” written in 1621! (Source)

Very often, I hear from people visiting online forums which seem to be full of naysayers, complainers and conflicting information. It’s tough for them to know what to believe.

Why are we not surprised? Consider the kind of people who might be on those forums? These are people who have free time to be actively posting, who want answers but prefer not to pay professionals or who want to show off how smart they are. This isn’t true for everyone, of course, but it’s true for many and it’s why we don’t recommend depending on the forums to get you through the process of moving to France, either.

I believe instead that it pays to get professional advice. From an early age I learned that there were three key and important people in your life: your doctor, your lawyer and your accountant. Maybe this is just Jewish “teachings” because so many Jews end up in these professions, but entrepreneurial advisors will give you the same list, adding to it an insurance advisor and banker. I concur.

It’s really true, too. According to COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHOLOGY, 2014, Volume 3, Article 8 by Donald I. Templer and Kimberly Tangen 2014: “There is a large over representation of Jews in the professions, with an achievement quotient of 5.8 for psychiatrists, 4.0 for dentists, 3.8 for mathematicians, 3.7 for doctors, 3.4 for writers, 3.3 for lawyers, and 1.7 for architects. There is a disproportionate number of Jews on elite university faculties with an achievement quotient of 13.3 for law, 12.6 for sociology, 10.4 for economics, 9.6 for physics, 8.9 for political science, 8.1 for history, 7.4 for philosophy, and 7.4 for mathematics.” (Source)

Photo courtesy bellajacob.com

As a result of my upbringing, surrounded by people who not only believed in professional advice, but also who gave it for a living, I set out in my own business to be that kind of professional and to provide professional resources on which our clients could depend. It starts with my own needs and how those professionals would stack up to fix my personal issues. If they didn’t do a great job for me, then I certainly couldn’t recommend them to our clients or readers.

So, what you get from us is who we know will do the best job…proven by our own experience. Over the past 20 years, we’ve been able to collect an amazing group of professionals who we can happily recommend…because we have proven success with our own needs as well as our clients’.

• Want help planning your finances or minimizing your taxes?
• Seeking a mortgage?
• Need a good currency broker?
• Want to renovate or decorate?
• Need a visa or immigration advice?
• Want to meet people and make new friends?

Meanwhile, if you consult with me first (which is the best way to start and get put in the right direction), I’ll provide it all! And make the connections for you directly. You won’t need to go any further. It’s the equivalent of “one-stop shopping.” And if I don’t have the answers, I know who does.

Don’t try to do it on your own. Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. It’s not worth the risk of making expensive mistakes. Visit our website and have fun clicking around while finding the answers to your prayers…and more!

A la prochaine…