Why Advisor Michael Watson Believes Financial Education Is Key to Establishing Generational Wealth

What’s the best piece of financial advice you ever got?

Know your credit score and how to build it. I wish I would have gotten this advice when I was 18 years old. I knew not to use credit cards to buy something I didn’t have the money to pay for. But wasn’t until much later that I learned using a credit card strategically can be a good tool for building your credit score, which will get you better interest rates on everything from auto and business loans to mortgages and other credit cards. This is a great lesson to teach children to help them understand how finances work.

When you meet with people who have kids, do you try to bring that up as soon as possible?

My biggest focus is making sure the parents have a solid financial education so that they can disseminate that information to their children. Then they also start to build good habits so the kids can learn from their example. I’ve had more than one client tell me, “I’m so happy that you sent me that budget spreadsheet and you taught me how to understand my bank statements. I am teaching it to my kids now.”

Part of my mission is to be the person from their community who they come to talk to about the importance of budgeting and credit and where to put your money. I know I can really help people—and if I do my job right, help their grandchildren and great grandchildren, too.

What would you say are your clients’ biggest concerns right now?

A lot of people are worried about what’s going to happen in the market over the next few years. Many of them are concerned with running out of money in retirement. Some of them are struggling to get themselves out of debt. The good news is that we have strategies for all of these situations. I love diving deep into these issues with my clients to help them understand that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

What’s the most satisfying moment you’ve had as a financial advisor?

On a personal level, I was able to convince everyone in my family to get comprehensive life insurance policies—beyond what they had through their work benefits. Making sure they all had this protection was a huge relief because I have seen what a devastating event can do to a family that doesn’t have this type of safety net. I’m also very serious about generational wealth and I wanted to make sure that my family had an opportunity to provide that to their children as well. The type of life insurance policies my family members own feature a death benefit that will never expire. That means they will pass down a legacy to our family’s next generation.

Also, I am genuinely gratified every time someone says to me, “If I hadn’t met you, I don’t know where I would be.” Or, “I was looking for a financial advisor, I prayed about it and then you reached out to me.” When I look back on the challenges I’ve faced, I wish I had met someone like me when I was coming up. I’ve always been ambitious and hungry, but I didn’t have someone to guide me. So having the opportunity to do that, not only for clients, but for people in general, is very fulfilling.