Cutting
Corners Can Be Expensive
Bob Mason
Originally
published in Coastal Senior
(April 2008)
Do you enjoy paying legal
fees? I don’t . . . and I am
one (a lawyer, that is, not
a fee). As an attorney,
however, I regularly witness
situations in which a client
(or perhaps a deceased
client) attempted to save a
few bucks on legal fees (at
my expense, I guess) and
succeeded only in creating a
situation that cost the
family many times what the
fee would have been.
Ever heard the old
expression “Penny wise and
pound foolish”? It means, of
course, that attempting to
save money by cutting
corners or “doing it
yourself” may end up costing
you more in the long run.
The most expensive plumbing
job I ever paid for began
one beautiful autumn
Saturday. The leaves were
golden, the sun was
absolutely sparkling in a
crisp blue sky . . . and the
commode was running.
Obviously the flapper-thingy
wasn’t flapping and it would
be a simple matter for a
smart guy like me to fix it.
First a trip to the Home
Improvement Emporium for a
left threaded tank wrench.
Wouldn’t seat right. Next a
trip to HIE for a polyvinyl
noncorrosive self-seating
throcket seal. Wouldn’t
seal. Return to HIE for a
new mop to clean the inch of
water on the floor from the
tank. Water continues to
leak from tank. Elapsed time
8 hours, money spent $60.
Monday, I paid a plumber
$100 to fix the mess I made.
Told me it would have been
$50 if I had left it alone.
So I’ve made my point. I
stay out of plumbing and
Mack stays out of
lawyering.
Next point: Be careful of
what you read in columns
(including this one). A
client once read a Sunday
newspaper real estate column
written by a guy in
California, and the client
asked me if I REALLY knew
what I was doing with a
certain deed I was
preparing. Seems the column
made him very nervous. I
explained that we were in
Savannah not San Francisco.
Next point: Be careful of
what you read in books and
on the internet. It astounds
me the number of people who
believe that because Suze
Orman says that a certain
type of trust is a good/bad
idea the lawyer/financial
advisor/accountant they are
paying must not know a thing
if they disagree with Ol’
Suze.
Hint: California Real Estate
Dude and Suze Orman have
never met you, do not
practice
law/accounting/financial
advising in Georgia or South
Carolina, and they will be
very hard (in fact,
impossible) to find when
things go leaky on you.
Next hint: Would you really
attempt to diagnose yourself
on WebMD after finding that
funny lump? Or would you go
see your doctor?
I am not suggesting you
ignore columns (especially
this one!), books, the
internet, and talk shows. I
find that clients who have
made an effort to orient
themselves are easier to
work with.
I am telling you, however,
not to let these sources
become a “cost-saving”
substitute for face-to-face
time with a reputable
advisor.
I am also telling you not to
expect quality advice and
services for free. The
person you are seeking out,
if truly qualified, will
have spent years becoming an
expert. Check them out and
check their credentials.
Final hint: Buy the best
advice and skill in a
professional you can
possibly afford. It will end
up saving you a pile of cash
in the long run.
Now for a good joke: It was
a sweltering Sunday
afternoon when the AC broke
down. In a panic the family
pawed through the phone book
looking for a repair
company. They called “Jake’s
AC Service”.
Ring . . . ring. “Yep!”
“Is this Jake’s AC?”
“Yep. This is Jake.”
“Can you get right over
here? It is boiling in this
house, my wife has fainted,
the baby is crying.”
“Yep.”
Old Jake rattles up in a
1980 truck about 45 minutes
later and shuffles around to
the back of the house
lugging an ancient toolbox.
“Holy smokes! Looky there.
That’s an Arctic 3A . . .
haven’t seen one in 25
years.” Jake rummages around
in his toolbox and retrieves
an old rubber mallet and
with the skill of a surgeon
carefully selects a spot on
the side of the Arctic 3A
and taps it twice . . .
exactly three inches from
the top grating.
The machine instantly whirs
to life.
“AMAZING, Jake!!” Dad
exclaims. “How much do I owe
you?”
“Hundred anna quarter.”
“ONE TWENTY FIVE!!??? FOR A
10 MINUTE SERVICE
CALL!!???”
Whereupon Jake fixes Dad
with a level gaze, sighs
patiently, and says “I
shoulda broken it out for
you. $25 for the service
call. $100 for knowin’ where
to hit it.”
