Achieve what matters to you

[Cathul Thuku]

Oh, sometimes she envied, as an admiral, those days where Therapy Command is in port. Kaeshana was a costly campaign from a naval standpoint, and Therapy Command was facing near-complete annihilation. They were down one Trimaran (and the lead ship of the class, no less), two cruisers and several Nebulon-B7s, and all the remaining ships were undergoing repairs. Probably waiting for their next big confrontation. Although Jedi usually are reluctant to engage in money talk, it's often a necessary evil for Jedi that aren't ultra-orthodox In her experience, those who weren't as reluctant to do money talks were often the first to volunteer for those diplomatic missions whose subject matter contained at least one commercial issue. She knew that Ugohr taught economics to the prisoners on Sullust, to the tune of three one-hour sessions a week. After that mission on Aleen, returning back to Kriselist's bank branch was a welcome break. Today, she was there to meet with one [member="Ery'lyn Ashaal"]; she crossed her fingers that the receptionist wouldn't call her admiral or Therapist Actual; only in a naval context would she entitled to be called admiral; Therapist Actual was allowed on Jedi missions, however.

"Ms. Thuku, we have a new customer for you: a young Jedi padawan"

"Send the Jedi here to my office"

 

[Ery'lyn Ashaal]

Ery'lyn wasn't 100% sure that she was doing the right thing, looking to invest the money her parents had left behind. But she knew that she had no use of the fairly large sum and property on Shili. What she needed was an experienced voice and advice. And so she was here to meet with Ms. Thuku to discuss options.

The padawan entered the office and nodded thanks to the receptionist, turning her full attention to the woman behind the desk.

"Good evening, Ms. Thuku. I'm Ery'lyn." Approaching the desk and offering a hand, she smiled. In her other hand was a datacard filled with all the information Ms. Thuku would need, promissory notes, wills, property titles, birth certificates, and, in the case of her mother, father, and sister, death certificates.

She had gathered everything she thought relevant to the meeting, hoping the banker in front of her would make her next path clear. It was the first time since her sister's death that the Togruta had dared to face reality. The reality that she was the last of the Ashaals. She shoved those thoughts back and smiled brighter to mask the pain.

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"I'm Cathul. First things first: it's remarkable that you finally accepted to actually address your personal finances. While many Jedi think that the no-possession rule is an excuse to neglect their personal finances, I do not believe that is the case"

To her, invoking the no-possession rule as an excuse to neglect the personal finances of a Jedi, and taking responsibility for oneself, are contradictory. After all, one had to be reminded that some factions would not deliver diplomatic credentials to anybody, FU or not, to people failing credit checks, and outstanding debts would open the gate to embezzlement of funds (and probably to the dark side of the Force as well). Sure, she'd want tailored solutions but any discussion of tailored banking solutions depend on the assets of the client. From the looks of it, [member="Ery'lyn Ashaal"] is the owner of all the assets contained in the datafile, which she promptly opened upon seeing it in front of her, because the very first item in the datafile were the death certificates of her family. She didn't have the time to look at it in depth, though, which she will do at a later point. For now, however, she still needs to review the existing investments and the upkeep of the material assets, if any.

"Let's begin by reviewing the assets and liabilities you have. The first orders of business are the investment instruments and the liquidities"

 

[Ery'lyn Ashaal]

"I'm sorry, the whats?"

The girl frowned as words were thrown around that she had absolutely no definition for. She understood every word that was said, but the context was a new one for her.

In truth, she hated this part. She hated having to deal with the monies and property left when her family died, but it had to be done. If she didn't do it soon, before her training with the Jedi kicked off in earnest, they would sit and wither away to nothing.

She sighed and glanced at the file on the desk.

"Ms. Thuku, I'd just like to handle the care of my parents' money and property. I have no use for it at the moment, but that does not mean I won't in the future."

Her life had been flipped so many ways in the last few years that she'd begun to realize that expecting her course to stay steady and true was a fool-hardy errand. It was time to be pragmatic and safe.

"As you can see, they each had personal accounts and a join account. Plus the property on Shili."

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Oh, yes, these accounts can be consolidated into one account. By doing so, you get better interest rates, you get better access to investment products. Tell me, however, if you are looking for short-term profits or long-term savings. If you're interested in long-term savings, I would recommend your portfolio to be primarily made up of index funds, so how much do you think you can afford to set aside for investment vs. operating expenses for the long-term. Oh and if you have questions about what index funds are"

There was enough money in the bank accounts to consider setting aside some of the money for an investment portfolio and the rest for the operating expenses. Inflation is usually not an economic concern these days; however, some people would claim that the double threats of inflation and taxation are the main things to watch out for when it comes to investment portfolios if one is in it for the long haul. The income of Jedi is a contentious topic: Silver Jedi claim to be funded by donations, but that would at most cover the Jedi proper. Many people think Jedi earn a lot of money, or for some reason don't need to worry about money. But that's not true of all Jedi. Now that she knows that [member="Ery'lyn Ashaal"] inherited three bank accounts from her parents, the question of the property on Shili will come next. Sure, index funds aren't risk-free, but on the long run, they should be able to follow market trends, and beat the twin threats of investment.

"One more thing: financial irresponsibility can lead people to the dark side. However, very few Jedi would actually know exactly how financial irresponsibility can lead people down to the dark side, or even that financial irresponsibility could. On the one hand, unfettered greed can lead people to make risky investments and, if the risk doesn't pay off, it will turn into anger, on the other hand, if someone lives above their means, which happens regularly with some Sith Lords I know about, it can also lead to anger, but from a different source"