Should you DIY your financial plan?

By Mike Switzer

Published February 10, 2026 at 6:30 AM EST

Joy Watkins, certified financial planner with Anchor Investment Management in Columbia, SC

Financial planning, retirement planning, and portfolio management are all things you can do by yourself. After all, there is a wealth of information and tools out there these days, thanks to the Internet and AI. But should you DIY your money? Mike Switzer interviews Joy Watkins, a certified financial planner with Anchor Investment Management in Columbia, SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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