So who's a gal (or guy?) to believe?
All I want is some expert advice in managing my retirement funds in the way best to insure maximum funds that will last as long as I do? Is that too much to ask?
Apparently.
Forbes Magazine has a set of "10 Terrible Pieces of Retirement Advice" online.
Mark, at Go To Retirement, disagrees with many of them, as do I. In fact, I find a couple of them to be insane--check out Number 9. I understand that some retirees may wind up still owing monies when they retire but to deliberately court debt? Totally bonkers in my humble opinion.
I also disagree with Forbes, but agree with Mark that there is never a good reason to withdraw 401(k) funds prior to retirement. Well, Mark has an exception if bankruptcy is on the horizon. I disagree with him since 401 (k) funds survive a bankruptcy intact.
My real point is where do those of us who are less than financially savvy, particularly when it comes to investing, go for accurate and understandable information?
I suppose I started wondering about Forbes when one of their examples was a guy with five million in his retirement accounts. Hmm--that would be about four and a half million more than Grace will ever have.
But can I trust Mark to give me better advice? Or my broker? Or Money magazine? Or my retired banker sister?
I have no idea, but what I can do in the meantime is keep searching, keep reading and keep asking.
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8 comments:
No one cares about your financial future more than you do! I do not pay for financial advice anymore because I haven't found anyone who knows what they are talking about. I figure it out for myself. At least then I can only blame myself:).
Becoming knowledgable is the best thing to do. It's a lot of information though, and my husband and I are struggling a bit on where to invest our retirement accounts. I don't want to mess it up, but I have a hard time trusting "the professionals".
Well, I read a lot of the basic research for my job. Given that, there are some professionals I trust more than others. I like Liz Pulliam Weston and Walter Updegrave as being sensible and in-line with both research and common sense.
Only you can be ultimately responsible for your retirement financial well-being.
Do your research, use your mind, and come to your own conclusions. You will be right just as often as the 'experts."
If you really want to involve someone else use fee only advisors, not commission-based financial advisors. Fee only folks make more money only if the size of your portfolio increases, not because you sell and buy a lot.
I applaud your courage, persistence and determination to arrive at retirement debt-free.
Hi Grace,
There's a Financial Advisor named Ric Edelman who has a radio show, a PBS Series, and has written a number of best-selling books. You can go to his website and watch/listen to past shows. He also has a new online advisory service that has extremely low minimums and low costs. Because there's no "k" in his first name, his web address looks like "rice delman (dot) com".
The podcasts are great because they cover a wide variety of subjects, are relatively commercial-free and can be listened to at your convenience. Good luck!
I agree with the previous comments regarding the so-called professionals. My approach has been to study and manage my own investments. The annual report from Warren Buffet yields good insights regarding equities, and Dave Ramsey provides sound advice regarding debt.
Early retirement is not about less work or more work. It is about getting what you want out of life – sooner rather than later.
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