Thursday, July 02, 2009
What's wrong with these people?
A pet peeve, not highly important but highly annoying.
I often listen to "money talk" programs (e.g. Dave Ramsey), because they're the only live-talk shows that aren't simply brand-R or brand-D parrots.
Almost every hour of such shows includes one call along these lines: "I'm 52 years old, need about $70 K per year to live on. I have $3 million in an IRA. Should I be distributing this differently? Should I put some of this money in a variable-term annuity? I'm afraid I may have to keep working until I'm 70 if I can't find the best possible return."
And the "adviser" always answers the specific question about variable-term annuities or municipal bond funds or whatever.
The "adviser" never gives the correct advice, which would be: "Listen here, dummy. You could put that $3 million under your mattress and pull out $70 K each year until you're 92. You don't need to worry about finicky details of investments, you just need to retire NOW. The R in IRA stands for Retirement, not Work Forever and Worry Forever. Retire now, dammit!"
= = = = =
Sidenote: I really wonder if some of those callers are simply lying, talking big to massage their giant egos. Why? Because I can't imagine how you could earn and accumulate several millions without being well-informed and decisive. ¶ 11:48 AM
I often listen to "money talk" programs (e.g. Dave Ramsey), because they're the only live-talk shows that aren't simply brand-R or brand-D parrots.
Almost every hour of such shows includes one call along these lines: "I'm 52 years old, need about $70 K per year to live on. I have $3 million in an IRA. Should I be distributing this differently? Should I put some of this money in a variable-term annuity? I'm afraid I may have to keep working until I'm 70 if I can't find the best possible return."
And the "adviser" always answers the specific question about variable-term annuities or municipal bond funds or whatever.
The "adviser" never gives the correct advice, which would be: "Listen here, dummy. You could put that $3 million under your mattress and pull out $70 K each year until you're 92. You don't need to worry about finicky details of investments, you just need to retire NOW. The R in IRA stands for Retirement, not Work Forever and Worry Forever. Retire now, dammit!"
= = = = =
Sidenote: I really wonder if some of those callers are simply lying, talking big to massage their giant egos. Why? Because I can't imagine how you could earn and accumulate several millions without being well-informed and decisive. ¶ 11:48 AM
