Happy Monday, money people! Welcome to another week of Apex Money. This week it’s me, J.D., who will be sharing the cool stuff with you.
I know it’s popular to hate on financial guru Dave Ramsey in recent years. In some circles, he’s become a popular target because of his personal political views. I don’t care. I don’t agree with him on many things, but his advice for getting out of debt has helped millions of people — including me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.
That said, Ramsey’s financial advice isn’t perfect. His investing advice is particularly bad, and he seems unwilling to change it despite its obvious problems. My Apex partner Jim recently explained why Ramsey’s advice is so troublesome:
Why Dave Ramsey’s investing advice is extremely dangerous. [Wallet Hacks] — “In early November, on his radio show, Dave Ramsey offered up some advice that was flat out wrong…The crux of his argument is that 4% safe withdrawal rates are too low. He continued to say that if you can get 12% from the stock market you can safely take out 8%. Then he started calling people nerds and living their mom’s basement with calculators and saying 4% is stealing people’s hope. Then he, essentially, finishes by saying that a million dollar nest egg should create an $80,000 annual income perpetually.” Yikes!
How to monitor and adjust retirement withdrawal plans. [Advisor Perspectives] — “Bill Bengen has continued his groundbreaking research into retirement strategies. He has developed a framework for retirees to monitor and adjust withdrawals based on inflation and market performance…His seminal research was published in 1994, featuring what became known as the ‘4% rule’. He was the first person to explore that question systematically and rigorously, and it has been studied by many others over the last 30 years.”
The end of retirement. [The Walrus] — “The year since my retirement party has not been a dreamy passage to a welcoming future but a nerve-shattering trip into the unknown. My debt is swelling like a broken ankle; my hard-won savings may or may not be sucked into the vortex of an international market collapse. Can I keep my house? Who knows? The macroeconomy is messing with my microeconomy. The future keeps shape-shifting. And none of the careful planning I put into my retirement is going to change that.” [Long and, at times, rambling but interesting.]
I’m going to leave you today with what I think is a hilarious video. It’s a fifteen-minute compilation of intros to 1980s sci-fi and fantasy shows. I watched a couple of these, but not many. They’re all short-lived failures…and for good reason, as you’ll see.
Just think. This was state-of-the-art entertainment when I was a kid forty years ago. 🙂
Okay, that’s all I have for you today. See you again tomorrow!