This week in the “Ask Todd” section of web site Kathleen wanted to know how to resolve the challenges inherent in using a single retirement calculator to plan retirement for two people. Should she combine both their numbers into one or run two separate retirement plans and add them together? Surprisingly, my answer is “none of the above” because…
One Key To Successful Investing
Warren Buffett, Jimmy Rogers, and yours truly all attribute their successful investment careers to this one habit. If you would like greater investment success then maybe you should learn to do this same thing…
Bank Bailouts Are Wrong
Let me be clear – this asset deflation will not end until asset values decline to the point that their cash flows support valuations. This is basic investing and economics. Any governmental attempt to reinflate values by incurring debt on behalf of the taxpayer is a waste of your money. It is merely tranfering value from you (who never benefited from the speculative excesses) to bank bondholders and corporate shareholders. It is economically foolish and morally wrong…
Wall Street Journal Got It Wrong
Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal published an article claiming housing has been a lousy investment dating all the way back to 1981. Even thought this article was picked up by many media outlets it is wrong. Yes, believe it or not, even the venerable Wall Street Journal makes blatant mistakes by misusing statistics and applying false premises to data to derive completely incorrect conclusions…
Retirement Savings Statistics Are Ugly
I’m always amazed when I see the retirement savings statistics. It’s a scary picture. A recent newsletter from professor Robert Shiller (Yale University and “Irrational Exuberance” infamy) provided some amazing stats showing a fast approaching disaster in retirement planning and what you must do to not be part of the problem…
Ten Percent Rule To Build Wealth
It takes 80%-90% of your life energy just to break even – maintain status quo. The last 10%-20% is where you build wealth. That is why so few people succeed financially: they stop moving forward after getting 80%-90% of the way there. I was reminded of this lesson during my regular workout in the gym this morning when a personal trainer explained to me…
Retirement Life Expectancy – Yikes!
How does rising longevity and the “age of biology” affect retirement planning? Denis, a reader with a background in biology and genetics, posts this question: “… my parents may live to 80-90 years after retiring in their 60s but my siblings and I are probably going to live 120+ years and work well into our 70s. This completely tranforms the savings/retirement equation. I was curious to know how you factor that in to retirement planning…”
The Solution To Investment Losses
A reader commented on my blog, “Todd, my portfolio is mauled. I feel stuck and don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?” The simple answer is problems like this are avoided through a disciplined investment risk management strategy and the damage will be repaired only after improving your investment risk management skills. Every day you face a decision to buy, hold or sell. When you make no decision you effectively choose to buy your portfolio that day because it keeps the risk…
Investing For Dummies – Profitably
I’m a really dumb investor. If I had to rely on my brain and reasoning power to make investment decisions I would be dead broke by now. That is why I test all investment theories before ever putting a dime at risk. Amazingly, what I have learned is how little of the prevailing investment wisdom is really true. Even more surprising is how profitable investment strategy shares one thing in common…
Should I Use Offshore Corporations And IBC’s?
This week’s top question from the “Ask Todd” pages inquires, “Todd, do you advise your clients about the benefits of offshore business corporations and IBCs?” The simple answer is “no” but the reasons may surpise you. It’s all about putting first things first. The goal of any business is to…
