The idiots guide to personal finance

[coffee]

I think that was the book (1990s). It started off with a story from a financial advisor who talked about a 70 yr old couple who came in his office not knowing what they were worth. They were lower middle class but were able to put 50 a month into a mutual fund over 30 yrs. The advisor took their statements to look at and they had over 300k. Again, CONTINUOUS is the key word.

[bjl584]

The idea of investing into a mutual fund or anything else for 30 years and never looking at a statement makes me cringe.

[JoeP]

The idea of investing into a mutual fund or anything else for 30 years and never looking at a statement makes me cringe.

Agreed. That is a long time during which they could have taken measures so they wouldn't have been lower middle class that long. Maybe they ended up having to borrow money, or couldn't afford to send their kids to college, or had to suffer with a medical issue.

[coffee]

Agreed, but the point the author was making is to invest continuously. On the flip side, most investments from 1960 to the late 90s did quite well

[snafu]

I believe in the magic of compounding. Those automatic DCA [Dollar Cost Averaging] over the years with dividends re-invested ride the vagaries of the market but will supply a nice nest egg when we eventually stop contributions. We anticipate a 4% draw down in our later years added to retirement payouts to help pay for assisted living.

[dunnrobert700]

There's a great deal of evidence that NOT looking at your investments might a LOT better than paying close and frequent attention to them. That said, this fie and forget strategy is a bit extreme :-)

[Jimhassel]

The idiots guide to personal finance !

Today, With markets in turmoil, investors need good advice even more than usual. But investing advice remains confusing, costly and opaque—and that needs to change...

[Spades2013]

The idea of investing into a mutual fund or anything else for 30 years and never looking at a statement makes me cringe.

The idea of being 70 years old makes me cringe

[JoeP]

The idea of being 70 years old makes me cringe

Maybe when you get to 70, you'll look back and be ashamed that you thought this way about being 70.

[Petunia 100]

Maybe when you get to 70, you'll look back and be ashamed that you thought this way about being 70.

Lol, yes, it is amazing how "old" keeps retreating. 70? That's late middle-age.

[JoeP]

Lol, yes, it is amazing how "old" keeps retreating. 70? That's late middle-age.

Yeah, there was an article a month ago about a 66 year old woman who drove her car with her grandchildren into a swimming pool in Yorba Linda. The writer described her as ELDERLY.

I don't know, that word conjures up images of a toothless frail person, barely able to walk, heavily wrinkled, sitting on a porch rocking chair, watching time go by.

[Petunia 100]

Yeah, there was an article a month ago about a 66 year old woman who drove her car with her grandchildren into a swimming pool in Yorba Linda. The writer described her as ELDERLY.

I don't know, that word conjures up images of a toothless frail person, barely able to walk, heavily wrinkled, sitting on a porch rocking chair, watching time go by.

Me too. My mom is 80, and I do not think of her as old. She volunteers and is very active. Since she has been widowed for the second time, she has taken to having lunch a few days per week at the local Senior Citizens Center. She complains that some of those people are old.