Getting it Right - Welcome

The goal of this blog is to publish my thoughts on a variety of economic and political topics in the hopes that people who find them educational or beneficial will utilize them and/or forward to others who might find them interesting and/or worthwhile to promote to others, possibly including politicians who can push some of these ideas to fruition. The topics in my blog are meant to be of value on a long term basis, not a daily diary or political issue of the day log. If the information posted is useful to you, by all means utilize it and/or forward it as you see fit. If not useful, then merely ignore it. There are no universally agreed upon truisms and too little tolerance between some of those with opposing viewpoints to successfully convince the people with hardened opinions to move away from them. I am an analytical type person who will try to be as factual as I am able.

I disdain the current popularity of name calling and condemnation of viewpoints with no factual alternatives or logical solutions given that I see so often. If you don't have a solution based on fact and logic, then opt out of the discussion because you have nothing to contribute. My background is a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and 39 years working in middle management jobs for a major retailer. My opinions are forged on the personal experence of life, family, friends, and work as well as triumphs and mistakes that I have made and hopefully learned from. My hope is that this blog helps you.

My first topic will be about personal finance. I chose that one first because most of us work long and hard just to survive but not all of us realize our dreams of becoming financially independent from the labors of our work. Much of our political votes/thinking also focus on the economy and in particular how well we are personally doing financially.

It is relatively simple, without sacrificing the enjoyment of living for 'today' and even at moderate incomes, to retire as a millionaire or multi-millionaire, if you focus on that goal consistently from a young age. It is also simple to ensure that your child or grandchild retires rich. It merely requires a one time gift of just $2,000 invested wisely and the passage of time. Please read my first post on this blog to learn more.


An index/schedule of past and future posts and their dates will always be updated so that it becomes the first post that you see below. If the date of a post that you wish to read is preceded by the word "Posted", then find it below or click on the title in the Blog archive to review.

Blog Archive

Monday, August 10, 2020

Financial Advisors – Just Say No

 I do not believe in Financial Advisors managing my money. Here's why. Most take 2% of the ENTIRE value of the assets (not just 2% of the gains or losses) in fees each year. Plus the S&P 500 index, which costs you nothing to buy and sell at most brokerage firms (ETF symbol = SPY) outperforms financial advisors 70% of the time. If 2% fees don't sound like much, think again. For example, if they had a good year and your assets went up 10%, they take 20% of your gains as fees. Likewise, in a bad year where your assets went down 10%, those fees add 20% to your losses. If your assets went up 5% for the year, that 2% takes away 40% of your gain, and if your assets only went up 2% for the year, that 2% fee takes away 100% of your gain (while a 2% loss, is doubled by that 2% fee to a 4% loss).

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