Comments on My Open Wallet: Saving Saves the Day

Hi there. Keep it up for a good job.You really hav...

2010-01-10T02:20:36.921-05:00

Hi there. Keep it up for a good job.You really have a lot of nice blog here. Lots of information. I have read and passed on this info to my friends as well.

Cheers!
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I've had an awesome decade! I've gone from being ...

2010-01-04T11:27:29.245-05:00

I've had an awesome decade! I've gone from being completely broke in college (2001-2005) to owning a home that will be paid off in 6-8 more years (bought in 2007) and having $50,000 spread out between a 401k (2005-2009), a Roth IRA (2008-2009), a pension plan (2006-2009), and savings (2005-2009). Not bad for an office worker and her teacher husband. :)

Here's to an even better New Year for you and yours!

Heya Madame. Great blog! I read that article in ...

2010-01-03T20:49:16.024-05:00

Heya Madame. Great blog!

I read that article in the Times when it first came out and sort of dismissed it but since you shared it, I figured that it might be worth giving another try.

Lieber brings an optimistic outlook on this past decade where it is much needed! But somewhere around the time he wrote about "a much more realistic scenario with 50 percent of the money in bonds" didn't sit well with me. I think that most people never ever rebalance their portfolios and probably have a much more aggressive asset allocation and were burned pretty bad this past decade.

Our portfolios may be a lot larger than they were in 2000 because of saving but it's the "could have been's" and the "what if I just invested in.. [fill in the blank]" that hurts! *sigh* It could have been worse, I guess. Haha.

Happy New Years!

I think how you fared this past decade depends on ...

2010-01-03T15:15:25.957-05:00

I think how you fared this past decade depends on your net worth
to income ratio when it started, and how your income held up.
In your case you started at less than 1x, and your income went up
so the decade was very good. I started at about 8x and income
was flat, so it wasn't too bad (more than doubled). My mother just
cashed out a 10-year variable annuity that returned a few per cent
(so lost due to inflation).

Moral of the story-- regular rebalancing becomes more critical
as you get older! And with all due respect to Ben Stein, don't buy
an investment that either locks you in or charges to rebalance.

You're absolutely right about saving. I am dismay...

2010-01-02T02:30:04.790-05:00

You're absolutely right about saving. I am dismayed when a well respected guy like Kiyosaki blurts out that savers are losers. His point is if you put your money in the bank, the interest won't keep up with inflation. Plus, there has lately been fear of the bank closing and losing your money. Other than that scare tactic, he's got some good stuff.

But if you simply give up and don't save, you'll definitely get left behind. You have no chance. Saving and investing prudently is key to our financial health. Doing nothing is a sure disaster.