Comments on: Am I Wasting My Time?

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:52:09 +0000

Talk about arguing out of both sides of your mouth. Obviously she’s looking to be on the committee writing the rules for these proposed government regulations.

Funny that I was purging some old files the other day and found some notes from a community college class I took back in 1989. Amazingly the bulk of the advice regarding personal finance has not changed in the last twenty years. (e.g. save 10-20% of your income for retirement, avoid/minimize unsecured debt, know where your money goes, don’t invest in things you don’t understand, etc.) It was all 90% of what you see regurgitated in many of the articles today. Stunning that this lawyer can’t seem to recognize that the general principles are sound and that these basics should be reviewed and taught. I can see a few updates for new tax rules and things like Roth IRAs, but with little modification this course could be taught today. After all, most of the “new” financial products are typically the same old products given a new spin.

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:21:26 +0000

Can I claim that it was sarcasm? ;-)

By: CommRE

CommRE — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:53:09 +0000

You said “I’m just confused at the pregnancy parallel – I really see the relevance.”

If you see the relevance, what is there to be confused about? Or is this just another example of a Lazy Man typo that requires me to reread sentences?

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:08:18 +0000

Without having read the entire interview, I’d bet this “expert” also believes that privatizing SSI would be a bad idea. After all, people can’t be trusted to make to make their own financial decisions, so the government should do it for them.

Cheers,
Ken

By: Writer's Coin

Writer's Coin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:20:19 +0000

This is very reminiscent of how Kiyosaki/Ann Coulter became so popular/big. They say something very loudly that is very different from what everyone else is saying and they go over the top to get coverage of it. It’s annoying and I have no time for people that alter their message like that.

By: Jared

Jared — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:31:32 +0000

I agree with Online dividends, Web 2.0 is about real people giving personal advice. The second someone claims to be an expert they normally are wrong. You can’t be an expert in a field that changes dramatically every year.(Personal Finance) All you can do is make the best decisions you can every day and keep learning as much as possible. Example, Jim cramer is one of the BEST out there and even he tanked in bear stearns.

By: bamalucky

bamalucky — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:49:08 +0000

The thing is our politicians punish us savers every day.Our money is eroded by national debt,low interest rates & social programs.I’m beginning to think it would have been better for me to have about 8 kids out of wedlock & shack up in govt housing with my girlfriend & draw welfare & food stamps.We have got to cut the social programs & get a handle on spending in this country.As someone else said,my parents taught me everything too.My dad is 68 & never had a checking account.I’m 35 & have never had a credit card.We were taught to save for it & then you could decide if it was worth buying,& you would be surprised that many times we decided not to blow our money we had worked so hard for.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:36:12 +0000

Like politicians have done anything but cloud the issues and slow progress down to a crawl.

This is one the reasons why I hate reading some of the traditional money magazines lately… in an effort to stand out from their peers, they made a once educational read into a whole lot of nothing useful.

By: Mike Sweeney

Mike Sweeney — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:47:17 +0000

Funny post. Yeah, that’s just what you want, politicians who aren’t financial experts stepping in to pass laws on personal finance.

By: irina

irina — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:23:35 +0000

I think that there is a lack of education not only about money management, but also about life in general. The whole concept of life and happiness and meaning of life needs to be thought from first grade or earlier. :-)

We have way too many depressed people, too many suicides because people don’t have a clue where they are and where they are going… Personal finance is a part of personal life and these two subjects have to be taught in conjunction, me thinks.

They studied poorest of the poor and found that percent of happy people is very high among them. And if you ask me, I take poor and happy any day, as oppose to being rich and miserable. :-) Young readers here might don’t feel it yet, but life just don’t last forever. So, take every opportunity to enjoy it.

And if you enjoy saving money, it’s all the better. Otherwise, enjoy anything you can. :-)

By: Start-Up

Start-Up — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:19:28 +0000

I have learned all I know about finances from my parents and from self-educating myself via blogs and books from the library. I feel as though I started pretty early compared to the average, but I think personal finance classes in high school should be mandatory. They are more important than most electives that high schools offer. I would propose to make a personal finance class required in all high schools and reduce the number of elective classes necessary by one.

I did rather enjoy the use of the word charlatan. It should be used more often in everyday life.

By: Online Dividends

Online Dividends — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:22:53 +0000

I am tired of reading “expert opinions”. Maybe that’s why the whole Web 2.0 concept of peer to peer counceling has exploded over the past few years.

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:48:46 +0000

Don’t you mean as with anything in life?

By: bamalucky

bamalucky — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:47:16 +0000

As with Prosper lending,you can’t educate anyone who has no wish to be educated.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:16:07 +0000

Um, wow. I can’t believe that! I think that we need MORE education with regard to managing personal finances. If we understand more of what we are doing, we are much more likely to make better decisions about our money. Most of the stuff this “expert” is saying is crazy. Having more knowledge is always preferable to ignorance.