10 things investors won’t tell you

[RonBoyd]

I am torn between deciding whether this is a useful article... or not.

10 things investors won’t tell you - MarketWatch

 

[marko]

I wouldn't categorize these people as 'investors'. Most times, in their own words they "play to stock market" as if it were a craps table.

 

[RonBoyd]

Technically, if you have money in the Stock Market, you are "invested." But I get your point.

 

[6miths]

Look like some pretty good points.

 

[travelover]

Makes me think about the proposal to make individual SS accounts work more like 401(k) accounts. What could go wrong?

 

[Closet_Gamer]

A good article with sound info but I think it was mis-titled. It was more "10 Things Investors Do Wrong" than Things They Won't Tell You.

I was stunned at the percentage of the people with outstanding 401k loans. the 401k loan people should hang out with the MMM people.

 

[Bestwifeever]

When I open the link, next to this article is an ad for a $2.6 million watch, discussed here: Patek Philippe unveils $2.6M watch. Perhaps this is the biggest mistake an investor could make.

 

[RonBoyd]

Perhaps this is the biggest mistake an investor could make.

Not if Time is more important than Money.

 

[Independent]

The average American doesn’t follow market news that closely, either—and when you don’t know what’s going on, it’s harder to make good decisions about your money.

If a "good decision for retirement funds" is to buy and hold a low cost index fund, then following market news closely is more likely to lead to bad decisions than good decisions.

(Okay, this is from the first point. The second reverses course.)

 

[marko]

Makes me think about the proposal to make individual SS accounts work more like 401(k) accounts. What could go wrong?

Yeah, like a young DD of a friend who had to stop funding her 401K in order to pay for ACA.

Good news: She'll be healthier. Bad news: She'll need her health because she'll be working till she's 80 because she didn't plan for retirement.

 

[marko]

When I open the link, next to this article is an ad for a $2.6 million watch, discussed here: Perhaps this is the biggest mistake an investor could make.

Well, you might be able to sell that watch in a few years for $3.2MM. Maybe.

 

[gcgang]

When I open the link, next to this article is an ad for a $2.6 million watch, discussed here: Patek Philippe unveils $2.6M watch. Perhaps this is the biggest mistake an investor could make.

I see the watch article is from last year. With the recent 20% revaluation of the Swiss Franc, that's probably now a $3mm+ watch. Probably not a mistake to buy it. High end watches have held value quite well over "time".


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[Jay_Gatsby]

Not if Time is more important than Money.

View attachment 20936

That cartoon always reminds me of the "grand point" of life every time I see it - to live.

The key is to identify the "tipping point" between time and money, which varies from person to person.

 

[travelover]

Yeah, like a young DD of a friend who had to stop funding her 401K in order to pay for ACA.

Good news: She'll be healthier. Bad news: She'll need her health because she'll be working till she's 80 because she didn't plan for retirement.

All the responsible people I know carry health insurance.

 

[RonBoyd]

All the responsible people I know carry health insurance.

You must only know old people.

 

[mickeyd]

I recently read this same article in our local newspaper and used the following snippet to engage DW is a conversation about expense ratios. When she realized that the ER of her IRA and Roth @ Vanguard was only about 0.08%, I saw the light go on! 1.23% vs 0.08% is pretty dramatic, no matter your math skills.

Why aren’t fund investors getting better results? For starters, fees and expenses eat into the returns. For U.S. mutual funds, the average expense ratio is 1.23%, according to Morningstar. (For equity funds, that figure is slightly lower, at 1.21%, and alternative funds are the most expensive, at 1.92%.)

 

[travelover]

You must only know old people.

If you don't have health insurance how do you cover a million dollar medical bill?

 

[RonBoyd]

If you don't have health insurance how do you cover a million dollar medical bill?

My comment was actually two-pronged.

One, there are a number of "responsible" young who have made a conscious decision not to be insured (although fewer than in years past <chuckle>).

Two, the elderly are just that because they had health insurance. Those that didn't are unknowable because they are no longer around.