Dilbert as a financial advisor

[REWahoo]

Not only is our own esteemed SG publishing a personal finance book, but Vanguard reports Scott Adams of Dilbert fame has also gotten into the act. Adams has published a list called "Everything you need to know about financial planning"*

- Make a will.
- Pay off your credit cards.
- Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.
- Fund your 401(k) to the maximum.
- Fund your IRA to the maximum.
- Buy a house if you want to live in a house and you can afford it.
- Put six months' expenses in a money market fund.
- Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker, and never touch it until retirement.

* Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, Collins, New York, 2002, p. 172.

He does make the following statement, but since it is Dilbert I suppose you can't expect him to get everything exactly right...

If any of this confuses you or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues) hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio.

 

[brewer12345]

Actually, for the vast majority of te population, the fee-based planner would be fine as opposed to making a big mistake or going to one of the % of assets sharks.

 

[justin]

He does make the following statement, but since it is Dilbert I suppose you can't expect him to get everything exactly right...

If any of this confuses you or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues) hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio.

That's probably not bad advice - pay somebody an hourly fee to give you financial advice.

 

[REWahoo]

Actually, for the vast majority of te population, the fee-based planner would be fine as opposed to making a big mistake or going to one of the % of assets sharks.

That's probably not bad advice - pay somebody an hourly fee to give you financial advice.

I agree fee only is better than the fleece only varitety. However, my comment about not getting it right was focused on Adam's saying you need to consult a finacial planner if you "have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues)". I don't think these "goings on" would necessarily require the services of a financial planner, at least not for the typical Dilbert fan.

 

[d]

this advice, given by a cartoon character, is tons better that that given by so many clowns we've seen elsewhere (Kiyosaki among them) ... indeed, it is quite good. re the financial planner, do note he suggest this "If any of this confuses you or ..."  again, sounds appropriate to me.

 

[justin]

kinda like - if figuring out how to change your own oil confuses you, take it to the shop. Figure out how to do something for yourself, or expect to pay a fair price for advice for someone else to show you what would become obvious after some initial learning.

 

[d]

if anyone is confused by the instructions given (either from Dilbert's advice or in changing one's oil (assuming instructions given)) they are likely in need of professional advice.  (for the record, i am perfectly capable of changing my own oil but prefer to have someone else do it.  on the other hand, i prefer to do my own taxes. )

 

[free4now]

Adams must be doing well financially... the article I read on the vanguard site says:

However, Adams said he no longer follows his rule to invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund. The best-selling author says he invests primarily in municipal bonds today, which are tax-exempt, and also owns land in his adopted home state of California.

I remember seeing him in person when I was attending a technical conference in the Bay Area.  He was giving a fun speech as a perk for the conference attendees, and must have been getting paid well.  The best part I remember was that he gave a simple formula for humor.  I just found it again:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2005/12/humor_formula.html

The core of humor is what I call the 2-of-6 rule. In order for something to be funny, you need at least two of the following elements:

Cute (as in kids and animals)
Naughty
Bizarre
Clever
Recognizable (You’ve been there)
Cruel


I only wish Scott's talent at simplifying things would land him a job with the IRS    Is this Bizarre? Cruel?

 

[mickeyd]

Here's a good link to Dilbert's financial-related humor.

http://www.bylo.org/dilbert.html