Do your family members listen to your financial advice?

[rs0460a]

They don't ask - I don't tell...

- Ron

 

[Linney]

Lots of great stories here.

My parents were good examples, LBYM savers who retired early (well, at least their version of early) at age 60. Two uncles also retired early. For a family that started dirt-poor with a blue-collar history, they've done very well and serve as a good example to the next generation.

Both my mom and my father-in-law are well-versed in investing. We occasionally share ideas and suggestions with each other. My dad.... well, he should just let mom handle everything!
Dad: I think it would be a good time to buy a bond fund, they've been doing well these past couple years.
Me: That's great news, my bond funds have really appreciated in price, I need someone to sell them to so I can lock in the gains.
Dad: <frowns> But I want to buy them cheap.
Me: Then you should have bought them a couple years ago when they were cheap.
Dad: <frowns> But they were doing poorly back then.
Me: Why don't you just let Mom handle things, okay?

Anyway, some of my family members talk about finances and investing but there really isn't much of what I would term as direct "financial advice". There are a couple of new-hire engineers, however, whom I was successfully able to give advice to start a 401K ASAP and invest it in a diversified portfolio instead of company stock.

 

[mb]

Immediate family are all LBYMers so that was never much of an issue.

Dad pretty much knew what he was doing as far as investing although on occasion he did more speculating than investing.

In-laws pretty much knew what they were doing as far as investing.

Mom didn't know much about investing when Dad passed away - Dad did everything. Basically CDs and bank accounts. But she knew how to save and she was smart enough to figure out most of what she needed to know:

- Dad used a broker but made his own decisions. After Dad died she noticed that he was giving her a lot of advice to buy this and sell that and commented to him that he seemed to be making more money on commissions than she was making in profits. He got mad after which she in her polite, christian way told him to F*** OFF and closed the account. She told me about this years later.

- After watching the stocks that Dad had for a couple of years she commented that sometimes they went down but they always seemed to go back up again eventually and sometimes they increased their dividends (she loved dividends) and that she was making more on them than on her money in the bank. Although she was still pretty conservative, she became comfortable with a modest stock allocation. She would check the prices every day in the newspaper. Sometimes if I was there she would do the mental calculation and tell me "I made X or lost Y today on stock Z."

- When I told her it was probably a good idea to sell individual stocks and put it in funds, she listened and agreed and to some extent she took the advice except for stocks that she didn't want to pay a lot of capital gains taxes. I still have some of those stocks.

- Once she had a couple of CDs mature and asked me what to do with the money. I told her to split it between Dodge and Cox, Wellesley and Price International and she took the advice. A year or two later she told me that she looked at some of the other fund info and bought some of the TRP fund of funds. IRRC they call it spectrum growth.

- As an aside she had a neighbor or church member or something that was a FA that asked about managing her money. She showed him the funds that I had put her in. She told me that his comment was: "I can't do better than that! You don't need me!" I was ready to give her investment lecture 101 when she started to tell me about it and about fell out of my chair when she told me his comment.

MB

 

[flipstress]

off topic: flipstress, i thought you lived in the philippines. didn't realize you were in the frozen north. what, are you insane?

Off-topic reply:
I'm a victim of fate and inertia. I like where I am now. I lived for 21 years in Manila in the same house. After crossing thousands of miles to come here, I moved around a lot, well, a lot for me. I would find it hard to leave familiar places and people now.

Maybe when I am older, I won't be able to bear the cold, but right now, it's not so bad, really. It's -4 degrees F now at 6 a.m., with a predicted high of 10 degrees for today. It's warming up slowly over the week!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Dad: <frowns> But they were doing poorly back then.

I love these stories. Really illustrates the backwards wiring most people have on buying investments and properties. Things are on sale...stay away! Things get marked up, grab your checkbook and run out and buy!

 

[sailor]

While skiing a couple of weeks ago I had a converstion w/ a young married couple - they asked what I did for a living and I told them what ever I wanted/retired. They wanted to know how I got done so early......and I gave them the short version(on ski lift) and gave them this forum info. I feel like a preacher!

By any chance was your preaching in Salt Lake City?
Friends of mine went skiing (I think Alta) and mentioned meeting somebody ER there few weeks ago.

 

[FinanceDude]

- As an aside she had a neighbor or church member or something that was a FA that asked about managing her money. She showed him the funds that I had put her in. She told me that his comment was: "I can't do better than that! You don't need me!" I was ready to give her investment lecture 101 when she started to tell me about it and about fell out of my chair when she told me his comment.
MB

Sounds like that guy was a REAL financial advisor, not someone masquerading as one................

 

[teejayevans]

Reminds me of my neighbors, they desperately want to retire, but when I ask about there expenses, they have no clue and don't want to know what they spend. If they can save money they want it laid out for them, but they don't want to change there standard of living one bit. There not into preventive maintenance, and they don’t plan for the future, since they think it’s too complicated and hard.

So they desperately want something to be handed to them on a silver platter.
Don't we all, but in the real world, some of us realize you have to work toward
a dream, not just want it.

 

[bssc]

Off-topic reply:
I'm a victim of fate and inertia. I like where I am now. I lived for 21 years in Manila in the same house. After crossing thousands of miles to come here, I moved around a lot, well, a lot for me. I would find it hard to leave familiar places and people now.

Quite a change. Uncle Sam sent me to the Philippines for 7 years. At least where you are now you won't have typhoons.

 

[HFWR]

So they desperately want something to be handed to them on a silver platter.
Don't we all, but in the real world, some of us realize you have to work toward
a dream, not just want it.

Well, the "slow and steady wins the race" mentality is not as glamorous as the "strike it rich" scenario...

 

[My Dream]

So they desperately want something to be handed to them on a silver platter.
Don't we all, but in the real world, some of us realize you have to work toward
a dream, not just want it.

Funny though they don't see it that way. There attitude is that they could be spending more money, and they have accepted that fact that they will work till there 65. Unfortunately every time I mention that the money they both spend on cigarettes, repairing there son's and daughters cars. That combined with the fact that if they took some sort of risk and educated themselves to figuring out what there expenses were and got more involved in there finances they could have ER'd by now. But they don't see it that way; they look at me as being just plain lucky. It has nothing to do with the fact that we’ve lived below our means our whole lives and accepted risks with investments by purchasing mutual funds and self directed RRSP’s to name a few.
They’re nice people but could use some education re investments.

 

[shiny]

Well, the "slow and steady wins the race" mentality is not as glamorous as the "strike it rich" scenario...

Since you mentioned "glamorous" I thought I'd chime in

When relatives ask me about money it's always phrased something like... "how are you playing the market" I really don't feel like I've ever "played" it, although I'm sure I have a little.

People don't like my boring advice, they'd rather have someone like Jim Cramer get all excited about an individual investment.

I have encouraged my siblings with LBYM and its rubbed off a little.

 

[Donzo]

By any chance was your preaching in Salt Lake City?
Friends of mine went skiing (I think Alta) and mentioned meeting somebody ER there few weeks ago.

Hey Sailor,
I have skiied Alta, nice mountain...I like the skiiers only rule(no boarders). My preaching was in the Sierras near Lake Tahoe. Very nice couple and they seemed motivated/had good jobs. Hopefully they come to this site as I suggested.....

Donzo

 

[Goonie]

Do your family members listen to your financial advice?

My Mom called me at w*rk today. She brought the mail in and there was a check from a life insurance policy that my Aunt had, for $10K. She was supposed to meet with the bank VP today (he's a real nice guy that has helped her over the years in making investment decisions....and some pretty good ones at that), anyway she called and cancelled her appintment. That's when she called and asked if I would find her something to do with money that would make her some money!

Do they listen? Umm, YEP!!! :