Why I'm Done Giving Anything Like Financial Advice

[TromboneAl]

Three weeks ago I gave a 26 year old sax player Larry Swedroe's book on investing. The next week he told me he'd read it and realized that he should have more money in stocks and shouldn't be too conservative.

I'm almost afraid to go to tonight's gig.

 

[FinanceDude]

Three weeks ago I gave a 26 year old sax player Larry Swedroe's book on investing. The next week he told me he'd read it and realized that he should have more money in stocks and shouldn't be too conservative.

I'm almost afraid to go to tonight's gig.

Easy thing to recover from:

26 year old: "Uh, Al"

Al: "Yeah"??

26 year old: "I read that Swedroe book, and last WEEK I put half my nest egg in equities. Now I'm down 25%!!!!""

Al: Those darn investment guys, they're wrong ALL the time......that's why I'm always 70% in cash"...........

 

[Cb]

You should have sent him this:

How to Play Jazz Sax

Cb O0

 

[bbbamI]

If he complains, just say "Hey, I'm a musician, what do I know?"

(that's what my DH would say...he's a musician)

 

[DblDoc]

Just send him to this: Bear markets: Don't be a hater - Sep. 17, 2008

Larry Swedroe discusses why bears are bad (risk premium) and without them there wouldn't be the returns (long term) from equities.

As a young investor this is a golden opportunity to get in as long as he/she holds long term.

DD

 

[FIREd]

Hey the guy is only 26, how much could he have lost in a week? A few thousand dollars? That's nothing... He just got hazed (just like I was when I started investing in the stock market in March 2001). Welcome to the world of equity investing buddy! In the long term it will seem like a pretty small price to pay to be enlightened at such young age! Of course he might not see it that way right now... Good luck tonight!

 

[Tempesta]

You should say to him 'Lesson two, you should never ever listen to some financial-adviser wannabe!'

Three weeks ago I gave a 26 year old sax player Larry Swedroe's book on investing. The next week he told me he'd read it and realized that he should have more money in stocks and shouldn't be too conservative.

I'm almost afraid to go to tonight's gig.

 

[harley]

Three weeks ago I gave a 26 year old sax player Larry Swedroe's book on investing. The next week he told me he'd read it and realized that he should have more money in stocks and shouldn't be too conservative.

I'm almost afraid to go to tonight's gig.

Don't sweat it. When I was a 26 year old sax payer I might have said the same thing. But it would have taken me six months to do anything about it. Too many really important things to worry about first.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Maybe mutter, "long term, long term." I'm grateful that some years ago a friend said, "psst, it's 4% not 5%."

 

[Notmuchlonger]

So its Al's fault the market is doing so bad. I knew it!

 

[ladelfina]

Hey the guy is only 26, how much could he have lost in a week? A few thousand dollars? That's nothing.

"A few thousand" to a 26-y.o. musician might be a year's income.. watch it!

T-Al, OTOH there's the likelihood that he hasn't done anything about it yet. Best of luck to you both..

 

[Bestwifeever]

No worries, I have a 26 year old son--Harley is right, the kid won't have done a thing yet (now my 29 y/o daughter would have planned her AA and started DCA into it--heck, already does). In fact, when Al's young sax player ever does act on the financial info, it will turn out to be perfect market timing for him and he'll never believe in DCA.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Three weeks ago I gave a 26 year old sax player Larry Swedroe's book on investing. The next week he told me he'd read it and realized that he should have more money in stocks and shouldn't be too conservative.

I'm almost afraid to go to tonight's gig.

Your first words should be "You did read the part about Dollar cost averaging?"

 

[donheff]

A number of good response here Al. Since it sounds like he actually read the book you did the guy a big favor. The likelihood that he did anything about it is almost nil - he will probably remember to get cracking after a 2000 point rise in the DOW. At 26 a few weeks/months delay won't matter much anyway.

 

[ladelfina]

T-Al ... what happened? Did you see him at the gig?

 

[Alan]

T-Al ... what happened? Did you see him at the gig?

Probably already thrown himself off the top of a high rise.

 

[TromboneAl]

T-Al ... what happened? Did you see him at the gig?

Yes, I saw him, but I didn't bring it up. I didn't see any cut marks on his wrist, so he's probably OK.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

thump of the day: "give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you." matthew 7:6

edit: in case someone didn't get that thump, combine it with the chinese saying that "you're responsible for the life you save."

if you help someone up a step, you have put them into the more precarious situation of having farther to fall, therefore you obligate yourself to their continued success which you make incumbent upon you & your future efforts by your own past actions.