Suze, Dave, Rick, et al.

[RenoJay]

I credit Ric Edelman with teaching me investing 101 through one of his books (about 12 years ago) but I've since tired of some of his gimmicks such as never paying down a mortgage and not using index funds. He did, however, give me the guts to start investing in late 2001/2002 which was a pretty decent entry point. (Better than 1999 or 2000!)

[nvestysly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gindie Another person that I like to watch is Consuelo Mack. She does a weekly show called Consuelo Mack WEALTHTRACK: The right track to your financial health. : WealthTrack for PBS and all her interviews are on the web. For those who enjoyed Louis Rukeyser, this is an interview show much in the same spirit (in fact, I believe she was the host of Wall Street Week in its last days).

+1 I just watched her show recently - one of the best, broad-market, long-term perspectives currently available.

[jazz4cash]

Another vote for Bob Brinker. He has been widely maligned on this board. His newsletter is called Marketimer, but he rarely makes buy/sell calls. I like him because he espouses indexing and DIY investment management. His show has been on the air for 28 years but has dwindled down to only 3 hrs on Sunday in our market....used to be on Sat and Sun. I have not listened regularly for a long while. I respect the fact that he does not have books, seminars, etc.,etc. to promote. He does have at least 2 newsletters, though.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 That's a great example of the unintended consequences, and unfortunately probably pretty common. Now that is sad. Confronted with facts, these obviously intelligent people just had to stick to their dogma. That's the opposite of 'education', IMO. -ERD50

For the most part people are interested only in what affects them directly. I imagine these students and their supervisors got much more creds out of "slapping down the man" than they ever would out of understanding the realities. These working class New Haven citizens were easy and weak targets, making them perfect opponents for scalp seeking elites.

Ha

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem A big +1 for Clark Howard. He gives primarily consumer-oriented advice, but his simple guidance on saving and investing is always spot-on. His web-site is good (looking for a cheap cell phone plan? Tips on saving money on travel? etc--it's a good first stop). I think he's also got a lot of integrity and I've seen no hint of conflict of interest. He doesn't have sponsors that he pushes listeners to use (camouflaged as "impartial advice"). He writes books and tells listeners about them, but even then advises people to see if they can find them free at the library or tells them to look for them on sale.

I never hear radio any more since my car is kaput, but I did like him when I heard him years ago. Overall I find the best consumer advice for me is just don't buy much, as I cannot sustain much interest in all these details of buying even more stuff for the same or less money. I really don't want to clutter my mind with much of this information, no matter how "good" it may be.

Ha

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I'm guessing most regular members here don't pay attention to any of them at any frequency. I know I don't, might as well add Cramer to the list, who cares...

Clark Howard is heads above the rest for consumer advice - I find myself agreeing with his advice to callers most of the time and he is good on both the LBYM/saving and investing fronts.

Also a +1 for WealthTrack and Consuelo Mack - I DVR it every week.

And I too miss Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street Week.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp Yes I do. He give CEOs opportunities to explain some fundamentals about their business, while also asking them about what drives margins, competition and threats in their industry. I watched much of his series on biotech, and I thought was a pretty good introduction to the basic stages of biotech companies. He didn't give specific recommendation on biotech stocks, other than identify which ones he owned. But if you listened to the series you'd at least know the difference between device maker, and early stage biotech, and late stage. His are you diversified obviously doesn't go far enough since it is limited to 4 or 5 stocks, but at least the approach is right. Now you are right his stock picking track record is pretty poor if you just blindly buy and sell when he tells you. There is big gap between what you an know as investor and what I know, but there is an even larger gap between what I know and the average investor. I went to a couple of my mom's investment club and I think plenty of individual investors have no clue how to read a balance sheet or income statement. I think listening and reading his books would teach you that stuff. While you can certainly argue that if you have don't know your way around a balance sheet, you should only invest in index funds that isn't how the world works.

We will have to agree to disagree on this one.

Aside from his general cluelessness about whatever he is spewing words about, what I find offputting about his schtick is the intentional injection of emotion into investing/trading decisions. Most of the time when I have made money and/or avoided losses it has been because I made coldly rational decisions with as little emotion involved as possible. Leaving the emotion behind has required years of training/learning and a ton of self discipline. Its too hard-won to just let go by listing to some lunatic rant, and I think anyone who fancies themself an investor would do well to cultivate a lack of emotion about these things.

[RetiredAndFree]

I think most of us here have long ago outgrown Dave and Suze, but I continue to appreciate that there are still millions of folks out there that desperately need to hear their collective message.

I often flip on Dave's show as I'm puttering around the kitchen because i find it both entertaining, and reaffirming. Every so often I'll hear something new about containing costs that I might not have thought of, but mostly it just leaves me feeling really good about the choices we've made in our lives to allow us to reach FIRE at 48 & 56 years. I don't 'love' his insistence on mixing religion and finance in his show, but I can generally let it go.

And like some others have mentioned, Suze's "Can I Afford It" is an absolute guilty pleasure. I do sincerely appreciate her on-line will & trust kit, which we obtained for free using a promo code (just do a search for 'Suze Orman Will and Trust Kit Promo Code', or IM me if you want to know the code we found and used), which we used to prepare documents for my SIL recently.

[Willers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Now that is sad. Confronted with facts, these obviously intelligent people just had to stick to their dogma. That's the opposite of 'education', IMO. -ERD50

+1 I really appreciate that members of this forum focus on fact. Something I always say to people I mentor at work: "Care only about getting the best answer, not about getting the answer you expected (or wanted)"

[jollystomper]

I don't mind listening to these folks when I driving around, it is entertaining. It also reminds me of how far I've come, I feel sorry for the situations some folks end up in. As was mentioned earlier, their "simple" advice is good for those who are clueless on how to start on their finances. For example, I did find Ric Edelman's "The Truth About Money" book very informational back in the 1990s to get a handle on personal finance terminology and options. They key is to never throw all of your marbles in with any one finance guru, as none are perfect and one can find issues with some of the advice each gives.

[Gunny]

I am a big fan of Dave. Like so many have already said, he is great at teaching people how to get out and stay out of debt (which I agree with) and not LBYM. When it comes to investing, he advises low cost growth stock funds but his local providers (FPL Financial here in Huntsville) use load funds that include bond funds. I do most of my investing with low cost stock funds as I am not that savvy and do not have time to really stay on top of it. Fire and forget is my approach in my TSP and Vanguard accounts.

Suzy; a little abbrasive but more or less on track with Dave except she believes in a high FICO and Dave believes in zero FICO.

Ric; no clue.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsmeow I read both articles. While I agree with Olen in some respects I think that Salmon has the better take on it. It seems that Salmon largely takes this perspective. I don't think he denies Olen's point. However, her point doesn't do anything to help people get out of debt. If your income has gone down and her expenses have gone up, there may be larger societal forces at play. However, the individual person needs to know how to stay out of debt. One thing I appreciate from Dave is that he often helps people to see things a different way to try to solve a problem. I suspect that while I think Olen is correct from a macro point of view, Dave's way is far more likely to help the individual person struggling financially.

I guess Helaine Olen really struck a nerve with her article. Here is another take on it from Megan McArdle

How to Put the Brakes on Consumers' Debt - Bloomberg

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 We will have to agree to disagree on this one. Aside from his general cluelessness about whatever he is spewing words about, what I find offputting about his schtick is the intentional injection of emotion into investing/trading decisions. Most of the time when I have made money and/or avoided losses it has been because I made coldly rational decisions with as little emotion involved as possible. Leaving the emotion behind has required years of training/learning and a ton of self discipline. Its too hard-won to just let go by listing to some lunatic rant, and I think anyone who fancies themself an investor would do well to cultivate a lack of emotion about these things.

Understandable, but in his defense Kramer does often talk about not letting your emotions rule when investing. Now of course when he yells, and carries on, and pushes the Sell, SELL, SELL! button, it is hard to take his
advice to seriously.

Quote:

The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect... You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd. Warren Buffett

I am fortunate that it my temperament, not sure if that is a characteristic of most INTJ, but possibly.

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby I guess Helaine Olen really struck a nerve with her article. Here is another take on it from Megan McArdle How to Put the Brakes on Consumers' Debt - Bloomberg

I am big fan of McArdle. I think her reporting on ACA has been very insightful. Although hands down the best information on ACA is right here on ER.org.

I detested the Helaine Olen article, the condescension for the red state folks was just awful. The way I figure for financially sophisticated person on here or on Wall St. who'd be harmed by Dave poor investment advice, and hatred of all forms of debt and bankruptcy, there is at least 10 people who could benefit by getting out of debt.

[Surewhitey]

Listened to Dave for a couple years while driving (in sales). DW couldn't handle him or Suze.

We are living like "no one else" after living like "no one else" (WBOM)...turning 43 tomorrow and driving back down to Mexico with friends after visiting DD in Dallas & helping her move into her new home. Living like no one else I personally know at my age.

[RobLJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby I guess Helaine Olen really struck a nerve with her article. Here is another take on it from Megan McArdle How to Put the Brakes on Consumers' Debt - Bloomberg

McArdle's generalizations about blue state/red state seem idiotic, although I'm sure it makes her feel fine and all Puritanical.

Ramsey on avoiding debt is fine, but he fairly oozes with unctuousness and self-righteousness, like Suzey. I can only take about 5 minutes of it, but I'm sure this is helpful to most of his audience. His investment advice could be harmful and I don't like the "associates" but I guess he has to pay his rent somehow.

I do like Clark Howard--even when he is wrong, it's pretty clear he is trying his best to help and he's fairly modest.

[Badger]

Cramer - I don't trust fast talkers and the "In your face" style.
Suzie - A little to annoying for me to listen to.
Rick - Never heard him.
Dave - Used to listen to him while driving. Couldn't believe how ignorant about personal finance so many high income people are. Got tired of the show.
Clark - Appreciate his effort to help people LBYM and consumer information. Best of the bunch by far.

Cheers!

[PawPrint53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready If nothing else, just seeing the financial stats of the people who call in to the show is a weekly reminder of how fortunate I am to be FI and able to ER, and not saddled with the burdens these people have of debt, job losses, under water mortgages, and bad relationships.

Before I cut the cable, I used to watch Suze's show each week for this reason. However, then the "How Am I Doing" segment would come on, and she advised most of the people to continue working until 70 (no way!) so they could maintain or exceed the income that they're currently receiving. Then I'd start feeling anxious because we probably would never have enough money to replace the current income. Then I'd have to go read Mr. Money Mustache and realize we don't need our current income to live happily, or run FIRECALC and talk to the Vanguard advisors so that I can see that, yes, we will have enough money in retirement.

[harley]

Went Northern VA last weekend to visit DD and DGD. On the way home driving on Leesburg Pike I passed the site of the new sports stadium for the Loudoun Hounds (ALPB) and the Virginia Calvary (NASL). Looks like there's good money in advising people to buy index funds. Edelman Financial Field

[HappyOutsourced]

Love Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard. I can only take a couple of minutes of Suze. Her best advice actually comes the first minute or so of the show anyway.I can't take all the psychobabble. And not everyone needs a million dollars in the bank in order to retire or to take a $3000 vacation.
I don't know who Rick is either.