Interestingly, it is fairly easy for most people with a little effort (a bit more than just walking around a corner and bending down) to add a significant amount to their retirement nest egg over the years; yet they pass it up! The only one that can usually do this is themselves. Hiring an expensive advisor will definitely build a nest egg, but usually it is the advisor's nest egg.
That everybody doesn't take the little effort to do this is, to me, one of the conundrums of behavioral finance. What many people don't get is that they are up against an advertising juggernaut whose purpose is to take all of their income and more in current consumption.
The fact of the matter is that we have been put in charge of our own retirement. Our father's defined pension benefit is becoming extinct. Most people, whether they know it or not, need an owner's manual to understand how to proceed, how to build that all important nest egg efficiently. Waiting to face this issue until one reaches the early 50s is too late.
Now there is an excellent owner's manual written by one of the clearest writers today on investment theory. AND IT IS FREE AND CAN BE READ IN ABOUT 45 MINUTES!
Go to
If You Can
scroll down slightly, click "acrobat," or one of the other choices.
William J. Bernstein makes special effort not to tout his books and recommends other reading. I will add that his The Four Pillars of Investing should be added to the books he recommends.
No comments:
Post a Comment