What would you want from a book on wealth accumulation?

[MickiSue]

In that case, Matt, as any budding author is advised: write what you know. Obviously, not everyone can become a crew member on a cruise ship, move from one country to another, meet a woman like your wife. So you can crystalize it into what you wanted originally, what you learned from the paths that you took and that modified your goals, and what you think others can learn, without having to walk in your shoes.

A financial travelogue, if you will. In fact, that kind of "how to" book is what is most attractive to me, personally. One where the author, in the course of sharing his/her path, discusses the lessons learned along the way.

One thing that always works for me, when I need to put something together, is just to start. I don't care whether it's rough, whether the pieces flow or whether I'm choosing the best word for each purpose.

Once it's in some sort of shape, then and only then do I try to move things around, add, subtract (mostly that, of course!) and refine the language that I use. It works for a sensitive post, it works for a presentation for 250 people. I think it could work, with modification, for writing a book, as well.

 

[Alex1432]

If you ever figure out how to make budgeting remotely interesting you'll make a killing. From 401k/IRA's to credit cards/mortgages to emergency funds if math and finance isn't something your interested in its hard to start.

I think most people would benefit from a book on how to reach goals in the first year to get a sense of accomplishment. For example putting $100 away a month buys you a $1200 widget as opposed to charging it. I think all these pamphlets/books with compound interest that show graphs 30 or 40 years out just go over most peoples heads and its hard to be interested when you are having money problems now.

Maybe this is wishful thinking but I would like some place that shows you what stuff should cost. For example if you are paying a fee to your bank for a checking account your banking with the wrong bank. If you are paying $400 to file a 1040ez form you are overpaying. I know something like this is area dependent, but I would love to see it .

 

[cocobird]

There are so many ways to go about your project, so I won't pretend that I have any insight. What I will add are a couple of observations. The first is that the California legislature had a study on high school students and the level of financial education that I worked on in 1979, noting that it was virtually non-existent. The second is a three question multiple choice financial survey cited in US News June 2011 that only 30 percent of adults got all three answers right. This is abysmal. So the key is finding and then reaching an audience first.

Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 percent per year. After 5 years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a. More than $102

b. Exactly $102

c. Less than $102

2. Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 percent per year and inflation was 2 percent per year. After 1 year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?

a. More than today

b. Exactly the same

c. Less than today

3. Please tell me whether this statement is true or false. “Buying a single company’s stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”

a. True

b. False

These are very straightforward questions to me, so I was astonished by the low rate of financial literacy. Particularly the last question, which 48 percent got wrong. There was a a 50-50 chance of getting it right just by guessing.

 

[Annie H.]

I totally agree with you coco bird but here are the problems.
Question #1) I don't think the *average" high school kid has a savings account or knows what interest rate means, could be wrong and this is the easiest one to guess.
#2 They need to know -What's inflation? How does that interact with interest rate? Again, don't think average kid know about inflation rates.
#3 Does average HS kid know about stocks and MFs? What's a "return"? Does average adult know about *diversification*? We know these terms and assume others do.

I've had intelligent folks tell me they didn't have to worry about the stock market ups and downs because they were invested in mutual funds! When my ex worked at the SF Chron and was trying to get folks to lobby for a switch from currently offered high fee, low offering 401-K plan to Vanguard 401-K plan, he was astonished at the lack of knowledge employees had about 401-K, mutual funds and stock market including folks in the business department. Questions, lack of knowledge and lack of concern were cringe-worthy.

 

[Alex1432]

Annie I think there can be a whole volume set written on how companies waste money. I think it stems from partially not knowledgeable personnel and partially people not wanting to put in the time to enact change for little to no personal financial gain. But we digress from the topic on hand.

 

[cocobird]

I've edited my post to clarify that the three question survey was performed on adults, not high school students. Pardon me for the confusion.

 

[Annie H.]

I've edited my post to clarify that the three question survey was performed on adults, not high school students. Pardon me for the confusion.

Even more alarming .

 

[Annie H.]

Annie I think there can be a whole volume set written on how companies waste money. I think it stems from partially not knowledgeable personnel and partially people not wanting to put in the time to enact change for little to no personal financial gain. But we digress from the topic on hand.

My example really wasn't a company wasting money because they passed on the 401K fees to their employees! The company originally selected the 401K servicer but a committee of employees was supposed to make decisions going forth.

Do NOT get me started on companies wasting money...

 

[MickiSue]

Alex, your question about "what should I be paying for X" reminded me that one of the biggest services that any author, or blogger for that matter, can offer is to show people how to figure it out themselves.

That's part of why Saverocity is growing; there is enough information here so that, if you have the desire to learn how to do something, you can learn. You won't have a step by step with circles and arrows, but you'll have the sketched in map.

I think about that approach, a lot. I get asked to answer some of the most ridiculously simple medical/nutritional questions on Quora. I've started telling the askers what google search words to use, and how to figure out a good source from a bad one. No, Person, I have no idea what the number of US residents who contracted influenza in 2014 was. But I can look it up, and so can you.

Same with the financial type things you are talking about. It's astonishing to me how many people have bought something I bought, but paid significantly more than I. I spent the hour researching prices for it. They didn't. With appliances, that translates to a difference of hundreds of dollars. Not bad for an hour's work.

 

[ElainePDX]

Same with the financial type things you are talking about. It's astonishing to me how many people have bought something I bought, but paid significantly more than I. I spent the hour researching prices for it. They didn't. With appliances, that translates to a difference of hundreds of dollars. Not bad for an hour's work.

This is definitely the mindset in our house. I rarely buy anything without comparison shopping. But my D married a guy who just doesn't think that way. If he needs a pair of jeans, he walks into J Crew and buys a pair. And he's done, on to something else. My D will check out the sales online and at the mall or look at vintage/consignment/second hand stores. She'll get a much better deal, but it will take more time.

To me it is obvious that researching prices and models got me a great dishwasher at a super price, saving me hundreds of dollars. But most folks just walk into Home Depot and pick one out, maybe during a store sale but maybe not.

So, to get back to the book Matt wants to write - the reader will need to be motivated enough to be willing to change his or her behavior. The book may need to make that case first.

 

[Matt]

This is definitely the mindset in our house. I rarely buy anything without comparison shopping. But my D married a guy who just doesn't think that way. If he needs a pair of jeans, he walks into J Crew and buys a pair. And he's done, on to something else. My D will check out the sales online and at the mall or look at vintage/consignment/second hand stores. She'll get a much better deal, but it will take more time.

To me it is obvious that researching prices and models got me a great dishwasher at a super price, saving me hundreds of dollars. But most folks just walk into Home Depot and pick one out, maybe during a store sale but maybe not.

So, to get back to the book Matt wants to write - the reader will need to be motivated enough to be willing to change his or her behavior. The book may need to make that case first.

Weirdly enough I would only encourage this 'sometimes'. There are times when I would encourage not wasting time when it comes to a purchase also.

The more I think about it, the essence of my book is about outsourcing....

 

[imjoe]

I would like to see two things:
1. A discussion on the ROI of a college degree. This would include topics of majors and careers that provide relatively low salary. Also I'd like to see strategies to get the most bang for your buck with colleges such as starting at 2 year community colleges or getting a certification, then an entry level job, and then a degree with employer tuition assistance.

2. I'd like to see a discussion on the value of investments backed by something physical such as in REI.

I think those topics are under discussed.

 

[heavenlyjane]

I wish someone had explained to me the pitfalls of taking a 401K loan. It was sold to me as a way of borrowing from myself but it's difficult to have part of my paycheck taken away without any flexibility for up to 5 years. Furthermore, there is a potential for it to negatively impact your retirement savings in the long run.

We are making our last payment on an old 401K and it feels like a great load off our shoulders.

 

[Matt]

I wish someone had explained to me the pitfalls of taking a 401K loan. It was sold to me as a way of borrowing from myself but it's difficult to have part of my paycheck taken away without any flexibility for up to 5 years. Furthermore, there is a potential for it to negatively impact your retirement savings in the long run.

We are making our last payment on an old 401K and it feels like a great load off our shoulders.

How would that be different from any loan?

 

[heavenlyjane]

When you borrow $40K from your 401K, that 20K is removed from the balance that is earning interest. If you borrow from a bank, your complete 401K balance is earning interest. If its a boon year, you could be missing out on a lot of interest. That $40K is stuck earning the fixed interest rate of 5 or 7%.

I'd love to be wrong about this but this is how I understand it.

 

[Matt]

When you borrow $40K from your 401K, that 20K is removed from the balance that is earning interest. If you borrow from a bank, your complete 401K balance is earning interest. If its a boon year, you could be missing out on a lot of interest. That $40K is stuck earning the fixed interest rate of 5 or 7%.

I'd love to be wrong about this but this is how I understand it.

So..

1. How much interest does the bank charge you to borrow from it?
2. What do you mean the $40K is stuck earning a fixed interest of 5-7%? You mean the money you borrow is earning 5-7%?

 

[heavenlyjane]

I mean that my loan amount is stuck earning 5-7% interest, while the rest of my 401K is earning 15%+ on a good year.

I believe my retirement fund would be higher today if I had not gone the 401K loan route.

 

[Matt]

I mean that my loan amount is stuck earning 5-7% interest, while the rest of my 401K is earning 15%+ on a good year.

Yeah that was my point - why is it 'stuck earning interest'? Did you not need the money for something and just borrow it to invest in something stuck earning 5-7%? Just a bit unclear on the wording here... PS I'd happily take 5-7% fixed for my entire account (if it grew tax free of course)

I believe my retirement fund would be higher today if I had not gone the 401K loan route.

Absolutely. That is totally logical. But borrowing will always create a liability, hence the question 'didn't you need the money?' If you had borrowed from another source what would the outcome be?

Hindsight is 20/20 so clearly in a bull market you'd rather be 'in the market' but again, if you are 'stuck earning 5-7% couldn't that be alternatively in a taxable brokerage account? Or did you use the loan to pay off a debt at that rate?

I'm not trying to encourage people to borrow from a 401k here - but there are times when it is a good idea. Deciding if it is a good idea or not shouldn't be done on comparing the stock market performance, but instead worked out via averages and models. For example.. if you had borrowed half of it and paid off your mortgage just before the stock market crash you'd be a genius. The swings must be averaged and decisions made against alternative options. IE if you really need money, what options are there and what are the risks and costs of it.

 

[MickiSue]

Re: research. I agree, sometimes it's not worth it to do a lot of it. But if you can try on a pair of pumps at the mall, love them, and spend 3 minutes finding out that they're available for $20 less online with free shipping, that's $20 made in 3 minutes.

Would I have spent an hour for that $20? Nope. But, of course, part of any opportunity cost is time, and the greater the potential return, the greater the time I'm willing to spend.

As for 401K loans. I'm not a big fan, simply because, being old enough to have lived through more than one or two recessions, I know how quickly one can lose even the "best" job. And paying back a loan, fast, when you are also dealing with job loss isn't something that I'm a fan of, either.

But it's not as simple as comparing interest rates. Many of the companies that serve as trustees for 401Ks are notorious for their outrageous fee structures. And, without really doing a lot of digging, it's a challenge for the average employee (or employer, for that matter) to figure out what the real rate of return is, after all the dang fees.

Which leads me to suggest that you, Matt, might want to include a section on figuring out the real returns on investments, when you are handing over the decision making to a profit making company. Which, of course, is what you do whenever you buy mutual funds.

 

[Matt]

Which leads me to suggest that you, Matt, might want to include a section on figuring out the real returns on investments, when you are handing over the decision making to a profit making company. Which, of course, is what you do whenever you buy mutual funds.

So.. my vision is a book on wealth accumulation (per the title!) and as such I believe there are times when this matters and times when it does not.

EG- you are 20 years old, have $500 in the bank. It is insignificant.

The problem I have with the efficiency of real returns is most charts that explain this and the impact of fees are dead. IE the assume that the investment will move into fund A at the age of 20 and exit at the age of 65. My 'spin' on this is to instead look at where to focus your energy at each point... when it REALLY matters about getting the right investment.

On the one hand, low cost ETFs are a winner anyway, but I also feel there is a time to move beyond them too.

The concept I have in mind is a constant evolution, of refinement of being until you remove yourself totally from the equation (financial independence) and there are times when worrying too much about real returns is a distraction from the real 'game changing' events that take you from poor to wealthy.

I'm not disagreeing with the concept you raised, but I want that focus to be on the key steps and how other things can be over analyzed.

 

[El Ingeniero]

Certainly. But would the Grad student stuff dilute her need?

Its something I'd be happy to do, but I do worry if I am qualified... I could gather the data, but at the end of the day I'm a bloke, and I wonder if this job is better left for a woman? At the least i'd have to interview a ton of women to get their input.

Get your blinkers off ... there are single dads in the same boat. Poverty is an equal opportunity trap.

Now for a contrarian view of the need for a book to help the working poor escape poverty:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-tirado/why-poor-peoples-bad-decisions-make-perfect-sense_b_4326233.html

TL;DR: Why give a chuff when you're already chuffed?

If you think that the working poor have the time for or inclination to read a book on escaping poverty with tools you take for granted but they have no access to, I got a bridge in Brooklyn with your name on it.

 

[MickiSue]

I disagree, El. I WAS the working poor.

It's true that I'd fallen from the middle class; but making a few dollars a month above the poverty line surely qualified me.

I had immense stubbornness and a belief that both I and my kids deserved better. Are there a lot of people who are beaten down enough that they believe that they'll never have more? Sure, of course there are.

I remember banging my head on my desk over a woman in a forum I participated in. She lived in Duluth, when housing there was dirt cheap. She got a windfall, which could easily have bought her a house for herself, her husband (who was sick, at the time,) and their daughter. Even then, their house payments would have been less than the rent they were paying, and they'd be building equity, because Duluth was finally moving out of its doldrums.

They bought a bunch of furniture, instead. To furnish the rental duplex where they lived.

But there are poor like I was; knowing that there is more than just a paycheck and worry, and wanting to have the tools to find the way out. Me? I nearly lived at the library, because the books there were free.

If Matt, or someone like Matt, had had a roadmap back then, I might have gotten out of my hole faster, and better, too.

 

[Matt]

I disagree too. I grew up poor, I went to an inner city school where 3 of us got to go on to post 16 education (basically like 3 people went on to get a high school diploma from my year) And I put in 80hrs a week as a chef while in college full time. I was very lucky to have a great parent who cared enough to read to me and help me learn as a child.

However, before I go too far down that path of discussion, I'm still not sure on this idea for a book, it is very nebulous. The idea I have in my mind is a timeline/roadmap and focusing on what matters when. The problem will be if I focus too much on an A-Z guide that it will contain too many irrelevant factors - EG the single dad who is on the up again doesn't care about a teenager making bad decisions - it isn't relevant now, even if they might relate. So I'm not really sure how to figure that implementation out.

If it helps I see a linear pattern, with 'nodes' each one being a pivot point. EG at point one you have x real problems and y things you shouldn't look at. EG if you are a young hot shot graduate with a 75K year job and student debt you shouldn't be stock picking. But on node 7 down the road you should. Its all about when you should be doing what...

Anyways, circling back to @El Ingeniero and the point about the poor. I would strongly recommend that you take an hour off MS one day and donate it to working with the poor. I used to work (on occasion, and not enough) with Covenant House in New York. They have a 30 day program where they take at risk kids and put them through a bootcamp. These guys come straight from the streets, there's drugs, theft, physical abuse, rape, all going on in the lives of these kids. They wear clothes that have been given to them, don't really fit right, smell a bit. Basically there is a feralness.

Those days are the only times I put on a tie with my suit. I mean, I didn't even wear a tie to get married, or when I flew around the world meeting CEOs of firms. These guys though, I give them everything.

And they love it.

I mean, sometimes you have to break through some shit. There are walls up, but if you listen, ask questions, and try to guide without judging something magical happens. You can see hope, and desire and the will to improve.

I go into those classes feeling nervous because this isn't like closing a deal, this is much more important. I leave inspired.

I highly recommend everyone does this.

 

[El Ingeniero]

I disagree, El. I WAS the working poor.

It's true that I'd fallen from the middle class; but making a few dollars a month above the poverty line surely qualified me.

I had immense stubbornness and a belief that both I and my kids deserved better. Are there a lot of people who are beaten down enough that they believe that they'll never have more? Sure, of course there are.

I remember banging my head on my desk over a woman in a forum I participated in. She lived in Duluth, when housing there was dirt cheap. She got a windfall, which could easily have bought her a house for herself, her husband (who was sick, at the time,) and their daughter. Even then, their house payments would have been less than the rent they were paying, and they'd be building equity, because Duluth was finally moving out of its doldrums.

They bought a bunch of furniture, instead. To furnish the rental duplex where they lived.

But there are poor like I was; knowing that there is more than just a paycheck and worry, and wanting to have the tools to find the way out. Me? I nearly lived at the library, because the books there were free.

If Matt, or someone like Matt, had had a roadmap back then, I might have gotten out of my hole faster, and better, too.

MickiSue, you were working poor in the kinder and gentler twenty years ago ... I won't say you had it easy, but any social safety net you might have had back then is long gone.

 

[MickiSue]

MickiSue, you were working poor in the kinder and gentler twenty years ago ... I won't say you had it easy, but any social safety net you might have had back then is long gone.

Seriously. I don't know any other way to say it. So I'll just say it. You don't know what you're talking about.

I lived in "wealthy" Washington Cty. I was one of a handful of moms at my kids' school who wasn't home all day long. One of the few families in the district who qualified for the free lunch program.

But made too much for ANY assistance, until I was able to consider buying a decent home. And homebuyer programs are still available; in fact; they're more generous than when I was able to use them.

Anything post Reagan, and into Bush I, the safety net had been unraveling for some time.

 

[Matt]

MickiSue, you were working poor in the kinder and gentler twenty years ago ... I won't say you had it easy, but any social safety net you might have had back then is long gone.

Seriously. I don't know any other way to say it. So I'll just say it. You don't know what you're talking about.

I gotta say that I hate the ad hominem argument, but if you are going to sit back and say that someone had it easy (even when saying you aren't saying that) then you're going to have to step up to the plate and tell us about your experiences 20 years ago and today, and how they shaped this opinion.

 

[LoriB]

I don't know how to put it but there should be something on the strategy of investing in retirement accounts for young professionals, which pretty much everyone has. Almost all of my friends do not actively participate in selecting and monitoring the funds that they invest in, in their retirement a/cs: a) Because they think it is confusing b) They don't have the time or inclination and, c) They don't know how to measure the returns. Many also think it is a man's job or that men are more capable when it comes to making the complicated financial decisions.

I fall into this category because of a, b, and the first part of c. I don't feel that being male or female would make one more or less capable based on sex alone.

 

[R.R.]

I would strongly recommend that you take an hour off MS one day and donate it to working with the poor.

Agreed. For two years, I volunteered for organizations that help battered women (and their children) who need to go into confidential shelter. More recently, for the past four years or so, I've volunteered with an organization that helps women who can't afford healthcare -- though this situation has improved somewhat since Obamacare. I've never been even close to the dire straits of these folks -- couldn't have even imagined it -- and it gives me a crucial different perspective on the world on an ongoing basis, as has travel to places international where there are glimpses of poverty not meant for tourists.

 

[El Ingeniero]

I disagree too. I grew up poor, I went to an inner city school where 3 of us got to go on to post 16 education (basically like 3 people went on to get a high school diploma from my year) And I put in 80hrs a week as a chef while in college full time. I was very lucky to have a great parent who cared enough to read to me and help me learn as a child.

You're arguing from the exception to the general.

30 years ago I was homeless in small town Southeast Iowa. Took me 15 years to achieve escape velocity: my younger brother suicided and I was left with enough money after funeral costs that I could leave, and that's what I did. Had to, because I couldn't take stupid small town people saying stupid things about my little brother, who was really too good for this world and too good for them.

When I got to MSP, I milled about barely scraping by for about 18 months, until I got lucky and landed a job at a Fortune 500 company that got me into the ranks of the middle class. Was lucky enough to have a free place to stay for a couple of months, and then another place where I only had to pay $400/month all included for another year.

Damn near fell back into the crapper about 5 years ago through my own stupidity and bad habits. Was lucky enough to have a decent boss who gave me a second chance. Then lucky enough this last couple of years that 4 or 5 more senior people left my group at work for greener pastures and they had to give me a promotion since I was doing their work.

I won't say I haven't worked hard to get where I am. But I will say this: if I hadn't caught one lucky break after another, and received the kindness of many strangers, I would not be where I am.

So I look at my situation, and I look at your situation, and I doff my cap to you, as one lucky guy to another guy who got even luckier. I look at my situation, and I look at some of the working poor in my old neighborhood working twice as hard as I ever did, and I don't dare take too much credit and I don't dare claim the grade of God either. Everything I have, someone else opened the door for that opportunity.

Anyways, circling back to @El Ingeniero and the point about the poor. I would strongly recommend that you take an hour off MS one day and donate it to working with the poor. I used to work (on occasion, and not enough) with Covenant House in New York. They have a 30 day program where they take at risk kids and put them through a bootcamp. These guys come straight from the streets, there's drugs, theft, physical abuse, rape, all going on in the lives of these kids. They wear clothes that have been given to them, don't really fit right, smell a bit. Basically there is a feralness.

Those days are the only times I put on a tie with my suit. I mean, I didn't even wear a tie to get married, or when I flew around the world meeting CEOs of firms. These guys though, I give them everything.

And they love it.

I mean, sometimes you have to break through some shit. There are walls up, but if you listen, ask questions, and try to guide without judging something magical happens. You can see hope, and desire and the will to improve.

I go into those classes feeling nervous because this isn't like closing a deal, this is much more important. I leave inspired.

I highly recommend everyone does this.

I do a couple days a year with charity, my employer is enlightened enough to pay for it. As far as working with semi-feral street kids, they'd eat me alive; I can barely deal with store clerks.

 

[El Ingeniero]

Matt, what you're reaching for in this book idea is the notion of patterns.

In software design, we often see the same situation come up again and again, and for each particular language there is a best possible design solution for it. We call that correspondence between circumstances and solutions, design patterns.

I don't think a book is the correct medium for what you want to do. IMO, expert systems software would be the right format.

 

[Haley]

I say it all the time, I have lived a charmed life. Lucky hardly seems to cover it.

Only I also know that we constantly made choices that turned happenstance into security. Not everyone who has luck and the kindness of strangers makes it into something. Many people squander their opportunities. Sometimes out of a lack of hope, sometimes out of a lack of knowledge.

 

[Matt]

You're arguing from the exception to the general.

30 years ago I was homeless in small town Southeast Iowa. Took me 15 years to achieve escape velocity: my younger brother suicided and I was left with enough money after funeral costs that I could leave, and that's what I did. Had to, because I couldn't take stupid small town people saying stupid things about my little brother, who was really too good for this world and too good for them.

When I got to MSP, I milled about barely scraping by for about 18 months, until I got lucky and landed a job at a Fortune 500 company that got me into the ranks of the middle class. Was lucky enough to have a free place to stay for a couple of months, and then another place where I only had to pay $400/month all included for another year.

Damn near fell back into the crapper about 5 years ago through my own stupidity and bad habits. Was lucky enough to have a decent boss who gave me a second chance. Then lucky enough this last couple of years that 4 or 5 more senior people left my group at work for greener pastures and they had to give me a promotion since I was doing their work.

I won't say I haven't worked hard to get where I am. But I will say this: if I hadn't caught one lucky break after another, and received the kindness of many strangers, I would not be where I am.

So I look at my situation, and I look at your situation, and I doff my cap to you, as one lucky guy to another guy who got even luckier. I look at my situation, and I look at some of the working poor in my old neighborhood working twice as hard as I ever did, and I don't dare take too much credit and I don't dare claim the grade of God either. Everything I have, someone else opened the door for that opportunity.


I do a couple days a year with charity, my employer is enlightened enough to pay for it. As far as working with semi-feral street kids, they'd eat me alive; I can barely deal with store clerks.

I feel you. I watched my brother get killed when I was younger, and the kids would say stupid things too. Anything for a rise... probably why I am more chill these days when people are trying to get a rise out of me.

I think that anyone who doesn't accept 'luck' in their path is foolish. I too got very lucky, but also there was an element of what I did with the opportunity too. For example, when I moved to Japan I had no job, work experience outside of Casinos and Restaurants, visa, money, housing etc.... and we came back setting up a consulting firm in Manhattan. Would never have happened without luck involved.

However, I don't think it is fair to dismiss the importance of the struggle. Regardless of the Macro environment, a person can go through hell and be successful. That shouldn't be taken away from them. I feel that your comment to Micki upthread had a note of that.

Now, onto today.... sure, you don't have to face the feralness, its not for everyone, but I think despite being scared of these meetings myself (scared of failing, looking stupid, etc) I find them very rewarding. If they really aren't for you (or anyone reading this) that is totally fine. But I think if you have been through hell it is probably time to start giving back in some ways. The best way to start is to accept the pain of others as being very real to them, and then perhaps do something that can help. In the case of this thread I'd suggest if you have been through such a tough time then a good place to kick that off would be to show a little positivity and faith in the ability for a human to improve given the right support system.

If the support system isn't there, build it, either directly by donating time, or indirectly by donating money, or if neither are possible due to personal circumstances, donate positivity.

 

[El Ingeniero]

I feel you. I watched my brother get killed when I was younger, and the kids would say stupid things too. Anything for a rise... probably why I am more chill these days when people are trying to get a rise out of me.

I think that anyone who doesn't accept 'luck' in their path is foolish. I too got very lucky, but also there was an element of what I did with the opportunity too. For example, when I moved to Japan I had no job, work experience outside of Casinos and Restaurants, visa, money, housing etc.... and we came back setting up a consulting firm in Manhattan. Would never have happened without luck involved.

However, I don't think it is fair to dismiss the importance of the struggle. Regardless of the Macro environment, a person can go through hell and be successful. That shouldn't be taken away from them. I feel that your comment to Micki upthread had a note of that.

Now, onto today.... sure, you don't have to face the feralness, its not for everyone, but I think despite being scared of these meetings myself (scared of failing, looking stupid, etc) I find them very rewarding. If they really aren't for you (or anyone reading this) that is totally fine. But I think if you have been through hell it is probably time to start giving back in some ways. The best way to start is to accept the pain of others as being very real to them, and then perhaps do something that can help. In the case of this thread I'd suggest if you have been through such a tough time then a good place to kick that off would be to show a little positivity and faith in the ability for a human to improve given the right support system.

If the support system isn't there, build it, either directly by donating time, or indirectly by donating money, or if neither are possible due to personal circumstances, donate positivity.

Given the right support system, indeed.

 

[Matt]

Given the right support system, indeed.

Become the support system

 

[El Ingeniero]

Matt, what you're reaching for in this book idea is the notion of patterns.

In software design, we often see the same situation come up again and again, and for each particular language there is a best possible design solution for it. We call that correspondence between circumstances and solutions, design patterns.

I don't think a book is the correct medium for what you want to do. IMO, expert systems software would be the right format.

I'll expand on this notion. I'm a big fan of checklists and flowcharts.

The software should have access to all your accounts. It should ask questions, about current assets, about goals, your personality, about where you live, what you do for work, how many kids you have, etc, etc.

As it gets answers it starts handing out tasks designed to optimize financial outcomes. Each task has a checklist. For instance, if the task is to set up an automated investment of X dollars/month in a total domestic stock market index product, the checklist would specify:

1. Net assets are over 500 million dollars.
2. Fees are no more than 0.2% per year.
3. Product is an ETF or a mutual fund.
4. Product tracks the Wilshire 5000 Index, MSCI Broad US Market Index or Russell 3000 Index.
5. Which brokers you can use.

Then it would give a list of brokers, ETFs and mutual funds that meet the criteria.