I spend the majority of my time giving presentations to advisors on financial planning topics. On occassion, I give client presentations. In my opinion, most people are better off learning more about personal finance issues and less on picking the best investments. Also, spend time learning about taxes.
What do you mean by personal finance issues? Diversifying saved my butt last year as I had one fund give no returns....bastards....
People spend way too much time evaluating "the market" (speculating on the rise or fall) or this stock or that stock or this mutual fund or that mutual fund. Success is often dictated by proper asset allocation and not trying to predict the best individual funds or stocks. Examples of Personal Finance issues: Some people don't understand the significance of deductible debt vs non-deductible debt. Some people don't realize you may be able to take money out of your last 401k at age 55 (not 59 1/2) without paying a penalty if you leave the company. Some people don't realize you can potentially take distributions of company stock out of a qualified plan upon retirement and only pay capital gains rates and not ordinary income taxes. Some people don't realize their pensions may be integrated with social security. Some people don't understand when Social security benefits get reduced and when they get taxed and when they should take it. Some people don't know municipal bonds may not be AMT friendly. Some people don't know that you can potentially give away more than $12,000 per person and still not pay any gift taxes. Some people don't know if you own your life insurance policy, that's part of your taxable estate. Some people don't have the proper beneficiaries on their accounts. Some people don't have the proper titling on their accounts. Legal Disclaimer: None of the above statements constitutes financial planning advice, tax advice, or legal advice. Please consult with your own CPA, attorney, financial advisor before making any financial or legal decisions.
CYA I see. But good non-financial (wink wink) financial advise. Most people do not have enough life insurance to provide for their family in case they die. Most people save the bulk of their retirement monies between the age of 50 and 65. About 1/3 of the people will retire earlier than they planned (which reduces the amount saved for retirement and increases the number of years in retirement). [Edit: 38% of people retire earlier than planned. ]
