Comments on: Spare Change: Building a Tower Edition

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:32:44 +0000

I like the direction the site is going except for these aspects of it: fewer posts by JD himself, less (or less attentive) editing, and the occasional political post that I think is off topic. But other than that, I appreciate that the growing “bullpen” of writers has made for a rich set of posts that cover a wide swath of PF experiences.

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By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:29:21 +0000

I agree. I tend to skip over pre-nup posts in all things GRS/PF/Kevin McKee. I am 100% aware that those who advocate for pre-nups tell me I am being foolish. I am also 100% confident in my marriage. It’s an unfalsifiable tenet. I believe that if you think you need a pre-nup, the answer is just to not get married.

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By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:42:09 +0000

JD’s post have been bordering on Steve Pavlina territory recently
I rarely come to the site any longer
Used to have lots of info relevant to me
I thought the additional writers were a great step to take
But now they’re just variations on the same theme – how to shop around for this and that, etc etc
It’s like you can sense the desperation for new topics to write about each day
I would love to see more book reviews, interviews with retirees and successful investors, and Kris’ thoughts
Realise this is harsh but if I’m thinking this way, other readers must be starting to feel similarly too

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By: whoisbiggles

whoisbiggles — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:19:01 +0000

ditto and it made me feel kinda of sad.

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By: Maggie

Maggie — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:01:46 +0000

I’m all for pre-nups but what a sexist and degrading video. It assumes that the woman make less money than the man, that a woman will be resistant to a pre-nup, Everything that he describes about marrying a woman has to do with her physicality (ginormous breasts). My ex-boyfriend was all about pre-nups as well which I supported entirely as I told him that I wanted to be protected because if raising children would derail years of my career (would have to cut back on travel) and diminish my earning power so I wanted to be protected in case he decided to leave me with little ones.

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By: kevin

kevin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:54:16 +0000

I thought the same thing. Hopefully we are all wrong.

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By: Todd Tresidder

Todd Tresidder — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:36:18 +0000

Read the post (and supporting research) carefully. The devil is in the details. For example, it assumes you annuitize a base level income before spending a higher (riskier) percentage of assets. This gives you the annuity income as a base level fallback position if the risk of failure strikes. In other words, it’s not “safe” but the risk of failure is tolerable if your baseline annuity is sufficient. This is a very different statement from claiming the 4% rule is reasonable.

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By: Todd Tresidder

Todd Tresidder — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:20:52 +0000

Thank you for the mention, J.D.

Very much appreciated!

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By: Eileen

Eileen — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:46:40 +0000

Keep helping people improve their financial lives! (I am one of the people you have helped, directly!) And it’s not been all about money either. Your post on How to Build Confidence and Destroy Fear is bookmarked on my smart phone and I often call it up on the bus.

But….if it is time for you to move on someday, we will understand that, too.

“Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Find what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman

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By: partgypsy

partgypsy — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:09:28 +0000

Yes for some reason I’m reading “I’m getting a divorce” in this post. I hope that is not true.

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By: Jacq

Jacq — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:48:35 +0000

Not to be nitpicky, just curious – What’s up with the sheep picture in Guillebeau’s “manifesto”?
I don’t really get going on for multiple pages about what a waste of time the equivalent of playing Farmville is.
I think I’ll stick with Aristotle’s manifestos on the purpose of life. I often think these many motivational? manifestos out there in the blogosphere are geared towards very timid people who seem to need a lot of encouragement to think for themselves.

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By: Shelley

Shelley — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:10:10 +0000

I may be completely off base and it’s none of my business anyhow, but this post reads to me like – I’ve decided to get a divorce and I need more money to fund the consequences of that. It makes me sad, but maybe it’s the right choice. Then again, I might be completely off base…

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By: jim

jim — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:25:59 +0000

The XKCD commic about all the money is fascinating.

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By: Matt, Tao of Unfear

Matt, Tao of Unfear — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:58:29 +0000

I think the guest post on Budgets Are Sexy RE: the prenup video, and its ensuing discussion, were pretty good. The video itself, and the actual post on Thousdandaire? Meh.

Chris’s manifesto did give me a lot to think about, but I don’t think it packed quite the punch that his earlier manifestos did. Still, it’s definitely worth the read for anyone that hasn’t had a chance to yet.

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By: LisaD

LisaD — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:41:36 +0000

J.D. – I think you’re not the only one. There have been a lot of people I know that have felt inexplicably compelled to make a lot of changes in their life so they can be of more service to the world – it’s tough to do that without a clear head and heart. For me, that has also involved a lot of change and uncertainty. It’s also taken trust that that changes I make will help me be better at what I am called to do (which is distinctly NOT helping people with finance!). So have some faith in that feeling.

I think a lot of it is that it is becoming increasingly clear that what we’re doing in the US isn’t working. People are in debt, we’re using up our natural resources faster than we can replenish them, and people quite frankly, are miserable. There has got to be a better way – that’s no way to live. Having freedom from debt and a good understanding of the psychological causes of wanting to spend money you don’t have is a really really important start to that better way.

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By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:14:22 +0000

Interesting that at least 50% of the links provided have the reader ending up with some kind of sales pitch. 50-50, not a bad number I suppose, considering the interwebs are full of sales pitches. I can’t wait to order my death and taxes poster!

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By: John C. Kirk

John C. Kirk — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:00:07 +0000

Regarding the pre-nup song, I think it’s worth linking to the following day’s article where he discusses them in more detail:
http://www.thousandaire.com/blog/should-i-get-a-prenup-yes/
(Whether you’re for or against, at least it will save you trawling through his archives to find the page.)

Personally, I can see the benefit of forward planning but I don’t know whether it’s realistic to do it all before the wedding and then set it in stone. With a will, you can update it as you go along, e.g. if you want to leave money to your children who weren’t born when you did the previous version.

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By: Nords

Nords — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:47:12 +0000

JD, Professor Wade Pfau points out in his analysis that 4% can still work. It’s not as bad as it seems, and people still have ways to “maximize the utility” of their 4% retirement portfolio.
http://the-military-guide.com/2011/11/16/is-the-4-withdrawal-rate-really-safe/

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By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:32:47 +0000

Please stop feeding Kevin McKee. The guy may be occasionally funny and have some decent ideas about consumer finance education. But, he lobs nasty attacks against people who happen to be poor. Which is to say a lot of people in America. They aren’t “complainers,” as he claims, but very often people who have been dealt a tough hand in life. The economic downturn hasn’t helped, nor have policy decisions, rapacious bankers, and generational poverty.

See, for example, this post to highlight what I mean: http://www.thousandaire.com/blog/i-am-the-53/

Getting a financial life doesn’t have to be mean-spirited or so dang selfish.

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