Comments on: Trent Let Me Down

By: Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / My Own Nervousness

Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / My Own Nervousness — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:53:06 +0000

[...] happen agree with JLP’s basic principles, which I have slightly modified to be affirmative in statement and re-jiggered the [...]

By: » Weekly Roundup: Fogo De Chao Edition on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:29:24 +0000

[...] Looks like JLP has something to say about Trent’s financial advice. [...]

By: getting a good night’s sleep : plonkee money

getting a good night’s sleep : plonkee money — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:14:00 +0000

[...] So Trent (the simple dollar) and JLP (all financial matters) had an argument about investing, on JLP’s blog caused by a post on Trent’s blog. Only in the geeky world of personal finance blogging should that ever be a big deal. In my honest opinion (and of course I am always right ), what Trent meant to say and what everyone read him as saying are two completely different things. [...]

By: The Div Guy

The Div Guy — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 04:51:07 +0000

It’s funny how peope ask for advice from people who have little investment experince other than reading a couple of books on the subject but are excellent communicators. You see the same thing in sales every day. The best sales person is the one that can gain a person’s trust.

By: jpsfranks

jpsfranks — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 01:07:03 +0000

I don’t really see what emotional comfort bailing on the market gets you. If you’re like me you’d be kicking yourself every day if the market recovered, or agonizing over when and how to get back in if it kept dropping.

I think the only path to semi-peace-of-mind besides total obliviousness for people who have trouble stomaching volatility (just about everyone) is sticking to your asset allocation.

By: fivecentnickel.com

fivecentnickel.com — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:34:35 +0000

Kevin: If you’re uncomfortable during a correction, you shouldn’t have invested heavily in stocks in the first place. Obviously, not being in stocks will make it much harder to reach your investment goals, so you better be prepared to save a lot more to make up for the lower returns. However, exposing yourself to more risk than you’re comfortable with is a great way to ensure that you’ll lock in your losses when the market zags instead of zigs.

By: dimes

dimes — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:08:55 +0000

This is one of the pitfalls of people asking for financial advice from people (or bloggers) who have NO FRIGGING CLUE what they’re talking about, and who SHOULD NOT be dispensing advice. Trent has proven time and time again that he has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. He’s like RK, popular and charismatic, but totally ignorant to matters of finance. I hope he’s well-versed in issues of liability insurance, as they’ll come in handy if he doesn’t stop with this BS.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:52:59 +0000

It’s also worth mentioning that getting out of stocks and into cash exposes an investor to both inflation risk and tax risk. Even using a high interest online savings account, staying in cash for the long term causes a person to LOSE money after taxes and inflation. With a 20 year investment horizon, there should be little to no cash in a person’s portfolio.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:47:04 +0000

My paraphrased summary of this issue…

Lila: “My portfolio is going down and I’m nervous. Can I time this market?”

Trent: “Sure, all you have to do is move everything to cash now, then jump back in once the market hits bottom. It’s easy!”

Everyone else on the internet: “You are advising her to buy high and sell low. If she was unable to time the top of the market, why do you expect that she will be able to time the bottom of the market?”

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:22:09 +0000

How does that type of thinking, investing in what you understand, make people “under perform the market”? You should only invest in what you know. I know that the stock market takes time, which is why I am not putting my money into money market accounts. There are some people out there that just put their 401k money in whatever mutual fund sounded good. I also know that to buffer yourself in down times is to diversify your investments. Some people do not understand diversification. They do not see the different in sectors.

If you are investing in Washington Mutual or in the financial sector in general, it would be a good idea to reevaluate your holdings. I am personally invest in companies that don’t hold a lot of debt so I don’t think my investments will will be too impacted by the impending credit crunch. I am also diversified in sectors in which people cannot live without.