Read!

by Simple Guy

Read!

Reading is one of those things I wished I would have started when I was younger.  Reading has expanded my knowledge on so many topics and interests and by extension, those around me as well.  At the risk of hyperbole, reading has changed my life and continues to do so. I would like to share just a few examples of how reading has impacted me.

When I bought a small business, the first couple of years went pretty well but I came to the realization that I needed more knowledge to continue to grow..  I started to devour every business book I could find.  It helped me with gaining knowledge regarding employee relations, marketing, advertising, accounting, along with understanding the many personal aspects of running a business.  By the time I sold the business, store sales and profit increased significantly.  Much of the success can be attributed to my employees, but much of it wouldn’t have happened without the authors who took time to share their own business experiences.  They ultimately were a significant part of my success.

I have always had an interest in personal finance and investing, and it made sense to me that one should try to maximize their income and investments to help build whatever life they are looking for.  Initially, I learned information through magazines, newspaper articles, television financial shows, business channels, etc.  Slowly I started to understand that most of these sources didn’t really have my best interest in mind and were heavily influenced by advertisers.  I had learned just enough to figure out I needed more in-depth information and proof of what really works and what doesn’t.  So, I turned to books, literally dozens, and as time went by, I was able to sort out the reality from the nonsense.  The authors of these books helped both my wife and I achieve personal freedom at a fairly young age. 

I have also learned how to relate and understand other people better due to reading about personalities and psychology.  After taking the Myers-Briggs personality test, I read multiple books on my own results along with how my type interacts with my wife, children, friends, etc.  It has made me more understanding of others, along with hopefully making me a better husband, father and friend. 

On a recent vacation I picked up a book on eating a plant-based diet- The Whole Foods Diet by John Mackey, Alona Pulde, MD and Matthew Lederman, MD.  Never in my life would I have thought I would eat a strictly plant based diet!  This book convinced me there was something to this and after reading another dozen books or so, I have expanded my knowledge on nutrition greatly.  I have a much clearer understanding of how plant-based diets affects my own health and its impact on avoiding chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.  My wife and I have started to eat far healthier along with understanding why and what we are eating more clearly.  We have thoroughly enjoyed the transition and the food. Again, in my view, a life changing event that occurred through reading.

After reading several books related to health and aging (based on the Harvard Study on Aging), I learned that early death has far less to do with genetics versus our own behavior regarding drugs, alcohol, diet, exercise, and smoking.  Many people think they are predisposed to certain diseases due to their family history, but it simply isn’t true in many cases.  It pays to take care of yourself; have I mentioned books can be life changing?

And where did the information within this website come from?  Books!  Many of my favorites are listed within the recommended resources tab of the website.  Whatever topic you are interested in there will be hundreds of books to help you find the information you are looking for. Start changing your life today.

Myth About Becoming Wealthy

by Simple Guy

One of the reasons I started this website was to help people regarding personal finance and investing.  One misconception that is popularized by politicians and reinforced by media is that it’s impossible to become wealthy, that the deck is stacked against the little guy.  In my view, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The following table shows investing returns starting with $1 in your account at a historical stock market return of 10% over a 40 year working career.

Savings Per month                           Total

$50.00                                                   $277,562.67

$100.00                                                 $555,080.67

$200.00                                                 $1,110,114.89

$300.00                                                 $1,665,149.70

$400.00                                                 $2,220,184.52

$500.00                                                 $2,775,219.33

Now let’s take a look at the latest data on Net Worth in the United States.  The following is from the 2016 Federal Reserve Study of Consumer Finances broken down by percentile.  This is a study done by our central banking system every three years.  This shows what Americans are worth by adding up their assets and subtracting their liabilities. 

Net Worth Percentile                     Net Worth

10%                                                        -$962.66

20%                                                        $4,798.06

30%                                                        $18,753.84

40%                                                        $49,132.21

50%                                                        $97,225.55

60%                                                        $169,550.64

70%                                                        $279,594.27

80%                                                        $499,263.50

90%                                                        $1,182,390.36

So, if you can manage to save just $100.00 per month it would put you ahead of 80% of all Americans.  This probably is a surprise to many people.  One has a high probability of achieving this by simply investing in a low-cost total stock market index fund and staying the course, in other words by not selling out and continuing to save every month through the good and bad of market volatility.  It really is that simple.  Better yet, invest the money within a retirement plan and either have taxes deferred in a tradition individual retirement account (IRA) or no taxes at all on the gains with a Roth IRA. 

Another tax advantage that many people don’t realize is when you invest with the total stock market index in a non-retirement account you don’t pay taxes on unrealized gains, meaning you aren’t taxed on appreciation until you sell the fund.  Unfortunately, you are taxed each year on dividends paid to you, but the non-taxation of unrealized gains is still a great deal.  This is available to anyone regardless of their wealth and is an incredible advantage in building wealth.  Currently tax law even favors low-income earners.  If you sell the funds in your non-retirement account and are in the lowest two tax brackets you pay no tax on capital gains.

Investing in the total stock market index can done through a variety of companies including Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, and many others.  Currently Schwab doesn’t even have a minimum investment. 

Further research shows that the average millionaire is well, average.  In Chris Hogan’s book Everyday Millionaires, Mr. Hogan shows through surveys of over 10,000 millionaires that most of them work common jobs at average salaries.  This was also shown over 20 years ago in Thomas Stanley and William Danko’s book The Millionaire Next Door.  They saved and invested and didn’t buy into the consumer culture.  They invest simply and live simply and are very satisfied with their lives.

So, what are you waiting for?  Build your net worth and expand your opportunities.   

Read Two Things

by Simple Guy

If the only two things you ever read on personal finance and investing were The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and The Little Book on Common Sense Investing by John Bogle, you would be ahead of 90% of the general public in financial knowledge.  More importantly, if you followed the advice in these two books you would be ahead of 90% of the general public in net worth.  It really is that simple and both of these books are short and easy to understand. 

Let’s start with The Total Money Makeover.  It is focused on budgeting, living within your means, and erasing debt from your life.  Mr. Ramsey does a good job of showing examples of how our behaviors affect us negatively and then how to do things correctly.  He gives concrete examples of how much to save, how debt affects you, and personal examples from people who have followed his advice and turned their financial lives around.  In my view this book tells the truth about personal finance rather than how our culture currently tries to tell us what is important.  The only part of this book that I think can be done better than what Mr. Ramsey prescribes is the investing section which is why I recommend the following book.

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is a concise book that shows simply how markets work and how you can receive the same returns as American businesses earn in aggregate by investing in low cost index mutual funds like the total stock market index.  Taken a step further, Mr. Bogle lays out the evidence showing how active investing (actively managed mutual funds or advisors picking mutual funds) clearly underperforms owning a broad-based low-cost index fund.  He goes on to show that market returns long-term are not speculative at all but simply reflect the earnings of business.  You share in those earnings when you own the total stock market index.

Most people don’t enjoy dealing with personal finance or investing whereas I find it to be incredibly interesting.  I have read hundreds of books over the years regarding these topics and although I pick up something new in almost anything that I read, it still boils down to just the core topics of these two books.  I would certainly encourage you to read as much as possible on any topic that will better your life, but I also understand the reality of most people’s lives.  That’s why I am suggesting just two short books.  You will achieve financial abundance but more importantly many personal options within your life.  Invest simply and live simply.

If I Could Do It Over

by Simple Guy

If I could start over in my adult life, I would save at least 25% of my income and invest in a low-cost total stock market index fund.  This would not only have increased my financial returns but more importantly it would have increased my personal returns.  Let me explain.

Throughout the years I have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to produce income.  There were multiple business ventures that failed along with multiple real estate purchases that didn’t produce any real income. In my sales career I was constantly expanding my product lines as a way to increase my income as well. The problem with all of these methods isn’t the failures but the time spent failing.  This time could have been spent on my family and our well-being.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I neglected my responsibilities to my family but now that I understand how compounding market returns work, I just didn’t need to do all this stuff.  I could have been more thoughtful and intentional about how I spent my time.  I know this for sure- I would have been less stressed, healthier and more involved.  My lovely wife has been so patient with me over the years with the amount of time I have devoted to working. We have built a nice life, but it could have been done much easier.  I spent too many years like a pinball just bouncing around from one idea to another rather than taking time to evaluate things more thoroughly.  I really enjoy business and I’m sure that I still would have owned a business, but it would have been more thoughtful and in tune with the rest of my life, especially in my younger years.

We were married in 1983 and the US Stock Market has returned over 11% annually since that year and historically returns at around 10%.  Hypothetically, if one had saved $500 a month for 36 years, it would have produced around $2.4 million with only $216,000.00 in contributions.  Notice how little you had to contribute over your career to produce the overall total?  It’s phenomenal!  Five hundred dollars may seem impossible when one is starting out so you can adjust that number to come up with whatever fits for you, but don’t underestimate your ability to save with proper motivation. There are many online calculators that can help you with this.

The details of my story will be different than yours, but it is important to evaluate how one spends their time.  Do we give the things we value most, the time that we should?  By saving a large chunk of your income and investing appropriately the possibilities are endless. It will allow you to simplify your life and focus on the things that matter most to you.  These might include family, friends, your health, career, volunteering, travel, hobbies, etc.  The point is whatever brings you contentment.   Simple investing helps create simple living. 

There is detailed information on investing within my website on the investing page along with resources for investing and simple living under the recommended resources page.  Please feel free to contact me with comments or questions. 

Finance, Food & Alcohol

by Simple Guy

Recently I was browsing through a bookstore while on a road trip and happened upon a book titled The Whole Foods Diet by John Mackey (CEO Whole Foods Market), Alona Pulde, MD, and Matthew Lederman, MD.  This is not my typical fare, but it looked interesting and of course, it was in the bargain section, so I purchased it.  I spent the rest of the road trip completely engrossed in what I was reading.  It completely changed my paradigm on what I knew or believed about diet and nutrition and has led to me reading many additional books on nutrition.  This in turn, has led to many personal changes for me but what really struck me was how similar the food and financial industries are.  You may be thinking, what the heck is this guy talking about? 

Let’s take budgeting in personal finance.  If you have read any of my previous blogs or explored my website, you know that I believe a budget is essential to track where your money goes along with providing a complete picture of your financial status. Trying to lose weight is similar in a sense in that one needs to track what you eat.  One can track every calorie consumed or learn which foods are healthiest and incorporate those into your daily nutrition.  Either way it takes discipline to be successful financially or managing your weight/health.  If you trying to save money, one needs to budget and count every penny; if one is trying to lose weight – one needs to measure and count every morsel. 

The financial industry has many fees attached to the products they try to sell you or as they put it, have you invested in.  Many of these fees are “baked” into the product and are not visible to the average consumer.  These fees include management and fund fees along with loads, which is just another name for a fee.  The food industry operates in a similar way through their labeling process, which can mask ingredients in their products by using many different names for common ingredients Have you ever noticed any of the following when reading labels- fructose, lactose, sucrose, dextrose, maltose, glucose, ethyl maltol?  These are all sugars!

Both industries try to make things more complicated by the way they market their products.  The financial industry wants you to believe that investing is a complicated process and they have the ability to enhance your investment returns.  Neither of these is true.  The food industry uses words like natural and fat free, which really have no meaning to most people.  For instance, lunchmeat can be labeled as natural, but both the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the World Organization (WHO) have labeled all processed meats as known carcinogens.  Yes, potentially cancer causing!  You won’t see that on the label.  To understand the label on most packaged food products, you would need to be a chemist.   

Neither industry may have your best interests in mind.  For example, your portfolio return over time can be reduced by a full 65% if your financial investments are being charged just a 2% fee. That’s a massive amount!  The food industry adds sugar and salt in approximately 80% of packaged food products for the sole purpose of getting people to eat and purchase more of their products.  That’s even worse than losing 65% of your money; you literally are losing your health!  Do you think that may be possibly why close to 70% of the United States population is overweight?

Dave Ramsey, a nationally known personal finance expert, has a famous quote he uses to people who are trying to get out of debt: “Nothing but beans and rice, rice and beans.”  He also says, “You shouldn’t be seeing the inside of a restaurant, unless you’re working there.”  Note the connection between food and finance. The irony of these statements is they can be perceived negatively, when in truth, they are excellent choices from a health perspective even if you aren’t in debt.  I find this rather humorous as it is a good example of how counterintuitive the information we receive can be.

If you lumped the beer, wine and liquor industry in with the food industry, there are similar comparisons that can be made.  Most people don’t realize that the chemical name for alcohol is ethanol.  Yep, the same stuff that mixes with your vehicle gas.  I was stunned to find out that both the NIH and WHO have labeled alcohol as a known carcinogen as well.  They also never mention that alcohol is one of the most addictive drugs in the world.  You won’t find that on any label. One of my hobbies is bicycling and I am always amazed at how craft beer and bicycling have become synonymous.  I’m not sure drinking beer and hopping on your bike is necessarily the best situation but many biking events are now sponsored by breweries.  From a healthy living standpoint these two don’t seem to fit together. 

Personal finance, alcohol, and food are all marketed in a similar fashion, often times with scenic backgrounds such as people sitting on a beach enjoying whatever “the good life” is. Their idea of the good life involves spending money along with eating and drinking in an unhealthy way.  The irony is that what I find to be “the good life” is generally the exact opposite of what they try to make us believe is important. 

The financial, food and alcohol industries operate pretty much the same way in that they have hidden fees, hidden ingredients, obfuscate the truth, make things complicated and undersell you on the risk of their products.  As my youngest daughter said to me after discussing this, “I feel we’ve been lied to all of our lives.”  I’m not sure we’ve been lied to, but one certainly needs to question most things before accepting them as truth.  Particularly, the most important things in your life.

Bottom line, it takes work to decipher the important things in life and not just accept things at face value.  You may be thinking who has time to figure all of this stuff out?  This is where simple living can help.  Eliminate all of the unnecessary things in life and focus only on the most important.  By living simply, it allows you the time to live a healthy lifestyle, nurture your relationships and build financial security. In my view these are the best and most important things in life and will bring one the most contentment.

My post titled Health, Relationships and then Finance has more information on this topic.  If you have any questions or comments please let me know.  If you’re interested in any of the topics above, check out my website and recommended resources section. dy Tex

You Can’t Have It All

by Simple Guy

I used to think that you could have it all but after many years I started to realize that I was more content and happier leading a less busy life. In a recent post titled Health, Relationships, then Finance, I stated that these were the most important things in my life and were my first priority.  This led me to think about how much time we each have in a day.  After exercising, completing your day at work and all the things associated with those activities such as commuting, personal hygiene, etc., you probably have used up over 10 hours of a 24- hour day.  If you sleep the recommended 7 – 9 hours each night, that leaves you with 5 – 6 hours.  One then needs to take care of food preparation or eating out, both of which take additional time.  Plus, one may have other personal care errands, finances, etc. to do.  That leaves about 4 hours and you’re more than likely tired.  And I haven’t even begun to address if you have children and their activities, caring for others, social activities, planning for future events in your life along with so many other activities depending on your situation.   It seems obvious why so many of us are tired and stressed.

At this point if you are lucky, you have addressed making a living, hopefully exercised and taken care of your daily to do list.  That doesn’t take into account the time in maintaining relationships with family and friends.  One literally has very little extra time for extracurricular activities and yet most of us still try to add more activities and things into our lives.  In my opinion, it’s not a recipe for contentment.  

Peter Drucker is a well-known business management expert who wrote: “Everything in life is a trade-off.”  This really resonated with me.  Every decision we make is a trade-off.  Do we have time to exercise, develop healthy habits, spend time on relationships, and relax or do we spend our time chasing society’s idea of what is important?   I found that the more things I added to my life, the more difficult it became to make good decisions and to have the time for the most important.

A good starting point may be to use the 80/20 principle: only about 20% of your actions are productive while 80% generally aren’t. The key is to figure out what 20% is important to you.  I personally have narrowed down my extracurricular activities to hike, bike, read, write and occasional travel.  These are all easy to do no matter where I am or what my schedule is.  It doesn’t require expensive equipment or on-going fees and it is easy to take with me when I travel.  When I travel with my wife, it is generally by car with a flexible schedule.  We bring some food along so we can eat healthy along with cutting costs.  We find biking and hiking trails, visit parks, sight-see in cities with very little expense.  By narrowing down my commitments it has helped me become more proficient at each activity and enjoy them more.  I try to avoid adding the next new trend or activity unless I have given it quite a bit of thought about the time and commitment it will require.

I found when I focused on health, relationships, and finance first I felt much better about myself and the direction of my life.  I realized that for me, most aspects of my life were tradeoffs I didn’t want to make anymore.  In fact, I didn’t want it all.

Why So Many Retirement Plans Stink

by Simple Guy

Having owned a small business for seventeen years along with being self-employed for the fifteen years prior to that, I have some insight into why some retirement plans may not be good.  Owning a business is a division of knowledge.  In my case, I had to have an extensive knowledge of the shipping and packaging industry along with knowledge on running a business.  They are two entirely different things and it can be challenging to stay proficient at both.  Keeping up to date on the industry and competition is a full-time job in addition to understanding hardware, software, insurance, HR, customer service, legal, etc.  This is why many businesses end up outsourcing their retirement plans.  They simply don’t have the knowledge or time to take care of it.  This outsourcing to one of the many financial services firms that exist can lead to excessive fees and lousy fund choices to choose from.  Your employer may think they’re all the same, but they’re not.

For people that are starting a job, there is a lot of paperwork to fill out and the retirement plan is just one more box to check with questions many people don’t understand.  The HR department typically has no idea as well.  We all know we should save for retirement but how it works, what to invest in, how much to save and a variety of other questions are left unanswered due to no one understanding investing or the plan thoroughly.  Even worse, when they give advice, it can be bad advice.  I have analyzed several account portfolios where the owners of the accounts had no idea how they ended up with the funds they owned.  The funds were expensive, the asset allocation was inappropriate, and there were better choices available.  This can be very costly to the employee over time.  Literally, hundreds of thousands of dollars can be at stake over the long-term.

It may be human nature that people don’t pay attention to their personal finance and retirement due to lack of knowledge and understanding. If you are taking the time to read this, you understand the need to plan for your retirement and the change can start with you.  You can or may have already started by reading and educating yourself on investing and your retirement plan. Focus your reading by using independent sources that have no financial interest in your outcome.  I have many resources listed on my website from some of the most respected financial academics and advisors in the world and it will help you understand how these plans work. Login into your retirement plan and read through your options while noting any questions that you may have along with anything that you may not understand.  Start with your HR department after you have read the plan and see if they can answer any questions and then follow up with the plan provider.  Just be wary of what you are told to make sure it is accurate and can be verified if possible, through a third-party source before making any decisions.  Too many times people speak without understanding investing and can give some poor advice.

If your company offers a retirement plan, you need to decide whether you want to invest in the plan and the funds you wish to select within the plan.  If your company offers a cash match for your retirement, it may be worth investing the minimum to receive the match even if the choices are poor.  There are times when a plan is so bad you may want to walk away and invest outside your company in a traditional or Roth IRA.   If this is the case, you may want to suggest to HR staff about replacing the existing plan with a financial services company that offers low cost index funds that are simple and easier for people to understand.   They would benefit both the employer and the employees as it will provide higher investment returns long-term for their employees.   Nothing will change unless you are willing to take action.

Don’t take this lightly, remember there can be hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake long-term.  Don’t rely on HR or the plan provider with your investments.  By taking control of your situation today you are starting on the path to personal freedom. 

I have a recommended resources page that has lists of books, websites, videos, etc. that will help you become informed on investing along with lists of independent sources who have no financial interest in your outcome.  Feel free to contact me with any questions and I will do my best to answer them or point you to a resource that can. 4

Investing and Simple Living

by Simple Guy

What does simple living have to do with personal finance?  I started to make the connection years ago because I had made my life and personal finances far more complicated than they needed to be.  What really struck me though after reading the Millionaire Next Door multiple times was that the typical millionaire led a very simple life.  These people were wealthy but didn’t seem to overcomplicate things.  I would say that having wealth and living simply are not mutually exclusive.

The millionaires that are profiled in The Millionaire Next Door book seem to have the best human qualities.  They typically have good character, stay married, are frugal, humble, live far below their means, raise responsible children and contribute to society with high quality businesses and services.  They are not what people think.  They practice incredible thrift and frugality.  They typically enjoy their work and family.  They are not into material objects such as large homes, expensive cars, or other consumer goods.  They are excellent investors with their own money.  They believe financial freedom is more important than consumer purchases. They believe having financial freedom gives you choices in your vocation, your time and your life.  This to me is the ultimate in simple living.  Any preconceived notions that you have about wealth in America will probably be changed if you read this book.

I had spent most of my life on autopilot just going from one thing to another and mostly enjoyed what I did.  Whether it was career or personal I just did what I thought everyone else did.  Many years ago something changed and I started to read some books on simple living, minimalism and consumerism.  These books really struck a chord with me.  I started to think about always being busy, being tired, and being stressed.  The constant purchases, home remodeling, repairs, autos, etc. that everyone else thought of as normal.  I started to question the conventional wisdom of society.

My wife and I became fairly successful from an economic standpoint as our lives progressed.  I was very ambitious and have always enjoyed my business career.  One day while working on our personal finance and investing I realized that we had enough money for our current lifestyle.  What was more interesting to me at the time was that I realized I didn’t want anything more than I already had.  This is when it clicked for me.  I had spent many years working for things I really didn’t care about.  I am a simple guy.  Fortunately for me, my wife has agreed with me (for the most part) regarding my epiphany on simple living.

We both have made career changes that have freed up our time and made our work life simpler.  She moved out of a management position and cut back her hours and I have sold my small business.  We have been constantly selling things, giving things away and evaluating what is truly important to us since then.  Stuff isn’t.  Personal freedom is.

Financial Fees On a Local Level

by Simple Guy

Within the Iowa City area there are several financial institutions that are used by many of us, such as the Green State Credit Union (GSCU, formally the University of Iowa Credit Union or UICCU) and TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity), and IPERS (Iowa Public Employees Retirement System).   UI employees can choose between TIAA or IPERS to manage their retirement plan.  These organizations have many positive aspects, but one can easily make incorrect assumptions about them. For example, GSCU is listed as a non-profit which may lead people to believe that they have your best interest in mind.  TIAA by being affiliated with the UI, may lead one to believe that everything they do is in your best interest as well.  Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Let’s start with GSCU and look at some of their practices.  One of their current pushes in advertising is targeted at TIAA account holders with the UI.  They are “informing” TIAA customers that they can help manage those accounts through their Wealth Management division.  I have received several emails and direct mail pieces regarding this “service”.  After replying to one of these emails inquiring about what the GSCU will do for me and how much they will charge for this. I received a detailed response:

As a UICCU member, our team works to coordinate the comprehensive financial planning for you and your family.  We operate on an independent financial platform through Commonwealth Financial, allowing us to offer and select from non-proprietary investment options and use independent research in creating suitable portfolios.  The Investment Allocation process within our team involves quantitative and qualitative screening through multiple resources, including our FI360 Fiduciary software, and ongoing management allows us to monitor holdings and performance on a daily basis.  Consultation with our team is free and would be a great first step to learning more about the services and unique capabilities.  Should you elect to hire our team to directly manage your portfolio and provide comprehensive wealth management services, our fee is typically 1% of the account value, annually, and is all inclusive. 

I was unclear of what exactly they would do for me other than charge me 1% of my total assets annually, which is expensive and in my opinion excessive and unnecessary.  For example, if you saved $500 per month for 30 years, the 1% fee (difference between a market return of 10% and 9%) would cost you $180,369.36.  If they recommended funds that charge higher expenses, the costs would be even more. If they recommended a fund where there is 1% fund fee (which isn’t uncommon), the total costs to you would be $327,153.75 out of your retirement funds.  It works the same way if you have an existing retirement account and are close to retirement.  Your returns will be substantially diminished over the 20, 30, 40 years of your retirement.  Finally, once you start annual withdrawals from your retirement funds, (which typically can be 4% of your funds) GSCU would be getting the equivalent of 25% of your income. 

The reply above also stated they are with Commonwealth Financial.  After reading through their website, I found out Commonwealth Financial is a service for financial advisors which provides the FI360 software that is listed above.  It gave me pause when I saw an advertisement on the website saying they have the highest gross revenue for advisors within their industry.  This may make the advisor wealthy, but it won’t help your accounts.  It has been proven over and over in multiple academic studies that the higher fees that you pay the lower your return will be. 

Within the GSCU response was also the word fiduciary with the software.  A fiduciary is an advisor who is required by government regulations to put your interests first.  The website said that they don’t require their advisors to meet sales quotas or recommend propriety investments.  These are good things, but nowhere did I see the word fiduciary as to how they operate as a company or advisor.  GSCU mentions a quantitative and qualitative screening regarding asset allocation along with monitoring accounts daily.  Frankly, this is just overcomplicated financial jargon.  The truth proven over and over in academic studies is that you can invest with as few as two index funds at a much lower cost and get superior returns. 

The response also mentioned daily monitoring of the accounts; this is the last thing a person should do!  Does this mean they would be trading the assets around in my account based on their expertise and market values?  Once again studies show it doesn’t work and it is unnecessary.  Many respected academics say you should rebalance your accounts maybe once a year at most.  In other words, once you figure out what you want for your low-cost index fund investments and asset allocation, set it and forget it.  Trading your funds more often simply costs more and returns less.

Recently GSCU started promoting their Green Account which is a money market fund with a competitive rate compared to other local financial institutions.  Unfortunately, this is offered to only new clients and not offered to existing clients I found this very disappointing that existing loyal customers don’t receive the same rates as new customers.  I have found there are better options available, such as Vanguard.  They offer a Prime Money Market account with no minimums and at a consistently higher interest rate.  No games or gimmicks, just ongoing competitive rates.  If you decide to go that route, it is easy to set up online transfers between Vanguard and your local bank or credit union. 

GSCU has also sent out direct mail advertising for home equity loans that they suggest could be used for many things including vacations.  Is this wise to suggest financing a vacation?  In my opinion this is irresponsible and bad advice. I have received blank checks in the past from GSCU that could be used for cash against our credit card.  Again, this is financially irresponsible to encourage borrowing money.  GSCU has also promoted home loans with no down payment; does anyone remember the housing crisis of 2008?  The housing market collapse was in part due to overborrowing beyond ones means and financial institutions were glad to provide such loans with creative financing.  They allowed loans of 80% of the house price on a first mortgage and then loaned the required down payment of 20% on a second mortgage.  This “helps” their customer put nothing down and avoid Private Mortgage Insurance which is required when you put less than 20% down.  Is it financially responsible to provide people an option to buy a home they can’t afford? Truth be told, being a “non-profit” doesn’t necessarily mean an institution has your best interest or values in mind. 

TIAA is a large national financial institution that was created to help teachers fund their retirement over a century ago.  They branched out to work with more academic institutions and today are available to any retail customer that wishes to invest with them.  TIAA is consistently ranked highly for their services nationally.  They have many fine attributes but like the GSCU, there are some things you should be aware of.

The University of Iowa retirement plan is unique to UI although ISU and Northern Iowa are similar.  This means you are offered a certain group of funds to invest in that are unique to your plan and there are some good mutual fund options to choose from.  TIAA offers index funds at a low cost that is competitive with the best prices available and started to offer funds from Vanguard which are even lower cost.  One can build a well-diversified account at a low cost very easily. 

TIAA has a local office where you can meet with an advisor at no additional cost for information and assistance.  My wife works for the UI and we have used this service several times over the years.  Our advisor has provided us with information that was very helpful and helped increase our investment returns.  As with any financial services company, you should keep in mind that the bottom line for TIAA is what they are ultimately concerned about.  Many years ago, our advisor informed us that there were index funds we were invested in that were available at a lower cost.  They were the same funds we owned but we were being charged a higher fee.  We were happy to find this out, but why didn’t TIAA notify the UI that this was available and why didn’t the UI notify their plan participants?  This program still exists today in another form.  If your advisor convinced you to invest your money from outside the UI plan you would be considered a retail investor.  A retail investor pays 7 times more for a Total Stock Market Index Fund than a UI plan participant.  Obviously, this is not a good choice. 

TIAA local representatives are thinking of TIAA first, they are not going to go out of their way to recommend other investments options.  Their job is to increase your investment holdings with TIAA and to make sure TIAA continues their contract with the UI.  They offer seminars once or twice a year that can be very informative along with a question and answer session.  I would recommend attending to learn more about their services and accounts, keeping in mind that what they do is also self-serving.  One seminar on annuities was quite good on explaining how they work and if one may be right for you.  They do offer an immediate annuity that may be right for some people.  This was educational because most annuities are overpriced and should be avoided.  Another seminar I attended was not so good, as it seemed like more of advertising pitch on their investing prowess.  They spoke of the almond farms they own and other alternative investments.  Every study I have read states to keep your investing simple and diversified.  Almond farms seem very curious to me.

TIAA will be glad to set up an asset allocation for you based on your risk assessment with a software program.  This will put your account into multiple different funds in widely diversified asset classes.  Sounds good on the surface but when you look at the expense fees of the funds, they can be quite expensive compared to index funds, which results in lower returns while unnecessarily adding complexity.  What may be easier is if you look at one of their Target Date Funds.  Target Date Funds are retirement accounts that are set up to be automated for you and adjust risk as you age.  TIAA’s Target Date Funds are made up of less than five index funds with a total expense of .10%.  This is a good deal and the diversification looks excellent.  So why do the advisors put people in more complex portfolios?  It would lead me to ask how are they compensated?

One other aspect that people may not be aware of is the ability to leave TIAA after you retire.  This is an option that the advisor may not mention.  I don’t advocate leaving TIAA as they offer many good options and most other financial services will probably be worse, many far worse.  There may be some better options such as Vanguard, but unless you thoroughly understand your investing, I would be careful. 

Overall, TIAA advisors have given me worthwhile advice; just make sure you understand what they are telling you, not just accept it as your truth.

I mentioned IPERS as part of a retirement plan that is offered to many state employees.  There has been much publicity about it in the news within the past several years regarding being underfunded.  This is not uncommon nationally as many states are experiencing the same problems.  This is another reason to take charge of your personal finances and investing.  Whether it is a private financial services company, or a government institution low returns and mismanagement is prevalent.  Understanding your personal finances should not be left to someone else. 

There are so many companies out there trying to get a chunk of your money.  David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, did an interview on CNBC in early 2019 and referred to index funds as a product.  They are, but that is what you must understand when dealing with your money.  They are all selling you something.  These companies will market to you by your net worth or estimated net worth.  They even have names like middle class affluent, to categorize you by net worth and income.  Your individual account is just part of what they call Assets Under Management (AUM) and the more accounts they add the larger the AUM becomes and the more money they make.  Fisher Investments runs a commercial stating they want to help you if you have $500,000.00 worth of investable assets.  They use the phrase -ready to “graduate” to the next level of investing.  By using the word graduate, there is an implication that your investing is elementary, and they know things only sophisticated investors know.  Two additional things to notice: they don’t want anybody below $500,000.00 (it’s not worth their time) and they don’t want you to include your house in your net worth.  They can’t extract fees from your house.  They may be a respectable financial advisory firm but, in the end, they want your money to extract fees. Bottomline is it is just business to them, and you are just a number, which is the same with all financial companies- even yours.

Within my website you will find detailed information and resources to answer many questions.  Start today to take control of your finances.  It’s too important to be neglected or left entirely to someone else.  If questions- please feel free to contact me; I will do my best to answer them or point you to someone who can.

Health, Relationships…then Finance

by Simple Guy

Everyone would agree this title makes sense, but national statistics show another story. One of the main reasons I started this website was to show people that investing for the long term is incredibly simple, but it goes far deeper than that. Many things in our lives are made more complicated than they need to be as we are continually led down paths by popular culture that can be unproductive, stressful, and unhealthy.

The truth is we have been programmed in a multitude of ways, starting with our parents, family, friends, advertising media, and far too many others to mention. Every thought we have is based on something that we have either heard, read or seen. The problem is we have heard, read and seen so few things. For every idea that we think is correct, there are an infinite number of ways to approach the same idea that we are not aware of. Trying to step back from how we approach our life and literally throw all the garbage out of our mind is difficult. But I believe to be content with your life, this is the first step. We must examine what pleases us in life and not base it on what others think or tell us. Because after all, they all just another person’s opinions.

Studies show that experiences matter more than purchasing things. Do we buy something because we enjoy the item, or do we purchase an item because we believe someone will be impressed by it? I would be surprised if any of us could honestly say that we have never bought something without thinking of how it might impress others. On the other hand, experiences can be much the same. Think about all the social media pics of vacations, trips, restaurants, tours, etc. that people post. Would we choose those experiences/ make those purchases if no one ever knew what we did or saw it?

When one asks a person how they are doing, the number one answer seems to be about how busy they are, whether it be with work, children, social activities, etc. Does this bring happiness or is it worn as a badge of honor for others? We live more comfortably from a material standpoint than any time in history, yet happiness has decreased since the 1950s.  Why?  Is this adding to the large numbers of people in our country who are overweight, unhealthy, stressed, unhappy with their occupation, and financially broke?

The title suggests your health and relationships are the most important thing in our life and I agree. The number one thing in life should be your health. According to the Harvard Study on Aging, researchers concluded that we have a 30% chance of dying from something unforeseen and we control the other 70%. They found that the reason most people died prematurely was due to self-inflicted behaviors-drugs (primarily alcohol), smoking, and diet (obesity). We control a large part of our destiny and what we do every day not only affects us but those around us as well.

By keeping your health in order, you will have far more energy to put into your relationships.  As much as I enjoy investing and personal finance, I can’t imagine not sharing my life with my wife, children, family and friends. Choosing a spouse or partner will be the most important decision one can make in their life.  Richard Koch in his book The 80/20 Principle, says you have a duty to be happy for your spouse and I agree. Contentment with life increases dramatically when you are fit, healthy and love the people around you and your level of contentment directly affects all those around you.

After health and relationships, the next step is to work at becoming financially independent.  Financial independence protects you from unforeseen emergencies, lousy job situations, and allows you to help family and friends, along with gaining personal freedom to spend time as you wish.   More importantly, how can you be of service to those around you if you are unhealthy, miserable, and broke?

So, why is it that these three simple things seem to be placed on the back burner when we know how they will improve our life dramatically?  Our culture has told us otherwise in trying to sell us “happiness”.   It doesn’t have to be this way. We all have a choice not to be manipulated by what others deem to be important, but it requires us to think critically and throw out the garbage that we are programmed with daily.  Are you ready to stop comparing yourself and pursue what you enjoy regardless of what others may think?  It requires us to stop buying into society’s conventions and rethinking every aspect and decision we make in our life. 

Why do we do the things we do?  One effective way to assess where you are is to literally write down how you spend your time for a set period, say four weeks.  The more detailed that you track your time, the easier it will be to evaluate.  Then thoroughly evaluate how important these things are and weigh them against your health, relationships, and financial situation.  If your daily schedule doesn’t give you value and contentment, start adjusting. Cut out the non-essentials in your life.  The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) shows that 80% of our actions are unnecessary, or that 20% of your actions make up 80% of your productivity or contentment with life. 

Life can be complicated but too many times it is self-inflicted.  Reevaluate everything you do.  Simple living is not a gimmick- it can lead to a contented life.