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The Financial Guru Hall of Shame--Who's Leading You Off a Cliff?
About this Episode
David McKnight focuses on three of the biggest names in personal finance – Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and Ken Fisher – and why you should be careful with following their advice.
David emphasizes that anyone trying to wring the most efficiency out of their retirement savings should focus on advice that's backed by math… not soundbites.
While David Ramsey is the right person for people who are making less than they are spending, the same can't be said for his retirement planning advice.
For instance, he claims that 100% of cash value life insurance sucks 100% of the time.
For David, whenever someone gives you advice that claims it should be applied 100% of the time, you should run the other way!
Remember: there's no financial strategy that works for everyone all the time.
According to an Ernst & Young study, by contributing 30% of your retirement savings to an IUL, you'll dramatically increase your income in retirement over a stock market investing alone.
Citing E&Y, David explains an approach that shields you from the sequence of returns risk and that has a 95% chance of your money lasting as long as you do.
David points out that most Americans don't have thousands of dollars lying around in savings accounts just to pay the taxes on a Roth conversion…
David sees Dave Ramsey as someone who gives basic advice for people with basic problems and whose advice could potentially be catastrophic if you want to shield your retirement from higher taxes.
When it comes to Suze Orman, David looks at her recent advice of keeping 3-5 years worth of living expenses in an emergency fund in retirement.
While Orman is trying to safeguard against sequence of returns risk, she seems to be forgetting about inflation eating away at your purchasing power.
As David shares his dislike of Orman's advice, he touches upon a resource that can double your sustainable withdrawal rate from 4 to as high as 8%.
Ken Fisher, on the other hand, has become the face of the "anti-annuity crusade".
The problem with Fisher's approach? He's primarily referring to variable annuities, completely disregarding fixed indexed annuities (which are a totally different animal).
David discusses how replacing bonds with fixed annuities "can increase your returns, lower your risks, and give you a better outcome over time."
Beware of financial gurus saying "I hate annuities", "100% of life insurance sucks 100% of the time", or "never pay taxes from your IRA"!
In his latest book The Guru Gap, David takes a deep dive into the flawed logic of financial gurus, and gives the full story with the math, the context, and the strategies they conveniently leave out in their content and speeches.
Mentioned in this episode:
David's new book, available now for pre-order: The Secret Order of Millionaires
David's national bestselling book: The Guru Gap: How America's Financial Gurus Are Leading You Astray, and How to Get Back on Track
Tax-Free Income for Life: A Step-by-Step Plan for a Secure Retirement by David McKnight
PowerOfZero.com (free video series)
@mcknightandco on Twitter
@davidcmcknight on Instagram
David McKnight on YouTube
Get David's Tax-free Tool Kit at taxfreetoolkit.com
Hosts & Guests
No transcript available for this episode.
