Final Words

[Onenickelmiracl]

Are there any stories about Jesus mentioning death and resurrection, but in the end, Jesus said you got punked and he was going to stay around and talk about carpentry?

[FloridaPhil]

A lot of young people wonder why Jesus picked Roman times to deliver his message.  If he was around today he would surely use the Internet or go on TV where everyone could see him?  He didn't come into the world to be a talking head or raise money for a church, he came to die.  If you want to die in the most brutal way possible, it would be hard to top the Romans as they were experts at the art.   His message was one of hope and love for your fellow man.  This is something I personally think the world needs more of. What does this have to do with video poker?  I posted that I have a personal issue with teaching people that you should bet bigger in order to gain an edge in VP.   The reason I feel this way is simple.  If you ask any VP expert how many successful VP professionals there are, you will get a very small number.  The fact is over 99% of all players will lose money long term.  I don't think anyone would disagree with this fact.  If you know most everyone will lose money, why would you act like betting huge money is a good thing just so you can promote yourself as an expert?   Many people are influenced by this.  If you want to make money by swimming with great white sharks fine. If you teach others to do it and write books about how great it is, I believe you are responsible for what happens when people follow your lead.    All I said was I believe this is morally wrong and that I wouldn't do it myself.   I have no problem with someone  teaching people to keep more of their own money.   I do have a problem with leading people down a dangerous path with a 99% failure rate.  I also don't think adding a disclaimer to your statements stating you can't do what I do somehow reduces your responsibility.   Personally, I care more about what happens to people who are lead to believe gambling is a road to riches than I care if someone chooses to gamble for a living.   If others have different opinions that's fine with me.  I can only speak for myself. 

[Chicagoan]

Phil, going back to your earlier comments about retirement investing: What do you believe is your average return during the past year on everything you have taxed as investment income? I ask different retirees this question, comparing my own goals.

[FloridaPhil]

Since May of 2016 my overall net return has been about 10%.   This is slightly higher than my long term average.  This year I would be happy with half of that.  I'm a pretty conservative investor.  I like best in class high yield stocks and bonds and rebalance my portfolio if it gets too risky.   I also have some municipal bonds.  I have some older ones that are still paying 7%.  We have both been fully contributing to our IRAs since 1975 and have never made a withdrawal.  This year we will need to address that issue.  For those young investors who may be reading this, you do not need to be a stock picking wizard to become wealthy from investing.  The key is to start early, continue to contribute on a regular basis and leave your money alone.  Investing in inexpensive index funds is the best way for most people to go.  You have time on your side and the power of compounding will grow your money faster than you think.  One day you will be old with enough money to enjoy life instead of working until you drop. 

[Onenickelmiracl]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvc-1hb0W-Y

[FloridaPhil]

The best words a knowledgeable stock market investor can hear is "The stock market just crashed!"  This opens up opportunities to buy great stocks at bargain prices.   The graph below shows the stock market over the last 100 years.  As you can see the market always recovers at a higher rate and goes higher.   If you believe the world is going to a zombie apocalypse or an asteroid will wipe us all out, you might as well put your money in a slot machine.  For your sake, I hope you're right.  

[pokerpokerpoker]

2 best financial things I ever did: buying a house at 24 years old with a 20 year loan, now at 41 it is nearly paid off and now that we need a bigger place we have a heck of a down payment to a house we probably couldn't otherwise afford. The other was starting a 401k in my early twenties. 10% contributions every paycheck, every year. I don't rebalance or monkey with it and now it is worth a bundle. Because it is deducted automatically from my paycheck, it is money I never miss.

[FloridaPhil]

If you rent things all your life and spend all the money you make, you will never have anything except bills.