Consider the goat. The first time a goat comes in personal contact with an electric fence, it remembers the lesson from then on. I have even seen animals teach the class of a bad personal experience to OTHER animals, who then avoid the situation themselves, thus preventing the negative experience for themselves!
Not so with human beings. Consider the “WET Paint” sign. What’s the first thing most people will do when seeing the Wet Paint sign? Right! They MUST touch the wet paint. They think the character is lying or maybe just kidding, or perhaps the paint won’t be “wet” when THEY feel it. (But every time in the past, when they’ve encountered the sign, the paint HAS been wet!).
People are like that when it comes to their nest eggs in the stock market, believe it or not. Really??? Yes! People lost an average of 38% of their nest eggs in 2001/2002. They stayed away for a short time but ‘got back in‘ just in time to retake a beating in 2008. By this time, many of those folks are near or in retirement; where is their nest egg? Yep! In the market. Do they think the paint won’t be wet THIS time? People KNOW that the market is about risk. They know it is NOT about protecting their most important money.
We’re not talking about discretionary funds here; we’re talking about the money they will need for THE REST OF THEIR LIVES-Who knows HOW long that might be??!!
Why? Because sometimes Humans believe the irrational. Sometimes humans will believe, despite experience, despite warnings from others (Parents know this regarding their kids), that somehow, for THEM, they will beat the odds; THEY will get just so close to the fire and dance away at the last minute before being burned. Not sure about that? Well…..
Consider the Las Vegas casinos. The casinos LOVE to hear that someone “Has a System.” They will give you free meals, free hotel rooms, and complimentary adult beverages so that you can try out “your system.” And even though people try, they lose MOST OF THE TIME. And they keep coming back for more! (I defy anyone to prove to me that there is a difference between the stock market and playing Blackjack in Las Vegas!).
WAIT. There are a few differences. Your Broker charges you to “Play”- win or lose, you get “charged.” Right? You don’t get free food, complimentary adult beverages, or free hotel rooms. But the most significant difference is that a SOBER gambler at a blackjack table will never Put his entire nest egg on the table and continue to “LET IT RIDE” the way your broker has you doing. Shouldn’t you be a heavy gambler and only put part of your money- the unimportant part- at risk- on the dice table??!!
How often do you have to touch the “Wet Paint” sign or the electric fence? Ever heard the old bromide “a bird in the hand”? How about “a fool and his money are soon parted”? Do you have to keep stepping in the same ‘pile’ before you realize that it STINKS?
How about an alternative? An alternative that offers SAFETY, and GUARANTEES, has been a vital part of retirement for hundreds of years. It is the only financial product ever explicitly created for retirement. It can provide INcome (Not IFcome, or MAYBE come)for you and your spouse no matter How Long each of your lives is, with any balance going to your heirs. What is it?
Let me show you.
