Comments on: For Success in Finance, Discipline Beats Brains Every Time

By: connie

connie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:52:02 +0000

I am learning everyday if you make a poor
financial choice it sometimes takes years
to undo.I have recently learned to live
without cable,take out and purchasing
books and cd’s.The savings are enormous
but the discipline priceless

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:21:04 +0000

On the other hand, taken in the context of Ms. Munnell’s total retirement resources, this withdrawal may have an insignificant impact on her future.

Nevertheless, I agree that this was not the cheapest money she could have used, and not a good example to others.

By: K-money

K-money — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:02:48 +0000

Most of money mistakes were related to allowing emotions clouding my judgement, especially fear. But raiding a 401k to pay for a wedding, and someone else’s wedding, at that?! That has to rank up there with payday loans. It is easy to see how one could become smug and complacent when such people do stupid things.

By: money market trader

money market trader — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:06:50 +0000

snowy heron:

” Just goes to show that you can’t always take the advice of people writing in the newspapers.”

yup. and i think that applies to all subjects, not only personal finance. …yet another example of why people go to non traditional media sources for information and opinion a la Mr TML….

i work in the markets and therefore have cnbc on the wall all day long. i guarantee that if you listen to the advice of the talking head experts, you WILL lose money in your portfolio.

By: Snowy Heron

Snowy Heron — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:40:11 +0000

I think that learning from others’ mistakes is much more efficient than learning from our own mistakes, so I’m glad to read this and get Mr. ToughMoney Love’s opinion on it. Not that I would do it anyway.

A few years ago, Stan Hinden who wrote personal finance columns for the Washington Post for years and then after he retired he would write the occasional column on retirement finances, confessed in a column that when he retired from the Post he took a single life pension, rather than a pension that would continue to pay his wife if he predeceased her. I was shocked because every article on the subject that I had ever read said you should take a joint pension payment, unless your spouse is independently wealthy (which his was not). Just goes to show that you can’t always take the advice of people writing in the newspapers.

By: Dangerman

Dangerman — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:22:34 +0000

“One of the risks in publicizing bad money behavior by people who should know better is that it tends to make the rest of us feel better about our own poor decisions.”

I think you’ve hit on the secret behind the popularity of The Dave Ramsey show.

By: RDS @ Smart Financial Values

RDS @ Smart Financial Values — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:48:57 +0000

It shocks me how often the media gives sympathetic treatment to people who make stupid money moves. Sure, we all do some bonehead things from time-to-time. However, the last thing we need is for some news network to make dumb decisions sound like they aren’t so bad.