Comments on: Who’s Right? Who’s Wrong?

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:36:08 +0000

“Financial expertise is not something that can be learned through experience and introspection”.. Who the heck is this guy? I believe financial expertise is EXACTLY what is learned through experience. Yikes. He has much to learn. I loved this article, especially the way you handled yourself. Well done! :)

By: gail

gail — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:07:57 +0000

Yeah, I can see myself heading towards financial doom because I choose to read your blog and you have no real credentials other than actually walking the walk and talking the talk, LOL. Maybe I should head over to the “get rich quick” websites ;)

By: anca

anca — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:26:44 +0000

i am very disturbed by these kind of words as i am against prejudices and specialization. i think that people should think for themselves in any domain because the world is not that complicated as it seems to be.
one must not be a MBA graduate to know that spending less than earning is valuable or setting a savings account or that debt is stupid.
one must not be a stylist to be able to look good in one’s clothes and must not be a chef to cook a pizza. everything can be learned and practiced.
i love your site and these are the kind of blogs that made me have more control of my own financial decisions and not some guru that doesn’t have my needs.

By: Jillian

Jillian — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:49:09 +0000

Thank you for your help. I can’t afford a financial planner right now. I am becoming financially knowledgeable on my own. So, if that means seeking out blogs, websites, and any other streams of information so be it. You are a blessing to those who are on educational path towards financial freedom.

By: PointSpecial

PointSpecial — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:45:11 +0000

Your blog is experiential. You explain what has worked for you and what has not. You also add other insight from people and what has worked for them. You do not claim to be an expert, so the criticism is really unfounded.

By: Lou

Lou — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:59:04 +0000

I have an MBA. But I’m not a CFP, sot when i retired, I spent over $500 for “advice” from a Certified Financial Planner. Much of the advice was wrong, some was merely unhelpful. The graph showing the impact of several withdrawal options was useful, but I could have approximated those calculations myself in an hour.

At least when your suggestions are wrong for me, I didn’t waste anything but a bit of time.

By: JS

JS — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:55:15 +0000

I don’t want to consult with a “qualified professional” who has an interest in selling me financial products so he can make a commission. I come here to read Trent’s careful, balanced and grounded perspective on financial matters, to give me pointers in my own research. That, and what financial professional will teach me to make homemade detergent…? It’s all about the spirit. :) Keep it up, Trent.

By: B Simple

B Simple — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:18:44 +0000

Totally agree with your response. Who wants a financial expert with a lot of credentials but no experience. Just because you a few alphabets behind your name or on your diploma does not mean a thing. Its about life experience. Your blog is about your experiences what has worked for you. You must be saying or doing something right you have over 55,000 readers. Look at the Standford and Madoff situations. They stated they were financial experts and look what happen to those individuals who invested with them.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:26:04 +0000

I read your blog because your a regular guy. I consider life experience surviving a meltdown to be the best person to learn from, rather than paying an ‘expert’. Dave Ramsey, if we recall, also falls in this category.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:35:27 +0000

As someone who has spent a lot of time in the fanciest of the nation’s universities and as someone who is about to complete a PhD in one of those universities, I have to say that someone who thinks that having official “qualifications” makes much of difference to quality of advice is simply stupid. Whoever wrote that criticism clearly hasn’t read your blog AND clearly doesn’t understand the bunch of “highly educated” people who have driven this country’s financial system into a very, very deep ditch. I’d actually argue that your distance from so-called financial experts is an advantage: less cool aid consumed, less need to do what your peers are doing, and very little conflict of interest with advice-giving. Please do keep up the good work!

By: J Ro

J Ro — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:30:44 +0000

I am merely commenting to show my support to you. I won’t be saying anything new. We live in a society where we value the degree much more than what it is worth. Don’t discredit yourself. You have read many books and with that comes a lot of knowledge. You are a Guru. If you weren’t I wouldn’t be reading you on a daily basis. But with any advice, it must be taken with a grain of salt and reformatted to apply to your own life. Not only does your blog provide useful and relevant information but motivation for the enormous hole that many of us are digging ourselves out of.

The proof is in the support you receive. Well done.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:01:17 +0000

Keep on keeping on.

You don’t have 47,851 readers because your advice sucks.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:10:25 +0000

Go Iowa State!

By: Renee

Renee — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:35:50 +0000

Trent,

I love your blog! I am a new subscriber and I look forward to reading your articles. Thank you for sharing your experiences and knowledge with those of us who are looking for solutions and information about money management. What you give to us is everyday, easy to understand, effective suggestions for improving our finacial health. I love that you share your personal side with the community of readers as well. Be encouraged and know that there will always be someone willing to offer criticism and judgement, even for a job well done!

By: almost there

almost there — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:00:55 +0000

Trent, the ultimate comeback from the “Big Lebowski”: (DUDE) “Yeah well, that’s just, ya know, like, your opinion, man.”

Keep on Bloggin’

By: Orion Lawlor

Orion Lawlor — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:14:45 +0000

A few years back, I talked with a high-powered “financial expert” about what to do with the extra income at my new job.

Expert: “No, you shouldn’t pay down your 5% mortgage. After the tax deduction for mortgage interest, you’ll make a lot more in the stock market!”

Me: “But the stock market doesn’t always go up. Plus, I don’t itemize, so I don’t get the tax deduction for mortgage interest.”

Expert: “You don’t itemize? You should!”

… long discussion of state income tax rates, business deductions, morally/legally questionable tax shelters, and the simple and clear standard deduction …

In the end, I ignored the expert and slowly paid off my house, because I can understand 5% mortgage interest, which is why I didn’t want to pay it for the next 30 years. I understand, and appreciate, owning my own house. I don’t understand the stock market, which spiraled way up, and then came crashing back down.

Warren Buffet said “You’re right because your facts are right and your reasoning is right—and that’s the only thing that makes you right.” Being an expert has nothing to do with it.

By: MM

MM — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:31:19 +0000

Trent, I support your blog by reading it almost everyday. People are subject to their opinion, and posting your opinion on the internet means just sharing it – not to set the standard of any sort.

Maybe the commenter you talked about does not have any customers anymore.. that’s why he/she sounds like sour grape…

I am a graduate of a state university too.. :)

By: Carrie

Carrie — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:19:42 +0000

Don’t know if anyone has referenced this yet, but here’s a great article on the wreckage that Harvard Business School MBA’s have left behind, written by a HBS grad: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5821706.ece.

Here’s a sample: “If Robespierre were to ascend from hell and seek out today’s guillotine fodder, he might start with a list of those with three incriminating initials beside their names: MBA. The Masters of Business Administration, that swollen class of jargon-spewing, value-destroying financiers and consultants have done more than any other group of people to create the economic misery we find ourselves in.

From Royal Bank of Scotland to Merrill Lynch, from HBOS to Leh-man Brothers, the Masters of Disaster have their fingerprints on every recent financial fiasco.

I write as the holder of an MBA from Harvard Business School – once regarded as a golden ticket to riches, but these days more like scarlet letters of shame. We MBAs are haunted by the thought that the tag really stands for Mediocre But Arrogant, Mighty Big Attitude, Me Before Anyone and Management By Accident. For today’s purposes, perhaps it should be Masters of the Business Apocalypse.”

By: Dana

Dana — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:28:41 +0000

Trent- Keep on Keepin’ on!
I enjoy your blog very much. I would imagine that you may not be all things to all people. So be it.I feel confident to say that you’re comments are a refreshing change to the corporate blather we are inundated with!

By: Mark Wolfinger

Mark Wolfinger — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:03:27 +0000

Financial professionals charge a fee for their services. Right away you never know if they are really out to help, or are simply interested in earning a living. There is no way to judge the value of their advice, unless you want to pay another fee to another planner. Forget that nonsense.

Bloggers like you have no axe to grind. You offer your experiences, and I, a reader, determine if your idea(s) is suitable for my situation.

I run my investment blog that way. I offer ideas that work for me. Readers easily can learn what I do. Some follow. Some don’t. But all are better educated for participating in he process.

Reading your blog is a positive experience.