Simple Debt-Free Finance

A Simple Approach to Getting Out of Debt & Into Wealth

Stupid money myth.

Posted on | December 11, 2007 |

I’m down to one magazine subscription. I used to get SmartMoney, but it was mostly investment ideas which I don’t need at this point. We don’t have enough cash to invest. We’ve eliminated most of our debt, and are focusing on building our savings. So, I let that subscription lapse for now.

This leaves us with Money magazine. It’s quite useful, for the most part. I find a lot of their advice is stuff that I’ve already come across on the web or read about someplace else. But there’s usually one or two items that prove informative.

But lately, I’ve been seeing more and more… well, filler I guess. At least, I hope it’s filler ’cause if it’s not, then it’s just plain stupid.

Case in point: A month or so ago, there was an article titled “Retire Rich” and they listed a number of Money Myths in the side bar. One of them was so insidiously stupid, I had to blog about it just to rid my self of the mental bafflement it caused.

The Myth: Everyone has debt.

Here’s the snippet:

For most people, during a time of economic growth and soaring markets, it’s easy to believe that income will keep rising faster than debt payments. But in retirement you can no longer count on that unlimited potential for better pay. “If you don’t cut your debt load while you’re still working”, says Marilyn Dimitroff, a financial adviser in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., “you will face the worst possible scenario: a retirement saddled with mounting debt and only a limited income to repay it.”

OK. So far, so good. It’s got the mandatory fear factor that anything in the media seems to require these days, but otherwise it’s off to a good start.

Mary and Martin Pearsall have lived frugally, saved regularly and invested wisely in their 30 years of marriage. They’ve also managed to avoid the kind of crippling debt that can spoil the best-laid retirement plans. They steered clear of credit cards by living within their means, and they’ve dutifully paid the mortgage on their $250,000 Colorado Springs house. They now owe just $64,000.
“We’ve been careful without being draconian,” Martin says. “We would never accumulate debt we couldn’t handle.”

Great! It starts with a nice message that hard work and determination can pay off over the long term.

But then I started to wonder what kind of a job Martin had. He must be a CEO of some blue chip company, right?

Martin worked as an Episcopal priest until last year, and Mary has been a personal trainer and a business consultant.

Hmmm.. that’s good news. If they could live debt free and save enough for retirement on those kinds of careers, then I might have a shot of doing likewise. Tell me more!

Now, with the help of a sizable inheritance from Martin’s mother, they have a portfolio worth over $1 million. With no major debt to hold them back, the Pearsalls plan to scale back their work lives soon and travel, as they’ve been hoping to do for ages.

WHAT?! “With the help of a sizable inheritance” ?! Sure, I could have a cool Million and no debt too, if I inherited it!

Now, I don’t know what the statistic is, but it’s got to be in the single digits the number of people who inherit their wealth. This kind of stuff just annoys the holy hell out of me. It’s stupid, dishonest, and a waste of my time to read!

What say you?

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