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Article by Stephen Nelson
Dave Ramsey’s general advice to work hard, make your marriage a priority and avoid debt is excellent. In fact, any one who religiously followed Dave’s suggestions would have experienced far less trouble in the recent financial crisis. In far, some people probably side-stepped the whole mess by applying Ramsey’s ideas.
Nevertheless, in a handful of specific areas, one can find some minor yet important faults with the financial planning advice that Ramsey gives–and in particular with the financial calculations Dave shares in, for example, his books.
Overly Optimistic Rate of Return Assumption
One of the first problems that appear to certified public accountants and chartered financial analysts looking at Ramsey’s materials concerns the commonly quoted “12%” rate of return used in examples.
That’s way too optimistic an assumption. Yes, some years investments do generate 12%. And some specialty categories of investments (like small company stocks) may return roughly 12% over lengthy periods of time. But a traditional portfolio of diversified stocks and bonds will probably over long financial planning horizons deliver average annual returns of more like 7%-9%.
You cannot, unfortunately, consistently earn 12% on a traditional investment portfolio. No way.
Inflation Ignored Only Leads to Future Disappointments
Inflation represents another issue that an accountant or good financial planner will want to include in financial plans but an issue that isn’t always thoroughly discussed by Dave. Mathematically adjusting financial calculations for the effects of inflation can be complicated. But inflation will probably eat away at the value of the savings you accumulate.
If you’re earning 9% on your investments, for example, but inflation runs 3%, you’re not really making 9%. You’re making 6%. You can more implicitly recognize inflation in your financial planning calculations, by the way, by using the net-of-inflation return in your financial calculations. To adjust for inflation when you expect a 9% return and 3% inflation, make the computations with a 6% return.
Expense Ratios Matter
One final investment issue (for some investors) needs to be highlighted. While investment expense ratios often don’t matter much for people just starting to save money–probably this is Ramsey’s typical reader in fairness–by the time one accumulates a more size-able investment nest egg, investment costs matter. And they matter a whole lot.
In fact, if an investment pays a 2% expense ratio–and that sort of expense might be pretty normal once all the investment costs are tallied–that amount doesn’t sound so bad. But it’s pretty outrageous in most circumstances.
Consider the situation, for example, where you’ve got a 9% rate of return from an investment but suffer from a 3% inflation rate. In actuality, you’re really only earning 6% on your money. (The inflation that’s baked into the return is not really profit to you.)
If out of your net 6% investment return, you pay 2% in investment fees–in other words, if you pay out 2/6ths of your profit for investment expenses–that’s equivalent to a 33% income tax. Ouch.
In the end–just to play this sad song to the very end–while you start with 9%, after you subtractŃ% inflation and 2% in investment fees–you’re left with only 4%. And note that value is a pre-tax return. So if you pay income taxes on your investment profits (and you probably will eventually), you’ll actually end up with something less than 4%. Double ouch.
Putting These Financial Planning Insights Together
The nit-picking shared in the preceding paragraphs may seem a little unfair. But to illustrate how significant the mistakes become when combined, ponder the following scenarios:
If you and your spouse save ꯠ a year into a retirement fund for 30 years and say you’ll earn 12% annually, the calculated future value equals roughly ,200,000.
Note: If you know Microsoft Excel, you can copy this formula into a workbook to double-check the statement: =FV(0.12,30,-5000)
In comparison, if you and your spouse save the same ,000 a year in an IRA or 401(k) plan for 30 years but admit (sheepishly) that you’ll really only earn 4% once you adjust for inflation and that friendly financial advisor, the calculated future value equals roughly 0,000.
Note: Again, if you have access to a personal computer and Microsoft Excel, you can copy this formula into a spreadsheet cell to test my math: =FV(0.04,30,-5000)
Redmond, WA CPA Stephen L. Nelson provides financial planning services for small business owners and is the author of several best-selling books about using computers for accounting and financial applications. Nelson is also the editor of the Limited Liability Corporation website.
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Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 5-8: Night of the Ninjas, Afternoon on the Amazon, Sunset of the Sabertooth, and Midnight on the Moon
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This Magic Tree House set including the following titles: Night of the Ninjas (Magic Tree House, No. 5)
Afternoon on the Amazon (Magic Tree House, No. 6)
Sunset of the Sabertooth (Magic Tree House, No. 7)
Midnight on the Moon. (Magic Tree House, No. 
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•MARY POPE OSBORNE is the author of the New York Times number one bestselling Magic Tree House series. She and her husband, writer Will Osborne (author of Magic Tree House: The
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