First, Tell Them You're No Financial Guru
If you read this column regularly, don't kid yourself: You're a financial nerd. And the weird thing is, people respect you.
They shuffle over to your cubicle and ask what mortgage they should get. They lean over the garden fence, hoping to check out their broker's advice. They strike up a conversation during the 17-second elevator ride, aiming to get some pointers on the company retirement plan.
What should you tell these people? After years as the resident financial nerd for friends, family and colleagues, four things are clear to me:
Most folks aren't interested in educating themselves. They really don't want you to recommend a good book. Instead, they want to be told precisely what to do.
Can't cram your advice into 60 seconds? You just lost your audience.
Some people are hell-bent on financial self-destruction. Yes, they asked for your advice. But, no, they don't want it. Rather, what they want is approval for their disastrous decision. When you don't give it, forget gratitude -- and expect irritation.
If you casually offer a financial suggestion, there's a good chance your eager students will still be following it 10 years later. The implication: Stick with timeless advice -- or the time may come when you'll face a rash of recriminations.
"The 'financially unwashed' are a diverse group," says Michael Moon, a reader in Tacoma, Wash., who is often asked for advice by friends and colleagues. "Some simply don't want to save money. Some are sincere but just don't know the first thing about investing. Some display a look of sheer panic at the first mention of words such as 'correlation' or 'expense ratio.'"
What to do? My advice: Pretend you're a politician and boil everything down to safe, snappy sound bites. In particular, try advocating these 10 strategies.
1. Give at the Office
If you truly want to help your friends, pound on them to make the maximum contribution to their employer's retirement-savings plan. Thanks to the initial tax deduction, the tax-deferred gains and any matching contribution, that's their best bet for investment growth.
2. Adopt a Family
Maybe your friends don't have a retirement plan at work, or maybe they have other money to invest. To keep them on the straight and narrow, tell them to pick one low-cost fund family with a broad selection of funds and then stash all their extra investment dollars there.
Good choices include American Century Investments, Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price Group, TIAA-CREF, USAA Investment Management and Vanguard Group. If your friends stick with one of these companies, their investment costs should be reasonable and they shouldn't find picking funds too overwhelming.
3. Get a Life
If your friends are new to investing, skip the fancy portfolio with multiple funds and instead recommend a life-cycle fund. These funds wrap a bunch of market sectors into a single portfolio, thus offering one-stop investment shopping.
Life-cycle funds are increasingly common in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Your friends can also buy these funds directly from American Century, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Vanguard.
4. Play Defense
In addition to saving money for retirement and their kids' college education, your friends ought to amass an emergency reserve. The usual rule of thumb is that folks should have a cash cushion equal to six months' living expenses.
This has always struck me as excessive. Instead, suggest your friends open a money-market fund at their adopted fund family and then build up the account so it holds a sum equal to maybe three months' living expenses.
5. Get Another Life
If you are helping friends who have children, encourage them to buy term insurance until their kids are through college. Recommend they purchase enough insurance to pay off the mortgage and cover the kids' college costs, while also providing their family with at least another three years' salary.
6. Limit Damage
Most folks don't need anything more than one bank account, one fund family, their employer's retirement plan and some term insurance.
What about options, futures, individual stocks, limited partnerships, cash-value life insurance and tax-deferred annuities? Steer well clear. If friends insist on taking a flier on some hot investment, advise them to limit their gamble to 5% of their portfolio's value, so they don't do too much damage to themselves.
7. Don't Bet the Ranch
With real estate so buoyant, many people are going overboard on bigger homes and vacation properties. To damp your friends' enthusiasm, tell them to forget about the market's eye-popping gains -- and focus on fundamentals.
Note that they shouldn't purchase a home if they foresee moving within five years, because it's too risky and too costly. Discourage them from buying a bigger home if it will mean cutting back on retirement savings. And point out that it's a lot easier to retire if they have their mortgage paid off.
8. Lend a Hand
Indeed, when asked for mortgage advice, advocate a 15-year fixed-rate loan. The interest rate will be slightly lower than on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the shorter repayment period will force your friends to save and the heftier monthly cost may deter them from buying a ridiculously large home.
9. Dodge Debt
Many Americans regularly spend more than they earn, leaving them mired in high-cost credit-card debt. If your friends are deeply in hock, there are ways to trim their interest costs, such as paying off their cards with a home-equity loan.
But the key is to stop your friends from piling up more debt. To that end, tell them to limit themselves to one credit card, so they get away from juggling balances on multiple cards. Better still, suggest they start paying for everything with cash or a debit card.
10. Save Your Friends
Everybody's looking for magical financial solutions. There aren't any. Want to make sure your friends retire in comfort?
Push them to save 15% of their pre-tax income. They will probably groan. But if they take your advice, they will be thanking you for years to come.
告诉朋友你不是理财大师
如果你定期阅读本专栏，那可别自嘲说自己只是一个理财方面的书呆子。不可思议的是，人们反而会尊敬你。
他们会踱步到你的工作隔间，询问他们应该选择哪种抵押贷款。他们会倚在花园的篱笆上，请你检验他们经纪人的建议。他们会在共乘电梯的短短时间里和你搭腔，以期就公司退休计划获得一些指教。
你该怎么跟这些人讲呢？多年来，作为朋友、家人和同事眼里永远的理财书呆子，我很清楚以下四点：
多数人对自学不感兴趣。他们实际上并不想让你为他们推荐一本好书。相反，他们想让你确切地告诉他们到底该怎么做。
没法在60秒钟之内快速说出你的建议吗？那你就会失去听众了。
一些人非常固执己见，即便导致财务上的自我毁灭也在所不惜。是的，他们想听听你的建议，但是却不想接受。相反，他们想要的就是你对他们灾难性决定的认可。如果你不予以认可，那就别指望得到感谢了－－等著看恼怒的表情吧。
也许你不经意间提供的一条财务建议，那些热切的听众10年后还在遵照执行。这就是说：要坚持提供那些不受时间影响的建议－－否则你可能就要面对一连串的谴责。
华盛顿州Tacoma的读者穆恩(Michael Moon)经常应朋友和同事要求为他们提供投资建议，他说，有各种各样对财务一窍不通的人：一些人只是不想把钱存到银行里；一些人很想投资，但不知道如何迈出投资的第一步；还一些人，当你一提到“相关性“或者“费用率”等术语的时候就会露出惊慌的表情。
该怎么办？我的建议是：把自己当作是一名政客，把所有的问题都与安全、灵活挂上钩。尤其是不妨试试下面10条策略。
1. 参加退休储蓄计划
如果你真的很想帮助你的朋友，那就说服他们尽量多地向他们的雇主退休储蓄计划缴款。考虑到初期税项减免、递延税项收益以及雇主相应的缴款，这是他们寻求投资增长的最佳途径。
2. 采用基金家族系列
也许你朋友的公司并没有退休计划，或许他们还有其他资金可以用来投资。为了让他们循规蹈矩地投资，建议他们选择一个拥有各种基金的低成本基金家族系列，把所有的余钱都投进去。
其中一些不错的选择包括American Century Investments、富达投资(Fidelity Investment)、T. Rowe Price Group、TIAA-CREF、USAA Investment Management和Vanguard Group。如果你的朋友坚持把资金投入其中一家公司，他们的投资成本应相当合理，同时也会发现选择基金不是什么太难的事情。
3. 选择生命周期基金
如果你的朋友是投资新手，那就不要考虑那些拥有多个基金的复杂投资组合了，而是应当建议他们选择一个生命周期基金(life-cycle fund)。这些基金将一些市场类股集中到一个投资组合中，从而提供一站式投资选择。
生命周期基金在雇主资助的退休计划中日益普遍。你的朋友也可以直接从American Century、富达投资、T. Rowe Price和Vanguard购买这些基金。
4. 积累应急资金
除了为退休和孩子的大学教育存钱之外，你的朋友还应该积累一笔应急准备金。通常的经验是大家应该储备相当于6个月生活费的现金作为应急资金。
但我总是认为这太多了。我还是建议你的朋友在已经选取的基金系列中选择一个货币市场基金，然后建立一个帐户，存放相当于3个月生活费的资金。
5. 购买定期寿险
如果你在帮助有孩子的朋友，那就鼓励他们购买定期寿险、直到孩子读完大学。建议他们购买足够的保险，以保证能偿清抵押贷款，并支付孩子的学费，同时可以为家人再提供至少3年的工资。
6. 锁定损失
多数人需要的不过是一个银行帐户、一个基金系列、雇主的退休计划和一些定期寿险。
那么期权、期货、个股、有限合作企业、现金价值人寿保险和延税年金呢？这些还是不碰为妙。如果你的朋友坚持贸然尝试某些热门投资，那就建议他们把投入限制在投资组合价值的5%以内，以免遭受太多的损失。
7. 不要押注房地产
随著房地产市场如日中天，许多人在狂热追求更大的宅邸和度假别墅。为了打消你朋友的热情，告诉他们忘掉地产市场令人瞠目的涨势－－而关注基本面吧。
注意，如果他们打算5年内搬家，那就不应考虑购房，因这样做风险太大，成本太高。如果他们为了买大一点的房子要削减退休储蓄，劝他们别这样做，告诉他们，退休的时候，如果抵押贷款都还清了，生活会容易得多。
8. 施以援手
如果有人向你征求有关抵押贷款的建议，那就推荐15年期固定利率贷款吧。这种抵押贷款的利率略低于30年期固定利率抵押贷款，更短的还款期限将迫使你的朋友攒钱，而更高的月供款将阻止他们购买一处大得不像话的房子。
9. 避免负债
许多美国人通常花的要比挣的多，从而身陷高成本的信用卡债务。如果你的朋友负债累累，还是有很多办法可以缩减利息成本，比如说利用一笔物业套现贷款偿还他们的信用卡债务。
但关键是要阻止你的朋友积累更多的债务。为此，告诉他们只用一张信用卡，这样可以避免在多张信用卡之间玩平帐游戏。而更好的办法就是建议他们开始用现金或者借记卡来付款。
10. 解救你的朋友
每个人都在寻找一种具有神奇效果的财务解决方案。其实没有这样的方案。想让你的朋友过上安逸的退休生活吗？
敦促他们省下税前收入的15%。他们或许会抱怨。不过，如果他们遵从了你的建议，未来许多年里他们都要不停地感谢你呢。
