STREET DOGS

Jim Gallagher, who wrote a financial column for the St Louis Post-Dispatch for 23 years, had this to say in his final column:

Crack a book. It’s smart to study money. It will make you richer and harder to fool. Personal finance is not tough stuff. There’s nothing beyond high school math.

Crooks are calling, don’t be too trusting. In our daily lives, most of us deal with nice people — neighbours, coworkers, friends. We let our guard down. Scammers are practiced manipulators of the psyche. They use greed to overwhelm sense.

Debt is bad — and good. Don’t borrow money for something that won’t pay you back. Education pays you back. A house might. A car won’t.

If you can’t beat ’em ... [Most of us] are dumber than the geniuses on Wall Street. You [probably] can’t beat the Street, so don’t try. In fact, most of the geniuses can’t beat the Street. So, favour dirt-cheap index mutual funds. But beware — stocks are not the place for money you’ll need in the next six years.

Don’t listen to this. Listen to the investment gurus, but be sceptical.

Humans have gotten pretty good about predicting the weather. On most other things, we’re terrible. Don’t put too much faith in financial columnists. We’re always quoting the gurus. When they’re wrong, so are we.

All advisers are conflicted. Wall Street and the investment business are one great conflict of interest. Remember that when you hire a “financial adviser,” which is what stockbrokers and a lot of insurance agents are called these days. Always ask yourself if their advice is best for you, or most lucrative for them.

Hang in there. Don’t panic. Take courage.

The stock market takes scary dips and sometimes crashes. Sell out during a slump and you’ll regret it. Consider buying instead.