#123 - My thoughts on 12 common financial and retirement planning rules of thumb

Special edition episode in which Andy shares his views on whether the below 12 rules of thumb are accurate or not:

1. You should always contribute at least enough to your employer plan (like a 401(k)) to get the full employer match
2. You shouldn't help your kids pay for college if it means shorting your own financial security in retirement
3. You need at least $X million (where $X can be whatever amount someone wants to say) of savings to retire
4. In retirement, expect to need 80% of whatever your pre-retirement income was each year
5. The 4% "rule" is a good tool for determining how much of a portfolio someone can distribution each year in retirement
6. Your target stock allocation percentage should be 100 minus your age
7. You should pay off your mortgage before retiring
8. The rule of 72 is a good tool to tell how long it will take to double your investment
9. You should have an emergency fund of cash equal to three to six months of expenses
10. Permanent life insurance should be avoided; only use term life insurance
11. The owner of a large investment advisory firm says, "I hate annuities and you should too"
12. That same person also says of his firm, "we do better when you do better"

To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [e-mail]

Links in this episode:

• My podcast about the 4% "rule" - here

• My company newsletter - Retirement Planning Insights
• Facebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)
• YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)
• Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com