Some of the advice on this thread is horrible. Let’s look at a few:
Avoiding IRAs/401Ks/similar retirement accounts - The poster makes comments as if these vehicles are the actual investments. They are not. The investments are the actual funds, stocks, etc within these vehicles. The benefit of these accounts are related to the tax treatment. Under traditional programs, tax is deferred until you have withdrawals (always great to pay taxes later vs now). With Roth accounts, you have the normal tax treatment upfront with your earnings, but it grows tax free. It is best to place retirement money in these accounts first. Uneducated people will warn you about tying up money because you might need it in an emergency. Retirement money is NOT meant to address emergencies. Instead, everyone should first establish an emergency fund before doing anything else. Thus the argument about tying the money up is just silly.
Investing in gold/silver instead of stocks - There are many ways to invest in gold and silver. Overall, the return rates have lagged the long term S&P by approximately 20%. If you really want to own some gold and or silver, make it a small percentage of your portfolio. Unless you are a collector, avoid rare coins. You can easily be ripped off. Also, collectibles of any form are hard to liquidate during down markets(remember what happened in 2008/2009).
Buy the largest home you can - Uneducated people point to the historic rise in home values to support this argument. What they fail to account for is the ongoing carrying costs. Property taxes vary by state, but an average is 1% of the home value per year. Add to that the cost of home insurance (including your umbrella costs), ongoing maintenance, replacement of major systems (HVAC, roof, etc), utility bills, etc. The larger the home, the more these expenses will cost you each year. As such, the gain you thought you were getting isn’t real. For full disclosure, I have a very large home. It s over 5300 sq ft and is worth over $1.8 million. I have this home because I like it and can afford it. From an investment perspective, it is not the best option for me. A home that is half this size would be sufficient and the my ongoing expenses would be much less and I could invest the difference. If you can afford a bigger home and you want it for enjoyment, go ahead. But if you are giving the recommendation based on advice, it would be the wrong way to go.
My final advice is to read up on all these topics yourself. Look at the data/facts and that way you will be making the smart decision for yourself.
