Comments on Boston Gal's Open Wallet: Here's What Works in Any Economy

Ben Stein's parents' example could be summed up as...

2009-06-20T21:09:47.001-04:00

Ben Stein's parents' example could be summed up as: once you've become wealthy enough to live off your investments, do your best to make sure that you'll be able to *keep* living off of them by spending less than your investments earn.

Which is good advice, particularly since the greatest gift of being rich is having time to do what you want, not necessarily the ability to buy everything you want.

Yeah, um, Ben's one of those people who were born ...

2009-06-19T20:10:04.806-04:00

Yeah, um, Ben's one of those people who were born on third base but think they hit a home run.

Ben Stein makes my head hurt. In his May 4 column...

2009-06-18T14:50:17.125-04:00

Ben Stein makes my head hurt. In his May 4 column, he talks about being an extravagant spender but wishes someone had stopped him. The irony of someone who trumpets personal reponsibility wishing that he had a financial planner to slow him down is simply too much.

He obviously didn't follow his father's example.

Here's a thought Ben - if your Father was so good ...

2009-06-18T14:43:17.785-04:00

Here's a thought Ben - if your Father was so good with his money, why was he accepting social security? How about not taking the government money since you have done so well and will be leaving your family such a large sum of money?

sorry, I couldn't get past the "modest pied-a-terr...

2009-06-18T14:33:31.744-04:00

sorry, I couldn't get past the "modest pied-a-terre at The Watergate." comment. Helloooo! Not exactly middle-class. Boston Gal is spot on. Classic rich person congratulating themselves for being "good with money" when they were really born with a lot of things already in place. Kind of like what Ann Richards used to say about GW Bush--he was born on 3rd base but thought he'd hit a triple. Very appropriate here for the arch-conservative Ben Stein, who used to work in the Nixon administration!

I've lost my well paid job here in CA, also in the...

2009-06-18T13:37:09.176-04:00

I've lost my well paid job here in CA, also in the housing industry. It won't be back since my former employer is practically bankrupt. Now I'm working 5 or so hours a week as an independent contractor for my former employer, which is at least more than unemployment. I'm grateful for my savings so I can consider what to do next.

Sometimes I wonder if retirement was a gift to one or two generations. The way of work has changed so much in this country. There is rarely a promise of a pension and 401ks can be easily lost or halved. Many people are now working for far less money than before. The chance of making it like Ben Stein's parents is really getting away.