Does Dave Ramsey’s 12 percent growth stock fund exist?

Dave Ramsey, the nationally-syndicated radio talk show host, has done a great deal of good for a great number of people. His core message – that the only reliable way to obtain financial peace is to consistently live within your means so that you can pay off your debts and accumulate savings – makes perfect sense.

I cringe, however, whenever he mentions that people should put their savings into — in his words — a good growth stock mutual fund because it will earn 12 percent annually.

Whether it is on his radio show, his website, his books or his educational programs, Dave Ramsey quotes that 12 percent figure again and again. He uses the 12 percent figure to tout the superiority of stock mutual funds over nearly every possible alternative, such as annuities and cash value life insurance products.

I investigated whether the 12 percent return that he quotes is realistic, and I found some surprising facts.

I started my research with Dave’s explanation, which is found on his website. He says, “The current average annual return from 1926, the year of the S&P’s inception, through 2010 is 11.84 percent. From 1986–2010, it’s 11.28 percent.”

These return figures include the value of reinvested dividends.

You think that would settle the issue, but let’s look deeper at three questions.a) Is that truly the S&P 500’s average return?
b) Has the average person actually achieved that return?
c) Is the past return a good indication of the future expected return?
Shockingly, the answer to each of these three questions is a resounding no.

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Health Insurers Need to Improve Customer Relationships to Compete

Nearly 50 percent of health customers are willing to pay more for quality customer service -- a factor U.S. health insurers need to address to effectively compete for new clients -- according to a new survey from Accenture.

Accenture conducted a survey of 1,000 insured individuals to assess the impact of customer service on consumer preferences and found that nearly 80 percent expect customer services to be easier, more convenient.

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New Baby... Buy Insurance

You’ve just had your first baby boy. Or maybe it was a little girl. Either way, congratulations. You don’t need us to tell you that life is going to change, and change quickly. You’ve no doubt already become accustomed to the idea of sleepless nights, midnight feedings, dirty diapers, and all of that kind of stuff. But what you may not have thought about with the birth of your baby is term life insurance.

But, you should. After all, there’s someone depending on you and your income now. If you haven’t already scheduled an appointment with your insurance agent, do so. You’ll want to adjust the amount of your term life insurance. And if you don’t have any life insurance yet, you’ll want to invest in some immediately.

Think about it. That little guy is totally dependant on your income. If you were to die today, what would happen? Who would pay for:

• Diapers
• Food (18-20 some years’ worth of groceries is a lot)
• Health Insurance
• College Tuition

Of course, there are a lot more expenses that junior will have growing up, but our purpose here is just to get you thinking about it. Even if your spouse has an income as well, chances are that it won’t be enough to cover your child’s expenses. These days, the average in state tuition is almost $8,000. And if, by chance, your little guy grows up to be a scholar, Harvard and Yale are much, much more expensive.

We know, your little guy is probably going to get a football scholarship anyway. You can already see that killer instinct in his eyes when he screams and reaches for that rattle. But on the off chance that he might need a little help paying for college, you might want to consider putting aside some savings for him and investing in term life insurance, just in case the unthinkable happens.

And while you’re at it, consider taking out some life insurance on your baby. We know, no one wants to think about their baby dying, but in the unlikely event it happens, you definitely don’t want to worry about where the money for final expenses is coming from. Besides, buying life insurance on him now guarantees that he’ll be able to get life insurance himself later, even if he has health issues.

Purchase Life Insurance

What I find a lot of other folks asking right now is should I purchase life insurance?  And the answer most assuredly is yes!  Of course you should purchase life insurance.  One of the most effective ways to answer for high health care coverage is by getting an easy life insurance plan.  Now most folks my age are not that interested in life insurance because I guess they believe they will live for ever.

You may be able to get a 20 year term policy right now for as little as 10 dollars a month.  That is pretty inexpensive so you have no reason not to Purchase Life Insurance.  There is no reason not to have a policy on yourself to protect your wife, kids and other loved ones in case the worst should happen to you.

I just recently took out a policy on myself for my wife in the circumstance that something should befall myself, she will be the beneficiary of 50,000 dollars.  The younger you are the cheaper insurance will be so think about it now.  Call me for a quote and Go Purchase Life Insurance.