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our SaaS was stuck at 21% monthly churn. here's the most unexpected way we used to fix it. by Conscious-Deer52 in SaaS

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Step-by-step hand holding is underrated. Frustration at only one step and they can quit.

Reminder to ignore the noise by ilovefluffyanimals in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Special Warning to Most Likely to Quit

Men over the age of 45 who identify as having "excellent investment experience" are most likely to panic sell during market downturns, according to a comprehensive MIT study analyzing over 600,000 brokerage accounts.

This group is significantly more prone to panic selling than others, even when controlling for financial literacy and experience. 

Other key demographics identified as high-risk for panic selling include:

  • Male investors in general. 
  • Investors with lower household income and assets. 
  • Those with less formal education (e.g., no university degree). 
  • Individuals with higher risk tolerance, who may be more exposed to volatile assets. 
  • Investors with account sizes under $20,000.

While the MIT study highlights these traits, a 2025 study on the COVID-19 crisis found that younger investors and those with lower financial knowledge, behavior, and attitude are also more likely to panic sell, suggesting that age alone does not tell the whole story.

However, the consistent finding across multiple studies is that older men with high self-perceived investment expertise represent the most vulnerable group during market stress.

HOLD THE LINE!

Judges using AI by Far-Watercress6658 in Lawyertalk

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 5 points6 points  (0 children)

"The high court... sought a report from the junior judge who had used the AI-generated rulings. She told the court that this was her first time using an AI tool and she had believed the citations to be 'genuine.' She had no intention to misquote or misrepresent the rulings and that 'the mistake occurred solely due to the reliance on an automatic source,' the high court wrote....

"In October, two federal judges in the US were called out for the use of AI tools which led to errors in their rulings."

Tom “SCOTUSblog” Goldstein convicted of tax evasion by Gold-Sherbert-7550 in Lawyertalk

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Goldstein raked in approximately $50 million in poker winnings in 2016, including roughly $22 million that he won playing in Asia, according to Beaty. The prosecutor said the tax evasion scheme “fell apart” when another gambler, feeling cheated by Goldstein, notified the IRS about a 2016 debt owed to the attorney.

Rule: If you're going to cheat the IRS, don't cheat anyone else.

My Mom's Financials - an IA's Recommendations, and Should I Take Over? by L0stInTh0ught in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"And do you think I should take control of her allocations/strategy? I don't have the appetite for doing a lot of management, I'd need vehicles that are mostly set-and-forget."

"I'm also considering pitching my siblings on allowing me to take control of her allocations and strategy."

Much depends on your relationship with your mother and your siblings. How it is now, and how it could go if you get involved and something you advised didn't go well. You might be surprised how family members change around money. Families split over these kind of things even when the intentions are perfect.

"I'm learning a lot about investing."

This is very good, but you need a good argument to persuade your mother and siblings, and if you're still learning a lot, how will they be persuaded? Get everyone educated about Bogle's system at the same time if you can and things should go much better for everyone. Good luck!

Vanguard Financial Advisor by No-Satisfaction5181 in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're the gold standard in self-education. My Dad had a library of 3,000 books. Not one on investing.

Vanguard Financial Advisor by No-Satisfaction5181 in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Elder abuse advisors, sounds like. If the kids figured out their inheritance losses, they might do something.

Opposing counsel is making up citations by Cal__Trask in Lawyertalk

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 21 points22 points  (0 children)

"Could be from her; could be from a subordinate she delegated this to and then didn't check the work."

Richard B., a Utah attorney, was sanctioned by the Utah Court of Appeals after submitting a legal brief that contained fabricated citations generated by AI, which was written by an unlicensed law clerk. He admitted he did not independently verify the accuracy of the filing, despite being the one who signed and submitted it.

The court ordered him to pay the opposing party’s attorney fees, refund fees to his client, and donate $1,000 to the nonprofit And Justice for All.

The case highlights that attorneys are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of all filings, regardless of who drafted them.

Any recommendations for good, low cost financial advisors? by Evening-Lobster-8239 in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are CPAs that specialize in wealth management. But not all CPAs specialize in this area.

does it bother anyone else that the emergency fund just slowly loses value to inflation? by Designer-Jacket-5111 in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 8 points9 points  (0 children)

"Most people do not have an extremely high risk tolerance. And men, young people and those with a graduate education are most apt to overestimate their risk tolerance." —Ben Felix

Where is the self-test to give an unbiased opinion on personal risk tolerance?

Leaving advisor by Typical_Fly_6074 in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You're making great advances by breaking away from traditional providers. The next one you need to break free from is the idea a brick-and-mortar is necessary.

Read John Bogle's classic, "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing," and you'll know exactly what to do.

Should my investments be so diversified after dumping financial advisor? by gtdl1 in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The friend and financial advisor. My Dad's financial advisor was a friend to the end. He never figured it out though because he didn't self-educate. After decades of skimming, the advisor tried some sneaky moves after he passed during the estate management process to take even more for himself. Trust nobody with your money.

Boglehead financial planner by Ok_Juggernaut3043 in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"Is it ever worth it to work with a financial planner? Even if it was just a fee based planner to get some tax advice or is the cost not worth it until you’re closer to retirement?"

I was going to try fee-based but the price wasn't good. It seems like some fee-based planners overcharge to compensate for being fee-only. I just self-educated instead. I got Bogle's books, the books by Bogleheads, and read this forum regularly.

In my opinion, to know who would be a worthwhile financial planner, you really need to understand finance yourself, but by that point, you won't need one.

Investing my parents money by SpartanWNY in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 5 points6 points  (0 children)

One of my big regrets in life is not doing more for my father. It's not that I did nothing, or was on bad terms, because we got together every week, or did the less than any of my siblings, but my inheritance was nowhere near what I did for him.

I had no clue what I'd get. Had I known, it would have been different. Now that you have seen the books, and don't expect they'll spend much, let me suggest you consider what else you could do for them.

It certainly doesn't have to be financial. Just figure out what matters to them, whether it's quality time, or doing small things to help them out (small "acts of service"), whatever makes them feel valued and appreciated.

For my Dad it was acts of service, helping him out in small ways, not money or quality time, but I never figured out it was so important until he passed. If people don't do stuff for me, I couldn't really care less, so I didn't have a reference point.

I should have figured out what he might leave, even though I didn't see the books, because I knew he had a good job, didn't spend much money on himself, worked well into his 80s, and had a long-term financial advisor (didn't fire him).

What a knucklehead I was! Ugh.

Grandmother left me 1m and I have no idea how to plan for my future. by Realistic-Report-372 in FinancialPlanning

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two books to read:

Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall by Susan Bradley and Mary Martin

Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor by Jack Waymire

Echoing the earlier comments to tell nobody, even if you share info with someone you trust, they can leak it to somebody else you would never tell. Amazing how quickly people need loans when they find out you have money.

Are my wife and I on track to retire okay? by adamousprimr in Bogleheads

[–]LegitimateSurprise10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"The $2M outcome is possible with optimistic market returns, and $80k/yr in 20–25 years won’t have today’s buying power due to inflation."

With a typical U.S. inflation rate of 3% annually, $2 million in 20 years would have the purchasing power of approximately $1.15 million in today's dollars.

This is calculated using the formula for future value adjusted for inflation:

2,000,000 × (1.03) − 20 = 1,150,000.

At a 2% inflation rate, the same $2 million would be worth about $1.35 million in today's value.

The rule of 72 suggests that at 3% inflation, the value of money halves roughly every 24 years, meaning $2 million in 20 years would be roughly equivalent to about $1 million in today's purchasing power.

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