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Enough Bull: How to Retire Well without the Stock Market, Mutual Funds, or Even an Investment Advisor
The one book your bank REALLY does not want you to read.
More than ever before, Canadians are frightened and stressed out about their retirement and financial future. With the mortgage, car payments and credit card bills, there never seems to be enough to pay the current bills let alone save thousands in RRSPs. At the same time, the large financial institutions are bombarding us with fearful messages of destitution unless we maximize our RRSP contributions. The stock market crash of 2008 has proven one traditional retirement planning advice simply doesn't work. The risks are too enormous. Throwing money into RRSPs and trusting the stock market is like gambling with your family's future. But how do you plan for retirement without risking everything? In Enough Bull , David Trahair Easy to understand and simple to apply, Enough Bull shows Canadians how to avoid all the traps and why doing the exact opposite of what they have been told will leave them much further ahead. www.enoughbull.ca
More than ever before, Canadians are frightened and stressed out about their retirement and financial future. With the mortgage, car payments and credit card bills, there never seems to be enough to pay the current bills let alone save thousands in RRSPs. At the same time, the large financial institutions are bombarding us with fearful messages of destitution unless we maximize our RRSP contributions. The stock market crash of 2008 has proven one traditional retirement planning advice simply doesn't work. The risks are too enormous. Throwing money into RRSPs and trusting the stock market is like gambling with your family's future. But how do you plan for retirement without risking everything? In Enough Bull , David Trahair Easy to understand and simple to apply, Enough Bull shows Canadians how to avoid all the traps and why doing the exact opposite of what they have been told will leave them much further ahead. www.enoughbull.ca
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2009
21 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 1, 2017
Pay off all debt before investing.
Never invest in stock market, just 5 year GIC's that are Federal Government protected.
Very conservative investment advice.
Never invest in stock market, just 5 year GIC's that are Federal Government protected.
Very conservative investment advice.
September 22, 2021
The book is only good for totally safe preservers of money (some like to call themselves investors). A book from someone who first tried most of the conventionally recommended retirement savings 'schemes' and products provided by financial institutions, and several years later, when trying to figure out the actual return on these 'investments' could not get a satisfactory answer. Through some primary research, he figured out that the actual returns were miniscule, much even below inflation, to negative! Set, thus, on a do-it-yourself spree, he attempted investing on his own only to meet with the global disaster in 2008-9.
Finally, sworn to avoid all the 'unscrupulous' industry offered get-rich-schemes, he set out to find out the safest waters to swim in, and for Canada, explored and (potentially) exhausted all available mechanisms for the commoner (including the tax savings schemes).
Some key takeaways form this book are:
If you can't learn and earn from stock markets, stay away (this advice is very good for most).
Use compounding instead to your advantage.
Don't blindly trust any agents (better still, don't trust any agent. Period.)
Pay off all (really, all) your debt first, starting with the most expensive one (with the highest interest rate charged, for example, the credit card debt). Don't get into debt again (the author recommends it only for buying a house, but with extreme caution and as much money as you can afford to put up front as possible - the larger the better). If you must borrow money to get something, that means you can't afford it - so, live without it. Personally, I do not recommend it even for buying a house (those who really understand compounding will agree)!
Start saving in as many tax-exempt, tax-saving schemes as possible, the more guaranteed they are, the better (such as sovereign schemes, or schemes backed by Governments or Government banks). The earlier you start, the better. The longer you stay in them, the better. Do this even in your family members' names when possible. Max out all potential avenues.
In Canada, split income between self and spouse for tax advantage.
For an educated and learned stocks investor, this book provides the plan for a safety net one needs to build (and keep building) before embarking into stocks.
The key lesson to learn from the book is captured in Einstein's famous quote: "Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the World. Those who understand it, earn it. And those who don't, pay it!"
Finally, sworn to avoid all the 'unscrupulous' industry offered get-rich-schemes, he set out to find out the safest waters to swim in, and for Canada, explored and (potentially) exhausted all available mechanisms for the commoner (including the tax savings schemes).
Some key takeaways form this book are:
If you can't learn and earn from stock markets, stay away (this advice is very good for most).
Use compounding instead to your advantage.
Don't blindly trust any agents (better still, don't trust any agent. Period.)
Pay off all (really, all) your debt first, starting with the most expensive one (with the highest interest rate charged, for example, the credit card debt). Don't get into debt again (the author recommends it only for buying a house, but with extreme caution and as much money as you can afford to put up front as possible - the larger the better). If you must borrow money to get something, that means you can't afford it - so, live without it. Personally, I do not recommend it even for buying a house (those who really understand compounding will agree)!
Start saving in as many tax-exempt, tax-saving schemes as possible, the more guaranteed they are, the better (such as sovereign schemes, or schemes backed by Governments or Government banks). The earlier you start, the better. The longer you stay in them, the better. Do this even in your family members' names when possible. Max out all potential avenues.
In Canada, split income between self and spouse for tax advantage.
For an educated and learned stocks investor, this book provides the plan for a safety net one needs to build (and keep building) before embarking into stocks.
The key lesson to learn from the book is captured in Einstein's famous quote: "Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the World. Those who understand it, earn it. And those who don't, pay it!"
March 12, 2018
I've just finished reading a really interesting and helpful book. It's called Enough Bull: How to Retire Well Without the Stock Market, Mutual Funds, or Even an Investing Advisor. I know what you're thinking: I'm nowhere near retirement so why would I read such a book. I asked myself the same question when I placed the book on hold at a public library. Eh, what was the worst thing that could happen? I would hate it and immediately go back to my fiction novels.
Well, let's just say that reading it once wasn't enough. I felt like I should be taking notes as to remember all the important points mentioned and once I finished it, I wanted to go over it again in case I missed anything important.
I can honestly say that the author, David Trahair, CA, has a real talent at not only capturing the reader's attention but having a way of explaining things in a very simple and straightforward fashion. Every suggestion and idea is backed by explanations and comparative examples with concrete numbers.
I don't think that the title of the book should single out a group of readers, even though in a way, that's what it's doing. Enough Bull doesn't only address problems related to retirement plans. It touches on things like how to put your money only in safe investments (like GIC's), when to start investing, how to stay away from or exit the stock market smoothly, when to start contributing to RRSP (or RRIF) and when to start collecting your pension. His biggest advice is to stay away from the stock market because, as we've all seen in the last couple of years, a stock market crash is a disaster that can take with it your hard earned money and the financial security for your retirement years. This is why David Trahair proposes a 6-step plan to manage your investments without risking one cent.
Well, let's just say that reading it once wasn't enough. I felt like I should be taking notes as to remember all the important points mentioned and once I finished it, I wanted to go over it again in case I missed anything important.
I can honestly say that the author, David Trahair, CA, has a real talent at not only capturing the reader's attention but having a way of explaining things in a very simple and straightforward fashion. Every suggestion and idea is backed by explanations and comparative examples with concrete numbers.
I don't think that the title of the book should single out a group of readers, even though in a way, that's what it's doing. Enough Bull doesn't only address problems related to retirement plans. It touches on things like how to put your money only in safe investments (like GIC's), when to start investing, how to stay away from or exit the stock market smoothly, when to start contributing to RRSP (or RRIF) and when to start collecting your pension. His biggest advice is to stay away from the stock market because, as we've all seen in the last couple of years, a stock market crash is a disaster that can take with it your hard earned money and the financial security for your retirement years. This is why David Trahair proposes a 6-step plan to manage your investments without risking one cent.
March 3, 2018
After the first few pages, I skimmed the book. The writer's tone was very aggressive, and the book was poorly edited.
October 29, 2020
I liked this book, or at least I wanted to, a great deal. I guess what I mean is that I liked the ideas in it. The stock market is very, very good for long term growth. And it can be reasonably good for production of income through dividends.
However, the way the stock market is used in the US and Canada is absolutely insane. Retirement, like childhood, is a time of vulnerability. All of the current tools of financial planning--Modern Portfolio Theory, the 4 percent rule, and 401ks--leave you very vulnerable. Modern Porfolio Theory, which is one of the cores of investing for retirement, is flawed because Markowitz never thought about having a finite horizon and the necessity for consistent periodic withdrawals. The Four Percent Rule is unstable because of low interest rates. The rule, according to people like Wade Pfau, should be closer to 3 percent. And unless you have piles of money, that's too little of a return. Finally, 401ks were designed for high salary executives as a tax dodge, not as a retirement plan for most workers. Even if you do put away a huge pile, one down market right at retirement could destroy the next ten years of returns because of sequence risk.
Yet, the investment industry pushes and pushes us to invest for retirement. I'm becoming more skeptical of this push since it always involves the advisors getting more assets under management.
I wish this book had gone into details about alternatives in the United States. I would think some alternatives to the stock market would be paying off your house (as he discusses) before retirement, community investment notes, CDs, a side career that you can continue part time in retirement, and the delaying of social security until 70.
The investment community always talks about how savings vehicles don't give you a great rate of return. And this assertion is correct. But if you saved 500 dollars a month from 30 to 67 at 1 percent, you would have 268,000. Ok, this isn't a million. But it's a good chunk of change. Starting at 67, you could spend an additional 1200 dollars a month for the next twenty years. And the reality is that most of us don't live past 87. This wouldn't be 1200 a month of taxable income. It would be 1200 a month of spendable cash. It wouldn't be adjusted for inflation. But social security is. If your house is paid off, and you get the typical social security income today of 1500 a month, you would have 2700 a month of spendable money. The 1200 a month wouldn't be taxable. You would pay tax on the 268000 making one percent. So, you would only pay tax on about 2680 a year of interest income. At the most, it might be 600 a year. The 1200 a month, because it's not income, wouldn't increase the amount of social security that is taxed. Very little of your social security would be taxed.
If you combine this income with some part time work, you could be making about 3500 a month after taxes. Without a mortgage, this would be pretty livable in most parts of the country. Of course, the part time work would increase the amount of social security that is taxed. You could save the money from part time work and use this additional savings as a cushion against inflation later in your retirement.
People might argue that you could get a much better return on that 500 a month if you invested it in the stock market. You could. And over the long term, you would. But retirement investing really isn't about the long term, it's about specific returns in specific years. If the market crashes the year you retire, you could really damage your entire retirement with the four percent rule because you're taking four percent from a smaller total amount.
No broker or investment advisor would ever tell you to invest in just CDs or other low interest vehicles. And I'm just giving an example, not advocating that you do anything. Advisors profit from assets under management. This strategy that I'm discussing doesn't make them any money. But it could keep someone safe. That 1200 a month, unless the banks fail, would be solid. It would be guaranteed. And that's exactly what you need in retirement, not the Russian Roulette that the advisors tell you to do.
I would have liked to have seen Trahair talk about these kinds of specific examples, geared to the American markets.
However, the way the stock market is used in the US and Canada is absolutely insane. Retirement, like childhood, is a time of vulnerability. All of the current tools of financial planning--Modern Portfolio Theory, the 4 percent rule, and 401ks--leave you very vulnerable. Modern Porfolio Theory, which is one of the cores of investing for retirement, is flawed because Markowitz never thought about having a finite horizon and the necessity for consistent periodic withdrawals. The Four Percent Rule is unstable because of low interest rates. The rule, according to people like Wade Pfau, should be closer to 3 percent. And unless you have piles of money, that's too little of a return. Finally, 401ks were designed for high salary executives as a tax dodge, not as a retirement plan for most workers. Even if you do put away a huge pile, one down market right at retirement could destroy the next ten years of returns because of sequence risk.
Yet, the investment industry pushes and pushes us to invest for retirement. I'm becoming more skeptical of this push since it always involves the advisors getting more assets under management.
I wish this book had gone into details about alternatives in the United States. I would think some alternatives to the stock market would be paying off your house (as he discusses) before retirement, community investment notes, CDs, a side career that you can continue part time in retirement, and the delaying of social security until 70.
The investment community always talks about how savings vehicles don't give you a great rate of return. And this assertion is correct. But if you saved 500 dollars a month from 30 to 67 at 1 percent, you would have 268,000. Ok, this isn't a million. But it's a good chunk of change. Starting at 67, you could spend an additional 1200 dollars a month for the next twenty years. And the reality is that most of us don't live past 87. This wouldn't be 1200 a month of taxable income. It would be 1200 a month of spendable cash. It wouldn't be adjusted for inflation. But social security is. If your house is paid off, and you get the typical social security income today of 1500 a month, you would have 2700 a month of spendable money. The 1200 a month wouldn't be taxable. You would pay tax on the 268000 making one percent. So, you would only pay tax on about 2680 a year of interest income. At the most, it might be 600 a year. The 1200 a month, because it's not income, wouldn't increase the amount of social security that is taxed. Very little of your social security would be taxed.
If you combine this income with some part time work, you could be making about 3500 a month after taxes. Without a mortgage, this would be pretty livable in most parts of the country. Of course, the part time work would increase the amount of social security that is taxed. You could save the money from part time work and use this additional savings as a cushion against inflation later in your retirement.
People might argue that you could get a much better return on that 500 a month if you invested it in the stock market. You could. And over the long term, you would. But retirement investing really isn't about the long term, it's about specific returns in specific years. If the market crashes the year you retire, you could really damage your entire retirement with the four percent rule because you're taking four percent from a smaller total amount.
No broker or investment advisor would ever tell you to invest in just CDs or other low interest vehicles. And I'm just giving an example, not advocating that you do anything. Advisors profit from assets under management. This strategy that I'm discussing doesn't make them any money. But it could keep someone safe. That 1200 a month, unless the banks fail, would be solid. It would be guaranteed. And that's exactly what you need in retirement, not the Russian Roulette that the advisors tell you to do.
I would have liked to have seen Trahair talk about these kinds of specific examples, geared to the American markets.
February 19, 2024
crap book about personal finance. You cannot get wealthy by just investing in GIC and totally ignore stock market. The author just tries to tell what the audience wants to hear, especially those who lost a lot of money in 2008 stock market crash
May 22, 2021
Safe way to invest to retire with minimum risk in Canada using tfsa,rrsp...
December 30, 2009
There are a few useful excel spreadsheets at http://www.trahair.com/ around choosing the year to start the CPP (as soon as you can) and a MONEY MAXIMIZER SPREADSHEET
He has a 6 point plan:
1. Avoid personal financial disasters
2. You don't need the stock market or mutual funds (laddered GICs is his solution)
3. Buy a home and pay off the mortgage
4. Reducing expenses doesn't have to be painful (taxes through split-incomes and interest on debt)
5. Forget RRSPs until your debt is paid off (the opportunity zone)
6. Ask yourself if you really need an investment advisor.
This is a Canadian book which makes it different than most financial books. It has great coverage of all the details on the CPP. Good discussion on RRSPs, RRIFs, the new pension income splitting law from 2007 and the new TFSA.
I wish I had read this book in my twenties. It's a good companion to the wealthy barber which I read back then.
May 3, 2011
If you're a Canadian between the ages of 21 and 52, and the stock market scares you, this book is for you. Trahair has a readable style and a wealth of knowledge about his subject.
The book contains lots of examples and practical case studies. There's additional worthwhile material on the author's website. Even if spreadsheets scare you as much as the stock market does, you'll come away with some valuable insights from this book. You don't have to be an accounting geek to "get" the messages of the Six Points for Financial Freedom and understand the main ideas behind Trahair's example couples whose situations illustrate his arguments.
This is straightforward, simple advice about saving for retirement, for people who don't understand how the price of a cup of coffee a day could set you up for twenty or thirty years of old age -- it can't -- and don't feel comfortable putting their money into investments they don't understand.
The book contains lots of examples and practical case studies. There's additional worthwhile material on the author's website. Even if spreadsheets scare you as much as the stock market does, you'll come away with some valuable insights from this book. You don't have to be an accounting geek to "get" the messages of the Six Points for Financial Freedom and understand the main ideas behind Trahair's example couples whose situations illustrate his arguments.
This is straightforward, simple advice about saving for retirement, for people who don't understand how the price of a cup of coffee a day could set you up for twenty or thirty years of old age -- it can't -- and don't feel comfortable putting their money into investments they don't understand.
August 25, 2015
A very good book that questions the current popular advice to invest in mutual funds and RRSPs early in life and reap the benefits at retirement.
Trahair's advice is to not even think about RRSPs until your debt is paid off (including student loans) and you've bought - and paid for - a house. More importantly, only invest your retirement funds in completely secure investments.
The six point plan is summarized very easily in two pages. This alone is worth the price of the book. Makes sense, and better sense than what is popular today. I would have given it 5 stars except for the fact that when he gets to the nitty gritty details and examples, he lost me on several occasions with numbers and percentages.
But all in all it's a great book that I wish I had read in my 20s.
Trahair's advice is to not even think about RRSPs until your debt is paid off (including student loans) and you've bought - and paid for - a house. More importantly, only invest your retirement funds in completely secure investments.
The six point plan is summarized very easily in two pages. This alone is worth the price of the book. Makes sense, and better sense than what is popular today. I would have given it 5 stars except for the fact that when he gets to the nitty gritty details and examples, he lost me on several occasions with numbers and percentages.
But all in all it's a great book that I wish I had read in my 20s.
August 10, 2015
Perhaps if I was Canadian this book would have been a better match for me. The ideas were conveyed using a tremendous amount of, I assume Candian, acronyms. Things like RRSP, CRDO, GICS, all investment terms I had never heard of. In order for this to be a good book for me these terms would have had to been defined and a USA look alike or similar product would have to be noted. I finally gave up reading it around half to 3/4 th of the way through.
October 25, 2016
My take away message after having read this book is to sell my mutual funds in a smart way that causes minimal fees, and invest that money into GICs. Reading this book has helped me look at my relationship with the bank with a new lens. I plan on implementing some of the strategies, and will now think more critically about what types of investments I buy in the future.
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February 23, 2016If you're carrying any debt (credit card, mortgage, student loans), and have enough income that someone has convinced you that buying RRSPs is a good idea, then you need to read this book.
November 4, 2012
A must read for every Canadian ... Great simple advise to steer your financial future
February 27, 2013
Great book!
February 8, 2018
Not bad. Not too much new information I didn't have though.
Pay off debt first. Pay off Mortgage next. Once mortgage is paid off, put money into GIC's and RRSP's.
Pay off debt first. Pay off Mortgage next. Once mortgage is paid off, put money into GIC's and RRSP's.
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