That's my point. He wants to talk long term, but you won't find many pushing 13 % for 20-30 years. I go by my investments (which are around 15-25 years for most) and I don't have anything near that. He tells people to not invest in mutual funds for short terms also.
Ramsey’s investing advice is strange to me. I used to drink his kool aid but this is where he lost me. It’s irresponsible to tell people to PLAN on 12% growth for their funds. Yes, it happens over short periods, but if you make your retirement plans based on 12%, you will fall very short of your goals. He also tells people to plan on an 8% withdrawal in retirement which only makes sense if you are getting 12%.
I had one of his ELPs explain it to me and he told me this: Ramsey isn’t lying about his mutual fund getting 12%, but the only way you would have that return is if you had invested in the fund at its inception in the early 1900s.
Financial advisers have their place and are a great idea for many people. However, his investing advice really seems geared toward making money for his business and pushing people to his ELPs more than actually helping people.
That said, his debt reduction advice is a great idea for most people and his system is designed to keep financially illiterate people out of trouble which is a good thing. Like anything else, he is not infallible and some parts of his system can be tweaked/ignored depending on individual scenarios. Each person has to make financial decisions based on their personal circumstances. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. I encourage anyone to learn what they can or hire an adviser if they need a professional.
