Critiquing George Kamel’s 8-Step Plan for a Successful Retirement (#5 Will Sink You)

The Power Of Zero Show

This episode addresses the 8-step plan for a successful retirement plan that was recently shared by Dave Ramsey’s “sidekick,” George Kamel.

Just like in any field of life, a good financial plan benefits from assessing where you are, where you want to be by a given date, and what needs to be done to get there.

David dislikes the approach of painting everything with a broad brush and characterizing niche financial planning principles in broad, one-size-fits-all financial planning terms.

That’s what, in his opinion, many so-called “financial gurus” like Dave Rasmey tend to do.

David mentions his upcoming book, The Guru Gap: How America’s Financial Gurus Are Leading You Astray, and How to Get Back On Track.

George Kamel has found that 8 out of 10 millionaires have reached their millionaire status by investing in their company’s 401k plan.

David shares his philosophy: “If you’re in a 24% bracket or lower, opt for the Roth 401k. If you’re in the 32% bracket or higher, stick with the traditional 401k.”

David contradicts Kamel and explains that the reason you invest in a Roth IRA is because you think that your tax bracket in retirement is likely to be higher than it is today.

For David, when it comes to millionaires who have paid off their homes, it’s important to distinguish between causation and correlation.

A problem with Kamel’s view on Social Security is that Social Security is likely to never go away. What may happen, says David, is that the retirement age will be changed.

Kamel and David are in agreement: investing is a marathon, not a sprint – and it isn’t for the faint of heart.

According to an April 2024 study by Dalbar, investors continue to be their own worst enemies when it comes to saving for retirement.

Except for step 5, David sees George Kamel’s 8-step plan as a pretty sound solution.

Mentioned in this episode:

David’s upcoming book: The Guru Gap: How America’s Financial Gurus Are Leading You Astray, and How to Get Back on Track

David's books: Power of Zero, Look Before You LIRP, The Volatility Shield, Tax-Free Income for Life and The Infinity Code

DavidMcKnight.com

DavidMcKnightBooks.com

PowerOfZero.com (free 3-part video series)

@mcknightandco on Twitter

@davidcmcknight on Instagram

David McKnight on YouTube

Get David's Tax-free Tool Kit at taxfreetoolkit.com

Dave Ramsey

George Kamel

David M. Walker

Dalbar’s QAIB