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Chapter 4: Why Is Everyone Chasing Returns?

When I speak with people and ask them why they are investing, they often

respond with the same answer, "I am investing to be comfortable in

retirement." Then, I ask, "What does ‘comfortable’ mean? Assign a number,

so I know what you are really saying." They say, "Well, Tony, I need about

$100,000 a year in retirement to be comfortable." I ask where that number

came from, and this is where I am blown away every time.

They tell me that they read that you only need about 70% of your income in

retirement to live on. Are you kidding me? You want to take a 30% pay cut

in retirement, right before you go on a permanent vacation? Are you going

to just sit at home, or do you intend to travel, go out to dinner, spoil your

grandchildren, and afford the expensive medication that often becomes

inevitable as we age?

Here's the point. If replacing part or all of your paycheck is the goal, then

why not work on creating multiple income streams instead of a pile of

money that you must convert to income?

Wall Street does not want you to focus on creating multiple income streams

because they can't charge fees on them. They advise you to invest for the

long-term in their system so they can charge fees and take systematic
withdrawals from your money that remains largely in the stock market (so

they can continue to charge fees).