401k part II

July 16th 1907,
to continue previous blog post, the 3.8 % rate of return, again my point is for you and I to really take the time to review our retirement plans and understand the numbers and what they mean overall. One can argue that it has been a rough 10 years but then I would retort what ten have not been rough? I obviously will continue to partake in my companies 401k because my employer matches my contribution. But I am reviewing other options and realize other work must be done. As should you. And I challenge what is being told to the American worker, 401k (or other mutual fund vehicle) participant in regards to what to return to expect from the stock market longterm. 8-12% is the number touted. But please understand what has made these numbers so good is a few rockstars (stocks) that have edged the averages higher, the majority have done 4-5% while many have stunk. and this speaks nothing to cash flow ( cash in hand, revenue stream)....a stock value is when you sell .....just like my house can be worth a million bucks but if i dont want to move it is the same as if it is valued at a $100,000...And please realize that the rules for mutual funds are that they cannot invest in a few stocks but have to be spread out over a lot ....if you do any research or cursory reading ....this is extremely hard to do and I am talking extremely hard for the pros...again...do not believe me but do some research, read what the Warren Buffets, Robert Kiyosaki 's are saying ..............what woke me up to this subject is this ....I worked for a company from 1998-2000 and had a 401k , of which i left it alone , did not roll it over to new co. ( both employers are large co's so the mutual funds are large institutional investors) ......so no new $ from my paycheck has gone in since 2000......the results==....it is now worth less than when I left in 2000.....again....how can that be....??.....