The Wisdom of Ric Edelman

Inspirational poem by Mark Stone

Let me lighten the load a little bit and share with you a poem. It's called The Wisdom of Ric Edelman. No, that's not me saying that. That's the title of a new poem. It was written by Mark Stone, one of the devoted listeners to this podcast. Mark is a poet, and he decided to write a poem about me. And with his permission, I'm going to read it to you.

The Wisdom of Ric Edelman:  

Tush on the sofa and heels on the hassock,

buying a fancy car, new or a classic.

Drinks with umbrellas imbibed on the strand.

These are the golden years that we have planned.  

Fruitful investing is hard to intuit.

Learning the basics will help you get through it.

How can you grow your retirement coffer?

Ric has some nuggets of wisdom to offer.

What should you purchase? Each fund has its facets.

Why are there so many classes of assets?  

Ric's learned counsel is simple and terse.

Own some of each so your nest egg is diverse.

When one of the classes of assets you own

grows faster than others, you might then be prone

to just let it grow. One can see the attraction,

rebalancing, though,  Is the more prudent action.

Don't fret when the market is falling or rising.

Invest every week with a long-term horizon.

A pittance saved weekly for decades. Compounding

will yield a remittance that's truly astounding.  

Saving for college should start right at birth.

Growth over decades will maximize worth.

It's easy to set up a 529 plan.

Growth is tax-free, so it's really a fine plan.

You may not develop a nest egg as stellar

as those of Jeff Bezos and John Rockefeller.

But using Ric's wisdom as assiduously,

will render your nest egg the best that can be.  

Ric Edelman: My thanks to Mark F Stone, the poet of that new poem, The Wisdom of Ric Edelman.

-----------