Thank You Ken

pearlbrown | Jul 9, 2011 | 2,299 posts since 2010

Ken, thank you for all your ongoing efforts on DA. The general economic news is dismal, and good deals are few and far between, but you continue to do a great job of finding and sharing the available opportunities and other relevant information of interest to your readers. I appreciate your commitment and persistence, as well as the generosity of other members of this community who take the time to share information.

If not for the RCAs and CDs I have found on DA, given the paltry current rates otherwise paid on deposits, Bank of Sealy Posturepedic might be my preferred financial institution. It's convenient and has many advantages: great personal service and 24 hour access to one’s money without ATM fees, service charges, minimum balance requirements or tracking of number of transactions. OTOH, no FDIC, NCUA (or DIF in Massachusetts) insurance... ;-)

Thanks again ~

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WhataBummer | Jul 9, 2011 | 412 posts since 2010

Heidi Beckman wrote an interesting article back in December 2010 on her website, Pocket Change (pocketchangebook.com), which she entitled First Bank of Sealy Posturepedic. I have posted her article below in its entirety.

Let’s take a look at a problem known as the confirmatory bias. It’s a shortcut in thinking, (often considered an error in thinking), in which people tend to favor information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses regardless of whether the information is true.

This happens most often for emotionally-significant issues and for established beliefs. For example, if I have a strong belief that banks are dangerous, I’ll probably keep my money in my mattress and selectively attend to all of the evidence in the news that will affirm my belief (e.g., “See, just look at the fraudulent practices they engaged in at Goldman Sachs!” and “Look how long the FDIC’s Failed Bank List is!”).

At the same time, I’ll interpret ambiguous information as supporting my position, and I’ll discredit information that does not fit with my belief.

The main problem with the confirmatory bias is that it will lead to overconfidence, which, in turn, may lead the individual to make disastrous decisions. For instance, if I’m completely confident that my mattress beats the local savings and loan, there may be devastating consequences:

I would lose out on any potential to earn interest on my money.

My money would lose its “buying power” as inflation occurs over time.

Someone might break into my house and steal my money.

My back might hurt because the money might make my mattress lumpy.

If no one knows where my money is, my mattress (and all of the hundred-dollar bills hidden inside) might end up being sold at a garage sale for $5 when I die.

The bottom line is that if you are unwilling to consider opinions or data that disconfirm your own beliefs, you could be missing out on opportunities that would ultimately help you achieve your financial goals.

pearlbrown | Jul 9, 2011 | 2,299 posts since 2010

Let's hope the kudos to Ken came through loud and clear, even if the intended humor in the reference to BoSP apparently did not. :-)

51hh | Jul 10, 2011 | 1,713 posts since 2010

LOL. Thanking Ken for a wealth of up-to-date references should be the main theme of this thread.

That said, investing (and savings) is a trade-off of risk, reward, and effort. For example,

BoSP: zero reward, near-zero effort, high risks as pointed out by WaB.

Typical RCA: excellent reward, high effort, medium risk (debit card fraud, etc.)

Typical Savings/CD: low reward, zero effort, low risk

Bond fund: potentially excellent reward, high effort/skills/knowledge, high risk (losing principal)

My confirmatory bias is still toward RCAs:D