Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Bryan J Busch and Flexo speak with Carl Richards, author of the book The Behavior Gap.
They discuss the difference between smart investments vs. emotional decisions, the importance of financial planning, and how most people are better off just buying an index fund and ignoring investment gurus.
Carl has offered ten 8×10 prints of one of his most relevant sketches to Consumerism Commentary readers and listeners. The sketch explains who to determine what issues are the most important, whether in financial planning or in life. It is a Venn diagram emphasizing the intersection of things that matter and things you can control. The print is on high-quality, thick card stock.
Here’s how to get a free 8×10 print of the napkin sketch
In order to receive a free print, email book@behaviorgap.com with a subject line indicating you’re participating in the giveaway from Flexo or Consumerism Commentary, and include in the email a proof of purchase. The proof can be a copy of your order notice from Amazon, a picture of your receipt, or anything else that shows you’ve purchased the book. Carl’s team will contact the first ten people directly to ensure the prints find their way to the winners’ hands.
Table of contents
[00:00] Introduction from Bryan J Busch
[00:33] Interview with Carl Richards
– [00:57] Explaining financial planning through napkin sketches
– [02:45] The behavior gap between smart investments and emotional decisions
– [05:08] Past performance really doesn’t predict future results
– [09:13] Start with a plan instead of a product
– [12:39] Paying off debt is a great investment, maybe even before funding a 401(k)
– [16:21] Follow Warren Buffet’s advice and buy an index fund
– [21:25] Ignore all investment gurus
– [23:42] More money doesn’t solve money problems
– [25:31] Financial plans are much less important than the process of creating one and being flexible with them
– [27:17] Tools for avoiding making financial mistakes
[31:15] End
Free Webinar
Carl is also presenting a free webinar on building the perfect investment on January 5th at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.
Theme music by Mindcube.
Updated January 2, 2012 and originally published January 1, 2012. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
