Did you know people are naturally inclined to walk in circles? And it's not because one leg is longer than another. Research shows the same person will randomly choose a different direction to walk in a circle. Sometimes that person will walk clockwise; sometimes that same person will walk counter-clockwise. You can give someone the correct directions, but, if you blindfold that person, nature overrides those directions.
Does this sound familiar? Retirement experts regularly advise savers to observe fairly simple and standard rules. Yet, http://www.benefitspro.com/2016/02/29/divide-between-401k-participants-and-sponsors-stud just as regularly ignore these common sense guidelines. Why do people freeze when it comes time to pull the trigger and follow the instructions professionals generally agree should be followed?
Behavioral finance researchers have studied the impediments to decision-making. Ironically, for all the good things our culture says about the freedom to choose, choice represents one of the biggest obstacles to decision making. The problem with most rules of thumb occurs not in their simplicity, but in their ultimate requirement to take some positive action to implement them. Without implementation, these rules are all thumbs.
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