Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Disclosure

  • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Archives
    • The Final Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
    • Dick Young’s Research Key: Anecdotal Evidence Gathering
    • Crisis at Vanguard
  • Investment Analysis
    • Bonds
    • Currencies and Gold
    • Dividend Investing
    • ETFs & Funds
    • Investment Strategy
    • Retirement Investing
    • Stocks
    • The Efficient Frontier
  • Investment Counsel
  • Dynamic Maximizers®
  • Retirement Compounders®
  • Free Email Signup
  • Dick Young’s Safe America

How to Save Your Retirement Portfolio

September 11, 2014 By Jeremy Jones, CFA

jjonesI must have been 17 at the time. I had recently sold the little Nissan Sentra I drove during high school and I bought a sports car. Every teenager’s dream, right? A hot new sports car just as I was getting ready to head off for college. Think of all the possibilities.

Well sort of. It was a 1987 Pontiac Firebird. Okay, so maybe I didn’t have the most refined taste in cars.

The Firebird was a 2.8 Liter V6 automatic with power steering. Quite a bump up in performance from the manual transmission 90 HP Nissan Sentra with power-assist steering. The Sentra had the power of a John Deere ride-on, but required body-builder biceps to make a three point turn.

About two months after I bought my new “sports car” I noticed that the engine was sputtering when the gas was low. Ah ha, I thought. It must be the fuel filter. I asked some friends and family (none of whom were auto mechanics of course) and all agreed. The fuel filter was the problem.

Feeling ambitious, I set out to fix it myself. I had changed the oil in my Sentra before without a problem so I thought, how much more complicated could a fuel filter be? And it was going to save me a ton of money which was in short supply in those days. I wouldn’t have to pay the mechanic to diagnose the problem, which my diligent research had obviously identified as the fuel filter, and I wouldn’t have to pay him to fix it either.

So I headed to the auto parts store and picked up the Chilton’s manual for the ’87 Firebird, grabbed all the parts I needed, and headed home to fix it. I read through the instructions and thought the job would be a cinch. Even easier than changing the oil in my Sentra.

The fuel filter was underneath the car near the driver’s side rear wheel. All I had to do was scoot under the car, loosen a couple of nuts on the fuel line, pop out the old filter, put the new one back in and retighten the nuts on the fuel lines. The filter even had labels for fuel in and fuel out so I couldn’t put it on backwards. It was fool proof. Or so I thought.

Here’s how it unfolded.

I grab the fuel filter and a wrench. I didn’t have a car lift of course, so I get on my back, slide under the car and find the fuel filter. I see the two nuts I need to loosen. I grab my wrench, but there isn’t enough room under the car to get my arm in the right position to loosen the nuts.

I scoot back out from under the car and decide I’ll just use the tire jack to lift it up. Probably not the safest idea, but it gave me the space I needed.

I’m back under the car now with the wrench. I take the first nut off without a problem. I start on the second nut. I turn and nothing happens. The nut is on there tight. I turn harder. Still nothing. It must be rusted onto the fuel filter.

WD-40 will fix that. I get back out from under the car, find the WD-40, spray it on the nut and try to turn again. Still nothing. I turn even harder. There is movement now, but then a strong odor of gasoline.

Oh no, what did I do? Turns out my fuel filter didn’t have a bracket holding it in place. I was turning the nut so hard I bent and broke the fuel line. I got the fuel filter off alright, but a good chunk of the fuel line came with it.

Now I had a real problem. A problem I couldn’t fix on my own. So after plugging the fuel line to prevent gas from leaking everywhere, I called the tow truck driver and had him drop the car off at the mechanic.

About $1,000 later, my “sports car” was as good as new. But when I got it back it was still sputtering. The fuel filter was never the problem. I don’t even remember now what was causing the sputtering. All I remember is that I took the car straight to the mechanic to fix it.

That was the last time I attempted a DIY job on one of my vehicles.

What does all of this have to do with investing? If you are going to pursue a do-it-yourself investing strategy, be sure you have all of the right tools and the right knowledge before putting capital at risk.  Mistakes in investing can be costly.

If you aren’t inclined to put in the time and expense to attain the right knowledge and tools, don’t be afraid to seek the help of professionals. You will likely save a lot of time, money and heartache. For investors seeking professional help, we have always advised boutique registered investment advisors charging less than 1%. You can’t take your retirement portfolio to a mechanic for a quick fix once it’s been broken.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

You Might Also Like:

  • Your Retirement Life: Investment Planning in One Chart
  • Your Retirement Life: Sweet Home Alabama
  • Portfolio Strategy: Looking Past the End of the Bull
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Jeremy Jones, CFA
Jeremy Jones, CFA, CFP® is the Director of Research at Young Research & Publishing Inc., and the Chief Investment Officer at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. was ranked #10 in CNBC's 2019 Financial Advisor Top 100. Jeremy is also a contributing editor of youngresearch.com.
Latest posts by Jeremy Jones, CFA (see all)
  • The Parallels Between Today’s Stock Market and the Dot-Com Bubble - January 25, 2021
  • Corporations Rush to Reap Equity Windfall - January 22, 2021
  • Investors Are Being Conditioned Not To Recognise the Danger - January 21, 2021

Search Young Research

Most Popular

  • The Fed is Sacrificing Retirees to Save the Banks
  • Dick Young’s Safe America: Chapter 1, Part I
  • I’ve Been in Richard Young’s Maximizers for Years
  • Vanguard Wellesley (VWINX) vs. Wellington (VWELX): Which Fund is Best?
  • The Highest Yielding S&P 500 Stocks
  • The Power of a Compound Interest Table
  • Whether Through Audacity or Ignorance, Stock Fundamentals Are Being Ignored
  • Jim Simons's Renaissance Technologies vs. Internet Forum Traders
  • Smith Family Robinson in Live Free or Die, NH
  • February RAGE Gauge: Americans Focusing on What's In Front of Them

Don’t Miss

Default Risk Among the Many Concerns with Annuities

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth

Could this Be the Vanguard GNMA Winning Edge?

Cryptocosm and Life After Google

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

Is Gold a Good Long-term Investment?

How to Invest in Gold

Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): The Original Balanced Fund

What is the Best Gold ETF for Investing and Trading?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Stock: The Only True Dividend King

The Dividend King of the North

You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life

RSS The Latest at Richardcyoung.com

  • The Fundamental Disconnect of “Unity” and the Progressive Left
  • Unmasking Heath and Human Services Secretary Nominee Xavier Becerra
  • Absentee Ballots Not Verified
  • SARS-CoV-2: Probability of Outdoor Airborne Transmission Very Low
  • Your Personal Safety: Concealed-Carry How to Carry Your Freedom
  • Mostly Peaceful, Ungovernable Protestors
  • Biden’s Inaugural, the Most Confusing, Contradictory, Incoherent Ever?
  • Is the GOP Over? Not Even Close: Here’s Why
  • Impeaching an Ex-President is Unconstitutional
  • Ten Republican Senators to Get Behind

About Us

  • About Young Research
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Our Partners

  • Richard C. Young & Co.
  • Richardcyoung.com

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2021 | Terms & Conditions

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.