I've had people in their late 40s come up to me and tell me that they haven't saved enough for their retirement so they can't afford to put their money in mutual funds that only yield an annual return of 10 percent. They insist they need a 25 percent return, and so they put their money in riskier investments. They stand to lose so much more by doing that. The key to solid personal financial health, she insists, is just plain thinking ahead. In her book, she recommends an eight-step plan that is eminently down to earth.
Inflation is down, interest rates are down, unemployment is low.
There has been an enormous amount of restructuring. Right now, things are very healthy. But, she explains, that state of affairs didn't come cost free. There was a lot of downsizing. A lot of people lost their jobs to get things to where they are now.