When we see a sign that says "no right turn on red", it assumes that we know a couple things already. First, red means "stop" and second, there is a general exception to that rule if you are turning right.
This argument will most likely not get you out of a ticket, but this is a good example of what authors, Chip and Dan Heath refer to as the "Curse of Knowledge" in their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. The Curse of Knowledge is simply this:
Knowledge we possess makes it impossible for us to imagine what it's like to lack that knowledge.
This is probably the reason why financial professionals' two biggest challenges when dealing with a client are complexity and apathy. These two feed off of one another. The financial professional has a vast amount of information that they can use to help their clients. The Curse of Knowledge causes them to try to explain every intricate detail to the client. The client becomes confused and thinks the financial planning process is too complex and decides to put it off. Now we have apathy. Isn't the whole idea of seeking advice from a professional to make things simpler?
Here's an example:
I'm almost done with a 500 page book on equity harvesting. The Curse of Knowledge makes me want to tell you everything I know about equity harvesting when really I could just ask you, "Does the value of your home increase faster or slower just because it's paid for?" The answer of course is "It will increase or decrease in value exactly the same no matter how much or how little you owe."
So, while it would be nice to not have to plan for a house payment in retirement, in the meantime, maybe your money could be working a little harder for you.
Equity harvesting is simply creating a systematic way to increase your net worth using the equity in you home to build your nest egg. That's it. That's all. I read the book so you wouldn't have to.
The Home Ownership Accelerator is the ultimate tool to make this process systematic, automatic, and with no change to your spending habits.
P.S. Here's a whole list of "But Officer..." excuses just for fun.
