Episode Details

Rough Draft - Notes

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ROUGH NOTES

Mathematics is not just a subject from school. It is the foundation of how we make sense of everyday decisions. Yet every single day I see people experience what I call a brain lock. It is not bad, it is not good, it simply is. For years I tried to fix it. I explained, I simplified, I drew diagrams. I would sit across from people and try every angle possible. But more often than not, it was a waste of precious time. These days, I walk away. I have learned that not everyone can or will engage in clarifying questions. And without clarification, mathematics gets distorted.
My firm, Truesdell Wealth Incorporated, was originally called Fixed Cost Financial. I own and copyrighted the phrase Fixed Cost Investing. I built that idea because it made sense. A flat fee for guided advice is clean, predictable, and honest. But when I first rolled it out in large urban areas, I failed spectacularly. I thought successful, rising professionals would understand. They did not. The few who signed up were obsessed with cryptocurrency, gold, or the latest meme stock. They wanted shortcuts. They wanted something for nothing. That has never been my style. Those clients are long gone, and I have never regretted it.
But the issue is not limited to younger speculators. Retirees fall into the same trap when they rely on children or grandchildren for advice. Well-meaning family members can be the worst advisors in the world. They speak with confidence, but without clarity. And so the retirees end up confused, paralyzed, or misled. That is why I often begin with a simple mathematical test.
The test is this: which is larger, one or three hundred? Everyone says three hundred. And everyone is wrong. The correct answer is, “It depends.” One what? Three hundred what? What is the baseline? Is one a percent? Is three hundred a dollar amount? Without clarification, the numbers are meaningless.
This is where most people struggle. They take information at face value without asking who, what, where, when, why, how, and which. In my background in investigations, I learned the power of clarifying questions. Think of Columbo with his famous line, “Just one more question.” Those extra questions make the difference between being fooled and being informed.
So let us return to the numbers. Suppose an advisor charges you a flat $300 a month for all-inclusive investment and wealth advice. Most people react with shock. “Three hundred a month? That is a lot of money.” But then another advisor steps in and says, “My fee is only one percent.” He adds the reminder: a basis point is just one-hundredt