I feel overwhelmed by financial jargon. It’s natural for folks who talk about certain topics to slip back into using jargon. In High Tech the use of TLAs are rampant (Three Letter Acronyms). How many folks either don’t know what the Acronym mean? Worse how many have the wrong understanding of the TLA ? Sometimes they even use FLA’s (4 letter acronyms).
Financial writers at times assume a more sophisticated readership. Occasionally, however, they are just showing off by using “big words or phrases”. The over use of catch-phrases is another topic that is annoying. While I realize they can be useful reminders, it doesn’t mean I can’t feel frustrated when they are used.
What do I mean?
- Pay yourself first. Who gets paid before me ? Put your savings first and then pay everyone else. I might end up in jail if I “paid myself first” because the Tax Man wants his money first!
- Good debt, kindly just intercourse off, debt is like the news, it is neither good nor bad, it is, you decide whether it is good or not (by the way, DEBT is BAD)
- Dollar Cost Averaging, this chestnut has been around since I was in short pants, but what does it really mean. One definition I found said:
a system of buying securities at regular intervals, using the same amount of cash for each purchase, over a considerable period of time regardless of the prevailing prices of the securities, resulting in having bought the total at an average cost.
Many times this is used as a response to folks who want to “time the market” or “beat the market”, just buy it at regular intervals, and you should be OK.
- Ethical Investing , while the sentiment is lovely, it is about as likely as finding a Filet Mignon on sale at a Vegan restaurant. Is ethical investing achievable? It sounds as unbelievable as Church Going Atheists (IMHO).
- Beating the Market, this one astounds me that experts keep using it, but luckily it helps me, so maybe I should stop complaining. All of these experts throwing money around like drunken sailors in a strip club, helps keep the indexes growing, and strangely they don’t beat the market (and if they do, it is for a very short period of time). You know who really beat the market well? Bernie Madoff, he did a great job of beating the market (I hear).
Feel free to call me a hypocrite on this, I know I have used this type of jargon before, but I will try to reform and stop using this Financial Verbal diarrhea.
I’m glad paying yourself made the list. Too many people focus on paying bills and in the end don’t have a cent left for themselves.
An FLA would be…Florida-letter acronym?
Four letter acronym (as well) 😀
Another problem with Acronyms is not everyone gets it when they see the long form. There are actually people out there who put money in the Tax-Free Savings Account and Tax-Free GICs at Tangerine who did NOT know they were putting money into a TFSA and therefore over-contributed. I still don’t know how they thought a GIC could be tax-free if it wasn’t in a TFSA but somehow they thought it possible.
Wow… yes, folks really need to understand what they are dealing with. 👹
Many people have heard of the concepts, but don’t understand the detail or benefits in great enough detail. I think that bloggers can do a service to readers by providing their insight, knowledge, and personal experience. Do that and I don’t think it’s an overuse at all.
True, either that or don`t use the more intricate terms, keep it at a level that most folks can understand.