"But You Are The Man"

I love this ad.  You've seen it--the senior executive, big office, smart dresser, looking sinister telling his newbie MBA assistant that he uses some cheap cell phone service (Verizon?) so he can "stick it to the man."  And his assistant points out sheepishly, "But you are the man."

The ad works because no matter how successful, how rich, how handsome, most people feel persecuted and want to stick it to the "Man."  This poor guy has to answer to screaming shareholders, cranky kids, and wakes up each night with the sweats after a nightmare about one of his 30,000 employees sprinkling crack cocaine over the cereal his company makes. 

Great ad, wrong industry.  Some ad agency should get their hands on this and flog it to the mutual fund industry to get people to invest in their 401(k) s and Roth IRA's.  Instead we have these lame ads and articles telling us to invest $100 a month, get a return of 10% and in sixty years you have...Who Cares?  Most people can't figure out what they are going to have for lunch let alone what they are going to have in sixty years.   

But you do want to stick it to the Man and you can by maxing out your retirement plans because you are investing and the Man is giving you the money.  First, your employer probably has a 'match'--you put in x and they put in y.  (This is to make you forget about the defined benefit program they cancelled the week you started.  If you don't know about this, call one of your newly hired buddies over at IBM.  Also, in the long run, you will be better off with the 401 (k).)  I worked at a very successful pharmaceutical company and they matched 2.12 to 1.  I put in a dollar and they coughed up $2.12. 

Talk about sticking it to the Man! 

Next up, the Feds.  When you contribute to a 401(k) the contribution comes off your taxable income.  You make $35,000 and you contribute $3,500 your taxable income is $31,500 saving you...a lot.  Run the two numbers through TurboTax (see Category 8) and see the difference.      

Keep doing this for a few years and the dollars start to snowball and you have some assets with which to say, if you have to, screw you, I'm out of here or take the money and start a business or any number of things as a way to stick it to the Man.

But, there is a catch.  If you take the money out before age 59 and some change, you pay a penalty of 10% and income taxes on the balance.  So what?  If you really need the money you will gladly pay the penalty and there are exceptions to the 10% penalty but The Important Thing is you have some money and you are in control of your destiny and not being told what to do by the Man.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote that money is dehydrated Utopia.  It's not.  It's dehydrated Freedom.

For more on your 401(k), Roths, and the company match see Category 12 and 13.

Comments

[Flexo]

In case you were still wondering, it's a Sprint commercial -- I saw it again the other day. "Fair and flexible," I believe.