A scene from a Tarzan movie has Lord Greystoke showing off his estate to his grand son. Someday, he says to the young man from the jungle, this will all be yours: Live off the income from the land, but don't sell any of it. Don't dip into principal What a beautiful formula for having your savings last in perpetuity. Except that the rule doesn't work anymore. Yields these days are pathetic. As recently as 1985 you could have lived off the interest on ten-year Treasurys. They paid 10%, and infla tion over the next decade averaged 4%. Real yield: 6%.
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