Thanks, Dave: People have now lost 20.5%!!!

It's incredibly arrogant that financial guru Dave Ramsey continues to go on national television and comment about the financial markets.

If you followed Ramsey's comments and advice on NewsChannel 5 last month to go ahead and put your money into mutual growth funds, you've now lost an incredible 20.5% of your investment -- at least. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down almost 200 points today despite global intervention by the central banks to support commercial lending and investor confidence.

Ramsey owes an apology to NewsChannel 5 viewers and others he has given such nonsensical advice to. Every person must invest their money wisely after seeking the advice of a certified financial planner. And that advice comes after several meetings in which your personal, life needs and goals are examined.

The "long-term" caveat to advice from people like Ramsey no longer applies. He is giving Edsell advice to a Lexus generation. Growth mutual funds are no longer going to return over the long term. And by long-term, I mean 7-10 years.

Just last winter, the Wall Street Journal reported that such mutual funds had yet to recoup their losses from the 2001 market drop. Guess how much longer it will take for these mutual funds to recover those losses with the latest dive by the markets?

I regularly drive by Ramsey's Financial Peace University west of Cool Springs Mall. Like the Wall Street fatcats bailed out last week, Ramsey has made his money. He's resting easy. Unfortunately, people who have listened to his reckless investment advice have no financial peace now ... and for a long time to come.