Have you ever driven into town and seen a billboard that advertises Mutual Funds, CDs, IRAs, Money Markets and Annuities all in the same place? Or have your ever seen a newspaper advertisement like that?

Lumping all these together creates a lot of confusion confusion over simple things. Many of the people I meet dont know the difference between what they are invested IN and the wrappers that contain their investments. And advertisements like those billboards and newspaper ads encourage their confusion.

Speaking of stocks and bonds, CDs and IRAs in the same breath sounds like they are different kinds of the same thing: But that is simply not true. Do you remember those little tests we got as kids in early elementary that had three or four pictures two or three pictures of different types of the same thing and one picture of something completely different?

I do. We were always supposed to pick out the one different thing sort of like, Whats wrong with this picture? Our children and grandchildren had the same learning experience on Sesame Street. Four pictures would show up on the TV screen, three alike and one different, and the jingle played One of these things are not like the others. One of these things are just not the same. Which of these things are not like the others?

People with money to invest go through the same exercise when viewing a billboard, newspaper or magazine advertisement that creates confusion over simple things, unnecessarily. Saying stocks and bonds, CDs and IRAs in the same breath is like saying $10 bills, $1 bills, pennies, and wallets in the same breath one doesnt belong. Three are money and one is something we hold money in. Its the same as saying turkey, ham, steak, and refrigerator in the same breath. One doesnt fit together with the others.

Well, when financial institutions mix things up like that it just contributes to the confusion and leads people to think these things are similar when they are not. One of the first things we need to know about our savings and investments is what kind of container we will hold those investments inside of. Then we need to know about our investments themselves. What do they do, and how do they do it?

Another example of confusion over simple things has to do with costs. Why is it that we all know the cost of the little things in our lives but not the biggest things? Ill bet you know what your phone service costs or the interest on your credit cards. Ill bet you know exactly what you paid for your last new car, and Ill bet you know what you paid for your home and just how much equity you have in it.

But Im pretty sure you dont know what your investments cost. And if you are thinking about retiring soon, your investments and savings need to be a lot bigger than the value of those other things. And for that reason your investment cost information is a lot more valuable than anything else Ive mentioned because the cost of your investments determines what you will get to spend from those investments more than any other thing.

What you need to know is that all investments have two moving parts growth and cost. An investment consists of the well-known growth component or how much the investment will grow through interest or capital gain. The less known and less-understood component is cost. But, in reality, all investments consist of these two moving parts income and cost.

There does not exist any financial intermediary anywhere who at anytime can ever control gain or growth. A lot of focus and talk is put on the gain side of investment but, in reality, most of it is just hype. I dont neglect the growth side of investment but I have no control over the growth side. I can help the investor position himself or herself for a good gain but thats about it. However, everything can be done about costs and that is why costs are absolutely critical.

Costs are the determinant that will eventually determine more than anything else what an investor ends up with to spend out of their investment and savings. We can control costs absolutely and completely, but first we have to know what they are.

The conventional wisdom and common knowledge shared by most financial intermediaries does not tell you what costs are -- only what they are advertised to be, which is fraudulent, propaganda masking as information. It is not the truth; it is someones sales and marketing. To treat it as the truth is a foolish thing but most people do that.

One of the costs most financial advisors dont focus on is taxes. In retirement planning, when drawing from a finite portfolio, taxes are a very significant cost of investment. Control the taxes you owe and you can exert greater control over the amount of income that will be available. If you use smart, legal investment and saving strategies many retirees living on $50,000 a year or less wont have to pay taxes.

The important thing is that you can cut your taxes a lot just by taking your blinders off and not listening to advertising propaganda but instead use the smartest investments for you in your situation, Think outside the box. Dont embrace conventional wisdom. Dont allow others to confuse you about simple things.

In a nutshell, this is the key message I share with most of my clients. My strategies will give most investors twice as much income, twice as much security, and twice as much growth as they are used to getting from conventional methods.

Retire Dollar $mart: How you can do better than the Millionaire next door with less than half the capital (ISBN 1-4120-3000-5, $25.99, 197 pages, Trafford available at: www.retiredollarsmart.com), tells the secret of how you can have the retirement life of a millionaire with less than half that amount of capital in your portfolio if you use smart strategies instead of common knowledge.

Retire Dollar $mart has been an eye-opener for most readers because most people dont know the truth about the cost side, or even the performance side for that matter. When I give an analysis to a prospective client I rely on that truth because I guarantee improvement or I dont offer my services. If I cant make a guarantee to save substantially on expenses then I dont offer my services. Although actually less than 5% of the people I meet am I unable to make that guarantee.