It was my first year at the academy. And the government thought it appropriate to ensure that its future Army officers had sufficient acumen to manage their finances.

Their sage advice back then was to buy stocks, hold for 40-50 years, and then rotate into bonds.

(Funny how the government's finance class encouraged us to buy government bonds.)

The idea was to build wealth through stocks, which conventional wisdom tells us will increase in value.

Then, generate stable income from government bonds, which are "safe" and provide much needed supplemental income for retirees.

It's become clear to me over the years that this story is completely wrong.