I did not say I was "good" at any of this. I haven't hired a financial advisor. There are 2 certified financial planners in the family and one of the benefits the company I work for offers is an independent financial planner.
There is a big difference between being ready for retirement and having the financial means to retire. I don't know more about it, than others, that is why I put out my plan as outside the conventional wisdom. So far, no financial planner has been able to refute my analysis of the the historical financial data. The only argument anyone has provided is not technical, it is that some folks sleep easier, which is a valid reason to use bonds. I like when folks challenge my approach. That is why I did run it by those financial planners and why I'm putting it out there. I'm looking for folks to punch holes in it. I'm always open to change when new information becomes available.
Keep in my being "right" does not mean you end up with a desirable outcome. "Outcome bias" is a common fallacy in analysis. So far, I'm confident that I'm "right" when it comes to my approach being the most productive on a long-term historical basis. The problem for all of us is that history is not a great predictor of the future, but it is the best we have for prediction. We are all in the same boat. You can make the best decision given the data available today and have a very bad outcome tomorrow. You can also make very poor decision based on the information available at the time you make the decision and end up with a great outcome.
There are also many other kinds of bias that creep into human decision making. It is an interesting study and worthwhile. Knowing it is there helps us guard against it and minimize it.
I have not desire to foist my approach on others. I do have the desire to provide things that make folks think about their approach. I'm also more than happy for others to critique mine. This goes for both financial and habitat approaches. There is no one person whom I've followed and I expect no one to follow me. However, I've learned all I know from a very wide variety of others.
Hope your "friend" has a nice day.
Thanks,
Jack