https://10ktest.com/2026-10-20 https://10ktest.com/tests/10-000-once-2-000-month-for-life2026-10-20 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bA5E56ZuGJI/hqdefault.jpg$10,000 Once, $2,000 a Month for Life? I Tested ItPut $10,000 into index funds one time and it pays you $2,000 a month for life? We tested it on almost 31 years of real fund history. $10,000 in an S&P 500 index fund in January 1996, every dividend reinvested, grew to $208,367 by October 2026. Its monthly check today: $173, not $2,000. The dividend funds paid more per dollar but grew less: $168 and $199 a month. Verdict: BUSTED. What really got to $2,000 a month: $10,000 plus $849 every month since 1996, through every crash. That pile is about $2.4 million today.https://www.youtube.com/embed/bA5E56ZuGJI2026-10-20T18:00:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/dave-ramsey-8-percent-withdrawal-rule2026-10-18 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F9CFhrZF1vQ/hqdefault.jpgI Tested Dave Ramsey's 8% Rule on 21 RetireesDave Ramsey says you can take 8% a year out of your retirement savings. We tested it on real S&P 500 history for every retirement year from 1996 to 2016. Retire in January 2000 with $1,000,000, take 8% raised with inflation, and the money was gone by August 2009. The 4% rule he makes fun of never ran out. Verdict: BUSTED, for anyone who can't pick their retirement year. 8% ran out of money for 12 of the 13 people who retired from 1996 through 2008. It only worked if you retired right after a crash.https://www.youtube.com/embed/F9CFhrZF1vQ2026-10-18T12:00:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/2026-10-20 https://10ktest.com/tests/pay-off-mortgage-early-or-invest2026-10-18 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cw5L0W1iFG0/hqdefault.jpgPay Off the Mortgage or Invest? I Tested 21 FamiliesPay off your mortgage early, or invest the extra? We tested 21 families paying an extra $500 a month, each with a mortgage taken in January of a different year from 1996 to 2016. By October 2026, investing the extra was ahead for all 21. But at the March 9, 2009 low, every family that had started by then was behind. Verdict: BUSTED as a way to end up with more money, for anyone who can sit through a crash without selling. A family that sold in March 2009 and paid down the mortgage did worse than both plans in all 13 cases.https://www.youtube.com/embed/cw5L0W1iFG02026-10-18T12:00:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/sell-in-may-and-go-away2026-10-20 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qxGyKDXKNas/hqdefault.jpg"Sell in May and Go Away" Cost $99,000 per $10,000Sell in May and go away: own stocks from November to April, sit in cash from May to October. We tested it on the S&P 500 with dividends from January 1996 to October 2026. Buy and hold turned $10,000 into $211,283. Selling every May: $112,475. The saying is right that summer is the weaker half, but summer still made money in 23 of 30 years. Verdict: PARTLY TRUE. Selling in May was ahead at the end of every year from 2001 to 2016, then fell behind for good, and it lost every 10-year stretch that started after October 2005.https://www.youtube.com/embed/qxGyKDXKNas2026-10-20T12:45:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/sell-stocks-before-midterm-elections2026-10-20 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PdgIqUzxVh0/hqdefault.jpgSell Before the Midterms? I Tested 23 Elections Since 1934Should you sell before the midterm election? We tested every midterm since 1934, 23 of them. The run-up really is bumpier: a 10% drop in 11 of 23. But the market still ended the run-up higher in 15 of 23, and selling before every midterm and buying back by Election Day turned $10,000 into $6,007,520 instead of $7,680,870 (price only). Verdict: BUSTED. And stocks do well the year after a midterm? CONFIRMED as history: up after 22 of 23 midterms, about 15% on average. Just not a promise.https://www.youtube.com/embed/PdgIqUzxVh02026-10-20T12:25:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/about2026-10-17 https://10ktest.com/disclaimer2026-10-17 https://10ktest.com/members2026-10-18 https://10ktest.com/privacy2026-10-18 https://10ktest.com/videos2026-10-20