https://10ktest.com/2026-11-04 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/buffett-90-10-portfolio-retirement2026-11-01 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yj1moxAp3WY/hqdefault.jpgI Tested Buffett's 90/10 Plan for His Wife on 21 RetireesWarren Buffett's instructions for his wife's money: 10% in short-term government bonds, 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. We tested that 90/10 plan on 21 retirees, $1,000,000 each, one for every year from 1996 to 2016. At 4% a year it never ran out for any of them. Neither did 100% stocks. Verdict: CONFIRMED, for retirees who take about 4% and can hold through a 50% drop without selling. The 10% cushion paid off for 1 retiree in 21: the one who retired in January 2000.https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yj1moxAp3WY2026-11-01T12:00:00-05:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/buy-the-dip-vs-investing-now2026-10-21 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vJU7_jKq-_M/hqdefault.jpgWaiting for a Crash to Buy Took 7 Years. Here's the CostShould you invest $10,000 now, or keep your cash ready and wait for the market to fall? We tested buy the dip on 252 start months from 1996 to 2016, with real S&P 500 prices through October 2026. Wait for a 20% crash starting in January 2013 and you waited 7.2 years, then bought with the S&P 500 69.6% higher. Verdict: BUSTED, for anyone sitting on cash waiting for a better price. Waiting for a 10% dip won 55% of the time, but the average win was +$709 and the average loss -$2,644 per $10,000 after 5 years.https://www.youtube.com/embed/vJU7_jKq-_M2026-10-21T12:00:00-04:00yes 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/does-gold-protect-in-a-crash2026-10-28 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D15A0xWjr7Y/hqdefault.jpgDoes Gold Protect You in a Crash? I Tested Every OneBuy gold: it protects you when stocks crash and against inflation. We tested both halves since 1996. In all four S&P 500 drops of 20%+, gold did better than stocks. But in the 2021-2022 inflation, $10,000 in gold lost 16.6% of its buying power, worse than stocks and cash. Verdict: PARTLY TRUE. Crash half: held up 4 of 4. Inflation half: busted when it mattered. A small slice worked: 90% stocks and 10% gold, rebalanced each January, ended at $210,358 vs $211,283 all in stocks, with a smaller worst drop.https://www.youtube.com/embed/D15A0xWjr7Y2026-10-28T12:00:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/does-the-stock-market-always-come-back2026-10-22 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TDCvLIKYc1I/hqdefault.jpg"The Market Always Comes Back"? I Tested Every Crash"Don't worry, the stock market always comes back." We tested every 20%+ fall since 1996. By the price on the news, it came back every time. But after inflation, $10,000 put in at the March 24, 2000 top couldn't buy what it bought in 2000 until May 14, 2013: 13 years 2 months. Verdict: PARTLY TRUE. It works for money you can leave alone. A retiree who started with $1,000,000 at the 2000 top, taking 4% a year, never saw a million again and ran out on August 1, 2025.https://www.youtube.com/embed/TDCvLIKYc1I2026-10-22T12:00:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/how-much-do-you-need-retire-i-25x2026-10-26 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O5D0uWnmGfk/hqdefault.jpgHow Much Do You Need to Retire? I Tested the 25x RuleHow much money do you need to retire? The most popular answer: 25 times what you spend in a year, so $1,000,000 for $40,000 a year, raised with inflation. We tested it on every retirement start year from 1871 to 1996, all in today's money. With 60% stocks and 40% bonds, the money lasted 30 years in 124 of 126 start years. The worst year to retire wasn't 1929. It was 1966: prices almost tripled by 1982, stocks and bonds both lost after inflation, and that retiree ran out of money in September 1991. Verdict: PARTLY TRUE. For a 30-year retirement, 25x lasted in 124 of 126 start years, and the worst start needed 26.6x. Quitting early is different: over 45 years, 12 of 111 ran out (about 1 in 9). 30x never ran out, in 155 years of data.https://www.youtube.com/embed/O5D0uWnmGfk2026-10-26T18:00:00-04:00yes https://10ktest.com/tests/2026-11-04 https://10ktest.com/tests/lump-sum-vs-dollar-cost-averaging2026-11-04 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M5o00fw-4LU/hqdefault.jpgLump Sum or Spread It Out? The "Safe" Way Lost 3 of 4Got a lump sum, an inheritance or a 401(k) rollover? The usual advice: don't put it all in at once, spread it out to be safe. We tested $10,000 all at once vs. spread over 12 months, starting every month since 1996. All at once was ahead after a year in 272 of 358 start months (76%), and after 10 years about 3 times out of 4. Verdict: PARTLY TRUE. Safer for your nerves in year one, not for your money: on average the 12-month plan cost $780 per $10,000 over 10 years.https://www.youtube.com/embed/M5o00fw-4LU2026-11-04T12:00:00-05:00yes 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/tests/social-security-62-vs-70-invest2026-10-25 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vCNRtDkwuiA/hqdefault.jpgSocial Security at 62 vs 70: I Tested Investing the ChecksTake Social Security at 62 and invest it, or wait until 70? We tested 15 people who turned 62 from 1996 to 2010, with real cost-of-living raises and real S&P 500 returns. If you spend the early checks, the person who waited caught up by about age 79. Verdict: PARTLY TRUE. Investing every early check beat waiting, so far, for people who turned 62 from 2001 to 2010. For those who turned 62 from 1996 to 2000, the pile ran out between 82 and 85, and after that the waiter's check is 77% bigger for life.https://www.youtube.com/embed/vCNRtDkwuiA2026-10-25T12:00:00-04:00yes 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/videos2026-11-04