You may remember back in 2018, when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, devastating the island and its infrastructure. And you may remember when in January 2020, the people of Puerto Rico suffered again after being hit by a violent earthquake. Needless to say, the island has been a case study in survival. After enduring so many disasters, Puerto Ricans have learned that self-reliance is the only way. Now the islanders have suffered another disaster, albeit not quite as severe. But their response shows how much the island has learned about resilience. On Wednesday, April 6, a fire hit one of the … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2022
Google Plugs Security Hole in Google Play Store
After independent researchers discovered a security hole in apps from Google Play Store, Alphabet (the company formerly known as Google), has taken steps to plug the hole. The Wall Street Journal reports: Google has yanked dozens of apps from its Google Play store after determining that they include a software element that surreptitiously harvests data. The Panamanian company that wrote the code, Measurement Systems S. de R.L., is linked through corporate records and web registrations to a Virginia defense contractor that does cyberintelligence, network-defense and intelligence-intercept … [Read more...]
See Your Survival Guy’s Super States on $1 a Day
You may remember last month when I wrote to you about my clients who traveled around the country, paying $1 a day to rent/move a Winnebago from the factory to a dealer in New York. They had three weeks to drive around in the meantime and made the most of it. Here’s a summary of their trip, and additional costs. You can’t see Your Survival Guy’s Super States for much less than this. 21 days Nashville Natchez Trace Parkway New Orleans Gulf Coast MS and AL Southern Georgia Okefenokee Swamp GA Savanna GA Charleston SC Friends in Richmond, VA Eastern Shore of … [Read more...]
“Where’ve You Been the Last Couple of Years?”
If all of a sudden you’re receiving calls from your financial guy, don’t you wonder to yourself, “Where’ve you been the last couple of years?” Because the full-court press is on to get in touch with you by the big firms you read about. Don’t be a number. If you have any savings you care about, I want to talk with you. You deserve the best. That’s why I’m here. And please, don’t worry about how much or little you have. I’ll help you figure out if we can work together. I think we can. As I wrote to you recently in this piece: Cut the Wait Times at Fidelity and Vanguard with Your Survival … [Read more...]
Fish On! Deep Sea Fishing Key West, Part II
As I wrote to you here, fishing isn't always about catching. If it was, they'd call it "catching." But, if it's the catching you're after, "just sit right back, and you'll hear a tale" worthy of Gilligan's Island. It's funny because, in my conversations with you, you said to me, "Uh, Survival Guy, nice story about fishing. Just one thing. Did you catch the fish?" Which made me laugh because I guess I left out the most important part. Sorry. Yes, we caught the fish. But, before we caught "the fish," Your Survival Guy hooked on to a good size Wahoo, 20-pounds I'm guessing, and had the … [Read more...]
Are you Ready for Zuck Bucks?
The FT reports that Facebook, sorry Meta, is planning to introduce virtual coins and tokens similar to crypto, but worse. Meta will control the coins. This is apparently what you get when you give full control via a dual share class to a twenty-something founder who, by all accounts, ripped off the idea for his product from peers. Sorry Facebook shareholders, you’re fortune is now hitched to the success of Zuck Bucks and there is no vote you can take to change it. The FT's Hannah Murphy has more: Meta has drawn up plans to introduce virtual coins, tokens and lending services to its apps, as … [Read more...]
Retirement Compounders: Helping Investors Like You Achieve Investment Success
It has now been 19 years since we started Young Research’s Retirement Compounders Program. Our overriding goal in developing the RCs was to help investors like you achieve investment success with comfort and confidence. Compounding is the key to long-term investment success. And to reap the profound rewards of compounding, you need time—the more time, the better. Consider the hypothetical example of an investor who earns 8% on a $100,000 investment. After ten years of compounding at 8%, $100,000 becomes $216,000. After 20 years, $100,000 becomes $466,000. That’s more than four times the … [Read more...]
Your Guide for the Worst Conditions in 50-Years
Predictions. They’re right up there in the mountain range of Mount Hope and Chance Peak near the end of “Failure to Plan” trail. Because when it comes to life, especially in investing, accidents that happen are most often accidents that should have been avoided—and could have been avoided. And yet, after every crash, slip, and fall, there’s carnage below with injured souls blaming the conditions, the weather, and never much self-introspection—no questioning of the route taken up the mountain. When I see the glossy reports spit out by a robot or algorithm and delivered by a salesman calling … [Read more...]
The Magic of Compound Interest
Back in 1964, I began a lifelong mission as a disciple of compound interest investing. In those earliest days, home base was Clayton Securities at 147 Milk St. in Boston’s financial district. By 1971 I had gotten into institutional trading and research with Model, Roland & Co. on Federal Street. My first accounts were Fidelity Investments and Wellington Management. Today, over 50 years have somehow flown by, and I am still doing business, a whole lot of it, daily with Fidelity (my family investment firm’s custodian) and Wellington (my own account’s largest positions). Wellington, … [Read more...]
Are You My Mother? Are You a Prior Planner?
Do you have a plan? Are you my mother? Because when I hear about planning, that’s who immediately comes to mind. As I wrote to you yesterday, my mom’s a planner. When asked how she was able to take certain trips or go to space camp as a teacher, she would respond, “Prior planning.” As a teacher, she taught her students to believe in themselves, and if they wanted something in life, they could get it with some simple prior planning. Easy to say. Hard to do—much more exciting than arithmetic. That’s the beauty of her teaching. Prior planning. Isn’t that what successful retirement investing is … [Read more...]