In my conversations with you, we go through the lay of the land—where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going. Two out of three are facts—history. But that last one, where we’re going, isn’t. Hey, Your Survival Guy will take two out of three any day. I know what it felt like on the front lines, working through the past, talking about the present, and planning for the future. As one of you commented yesterday, you’re “Mr. Protect and Preserve,” a badge I wear proudly. Action Line: Don’t let short-term thinking get in the way of your long-term plans. No one knows how you deal with … [Read more...]

“All I can tell you it that it’s hard,” my father-in-law Dick Young told me. “Getting older means pretty much everything is harder. It’s not easy. And you need a team to help you. I’ve been advising investors since 1971 and can tell you, you don’t know what it feels like until you’re actually living it.” When I think about our conversations, it reminds me of the conversations I have with investors. They know how hard it is, too. They know what it feels like to live off their portfolio. We talk about ways to generate income. And yet, there’s always concern about the future. That’s natural. … [Read more...]

Originally posted on April 30, 2020. It was a typical Sunday morning. The kids were up early, shows had been watched, books read to them, and pancakes eaten. Standing up with a cup of coffee, looking out at the backyard full of leaves and sticks, I thought to myself: “I could easily let the morning go and forget about the yard. Or, I could get the job done in a couple hours and perhaps catch some of the Pats game.” As I was tying my boots, I felt them staring down at me. One of them asked, “What are you doing?” “I’m going to rake the yard. It won’t take long.” I said. “Can we help?” they … [Read more...]

When should you take Social Security? It depends. That’s a question Your Survival Guy is asked frequently. The answer is personal. It’s been my experience that talking with a local Social Security Administration representative is helpful (you can find your local SSA office here). You are the best advocate for what your income needs are and will be. But, yes, it’s nice to defer it for as long as possible. Action Line: When you need help with your private retirement savings, let’s talk. Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. … [Read more...]

Happy Monday. Thinking about retirement? Think again. Seriously. Because it’s one of the most important financial decisions you’ll ever make. Sure, Your Survival Guy is probably younger than most of you and has decades of work ahead of him. But I know this from speaking with you: You don’t know what retirement feels like until you’re in it. Period. In my conversations with you and from my observations, some retirees jump headfirst into their golden years and love it. Others figure out what works for them and adjust, while others choose to go back to work. But here’s the deal. It’s downright … [Read more...]

Your Survival Guy continues to favor a steady, balanced approach in times like these. You’re seeing yields on bonds you can sink your teeth into, and I like dividend-paying stocks. I want you to be paid to be invested in this market. Prices on the S&P 500 come and go. Look at last year, for example. And this market is shallow or an alligator market. When investors focus on prices, they live and die by the big ups and downs. It’s the investors who aren’t paying much attention when they realize after ten or fifteen years, “Oh, that wasn’t so bad.” But some retirement investors don’t … [Read more...]

UPDATE 11.18.2020: Has there been a company better positioned for the pandemic than the Home Depot? If your fire pit is more like your new outdoor living room, you know exactly what I'm saying. It's almost impossible to find those neat outdoor heaters. The same goes for pressure-treated wood. We're all trying to make our involuntary staycation one worth remembering. During a talk with Dick Young yesterday, he recalled graduating from Babson in 1963. Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank also graduated from Babson that year. Their class has, as a whole, been most active in giving back to the … [Read more...]

In my conversations with you, you tell me when you became serious about money. If it didn’t happen when your dad, grandad, or friend showed you Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, it happened when you yourself became a subscriber. You needed to make good investment decisions for your retirement. Also, when you subscribed to Dick’s letter, you signed up for a handful of others too. Over time you let the other subscriptions lapse, you tell me. But you kept subscribing to Dick’s letter. His was the one you liked most because you felt he enjoyed writing to you and cared about your success. … [Read more...]

Don’t look now, but you’re the millionaire next door. You’re the one they’re talking about. “How do they do it? They’re off on another trip,” neighbors wonder. But you don’t think like that—like a millionaire—you’ve always lived this way. It’s your way of life. You’ve saved ‘til it hurts, paid taxes, and spent what you needed—but never too extravagantly. You wondered, a long time ago, how the other guys “afforded” the new trucks and toys. “I haven’t seen them in years,” you say to yourself now. “Wonder what they’re doing.” Chances are, if you’re reading Your Survival Guy, you know what I’m … [Read more...]