Happy Monday. A perfect day for some tough love. Your Survival Guy read an article over the weekend showing the savings and investments of some retirees. Here are their annual spend rates based on my back-of-a-napkin math: 12.6%, 15.8%, 10.5%, and 2.5%. The first three are terrifying. The fourth one’s OK. When Dick Young’s North Star (the 3-month T-bill rate) is at 4.652%, where do they think the returns are coming from? If you’re a highly successful person, you’ve developed Your Survival Guy’s favorite habit: Saving. Right there, in one word. You’ve learned to do without, to save ‘til it … [Read more...]
“I Need Preservation of Principal and Growth”
Is there anyone more important than you? You’ve made some promises: In sickness and in health, family first, love thy neighbor, etc. You’re the reason there’s so much to worry about. But in my conversations with you, you don’t always know—you. Let me explain. You’ve worked a lifetime to get to where you are. You have savings you can’t afford to lose. You need your money to last for the rest of your life. And like clockwork, you tell me this: “I need preservation of principal and growth.” Uh, huh. And then I think to myself. “I’ll also have the crème brûlée without the cals, thank … [Read more...]
What Does Inflation Mean to You?
Do you remember the 70s? I do. I remember that I could ride my bike to the pharmacy and get a candy bar for $0.25. My mom would tell me she could get five for a quarter when she was a kid. I’d think, "How can that be possible?" Nowadays, it’s not even close. But I haven’t bought a candy bar in a while. Scooping ice cream in the 80s, I would serve two scoops for $0.50. Later when we’d take our own kids out for ice cream, I’d spend about twenty bucks. Inflation is a thing. But it means different things at different times in your life. Imagine if you could have locked in interest rates … [Read more...]
Why You Should Design a Retirement Portfolio that Lasts 30+ Years
In The Wall Street Journal, Josh Zumbrun examines the evidence that investors should design a retirement portfolio that lasts more than 30 years. He writes: Demographers and actuaries make the following distinction between life expectancy and longevity: Life expectancy refers to the average number of years someone will live from a given age, whereas longevity refers to how long he or she might live if everything goes well, typically expressed as the probability of living beyond a certain age such as 85, 90 or even 100. A growing body of evidence shows that many people are ignorant of their … [Read more...]
Tom Brady Retires, Again. Should You?
Tom Brady has announced, again, that he will retire from the NFL. At 45, Brady is much younger than the average American retiree, but also much older than the typical NFL retiree. ESPN reports: Tom Brady says he is retiring "for good" from football, ending a storied 23-year NFL career during which the star quarterback won seven Super Bowls and set numerous records. Brady announced his decision Wednesday on social media, saying he "wouldn't change a thing" about his career. Brady, 45, also announced he was retiring on Feb. 1, 2022, before changing his mind 40 days later and returning to … [Read more...]
4 Life Changing Words for Your Survival Guy: “You Should Try This”
Life throws you a curveball when you least expect it. Which is where I found myself recently when I came home from work. “I’m doing a liver cleanse,” she said. “You can join me or fend for yourself.” Bam! No warning. No time to grab a snack at the office before heading home for dinner. Just trapped like a rat. Cornered. What was I going to say, “No, you do it alone. Take care of yourself. I’ll be fine.” No. I like sleeping in my bed. We’re in week two. I’ve strayed here and there. Don’t tell anyone. One of the problems with the internet is you have all sorts of personalities in your … [Read more...]
Slow and Steady: The Man Behind the Maps
All you skiers out there probably know the work of James Niehues but never knew it. He’s the guy who paints the ski mountain images used for the trail maps we all gaze at over hot chocolate at the picnic table in the lodge or on a chairlift (dropped gloves or poles to boot). It wasn’t until Niehues was in his 40s that he realized his success. His book captures the trails we’ve skied or hope to ski someday. Check out his work here. Legendary Trail Map Artist James Niehues Announces New Original Work Collectionhttps://t.co/LlckBjdxgX pic.twitter.com/y8hGMy7sWo — SnowBrains (@SnowBrains) … [Read more...]
Slow and Steady: You Don’t Need to Be Young to Be a Success
Turns out you don’t need to be young to be a success. As I wrote to you this week, there’s nothing wrong with being a beginner at different times in your life. Don’t just take my advice for it. Look at what this 93-year-old writes in the WSJ. No one has seen entrepreneurship help minorities improve their economic circumstances more than I have—and that’s not only because I’m 93. I saw the power of entrepreneurship firsthand after co-founding the Home Depot. My experiences led me to believe that preserving and expanding entrepreneurship is the key to advancing racial and economic … [Read more...]
Let’s Go: It’s Never Too Late to Be a Beginner
Your Survival Guy just finished reading the first draft of a client’s novel written over the last several months. It’s remarkable what she got done in less than a year. As an accomplished writer, she doesn’t need the money. She has plenty of that. But when her daughter suggested she get back into writing, she decided to put pen to paper, and the fun (hard work) began to jump off the pages. How rewarding. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to start (or restart) something you’re good at or interested in. You have skills you honed during your career, making you the success you are today. … [Read more...]
Don’t Worry, I Won’t Tell Them Our Secret
Being a successful investor is hard. Why? Because if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. And clearly, they’re not. I don’t need to tell you. You already know this. You hear it from friends and family who ask, “Why are you so cool?” when markets are crazy. Don’t worry, I won’t tell them our secret. You understand from here, here, and here that “doing something” rather than just standing there is easier said than done. When the world is crazy, that’s when it’s time to hunker down in your cave for the winter. Like a broken record, investors learn the hard way. They did in the tech bust, … [Read more...]
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