Where should you live today? If you’ve taken an online survey, you might find yourself a perfect fit in any small town, USA. Combine this with your politics and you might find yourself living in 1776 or not far from Plymouth Rock with the pilgrims. Well that’s not gonna happen. So now what? Are you familiar with the Swiss Way? Or the Swiss Family Robinson? It’s a lifestyle.
For me? I spend time at my log cabin in Live Free or Die, NH and coastal Newport, RI. We broke ground in NH for the winter skiing, but as the saying goes out west: “Visit for the winters, stay for the summers.” There’s many a crowded July weekend in Newport when we just get in the car and head to the mountains to get away from it all. It’s a life that works for us. It’s not a political thing either.
In fact in my private life, I don’t talk much politics outside of my close-knit group of friends (I can count on one hand) and family. What’s the point? Why ruin dinner? Plus I’m too hungry to get into it, especially when I’m intermittent fasting.
Local politics? What’s the point? When Newport lost natural gas service on the coldest day of the year, the government passed the blame like a hot potato. Now, two years later, the town council wants to solve the problem by reducing demand (ie: turn down your thermostats!) and roll out electric heat (natural gas burned far away at a power plant) for a gazillion dollars. You really can’t make this up. Who wants to bang their head against this wall?
So it’s going to be survival of the fittest as the masters of the universe dream up ways to control your life. You will need to be financially fit, you will need to be of means, and be ready to create your home away from home at a moments notice. You will need to be your own Swiss Family Robinson.
Action Line: Stick with me. Don’t look for the stock market to do something for you. As the great Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard said, “Don’t just do something, stand there.” Stand there and figure out how to create your own Swiss family life—one that’s absolutely worth living.
P.S. For the Prudent Man, the wisest action is sometimes no action. What is the key to achieving the financial success you and your family deserve? Well, for one it’s about keeping it simple—Simple is Sophisticated. Another key is to stop spinning your wheels. In portfolio management terms, spinning wheels or, how long a position is held over the course of a year is called the turnover rate. In other words, if your holdings at the beginning of the year were sold and replaced by new positions, then the turnover rate would be 100%. Here’s a wonderful example, one of my favorite, that Dick Young explains to his readers:
Mr. 3.5% Turnover
In 1992, Forbes profiled David L. Stone of the tiny Beacon Hill mutual fund. “The curmudgeonly manager of the little Beacon Hill mutual fund has some old-fashioned advice for nervous investors: The wisest action is sometimes no action.” Forbes told readers that Stone “…arrives early at his Federal Street office in Boston every day. He reads the newspapers, opens his mail, and waits for a call from State Street Bank, the fund’s custodian, with the previous day’s closing price and cash position. He scribbles those down. Then he reads some more. Then he packs his briefcase and leaves.” And he noted, “People ask me what I do all day. Well, a decision to do nothing is still a decision. It takes effort.” The perfect response for a “standpatter” fund with a 10-year turnover rate of just 3.5%. Like I’ve said, keep it real simple. Practice the ultimate in patience.
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
