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E.J.’s Notes from the Wild, Wild West

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You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have fun with your family, but it certainly helps.

Owen, right on target.

Owen, right on target.

My family just returned from an incredible trip out west beginning at a ranch in Montana, then to Yellowstone National Park, and down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

This was an important trip for Becky and me.

One of Bec’s fondest memories as a kid was going out west to a dude ranch with her family. Mine was going across the country in a Winnebago in 1984 with mine.

Our kids are 14 (Izzy) and 12 (Owen), so this was the summer to head out west before it’s too late.

The two best things that happened to Izzy and Owen on this trip where: Izzy fell in love with a horse called Whiskey, and Owen met a group of friends to hang with for a week. Izzy wants to go back to see Whiskey, Owen wants to go back to play paintball  (he can do that closer to home), and I want to cry looking at the bill.

But it was worth every penny.

Riding a horse through the mountains of Montana brought Becky back to her childhood trip. Our drive along the wide-open spaces between the ranch and Yellowstone National Park brought me back to mine. There’s nothing like a five-hour drive, though, to drive everyone nuts.

I was talking with a client yesterday. He told me he had “one of those” weeks last week at work and was thinking about retirement. He wanted to talk finances with me to see where he’s at in terms of timing. After about 20 minutes talking I told him it’s not a money issue and he should take a long-weekend or plan a trip with his family.

Old Faithful

Old Faithful

It turns out my client misses his grandchildren and will see them the week of July 4th.

If you feel like you need a change in your life, don’t think that you need to quit work, or move to another state to get closer to your family. I have found cutting and hacking away at your nest egg is never a good idea.

But if my client isn’t ready to come home after his trip, then it might be time to make a change.

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E.J. Smith

Editor-in-Chief
E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com.