“Americans are devoted to the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, research shows that many of us don’t actually know what makes us happy, so we end up pursuing the wrong things,” writes Dr. Shlomo Benartzi, professor and co-head of the behavioral decision-making group at UCLA Anderson School of Management. One way to help your happiness is to do a test. It’s called A/B testing. I’m familiar with A/B testing with our websites. Change a couple of words in the title of a piece and it’s shocking what a difference it can make in reader interest. As Dr. Benartzi points out: In research … [Read more...]
Viva Las Vegas!
Whether Las Vegas real estate is in a bubble or not--this article leans towards not—Californians are finding greener pastures away from Gov. Brown’s reckless policies. As I’ve noted in the past, the direction of individual states is a geographical portrait of right vs. left (wrong) ideologies. Eli Segall writes from the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas home prices are rising at one of the fastest clips in the country, with builders fetching record dollar amounts and resale values approaching prior highs. The growth is so fast that, according to a new report, prices here are the most … [Read more...]
R.I.P Legendary Drummer D.J. Fontana
D.J. Fontana, the Hall of Fame drummer for Elvis died this week at age 87. “Opening with one of the most distinctive drum hits in rock & roll history, Elvis Presley's 1957 movie tune, "Jailhouse Rock," smashed its way to the top of the pop, r&b and country charts, becoming one of the most iconic tunes in the Elvis canon,” writes Stephen Betts at Rolling Stone. "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley Preview Drum Lesson … [Read more...]
What do I think of Bitcoin? Part I
In light of recent events, it's worth reexamining this series I originally posted November 15, 2017. I’ve been asked the question “What do you think of Bitcoin,” as much as any question I’ve received about my website www.yoursurvivalguy.com or my series on the S&P 500. I’ve been in the weeds studying bitcoin (the currency) and Bitcoin (blockchain tech) and I’ll tell you, I haven’t had that “Aha!” religious-like moment experienced by, I’m told, its cult of followers. Count me in the “still skeptical” camp, with a distinction. Bitcoin, the technology, or blockchain, is here to stay … [Read more...]
How I Built My Survival Cache. It’s Never Too Late to Start Building Yours
This piece from May 17, 2016 is worth revisiting, and some of my new readers haven't seen it. Use this as a guide for developing your own survival cache. No one likes to lose money. That’s why when I started building my survival cache over ten-years ago I started with gold. Back then, I spent little time (same as I do today) worrying about where I felt the short-term price of gold was headed. What I wanted to do was build a physical hedge for my cash. Cash is king! Try selling that one to your spouse. But cash is pretty powerful. You never know when you’ll need it. Like when there’s a … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive June: Knife Attack: Your Survival Guy in Paris
“Did you hear the gun shots?” a friend asked. “No,” I said. When the knife attack occurred, we, like many other families on a Saturday night in Paris, were out to dinner. In fact, we didn’t learn about the attack until much later. In retrospect, I’m surprised no one at our restaurant told us about it or warned us. Part of me believes they knew the situation was under control and didn’t want to ruin our night or scare us. Or they just didn’t know about it. We learned about the attack back in our hotel room, flipping through the channels on the TV. Seeing the live report brought mixed … [Read more...]
Could a Solar Storm Slam the East Coast with a Geomagnetic Double-Whammy?
Under the ground in the heavily populated coastal region from Washington D.C. to Boston, lies a layer of rock that could potentially act as a reflector for a geomagnetic storm, forcing it to pass through electronic systems twice, rather than only once. Bloomberg reports that a forthcoming USGS study says the East Coast of the U.S. is at higher risk of this type of geomagnetic behavior. Bloomberg's Brian K. Sullivan writes: A solar storm is now viewed as enough of a risk in fact that grid operators across North America are working on plans to respond to just such a disturbance. And a … [Read more...]
Interest Rates Need to be Higher Pronto
Inflation? Yes it’s a thing. Anyone living in the real world recognizes it at the grocery store, in the real estate section of their local newspaper, and the stock market for that matter. Those in retirement trying to live off of their portfolio are paying the price for a reckless monetary policy. Rates need to be higher pronto. The editors of The Wall Street Journal write: Investors briefly bid up the 10-year Treasury yield above 3% on the news before it fell back to 2.97%. But forward guidance has always seemed overrated as a policy tool, and with growth picking up it was becoming a … [Read more...]
Can Crypto-Currencies Ever be Safe?
After hackers stole digital currency assets from South Korean currency exchange Coinrail recently, the question must be asked, can bitcoin and other crypto-currencies be safe? The problems don't seem to lie in the blockchain technology, but instead in the exchanges that provide servicing to crypto-currency users. This isn't the first time an exchange has been hacked, or even the second or third time. So users must take into account the idea that the place housing their crypto-currencies may not be altogether safe. Can you imagine a rash of bank robberies in your town, but without any FDIC … [Read more...]
It’s Simple: Retirees Go Where They are Treated Best
For years retirees have flocked to Florida for its warm weather, and more importantly to many, its low taxation. But with the flood of people have come high home prices and subsequently, high property taxes. Now, many retirees are looking deeper into the American South for low cost places to live. A group of them, known as "halfbacks," are putting down stakes in Appalachia, where land and property taxes are cheap, and they can be surrounded by the beauty of the mountains. Cameron McWhirter explains this accelerating phenomenon in The Wall Street Journal, writing: The halfback phenomenon—so … [Read more...]