Good morning from Your Survival Guy. Are we having fun yet? Listen, markets are brutal. It’s why I’ve cautioned you from the beginning to focus on keeping what you make and not hoping for markets to do something for you. Now is a perfect time to be reminded of the words of wisdom of the late great Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard: "Don’t just do something, stand there.” And yet, the pressure to do something continues to grind away at participants, forcing them to sell so they can sleep or to stop the question: “How much are we down now?” When will it stop? When the selling stops. When … [Read more...]
RAGE GAUGE: INVESTOR CARNAGE—Losing Control of Your Money
If you’re feeling like you’re losing control of your money, there may be some truth to that. Do you want your investments used as a tool to invest in other people’s political agendas? When it comes to ESG and BlackRock, for example, that’s exactly what’s happening. Through their mutual funds and ETFs, you’re part of their political crusade. But being part of their political crusade probably isn’t one of the reasons you invested with them to begin with. No offense to BlackRock, but this is about your agenda—your retirement. Why would you waste your time with mutual funds when they’re … [Read more...]
April RAGE Gauge: The Separation of States Predicted
You can see with your own eyes the separation of states. This isn't Lincoln's Civil War; it's the virtual war of our times. Never in our lifetime has the crossing of borders from blue state to red meant so much for one's freedom. Look at the outcomes from COVID and how it was handled across red states vs. blue. The red states won by a landslide. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board writes: The nearby table shows the state ranking based on a combined score of the three variables. Utah ranks first by a considerable margin over Nebraska and Vermont. The Beehive State scored well across all … [Read more...]
March RAGE Gauge Is In: STICK TO YOUR PLAN
OK Your Survival Guy’s March RAGE Gauge is in. It’s time to stick to your plan, not jump to conclusions you hear from some guy with a website. Risk is high, interest rates are low. Need to get away? Do what Your Survival Guy does and go to summer camp in March. Your Survival Guy’s Key West Summer Camp in MARCH OK, Your Survival Guy just got back from a Key West summer camp in March, and it was awesome. Look, it’s been a crazy couple of years for all of us with this Covid debacle, and we all need to step back and ask, “what the heck just happened?” We all need a break. I hope … [Read more...]
February RAGE Gauge: Biden Backed Criminals on the Street
OK, Your Survival Guy’s latest RAGE Gauge is in. Let’s dig into it. What stands out immediately is the decline in gun background checks, my favored proxy for final sales. Americans, no longer flush with government handouts, are not buying guns at the pace they were at this time last year, or even last month for that matter. Does that mean we live in a safer country, a conclusion only a George Soros NYC DA would consider? Hardly. Bad guys will always get their guns. But it tells you something about Americans’ expectations of Joe Biden that they spent so many of their stimulus dollars on arming … [Read more...]
February RAGE Gauge: MEET the Scorched Earth Economy
Your Survival Guy's latest RAGE Gauge is in, and it's not pretty. What did you expect me to say? The coast is clear, the supply chain isn't rusty? I'm Your Survival Guy, not the president. But here's the deal. With Covid soon to be a distant memory and Biden's presidency cooked, that should be good news, right? Not so fast. Because if there's no "excuse" to pump trillions of dollars of "free" money into the economy because of some political virus and Biden can only get a pared down "spending" package passed, we're left with what Your Survival Guy calls a scorched earth economy. Trillions … [Read more...]
January RAGE Gauge: Free Money for All, and to All a Good Night
Let the parties continue, because the punch bowl is still flowing. Yesterday, when the Fed announced a tighter monetary policy—an end to bond purchases and three rate increases—markets cheered. Because halting asset purchases and raising rates a whopping three times is like moving a few ornaments on your Christmas tree. It’s all for show. And just like the “Jingle Bells” refrain, the Fed’s just another reindeer pulling Biden’s sleigh. It’s free money for all, and to all, a good night. What could possibly go wrong? For serious Americans like you—the savers, entrepreneurs, small business … [Read more...]
DECEMBER RAGE Gauge: How Will You Protect Your Assets?
OK, my December RAGE Gauge is in, and risk continues to run high. Before we get into the reading, let’s go over a few items that are on my mind. The days of drawing down 4% of your portfolio per year have sailed on, especially while interest rates are nailed to the floor. Instead, a more reasonable draw today is in the 3% range, and even that is up for debate. Try to keep your draw rate as low as possible now, so you’re not forced to reduce it later because of a market correction. Consider where we are in the current environment with stocks. It’s a risky time for retirees and … [Read more...]
Breaking News: October RAGE Gauge and Market Corrections
OK, a major Wall Street firm came out recently and predicted a fifteen percent correction in the market. What should you do? Well, as Your Survival Guy, I continue to stick with my investing plan regardless of what Wall Street predicts. As you know, predictions are cheap. Why? Because more often than not, these predictions are reversed when their crystal balls turn out to be not so crystal clear. So what’s the point? The point of the predictions is to instill fear. Nothing gets the phone ringing like the prediction of a market correction, especially one of this magnitude. Ring, ring, ring … [Read more...]
September RAGE Gauge: Your Survival Guy’s Cash ADVICE
OK, my September Rage Gauge is in, and it’s not pretty. Risk perception continues to be at an all-time high. I get it. And as an investor, you can’t afford to keep your head in the sand. This may be a perfect time to make some adjustments to an often overlooked area of your portfolio. I’m talking about your CASH. As I wrote to you yesterday, I think about cash in three ways: You have your emergency stash on hand that you hope to never use. You have cash in your investment portfolio as part of your strategy. To buy stocks when others are selling, for example. You have a pile that’s … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 8
- Next Page »