The story of Ronald Read is one that every potential investor should know. Steady compounding and saving til it hurts are tried and true ways to amass a fortune. Read did it better than most. Most Americans are simply not saving enough. In May, Elizabeth Renter reported in Nerd Wallet that most Americans couldn't cover a $1,000 emergency out of pocket. She wrote: About 9 in 10 Americans (89%) save on a regular basis, according to a new NerdWallet survey conducted online by The Harris Poll. And although financially responsible purposes such as emergency funds and retirement top the lists of … [Read more...]
Jimmy Buffett’s: A Pirate Looks at 40
In remembrance of Jimmy Buffett, who passed away on September 1, I think you'll like the following piece I posted in April of 2019 on Jimmy and his friend Jerry Jeff Walker and the Key West "Pirate," Phil Clark. Make sure you have a chance to appreciate where you’re going and where you’ve been. Jimmy Buffett put on a pop-up show Monday in Austin, TX in preparation for his summer tour “I Don’t Know”. A client of mine is driving up to Nashville, TN for tonight’s sold-out show at the Ascend Amphitheatre. Here’s a great video of Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker. Walker (Mr. Bojangles) was the … [Read more...]
Investing in Water: LET THERE BE WATER
Bottom Line: There is no downside when you begin thinking of yourself and your family first. Desalination may not be an option for you but once you start thinking about your water supply, you quickly realize there’s a lot you can do to keep from running out of it. LET THERE BE WATER Originally posted June 22, 2016. You can learn a tremendous amount about investment trends by thinking in terms of your family’s survival needs. Lately, I’ve been keenly interested in ways to tap into the vast supply of seawater surrounding Newport, RI. Desalination is not cheap but I believe it is what the … [Read more...]
The Case for Individual Stocks: Now More than Ever
UPDATE 11.18.2020: Has there been a company better positioned for the pandemic than the Home Depot? If your fire pit is more like your new outdoor living room, you know exactly what I'm saying. It's almost impossible to find those neat outdoor heaters. The same goes for pressure-treated wood. We're all trying to make our involuntary staycation one worth remembering. During a talk with Dick Young yesterday, he recalled graduating from Babson in 1963. Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank also graduated from Babson that year. Their class has, as a whole, been most active in giving back to the … [Read more...]
Money 101: There’s a Reason Family Always Comes 1st
Originally posted on February 3, 2021. Are you aligned with a money gathering business, or are you aligned with a money manager? The money-gathering business is all about bigness. They tell you all about how big they are when all you care about is, “how are you going to help me?” Welcome to the world where being big—whether it’s big tech or big money—makes you just a cog in the wheel. Where, for example, you sign up for Facebook or use Google for “free” and come to realize, “anything that’s free means I’m the product.” They’re selling you out. It’s no different from when money guys look to … [Read more...]
Teaching A Family Investment: Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter and You
Originally posted March 1, 2021. It’s nice to have some traditions you can count on. One of those is Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, released over the weekend. With all the chaos in the world, it’s nice to have stability when you can find it. I read the report Sunday morning before Becky and I met my parents for lunch at a favorite spot in Tiverton, RI. My Mom and I ordered the fresh cod with littlenecks and linguica. My Dad commented that he had the same dish Friday with his friend at another restaurant in New Bedford. If you’ve ever read the … [Read more...]
Rich Grandchild, Poor Grandchild
UPDATE 9.6.22: Lori Ioannou of The Wall Street Journal calls dividend stocks the "new darling on Wall Street." She writes: These securities are considered a good buffer during times of market volatility. They also are seen as an inflation hedge, considering that S&P 500 dividend growth has outpaced inflation since 2000. Below you can read one of my favorite pieces of investment advice, Rich Man, Poor Man, written by Richard Russell in his Dow Theory Letters on September 22, 1982. Russell explains four key points in investing, beginning with the benefits of compounding. Compounding, … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy: What Trump Means to Me
As I wrote below in July 2021, Donald Trump's fight for Main Street America isn't over, and now, the fight is being carried on by candidates like JD Vance, whose win in the Ohio GOP Senate primary last night can probably be attributed to an endorsement by the president. Originally posted July 9, 2021. One lasting memory I have of the 2016 Presidential race is the hordes of people running across town squares simply to get a glimpse of candidate Donald Trump. They did so because he was speaking the truth: the system was broken. America wasn’t working for Main Street, and the SWAMP runneth … [Read more...]
Why Mutual Funds and ETFs No Longer Work
UPDATE 1.25.2022: Things are getting choppy in the markets. Now more than ever is the time to focus on building a portfolio of income earning stocks and bonds that will help you weather the storm. If you need help with that, I would love to talk with you. Originally posted September 30, 2021. Look, I know a lot of you own Mutual Funds and ETFs, especially if you’re wrapped up with an advisor where you invest, he wins. Today, there’re maybe a handful of funds I’d put my own money into, and the same probably applies to yours. The problem is, once you set sail, it’s hard to change course. … [Read more...]
Americans Fleeing High Tax States for Growth Corridors
UPDATE 1.24.22: For decades, each year a trickle of Americans decided they had had enough of the liberal politics of their states, and of being treated more like a piggy bank by politicians than as constituents. In 2020, that trickle turned into a torrent, spurred by Americans who saw Democrats encourage deadly riots and looting, and lock down states with COVID rules that simply didn't make sense. A move to leave big blue blob cities and find Super States began in earnest. Now, an entire economy has sprung up around people leaving blue states for the freedom they'll find in America's Super … [Read more...]
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