Dear Reader, September is a perfect time to come visit me in Newport, RI. The weather is still beautiful and there’s plenty to do with the Newport Boat Show in town and some world class fishing. Your Retirement Life: Fishing Block Island It’s hard to beat the striped bass fishing off Block Island. In this video you see the voyage from Newport, RI to the Block for some late Summer striped bass fishing. Don Smith explains more about fishing around Block Island at On The Water: Block Island earned its reputation as a legendary striper-fishing destination many years ago. These days, … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive August: Growing-Up in Mattapoisett/Rochester/Marion: Going on Survival
Editor’s Note: In this three-part series, I examine the benefits of self-sufficiency and resilience through the eyes of my teenage nephew, and myself. Rather than shielding children, it is important to empower them with the confidence to make decisions for themselves. That’s something I learned on “Survival.” Part I: June 19th 2018 I’m excited for my nephew. Saturday he left for a week-long camping trip called “Survival.” It’s a rite of passage for seventh graders at the tri-town regional junior high school from the towns of Mattapoisett, Rochester, and Marion, Massachusetts. I went on … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive July: If You Have a Minute, I’ll Show You How to Experience Newport like the Rich and Famous
“E.J., we’re going to be in town for the Newport Flower Show, are you available to meet?” asked Anne, a client of mine. “Of course, I am,” I replied. And just like that a wonderful weekend was booked. Lucky them. What are you waiting for? You have plenty of reasons to come to Newport. Not only is today the beginning of the world renown Newport Flower Show, but, most kids in Newport are still in school. No beach crowd traffic to deal with, yet. And I mean yet. Which is why late June, the Flower Show, and perhaps you, go hand in hand with your perfectly timed mini-vacation. If you want … [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...]
Survive and Thrive May: Meet a Long-Time Friend and Advisor: The Stissing, Mountain Man
You Might be a Mountain Man if… If you live on a mountain and regularly send pictures of nosy black bears sniffing around your front door and casually note in your email: “Had some visitors last night,” then, you might be a mountain man. Meet Tim Jones. He is: “The Stissing Mountain Man.” Tim Jones lives on Stissing Mountain, located in the Hudson Valley in Pine Plains, New York. I met Tim when his son, also Tim, began working with us 11 years ago. I’ll refer to them as Tim Sr. and Tim Jr. for this piece. You know when you meet someone and there’s a genuineness where you know they … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive April: Vanguard GNMA and Your Retirement Years
When the financial crisis destroyed the stock market in 2008, guess which fund weathered the storm? You guessed it Vanguard GNMA. When the tech bust destroyed the stock market at the beginning of this century, guess which fund weathered the storm? Right again, Vanguard GNMA. That’s two huge busts in the stock market so far this century. Many mutual funds focus on 10-year performance. As 2018 moves forward into 2019, the brutal losses of 2008 will be rolled off, and investors may not see the risk inherent in stock funds as they make their allocation decisions. But a retirement lasts … [Read more...]
Join Me and Escape to Margaritaville🌴
Escape to New York City It sure is nice to change your latitude every now and then—New York City in this case—where, if you live in New England, you don’t have to go too far to change your attitude, or have it changed for you. Such was the case this weekend which included an exciting industry conference, a somber visit to the 9/11 Memorial, and as the name to Jimmy Buffett’s musical implies, an Escape to Margaritaville. Let’s Talk about that Attitude When I was a kid my dad was a real estate broker. I remember him saying how important a positive attitude was for his business. “You … [Read more...]
“E.J., Has Your Phone Been Ringing off the Hook?”
Well this was a fun month for the stock market with wild swings from high to low of around 2,000 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. One question I’m asked on a consistent basis is “E.J., is your phone ringing off the hook?” and my answer is “no,” and I know why. Most of you have been educated by Dick Young that investment success is achieved over a lifetime, not a month or two. Investment success is about hitting singles and doubles, taking some walks here and there and sometimes getting hit by a pitch. Staying in the game is key. It’s a winning strategy because it puts compound … [Read more...]