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Don’t Sweat It When She Asks, “Do We Have Anything to Watch Tonight?”

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OK, we all know the real battle in your day begins when one of you asks, “Do we have anything to watch tonight?” Your palms sweat as dinner’s ready, and you have no idea what “you’re” going to watch.

The last place you want to be is on the couch, dinner in front of you, toggling around tiles on your TV with not a clue what you’re looking for. I feel your pain. You can only watch the Crown so many times (I’m on our third loop around the empire).

Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with My Friday Email. It’s Free.

Unfortunately, investors get that exact sweaty palm feeling when they start punching in the ETF and mutual fund quotes on their computer to do a “little” research. The minute they start digging into it, something always comes up: Time to cut the grass, wash the car, visit family, go grocery shopping, and/or think about what to watch tonight. All important parts of life.

But what’s frustrating, for investors, is that those pesky ETFs and mutual funds your “adviser” stuffed you with charge a fee, and then there’s his fee on top of that. All in all, it’s like paying for Netflix, cable tv, your mobile phone, and still madly pressing buttons while your spouse takes her first sip of wine, wondering what’s taking you so long.

I’m here to ask you in my best infomercial tone, “What if you don’t have to cut the cord and can still pay less?” It can happen, and the way you do it is by finding investment counsel who knows how to navigate your world without you having to shell out dollars for every fund name and for the adviser whose name appears on your statement but has no clue who you are. “What if you could raise your glass for a toast and simply hit PLAY and PAY LESS?”

Action Line: When it comes to advisers stuffing your portfolio with ETFs and mutual funds that charge you a fee on top of theirs, you can end up paying upwards of two percent a year. There is a better way. Allow me to show you.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

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. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” 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 Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) 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 (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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