Your Survival Guy

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RAGE Gauge August: This Market is Foggy

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Your Survival Guy’s latest RAGE Gauge is in, and before I get into this month’s reading, I want to revisit my piece from yesterday on getting stuck in the fog last weekend. I could have stayed on the dock. But I’m confident in my ability to navigate in the fog because I’ve done it many times, and I know how I like to navigate—carefully from mark to mark.

I have electronics. The radar and chartplotter. But I also know not to depend solely on them to safely find my destination. The technology is outstanding. But I’ve been in enough situations to know nothing beats my own two eyes and taking the longer way—slowing down being one of them. I know the shortcuts like the back of my hand, but there’s not enough margin for error in a higher-risk environment. I want a margin of safety.

If you’ve been on a boat in the fog, you know how minutes feel like hours. It’s tense. Because you know how it feels to suddenly realize I’m not quite sure I know where I am. It happens that fast. Then after what feels like an eternity, the fog lifts, and you wonder, “How did I get over here?” This leads me to my latest RAGE Gauge reading which is again at full-tilt risk.

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Your Survival Guy’s RAGE Gauge is showing that Americans are unhappy, and that the pangs of inflation are starting to sink in. They’re buying fewer guns than they were just a short time ago as their disposable income is eaten up by “Bidenflation.” And the value they’re willing to spend on an inflation hedge like gold is rising.

You know from here, here, and here how I feel about prices. They’re opinions. They’re qualitative, not quantitative, like cash flow from dividends. But that doesn’t mean you should stay on the dock by not investing. If we followed the herd, we’d either be in all cash or AI. No, thank you. I prefer the income route.

Action Line: I don’t want some algorithm making decisions for me when I can see the truth right in front of my eyes. This market is foggy. When you’re ready to talk, I’m here.

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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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