Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

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YOUR RETIREMENT LIFE: Investing in the 70s, a Remembrance

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Did you invest in stocks in the 70s? Do you remember the 70s? Like they say about Woodstock, if you do, “you weren’t there, man!” Look at my chart below to see why it was so forgettable.

Imagine retiring in the late 60s and spending your retirement years investing in stocks. Not much fun. But, if you went into retirement with a plan, there’s a good chance you could weather the storm by owning a mix of diversified assets. When I say plan, I mean preparing before retirement with answers to questions like:

  • How much can I “afford” to spend?
  • What kind of yield can I get on blue-chip dividend payers?
  • Should I ladder a bond portfolio with short-term average maturities?
  • How will a basket of currencies help diversify my dollar exposure?
  • Does gold make sense right now?
  • Can I work part-time in between bucket list trips?
  • Does it make sense to invest in real estate? How about farmland?
  • What is the optimal asset allocation that will help me survive and thrive?

Let’s focus on that last one. What if you had someone working with you to keep you on track with your allocation mix? What if he advised you to get your lazy cash off the Bean Bag chair and put it to work buying stocks while others are selling? Wouldn’t it be nice to have your life savings riding on an income stream generation rather than on fluctuating prices? What if you were investing in blue chip dividend-paying stocks that actually pay you for being invested? Isn’t that what investing is, receiving income and increasing it over time?

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Action Line: Your number one investment is in yourself: Your career, living within your means, being prudent. Work to make money, invest to keep it. Survive and Thrive here. Let’s talk.

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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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