Your Survival Guy

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February RAGE Gauge: How Will YOU Feel in Retirement?

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You can feel the tension. Americans are not happy, and they see the mounting risks facing them in the future. My RAGE Gauge, a measure of risk in America, has been pegged at the maximum for a long time now, and it’s hard to see that changing anytime soon. Faced with inflation, the prospect of nuclear war, a flood of illegal immigration, and crime spiking to rates not seen in decades, is it any wonder Americans are worried? One of the biggest worries Americans face is what they’ll do about retirement.

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OK. Here’s the deal. You don’t know how you’re going to feel in retirement. There I said it. Plain and simple. It’s an unknown, unknown. Sure, you think you’ll know how you’ll feel. But thinking is a whole lot different than living. Let me explain.

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Your Survival Guy spends hours each day talking with investors just like you. You tell me you’re feeling the pressure. You did your job. You raised your family.

Now it’s a whole different ballgame. The truth is, once college is paid for and the kids are out of the house, the pressure cooker starts whistling. The force of the world comes crashing down on you. Questions are asked. Do I have enough savings? How am I going to save enough?

Boom. It hits you. Will I have enough? Will I outlive my money? Rest easy. I’m here to tell you: I don’t know.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Yesterday, in my regular conversation with my father-in-law Dick Young, he said, “Survival Guy, I’ve been preparing my portfolio for my entire adult life. I’m talking back in the 1960s, well before Apollo 13. Let me tell you. You do not know how it feels to be taking income from your savings until you are in it yourself. Let me tell you, it’s hard coming up with cash flow to meet expenses.”

“Now granted,” Your Survival Guy thought to himself, “Taking a Global Express 7500 to Paris isn’t cheap. But if you want to travel on the queen of the fleet, in the cleanest air and a low pressurized cabin in order to be fresh when greeting your friends at Le Bristol, you need your rest, and a dump truck full of cash.”

“It’s a challenge, even for me,” he said. “To scrape cash together.”

“I hear you,” I said.

Action Line: Risk is high. With volatility in every corner of the world, you have to be even better prepared if you want to retire. Risks can turn into negative events, which can decimate savings. Already this century, Americans have faced multiple large drops in stock market values. If you retired in 2000 and were invested in a market index fund, you’ve been riding a roller coaster. When you want to talk to someone about risk and what it might mean for your retirement, I’m ready to help.

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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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