You can do a lot by simply trying to survive. You don’t need huge gains that get wiped out by huge losses. Sometimes, you just need to survive to live to fight another day. In investing, that works because of the beauty of compounding money. As Dick Young said to me recently: “Survival Guy, I made more money after the age of 60 than at any other time in my life.” Survive and you just may too.
The big winner since we last spoke has been gold, as you can see below. Is it too late to get in? As you know from here, my focus is on beating inertia and having the right amount of gold for times like these, but not too much. Remember, when gold goes down, it’s usually good news for everything else.
As I wrote to you this week, it pays to beat inertia:
“Inertia,” Dick Young said to me recently, “is terrible. Investors need to beat back this mighty foe.” A point he regularly explained to you inside the pages of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report.
Your Survival Guy was reminded of this yesterday during a foggy mid-afternoon walk coming back from Goat Island, admiring some of the recently launched boats and anticipating the season ahead (we launch Tom Sawyer tomorrow). “If you can’t get excited at the beginning of the boating season, you probably never will.”
I’m excited for the season. I’m excited to go fishing. To make the walk down the dock, like driving to the ski mountain, thinking about what I may have forgotten, and a little nervous. You never know what’s going to happen, no matter how much you plan or your level of skill. And there’s always inertia or an excuse to stay home, cut the grass, stack wood, and wait for tomorrow, which never comes.
If you’ve sailed, gone fishing, skied, or what have you, you know perfect days are determined after the fact. You never quite know how the day will turn out. Some are scarier than others, where minutes can feel like hours. But it would be a shame not to get out there.
Because you never know what the future may bring, which is why I’m holding my RAGE Gauge steady at elevated risk levels. Stay tuned.
HELP: I’m Caught in the Tariff Crossfire,
As I wrote to you three months ago, Your Survival Guy is caught in the tariff crossfire. We’re in the middle of a home project, and back in February, we ordered our windows from Loewen, based in Canada. Good windows. We have them in the rest of the house.
All was moving along nicely, real nice, except for one minor detail, that “T” word being shouted by a certain individual in Washington, D.C. Up until that point, I can’t say I really paid too close attention to “Tariffs.” But when it comes out of your pocket like it was going to come out if mine (I’d be on the hook for them upon delivery), I sat up a little straighter every time I heard the words “Canada” and “Tariffs”.
As an aside, the good folk at Loewen said they would split any tariff incurred by customers. Why not buy American, you may be wondering? The thought crossed Your Survival Guy’s mind, but let’s be real, when it comes to home design, my opinion is right up there with our pets. Maybe lower. This was not a place to stand my ground. “Design aesthetics,” I was told.
I became triggered by “Tariffs,” grabbing my attention like a cat watching a bird flying by a—there I go again thinking about windows. I was twitchy. Emotions raw, up and down like a stock price, cheering for our leaders to get “it” right. Whatever that means, and thankful when they were delayed. So selfish, right?
What about tariffs on China, you may think? What about them? This is not about China, it’s about me. I would never get my windows from China. (Wow, this trade war stuff is personal, and I’m not looking to offend.) But maybe China needs a timeout or two. But Canada? Come on, they invented poutine. Who doesn’t love French fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy?
I hope the guys on the floor up at Loewen didn’t look and see where the windows were going. I guess I’ll have to wait for the next hurricane to see how angry they were. Fingers crossed.
Action Line: Your Survival Guy doesn’t like the prediction business, especially with tariffs. You win some, you lose some, and some are rained out. Did I mention the delays with our project from all the rain? I’ll spare you the details for another day. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
