Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

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What Investors Tell Me in 17 Seconds Without Saying a Word

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You may be surprised by this, but one of the most common things I hear from prospective clients of Richard C. Young’s investment firm is this: “I’ve been reading him for years and I have no debt.”

I have no debt.

And with that I know I’ve found someone I can work with.

Over the past 19 years of talking with thousands of prospective clients, it often takes me about 17 seconds to know if we’re going to have a happy relationship.

It’s simply something I’ve figured out over the years.

It’s not scientific. It’s not an algorithm.

It’s more a feeling. I guess it’s more about one’s upbringing and values. This may come as a surprise to you—it has nothing to do with investments.

For simplicity, if I had to boil it down to one word it would be: F-A-M-I-L-Y.

Quite simply, if you love your family and live your life with them in mind, a lot of answers become obvious.

Your family guides you.

As the retired David Letterman recently said: “Here’s what I have learned, if you retire to spend more time with your family, check with your family first.”

Look at the chart below on revolving consumer credit outstanding, which is mostly credit card debt. The total has risen to a new high of $1.021 trillion. Akin Oyedele writes of the new record at Business Insider:

Missed debt payments have declined from the recession era, when several homes were foreclosed on because their owners got loans they wouldn’t have qualified for with tighter rules.

But defaults are rising again for credit cards and auto loans. The New York Federal Reserve observed a 7.5% rise in the share of credit-card balances that were seriously delinquent, or at least 90 days past due, in the first quarter.

“We simply can’t keep taking on credit card debt forever without it causing major problems,” said Matt Schulz, the senior analyst at CreditCards.com. “This record probably won’t be a major tipping point, but it likely isn’t too far off.”

If the above makes you wonder how the next generation of your family is going to survive, then my gut tells me we would be great partners in making sure they do.

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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 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.