Another Word about Your Survival Guy’s Money: Spending

November 13, 2023 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Last week, Your Survival Guy wrote to you about his money. Here’s a recap: save a third, spend a third, and pay taxes with a third. Own your home. Stay out of debt. And invest for dividends, dividend increases, and income. Keep what you make and live to fight another day. But this is a more laid-back piece for you today. Today, let’s talk about spending and the importance of living your life to keep you young. Because it makes all the difference in the world. Within reason, of course.

Your Survival Guy and Gal recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Anguilla. Located in the British West Indies, our last name of Smith made us feel like locals in no time. And with only 14,000 or so residents, it seems like everyone knew our name by the time we left. It’s not unusual to see your server at breakfast working at a nearby restaurant at dinner.

When it comes to spending and taking trips, it’s the anticipation, the thinking about it, and planning that’s half the fun. It gets you through a lot of rainy Saturdays in New England, thinking about frozen pina coladas on the beach and planning activities for your trip. Not that we’re beach people, but we adjust accordingly. I’m Your Survival Guy, after all.

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Getting to Anguilla can be a bit of planes, boats, and automobiles. Landing in St. Maarten, we took a transfer boat to Anguilla, about a 20-minute ride in some rough water, and a 15-minute car ride put us at the front security gate of Cap Juluca, a Belmond Hotel. If you want to get away from it all, this is your place. Relaxation is the key word. But it doesn’t have to be. Because everyone’s having fun and meeting new friends to keep in touch with back home is a big part of it.

Don’t be in a rush, though. You’re on island time. Not that they observe daylight savings. They don’t. Imagine my surprise when my iPhone matched the time on my watch the next morning. “Now that’s service,” I thought to myself. And then realized the time doesn’t change there. I was happy to gain the extra hour when we got back home.

Enjoy exploring outside the resort with your Moke. Visit nearby Prickley Pear Island off the coast for some lunch. Snorkel. Listen to music. Read a book. Think about your next meal. You’re on vacation. Note: The sun is blazing hot. I didn’t think I’d last a week. But when it came time to leave, we felt like we were just settling in. But it was time. You can only spend so much. And home is sweet.

Action Line: If you want to talk about Anguilla, let me know. I feel like I’m a local now. One love.

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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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