Your Retirement Life: California Dreamin’ then Disaster Strikes!

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You can’t make this stuff up. As one client emails:

E.J.,

I feel blessed by PG&E. They threatened to turn off power again early this morning and at this writing (1:35 PM) it is still on. The Saturday night to Monday afternoon outage wasn’t exactly fun. I lost everything in my refrigerator and freezer and couldn’t cook anything. I’m in a condo, so no generator is allowed. My son’s community in Maine looks more inviting by the day.

And another:

E.J.,

Hope you are well. Read the “Your Survival Guy” article about the sorry state of the sorry state of California — where I live. Hard to believe politicians could ruin such a beautiful state — but they are.

We just bought a condo in Nevada, which we may make our permanent home. Still have to pay ridiculously high state income taxes to California — but a 1031 exchange could change that. Though there seems to be a rush to the exits…and we’re not first in line.

Electric Cars in a Disaster

What if you have an electric car, you have no power, your car isn’t charged, and you need to evacuate? This is exactly the point made recently in Car and Driver:

“Weeks can be a long wait if you’re looking at a Model 3 in your garage with a drained battery, no electrical power to charge it, and the closest grocery store with power 80 miles away. But such is life in the Golden State, where forests and chaparral are all on hair triggers ready to ignite with slightest transformer malfunction or transmission line break.

An Alternative Energy Source

Then there’s Murray Energy which filed for bankruptcy this week as reported in the WSJ:

“Murray Energy Corp., led by outspoken Trump administration ally Robert Murray, has filed for chapter 11 protection, a stark example of coal’s diminished role in the U.S. energy sector.

The eighth coal producer to collapse into bankruptcy over the past year, Murray Energy is the latest to fall victim to diminished demand for coal and competition from cheaper fuels.”

Live Free or Die

This is anecdotal evidence for sure, but in my Live Free or Die state of New Hampshire losing power is a life-threatening event. Imagine a power outage in sub-zero temps in mid-January and you get the point. That’s why trees and branches are basically clear cut away from power lines. It’s not rocket science.

Chart of the Day

Make sure you’re prepared to your fullest capacity. Don’t wait until it’s too late. As you can see with the share price of Generac this wasn’t hard to see.

P.S. From the AP:

“Millions of people have been without power for days as fire crews race to contain two major wind-whipped blazes that have destroyed dozens of homes at both ends of the state: in Sonoma County wine country and in the hills of Los Angeles.

Across Northern California, people worried about charging cellphones, finding gasoline and cash, keeping their food from spoiling and staying warm. Some ended up at centers set up by PG&E where people could go to power their electronics and get free water, snacks, flashlights and solar lanterns…

PG&E said Tuesday’s blackouts — the third round in a week — would affect about 1.5 million people in 29 counties, including 1 million still without power from a shut-off over the weekend.”

California: where you can’t even trust government to keep the lights on. (from BRIGHT editor Inez Feltscher Stepman, a senior contributor to The Federalist.)

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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.