Dear Survivor,
Have you checked off your to-do list for the holidays? The end of the year and beginning of the new year is a good time to make some adjustments to your investments by perhaps realizing some gains before year-end and maybe some more in January. This way, you’re spreading your tax obligations over two tax years, not just one.
With that said, Your Survival Guy is not a fan of allowing taxes to wag the dog. Instead, I want you to invest in a way that is appropriate for you, for your risk tolerance, not tax avoidance. As you know, I always favor a balanced portfolio and use the efficient frontier as a GPS of sorts. Because my favorite three letters in investing are y-o-u. You need to be confident you are invested according to your risk tolerance, not according to how you feel the market will do next year.
The $200 Cup of Joe
In my conversations with you, we talk about what you’re up to in your retirement life. Just recently, it was about the $200 cup of coffee. Because when it’s a CAVU day (ceiling and visibility unlimited), going to your favorite coffee spot takes on new meaning, when, as a retired pilot, you can hop in a plane and fly there yourself. But it ain’t cheap.
Your Survival Guy stopped doing the calculus on the cost per filet of fish we catch on the Tom Sawyer. It’s just not a healthy endeavor. The same is true when it comes to the cost per glass of champagne in Paris or to your favorite getaway. Believe me, it is not the price listed on your menu.
But memories are priceless, right? Isn’t that why you have the money, honey? I understand it’s hard to spend after a lifetime of saving, but you need to figure out ways to enjoy your success. And if the drinks are “included,” great. Whatever makes you feel better about it works for me.
Make It a Good Month
You remember Dick Young’s North Star, also known as the 3-month T-bill, is often called the “risk free rate.” Now, nothing has zero risk, but the T-bill yield today is 3.64%. Which is better than the zero percent your Lazy Cash is earning while uninvested. You know what needs to be done. Why, then, do you still have that good-for-nothing Lazy Cash sitting around on your couch doing nothing?
Because when markets are up, you feel like saying: What do you want from life, Lazy Cash? You can’t keep eating my food, paying no rent, and think this is how you’re going to live the rest of your life.
A few weeks go by…stocks are down.
You’re on the couch again with guess who, and your tone has changed. Everyone you know is losing money, selling until they can sleep. You’re happy.
“What do you want to watch tonight, Lazy Cash? A movie? Can I make you some popcorn?” Aren’t we smart, you think.
Then, a year goes by and…it’s a banner year for markets, and guess what? You-know-who is still on your couch.
Rinse and repeat.
Look, I get it. I’m Your Survival Guy. I’ve spent a working lifetime seeing this story play out over and over. I’ve spent countless hours studying Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, and I know the most important words from each issue are: Make it A Good Month. And the straw that stirs that drink is the word Make.
You make the money. Because you can hope and wish until you’re blue in the face that your Lazy Cash goes on to live a productive and worthwhile life, but in the end, it’s up to you to make it happen. That’s why Your Survival Guy ends all his posts with an “Action Line,” because until you take action and make it happen, it doesn’t mean a thing.
Beat that mighty foe called inertia. Consider how much cash you need for emergencies and to sleep well at night. Then develop a well-crafted strategy to make some money. For a Lazy Cash intervention email, Your Survival Guy: ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.
Survive and Thrive this month.
Warm regards,
“Your Survival Guy”
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P.S. When Your Survival Guy flies private, it’s with ExpertJet. When I want to get my family from A to B without the hassle of bag checks, TSA, and fist fights in row 15, where everyone feels like the “customer is always right.” That’s not how I want to travel. Look, I know it sounds extravagant, and it is on many levels, but I’m not writing to some average Joe. I’m writing to you, my successful American, who has lived within your means and has saved ‘til it hurts. Now you have some money to spend. Don’t let your kids be happier when you’re dead than alive. Take some trips.
Because not that long ago, there was a time when air travel, customer service, and investing boutiques would treat you with the respect you deserved. Nowadays, it’s you and me who are paying for the guy taking up all the room in row 15 because he complained until he was blue in the face to get a “free” ticket. The same is true when you call about your investments. You’re stuck in a phone death loop where questions go unanswered, and expectations of problem resolution go to die.
That’s not getting a bang for your buck. Because yes, there is some truth to the fact that you can’t take the money with you. There are ways you can craft your itinerary, for example, to include a few of your favorite friends, split the cost three ways, and spend the rest of the trip over drinks talking about how you got there and sharing pictures. That’s fun.
That’s why Your Survival Guy enjoys talking with my friend Andrew Flaxman, who owns ExpertJet. We discuss the needs of each trip, and he gets back to me with three or more options to choose from, and away we go. When we roll up plane side, oftentimes he’s standing there to meet us. As a pilot himself, I rely upon him to make sure everything is status quo and then some.
P.P.S. Your Survival Guy just received the latest State Tax Rankings from the Tax Foundation for 2026. Some of you may look at the rankings and wonder, is it time to flee?
Coming in strong were the usual suspects, including the top ten best states for taxes:
- Wyoming
- South Dakota
- New Hampshire
- Alaska
- Florida
- Montana
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Idaho
- Indiana
And in places of infamy were the worst taxing states in America:
- Hawaii
- Vermont
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Washington
- Maryland
- Connecticut
- California
- New Jersey
- New York
But don’t let taxes wag the dog. There are many reasons to want to live in one state or another. Your Survival Guy’s Super States 2025 examines a wide range of criteria (including taxation) that Americans might find meaningful when looking for their best version of America.
P.P.P.S. Don’t leave free money on the table. Make sure you’re, at the very least, contributing to the company match in your 401(k). This is the only free lunch in retirement investing. Pass it on.
Your Survival Guy used to work in the 401(k) division at Fidelity Investments, then referred to as FIRSCO (Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services Company). If you have a 401(k) at Fidelity, are near retirement, or are in retirement and want assistance doing an IRA rollover, I can help. At The Wall Street Journal, Gunjan Banerji explains the growing number of “moderate millionaires” who have been putting their 401(k)s to good use. Banerji writes:
The 401(k) millionaire club is growing.
Steady saving by many Americans and a third consecutive year of big gains for U.S. stocks have swollen account balances. As 2025 comes to a close, many individual investors are finding holiday cheer in statements showing they have crossed the $1 million milestone.
As of the third quarter, there were 654,000 401(k) millionaires at the brokerage Fidelity, the highest level in records going back to the early 2000s. Around 3.2% of more than three million accounts tracked by benefits provider Alight had balances above $1 million as of the third quarter, double the figure at the end of 2022. At T. Rowe Price, roughly 2.6% of participants had balances above $1 million, up from 1.3% at the end of 2022.
For the first time, half of private-sector workers are saving in 401(k)s, which allow workers to invest money directly from their paychecks without subtracting income taxes upfront. Many of those accounts are also more tied to the stock market than ever before, with workers in their late 30s allocating roughly 88% to equities last year, up from 82% a decade earlier, according to a Vanguard Group examination of the millions of plans it administers.
While about 40% of U.S. households are still at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, many of those using 401(k)s are doing better than ever.
The hardworking 401(k) owners are saving til it hurts, and putting tomorrow ahead of today. They’re fairly wealthy, and it’s time to develop good investing habits. When you want to talk about an IRA rollover and developing those good investing habits, email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.
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