Dear Survivor,
Back in 1994, Your Survival Guy, a recent Babson College graduate, decided to put his diploma to work, and hopped on a plane to Greece to spend some time with a fraternity brother who summered on one of the Greek Isles.
“When else are you going to get an opportunity to do this again?” my dad said.
And with that, I coordinated with my high school friend, a recent Duke grad, to meet up in Rome and tour Western Europe for a month or so. “Meet you in Rome,” I said. “I’ll figure out how to get there from Athens,” I said. This was not a quick boat ride to Martha’s Vineyard. Your Survival Guy gained a new appreciation for planes, trains, and a long ferry boat ride.
And so here Your Survival Guy is today, awake at 4 am (again), after another couple weeks in Paris with a week in Rome on the front end. And I’m here to report, after all these years later, that not much has changed with ancient Rome. The ruins are still there. And they’re incredible. The city is buzzing with tourists, both young and old, walking through a livable (sort of) museum, avoiding cars that might run you over if you let them. As our travel advisor suggested, pack your patience.
On one of our private tours, the guide said, “One of the challenges of living here, in Rome, is everything is in the past. We live in the past. Where you’re from it’s about the future.” That struck me. It’s hard when so much is dictated to preserve the past, the future, an afterthought. But living in Rome under the Caesars was quite amazing, so I’m told, compared to the rest of the world at that time in history.
Rome is Rome.
Afterward, enjoying an ice cold Aperol spritz back at Le Jardin at Hotel de Russie, we happened to be seated next to one of the stars from the Fast and the Furious films (no, he didn’t recognize me) there for the premiere in Rome. It’s a place to be seen. It still draws attention. Lucky you if you’re going.
30 Years Later
A Three-Week International Research Trip to Paris via Rome
Your Survival Guy’s been up for hours, having returned yesterday from a three-week international research trip to Paris via Rome. I’ll have plenty to share with you in the weeks ahead. Don’t be a stranger. Beat the Friday email rush by checking in with me daily right here at www.yoursurvivalguy.com
OK then, here’s my take on the lay of the land on the international front after my three-week international research trip to Paris via Rome. The US dollar isn’t what it used to be, and Your Survival Guy doesn’t see it getting any better. Over the last eight years or so, Your Survival Guy’s been traveling to Paris, often twice a year in November and May (except for May of 2020 due to the manmade “pandemic”). My point of reference for you this morning is this. My boots (Guccis) have been on the ground pre and post-Covid—perhaps the most destructive manmade disaster in modern history. I have experiences to share with you.
Pre-Covid, I felt like the US dollar and our economy were well respected in Paris. I had fun conversations with folks on the rough and tumble streets of Avenue Montaigne and St. Honoré. Now, in my conversations with acquaintances, new and old, it’s what they don’t say about America that says it all.
In earlier trips, it seemed that the US dollar was well respected regardless of the exchange rate. There was a certain respect that went unspoken. Now, the greenback is viewed as if you put a used tissue in front of a banker. Will your government default? Not a great reception. Note to yourself: Leave for international waters with your war chest of euros before you leave. I never worry about the language barrier. Money talks.
Now that I have years of perspective for you, I can provide anecdotal on-the-ground intelligence. This is something I’ve been working on for years. I can tell you that our major export is tourism, and the underemployment in both the US and Europe have big-time structural implications that will last for years, if not decades. The turnover is massive. The workers wonder how their nonworking former associates survive. They tell me you don’t have to work that much to survive in Europe. Sound familiar?
When the currency is debauched, and leadership has no compass for the way forward, how will that impact the investor class? You and me? Stick around. This is unraveling as we speak.
This is too important a trend to just stand there and do nothing.
When Did You Become Serious about Your Money?
In my conversations with you, you tell me when you became serious about money. If it didn’t happen when your dad, grandad, or friend showed you Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, it happened when you yourself became a subscriber. You needed to make good investment decisions for your retirement. Also, when you subscribed to Dick’s letter, you signed up for a handful of others too.
Over time you let the other subscriptions lapse, you tell me. But you kept subscribing to Dick’s letter. His was the one you liked most because you felt he enjoyed writing to you and cared about your success. It’s not that the others didn’t. It just became too much trading and too much work for you to keep up with. Plus, you liked reading about Dick and Debbie’s Harley Davidson trips, and the lead paragraph was not to be missed.
And it also came back to time. Your time. You could quickly peruse Dick’s Monster Master list before heading out to dinner and save the rest for later in the week. You could make a mental note that this stock was added or this one was gone and be on with your life. You were able to get a quick dose of confidence in a short amount of time. Now you don’t have that, and life isn’t getting simpler. You don’t have the time to follow stocks, nor quite frankly, the inclination.
When I first started working with Dick, I remember how dead serious he would be when discussing investing. That feeling will always be with me. That’s why we should talk.
Survive and Thrive this month.
Warm regards,
“Your Survival Guy”
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P.S. Starving for fixed income? Looking for a stream of cash you can live with and live on? I hear you. When rates are this high, I pay attention. Because with this generational opportunity come lots of decisions. You have a chance to get your lazy cash out of the bank. You have an opportunity to park it in my favored Fidelity Treasury Money Market, yielding around 4.5% today.
When you move your lazy cash from the bank and invest it, you get paid a handsome rate for your efforts. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work? You turn the tables. You invest. You win. I like that.
What about CDs, you ask? I’m not a fan. As with most things, there are exceptions. In certain cases, they work, but they’re not as liquid as a money market. Lori Ioannou describes some of the problems with CDs in The Wall Street Journal, writing:
Your money typically is locked up until the CD matures. Some come with early withdrawal penalties, which can be a flat fee or percentage of interest earned. They carry interest-rate risk. Some brokered CDs have call options.
What about an annuity? Rat food. An insurance product tied to the financial strength of an insurer.
Remember 2008? What could possibly go wrong?
When it comes to your streams of income, Your Survival Guy favors multiple targets. A diversified mix of products carefully crafted for your income needs. A plan that puts safety first.
P.P.S. Already in 2023, Florida and Nebraska have added themselves to the growing list of states protecting the right of residents to carry without a permit. Now two more states are pushing forward legislation that could make them the 28th and 29th in America to have permitless carry.
Louisiana’s House passed a permitless carry bill on Tuesday, May 23, with a majority vote of 70-29. Greg Hilburn writes in the Shreveport Times:
Louisiana is on the cusp of expanding gun rights after the House overwhelming passed a bill Tuesday that would allow adults 18 and older to carry handguns without permits or training as is currently required.
Republican Oil City state Rep. Danny McCormick’s House Bill 131 would “restore the Second Amendment in Louisiana.”
“For too long Louisiana has been infringing on that God-given right,” said McCormick, who said his 6-year-old granddaughter is “quite proficient” with an AR-15 assault rifle.
“Nothing is more unjust that to insist citizens pay for a right they already have,” he said.
In South Carolina, votes in the House and Senate could happen any time now. The NRA-ILA reports:
Senate Bill 109/House Bill 3594, NRA-backed constitutional carry bills, could be up for a Senate floor vote as early as this week. Your active participation has been pivotal in safeguarding and upholding our fundamental right to bear arms. Act now to make a difference! Contact your Senator today and express your support for constitutional carry, backed by Governor McMaster and the bipartisan support of the House of Representatives!
If you live in a state where politicians are working to protect your Second Amendment rights, that’s great. If not, you may want to get your gun and your training now, before it’s too late.
P.P.P.S. Don’t look now, but you’re the millionaire next door. You’re the one they’re talking about. “How do they do it? They’re off on another trip,” neighbors wonder. But you don’t think like that—like a millionaire—you’ve always lived this way. It’s your way of life. You’ve saved ‘til it hurts, paid taxes, and spent what you needed—but never too extravagantly.
You wondered, a long time ago, how the other guys “afforded” the new trucks and toys. “I haven’t seen them in years,” you say to yourself now. “Wonder what they’re doing.” Chances are, if you’re reading Your Survival Guy, you know what I’m talking about. I work with successful Americans like you. I spend my days talking with millionaires like you from neighborhoods like yours.
You keep me in the know. You send me updates from places you’re visiting in the far-away reaches of the world. I feel like I’m cruisin’ with you. It’s OK. Don’t feel bad for YSG. I’m used to it. Stuck in my office working while you play. I’ve got your back. Who wants to deal with a bond ladder while climbing an ancient ruin?
And here’s the kicker. You’re happy you took the trip. But you’re happy to be home too to see family and loved ones. The life you love. And now you have new lifelong friends to boot. A true sign of a life well lived is “Home Sweet Home.” Knowing you can do whatever it is you want when you want to do it is nice. For the right price, of course. You didn’t get here being frivolous.
Isn’t it fun being the millionaire next door? I want to hear your story. As the waiters say in Paris when they’re ready to take your order, “Tell me.”
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