When in doubt about the future, ask someone who lived in the past. My mom and dad both lived (survived) the Great Depression. Dad said son, we were dirt poor, but we knew how to live off the land, so it could have been worse. Mom said, actually, we never noticed the difference. My mom said she did not take long to figure out she did not like to pick cotton. So, she didn't. I took a lot of comfort in what they said, because they had lived through it. So, like the Good Book says, one day at a time. Neither died wealthy, but they raised 3 sons who all did ok, me being one of them. People take themselves too seriously and are not thankful for the small things. I know I have learned quite a bit by reading this newsletter and also the comments. Read between the lines and there is wisdom here. Also there is comedy here. Makes for a good day!! Even the people who comment teach me a lot. I look for wisdom and mirth all over. Just sayin'
I want to hear from Bill as a father of 5 or 6 how are his kids now. Do they believe him and his research?
I am 79 and mother of 6. Sadly my kids are hypnotized by the ivy universities I sent them and do not listen to me at all.
From vaccinations, which they take. I did not. While they were little they did not go to the doctors or hospitals, I took care of them naturally. I studied alternative medicine. Now they think I am crazy because I own crypto. They voted for our present presidency.
That's a sad (all too common) story regarding your kids. Hopefully, at some point they will awaken to your wisdom and some of the important things you undoubtedly taught them will take hold. I feared the same for my knuckleheaded twin sons, but they eventually came around and looking at things from the right perspective has improved their lives and their relationship with me.
"Maximum Safety Mode". I learned a lot about what not to do when investing from my dear Father. He was a practitioner of "Maximum Unsafety Mode". One time, he decided to get rich by trading egg future contracts. What did he know about the market for eggs? Nothing. After losing practically all of his money, he decided to win it all back using what little money he had left at the gaming tables in Las Vegas. A total wipe out! My dear Mother was not amused! He was a great Dad in many other ways though, and I miss him.
Parents teach so much about what to do (and not do) it's breathtaking. My Dad lost his father when he was 7 so he had no example to follow for raising me (his only child). Which is to say my childhood was a nightmare.
However, for a guy that didn't finish 8th grade he was the most frugal, savvy investor I've ever met. I like to say he died with the first, second and third million he ever earned which is saying something because he never earned more than $35K in salary. But, the real lesson he taught me (and this is my punchline point and BB's mantra, I think), AVOID DEBT to the greatest extent possible. That's one thing I actually listened to and practiced as fast and as best I could.
He was a steel company executive with a large salary and expense allowance. Just couldn't handle money (his whole family was like this, maybe genetic?). My Mother was the opposite. She came from an Iowa farm family background. Handled money like your parents.
Love the article. Re the poll: where you stand depends on where you sit. Iโm in India, and we are not energy self-sufficient like the US. import 85% of our energy needs. An investment dramatically affect our life here if we run out of oil / electricity. ๐
I too am assured the Hope of Heaven and fully expect to meet all of my four-legged friends who have passed before me - one or two actually saved my sanity and emotional stability at various times in my often-turbulent life.
One small concern however - I hope they can all get along being in the same place at the same time. :) Dogs v. Dogs, Dogs v. Cats, Cats v. Cats...
Awe, let's say a prayer for the poor Billionaires who lost all that money recently. Who cares? Not anyone that I know. I'm sure they will find a way to recoup most of their losses one way or another. Probably at our expense.
No need to feel compassion for any of the elite. It is the poor middle class family of four or five with minimal cash reserves, on a big fixed interest mortgage which is nearing its fixed term end and with employment future looking decidedly shaky. The prospects of keeping heating going for the Winter and keeping food on the table is a much bleaker situation than the billionaire who has just lost $50 Billion, a quarter of his fortune.
If it really matters , who in the world really gives a s--- about the so called rich ! What matters is that the people that work hard and create real wealth will survive and again contribute to the average American !
Yes Bill, I too know a few mega millionaires who are on the edge. One poor fella sold his 40 million beach front home in Florida (just in time) and had to move a mile or so inland to a 8 millions dollar shithole. Poor guy...many are down sizing and getting rid of their private chefs, personal assistants and live in maids. Most have been employed with these families for decades, and now are out in the streets, with a couple of months salary to shut them up...
Next the companies they run will be shutting their doors on the thousands of employees that have worked for them for many decades, and those poor souls also will receive a few months salary, maybe, and be sent out to the cold, jobless world...
It may be a good time to sell your Baltimore hole, as many of these poor unemployed souls will be Walking to these third world shithole cities, with palms out, begging for handouts from the democratic/communist mayors, and when they are told the free ride is over, due to supporting all the illegal aliens and the most usless of society in those cities, crime will increase to Chicago and New Orleans status. May happen to the entire country if we have to live through another corrupt election, but hopefully not.
On a brighter note, I think we should all donate another 20% of our portfolios, and if we lost 54 trillion on the last 20% drop, we could pay off the national debt and support the usless eaters and breathers enough to bring crime down to New York levels...
Buy land near commercial areas and just hold on to it, wait for some real estate schumck to make you an offer. You wonโt have to worry about utilities, rent, renters, ect, or any of that jive. Youโll be golden pony boy Curtis. ๐
Woe to you, oh earth and sea (Juan ๐)
For the Devil sends the beast with wrath
Because he knows the time is short
Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast
Bill wrote: "Later, the company that published our letter, was sold โ to a SPAC."
That explains why I've been INUNDATED with spam for most of 2022. You could have warned us, Bill! Your financial gain in the sale has meant my loss in time spent dealing with all of those unwelcome emails.
Jeff, almost all those emails have a place where you can unsubscribe. I too was inundated for a while but after unsubscribing, marking them as spam, and using the โblock senderโ feature in my email system, I see very few each week now.
Thanks Jeff and Jim. Iโve been unsubscribing but not marking as spam. Incredibly, new titles and categories appear in the inbox even as you unsub from each of their newsletters. Itโs an amazing(ly irritating) automated funnel theyโve built. How this stuff is still legal baffles me.
Lois, I think the key is to use โblock senderโ on every unwanted/spam email you get if your email service has that feature. That wonโt stop them all but it will trim them down.
Hey Bill I bet we don't have to light a candle or mourn for you! Surely you received $$$$$ rather than shares in the SPAC for your company... Maybe you can buy your company back for 10 cents on the dollar. I did that twice on the same entity one time. :). It felt REEEEEEEL good!!!
I agreed with you . I did disagree with Tom saying that being long gold was being short ( kind of ) equities . Not when usd is on an up trend move .
Things will changes but I believe that Tom is right donโt fight the Fed if high rate means strong dollar then it s weak gold . We may have a relief of some months as I believe usd is going to correct and gold move higher .
When in doubt about the future, ask someone who lived in the past. My mom and dad both lived (survived) the Great Depression. Dad said son, we were dirt poor, but we knew how to live off the land, so it could have been worse. Mom said, actually, we never noticed the difference. My mom said she did not take long to figure out she did not like to pick cotton. So, she didn't. I took a lot of comfort in what they said, because they had lived through it. So, like the Good Book says, one day at a time. Neither died wealthy, but they raised 3 sons who all did ok, me being one of them. People take themselves too seriously and are not thankful for the small things. I know I have learned quite a bit by reading this newsletter and also the comments. Read between the lines and there is wisdom here. Also there is comedy here. Makes for a good day!! Even the people who comment teach me a lot. I look for wisdom and mirth all over. Just sayin'
Don Harrell
I want to hear from Bill as a father of 5 or 6 how are his kids now. Do they believe him and his research?
I am 79 and mother of 6. Sadly my kids are hypnotized by the ivy universities I sent them and do not listen to me at all.
From vaccinations, which they take. I did not. While they were little they did not go to the doctors or hospitals, I took care of them naturally. I studied alternative medicine. Now they think I am crazy because I own crypto. They voted for our present presidency.
How are your kids Bill?
That's a sad (all too common) story regarding your kids. Hopefully, at some point they will awaken to your wisdom and some of the important things you undoubtedly taught them will take hold. I feared the same for my knuckleheaded twin sons, but they eventually came around and looking at things from the right perspective has improved their lives and their relationship with me.
"Maximum Safety Mode". I learned a lot about what not to do when investing from my dear Father. He was a practitioner of "Maximum Unsafety Mode". One time, he decided to get rich by trading egg future contracts. What did he know about the market for eggs? Nothing. After losing practically all of his money, he decided to win it all back using what little money he had left at the gaming tables in Las Vegas. A total wipe out! My dear Mother was not amused! He was a great Dad in many other ways though, and I miss him.
Parents teach so much about what to do (and not do) it's breathtaking. My Dad lost his father when he was 7 so he had no example to follow for raising me (his only child). Which is to say my childhood was a nightmare.
However, for a guy that didn't finish 8th grade he was the most frugal, savvy investor I've ever met. I like to say he died with the first, second and third million he ever earned which is saying something because he never earned more than $35K in salary. But, the real lesson he taught me (and this is my punchline point and BB's mantra, I think), AVOID DEBT to the greatest extent possible. That's one thing I actually listened to and practiced as fast and as best I could.
Yes! But it is hard to do when you see your friends, family, and neighbors buying fancy cars and houses with borrowed money.
He was a steel company executive with a large salary and expense allowance. Just couldn't handle money (his whole family was like this, maybe genetic?). My Mother was the opposite. She came from an Iowa farm family background. Handled money like your parents.
Love the article. Re the poll: where you stand depends on where you sit. Iโm in India, and we are not energy self-sufficient like the US. import 85% of our energy needs. An investment dramatically affect our life here if we run out of oil / electricity. ๐
Nail on the head PG. Again, IMO.
I too am assured the Hope of Heaven and fully expect to meet all of my four-legged friends who have passed before me - one or two actually saved my sanity and emotional stability at various times in my often-turbulent life.
One small concern however - I hope they can all get along being in the same place at the same time. :) Dogs v. Dogs, Dogs v. Cats, Cats v. Cats...
Amen to that!
Awe, let's say a prayer for the poor Billionaires who lost all that money recently. Who cares? Not anyone that I know. I'm sure they will find a way to recoup most of their losses one way or another. Probably at our expense.
No need to feel compassion for any of the elite. It is the poor middle class family of four or five with minimal cash reserves, on a big fixed interest mortgage which is nearing its fixed term end and with employment future looking decidedly shaky. The prospects of keeping heating going for the Winter and keeping food on the table is a much bleaker situation than the billionaire who has just lost $50 Billion, a quarter of his fortune.
If it really matters , who in the world really gives a s--- about the so called rich ! What matters is that the people that work hard and create real wealth will survive and again contribute to the average American !
Yes Bill, I too know a few mega millionaires who are on the edge. One poor fella sold his 40 million beach front home in Florida (just in time) and had to move a mile or so inland to a 8 millions dollar shithole. Poor guy...many are down sizing and getting rid of their private chefs, personal assistants and live in maids. Most have been employed with these families for decades, and now are out in the streets, with a couple of months salary to shut them up...
Next the companies they run will be shutting their doors on the thousands of employees that have worked for them for many decades, and those poor souls also will receive a few months salary, maybe, and be sent out to the cold, jobless world...
It may be a good time to sell your Baltimore hole, as many of these poor unemployed souls will be Walking to these third world shithole cities, with palms out, begging for handouts from the democratic/communist mayors, and when they are told the free ride is over, due to supporting all the illegal aliens and the most usless of society in those cities, crime will increase to Chicago and New Orleans status. May happen to the entire country if we have to live through another corrupt election, but hopefully not.
On a brighter note, I think we should all donate another 20% of our portfolios, and if we lost 54 trillion on the last 20% drop, we could pay off the national debt and support the usless eaters and breathers enough to bring crime down to New York levels...
This reckoning exemplifies perfettamente why you are my favorite philosopher, I especially appreciate you analogies and humor.
Buy land near commercial areas and just hold on to it, wait for some real estate schumck to make you an offer. You wonโt have to worry about utilities, rent, renters, ect, or any of that jive. Youโll be golden pony boy Curtis. ๐
Woe to you, oh earth and sea (Juan ๐)
For the Devil sends the beast with wrath
Because he knows the time is short
Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast
For it is a human number
Its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
(Iron Maiden)
Bill wrote: "Later, the company that published our letter, was sold โ to a SPAC."
That explains why I've been INUNDATED with spam for most of 2022. You could have warned us, Bill! Your financial gain in the sale has meant my loss in time spent dealing with all of those unwelcome emails.
Jeff, almost all those emails have a place where you can unsubscribe. I too was inundated for a while but after unsubscribing, marking them as spam, and using the โblock senderโ feature in my email system, I see very few each week now.
Thanks Jeff and Jim. Iโve been unsubscribing but not marking as spam. Incredibly, new titles and categories appear in the inbox even as you unsub from each of their newsletters. Itโs an amazing(ly irritating) automated funnel theyโve built. How this stuff is still legal baffles me.
Lois, I think the key is to use โblock senderโ on every unwanted/spam email you get if your email service has that feature. That wonโt stop them all but it will trim them down.
Hey Bill I bet we don't have to light a candle or mourn for you! Surely you received $$$$$ rather than shares in the SPAC for your company... Maybe you can buy your company back for 10 cents on the dollar. I did that twice on the same entity one time. :). It felt REEEEEEEL good!!!
Bill I red few months ago that at the beginning
There would not be an asset to hide but cash .
I agreed with you . I did disagree with Tom saying that being long gold was being short ( kind of ) equities . Not when usd is on an up trend move .
Things will changes but I believe that Tom is right donโt fight the Fed if high rate means strong dollar then it s weak gold . We may have a relief of some months as I believe usd is going to correct and gold move higher .