How Are You Doing on a Local Level?

By Leigh Trail @ Shutterstock.com

How are you doing on a local level? Are you taking small steps every day to secure your situation? You don’t have to change your world in a day. Here are some thoughts looking out at my backyard:

• The local paper ran an article this week titled Firearm Interest Up Locally. The catalyst for the increased interest seems to be the election, and much like post-9-11, respondents are saying they were looking to buy anyway, this just made them take action.
• Applications to the Newport Rifle Club are way up, especially by female applicants, with demand for training by both genders way up as well.
• Are you seeing local prices higher or lower? Here, the price for food at the grocery store is up, while remaining pretty steady at restaurants.
• Do you have debt? It’s like an anchor around your neck. It’s ok while you’re on the boat, but try swimming with it. That’s what it feels like carrying debt during deflationary times.
• Value stocks. Yes. Imagine you own a wonderful business with pricing power. Now put that into your portfolio. That’s one way you fight inflation.
• Bonds. Yes. Imagine you’re a company. Your capital structure requires by law that your bondholders get paid first. Now imagine you own both stocks and bonds, and you see how you’ll live to fight another day in times of trouble by owning bonds.
• There’s nothing wrong with making money slowly from your investments.
• You spent a lifetime making money slowly with your work (unless you hit an IPO lottery).
• If you’re amazed at the amount of money you control, you know exactly what I’m saying. Fortunes can be made slowly.
• And fortunes can be lost in the blink of an eye. Don’t let that be you. Be patient.

Action Line: Make sure your financial house is in order. It’s the most important thing you control today. I believe in you. You can do this.

P.S. Dick Young recently wrote to investors that the stock market is about money flows, not politics. He continued:

Has America endured a more disgraced sitting president than Democrat Bill Clinton or first family than Bill and Hillary? Perhaps not.

Well you might be surprised to know that your IRA sprouted like fresh green weeds during the disgraceful decade of the nineties. Check out my chart below.

Americans have a great history of remaining optimistic, even though the Washington elite can and do act, for extended periods, like thorough fools.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.