Richardcyoung.com

  • Home
  • Debbie Young
  • Jimmy Buffett
  • Key West
  • Your Survival Guy
  • How We Are Different
  • Paris
  • About Us
    • Foundation Principles
    • Contributors
  • Investing
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
  • The Swiss Way
  • My Rifles
  • Dividends and Compounding
  • Your Security
  • Dick Young
  • Dick’s R&B Top 100
  • Liberty & Freedom Map
  • Bank Credit & Money
  • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
  • NNT & Cholesterol
  • Your Health
  • Ron Paul
  • US Treasury Yield Curve: My Favorite Investor Tool
  • Anti-Gun Control
  • Anti-Digital Currency
  • Joel Salatin & Alfie Oakes
  • World Gold Mine Production
  • Fidelity & Wellington Since 1971
  • Hillsdale College
  • Babson College
  • Contact Us

If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Try and Fix It

December 30, 2021 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By Besjunior @Shutterstock

You and me? We’re the same. We’re simple people. We like simple quotes that wrap up life in a tidy package with a red ribbon. Here’s a couple of quotes I’m thinking about this morning. “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is,” and, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Simple. Concise. Easy to understand. Why, then, for cryin’ out loud, do investors mess with these truisms, and make a mess of their life’s savings? I’ll try and explain.

Let’s start with the first one. Real easy. Say it out loud with me, replacing “it” with “an investment(’s).” Here we go, “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.” Why then, when Tom Selleck (loved Magnum P.I.) starts talking reverse mortgages, investors grab a pen and do the same when William Shatner talks health insurance? How about bitcoin or annuities, both of which Your Survival Guy views as rat food. Yet money’s being thrown at all the above like it’s 1999.

“If it ain’t broke,” too many investors say, wait for it, “I can fix it.” “Yes, sir, I can fix it with just a little ‘research.’” And that investor squirrels away in his den turning over every nut in the rare earth’s market, for example, filling his squirrel brain with information he’ll use to corner it. Then something happens. “What happens?” you ask. Life. He’s at some family event, away from his computer, and something goes terribly wrong, like a virus from China or whatever the next disaster will be. The “what” doesn’t matter. The explanation to a spouse? That’s the disaster.

Is Your Family Prepared for the Next Disaster? Click Here to Survive and Thrive

Here’s two relevant facts. First, we’re seeing mad money thrown at bonds that don’t price on a regular basis, by professionals, that need to make good on annuity promises. If you haven’t been paying attention, and I understand you’re busy, some insurers are selling their annuity book to hedge funds. What could possibly go wrong?

The other fact. In the top-heavy S&P 500, five companies (not 500) account for close to a third of the performance. Remember, stocks are like trees. They grow to the sky, but they don’t grow forever.

Action Line: If you know someone that’s messing with his life savings, perhaps, a friend, of a friend, of a friend, then I’d love to talk with him. But only if he’s serious.

If you’re willing to fight for Main Street America, click here to sign up for the Richardcyoung.com free weekly email.

Related Posts

  • They Don’t Like Government.
  • You Don’t Get To
  • Don’t Miss it All
  • Don’t Stop Believing
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy
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, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention.

E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. 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 (RIP JB) and Paris.

Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com

Click here to sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy
Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement Special Bonus: God Only Knows - June 12, 2025
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #20: Life in Reverse - June 11, 2025
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #19: A Teacher for Life - June 10, 2025

Dick Young’s Must Reads

  • What Would Kennan Say about Ukraine/Russia?
  • Early Advice from Her Dad on Tipping at Charlie Trotter’s
  • The Butterfly Effect and Chaotic Markets
  • “It’s My Job” Key West’s Farewell to Jimmy Buffett
  • TOP HEAVY: Focus on Big Indexing Could Cause Market Chaos
  • Democracy: The Most Dangerous and Insidious Effect of Majority Rule.
  • Your Sheriff Can Thwart Federal Gun Control Efforts
  • Boom—Your Life Changes
  • The Three Best Retirement Decisions I Ever Made
  • The Simple, Elegant Power of the Retirement Compounders

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

RSS Youngresearch.com

  • Graduating from Work to Retirement Special Bonus: God Only Knows
  • US Secures LNG Export Deals Worth $200 Billion
  • High-Voltage Cable Crunch Hits Global Electrification
  • May PPI Lower than Expected
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #20: Life in Reverse
  • US Inflation Eases to 0.1% in May
  • DOE Focuses on Nuclear and AI Innovation
  • Trump Delivers Lower Inflation and Rising Wages
  • Natural Gas Power Growth Slows, but Big Gains Possible by 2028
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #19: A Teacher for Life

RSS Yoursurvivalguy.com

  • Graduating from Work to Retirement Special Bonus: God Only Knows
  • Private Equity: Moody’s Warns There’s Ample Cause for Concern
  • Your Survival Guy: Castle Hill, Newport
  • Containerized Missiles and the New Rules of War
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #20: Life in Reverse
  • America’s Silent Army with 423M Guns
  • Top 10 Reasons to Own an AR-15
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #19: A Teacher for Life
  • Can Luxury Ride AI to Success?
  • Market Timing Could Be Hazardous to Your Portfolio

US Treasury Yield Curve: My Favorite Investor Tool

My Key West Garden Office

Your Retirement Life: Traveling the Efficient Frontier

Live a Long Life

Your Survival Guy’s Mt. Rushmore of Investing Legends

“Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”

Copyright © 2025 | Terms & Conditions | About Us | Dick Young | Archives