It's Time!

by Richard ‘Dick’ Young

Everyone wants to make money – but few people are willing to work and then as they do, fail to invest enough of their earnings to make a difference in their financial future.

They’re still in the savings bank mentality. Put your money in the bank; it’s safe there. Is it? But you can’t tell them that. And why not?

There is this story about an old dog that lay stretched out on the porch of a country general store, moaning and growling as he lay half asleep in the sun.

“Why is your dog making all those noises?” a customer asked the store owner.

“Oh,” answered the owner, “he’s lying on a nail.”

“Well then,” said the customer, “why doesn’t he move?”

“Because,” said the owner, “it’s not hurting him bad enough.”

Author Daniel Johnston, calls this condition “comfortable misery.” It means you’re miserable, but you’re used to it and can tolerate it. We have a saying in the vernacular which, loosely translated, says: “JUST BEAR WITH IT. YOU’LL GET USED TO IT AFTER A WHILE”.

That’s the condition many investors find themselves in today. They are hurting but they are not hurting enough to make them want to change.

If you want meaningful change in your life, you must educate yourself and then leave your comfort zone and begin to change things.

An anonymous poet once wrote:

Mr. Meant-to has a comrade,

And his name is Didn’t-do

Have you ever chanced to meet him?

Did he ever call on you?

These two fellows live together

in the house of Never-win,

And I’m told that it is haunted

by the ghost of Might-have-been.

Or, put another way; “I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO PROCRASTINATE BUT JUST NEVER GOT AROUND TO IT”.

Have you seen the ads of Bam Aquino? He puts it nicely. Investing isn’t about a one-time hit. It’s a habit. A little at a time – EVERYTIME.

My most successful investors have always been those who habitually put in a certain amount of money all the time; EVERYTIME. This way, you never have to “time” the market. The important thing is to chose your investment vehicle well. Go for conservative track records; The guys who stick to the rules; who never but NEVER put more than a prescribed percentage of

your money into more than a prescribed percentage of risks. These guys will not rack up spectacular gains but neither will they splatter on the rocks below when the market tanks – and it will.

For example, Sun Life wasn’t spared the meltdown. We lost more than 300 million Dollars on Lehman-Bros. but because this was just a small part of the portfolio (about 1%) we just wrote it off. That easy. Now if we ever get back anything from this, and that’s a possibility, it’s all icing

on the cake.

A friend of ours did this. He put in the same amount of money every month. He was well into a very decent nest egg when something bad happened and he had to access his savings. This happened at a bad time – when the market was terribly down. Even then, he still made money. Not as much, of course, but higher than bank rates. He didn’t lose anything and the money was available when he needed it.

But there is one other thing you MUST ABSOLUTELY PLAN ON; and that’s dying.

You see, if you have not made any plans on how you are to die, then your family will do everything to keep you alive. Unfortunately, by today’s standard care, this means bringing you to a doctor and his hospital. And, when this happens, everything you have managed to set aside and invest for your future and the future of your family will insure the future and retirement of your doctors. Don’t take my word for this. Look around.

In the United States, the number one cause of bankruptcies is the cost of medical care.

DECIDE! DON’T FORCE YOUR FAMILY TO DECIDE FOR YOU! There is only ONE decision they can make and you know this. Make a LIVING WILL. I have mine.

I am never to be brought to a hospital. My family is not to call a doctor; they are to call a priest. This is one guy the MD’s and their hospitals will not get. If you think like me, I can help you with your will, your natural, nutritional health care and your investment programs.

And don’t forget LIFE INSURANCE. This is the backbone of any meaningful retirement-savings plan. Take the words of Pia Magalona to heart. Death was the farthest thing from Francis Magalona’s mind and yet … one never knows. So get adequately covered. It is the only way to make uncertain things certain. Francis saw to that. He was adequately covered with life insurance and, when death came like a thief in the night, all it could steal was Francis’ body. It could not steal his dreams and aspirations or his wife and family. It could not destroy his love and caring.

Verily, death activated it and proved it.