Hi there...
Doug here.
By the time you read this, I'll be on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Cleveland, Ohio to visit my best friend – my dad.
He's turning 90 and there's no way I'd miss his birthday party.
He means more to me than words can convey.
When I was a kid, he used to pick me and my brother Mike up on Friday evenings and whisk us away for the weekend. (My parents divorced when I was very little, but that's a story for another day).
Sometimes it was a weekend of boating, where we'd camp, get up in the morning and go water skiing all day.
Other times we'd go to Lake Erie, where we'd fish for perch and walleyed pike.
I remember him busting out silly songs while we fished that would have my brother and me in stitches.
When I turned 8 or so, he started teaching me the great game of golf.
To that end, every Sunday he'd take me to our local golf course, Pleasant Hill, an 18-hole track that I'll remember fondly for the rest of my life.
I'd tag along with him and two of his buddies, dragging my little golf bag behind them and eagerly absorbing dad's golf lessons.
Dad was an accomplished golfer and at the time sported a single-digit handicap. And through his tutelage I too became fairly good at the game.
But I wasn't able to beat him until I hit my 30s. Many times I came close, only to see him eke out a win through a miraculous chip shot, or through sinking a long put… or through my blowing a lead on the 18th hole -- the pressure to get that first victory over him was beyond intense.
The fateful day I finally bested him is etched forever in my memory, and I'll always treasure the scorecard that proves I won (I shot an 82 to his 83).
While he loved sports like fishing and golf, his true passion was – is – music.
He can sing and skillfully play any number of instruments.
His favorite is percussion, and for many years he was a drummer in a local band that performed at weddings and small parties.
That group (the name escapes me now) dissolved after about 15 years, but by then dad had developed a network of fellow musicians that he would sit in with – something he did deep into his 80s.
In his 9-to-5 life, dad was a social worker for Lake County, Ohio. Toward the end of his career, his main job was to integrate adults afflicted with mental handicaps into society.
To that end, he would take his charges to the movies, or to the mall, and supervise them as they performed simple jobs at various businesses.
He loved the work, but found it increasingly stressful as he got older.
So he took early retirement at the age of 62.
Retiring early cost him significant Social Security income, but he figured he'd be okay since he had a modest pension and some savings.
Like millions of seniors, he had counted on generating substantial interest income from his savings by socking much of it into CDs.
And why not? At the time, CDs were generating interest of between 5% and 7%.
But in 2008 the Fed pulled the plug on that plan by slashing interest rates.
Suddenly dad saw a major source of retirement income drastically cut.
As a result, over ensuing years he was forced to dip into his savings to make up the difference.
Now, 12 years later, his money is pretty much gone... as is the carefree lifestyle he enjoyed before retirement.
Fancy dinners downtown?
Nope.
Golfing expeditions?
Too expensive.
Vacations?
It's been at least 10 years since dad set foot on an airplane.
It kills me to see him have to scrimp so much. Fortunately, I can help him financially, thanks in no small measure to my ability to trade intelligently.
That's our mission here at TMI, to show you how to trade intelligently - trade smart - so you can enjoy life to the fullest...
Especially once your working days are done!
We provide you with all the tools you need to do that, many of them for free...
Such as Chris Rowe's upcoming online event -- the "Great Retirement Reset 2020".
During this free presentation, Chris will reveal investment strategies he learned while working on Wall Street that enabled him to retire in his 30s.
These strategies will help you fund your golden years in style... no matter how badly your retirement fund's been beaten down.
You can sign up here.
To your financial health,
Doug Fogel
Editor, True Market Insiders
No comments:
Post a Comment