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by
Adam Taggart
The concept of ‘retirement’, of enjoying decades of work-free leisure in your golden years, is a relatively new construct. It’s only been around for a few generations.
In fact, the current version of the relaxed, golfing/RV-touring/country club retirement lifestyle only came into being in the post-WW2 boom era — as Social Security, corporate & government pensions, cheap and plentiful energy, and extended lifespans made it possible for the masses.
But increasingly, it looks like the dream of retiring is fast falling out of reach for many of today’s Baby Boomers. Most will outlive their savings (if they have any at all).
Will you?
Will Your Retirement Efforts Achieve Escape Velocity?
PREVIEW by Adam TaggartThe concept of ‘retirement’, of enjoying decades of work-free leisure in your golden years, is a relatively new construct. It’s only been around for a few generations.
In fact, the current version of the relaxed, golfing/RV-touring/country club retirement lifestyle only came into being in the post-WW2 boom era — as Social Security, corporate & government pensions, cheap and plentiful energy, and extended lifespans made it possible for the masses.
But increasingly, it looks like the dream of retiring is fast falling out of reach for many of today’s Baby Boomers. Most will outlive their savings (if they have any at all).
Will you?
by
Adam Taggart
In this week's Off The Cuff podcast, Chris discusses:
- So Then What?
- The cost of growth may be much higher than we truly want
- The Exponential Model Can't Work Forever
- Simple math, but wishful thinking ignores it
- Data, Debt & Demographics
- The really big trends all point to growing scarcity
- Spend Less & Spend Local
- Smart frugality is the path of the future
This week Chris explores: What will happen if those cheering for higher economic growth indeed get what they want? Will things really be better off?
Simply put: No.
Click to listen to a sample of this Off the Cuff Podcast or Enroll today to access the full audio and other premium content today.
Off The Cuff: So Then What?
PREVIEW by Adam TaggartIn this week's Off The Cuff podcast, Chris discusses:
- So Then What?
- The cost of growth may be much higher than we truly want
- The Exponential Model Can't Work Forever
- Simple math, but wishful thinking ignores it
- Data, Debt & Demographics
- The really big trends all point to growing scarcity
- Spend Less & Spend Local
- Smart frugality is the path of the future
This week Chris explores: What will happen if those cheering for higher economic growth indeed get what they want? Will things really be better off?
Simply put: No.
Click to listen to a sample of this Off the Cuff Podcast or Enroll today to access the full audio and other premium content today.
by
charleshughsmith
Executive Summary
- The Importance of Adding New Income Streams
- Income-Producing Assets
- Taking Advantage of Subsidies
- Hedges, Cost-Controls & Other Strategies
- The 14 Steps to Prosperity
If you have not yet read Part 1: The Great Retirement Con, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part 1, we revealed the woefully insufficient level of retirement savings — across IRAs, 401ks, and public pensions — America faces as it's largest demographic cohort, the Baby Boomers, now reaches retirement age. And eating quickly away at the scant savings that exist is the soaring cost of big-ticket essentials such as rent, higher education and healthcare that retirees can't avoid paying.
So what can we do about it?
There are only a few strategies that can make a real difference: own assets and income streams that keep up with real-world inflation, radically reduce the cost structure of big-ticket household expenses, qualify for subsidies (i.e. lower household income), and/or adopt a healthier view of what prosperity in retirement means.
Owning Income-Producing Enterprises and Assets
This chart says volumes about the difference between wealthy households and middle-class households: the middle-class households’ primary asset is the family home, while the wealthy households’ primary asset is business equity: ownership of an enterprise or shares in enterprises.
Developing a profitable enterprise is easier said than done (it helps to inherit a family business), and there is no guarantee a business that’s successful today will still be successful next year.
Nonetheless, it’s striking that the middle class is…
Success Strategies For Retirement
PREVIEW by charleshughsmithExecutive Summary
- The Importance of Adding New Income Streams
- Income-Producing Assets
- Taking Advantage of Subsidies
- Hedges, Cost-Controls & Other Strategies
- The 14 Steps to Prosperity
If you have not yet read Part 1: The Great Retirement Con, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part 1, we revealed the woefully insufficient level of retirement savings — across IRAs, 401ks, and public pensions — America faces as it's largest demographic cohort, the Baby Boomers, now reaches retirement age. And eating quickly away at the scant savings that exist is the soaring cost of big-ticket essentials such as rent, higher education and healthcare that retirees can't avoid paying.
So what can we do about it?
There are only a few strategies that can make a real difference: own assets and income streams that keep up with real-world inflation, radically reduce the cost structure of big-ticket household expenses, qualify for subsidies (i.e. lower household income), and/or adopt a healthier view of what prosperity in retirement means.
Owning Income-Producing Enterprises and Assets
This chart says volumes about the difference between wealthy households and middle-class households: the middle-class households’ primary asset is the family home, while the wealthy households’ primary asset is business equity: ownership of an enterprise or shares in enterprises.
Developing a profitable enterprise is easier said than done (it helps to inherit a family business), and there is no guarantee a business that’s successful today will still be successful next year.
Nonetheless, it’s striking that the middle class is…
by
Chris Martenson
Executive Summary
- Why economic growth is not going to ride to the rescue
- The alarming warning signs the auto, fine art, retail & housing industries are flashing now
- The actions you should be taking now to protect yourself from (and position for) the coming crash
If you have not yet read Part 1: Why This Market Needs To Crash available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to run out of new things to say about the state of the world, especially economics. The more obvious our predicaments become to me, the less appetite there seems to be ‘out there’ to discuss them.
What more can be said about a system that is so obviously corrupt and destined to fail, and piles up more and more evidence that this is the case, and yet refuses to engage in the most minimal of introspection?
Well, lots as it turns out.
You see, we're finally getting to beginning of the end. Our long national — and global — experiment with using flawed economic models is now running smack dab into reality.
The edifice of central planning omnipotence is crumbling and when it finally breaks down in earnest, the financial markets will implode, the central banks will be overrun and discredited, and investors will discover that overly-long parties come with massive hangovers.
There will be hell to pay.
For reasons we have discussed previously, and extensively, GDP growth has not been a feature of the world stage for over a decade, and is unlikely to return both because of debt levels that are far too high to support rapid growth and because any return of rapid growth will run smack into higher oil prices.
So…how’s that story working out? Not so hot. It’s been sub-par on a global scale for more than a decade. And the same is true for the US.
And here’s where we are today…
Positioning Yourself For The Crash
PREVIEW by Chris MartensonExecutive Summary
- Why economic growth is not going to ride to the rescue
- The alarming warning signs the auto, fine art, retail & housing industries are flashing now
- The actions you should be taking now to protect yourself from (and position for) the coming crash
If you have not yet read Part 1: Why This Market Needs To Crash available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to run out of new things to say about the state of the world, especially economics. The more obvious our predicaments become to me, the less appetite there seems to be ‘out there’ to discuss them.
What more can be said about a system that is so obviously corrupt and destined to fail, and piles up more and more evidence that this is the case, and yet refuses to engage in the most minimal of introspection?
Well, lots as it turns out.
You see, we're finally getting to beginning of the end. Our long national — and global — experiment with using flawed economic models is now running smack dab into reality.
The edifice of central planning omnipotence is crumbling and when it finally breaks down in earnest, the financial markets will implode, the central banks will be overrun and discredited, and investors will discover that overly-long parties come with massive hangovers.
There will be hell to pay.
For reasons we have discussed previously, and extensively, GDP growth has not been a feature of the world stage for over a decade, and is unlikely to return both because of debt levels that are far too high to support rapid growth and because any return of rapid growth will run smack into higher oil prices.
So…how’s that story working out? Not so hot. It’s been sub-par on a global scale for more than a decade. And the same is true for the US.
And here’s where we are today…
by
Adam Taggart
There are literally thousands and thousands of books that have been written on how to amass wealth. Some excellent, some less so; and too many not worth the paper they're printed on. Each posits its own special strategy, promising a future of riches to the reader. Of course, were there a sure-fire recipe for making millions, it's a safe bet that the last thing the guy who figured it out would do is share it with the world.
But as mentioned, some of these books have real value. One whose lessons have stuck with me in the decades since I first read it is The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, first published in 1996 by two PhD researchers, Thomas Stanley and William Danko,
The Importance Of Perseverance
by Adam TaggartThere are literally thousands and thousands of books that have been written on how to amass wealth. Some excellent, some less so; and too many not worth the paper they're printed on. Each posits its own special strategy, promising a future of riches to the reader. Of course, were there a sure-fire recipe for making millions, it's a safe bet that the last thing the guy who figured it out would do is share it with the world.
But as mentioned, some of these books have real value. One whose lessons have stuck with me in the decades since I first read it is The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, first published in 1996 by two PhD researchers, Thomas Stanley and William Danko,
by
admin-2
by
charleshughsmith
Executive Summary
- We know how to farm regeneratively, not extractively, today. We just need to choose to do so.
- Learning from the recent summit with Joel Salatin, Toby Hemenway & Singing Frogs Farm
- The 3 most important components underlying our future health
- What you can do to take control of your health in ways that will enhance your quality of life
If you have not yet read Why We’re So Unhealthy, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part 1, we examined the structure of our self-organizing centralized food/illness/healthcare system. In Part 2, we look at what we can do to foster a better, healthier and ultimately much more affordable alternative system.
Permaculture and Regenerative Agriculture/Horticulture
I have to start by thanking Peak Prosperity’s Adam Taggart for organizing the permaculture conference we attended, Better Soil, Better Food…A Better World. As a long-time gardener, I learned some things that I can apply to my own postage-stamp urban garden (for example, never leave soil bare—plant seedlings immediately after harvesting the current crop of veggies).
I also learned about the perniciously destructive nature of our system of growing, processing, distributing and consuming food. As noted in Part 1, the only possible result of our unhealthy food/illness/health system is ill-health.
The best way to become healthy is to opt out of the entire system. Removing oneself from one subsystem is a good start but insufficient, due to the interconnected nature of the system. Eliminating fast food, for example, is a good start, but the vast majority of packaged and convenience foods are made with the same ingredients as fast food.
This is difficult to do by design. As Joel Salatin explains…
Take Control: If You Don’t, Who Will?
PREVIEW by charleshughsmithExecutive Summary
- We know how to farm regeneratively, not extractively, today. We just need to choose to do so.
- Learning from the recent summit with Joel Salatin, Toby Hemenway & Singing Frogs Farm
- The 3 most important components underlying our future health
- What you can do to take control of your health in ways that will enhance your quality of life
If you have not yet read Why We’re So Unhealthy, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part 1, we examined the structure of our self-organizing centralized food/illness/healthcare system. In Part 2, we look at what we can do to foster a better, healthier and ultimately much more affordable alternative system.
Permaculture and Regenerative Agriculture/Horticulture
I have to start by thanking Peak Prosperity’s Adam Taggart for organizing the permaculture conference we attended, Better Soil, Better Food…A Better World. As a long-time gardener, I learned some things that I can apply to my own postage-stamp urban garden (for example, never leave soil bare—plant seedlings immediately after harvesting the current crop of veggies).
I also learned about the perniciously destructive nature of our system of growing, processing, distributing and consuming food. As noted in Part 1, the only possible result of our unhealthy food/illness/health system is ill-health.
The best way to become healthy is to opt out of the entire system. Removing oneself from one subsystem is a good start but insufficient, due to the interconnected nature of the system. Eliminating fast food, for example, is a good start, but the vast majority of packaged and convenience foods are made with the same ingredients as fast food.
This is difficult to do by design. As Joel Salatin explains…
by
JW
Total 34 items
by blaggers