The Michael Masterson Journal

Issue No. 21 - $1.91	Saturday, December 19, 2009
Here's something my brother-in-law sent me. I usually don't mention stuff like this in the Journal. But I got a kick out of it. I think you will too... "Well, Michael, there is good news and bad news about my Christmas decorations this year. "The good news (as you can see in the photo below) is that I truly outdid myself. I really made him look real. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. Two things made me do it. "First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents. (They almost wrecked when they drove by.) Second, a 55-year-old lady grabbed the 75-pound ladder and almost killed herself putting it against my house. She didn't realize he was fake until she climbed to the top. (She was not happy.) By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up on the lawn. "Kind of feel like I gave in to the man by taking him down, but my neighbor did confirm two near-miss accidents on the busy street next to my house. "It was fun while it lasted."       While millions of people believe that drugs can "cure" an illness, all they usually do is mask the symptoms. At best, pharmaceuticals may relieve some of those symptoms, but they do nothing to address their underlying causes. It's like clipping the leaves off a dandelion with the intention of keeping weeds out of the garden. Pharmaceutical companies are all too happy to foster this misconception. They fund multibillion-dollar marketing campaigns that aim to widen the boundaries of disease, going so far as to invent "conditions"... for which they then offer a solution. If you truly want to cure an illness, you must identify and eradicate the habits that may have led to it in the first place. Then give your body the foods, natural supplements, sunlight, and exercise that will enhance its ability to heal itself. The Investor's Daily Edge team has just completed a major "makeover" of its flagship newsletter, Sound Profits. At first, I thought it was a crazy idea. "Why fix something that isn't broken?" I asked them. Sound Profits has an amazing track record of profitable investment recommendations. But they have a new editor in Bob Irish. And he has a lifetime of investment experience that has gotten everyone in the group excited about what they can do for their readers. "We've had a great run these past several years," Bob said. "But the market is very risky right now. Any advisor who tells you anything different is either a lunatic or a salesman." "To continue delivering the results we've been giving our readers, we need to be on top of our game. So we've instituted some improvements that will provide them with great profits while greatly reducing the risk of loss in the year ahead." I haven't yet seen their first new issue, but I've been able to take a look at some of the recommendations they are making. They are very impressive. What I like best is that they are fully aware of the wishy-washy "advice" most of the mainstream financial press is giving right now. They play it down the middle. And when you go after the middle, you can be sure you'll be getting mediocre results. At Sound Profits, they have a different -- and much better -- approach. They are recommending: Bonds -- but not the bonds you're probably thinking of Blue chip stocks with far-from-boring upsides And assets you thought only hedge funds had access to And that's just the beginning. They have strategies for profiting from "hidden" spikes you won't hear about in mainstream publications like The Wall Street Journal. What I like best about these new strategies is that they do not require a large outlay of money or major risks. For me, that is an essential part of smart investing. Sound Profits has a team of investment experts that is as good as any I've seen in my 30 years of being associated with the investment advisory industry. For example: Precious metals expert Dr. Russell McDougal. A few weeks ago, one of the stocks in his Resource Windfall Speculator portfolio went up 75 percent in one day. In-house options guru Ted Peroulakis. He led readers of his Options Power Trader service to gains of 63 percent... 100 percent... 116 percent... and 100 percent... in two months, on the SAME stock -- profiting as it rose and fell. And Steve McDonald, the corporate bonds expert and editor of the current Sound Profits. He's delivering an average of 6 percent income plus 12 percent capital gains in his diversified bond portfolio. The annual price of the new Sound Profits is very affordable -- especially considering the tremendous value of the information provided. Find out more about it here. A reader, "scared out of his mind," writes in for advice. The first thing I tell him is not to get married. No, I haven't turned "Dear Abby" on you. JH is 19 years old, fresh out of high school. He doesn't plan to go to college. The thought doesn't even interest him. What is on his mind is marriage. His fiancee, 21, is about to graduate from cosmetology school. JH does have a job. He gets $10 an hour (25 hours a week) as a custodian for a sizeable church. And he interns with the church's music department, putting in another 20 hours. It's an unpaid position. However, he says, it will put him on the fast track to becoming music director in a year or so. But, he says, "I am scared out of my mind about my life right now. I am not sure I can support a family on the money I am making, and I do not have time to start much of a side business. I've read Automatic Wealth, and I read Early to Rise every day. Any advice you can give would be inspiring and appreciated." My answer to JH... You are right to be frightened, JH. You have taken several very serious actions that put you in a difficult situation: You have decided not to get a college education. You have accepted a job at $10 an hour with a limited financial upside. You are about to get married. I presume you are writing to me because you realize that what you are doing is unwise from a financial perspective. You are correct. In fact, it is so unwise that I would advise you to reconsider. You cannot support a family on $250 a week. And although I don't know anything about the church you are working for, I very much doubt that you will be making enough money to take proper care of a wife and children even if you complete your internship successfully and go on to become musical director one day. You are clearly driven by your passions. But passions won't pay the rent or clothe your kids or repair the carburetor. At 19, you are to be forgiven for allowing passions to drive your impulses. But I would not be able to forgive myself if I simply told you, "Go ahead and follow your dream." I'm going to make a gloomy prediction. If you go ahead with what you are doing, you will end up broke and unhappy. I think you know that. I believe that is why you wrote to me. Deep down inside, you know that you have only two responsible, ethical choices. 1. You can put off any discussion about marriage, pursue your dream for a while, and see what happens. If you choose this path, set a specific goal and give yourself a fixed number of years to achieve that goal. (You can learn how to do that by getting ETR's Goal Setting Program.) 2. You can give up on your passions, for now, and get the best-paying job you can find. Something in the sales or marketing world would be good. You already have a copy of Automatic Wealth, so follow the plan and work like the dickens for seven years. If you do that, you'll then be wealthy enough to cut back on work a little and begin to pursue your love of music on a part-time basis. Whichever path you choose, do not abandon your education. Take at least one three-credit college course every semester... even during the summer. Begin with basic liberal arts courses in English, history, and economics. When you feel like you have a good grounding in those, take some business courses. And before you know it, a happy, successful life will be yours -- one that you can share with your wife and family. We normally encourage people to sign up to read ETR. But we'll let it slide this time... "These articles are important enough to print out to share with those who don't have a computer!!!!!! "Does that tell you what I think?" Judy in Albuquerque [Ed. Note: Michael Masterson welcomes your questions and comments. Send him a message at AskMichael@ETRFeedback.com.]
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