"What's the difference between a U.S. savings bond and a whitewater rafting guide? A savings bond earns money and matures eventually."
We'd just finished whitewater rafting with three generations of our family. On the bus ride back to the car, the whitewater guide was full of jokes.
"Where do you hide a rafting guide's paycheck? Under the soap."
He looked super fit... but his pockets and his bank account were no doubt empty. He didn't care. He was living his version of a rich life, today. He was living for experience, not "stuff."
His version of a rich life was simpler than mine... But I've been forced to live a simpler life this week. I've been cut off from the world. That's how I learned my first lesson...
I'd planned on working on this family vacation. But my cell phone doesn't get reception at the mountain house we rented, 30 minutes outside of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. And the satellite doesn't work either. So I have no Internet, e-mail, cell phone, or TV. Like I said, I've been cut off.
I've learned that, well, I'm not as important as I thought I was.
About once a day, I've driven 30 minutes into town to check my e-mail and phone messages, worried about what I might be missing at work or in the markets. You know what? It turns out, I'm not that important... and life goes on.
It's been a bit like rehab. I'm detoxing from technology. And it's a good thing... an accidental lesson from Pigeon Forge.
That's the good lesson. The bad lesson is, America is in real trouble.
Our river guide was one of the very few fit people I've seen here. I'd say 90% of the people I've seen are overweight... and many of them obese. If these folks are any indication of the average American, we're in trouble.
I had a hard time finding a gym here in Pigeon Forge. "We're the only gym you can walk into in town," Gina at the desk told me when I asked. Meanwhile, there are several dozen pancake houses in town.
We took our little kids (and the grandparents) to the Disneyland of Tennessee this week... Dollywood. The kids loved it. The grandparents were good sports, joining the kids on just about every ride they tried. The place was close to Disney quality. Not bad! But the people attending Dollywood... whoa! This generation of Americans will, without a doubt, be the first to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
We're heading home today. I'm leaving here with two important lessons... two things that will allow me to lead a longer, "richer" life:
First, I don't need to do the "Blackberry Prayer" – typing messages on my phone – through the day. I particularly want to avoid it around my kids. It can wait. I don't want them to think my phone is more important than them.
Second, I'll set a fitness goal. Like the whitewater guide, I'll get out and do something. If you go with the flow these days – with portion sizes, fast food, convenience stores, pancake houses – you'll get fat, without a doubt. You really have fight against this stuff in America.
Unplugging from technology and pushing back against obesity... these things won't mean more money in your pocket. But living a "rich" life – like the whitewater guide – isn't about how much money you have in the bank. To me, a rich life is making the most of it.
Longtime readers recall we track inflation by watching the action in the major gold-stock fund GDX. It's a "one click and you're done" way to own a basket of the world's largest gold producers.
Here's why GDX is so important: In an all-out effort to "save" the debt-laden U.S. economy (and buy votes), our government is issuing enormous amounts of credit and "free money" right now. It's dishing out cash to clunker owners, bank CEOs, home speculators, and poorly run automakers at unbelievable levels.
Since any sane person knows "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch," we have to worry the government is diluting the value of our dollars. This dilution should propel the price of gold higher. Gold is honest money that rises when governments do dumb things like attempt to tax and spend their way to prosperity.
This brings us back to the GDX. As you can see, the GDX reached a yearly high around $45 a share in June. It then backed off to $35 per share. But in the past few weeks, it has put together a series of higher highs and higher lows to reach $41. If GDX blasts through $45 and on to $50 or $60, we have a big "dollar problem" on our hands...
Here's How China Is Fleeing the Dollar By Matt BadialiThursday, August 6, 2009
Right now, that much gold is worth about $32.6 billion - just 2% of China's total dollar reserves. China's frantic to exchange more of its trillions of dollars for gold.
How to Collect 100% from the Only Lottery I Play By Tom DysonWednesday, August 5, 2009
Here's the thing... although the official hurricane season lasts from June through November, the vast majority of hurricanes in the United States occur in a much smaller window.
How to Exploit Your Biggest Investment Advantage By Dr. Steve SjuggerudTuesday, August 4, 2009
Most people believe the saying "it takes money to make money." But it's not true... The biggest "mispricings" occur in the little stuff, where a big investor won't bother.
My Friend Can't Wait to Default on His Mortgage By Tom DysonMonday, August 3, 2009
He'll be rid of his debt. Plus, he'll get six months "free rent" before the bank kicks him out. The foreclosure will ruin his credit, but it doesn't matter. The blemish disappears from his record in less than 10 years.
