I grew up in California during a point in history where middle-class values were taught, how to retire well was learned at home by watching my parents provide for it, and only my Father needed to have a job in order to accomplish it.
I was taught:
- go to school
- get a good education
- get a job
- get married
- buy a house
- work your way up in the company
- pay off your mortgage
- retire and enjoy the good life
WORKING MY PLAN
Although the first parts of the plan have taken most of my waking hours so far to complete, they did turn out well despite an occasional bump in the road, oh of course except for that gigantic hole left behind by the financial crises that destroyed the Worldwide Banking System in 2008 / 2009. We must not forget about that, so we will pick up the story there…
By 2008 I was in my mid 40’s and had made my way to near the top of my industry serving as the Chief Operating Officer of a well known medium-sized construction company. When I first walked in the door in late 2003, they were struggling to make payroll which was burning at a rate of $ 300,000 / week. By the summer of 2008 (just before “The Great Recession” started) the company was easily making $ 2,000,000 / week payrolls. Personally, I was on track to complete the 8 items listed above, and all was well.
THE GREAT RECESSION
Then the Great Recession of 2008 / 2009 hit. Although personally my wife and I were well prepared for the recession and rode out the downturn fine, the industry in which I worked was not. It was obliterated by the collapse of the banking system and to prevent the business from also collapsing, I was forced to learn how Wall Street made it through. I researched what they were doing, learned from others that already knew how to do it, then did as they did to navigate a path which looked like the main road leading out of Baghdad during Operation Desert Storm.
Looking back, it was a blessing to have the opportunity to learn what I did, although it certainly did not feel like it at the time.
UNEASY REALIZATION
Ultimately, what I came to realize is that what I had been taught as a child on how to create a successful retirement was no longer appropriate for the current world in which we live. It was not good to find that out after traveling down the wrong road for such a long time towards a goal I had watched my mother and father accomplish. I saw it happen for them, and their parents, first-hand. How could it not also be true for me?
The good news is that I did figure out the answer to that question. The bad news is that it still is going to take some time to fix.
INVITATION
So, if you find yourself in the same situation, then step aboard “The Travel Trader” and come along for the ride as my wife and I traverse the United States in a recreational vehicle, renovated to look like our existing home, outfitted with an Institutional level Securities Trading room, and the knowledge on how to beat Wall Street at its own game. All of this prepared with the specific goal in mind of searching for and finding the “American Retirement” that used to be.
Along the way I will explain in detail why it is much more difficult to retire well in the United States today, how that came to be, and my plan to deal with it. To make it through the Financial Crises of 2008 / 2009, I was forced to learn how the financial system really works, which I found out greatly differs from how I thought it works. My motivation for this blog is simply to give back to others in hope that they may learn the same as I did and use that to enrich their own lives.
CAUTION
What you will learn cannot be “unlearned.” Once you come to understand how the financial system actually functions, who designed it, and why they did it in the way that they did, it will become clear to you where you are in the machine of finance. You will probably not like that day, I know for me I did not. However, you cannot solve a problem that you are not willing to recognize and confront. So, shake it off, figure it out, create a plan to get it fixed, and then work that plan. This blog is my real-time journey to do just that, yet still enjoy life along the way.
You are invited, so come along.
Travel Trader 