Are We Heading for Another Global Financial Crisis?

Are we heading for another Global Financial Crisis?
 
That’s the number one question I’m getting right now … and it makes perfect sense.
 
After all, banks are going bust around the world, inflation is burning a hole in our wallets, and interest rates are being hiked at the most aggressive rate in years.
 
So, what comes next?
 
Well, the honest answer is … I don’t know.
 
No-one does.
 
However, what I can do for you is to suggest three books that will help prepare you for whatever results from the bursting of the biggest global debt bubble in history.
 
The Great Depression: A Diary, by Benjamin Roth

No, I don’t think we’re heading into a depression.
 
However, this book is the actual diary notes of Benjamin Roth, a small-town lawyer living through a decade of the Great Depression. What makes it a fascinating read is that he’s writing it in real time – he doesn’t know what’s coming next.
 
The key take outs?
 
You probably think of the Depression as bread lines and poverty. However, Roth’s diary notes show that there were plenty of years in which there were huge rallies in the sharemarket, with newspapers chock-full of experts predicting that the worst was over. And then the market would crash again.
 
From the peak, the stock market fell a staggering 89%, and took 25 long years to regain its high. Interestingly, Roth started out thinking that stocks were a scam, and that rent-paying property was a sure bet. However, he came out of the Depression believing the exact opposite.
 
And if that 89% plunge has your head spinning, you really need to read the next book …

The Ulysses Contract: How to Never Worry About the Share Market Again, by Mike Kemp
 
So this book has just been released … and I wrote the foreword. Yet I did it for a very good reason: the author, Mike Kemp, is the man I turn to for investing advice.
 
Mike was on the floor of the Stock Exchange the day of the 1987 crash, and over four decades of investing he’s not only become a very wealthy man, he’s done it while totally ignoring day-to-day share market fluctuations.
 
Key take outs?
 
The main aim of this book is to show you how to never worry about the share market again. Really. He does that by doing a deep dive into economic history, backing it up with sound logic, and then, for the crescendo, encouraging the reader to enter into a weirdly effective Ulysses contract.  

Purchase your copy here while they last (it’s a limited first print run).
 
The Barefoot Investor, by Scott Pape
 
Okay, so this is totally shameless … however, I really believe it. My book is written for times like this. When you think you’re lost – and you’re not sure which way to go – follow the Barefoot Steps to safety.
 
Key take outs?
 
You can’t control what RBA boss Phil (high) Lowe does, or what the economy does, or what your boss does. However, the fact is, you have more control than you think.
 
So, instead of fretting, focus on the things that you can control. There are things you can do right now – tonight – that will put money in your pocket, boost your confidence and set you off on a totally different path. All you need is a bottle of wine and your phone … and a few good books.
 
Tread Your Own Path!

The Simpsons is showing its age

The Simpsons is now 32 years old ... and it’s starting to show its age:

You know the opening credits where Homer hears the hometime whistle at the power plant?

That’s actually a throwback to the 19th century, when very few people owned watches, so factories used whistles to signal to workers the start and end of their shift.

In other words, Homer got paid to belt uranium sticks until the whistle blew, at which point he’d race out of the joint so fast he’d end up running over his son each night.

These days, of course, our bosses don’t have whistles … or even a workplace!

And yet you and I know people who think they can still get by simply showing up and whistling away the time.

Well, that may have worked 32 years ago in cartoon land, but it won’t cut in the era of COVID.

For the first time in a generation we’re facing a recession, and most businesses will be looking to cut the fat.

Scary thought, right?

Well, let me introduce you to one person who I guarantee won’t get D’oh’d!

Her name is Melanie, and she wrote me the following message last year … before COVID:

Hi Scott,

In the ‘Grow’ chapter of your book, you advise people who are preparing for their annual performance review to narrow their position description down to three fundamental tasks, and then write ambitious goals to work on for the next 12 months. Well, I actually did it, and not only was my boss impressed that I had prepared for the review, but he decided to give me a pay rise right now because of the contributions I had made to date! Before reading your book, I would never have had the confidence to take control like this. I’m off to celebrate — now I can afford a $15 bottle of wine!

Melanie

I know what you’re thinking.

You’re thinking, “That was last year. Now I’m not looking for a raise ... I just want to keep my job.”

Agreed.

But if you want to keep your donuts, you need to do exactly what Melanie did:

Decide on three ambitious work-related goals, tell your boss about them, then set a diary reminder to do one small thing each day that gets you towards those goals within the year.

Simple, right?

Sure. But not easy. That’s why few, if any, employees ever do it.

And that is exactly the point: it’ll make you stand out in a very good way. And if things go nuclear at your workplace in the next 12 to 18 months, you’ll be in a stronger position than your co-workers — all in the time it takes to watch an episode of The Simpsons.

Toot! Toot!

Tread Your Own Path!