Solano Real Estate Scene: Go Team USA
Holy salchow! Nathan Chen won the gold medal last week after blowing his short program at the 2018 Winter Games. There weren’t any fans in the stands, but Americans cheered in their living rooms for the 22-year-old Yale student that some people are calling the GOAT.
Chen did five quads in his winning routine, which wasn’t even considered an option for Brian Boitano, Scott Hamilton or 92-year-old Dick Button. The U.S. Winter and Summer Olympic teams represent the American spirit and the American dream.
I often write about the problems that exist in America that need to be addressed and I may sound critical of the $30 trillion government debt and our numerous other problems, like our state’s education rankings and our homeless crisis. I remember sharing data from the federal reserve about how 40% of Americans couldn’t produce $500 within 24 hours of an emergency, and data from other sources about how 52% of our population over 55 has no IRA, 401(k) or government pension.
I write about this because my kids and grandkids need to fix these problems and they better get started now.
I remember attending a seminar in 1986 and the speaker was talking about how important IRAs and 401(k)s are for retirement. He was selling the idea that the only way to beat inflation is to invest in the stock market consistently over 30 to 40 years and allow the rule of 72 to work for you. This is where I first heard the line, “be an owner, not a loaner.”
He said a federally insured savings account should be used for cash reserves and not for your retirement because banks use this money that we lend them at 1% today and then invest it in the real estate and stock markets. Life insurance companies pay more than banks, but they do the same thing, and almost own as much real estate as the Catholic Church.
He finished his speech with one final comment because IRAs and 401(k)s were still a new thing and many Americans were scared and distrustful of stocks because of movies like “Wall Street” and most of the baby boomers in 1986 had parents and grandparents who lived through the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. He said, “When you invest in a diversified stock portfolio, you are investing in the greatest country on earth, the USA.”
I believe this because on that date in 1986, we had three of our four kids and our net worth was negative $5,000. I didn’t get started on my IRAs and 401(k)s until 1989 but I am so thankful and lucky that I did. I believe in the U.S., and I believe we live in the greatest country on Earth.
The brilliant young Americans will rally together and solve our national problems over the next 30 years. Buy American stocks and real estate.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
