Master the Game
I recently finished Tony Robbins’ latest book, “Money, Master the Game,” and I highly recommend it. Many of his suggestions in the book are really simple ideas that everyone knows about, but few execute well. Robbins shines as a personal coach and motivator; he has a good way of taking these ideas and turning them into powerful, effective action steps.
In true motivational style, he guides his readers to visualize a future at different levels of wealth. He then directs the reader to his website where a series of questions allows one to see and outline explaining whether those levels of wealth are or are not attainable on this new trajectory. He shows us how to dream and envision ourselves in a great future and then teaches the reader how it can be obtained. He reveals how everyone can save and invest for the future with a plan. Even the most skeptical reader will see where a little funding can be found to start your retirement account right away if you want it bad enough. He then directs the readers’ attention to where even more funds can be added along the way without too much pain. He poses the question then provides a pretty satisfying answer to one of the biggest secret fears of my boomer generation, “will I outlive my savings?”
In the book he covers such topics as: managing risk, portfolio rebalancing, asset allocation, reducing fees, saving more and rewarding yourself along the way. While the book is written for beginners and covers basic terms he also gets into structured notes and market linked CDs (certificates of deposit) that protect your downside risk as well as REIT (real estate investment trusts) on assisted living centers that allow you to capture the real estate upside as well as the upside of the business end of the center all while reaping the depreciation tax benefits. He discusses the benefits of hiring fiduciary experts and the fees they charge as opposed to listening to your broker’s advise.
In “Money, Master the Game,” Robbins suggests the reader watch a video by Ray Dalio. It is a 30-minute mini-movie, “How The Economic Machine Works,” which does an excellent job explaining the business cycle. I highly recommend that you invest 30 minutes of your life watching this short simple video at www.economicprinciples.org. This was one of my favorite gems from the book.
Robbins goes on to interview Ray Dalio, of Bridgewater Fund fame, in the book and that interview alone is worth the price of the book. Dalio’s “all seasons” portfolio is a “set it and forget it” fund (except for yearly rebalancing) that is quite easy for the average investor with mostly ETFs and index funds. I won’t spoil it for you, but Dalio recommends a 7.5% gold allocation in his mix. In a shameless self-promotion I invite you to visit www.silvertrading.net to fill this allocation in your portfolio!
An investment portfolio can be as simple or as complicated as you wish. The beginning investor should not feel overwhelmed as you can make a simple plan and get a good return. Or the more sophisticated investor can make a more complicated plan and get a bigger and better return. However you handle your retirement planning I believe you can glean quite a bit of useful information from this book. For example Robbins goes into detail about the good, the bad, and the ugly concerning annuities and PPLI (private placement life insurance), he also talks about index funds.
Near the end he supplies personal interviews with a dozen of the greatest investors of the last few decades. My favorite was an interview with Marc Faber, who has hosted the New Orleans Investment Conference a few times and is a delight in person. He finishes strong with how bright the future really is due to technology and man’s relentless push forward, as well as his personal secret to living (it’s pretty simple but you have to buy the book to find out).
So there you have it: how to make a great plan, motivation to execute that plan, good stories, and a happy ending. What more could you want in a book? There’s a reason it’s a best seller. Enjoy!
by Larry LaBorde
Elizabeth LaBorde
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