A Rude Awakening
In fact, my mind was only about 1,500 miles away.
It was the fall of 2008 and I was stranded on a Carnival Cruise ship anchored off the coast of Cabo San Lucas. Lover’s Beach glistened in the sunlight and from my balcony I could hear laughter from the Lido Deck above me. But I sat transfixed, watching the television in awe as the President announced the near collapse of our financial system.
In the wake of the financial crisis my retirement portfolio lost over 50% of its value within the week, and my home went from an asset worth more than I owed on it, to a liability worth less than I owed on it, within the following 3 months. To top it off, my job was no longer secure.
My 50/50 life plan had just crashed around my head. And in the process, it saved my financial life, because you see...
…The 2008 financial crisis destroyed my belief in the 50/50 life plan.
1. I had placed my faith and hard earned income in the stock market, only to see it reduced to an ash heap in a handful of days.
2. I had bought into the American dream and believed the equity in my home would help finance my retirement, only to see it swept off its foundation by a crooked system that rewarded the financial gurus at my expense.
3. And, I had placed my trust in a system where the dignity of hard work and loyalty to an employer was no longer a guarantee of my family’s financial security.
The day I stepped off the boat in Long Beach, I rushed home and began a search for a better way. In a sense, I jumped overboard, and abandoned the ship of fools I had devoted most of my adult life to serving.
But the solution to my problem required two years of research, study, and experimentation.
Here is what I discovered…
