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The Ten Most Important Years of Your Financial Life

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 | Dylan Jovine

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I HEARD AN ADVERTISEMENT ON LOCAL RADIO MONDAY THAT REALLY MADE ME THINK.

I forget exactly what the company was selling, but there's no question it was finance-related.

What caught my attention was that the pitchman argued that the "red zone" — the ten most important years in a person's financial life — were the five years before and the five years after retirement.
In all my years of finance, I'd never really thought about it like that before.  I have to admit, it really made me think.

And the first thing that popped into my mind was Daryl Readman.

Let me explain.

Last year, we were contacted by Tycoon Report reader Daryl Readman, who also was a member of both Fallen Angel Stocks and The Trend Rider.

(Yes, this is the same Daryl Readman who published his first article in this Monday's Tycoon Report which you can view here.)

(AND FOR THE RECORD, BEN WOULD LIKE TO PUBLISH A LOT MORE OF YOUR STORIES, SO PLEASE KEEP SUBMITTING ARTICLES ON THE WEBSITE.  GOING FORWARD, WE'D LIKE TO PUBLISH AT LEAST ONE OF YOUR ARTICLES EACH WEEK.  HECK, WE'D LOVE TO PUBLISH ONE A DAY IF YOU GIVE US THAT KIND OF QUANTITY.)
He contacted Chris Rowe, with whom I believe he had been exchanging emails for some time (one of the best features of The Trend Rider is just how good Chris is at answering emails from members - he definitely sets the tone for the rest of us.)

Anyway, Daryl told us that he had just taken a $5,000 "soup to nuts" investment course that was supposed to teach him everything there was to know about investing.

But he was calling to let us know that he honestly felt he learned more just from reading THE TYCOON REPORT during the past two years than he did at the investing course.

I'm not saying this to self-promote here.  I think by now you all know me better than that.  But obviously we were very flattered to hear this.  Whenever anybody thanks us for helping to  improve his or her life, it REALLY puts a big smile on all of our faces.

(FYI: Every positive comment you send us or post on the website, we email to everyone at the firm.  Likewise, any constructive criticism you send us on how to make any of our products or services better, we also email to everyone at the firm — so please keep them both coming!)

So, what does this have to do with the ten most important financial years in your life?

After reading Daryl's article Monday, it occurred to me that the advertisement had it all wrong ...

The ten most important financial years of your life ARE NOT the five years before and the five years after you retire!

The ten most important financial years of your life are the NEXT TEN YEARS.

That's right — by the time you retire you won't have much wiggle room to change any of the bad financial decisions you've made.

Seriously folks, how many of you here in America are really counting on Social Security when you retire?  I know I'm not.

It's really the decisions that you begin making RIGHT NOW that will determine how you live for the rest of your life and certainly in retirement.

Another thing Daryl pointed out in his article on Monday was that an article I wrote about how I lost my net worth overnight immediately caught his attention.

(It seems that my honesty about losing all of my money really made an impression on him.  What a sad commentary on the state of world affairs when honesty really stands out, huh?)

Well, I've got some news for you: going forward, I'm going to open up a lot more about other situations in my life where I've made bad financial decisions that really cost me dearly.  That's how I learned to become a better investor — from analyzing all of my mistakes.

I am making a new commitment to all of you to continue sharing my financial horror stories with the rest of you — no matter how embarrassing they are — because that's the best way I can help ensure that you begin making good financial decisions from this point forward.

I don't know about you, but my brother Jason and I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in our mouths.  Far from it: we grew up with a single mother who worked during the day and went to school at night.

And you know what that means.  It means that ...

We grew up on welfare and food stamps, LITERALLY.

We grew up on Macaroni and Cheese dinners, LITERALLY.

We grew up shopping at K-Mart for clothing, LITERALLY.

And I know that Teeka Tiwari, Chris Rowe, Wayne Mulligan and many other key people here at Tycoon grew up under very similar circumstances.

(Growing up poor is almost a pre-requisite for working here at Tycoon.  It's much easier to be a true "believer" in our crusade if you know first-hand how it feels to start from nothing and have to LITERALLY fight for every single inch of your financial life.)

I'm not saying this to gain your sympathy — many of you reading this right now grew up under very similar circumstances.

The reason I'm saying this is because no matter who you are or where you are, you know that you can really do this.

You really do have it within your power to become a good investor.  You really do have it within your power to make money on 70%, 80% or even 85% of all of your trades.

You really do have it within your power to take the reins of your financial life right now, BEGINNING TODAY.

I'm not just saying that to motivate you today, ladies and gentlemen.  I'm not Tony Robbins, and as a general rule, I want to shoot people who are perpetually positive. 

(I don't know about you, but I just can't seem to trust people who are happy all of the time.  They're either selling me something I'm quite sure I don't want, high on some drug I don't want, or part of the same cult Tom Cruise is into.)

I'm saying this because I think investing is simply the best business in the entire world!

You don't have to break your back every day to make decent money doing it.  And you don't need a high I.Q. to make decent money doing it.

All you REALLY need is a sound intellectual framework for making investment decisions, which is what each of us here at Tycoon really tries to hammer home to you every day.

Why is having a sound framework for making investment decisions the most important thing you can learn from reading The Tycoon Report?

Because making money in the markets is a BY-PRODUCT of a sound framework.

Sure, you can pick stocks here and there that make you money.  But to do it consistently over time, through good markets and bad, you need the framework first.

It doesn't matter which investment style you use.  Whether you tend to gravitate toward Teeka, Jason, Chris or myself isn't important really — each style can make you consistent money.

(Investing is kind of like martial arts that way: whether you become an expert in Judo, Kung-Fu, Tae Kwon Do or Karate isn't really as important as how hard you work to learn the style.  Once you become a master at any of the styles you'll be able to kick butt/make money on a regular basis.)

Keep that in mind, because the next ten years are the most important years of your financial life.

And that doesn't start next week or next year.  That starts right now.

So for those of you who comment on today's article, please help me help you ...

If we were having lunch together, what are the top two investing questions you would want answered?

I'll start with the most popular questions and work my way down the list.

Once again, thanks for reading The Tycoon Report each day.  In exchange for giving us a few minutes of your attention each day, I promise we'll all do our very best to give you actionable investment advice as often as possible.

(Please let us know what you think about Dylan Jovine's article.)
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Dylan Jovine
Contributing Editor
The Tycoon Report




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74 Comments

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  1. John (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    I can't tell you enough how much I look forward to reading the Tycoon report every day. I am frustrated though as an investor because although I am learning alot from you folks I also make mistakes on my new found knowledge. For example I understand the best time to get a good stock is when it is beaten down with the hopes that the strong reputation of a good company and stock will offer a good possibility of gains when it moves back up. Well I invested in both Countrywide and Citigroup based upon your recommendations at the time and then got my hand cut off from the falling knife syndrome.No fault of Tycoon as no one could have predicted at the time the things that were going on behind the scene. I have an uncanny knack for picking up the wrong stocks at the precisely the wrong time. Do you folks have a stupid 101 investing course that you recommend. I was so looking forward to Chris's course but it was too much for my meager budget i.e some of us are still shopping for clothes at K-Mart.

  2. Cindy (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Nice Job!! Iam happy to be evaluating what each of you have to say and I am equally impressed! And I am not easily impressed!!

    Thanks Much!

  3. jerry (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    very well written,all of the report was a 10!!!!!

  4. rex h (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    i know it's been a while since this article was posted, but i hope it's not too late to get some feedback...i've been busy with work [working for the dollar instead of having it work for me] and out of the country...but i assure you that i make a concerted effort to read each article delivered from you and my newfound tycoon family.



    i'm a relatively new subscriber and recently introduced to the world of options [i'm not sure yet if this is a good thing]. after being at it for a few months, i don't think i can play it any other way - although i do try to keep it to a minimum in my IRA acount. the number one question i pose to you is "how do you know when you've established that balance between overcoming your 'fears' yet not to that point as becoming overly arrogant?" - i've already found out the hard way that pigs are the ones who get slaughtered. although i've heard it a million times, it doesn't truely stick until it's you [and your money].



    also, i find it increasingly difficult to trust my abilities in interpreting what the stock charts "are telling me" [especially after taking it in the chin] to wholly commit myself back in the game...i've tried different scenarios of using stops and trailing losses [with both points and percentages] in the option itself and to the underlying asset...it seems i'm only spinning my wheels, either being stopped out [only to see the stock advance] or not being out soon enough [and watching my profits disapear]...what's my best recourse?

  5. Ken (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Scott,



    Been there, done that. Perhaps not quite as well as I could have if I had thought a bit more in the begining.



    I've been at this three years. I started with no investing, economic, or financial knowledge. However, I've always been good with my money, saving and working within my means, and I had some inate money management skills, ie. I didnt allow myself to lose it all at once.



    I started with newsletters. Big misstake!! Every writer, editor, publisher of a newsletter wants you to follow them, they all make big promises, they are all running a business. Ditto for every trading course out there.



    The best way to be steered in the right direction is to read and educate yourself. Read the Market Wizard books, Market Wizards, and New Market Wizards, by Jack Schwager. Read, Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom, by Van Tharp. These are classics, they will help you to identify different trading styles, and will show you how to be profitable and protect your capital at the same time.



    Do not be lured into the "you get what you pay for", expensive course, seminar, investing service psychology. Its false!! The best information out there is reasonably priced and often free.



    Once you get an idea of what you like and want to learn, buy more books or inexpensive courses specializing in your interests. You can learn a lot more by spending 100.00 on Amazon.com than by anybodys 1000.00 and up, trading course.



    Dont hesitate to pick up many different inexpensive trading courses. They are never as complete as you want, but after a few you begin to see the overlap, the core principles that apply through out the business.



    Also, buy a subscription to a periodical. I read, Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities, for 50.00 per year it is an invalulable wealth of information. There are many others, find one that fits you. These people are selling education and information, broken down in easy to assimilate pieces.



    Once you get through some of this and understand the business, start small. Make a plan to protect your capital at all costs. Start with a small amount of your money. Prove yourself. If you do well, take your initial capital back out. Force yourself to work with your profits. If you fail, back up and examine the errors. Dont throw good money after bad. When you feel you understand the situation restake yourself and try again...



    Thats all it is, untill you find your way. Expect to make all the misstakes that we have all had to make. There is no teacher, guru, or method that can prevent misstakes. You must learn the misstakes and the risk associated with the business. Better to learn from many small misstakes. The key is surviving long enough to become competant.



    Protect capital, manage risk....



    Ken

  6. Scott (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Dylan,



    Basically, I just don't know how to get started. I have a little bit of money I don't want to blow. I can get more if I want to keep saving. My question is, for someone that has money to blow so to speak, not needed for bills or anything, single guy, anyway, what is a great approach for someone who has all the time in the world to learn this stuff, but just thinks there are way to many different options of things to try.



    Basically, I feel like I need to be steered in the right direction.



    Thanks,

    Scott

  7. Faiez (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Well written article with plenty of passion focusing on immediate actions to secure the future and enjoying the retirement stage of our life. I am sure that many of your readers enjoy the education materials that all of provide. Also I believe that many investors trust you and are eager to let you guys managing their investment. Although I know this is not your primary goals; can you consider this proposal? Thank you and keep the good work

  8. Darlene (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Tycoon Report is the one report I read fairly consistently. I value the honesty and love the insight. Definitely being in the 10 most important years, I would like to know what 2 sectors (energy? precious metals? utilities?) of the market you would concentrate on now and what criteria you would use to evaluate stocks in these sectors to reduce risk? What sectors would you avoid?



    Thank you, Darlene

  9. Mike (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    I concur with the statement by Daryl Readman that he has learnt more in the years he has been reading your reports, than a course he took. Personally I have read things here, seen it come to pass a few MONTHS later, and think to myself...HEY, I KNEW THIS..!! but as a lazy fool I took no action, however since setting some goals recently, have been far more proactive than in the past and sincerely hope to take advantage of the info. submitted by yourselves. Keep up the good work...there are good people in the world, even in the Internet world!

  10. De'Lisa (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    The article was very informative. It was also motivating. I am soon to be a single mother of two very small children. My husband has not wanted me to work. However, I have saved a little money. I have really become interested in trading and was unsure if I could really do it. The article was very encouraging to me as I look to provide the best life from my two small ones. Thanks-a-Million.

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