The Key to Creating Lasting Wealth

Andy Snyder|October 6, 2022

We’ve long said the government is the greatest threat to your wealth.

But is that really true?

So often in the mainstream press, we see desperate folks asking for desperate advice. “I just retired and am on a fixed income… and my furnace just broke. Help!”

The first stop for these folks is Uncle Sam. “Is there a government program?” they ask.

Or how about this one… It’s in the news right now.

“I paid $100,000 for an education and can’t find a job. Forgive my debt!”

Or how about one that hasn’t been bandied to death and is far more controversial…

“The hurricane washed away my house. Where’s my FEMA money?”

Oh boy.

Thousands lost everything in Hurricane Ian. Shouldn’t the government step in? Isn’t that what it’s there for?

Sure. But we argue we’d all be a whole lot better off if we just pretended help didn’t exist.

Way Out There

Living in remote Alaska, we had no help. There were many weeks when the weather was so bad that help couldn’t have reached us.

It meant we had to build better… far better than any national building code would call for.

We had to know advanced first aid.

And we stashed survival materials in the nearby woods and beaches in case we needed them.

Life might have stunk for a while if things had gone south… but we would have been okay.

Too many folks have lost that mentality. Just look around.

And we’re not just talking about having a stash of emergency cash. That’s basic, Dave Ramsey sort of stuff… a no-brainer.

It starts there, but it goes further.

For example, have you taken an hour to meet with an insurance broker? Do you have everything protected? Do you have a list of everything you own?

We walk through our houses and outbuildings once a year and record everything digitally. If disaster strikes… the recovery process will be easy.

It’s a mentality, not a task or two.

Where’s the Help?

The nation’s southeast got hammered by a hurricane.

It’s certainly nothing in comparison, but we’ve had five straight days of cold rain on the farm as the storm’s remnants stalled above us. The rock-lined trench we cut in a few years ago has done its job. Without it, there’d be damage.

But what about the many, many folks who lost their homes over the last week?

We feel bad for them. Many lost everything.

But pay close attention to their stories and you’ll see two types of people – folks who are able to move on by themselves and folks who must wait for help to come from on high.

Pay even closer attention and you’ll see it has very little to do with salaries, wealth or any factor du jour. Many “rich” folks will be forced to walk away from their dreams, all because they were unprepared. They didn’t have proper insurance or didn’t plan for potential devastation.

Many others will be able to live tomorrow like nothing happened.

The difference between the two? One was prepared – financially, physically and even mentally.

Having $10,000 stashed away for a new roof can be the difference between a bump in the road and a decade of hobbling debt and lost opportunities.

Simply having a place to take your valuables when a storm is bearing down can be the difference between destruction and merely a day of inconvenience.

Again… it’s a mentality. It was prevalent a generation ago. It had to be.

Today, it’s been replaced by “vote for me” signs and an “if it feels good, do it” attitude.

It’s trouble.

America is in a rough spot. Much of the world is in an even rougher spot.

Things are changing quickly. They’re likely to continue changing.

Get in a “protect yourself” mindset. Don’t rely on the benevolence of the government.

The key to riches isn’t always how much you make or the size of your profits. Learning how to keep what you earn when times are tough is what truly makes for lasting wealth.

You worked hard for it.

Don’t be what takes it away.