Exhale… I was sitting in the bleachers at a basketball tournament in Wisconsin this past weekend, trying to multitask by streaming my other grandson’s baseball broadcast down in Houston on my phone. What could be better than that? A+ Grandfathering, if I do say so myself.
But somewhere between the 1st quarter and my Starbucks getting lukewarm (dammit!), I was scrolling through the international news, and it gave me pause.
You look at what’s happening right now in places like Iran and Russia, and honestly, it’s sobering. You’ve got people my age—folks who worked hard their whole lives and probably just want to enjoy their families—watching their retirement dreams get completely vaporized. In Iran, inflation is running so hot that pensions don’t even cover basic groceries anymore. In Russia, the war economy is forcing people in their 70s into manual labor just to keep the lights on. It’s a tragedy, but it’s also a massive wake-up call for us.
I’ve been in this business a long time. I hear folks say it can’t happen here. Maybe not exactly like that, but inflation and geopolitical chaos are the ultimate wealth killers. If you are trusting your entire life savings to paper money and a single government system, you are playing with fire.
Just the other day, I got a phone call from a guy looking for me, asking if I was the “guy” on the video. He gave me the classic buyer’s signal: he wanted a position in gold or silver.
I asked him what position he wanted, and he asked what the minimum was. I told him $100k. He replied he only had $50k. I kept silent until he spoke again… “Are you there?” he asked. After a few more seconds of silence, I replied, “You’re lucky you’re talking to the Managing Director, we’ll do a $50k position for you.” He signed the order form and sent over the photo-copy of the check right away.
Why are people making those calls? Because when the world gets crazy, tangible assets hold the line. Gold and silver aren’t just “investments”; they are financial armor. Having a real, physical position in precious metals is how you ensure that when the dust settles, your purchasing power is still standing.
We’re lucky to have the choices we do, but I’m old, and “eventually is not part of my timeline”. It shouldn’t be part of yours, either. You need to get your house in order now.
Anyway, the Big 10 Tournament starts in Chicago next week, so I can be reached at the United Center for the foreseeable future. If you want to talk about bulletproofing your retirement so you can afford to spoil your own grandkids—or in my case, cover my next guitar purchase—let’s talk.
But as we say down in Texas… “Don’t come at me with all hat and no cattle.”
Written By:
Perry Steinhandler
Call or text Perry anytime: (847) 494-4483
Perry is the Vice President of Steinhandler Wealth Advisors, and he’s spent the last forty years turning his clients from strangers into family. By using conservative-money strategies focused on retirement planning and wealth preservation, Perry helps his clients create income streams to see them to and through their retirement years.Perry has been trained to always look ahead and be mindful of the impact his actions might have far into the future of his clients and their families.
Get to know Perry on a personal level.
- I’ve been married to my best friend for almost 50 years, blessed with 2 kids and their spouses.
- We have 6 very loved grandchildren, 5 Boys, and Miss Ella.
- I’m at the gym by 6am most mornings, trying to get into the same shape as my son.
- I campaigned and had lunch with JFK prior to the 1960 presidential election.
- My prized possessions are a verified autographed baseball and a picture of Sandy Koufax.
- I hitchhiked through upstate NY and 3 Canadian provinces during college.
- My favorite food is Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish, or whatever my wife cooks.
- My first job was door to door with my shoe shine kit.
- I worked 3 summers for the Chicago Cubs.
- A lifelong enjoyment of Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, and reading.
