Ten Bits of Advice

 Sometimes, I just go and dispense regular advice:

1.  Right now, the business community (Wall Street) is on a slightly upward trend.  The stability or lack of stability....has yet to occur.  Once people feel stability in question....they dump money out of their regular 401k program, and into bonds.  Presently, looking forward to 20 January....I'd go and review my 401k options, and move virtually all (say 95-percent or more) over to a bond-related situation.  I'd plan on this now, while your fund is still relatively good.  Bonds rarely make more than 1-to-2 percent a year, but you are simply parking it there for three months and will have a different strategy in February of 2021.

2.  There is this odd idea going on in NY City....that so many properties have been vacated and put up for sale...with their regular prices attached, and no one interested to buy them at those prices.  These analysts suggest that if an overwhelming number of properties in NY started to appear, and started to be cut by 10-to-20 percent....a lot of losses would occur, and it'd trigger real estate speculation to a significant degree.  This all leads to this idea of another 'bubble' (remember 2008) existing and this might lead to a major economic event in early 2021 (won't matter if Trump or Biden wins).  I would be very mindful of what's going on and analyze my situation....if I were buy, or selling property right now.  

3.  Christmas in a Covid period?  Personally, I don't see how Black Friday would work, or if the risks are worth it.  I'd probably go and use online services (except for Amazon).  

4.  Attending holiday events with relatives who might be charged-up politically?  With the current trends, and unknowns....this might be the year to skip such an event.  

5.  Cruise-ship trip trending downward, and camping trending upward?  I'd go ahead and suggest that for 2021 and 2022....a heck of lot of cruise-ships won't be operating.  Even with vaccinations occurring in the spring/summer of 2021....camping or RVing will continue for the foreseeable future.  Buying into RVs?  I probably wouldn't go and spend $70k on one, but these trailers designed for outback or rough camping (10 days or less) can be purchased for $30k to $40k.  They'd appear to be something that would easily last 15 years, and maybe camping in the wild or at some coastal National Park....might be a positive way to spend your off-time.

6.  If you live in a town that has created a magnet for the druggie crowd (soup-kitchen, shelter, etc)....you might need to replace your local city or county officials and lessen the magnet....to prevent escalation of robberies or break-in's. 

7.  If you run or work in a full-service restaurant, the experts say that full recovery from the Covid-19 threat.....won't occur for a minimum of four years.  It might be time to look for new work.

8.  If you are a gal, or the husband of a gal....looking for a Christmas gift of a different variety (for her, or for yourself)....then maybe this is the season to visit your local ammo/gun shop.

Size wise, I would recommend 3 types in this case: (1) Sig P238, (2) Glock 26, (3) Sig P365.  

If you never have fired a pistol....ask the ammo/gun shop guy if he provides a course (most do)....then ask for a discount and be firm that you should get one.  I'd plan on at least a hundred rounds of ammo for the 1st time out on practicing, and do a return visit within three to four months.  

9.  Don't go expecting miracles with the new Covid-19 vaccine when it's finally delivered.  You just might have to be taking this twice a year.  

10.  As depressing as this holiday period might be (political chaos, Covid, etc)....maybe it's time to turn off the TV, and keep yourself away from news for 99-percent of the day.  Find some fine tunes (jazz, 1970s hits, hillbilly music, etc) or find three or four great classics to read once again.

On my classics to be read at least once in life: 1984 by George Orwell, Animal Farm by Orwell as well, Last of the Mohicans by Cooper, War of the Worlds by Wells, and White Fang by London. 

On historical non-fiction?  1898: Birth of the American Century by Traxel, The Man From the Train by James (note, he's laying out a massive serial killer story that probably happened but isn't necessarily tied together), True Believer by Hoffer, Drinking in America: Our Secret History by Cheever, Land of the Burnt Thigh by Kohl (a note on this book, it's a decent history of women in the pioneer period of North Dakota and fairly story-telling).  

Finally, if you can find a copy (maybe even e-book-wise) of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (written in 1835)...it's a great book to pick up and reflect upon what made America different, and attracting people to leave Europe.