The Wealth Code 2.0: How the Rich Stay Rich in Good Times and Bad

Chapter 8

Building a Strong Financial Table

Up to this point, I have covered the principles of The Wealth Code. The key to preserving and growing wealth is understanding that the world is a lot bigger than stocks and bonds and that the most successful portfolios are ones which include many asset classes, which work together like an Olympic basketball team.

The goal of this chapter is to provide a framework for you to control your own destiny, to build your own financial table. I want to take the mystery out of the planning process and give you a solid foundation for building a blueprint for your investments, one that matches your personality and risk tolerances. You can then hand this over to a competent advisor to implement and oversee, knowing the plan truly is in your best interest and not someone else’s.

I describe most people I see at my firm as rafting down a river. The problem is that this particular river has a very large waterfall at the end. Most people drift down the middle somewhat aimlessly hoping for the best, and of course, we know where this drifting eventually takes them: to retirement and investment results that are far short of what they had envisioned. The key to navigating this river is to find the small offshoot, the side stream hidden by the brush, and to steer your raft to it and to the end, where you arrive at a nice sandy beach, a restful place where you can have a bountiful picnic with your family, without a care in the world. In order to spot the side ...