Buy American!

Growing up my father always told me to work with my mind instead of my back because my mind will last a whole lot longer. My mother always said that I need to go to college, get a degree and find a job with a big company and if I stay with them for 30 years they will take care of me when I retire. Well, as far as advice goes I am going to give the edge to my father on this one. It is not that my mother was wrong, at least not when she said it, through the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The world changed and that advice became obsolete. Employers have retired traditional retirement plans. Now we are left to fend for ourselves with 401Ks and what is left of Social Security.

If you have a self-directed 401K or IRA or perhaps you simply have a long investment horizon (5 years +) I have a bit of sage wisdom for you. Buy American! I am a veteran of the US Army and I definitely consider myself a patriot but that is not why I believe in investing in American companies. I believe in investing in companies you know and businesses you understand. You should own companies that you don’t need to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal (great publication by the way) to hear about. You should see their advertisements on the television and in magazines you read. Read more...