His Background

I’m a retired executive, fugitive from the high-tech world. I retired in 2001, aged 53, basically because I had had enough of the long days and the pressure. Also, I had become fascinated by economics, finance and the markets and felt that, with the resources that I had, I should be able to make enough money to live on indefinitely while spending more time on my other interests, such as sailing. Well it really hasn’t worked out that way. As it turned out I ended up becoming more and more a student of the markets and that has dominated my time.

A couple of years ago, I started keeping a blog, more for my own interest than anything else. You see, I believe that we are headed for disaster. The central banks of the world, led and encouraged by the US Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan, have permitted credit and liquidity to grow in vast excess, promoting one bubble after another. They did this in the Keynesian belief that easy credit and government spending stimulate demand for goods and services, thus creating economic growth, employment and all the associated good things. And, in the short term, that’s true. But in the long term, the piper must be paid. The debt thus created becomes due. And then we have recession as consumers turn from spending to saving. In this case, the debt that has been created is so huge that the recession will likely become depression, as happened in the 1930s. Preserving my family’s assets and lifestyle through that depression is my highest priority.

Many people are in the same situation as me. Rather than a inflation-protected pension, which nowadays is only found in the public sector, they have to retire on a lump sum of money, which they have saved over the years in 401(k) plans or the like. I am writing this because I believe that sharing what I learn might help people who find themselves in similar situations. Not that I have the Holy Grail or anything, but simply that I have invested a great deal of time and energy in learning about financial markets. The resulting knowledge is helpful to me, and I think it could help many others.

I will simply be sharing my strategies – my view of the world and how events will play out, how I plan to identify the “forks in the road” and what I will do in various situations – and my tactics - what I am doing with my family investments and assets on a real-time basis, along with my reasons for my actions. We’ll see how it works out.

Her Background

As a Boomer, a partner, a parent, a friend, a sailor and a concerned citizen with libertarian leanings, I have ample opportunity to learn something new every day and pass along my two-cents worth.

My business career has included positions in education, technology, consulting, and banking. For many years I provided consulting and professional services in project management, technical writing, faculty training and online curriculum development. I was a co-founder of an early internet start-up and was responsible for business planning, customer support and administration.

I continue to work with clients who are using the web in new and interesting ways to promote and support their businesses. I teach technology and education courses at a local community college and a state university. The Lifelong Learning project combines my interest in technology and its power to connect with learners everywhere. Where ever and when ever the desire or the need to learn occurs, free open courseware is available. Connecting learners and resources is a critical element to the global benefits of this project.

I work on projects I care about - financial literacy, volunteering and community service, voting and democracy, teaching and learning, science and technology, sailing, and retiring gracefully.

It is important and interesting…

While working on projects with bankruptcy attorneys and trustees, we discovered the extent of financial illiteracy in even affluent communities. Successful business people, some with financial and business college educations, were unable or unwilling to manage their own retirement investments. Lack of unbiased information sources is one reason given. Time commitment to doing extensive research and analysis is another. However, lack of confidence for accepting responsibility is also prevalent. Here was an opportunity for us to work together, combining our skills and interests to provide and interesting and important resource to our fellow Boomers.

Technology plays an important part in all aspects of this project. The internet has enabled communication, discussion, research and collaboration without regard to time or geographic location. For this we are grateful.

When not working, we enjoy traveling and sailing with the family.