Building a Financial Fortress: Lessons From the Great Recession for Savers and Investors

This audiobook is a re-publication of a blog I started in the depths of the Great Recession in March 2011. During that time, as I agonized over investing, saving, and potential job loss, I developed an investment philosophy I dubbed the “Financial Fortress” and wrote a series of posts about it along with other posts about specific asset classes, investment strategies and related topics.

My two biggest successes have been in real estate and precious metals. During the Great Recession, I made some aggressive moves, using retirement savings, to purchase distressed condominiums in Orange County, California. In addition to enjoying positive cash flow while I owned the properties, I have just completed one sale and have a second one in escrow, doubling my money in five years. I also made an aggressive move into silver (US Silver Eagle coins) to watch them triple in value, at which time I sold individual rolls on EBay and kept the rest for future appreciation.

The essence of the Financial Fortress is that as savers and investors, we need to first have a strong defense before we can have a strong offense. As volatility in world markets seems to worsen each year and booms/busts become more intense, preservation of capital is paramount but so is finding opportunities to leverage what we have in order to grow our wealth.