Root for the Boom. But Prepare for the Bust. How to Navigate the Post-Pandemic World.

There are two ways this could play out, our post-pandemic life.

Many predict that it will take years to recover from job losses, business closures, a blight of abandoned office and retail buildings, and that we’ll experience inflation the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

Already polarized by religion, politics, race, gender, education and economic status, and on and on, they say the pandemic proved that we’re in the same storm but not in the same boat.

Taxes increasing. Gas prices increasing. Printing money to pay for stimulus checks, infrastructure improvements, and the flood of migrants coming across our southern border.

Vaccine passports. Political scandals. Increased violence and riots in our communities – and even our national capitol.

“The American experiment in democracy is on thin ice,” we’re told.

Others say the post-pandemic world will be all glitter and glamour…the roaring 20s all over again. (And we know how that ended.)

So let me ask you: Do you feel like you have a lot of extra cash burning a hole in your pocket right now?

That’s why I am writing to you today.

Because no matter which side of the political fence you’re on, and as absolutely trite and simplistic as it sounds, I think we can pretty much all agree that life as we know it has changed forever.

While I don’t have a crystal ball, I do have some thoughts to share about how our post-pandemic world will unfold. And how we can position ourselves to not just survive, but to flourish.

But first…why should you care what I think? Well, I’ve been studying global events for a while now, especially as they affect economics…and particularly my own personal financial situation.

I’ve been a trader and a hedge fund analyst, and I spent 17 years as a financial writer for The Wall Street Journal. At the end of it all, my column on finance had a readership of 10 million people.

I have written nearly a dozen books and I had direct access to some Wall Street Insiders. Some might say I was one, myself.

The truth, though, was that I was only a few steps inside that door, but far enough to see that the house wasn’t much to my liking. If the foundation isn’t solid, a coat of paint may make it look good, but it won’t make it safe.

My focus has always been on sensible personal finance, and while I understand why the mainstream media devotes so much attention to Big Money (institutional investors) and Big Government…it’s at the expense, it seems to me, of the “regular” guy and gal out there whose main goal is to build a big enough nest egg to live well, retire comfortably and, hopefully, pass along a little of it someday to the kids and grandkids.

I’ve been to nearly 70 countries, where I’ve met with politicians, businesspeople, and economists, and also with taxi drivers, waitresses, hotel bellhops and others to get their take on local economies and situations.

Today, I’m editor of a free online newsletter published by International Living, called Field Notes.

We Can’t Predict the Future. But We Can Design Our Safety Strategies

My worldview is that we are on the cusp of considerable change in just about every aspect of life as we know it: social, financial, environmental, technological…you name it…and my goal is to help my readers figure out how to act on the many opportunities that will result from that.

I’d welcome you to become one of them.

If you’ve reached a certain age…and events of just the past two years will bear this out…you know that you can never predict the future.

Whatever you think is coming isn’t what’s coming…

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make plans. Or that we shouldn’t rely on history, reason, or even on occasion, some mathematical algorithms and gut instinct as we form our visions and carve our strategies for the future.

It just means we need to stay light on our feet and have alternative paths that all lead forward, in the direction we want to go.

And that’s my intention with Field Notes—to make sense of the topics we should all be thinking about as we travel lightning speed (or so it seems) into the future.

And let me say that especially when it comes to investing, it may seem that changes are happening in nano seconds. A.I., Blockchain, DeFi, ETFs, NFTs, e-wallets…none of these were part of our lexicon until very recently.

So that’s my first and primary goal: To decipher and explain exactly what’s happening and why, and importantly, help you tell the good from the bad in order to make discerning decisions.

The Basic Tenets of Field Notes

It goes without saying that smart investing starts with diversification. Stocks, bonds, real estate, art and collectibles…by now we all know not to put all our eggs in one basket so I won’t belabor that.

With a few suitable diversions now and then, Field Notes readers will notice some common threads…issues I think are timely and important. For instance…

• Your financial life shouldn’t be dominated by one currency. With a few blips, the dollar has been strong for some time now. But with crushing debt, that’s unsustainable.

Or maybe you’ve noticed price increases on everything from cereal, milk, and bread to gasoline, steel, and lumber.

My point, again, is we never know what’s coming.

What we do know is that inflation rates in the U.S. are on the rise.

Central banks the world over are diversifying their risks by reducing their dollar-denominated holdings. And while our lives are largely priced in dollars (our investments, paychecks, homes, life insurance, you name it) I’m of the mind that this should be our personal strategy, too.

And so currency diversification is a healthy component of what I write about in Field Notes. We talk about lots of investments you can make outside the dollar.

I am also a big believer that gold should be an integral part of your portfolio. Same goes for cryptocurrencies. They’re here to stay – despite the crazy volatility of late – and they will vastly increase in relevance across financial markets and global economies. Pay attention now.

I write often about where and how to buy cryptocurrencies, which to buy and which to avoid. I’ve shared my own crypto investment strategies with Field Notes readers and even a video of me building one of my crypto mining rigs.

Become a Field Notes reader now to get these financial insights and more, including…

• Why protecting your privacy is more important than ever. Have you been part of an on online security breach? Big ones such as Equifax, eBay, Marriott, and many others—including most every credit card company—come to mind. And of course there have been literally thousands of smaller hacks.

These kinds of violations…whether perpetrated against us personally or against companies we do business with (or invest in) will surely happen again and again.

That’s because everyone wants your money. And there are lots of ways to get you to hand it over.

You likely don’t realize how many times your digital devices come in contact with an unsecured network (especially as pandemic lockdowns ebb) or how many nefarious agents are out there cooking up schemes to get you to click on a shady link or open a phishing email.

So make a habit of being as protective of your digital footprint as you are of your physical home and family. One small breach could cost you dearly.

And it’s not just traditional “bad guys” you need to be wary of. Businesses, too, are relentless in the pursuit of your money. Cookies and pop-up windows, sales pitches disguised as news articles or entertainment…you’ve seen it, I’m sure.

And don’t even get me started on government intrusion. The “Patriot Act,” enacted in the days following 9/11/2001, gave the government far-reaching power to track our movements and eavesdrop on us, and made it vastly more difficult to travel, invest—or even open a bank account—overseas.

More recently, the pandemic saw city, state, and national governments grabbing the power to close businesses, limit gatherings, completely curtail the right to travel, and limit personal freedoms even more.

Again, I can’t predict what the next crisis may bring or when it may occur, but now’s the time to create your personal protection strategies. 

One way to do that is with a second passport. There is nothing illegal about it…so far. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is your right to have one. The same is true in Canada.

You may already qualify for a second passport…and it can help you travel easier, find more opportunities (education, employment, etc.) and even reduce your taxes and increase your earnings potential.

All this…personal and asset privacy and protection…is something else I’m pretty passionate about and you’ll see me writing about this often in Field Notes.

What else? This…

• Where you live now, and especially in retirement, can make a huge difference. I’m sure you know this to be true. Beyond the visceral satisfaction of living in a place that brings you pleasure, there can be financial benefits, too.

That’s why, for generations now, people of retirement age have moved to low-tax states.

The state with the lowest tax rate today is Alaska. And while it’s beautiful, it takes a hearty soul to battle the winter weather. While I don’t mind a little cold…for a few weeks…it’s not for me.

The U.S. is undeniably a good place to live…if you can afford it.

If you can’t afford it, well… you have options. Great options, in fact.

That’s something today’s digital nomads…people who work online, untethered to a physical office…have embraced wholeheartedly.

It’s another trend that’s taken off wildly, thanks to the pandemic. Millions of people have spent the last year working from home. Some of them will never return to an office building.

So why not live in an exciting, beautiful place like the wilds of Patagonia or an energy-pulsing urban jungle like Panama City or Madrid?

As an International Living reader (IL is the publisher of Field Notes, I’ll remind you), you know where this is going…so I won’t belabor this point except to say that your money can go much, much farther overseas than it does in the U.S. or Canada these days.

And your tax savings can be massive.

Another one of the knock-on effects of the COVID crisis is that a growing number of countries around the world are now wooing travelers with digital nomad visas. This is another frequent Field Notes topics—destinations that are handing out rich benefits.

As for me, I’ve chosen to settle in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. As a digital nomad myself, I found it easy to get a visa here. And that gives me entrée to live and work elsewhere in Europe.

Besides that, Prague is a fabulous city with a reasonable cost of living, culture everywhere, a food scene I like, an excellent mass transit system (no need for a car or related expenses), and a cityscape that always leaves me awed.

And let me note that 100% of my (excellent) healthcare is covered and I pay about $125 a month. No co-pay, no deductibles. 

This latter point should be a huge wake-up call if you are of retirement age or soon will be.

           There are places in the world where you can live very comfortably…better than you are now…yet spend far less. You can have access to excellent, affordable healthcare and even lower your taxes.

Hopefully, you can see how all of these things are integrated. And that none of them alone should be the tail that wags the dog but together should keep you successfully moving forward. That’s why we launched Field Notes—to introduce you to opportunities you likely won’t hear about anywhere else.

And of course, there should be some fun along the way. In my world, that’s travel.

Don’t look to me for romantic travelogue-style writing, though. While I’ll certainly tell you about the benefits and opportunities I uncover, I’ll also share some of the nuts and bolts I pick up along the way…

…Like the best credit cards and ATM cards every devoted traveler should carry…and how to avoid extra fees and, to be honest, some of the downright rip-offs that are out there….

Because along with making money through savvy investing and all sorts of interesting sidelines, I love saving money.

So that’s it. There’s lots more I could say about Field Notes and our mission. I’m proud of what we’re doing and I hope you’ll join us.

As I’ve said, it’s free. So you’ve nothing to lose. It’s easy to unsubscribe if you don’t like it.

But I think you’ll find lots of value.

I’ll even send you a free report to get you going…

When you become a Field Notes reader today, I’ll send you a PDF of a new report I’ve written, called 5 Ways to Earn Free Crypto.

 If you’re thinking about getting started with cryptos… or you’re unsure about what the future holds… or you want to add to the cryptos you already have—the good news is, it’s possible to start earning crypto…without it costing you a dime.

This report explains some of the surprising ways you can do it.

Like… next time you use a search engine to check the latest baseball, football, hockey, or basketball scores—you could earn free crypto…

Or… how to get in line when crypto companies drop free crypto into certain accounts. (This happened to anyone who owned bitcoin a few years ago…)

The report is yours free when you become a Field Notes reader today.

Thanks for sticking with me. If there’s anything we’ve learned in the past year, it’s that there is no way to know for sure what’s heading our way. But there are lots of ways to prepare and to thrive.

Here’s to successfully navigating the post-pandemic world and whatever the future brings…

Jeff D. Opdyke
Editor, Field Notes