In this episode, David sits down with Jay Levy, Author and Senior Vice President, CFP®, CRPC® at Measured Wealth Private Client Group, LLC, to discuss the holistic approach to financial planning.
Buy David’s NEW Book: https://www.trustedleaderbook.com/
Jay’s Bio:
Jay Levy has been in the financial services and banking industries for over 30 years. As a Certified Financial Planner, he continues to work with individuals, multi-generational families and businesses regarding investments, retirement, estate, tax, and financial planning services.
From 2017-2019, he has been voted the #1 Financial Planner in the “Best of The Seacoast” Annual survey by Seacoast Media Group for the past 3 years.
Jay has been a guest lecturer at various colleges including the University of New Hampshire and the F.W. Olin MBA School at Babson. He has also been involved in national politics serving as a Town Chair for Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008 and as the NH Financial Chair for Governor Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign in 2010.
He has been involved with numerous Boards over the years, and currently serves on the Wentworth Douglass Hospital Foundation Board as Past Chair.
Jay and his wife Kelly live in the lovely, quaint town of Stratham, NH and are proud parents of two sons Grant and Adam, each who reside near Boston, MA. Both, much to the delight of their parents, are gainfully employed and self-sufficient.
Jay’s Links:
Website: https://jaylevyplanning.net/
“Planning for Survival” by Jay Levy: https://amzn.to/3iwqK9A
FREE access to Jay’s weekly Measured Wealth Brief: Email Jay at jaylevyplanning@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaylevy2009/
Key Quotes:
1. “There’s always a plus to a negative.”
2. “So many people, their lives are basically defined by their work.”
3. “The markets are always inhaling and exhaling. There’s no end to anything, there’s always just change.”
4. “Don’t feel like you failed at it, its just part of the whole journey.”
5. “It’s never too late, but the earlier you can start, the better.”
6. “Be open, as far as accepting everybody’s voice to be involved in what’s going on.”
7. “Encompass everybody.”
8. “In the end, it’s always better to control your own destiny, to work for yourself.”
Links Mentioned In The Episode:
“Planning for Survival” by Jay Levy: https://amzn.to/3iwqK9A
“Trusted Leader” by David Horsager: https://www.trustedleaderbook.com/
“Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande: https://amzn.to/3xX7CIy
“Lifespan” by David A. Sinclair PhD and Matthew D. LaPlante: https://amzn.to/3zg9R9Z
“Dollars and Sense” by Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler: https://amzn.to/3zvPFkL
Buy David’s NEW book Trusted Leader: https://www.trustedleaderbook.com/
David’s Links:
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David Horsager: Welcome to the trusted leader show it’s David Horsager and today’s episode is about something very, very important your money and your wealth.
David Horsager: i’m with an expert his book just became a national bestseller he is a he runs his practice through measured wealth and his brand new book is called planning for survival thanks for being with us Jay levy.
Jay Levy: David it’s a pleasure and it’s planning for survival, the great retirement conundrum.
David Horsager: I and i’ve read it from page to page guy coming to cover, so it is a it’s a conundrum so we’re going to talk about that, and he served on the boards of hospitals and he’s.
David Horsager: won some amazing awards as a financial professional so let’s dig in you tell it start off with you Jay what what what’s a couple things that not everybody knows about Jay lovey.
Jay Levy: i’m very ordinary Dave Sarah seriously, you know when I talked to people all the time, and my background and so on.
Jay Levy: i’ve led a very actual ordinary life I try to explain to people i’d spend probably 15 plus years in banking.
Jay Levy: and evolved from that I was a chief financial officer for the second largest privately owned retail and company in New England.
Jay Levy: And then went on, and at 45 years old sat around my wife said, you know, do you want to keep being a CFO because I can see you getting bored.
Jay Levy: Or you know, try to figure out what you want to be when you grow up in life, so I had I had opportunities, where I actually had a committee of people come together and.
Jay Levy: Put a sort of an interview committee for me to try to become the chief executive officer of the leading business organization in new Hampshire.
Jay Levy: called the business bhi and went through a six month process of interviewing they took about 11 months to make their decision.
Jay Levy: So after six months, I had a second, what do I want to be, if I if this doesn’t work out and ultimately got into the investment business went on, with Merrill Lynch.
Jay Levy: Back in 2004 and when I interviewed with those folks they were like Jay you know so many people, and you were going to kill this business.
Jay Levy: And I turned around said listen I, I have to learn my craft my contacts are going to mean absolutely nothing because they’re going to pat me on the head and say Jay.
Jay Levy: we’re happy for you, because suddenly we’re going to give me a penny to ever manage and you know I went through became licensed studied got my CFP.
Jay Levy: And then, of course, just says, you know you getting a practice Oh, and I think back then, you had to do in the first two years, like $15 million.
Jay Levy: Under management, and so I get through that but then you know 2008 happens in 2009 and during that time I was chairing on the side.
Jay Levy: The Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, which is the largest Chamber in new Hampshire and I was the outgoing chair and we had this event.
Jay Levy: Basically, introducing the new officers news directors and I was giving an outgoing speech and I explained to folks.
Jay Levy: I got up in front of 400 people and said listen 2000 it’s been a strange year because during that year I explained that I was one of the chairs for the town’s for john McCain was running for President.
David Horsager: I was gonna say, not an ordinary life, I mean you’ve cheered you cheered for McCain you’ve cheered for different polenta when he was running for President you fight you’ve had some experience you got a great family lots of stuff.
Jay Levy: yeah no no there’s no question about that, but I always explained to my children I.
Jay Levy: You know my dad graduated from MIT and always should would showed me a straight a’s his report card that he kept for years.
Jay Levy: And I really never put and that’s sort of what led to the book, I never really put any time or focus on school I think probably I might have been a little bit like you, because I think in the past you’ve shared your experience.
Jay Levy: You know, with high school and trying to figure out what we want to be and I try to explain to people it wasn’t probably until I was around 30 years old.
Jay Levy: got married and I figured you know, even though I worked in banking and things like that I said and I have to sort of grow up and.
Jay Levy: kind of learn and i’ve never stopped it from this day, so you know I explained to people back at the event, you know, it was a tough year in 2008 because McCain last.
Jay Levy: we’re still going to go forward Merrill Lynch who I was with Oh well, the world just happened to collapse, when it came to.
Jay Levy: global finance and my company actually went under and, fortunately, plus side is I got purchased by Bank of America.
Jay Levy: And I explained to folks my 16 year old son grant just got his license so I said those three things I said but plus is the only had two accidents his first year and.
Jay Levy: It nobody was injured, so I said there’s always a plus to a negative and but that’s really what I try to explain to people and ever since I got into this business i’ve constantly and I think hopefully i’m not sure if you’ve read some of my weekly writings that I do.
David Horsager: Absolutely came out today.
Jay Levy: There you go, but I try I try to educate people simply.
Jay Levy: And most of my clients that idea with might be like a half million to like 5 million.
Jay Levy: So it’s it’s something that you know i’m not looking i’m not working with people that are 100 million or anything like that i’m really working with ordinary people who have concerns, just like anybody else, what about you know when is enough, can they retire things like that.
David Horsager: let’s jump into that.
David Horsager: let’s jump in real full you know full full full feet in here on this book planning for survival and this great conundrum we have what what.
David Horsager: First of all, what kind of made you write it, I mean I I it was really great I think every kid in America should read it, I think every family should read it, I think.
David Horsager: You know so much as much as money isn’t everything it is driving both missions and families and lives and it’s critical so tell me what what inspired you.
Jay Levy: Well, I think, growing up the way that I did my whole family was basic my side of my family was business.
Jay Levy: And I think it had an impact on my life, probably to the opposite where money, I always sort of like put in the background, because it was such a focus on my family it’s sort of impacted my upbringing.
Jay Levy: From a negative standpoint and yet, as I got into this business and you’re sitting around with people and you hear statistics and I think you know before this whole crisis started that we’re currently in.
Jay Levy: There was some statistics, whether was fidelity they’ve come out with a little bit different statistics, but basically you know 68% of people that are 65 and older had less than 1500 dollars to their name.
Jay Levy: And you let that sink in and you go, we have a crisis so years you know i’ve written over the years 4080 pages here and there, on different books and never, never finished it.
Jay Levy: And i’m not all on finance some of it was fiction things like that, but my wife, finally, said to me.
Jay Levy: Why don’t you finish the book that you’ve been playing around with them working and and I think, by the time I finished the manuscript at around 320 pages.
Jay Levy: And I said i’m doing it, and the way that I did, which I talked to Luna and penguin and a few other publishers they liked the concept that I had it wasn’t really about just.
Jay Levy: older age, it was about they liked the fact that I was starting from the beginning, where, if you are bringing up children.
Jay Levy: doing it from a chronological journey so that’s where I get into talking about kids, especially when they started.
Jay Levy: Whether with parents on getting their kids the volunteers five year olds and take part in their Community thanks i’m sure you’re probably doing in your life Dave with your children, but also, then I started taking over and talking directly to kids as they’re entering high.
Jay Levy: school.
Jay Levy: And then moving into college and things they should be looking at getting out of college getting into a relationship and things like that, and they were really attracted by the fact that I was taking doing this little journey.
Jay Levy: Their big thing was jd want people to read your book and i’m like no i’m writing it so nobody reads if they said, let us work with you.
Jay Levy: And I put together a team of folks that they said, let us work with you to cut it down.
Jay Levy: and take out 25 pages, when you start getting into social security and things that are going to get you know compounding interest and things that really are going to bore people with like the personal stores and it’s quick and.
David Horsager: I like I like that a lot I just got to say that.
David Horsager: I loved you brad family abroad if this journey you take people through and yet you give some great great financial examples along the way, and you wake people up.
David Horsager: let’s start backwards, I want to come back to youth even and families younger people but let’s start you know everybody’s wondering about retirement.
David Horsager: When can I retire, I mean what would you how could you what’s the quick answer you have on how am I gonna know when I can retire, how do I even have that, as it seems so ambiguous many people, avoid the topic right.
Jay Levy: sure.
David Horsager: How do we, how do we prepare for it.
David Horsager: Now we know when we’re there.
Jay Levy: there’s there’s no simple answer, except that there are really two things to look at one is finance.
Jay Levy: The financial aspect of it, the other, which I find is more important and I actually touch upon it in the book is especially since like, if I have clients that are 234 million dollars.
Jay Levy: That the holistic they I think that’s term that you probably have heard in the past, do they understand what’s going to happen to them when let’s say this, they decide to leave their.
Jay Levy: Nine to five job that they’ve had for 30 or 40 years because so many people their lives are basically defined by their work.
Jay Levy: What they do for a living, as opposed to some other aspects of their life and that when they leave it there for a lot of people that i’ve known and work with and seeing.
Jay Levy: there’s this massive void so on one hand, you can financially, be able to be in that position.
Jay Levy: But when you’re all of a sudden doing it, and you know you’re talking a year or two later with people and you’re asking somebody spouse how they’re doing and they’re saying you know depressed board.
Jay Levy: So, to answer your question it’s a two fold that’s what you know makes this somewhat a little bit complicated, and I think that’s probably why people tend to at least.
Jay Levy: Give me some kudos and light, because I do spend a lot of time talking about the holistic side, in addition to the financial.
Jay Levy: When you’re talking about financial, you have to bring in a number of factors such as how much did they say what they’re spending.
Jay Levy: Other things such as social security, and you know you have to do some analysis in this and the world’s a lot tougher it’s constantly changing.
Jay Levy: The markets are always inhaling and exhaling there’s no end to anything is always just change and where you are individually.
Jay Levy: along that sort of road makes a determination of how likely, you are going to be able to succeed financially to get through it and then the other things, we talked about come into play and it’s it’s complicated.
David Horsager: I like the jab both sides tell tell everybody where they can sign up for this I get this weekly your weekly brief measure wealth brief How do people get to see that every every week.
Jay Levy: or they can they can reach out to me and i’ll certainly it’s complimentary they can reach out to me at my Jay levy planning@gmail.com and i’ll put them on the list they’ll get they’ll actually get the the writing through my measured wealth.
Jay Levy: site so i’ll put i’ll put them on my mailing list and distribution list and i’ll get it free in favor one out, they just send me a note and lender deb will take them off the list.
David Horsager: So this is a great great option for people, then you get the up to date ideas around.
David Horsager: Money the markets and everything else and that’ll be in the show notes, so you can just go to trusted leader show notes COM or trusted leader show calm and every we’ll see exactly how to get signed up for that.
Jay Levy: yeah i’ll try to and I try to make it very, very brief so it’s no more than probably a two page five minute read.
Jay Levy: And it hopefully they pick up one or two things that they get to educate themselves about and I try not to make it to tech and chrome.
David Horsager: So let’s go back a little bit you have people let’s let’s actually jump back and forth let’s jump all the way to young people, what you know your book.
David Horsager: As being used to sounds like it might even be used a whole lot more in you know high school or for high school or college students, I know Isaiah who you and I.
David Horsager: Were together at the Berkshire hathaway event which was very fun, but read your book also or I hadn’t read your book but.
David Horsager: Tell me about what you hope for for for younger folks I think the great thing about this book is one it’s interesting and valuable from all the way from beginning to end, and I really enjoyed it but.
David Horsager: what’s your what’s your hope for reaching younger folks and what do you think I guess i’d get specific what’s, the most important thing you think those listening their kids probably should know about finances.
Jay Levy: I think I think the big key is this that nobody can expect a young child, you know.
Jay Levy: 14 1516 to understand the same thing we do as we’re allowing our aging journey in life so to try to get them to expect by, why should retirement be in it.
Jay Levy: it’s useless to do that, so the point of the book is to try to take them along with the short read of the book.
Jay Levy: to let them show where they are at a particular point in time, and what they should maybe be looking at as they get into one or two chapters ahead of time.
Jay Levy: And to at least start a spark where they sit there and go, you know something that makes some sense and I go back even before that Dave and I tried to.
Jay Levy: With my own children, I tried to educate people when I belong to the Portsmouth Rotary for like 13 years and for years I would volunteer at the thanksgiving.
Jay Levy: lunch that they would put on my wife and the kids would sometimes go to Dallas but I was working as a CFO of a company, so I always would stick around for black Friday.
Jay Levy: So by myself i’d go and go at some Rotary mates and they put on the Rotary event when my kids got back, I tried to explain to my wife and children and also neighbors.
Jay Levy: We work with our children and we sent we see them can’t throw toss a ball, you know number of hours a week, I said, if you spend a couple hours with them.
Jay Levy: And you’re in there either like filling bags or or serving people it starts to spark and has a parent to a child my philosophy was you do those things together.
Jay Levy: And you tell me that is an impactful not only for the child, but also for the parents.
Jay Levy: So people started doing it, and before you knew it you’d have literally 10s upon 10s of people each and every year, calling me up saying hey can we volunteer for your Rotary and of course I had way too many people.
Jay Levy: But that starts it and it starts a little spark and the hittites explained to people, even with their high school kids or junior high kids I said.
Jay Levy: get them involved with a volunteer they even can call up friends that might have law offices or medical practices.
Jay Levy: And they can empty wastebaskets and be around an environment or help out wherever they can so they get a taste of something.
Jay Levy: And if they do at a young age it’s not necessarily to try to educate them on what they made want to do.
Jay Levy: But it also gives them the opportunity to find out what they definitely don’t want to do in life and as they’re getting into high school that may help direct them on some of the studies that they choose to do.
Jay Levy: And that follows students once they’re getting out of high school into college and especially in college my son went to northeastern and even though I would have loved to him to have gone to like MIT.
Jay Levy: His point was northeastern had the best co op program he had seen in the country where they do five years.
Jay Levy: And you go through three six month call ups, if you want to choose that row did that he worked for three different pharmaceutical related companies, while he was doing chemical engineer.
Jay Levy: invaluable experience and so for somebody like your son Isaiah he may already.
Jay Levy: be involved in various Community situations it prepares them and give some seats, so they take root in the ground for you some gardening metaphors.
Jay Levy: And it gives them a stronger chance to at least move forward and not to necessarily be so concerned about failing, but to maybe sort of be.
Jay Levy: Not to have courage not to fail and take risk early on, when you can afford to actually try things, and if it doesn’t work out don’t feel like you failed at it you’re just part of the whole journey.
David Horsager: On the volunteering front, I love this I saw recently another study That just shows how.
David Horsager: One of the top ways to.
David Horsager: squelch depression is volunteering.
Jay Levy: Right lily.
Jay Levy: So absolutely.
David Horsager: I do, I really like how your book also does take in this holistic approach of life it’s like its success at life it’s not just financial is a part of that even giving back and generous, you know mom and dad.
David Horsager: My parents who just sold several hundred acres of the farmer having a ball in there now dad you know almost 92 here giving.
David Horsager: away and being a part of what he’s what he’s you know.
Jay Levy: and your your your father was one of those folks that I admire, because for somebody.
Jay Levy: Like him, who is well into his 80s was constantly out there, getting out there and still working and he has such a love for that when you would speak to him.
Jay Levy: You would sit there and go, who is he he’s my Superman, which is absolutely true.
Jay Levy: And you saw and listen nobody nobody sets and sets of time period that at 65 all of a sudden, you have to say, stop if you really want to stop and you still enjoying life, and you can do things that keep you busy.
Jay Levy: Not necessarily what you did in your career, but you stay busy volunteer you play enough golf, but you have a nice fulfilling life it’s great.
Jay Levy: But for so many people, especially recently with this pandemic and a number of large companies like liberty mutual live clients that were offered early retirement and a few of them took it and we just had dinner with one of the folks and you can tell at the age of 57.
Jay Levy: not exactly what he expected he’s only been retired for literally one month, so it does affect people, and you know somebody like your father I sit there and look at.
Jay Levy: You talk about mentors people like your father or somebody like my wife’s father and how they live their life my mother in law and things like that.
Jay Levy: And what they’ve gone through them what your upbringing was and how you folks work very hard and the success that has been passed on to your children.
Jay Levy: and your families kids and things like that it’s worth ethic that you can’t you can’t put it in a capsule, but you can try to explain and hopefully have kids read.
Jay Levy: Three or four hours of something gets some personal stories that may start a spark that maybe they haven’t been at least expose to.
David Horsager: yeah I love it if you’re gonna say one takeaway from the book for everybody, what would you what would you give for like key takeaway one or two key takeaways for everybody, be thinking about.
Jay Levy: That it’s never too late.
Jay Levy: But the earlier, you can start the better, but it’s never too late and what i’m saying by, that is, unfortunately, when when I do have people that come in to me and.
Jay Levy: I like I said there’s a certain amount of assets that i’ll take, but my doors, always been open to everyone and i’ve always said to people if you if somebody needs some assistance.
Jay Levy: i’m more than happy to spend an hour to and have them come in and they may have nothing saved Dave and i’ll sit down with them.
Jay Levy: And i’ll explain to them, or at least start asking them questions and my goal is that if somebody’s 60 years old and they’ve saved nothing.
Jay Levy: My goal is to be able to at least explain to them listen if you’re gainfully employed stay employed that’s the deal.
Jay Levy: Work on your spending start understanding what your social security might be, and at least getting these things lined up now if they’ve told me they turn social security on 62 and they just basically told their employer bye bye and they have $10,000 in the bank.
Jay Levy: Then, then you’re at a point where it is too late and that’s what I hope to accomplish with the book is least try to give get people to read it at an early age, but if somebody is in their 30s or 40s.
Jay Levy: And I think one of the chapters I talk about is people graduate college and let’s assume they’re not getting married but they’re going to live together.
Jay Levy: And I try to explain to him talk about these things look at geographically and I mentioned a lot of statistics and data, right now, as far as a year ago.
Jay Levy: Were expensive places to live jobs, what they were paying and things like that so at least to try to give people some insight to if you’re going to study something in college.
Jay Levy: If you’re passionate about it but it’s not going to pay much of anything at least understand that.
Jay Levy: As opposed to you, studying that you want to be a social worker great wonderful cause to do, but not understanding what you can make in it.
Jay Levy: And then they go through four or five years they incur a significant amount of debt and they come out and they’re like.
Jay Levy: we’re looking to change our career, because we found out we can’t make a living doing it, so all along the line of the book and again it’s a short read.
Jay Levy: But if it can click and get people to understand, wherever they are along the dotted line of that their their life map that they can actually try to.
Jay Levy: take out the LIFE preserver if they’re too far down the road and try to work on things, because the last thing we need, and we, we hear way too often Dave is that.
Jay Levy: The masses, the most people just don’t don’t have enough if they wanted to retire and that’s why I start out the book with homeless issues.
Jay Levy: And where they were they going in various cities and I tried to paint a picture of what could be.
Jay Levy: Because let’s face it every single person that we ever run across who’s homeless wasn’t one time, a young child with a family.
Jay Levy: And now they’re there unfortunately situations where people try to avoid people who are in these plates, and there was a way to maybe try to at least save some of them hmm.
David Horsager: let’s jump over to leadership, a little bit you’ve been a leader you’ve been a leader of course at.
David Horsager: Measured wealth private client group and you’ve been a leader in a whole lot of volunteer organizations.
David Horsager: you’ve been a finance chair for a couple presidential campaigns you’ve been on the board of organizations, one of them you’re the Chair of the wentworth Douglas hospital foundation board of directors.
David Horsager: What have you if you’re going to give some just to leaders as a whole, what What would you say top takeaway that you learned as a leader as maybe even if you go back to this board role.
Jay Levy: Well, I think what ultimately i’ve always tried to bring is to at least be open, as far as accepting everybody’s voice to be involved in what’s going on and not trying to control the dialogue or maybe where some strategies and planning is going to just encompass everybody and.
David Horsager: You know let’s get tactical, how do you do, that people say Oh, we want every voice to be heard, but they don’t listen how, how do you make it so it’s a safe place for every voice to actually be heard.
Jay Levy: You explain it to people that it is, and then you back it up by action, because what happens is, if you basically a moderator and when you’re explaining to people that, regardless of whether you personally agree with somebody position.
Jay Levy: they’re going to be allowed to at least have their voice heard and when it gets to be sometimes your.
Jay Levy: push comes to shove, and you’re getting down to the nitty gritty you remind people that regardless of what the decision is going to be made.
Jay Levy: everybody’s been listened to, and we have to come to some type of decision and it’s it’s, even though we don’t talk about politics here.
Jay Levy: That that’s part of the issue, where you know you don’t have enough bipartisanship and I think, with at least the groups that i’ve been involved with.
Jay Levy: I i’ve always been able to sort of get people together without me being you know the head honcho in it i’m just again like a moderator.
Jay Levy: And then you accomplish things always as a group, your whatever you’re doing whether it’s a Portsmouth Rotary or or a hospital board.
Jay Levy: Or if i’m on the hospital Board of Trustees and you’re talking about the operations of the hospital.
Jay Levy: You know where they’re just sort of like a cog in it and the ones that are taking the leadership, whether as vice chairs chairs.
Jay Levy: We need to be able to sort of rain in everybody where they think they can work together they get along they feel like their voices being heard and their respected, and if you do that good things usually happen and everybody leaves the table with at least a good taste in their mouth.
David Horsager: What do you think you know you’ve you’ve certainly been in business, but you’ve also brushed closely with plenty of politicians and politics as a whole what’s what’s your take on trust in politics, these days.
Jay Levy: it’s gone.
Jay Levy: I i’ve always said this and i’ve learned this from other mentors when I when I used to talk to people we’d sit around, and I think the first and foremost situation is that what’s lacking is you need to have.
Jay Levy: term limits and politics and the only reason I bring that update is when you go in and it’s not going to be a lifelong position but you’re you’re serving the people, regardless of what side.
Jay Levy: But there’s only a limited time that you’re going to be there you’re not beholding to people’s positions to a point where.
Jay Levy: you’re you’re inflexible, so if you’re going there, ultimately, whether it’s a Congressional issue or a US Senate and.
Jay Levy: You have one term maybe six years or two terms 12 years and that’s it what you’ll find is people will sit there as it as they getting towards the end.
Jay Levy: And they’re willing to again make their voices be heard, to work together much more likely than if they’re sitting there saying i’ve got to be whole beholding to one party.
Jay Levy: And that means if you’re on the opposite side, we will never get along and that’s and you see that it’s actually crazy to me that that’s not a situation, and as soon as they would make that case and change it.
Jay Levy: You would see a very different outcome not going to make anybody completely happy, but you’re going to find that it’s the dialogue is much more acceptable and it’s more congenial and people will feel better about that particular type of industry.
Jay Levy: As opposed to right now, where.
Jay Levy: it’s it’s terrible it really is.
David Horsager: I think we, I think we did a there was a study done the trust level in political institution right just before Watergate was 80% of Americans believed in the government to do it was right for all the best for all now I believe it’s less than seven or 6%.
David Horsager: That believe that I think there’s a lot of ways that we’ve come, you know we’re.
David Horsager: Institutional trust is down across the board, but especially politics, it seems like we’re incentivizing a lack of trust, I mean you, you know.
David Horsager: People aren’t meeting meeting together across the aisle you see what happened not very long ago where people are anybody that’s if you know you’re.
David Horsager: on either side you’re stripped of your committee assignments, if you try to work together, have an opinion or all kinds of things so there’s a lot of ways, where I feel like, but this is one of them, certainly term limits as an Ai is is a strong idea.
David Horsager: If I remember correct go ahead.
Jay Levy: Well, I was gonna say, and you can use this all across walks of life, I mean finance the whole thing, but one thing, because you and I went and saw Buffett you know how to add in omaha and.
Jay Levy: You know, again, I admire Buffett and everything but Warren was always somebody that talked about long term and what he sort of lived his life, and I remember watching a.
Jay Levy: Show may have been on PBS with gates and Buffett sitting in nebraska and they were they were basically on stage.
Jay Levy: And gates made some type of comment that you know something Warren still lives in a 2000 square foot ranch and he goes to his house and plays chess.
Jay Levy: And he’s sort of making like like the linoleum is still on his countertop and the point that i’m making is and we’ve seen what’s happened with you know Bill Gates getting divorced and Jeff bezos in those situations, but.
Jay Levy: You know Buffett I think always reminded people sort of like the grandfather, and he kind of has lived his life, where.
Jay Levy: You know, when he was talking about yeah one of his companies is dairy Queen and he’s talking to the 40,000 people during his annual shareholder he’s basically saying.
Jay Levy: I know it’s not a great profit maker, but I, like the ice cream I grew up with it and.
Jay Levy: that’s going to be part of the family, believes in the management it’s not a moneymaker.
Jay Levy: But when you hear those things it’s lacking, not only in politics, but anywhere you look in life so it’s rare that you find individuals like that that we can all look up to and say you know something pretty trustworthy From that standpoint it’s it’s a challenge.
David Horsager: principle.
Jay Levy: Right yeah absolutely.
Jay Levy: that’s why you’re that’s why your book is very important.
Jay Levy: And you know my belief is your book should be something that every high school reads just simply because even though, for a lot and they may sit there and.
Jay Levy: You know, raise their eyes and sit there and go trust you know the eight pillars.
Jay Levy: Having that at least something that each person reads you’re going to affect whether it’s one person or a million kids and they’ll least have that because they’re not exposed to it, otherwise necessarily in their family.
David Horsager: Right three big things in God we trust to get.
David Horsager: spiritual holistic, we got money that’s on money and we got the word trust you got a lot of it a big things bringing bringing those together so let’s go personal.
David Horsager: briefly here, you know we talked a lot, and you know in our work, about being a trusted leader often starts with leading yourself how do you.
David Horsager: You know you get the financial peace health wise holistic, please you got a great family, but what are some are there, certain routines that you have that keep you leading yourself well.
Jay Levy: Ah, I would say this that i’m and for those of you that really can’t see me and Dave Dave Dave has i’m not exactly the most vertically challenged and i’m vertically challenged i’m five foot three.
Jay Levy: And the way that both myself and my wife and I came from a family, and I think Dave you’ve talked about this in the past with.
Jay Levy: You know how dedicated you were weight was an issue with you and you wanted to lose it and you stopped drinking your calories and the whole thing.
Jay Levy: But I wake up every day my wife, does the same thing, she runs eight to 10 miles every single day, seven days a week, even if blizzard she’s known as the crazy lady and.
Jay Levy: southeast new Hampshire because she’s the only one that will run in blizzards eight to 10 miles a day.
Jay Levy: I run on the treadmill I I try and I do a while i’m watching squawk box and cnbc because it’s a very balanced news station.
Jay Levy: And I live I start off my day at six o’clock doing that, and then I progress I work with people I do my writings I deal with clients, you know, welcome to zoom we do reviews now that’s been.
Jay Levy: Sometimes a bad thing in the past that I thought was going to be hurtful now i’ve looked at in my clients to think oh Jay we don’t have to come in the office and see we can just do zoom.
Jay Levy: And so that’s been somewhat beneficial, but I have a process that I lead it each and every day that when I do writing on the weekends.
Jay Levy: I still spend time when my kids come up here and they’re both you know adults living in Boston and gainfully employed but I try to do that and that’s that’s why I start off the conversation saying i’m basically fairly ordinary.
Jay Levy: it’s not like i’m jetting to Sweden or anything like that.
Jay Levy: And you know i’m somebody that when people ask me so what what’s in your your plans and my feeling is again based on some of the family, things that I shared in the book.
Jay Levy: Until mentally or physically i’m i’m unable and life every day i’ll be doing this till the heart goes or something like that.
Jay Levy: I enjoy what I do a mentally and if i’m helping one person or 100 people and some folks are going to say some nice things that that they might like with Clarence what they did with less when they pass away, I consider it a life well actually live.
David Horsager: What are you learning right now, you know a lot of people ask what did you learn when but I like to know hey what are you learning actively, what do you what are you learning now about life finance marriage what what’s what’s up you’re learning right now.
Jay Levy: I read a great book by David for saga recently wonderful learn that and enjoyed the stories immensely, especially the beginning of the book with the gentleman out of minneapolis and then.
Jay Levy: In going to the ski resort, but I also because of my involvement with the hospitals, I read things and i’ve talked to and been fortunate enough to me like Dr and 12 blondie road being mortal.
Jay Levy: And i’d reached out to him and my father in law had cancer brain cancer and got him to where you know, we had him appearing at Portsmouth music hall and.
Jay Levy: You know i’m reading books called lifespan why we age and why we don’t have to certain things like so I the physical and the financial.
Jay Levy: I time together In addition I I periodically balloon launched something called golf scratch academy because i’m still trying to figure out by the time of seven years old, to have a 300 yard drive it’ll likely never happened but i’m foolish enough to believe that day.
Jay Levy: But I I constantly do that and then i’m like I said I continued my writing and I watched the markets.
Jay Levy: You know feverish Lee and wonder what what’s going to happen with interest rates in the Fed and how people are going to act from a behavioral standpoint but.
Jay Levy: My favorite book still I tell people this and I mentioned it in my book is dollars and cents by.
Jay Levy: Dan ariely wonderful book talks about the behavior of money and how people react to things whether they’re spending cash or paying for something by credit card.
Jay Levy: I would recommend that book and I hope that book gets into high schools also so constantly doing that, and you know when football season comes up i’ll be back on the patriots bandwagon.
David Horsager: There you go.
David Horsager: With Tom Brady i’ll try to figure it out.
David Horsager: Without Brady alright.
Jay Levy: Without Brady.
David Horsager: So so let’s let’s just touch on this we’re going to get coming toward the end here.
David Horsager: A couple of things so just for everybody to remember all these things dollars and cents, all of the.
David Horsager: The email for Jay levy or going to Jay levy site, if you want to grab his book, I would recommend it planning for survival just go to J levy planning.net.
David Horsager: And of course it just hit the Amazon bestseller lists and and all that and we’ll have that all for you just look at trusted leader show.com and find all the show notes what’s the best advice you’ve ever been given.
Jay Levy: Yesterday advice I was ever given was by my father, which I didn’t take originally but he he taught me said when when I was young, he said, you know because he was self employed.
Jay Levy: And don’t a lot of real estate, but he said Jay in the end, trust me on this it’s always better to control your own destiny to work for yourself.
Jay Levy: And I always found that a little strange, but as I got older in life, and you know, going back to when I was 45 and deciding to leave the CFO position and my wife sitting there saying you know what do you want to be when you grow up.
Jay Levy: And I said, well, I think I want to ultimately, and this was the second choice do this, what i’m doing for a living, but instead of working for somebody.
Jay Levy: Take a little less than life keep it my own practice my own clients best decisions i’ve ever made.
Jay Levy: You know people people when I go in the office and i’ll go one, two or three times a week for maybe four hours, I take out my coven dog that I bought my puppy.
Jay Levy: And they’re excited to see the dog, but they I remember the first joke they’re like oh you’re you’re unretiring now you’re coming back to the office, because everything i’ve been doing from home when covert hit and it’s been it’s been the best and it gives me freedom, which is very important.
David Horsager: What when you think of Jay levy what’s one thing you have left to do what’s something you still hope for maybe it’s a bucket list thing or a hope for you.
Jay Levy: i’m pretty much hitting it on all cylinders, I hope, because we had to cancel three different vacations they Italy and.
Jay Levy: The Caribbean and every I hope I can actually take my wife went to Antarctica back in November of 2019 she took my mother in law, I didn’t go on that.
Jay Levy: But so she’s had, I actually a vacation away from let’s say Minnesota over the last 18 months for we’ve canceled three of them.
Jay Levy: I just want, there is something about going back to i’m not going to like travel five times as much and make up for lost time.
Jay Levy: But it would be nice to again see parts of the world and go visit friends and we usually, when we go on vacations we go with different people and family, some of them, and it would be nice to do that just simple things.
David Horsager: i’ve got to ask you, before I get to our final question I gotta ask you just about what, what do you see ahead in the markets, what do you think about.
David Horsager: Interest rates going up, I mean this is a world renowned people will be listening to this, what do you think how should people plan and what’s your projection.
Jay Levy: i’m very concerned about it and i’ve always been concerned with people, even when we’re sitting there and talking about their portfolios and the returns they’ve been getting.
Jay Levy: And a lot of my clients will sit there and go, you know Jay you don’t seem to be happy about the fact that we’re sitting here and our portfolios are doing great and I sit there and go it’s it’s manipulation.
Jay Levy: it’s just the way it is you don’t have a choice because you can’t earn anything on your cash so you’re forced to go to assets that have risk, and as long as we try to keep you based on your age.
Jay Levy: In the right type of risk profile it’s one thing, but the way this is going with so much liquidity being put out there, and you know there’s only.
Jay Levy: assets they’re limited resources so that’s why we see housing twi we see stocks, the bond market for years did extremely well.
Jay Levy: And i’ve got great fear about the fixed income world as far as ultimately being a bubble, and if that POPs a lot of what we plan, especially with older individual.
Jay Levy: A lot of that tends to go to fixed income because that’s assumed to be a safer situation.
Jay Levy: But if ultimately the fixed index in the bond world becomes a bubble and POPs and people who are in their 60s and 70s, have 4050 60% of their assets and bonds.
Jay Levy: And that doesn’t bode well, so let me tell you it’s the people should at least be paying attention and that’s why I would urge everyone read the commentary I try to keep it brief and certainly there’s.
Jay Levy: A tremendous amount of information out there don’t don’t let it take over your life, where you become extremely fearful or anything like that pay attention because if you don’t.
Jay Levy: When surprises happened like it did in 2008 and we’re talking about Lehman Brothers going by buying Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch.
Jay Levy: It it certainly is is out there, that it can happen again, but it’s it’s certainly a strange time the recovery is going to be, I think, very, very hard and very hardcore.
Jay Levy: But again that’s it’s it’s not real it’s not real life because think the world was forced to close down.
Jay Levy: And now, with the money that’s being pumped in businesses will do well for short period of time, but then we’re going to get back to reality and what happens and with social media they.
Jay Levy: Everything, especially with money because behavioral so with social media starts talking about there’s a lot of smoke and is there a fire occurring, you can guess what can happen here and remember this, we lost 37% in literally 3030 days back in February to march 23 of.
Jay Levy: and never saw anything like that, during the depression and drop like that.
Jay Levy: So my fear is if all of a sudden, there is a drop and it becomes much longer drawn out and it doesn’t recover, because you don’t have all this quantity being put out there, or our tax structure changes.
Jay Levy: It could be a significant thing, and you know if you’re 30 years old, different story you got time to recover.
David Horsager: We got we have so many things now where i’m just it’s just getting interesting about all this stuff I could go a lot of different directions, with the all the AMC world of what’s going up what’s going down, but what a bitcoin.
Jay Levy: Well it’s something that I don’t and when I talked about it, two or three years ago my son actually brought her up to me, because he invested in so I was sitting down with our CFA.
Jay Levy: Who does our investments at the farm and Mike mike’s from China and Mike very bright guy and we’re sitting down we’re we’re reviewing or trying to understand blockchain.
Jay Levy: And the fact of the matter is I I don’t understand it and it’s one of those things that it’s one of those assets that have been created that they’re they’re they’re.
Jay Levy: they’re pushing up, and I think you know there’s some potential legitimacy, because if the dollar is the currency of the world.
Jay Levy: And the currency of the world that what backs, it is now trillions and trillions of dollars in depth.
Jay Levy: I don’t think that gives really too many people, a feeling a good feeling about our currency.
Jay Levy: So it’s something that’s digital that you know we don’t really understand and it’s supposedly limited to you know 21 million bitcoin and it has these wallets that can disappear if I if I put my clients in it.
Jay Levy: I would sit there and go shame on me because, if I have no faith in it doesn’t mean i’m right, but if I have no faith and all of a sudden, you know one day it’s up 50% the next day it’s down 25%.
Jay Levy: And that’s that’s out of my realm of expertise, where and it’s certainly don’t have clients that would actually.
Jay Levy: be okay with me doing that, with their money, so I sit there and say to folks listen, if you want to put two or 3% somewhere else.
Jay Levy: put it in there, but at this stage of LIFE I don’t put it in and I don’t believe my firm at all.
Jay Levy: we’re not we’re not looking at that, at this juncture, has even being able to something that we feel comfortable putting you know one or two or 3% maybe at some point if they come out with etfs or things like that which they started doing.
Jay Levy: It may change a little bit, but it’s it’s a strange situation but that’s that’s where the world may be going.
Great.
David Horsager: Alright, well, it is the trusted leader show go to trust leaders show calm to get all the show notes, you can find Jay levies book, you can find his site and how to email him and get on his great commentary financial commentary every week.
David Horsager: I want to thank you so much for being on but we got to ask one final question we do it to everybody it’s the trusted leader show who Jay is a leader that you trust and why.
Jay Levy: I actually would sit there and say that, as crazy, as it seems my wife.
Jay Levy: And the only reason I say, that is, I have absolute respect for she’s got a great work ethic she runs a 30 person dental practice she’s done it for three decades and.
Jay Levy: You know you have to be able to respect and feel very confident in people, especially when you see them in positions where they are leading people and during this last year during the pandemic.
Jay Levy: She was in there, and you know with that skeleton crew running basically a $5 million business, not a big business, by any means, but I was impressed by that.
David Horsager: yeah well she is an amazing woman and.
Jay Levy: Certainly, she has good taste in men too.
David Horsager: There we go good choices Jay. Thank you so much Jay Levy
David Horsager: That’s been the trusted leader show until next time stay trusted.
