Happy (Un)official Start of Summer

There's something uniquely American about celebrating the start of summer by remembering our war dead. Most countries separate their beach holidays from their military memorials. We put them together, and that tells you everything about this country.

This weekend, millions of us will fire up grills, open cold beers, and complain about traffic on the way to the lake. That's exactly what the men and women we honor today fought for. Not the parades or the monuments, but the simple right to spend a three day weekend however we damn well please.

The price of ordinary life

We had a client last week mention his grandfather, who landed at Normandy and never talked about it. "He just wanted to come home and run his hardware store," the client said. That hardware store employed six people for forty years. The grandfather's GI benefits put three kids through college. One of those kids started a tech company that now employs 200 people.

That's the compound effect of freedom. One nineteen year old storms a beach in 1944, and eighty years later, his sacrifice is still creating jobs and opportunities. You can't calculate that return in a spreadsheet.

What we protect when we plan

We spend our days at TRRP helping people protect and grow their wealth. But wealth without freedom is just numbers on a page. Every portfolio we build, every tax strategy we design, every retirement plan we craft exists because someone decided American prosperity was worth dying for.

The stock market exists because we have property rights. Your 401(k) exists because we have stable institutions. Your kids can inherit your IRA because we have courts that enforce contracts. None of that happens without people willing to defend it.

The best memorial is a life well lived

You want to honor the fallen? Use the freedom they bought you. Start that business. Take that risk. Build something that lasts longer than you will. Create jobs. Fund scholarships. Leave your corner of America better than you found it.

And yes, enjoy this weekend. Grill those burgers. Watch your kids play in the sprinkler. Complain about your neighbor's music being too loud. These small, ordinary pleasures are what make America worth defending.

We'll be back to talking about interest rates and tax strategies on Tuesday. Today, we raise a glass to those who made it possible for us to worry about such fortunate problems.

To the men and women who gave everything so we could have everything: thank you. We remember you not just today, but every time we exercise the freedoms you died defending.

If you want help building a financial plan that honors the opportunities this country provides, our team at TRRP does this work every week. You can schedule a complimentary assessment at compoundadvisory.co/free-assessment.