Ask Doc

Removing Fear From My Greatest Investment Strategy

About 15 years ago, while I was researching genetic eye diseases at Duke, I met a publisher named Porter Stansberry.

He convinced me to write to his readers about what I learned during my careers in finance and medicine. Our initial conversations turned into a much bigger idea...

We believed that together we could help people lead better lives if we could teach them some key concepts about health and wealth... concepts they likely wouldn't hear about from their stockbroker or doctor.

The mainstream press is virtually forbidden from mentioning many of these concepts.

Huge corporate interests and corrupt government institutions would rather people didn't know about them... The more ignorant the people are, the better for many government and corporate interests. This keeps them dependent. It keeps the "nanny state" alive.

Then, in 2010, we began publishing a service called Retirement Trader.

The goal of the service was simple: teach regular folks how to safely create income in retirement by using the same investment techniques of Wall Street banks and traders.

While some people think of these techniques as "advanced" or "complicated," they're actually very easy to learn and use. And they can drastically improve your investment results.

Here's what subscriber J.C. told us:

Thanks for translating options lingo into English for me. I have wanted to learn to trade options for some time but was intimidated by the special language used. I know it can be a great way to make money... Your simple and easy approach is great support for me as I attempt to embrace these strategies in my trading. Kudos to ya! More people deserve to have this opportunity.

I believe the techniques in Retirement Trader form the greatest investment income strategy in the world. But if you're not yet ready to join us in our step-by-step trades, try your hand at reading the book...

With High Income Retirement, I'll walk you through how to use options to generate safe, steady income. If you've been nervous about trading options... or aren't sure if this income-generating technique is right for you... this book will help you overcome your fears. Click here to get this book delivered to your door at a better price than it's selling for on Amazon.

Now let's take a look at today's Q&A...

Q: I enjoy the Retirement Millionaire Daily very much. Thanks for writing it for us. I have found most of the topics to be of interest to me, and I frequently forward them to family and friends. If you haven't already done so, could you do an article on magnesium.

I currently take 250 mg of magnesium oxide for its supposed benefits. However, recently I read that only about 4% of magnesium oxide is absorbed by the body, the rest goes down the toilet. If this is true, what is the best magnesium to take (keeping in mind my wife and I are retired and on a fixed income). There are so many brands, I wouldn't know which ones actually contain what they say they contain. Thanks again. –J.D.

A: I recommended magnesium recently to my assistant's husband, who suffers from migraines and asthma. Magnesium works by helping to relax blood vessels, particularly in the head. It also helps lower blood pressure, improves your mood, and decreases your risk of colorectal cancer.

Magnesium is difficult for us to absorb in pill form, just as you said, J.D. It comes bonded to many different kinds of chemicals, and the bonds make it easier or harder to absorb the magnesium.

The one we can absorb most easily is magnesium citrate. Magnesium oxide has the lowest absorption. You should keep in mind, though, that other supplements and foods can change how much magnesium you absorb as well. For example, eating small amounts of protein can lower your ability to absorb magnesium.

I like to get magnesium from whole grains (like oatmeal), leafy greens, seeds, nuts, and cocoa.

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Q: I stopped using all antiperspirants due to aluminum in them and possible developing cancers. My wife says I have a significant underarm smell. I seem to remember in an article you recommended something. Not sure if it was lemon water. Suggestions? – D.J.

A: Longtime subscribers of my monthly newsletter, Retirement Millionaire, know I stay away from deodorants and antiperspirants as much as possible.

There are a few things you can do to avoid them (or at least limit your use) while also avoiding unpleasant body odor...

I use deodorant only occasionally, and only lightly on workdays. And I try to avoid any underarm products on the weekends and vacations. You'd be surprised how good you still smell if you're relaxed... Says something about stress, doesn't it?

And I always make sure to wash well with soap and water to remove bacteria, and wear natural fibers like cotton that foil bacterial growth (the cause of the stench).

Q: Many of us subscribers have been selling puts and coming out ahead. So, who is on the losing side of these option trades, sadly buying puts and crying in his beer? What if anything is he doing to shed the risks of buying puts? Should I feel sad about taking his money? – C.S., Alliance Member

A: It depends, but usually it's a "market maker" in the options... They typically use options calculators to find a price at which they're willing to buy the option that you're selling, and then they're typically hedging themselves on the other side of the trade.

So most of the options we sell are created by a market maker... Your broker doesn't have to find someone across the world who wants to take the other side of our specific trade.

So if you know where the implied volatility is – which we do – you go in and say, "I want to sell a call option at $1.25."

If there haven't been any transactions in that option that day, an option market maker might come in and say, "OK, we'll bid $1.22." And without going into the complicated math of it, they're also, at the same time, usually using the underlying security to hedge themselves. Since they're buying an option from us, they might go and sell shares short. The market maker makes money on the premium, as well as receiving fees.

So as long as we're trading in blue-chip companies, we rarely have to worry much about liquidity or someone not being on the other side of our trade. The market maker will very quickly create a bid-and-ask price for these options.

Again, as I mentioned before, if you're interested in learning more about the strategies we use in Retirement Trader, but don't want to commit to a subscription, try reading my book, High Income Retirement. You can get your copy here.

Have a topic you want us to cover? Send your suggestions to [email protected].

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