Cowboy Hats and Annuities

Speaker 1 00:00:05 This is annuity straight talk since 2008. Your host Brian Anderson has helped clients nationwide navigate the complex market for annuities with Brian's assistance. Hundreds of clients have achieved a profitable and secure retirement. I would know because Brian has answered many of my questions concerning annuities and retirement planning so that you can benefit as well. Let's get started. Here's Brian. Speaker 2 00:00:48 Hello and welcome everyone to the annuity straight talk podcast, episode number 49, Brian Anderson, founder, and creator of annuity straight talk, going solo again today wearing a cowboy hat because that's what we're gonna talk about. And I've got some props, I guess. So I might switch out. We'll see how the story develops over time. I wanted to make this, uh, newsletter podcast duo something that people could read as well, because I'm just gonna kind of tell a story. And again, it's gonna just one of those things about how I bring things together in my own mind and justify what I do and the purpose of doing things like that. And cowboy hats and annuities often misunderstood. I am not a cowboy, but I wear a hat for good reason at times. And it's not at all just to make a statement or to be fashionable. There's a purpose to it. Speaker 2 00:01:34 And that's what I'm gonna explain today. So I'm not gonna share my screen, but I've got the newsletter up and I'm gonna try to follow the story as best I can. So it, you kind of rings through or runs through in a nice timely manner. There's gonna be things in the newsletter that are not in the podcast and vice versa. But if you wanna see some of the pictures, some of the photos, I'm gonna try to put a bunch of them in there. It's written now, but by the time you see it on a side note, I wanna say, happy 4th of July, happy birthday America. I am recording this on the 4th of July because it seemed like I had a whole weekend of kind of relaxing and, and being as American as I possibly can smoking brisket, stuff like that. So here it is the 4th of July and we got kind of a, you know, it's a nice day, but it, we rained a bunch last night. Speaker 2 00:02:20 It's supposed to rain again this afternoon. So thought, why not? I'll, uh, record this podcast and have a story waiting for everybody on Saturday. This will be the 9th of July, I think when everybody sees it. So the story being cowboy hats and annuities, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. And I thought, Hey, that'd be kind of a cool story. And again, I've told everybody that every once in a while, I want to do a newsletter or podcast. It's more of a story. It's not so heavy on technical details. Give everybody a chance to get to know me and kind of understand how I work, why I work this way and you know why I do it the way I do it. So then I guess I think this has been good, cuz a lot of people before they meet me will have seen half a dozen videos or something like that. Speaker 2 00:03:01 And then they feel like it's easier to make the connection because they kind of understand what I'm about. Now, if you don't like horses and mountains and hunting and fishing, or uh, don't have respect for somebody who does that, then maybe you're not gonna gimme a call. But I think a lot of people have that sense of adventure inside them. I've always had that. I could probably do a separate story on where that came from. Both my grandfathers were pretty, uh, into adventure and doing different things and seeing interesting places. I've always liked really finding things that other people don't know about it. And that's kind of, one of the reasons I'm into annuities is because I discovered a couple of ways that they could be used that I thought, man, this is really cool. There needs to be a specialist in this area. So, but I'm gonna start back with just the story part of it. Speaker 2 00:03:46 And this is more than five years ago. I think it was 2016 was the second time I did this with my wife where we took our second pack trip horses, mules into the Teton Willers in Wyoming. So it's just north of Jackson hole about 60 miles is where we take off. And it's, it is probably my favorite place I've ever been, which to me says a lot, not everybody understands this, but I've spent an extensive amounts of time in Alaska wilderness areas, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho. And I, you know, I think that's where a lot of the most beautiful places and that that's really what I like to see is the beautiful places that we have. Uh, we're very blessed as Americans. So I think that's one of the reasons of doing this on the 4th of July independence day is I had a client the other day emailed me after the podcast came out on Saturday, you know, just requested some assistance and a couple of ideas. Speaker 2 00:04:38 And he finished the email by saying, enjoy your, uh, 4th of July weekend, the holiday. It's one of the few things our ever divided country can agree upon. And I like that too, because anybody wants to go back to episode 38 wars, a racket where I thought, you know, a lot of things are put out there to continually divide us. So the more that we can agree on and enjoy ourselves and feel blessed to be American citizens the better. And I think this is a great day for it. And I just kind of wanna spread that message and share it with everyone that no matter what our PE politic persuasion is, we are all brothers and sisters and we're blessed to be living in this country. And I do not ever take it for granted. And I think about that all the time. So anyhow, so yeah, so we go on this trip in, in Wyoming and it's just the way I explain that trip is it's always, it's like, you know, it's about 30 miles to our final destination. Speaker 2 00:05:28 And so we do it in two days on the way in, and sometimes one on the way out a lot of times, but the idea is to have fun. We don't need to necessarily work all that hard. So if you do half of it, I think we did 18 miles the first day and it took us about four and a half hours. And then we do 12 miles a second day. It takes us about, you know, three or so, and we get to the spot and then we kinda lay over for a few days, but it's like a 30 miles of pasture and wild flowers. Now. I'm not like a big flower guy where I don't think about it all that often, but I mean, there's no other way to explain it, except it's just absolutely stunning. It's a beautiful spot. And there's a point where we ride into this, you know, the ride through this canyon and down into the final place where we're gonna hang out for a few days. Speaker 2 00:06:08 And it feels like this area in the Teton wilderness, this is like where Teddy Roosevelt used to go hunting. And it feels like because it's a protected wilderness area right off the Southern boundary of Yellowstone national park. It feels like you're riding into a piece of American history. I cannot explain the emotional feeling you get when you work that hard and do all that stuff. So all of that stuff make it, you know, you get back there and then there's big fish. You catch big fish, beautiful everywhere. And the stock is really happy. The horses and mules, there's green grass everywhere. They get to run around. They get to play. I take pride in that because I realize when we get to places like that, those animals who don't do so much for me, they enjoy it as much as I do. So catching big fish, beautiful places, quiet, not a lot of people and make it well worth the effort to organize the trip and haul. Speaker 2 00:07:02 It's haul a heavy trailer round trip. It's about a thousand miles. So it's no small task to get everything organized. You think you've gotta keep, I'm a master at cooler maintenance. So we take steaks and roast and all sorts. We eat really well when we do it, but you gotta keep that stuff cold. And so it's, it's a two day trip down to get. There really only takes one day to drive, but you get there late at night. You don't start on the trail in the dark. So you usually wait till the next day. And yeah, so you gotta keep everything cold and you gotta plan ahead. Lots of different things do. We had one trip, we had, you know, some things go wrong with the truck. It took us time. And so you have to be really organized and it's gotta be well thought out and planned. Speaker 2 00:07:43 So it's a lot of effort to do it, but it's worth every minute of that because it's such an enjoyable experience. So we went in, you know, went into this place and then we had a couple layover days. We'd take short day rides and all that stuff and go fishing a little bit and just really relax and, and have fun. And by the time we get done, you know, you decide to come home. It's been six days and you you're taking your baths in the Yellowstone river or thoroughfare Creek. And you know, you can rinse off and all that stuff, but there's nothing like a hot shower waiting for you at a guest ranch when you come out, it's pretty, uh, it's a pretty cool experience. So we did that trip and we had a really good time. And, and then we drive home and of course we'd come home in a day. Speaker 2 00:08:21 And I got out on the way home. I, a friend of mine called me one of my best buddies, the three guys that were my partners in crime and the podcast I did about leisure time in retirement. We talked about a fishing trip. We took a couple months ago, he called and said, Hey, we're going into the south fork of the Flathead. That's in the middle of the Bob Marshall wilderness. And we got a few things we want to take. And we've only reserved X number of pack animals with an outfit. So an outfitter was gonna take him in. He said, if you want to go, it'd be kind of fun. We've got all the food and everything we need. And, and if you could bring a couple animals and pack a few extra things, we could make the trip really work for us. And so, you know, he is wondering if I want to go and because it's three of my best buddies and we always have a good time. Speaker 2 00:09:04 I said, yeah, I'll do it. Sure. Bring your stuff by on Sunday, we'll leave on Monday. Or I think he's Saturday, we left Sunday, something like that. And I had two days to get ready after I got home. And so I thought, well, it's summertime and I gotta make the most of it. So anyway, so I, they brought all the stuff over and then we all drove down, I think Sunday morning and the outfitter packed, all their stuff. I took the extras and loaded up a couple of my mules, brought another buddy. He rode one as well. And we made the trip in, in one day, it was 29 miles. One way into that spot. And it's a big mountain pass and a long valley riding down the hill, just looking, you can see forever. And it was awesome. We made it in at about nine hours, nine and a half. Speaker 2 00:09:44 I think. So their plan was to float. They had rafts and stuff. Their plan was to float down the river for a week, but I had obviously my truck and trailer and I had my animals. I had to just ride back out a couple days later. So I took a layover day, went for a little ride on that day, did some fish and just hung out and relaxed on the river, let the animals get rested up. And then on the third day at about 7:00 AM, I was packed up and I headed back out doing the 29 miles, the other direction to go home, right? My horse loves to climb. And for whatever reason, when you turn him uphill, he just charges that thing he's tougher in hell is an awesome horse. And that's probably his best quality. The return trip took me about little over seven hours. Speaker 2 00:10:28 So I'm I cruised and made really, really good time. Okay? I said this earlier, I'm not a cowboy, but I wore a cowboy hat both times because of the advantages that come with it. So when you're riding in a good straw, hu like this keeps the sun off my face and the sweat out of my eyes. It's a lot of work. It can be hot. And if you don't have the hat on, you got sweat running down into your eyes and it's just uncomfortable. Okay. One thing, hikers, a lot of people call me and say, they like to take hikes and stuff like that. What you don't understand is all the trails were cut out for people that are walking that are about, you know, six feet tall, you know, or so. And so when I'm on top of my horse, my head is sitting nine feet high. Speaker 2 00:11:08 That means I'm often running through brush and tops of trees and stuff like that. So continually ducking my head down and the branches run around. So my ears aren't getting scratched my face. Isn't getting scratched. You can wear a ball cap to keep the sun outta your eyes, but your ears get dinged up. Your face gets scratched. If you go through those rough pieces of country where you're ducking your head through trees, the cowboy hat really, really protects you. So cobwebs on the trailer, another thing where you can see 'em coming and they're just, everybody likes the tall guy riding in front because I take down all the cobwebs, but I can just dip my hat down in the cobwebs, hit the hat instead of having 'em all wrapped around my face and in my eyes and stuff. So, but, and I guess the one thing that doesn't happen often, but does happen is also, it keeps a bird from pooping on my head, right? Speaker 2 00:11:57 So anyway, I made that trip out with another friend and we made it out in seven and a half hours. So it was probably two 30 or three o'clock when we got everything loaded up and headed home, which was really great. And so I got to about a two hour drive back home. So yeah, call it five 30 or so. And I come home and my wife was waiting. She had a couple days by herself. She didn't know when I was gonna get there. So it didn't, she was always really good at taking care of me. When I came back from long trips, there'd always be a good dinner waiting, but she never knew when I was coming back on this one. So rightfully like I, I told her like, I don't know when it's gonna happen. I will be back on Monday or Tuesday, whatever the day was. Speaker 2 00:12:32 And so she was just laying in the yard, reading a book, getting some sunshine, cuz it was a nice day and I was dog tired cuz we'd done, you know, another 29 miles long trip. And I said, it's funny. I look at these things and I, I could tell like individual stories in the middle of this. There's a couple of things that happen on the trail. Anybody that wants to call, if we chat about this, if anybody's interested in the story, I'm gonna add, add a few of those details. But kind of like when I talked about guiding in Alaska, the best annuity training possible, that was a really good story about some of the things I did in my younger years. So many different things I could talk about. Interesting stories and I kind of saved those for one-on-one conversations with people I get to know really well. Speaker 2 00:13:12 But anyway, so I was tired, she wasn't ready. And I said, Hey, let's just go out to dinner. And there's a really nice restaurant in Whitefish, Montana that, you know, she really liked it had good food and we could go sit at the bar in the lounge and you know, just relax and have, have a good dinner. So I thought that was perfect. You know, it decided to go out. So this is where I talk about Whitefish. And I don't wanna say too many bad things about it, but it's not at all. Like when I grew up. So it used to be a town that was a pretty tough town. It was full of railroaders and loggers back in the eighties and into the mid nineties, there were always, it's a beautiful area. So there were always a few celebrities or wealthy people there. It's on a lake. Speaker 2 00:13:52 It's at the base of a ski hill. It's really nice. And those guys were there for a quiet existence to get away from everything. And there were always a few of those around, but I mean, when I grew up, it was like any other town in Montana, just the setting was, was pretty amazing and which was different these days, it's quite a bit different. Everything's going very modern. I wouldn't even call it modern rustic. It's just modern stuff. And so it's nothing like it used to be where it was a quirky little mountain town. Now it's full of yuppies and posters from places like LA and New York. Now I want to talk a little bit. There's a lot of people I know there that are outta state from bigger cities that came in. I'm not painting everyone with a broad brush cuz I've met a lot of really interesting, intelligent people who were successful and enjoyed what Montana had to offer and came out and assimilated to the culture. Speaker 2 00:14:43 But there's a lot of people there now. So I'm not talking about everyone cuz there are some great people there, but I'm, I'm looking at the changes that have been made. There are a lot of people that have come in and I think several people would recognize this and not necessarily, they're not coming here for what Montana is, they're coming for the scenery and they're about, they're pretty much changing it into what they left. And so to me, it's, you know, the crowds are there. It's a different type of people. I mean I've in the past year when I've gone out to dinner or something or gone into like a little dive bar to have a burger, I don't recognize anybody in the town, which is different for me because it was always full of people. We knew it was a small community. So yeah, what is to say it used to the town used to have a whole lot more character, but now it's just a hippie modern drinking town with a cool backdrop. Speaker 2 00:15:28 That's about what it is. So anyway, I didn't, when we went out to dinner, I didn't change. I'd just been on the trail. I'd been out for three days and I had dusty boots. I had dirty jeans, a t-shirt and a cowboy hat on and I thought I'm not gonna shower until I get home. Let's just go out and have dinner and I'll come back. So we walked into that restaurant and I think everybody looked at me. So I didn't know anybody, cuz they're all brand new they're tourists or uh, new transplants. And <laugh>, it was, they looked at me like I was walking into church naked, like that was so foreign to them to have a guy in a cowboy hat. So scoffs, eye rolls. And I just, I looked at it and I thought everybody's like, who does this guy think he is? Speaker 2 00:16:08 W E <laugh>. And they had no idea. It didn't bother me. It just kind of made me laugh because I knew what I know what the town was like 30, 35 years ago. And it used to be one of that would just be one of those things like, oh yeah. So none of them knew that in the previous 10 days I had covered more than 150 miles on horseback and crossed the two most remote points in the continental United States. The cowboy hats were there for a purpose, not to make a fashion statement. They thought that I probably just got dressed at the ranch store after I got off the airplane and walked in there trying to pretend that I was a hardcore cowboy, which I'm not, it just had a purpose. Right. And so a little fun fact, if you like trivia is the two most remote points in the lower 48 states. Speaker 2 00:16:56 The number one most remote point is Hawks rest in the Teton wilderness about a mile and a half south of Yellowstone national park boundary. It's near where the thoroughfare and thoroughfare Creek confluence with the yellow, the upper Yellowstone river. And the second most remote point is the confluence of the white river in the south fork of the Flathead smack dab in the middle of the Bob Marshall wilderness. Within 10 days, I spent, I crossed both of those points on horseback and on the second trip into the Bob, I remember I made a point of going there just so I could say that it's like, okay. I went to the first one, went to the second one. So, and the most remote point is defined by the furthest point as the Crow flies from a developed road that you can drive on. So you have to be deep in a wilderness area to get that far removed from a road. Speaker 2 00:17:46 Anyhow. So there's number one, number two. So Hawks rest and the white river, if anybody ever asks or you want to, uh, you want to have some, uh, you know, some trivia at a dinner conversation stump someone. So anyhow, but it was interesting cuz I, I think they looked at me in that restaurant. Like I should be outta place, but I didn't feel out of place. Cause I was confident in who I was. I feel something similar when people ask me about my business. I think I was in Kentucky about six weeks ago and hotel bar kind of went down to just relax for, I went to bed and I met some people and I met a guy really nice guy. And he said, what do you do for a living? And I, I really don't like that question, but I'm not gonna see this guy anymore. Speaker 2 00:18:22 I said, well, I'm in retirement planning and I do all this stuff and you know, he can't ask more questions. Oh I do safe stuff. You know, retirement, you know, guaranteed conservative investors and all that stuff. And, and he keeps pushing, pushing. I said finally like, Hey annuity, straight talk.com. I, I sell annuities. You know, that's how, that's what I do. And you never know what you're gonna get. A lot of people will look at it and be like, ah, it's kind of the same thing where you never know the reaction you're gonna get. It's like all those yuppies in the restaurant who had no idea what they were dealing with. And I guess at this point, neither one of them bothers me. I just say it because if somebody's gonna have a negative opinion, I realize that, you know, I like how meals are like annuities, like between meals and annuities. Speaker 2 00:19:02 The only people that don't like them are the ones that don't understand them. So it's the same thing here. And I don't, you know, a lot of people say, well, he is not really a financial planner. He's just an annuity guy. And that's interesting to me cuz obviously to be effective at, at advising on annuities, it has to be in the context of a financial plan. So when you talk about asset allocation, uh, income planning, long term care required, minimum distributions, taxation, what else does a planner do? I have to do all those things. Right? So anyway, I, I, it doesn't really matter to me cuz again, I'm confident in what I do and there's a reason why I do the same thing. So it took me a long time to wear a cowboy hat and I didn't ever start doing it until I actually realized what the benefit was. Speaker 2 00:19:46 I used to think I put him on and I look stupid. I'm six, five, I'm a tall guy and this adds six inches to my height. Okay. So switching props here for the end, hopefully that came on the right way. I think it feels pretty centered to me. But when I realized what an a cowboy hat could do for me, that's when I started where 'em thinking it's very beneficial. Annuities were the same way. There was a purpose for 'em, but I didn't really like them cuz I heard all the negative stuff about 'em. I started researching them and realized, oh yeah, there is a definite reason why these are applicable to a lot of people, especially in retirement, there wasn't a lot of information out there. So I made it my goal to set up the source for all viable information on annuities and to help people figure out number one, whether it was the right thing to do. Speaker 2 00:20:35 And number two, if it is then make sure you do it the right way. So it's very, they're very similar to me in my development or my evolution of thought and why I accepted both as a luxury item, essentially, something that makes things a little bit easier. So a good straw cowboy hat. The first one I wore keeps you cool in the hot summer, keeps the sun off. Ya makes a huge difference. I'm telling you and this thick felt cowboy hat will keep me warm in the winter. If I'm riding out in hunting season, wear this. And it's a nice cozy insulation for my bald head. Now another quick story about that is I dunno, probably seven or eight years ago, hunting with a bunch of friends on the Rocky mountain front. And this is mid-November. There were four of us on the trip, bunch of horses, bunch of mules. Speaker 2 00:21:24 And I remember, uh, like on the second night we were in into this back country spot, we got about six inches of snow. And so anybody that's been in the mountains in the wintertime with snow, it realizes that a good powdery snow sits on the branches of the trees while we're riding down the trail. And of course we're ducking through, uh, trees, cuz again we're high and every time we duck through a tree, a bunch of snow dumps down on your coat, right? Well, two of the guys didn't have a cowboy hat on. I did. And one of 'em got, you know, we got a couple miles down the trail we're hunting. And he said, I finally understand why you're wearing a cowboy hat. And he was just wearing a stocking cap and he had a jacket with a hood on it. He didn't have the hood on. Speaker 2 00:22:05 And every time we duck through those trees and got snow on us, there was snow was going down the back of his coat. So he was soaked inside it melted and he was cold. And I thought, ah, another reason why Cal, he said, I get it. He said, if I'm gonna do this, I gotta go get a cowboy hat cuz that's, you know, essentially hits my hat and just rolls off the sides and it doesn't dump down my jacket. So anyway, cowboy hats and annuities are luxury items that provide comfort when used in the right situation. It's not something everybody's going to do, but when the situation is appropriate, if you come for a ride with me in Montana, I recommend getting a cheap cowboy hat. Neither one of these are cheap just cuz I wear 'em all the time. Uh, they are nice and there's benefit to having a nice and nicer stuff. Speaker 2 00:22:49 And everybody knows that there's certain things that that justify having spending money on. So for me, the cowboy hat makes sense because I use it and it's worthwhile in a lot of different situations, again, a luxury item because it it's, uh, it gives you comfort. So as you head down the retirement trail one or both will likely make the trip more enjoyable, easier to enjoy. And that's the idea of adding comfort, security and peace of mind so that the little things don't get in your way, whatever the conditions you're likely going to see some level of protection end, uh, peace of mind or security because of doing that. So cowboy hats and annuities, they draw similarities. I wanted to share the story about a couple of my trips and the things that I like to do in the summertime. I have not been out yet because I've been busy. Speaker 2 00:23:35 And a lot of you guys know why interest rates are up. There's lots of good options and uh, I need to be there and, and help people when, when they need it. So that's uh, that's what I've been doing this year, but I think pretty soon I'll get out and it's time for me to take a few days off. But anyway, if you want to chat about it, you can call me at (800) 438-5121, or schedule a call on the website, annuity straight talk.com top right corner, schedule a call, pretty simple and easy subscribe to YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. If you want to be notified when they come out, if you have any questions, comments, respond to the email or give me a ring. I want to thank you guys so much for stopping by on episode 49 and happy 4th of July. I will talk to you next week. Okay. Bye. Speaker 1 00:24:30 You have been listening to annuity straight talk. The does not represent tax legal or investment advice. The views expressed by guests on this program are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or his partners. No information presented should be. Its insurances are paying insurance company.