Game, Set, Cash
The Essential Investment Guide to Serving Yourself a Lifetime of Income
Richard DeBono
You spend 35 to 40 years building a pile of savings. Then the match changes. This is a short and straightforward guide to turning that pile into income you can count on, told by a financial advisor who has spent a fair amount of time on a tennis court.
All net proceeds from the book are donated to His Little Feet.
“Growth is conditional, income is perpetual.”Richard DeBono
About me
I teach what I know: income, and tennis.
I've worked in financial services since 1996. I started as a Series 3 commodities broker in the energy complex, moved to California in 1998, and made the switch to a Series 7 and investment advisory role. Since then I've worked at large institutions and boutique firms, helping people from all walks of life plan for what comes next.
My focus is long-term financial planning: retirement income, college savings, estate transfers and tax strategy. The part I care most about is helping people build retirement income that lasts, protect what they've earned from inflation and taxes, and prepare for the health costs that come with a long life. I also work with business owners on continuation and tax-efficient exit plans.
My mom put a racket in my hand when I was 13, and I never put it down. Most Saturdays you'll find me at what our group calls Tennis Church, in a competitive but always friendly match with some of the finest people in this corner of the world.
I wrote Game, Set, Cash myself, in my own voice, because I kept seeing the same thing: people arrive at retirement with tools built for growing money and no plan for living on it. A tennis match turned out to be the best way I know to explain the difference.
The book
From a growth mindset to an income mindset
Your account statement won't pay the utility bill. One day your investments have to produce cash flow, and they have to keep producing it for as long as you live. Most retirement books try to cover income, healthcare, long-term care and estate planning all at once. This one stays on income, because income drives the other three.
Across ten short chapters, Richard walks through the risks that hit hardest once the paychecks stop, and the tools an income plan can draw on. Each chapter opens with a line from a tennis great, from Agassi to Serena. If tennis isn't your sport, skip the parallels and go straight to the investing.
- Learn the income strategies that can help make your retirement years secure and enjoyable.
- Build an income game plan designed to serve you in good markets and bad.
- Gain confidence in your financial future with strategies you can put to work.
All net proceeds from the book are donated to His Little Feet.
Order of play
- 1Pre-Match PrepMeet your opponent, Life's Challenges, and its 140 mph serve.
- 2Why Income?What a well-timed 2008 retirement still had to worry about.
- 3Commit to a PlanThe difference between being involved and being committed.
- 4Income MindsetWhy the tools that built your savings aren't the ones to live on.
- 5Pension-izationAnnuities, and where income guarantees fit in a plan.
- 6Cash CallCovered calls: trading some upside for income from stocks you own.
- 7Structural IntegrityThree kinds of diversification, not just one.
- 8Preferred TreatmentPreferred stocks as an income source.
- 9Closed End SecretHow closed-end funds differ, and why income investors look at them.
- 10WrapsodyFive takeaways to carry into your own retirement.
Play
What are you playing for?
Your retirement is more than a number. What do you want your money to make possible?
Need an idea?
Your answer lands on the court as a gold tennis ball. Drag it anywhere you like. This is just for you: your answers are not sent to Richard or shared with anyone, and they stay on this device.
That's your why. The book is about the how: turning what you've saved into income that pays for it.
Play a game
Return of serve
In the book, your opponent is Life's Challenges, and it serves at 140 mph. Read each serve, then hit it back to the part of the court where the book plays it. First to four points wins the game.
A game for learning, drawn from the book. It is not financial advice, and the right play for you depends on your individual situation.
Press “Start the game” to face the first serve.
Pro Shop
Gear up with the Game Set Cash logo, for the court, the clubhouse or everyday wear. Printed to order and shipped straight to you.
Events
Upcoming events
Friends and Family Prelaunch Book Celebration
Book Launch Event
Media spotlight
Where Richard has been
Podcasts, articles, photos and posts will be collected here as they happen.
Speaking
Invite Richard to speak
Richard is available for podcasts, interviews and talks on retirement income, in plain language and with a few good tennis stories.
What Richard can speak to
- Why growth is conditional, income is perpetualThe plan that got you to retirement may not carry you through it.
- The Big 3Market risk, longevity risk and sequence-of-returns risk, and why they matter most when the paychecks stop.
- The holes in the bucketRising cost of homeowner's insurance, property taxes, long-term care and helping adult children.
- What tennis teaches about moneyNobody hopes their way to a Grand Slam championship. How to prepare, plan and participate.
How to connect
If an idea in the book resonates, let's talk.
Four ways to reach Richard. Pick whichever is easiest.
Book a time
Choose a slot that works for you on Richard's calendar.
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linkedin.com/in/richarddebono →Send a note with your question or a good time to reach you.
rdebono@vanderbiltsecurities.comCall
Reach Richard directly by phone.
917-718-3943