There have been a lot of perspectives shared by VCs about managing startups during the age of Coronavirus, from Sequoia’s Black Swan warning to Haystack’s advice for fundraising during a pandemic. As a first-time founder experiencing a rather jarring beginning to entrepreneurship due to the sudden state of the world, these perspectives have been really insightful and appreciated.
Perhaps due to the power dynamics involved, there has been less advice shared from the entrepreneur perspective. I am a member of several different female founder groups, and am actively raising a pre-seed round for the startup that I am co-founding, OwnTrail. From that vantage point, I wanted to share some advice to investors on behalf of entrepreneurs.
Communication is Key
During the 2008 recession, I remember Zillow’s CEO Rich Barton saying to the company: “It’s times like this that we learn who our true friends are”. Those words ring very true for me today. Every single person is going through a wide range of emotions right now, including fear, sadness and confusion. That’s a given. It’s how we deal with those emotions that really reveals how dependable and resilient a person is.
As founders, one of the biggest things we notice about investors during a time of crisis — and always — is how well they communicate with us. We’re not necessarily expecting a definitive yes or no answer in this time of uncertainty, but we do expect great investors to keep the conversation open as both of us navigate unforeseen complexities.
Investors, if you were in conversations with a founder, had verbally committed to an investment, or were reviewing term sheets, be responsive and let them know where you stand now. This difficult and unprecedented moment in history will eventually pass, and the entrepreneurs who make it out the other side will remember who their true friends were.
Who to Bet On
A big part of deciding to found a company, and deciding to invest in that company, is evaluating and mitigating risks. The interesting thing about living in this new reality is that our usual rubric for risks needs to be recalibrated.
In addition to the somewhat obvious risks around business models (those that rely on in-person interactions and supply chains will now struggle more than those that can be made virtual) and stage of business (early-stage businesses that were planning to be pre-revenue this year will now be less impacted than those with ambitious revenue forecasts), I also suggest a recalibration of what investors look for in founders.
Statistically speaking, the trends in investments tend to skew towards those identities that have a “proven track record” of founding successful companies, which of course creates a self-fulfilling prophecy based on who has been funded historically. There is plenty of research showing the tangible effects that biases and pattern-matching have on investing decisions.
Investors, I would suggest that at an unprecedented time like this (and also… yesterday), you start to place more bets on the founders that haven’t historically been bet on: women and founders of color. We are the ones that haven’t gotten used to anything being handed to us, have had to work twice as hard to prove ourselves, and have the grit and scrappiness to make it through this crazy time. And the date backs that up… BCG found that companies with a female founder generated twice as much per dollar invested. As Tribute CEO and founder Sarah Haggard pointed out, “many female-founded and minority-owned companies live and breathe in a ‘recession’ mindset all year round.”
There is a through-the-roof level of uncertainty and risk in the world right now. How we react to that, and how we value and take care of each other, is going to make the biggest difference in how we emerge from this. Communicate, take the right risks and, most importantly, lift each other up. We’ve got this.


These 3 Low-Volatility Names for a Mixed Market
Investors’ ability to deal with volatility in the markets will ultimately determine their long-term success. We’ve recently been treated to some of the best years in the history of the stock market, which is why many are having a tough time adjusting to the difficult market conditions occurring thus far in 2022. It’s difficult to predict how volatility will continue. However, it is important to have a solid playbook to handle big moves to the upside and take advantage of stocks that perform well in a “risk off” tape.
If you are looking for a place to start when dealing with volatility, it is worth focusing on low beta stocks that have a tendency to be resilient to market downturns. These stocks are great for conservative investors. They provide steady gains over the long-term, so adding shares even if they are pulling back could be a long-term profitable investment.
Below is a list with 3 stock picks that conservative investors should consider to help them understand the type of names they might be interested in adding to this challenging market.
PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP)
PepsiCo, a blue-chip company that makes consumer staples like PepsiCo, tends to be resilient in times of volatility. It’s also one of the few bright spots in a market where there is little. PepsiCo is a global leader in food and beverages thanks to its diverse product portfolio. PepsiCo is expected to see organic sales growth as the economy recovers. However, a renewed focus on growing its healthy product lines could provide another growth driver.
Consumer preferences are changing to favor these types of health-conscious snack foods, and PepsiCo’s products like Sabra Hummus, Baked Lays, and Bubly sparkling water tell investors that the company’s management understands the growth potential there. PepsiCo’s defense properties are also great. The company will have demand in any economy. Finally, the company has a 0. 66 beta value, a history of dividend growth, and a share repurchase program make this an ideal pick for conservative investors to consider.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.B)
Berkshire Hathaway, which is a conservative stock, is a great one to own for its exposure to the insurance industry. Warren Buffett, a legendary investor, is the head of Berkshire Hathaway. This should give investors additional confidence that their capital will be in good hands. Berkshire Hathaway, in addition to insurance, is a holding company offering exposure to financial services, energy retailing, manufacturing and other industries. This is an attractive selling point.
What’s also nice here is that the company generates a ton of cash each quarter t


Bipasha Basu detained by Mumbai customs department
After Minnisha Lamba, it was actor Bipasha Basu's turn to be intercepted by Customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Thursday.
Basu, who was returning from London, was asked to pay Rs 12,000 as duty after undeclared goods, including sun-glasses, shoes and perfumes worth Rs 65,000 was found in her bags.
“She was not detained. She was asked to pay duty and let off,” said Additional Commissioner, Customs, Mahendra Pal.
“She was going through the green channel. The value of the goods was not significant enough, so we just asked her to pay duty and let her go,” said a Customs official at the airport.
Last week, Lamba ran into trouble with the Customs after she was found to be carrying undeclared diamond jewellery worth Rs 31 lakh.


Ultima Ratio Regum 0.9 is mostly about procedurally generating the game’s items:
With the item generation itself complete (and with coins and currencies also generating), the next thing was to get items appearing in shops. This meant returning to the code that generates all possible items, and then integrating that with the code for generating a shop; now when a shop is first created the game creates a list of possible items that might appear in that shop from the much wider list of items that civilization creates, and then it puts one on each of the “stall” tiles within the shop. If the list runs out, it then reshuffles the list and “deals” out items again. This means that for some shops you’ll see similar items cycling relatively quickly, such as armour shops for example, while others – such as book shops – continue to produce a large range. Some shops, such as general stores (can spawn any low- or medium-quality item from that civilization), antiques shops (can spawn any high quality item from that civilization), curiosities shops (can spawn any medium- or high-quality item from any other civilization), can therefore have extremely large libraries that cycle around again. In turn, because some shops define particular categories (e.g. “low quality novel”) rather than specific items (a specific low-quality novel), variation can also occur there. In the picture below you’ll see a range of different shops I’ve collected from various places, selling various different sorts of goods. In all cases I’ve tried to make sure the colours of the items are logical for what the item is, and that each category of item has a different character. For example, in the top-left of these you’ll see rings and necklaces (I suspect it is obvious which is which) with the rings in this shop being turquoise, jade, silver, iron, and platinum. The others are necklaces, whose colour (dark grey, silver, gold) again reflects the actual material you see in the image of the item. In the other examples here you can see shops selling armour, various kinds of ammunition, shields, wine, wooden and pottery goods, pocket watches, antiques, ambergris, spices, maps, mining tools, and almost anything else you could think of.
The second step was to get their images appearing correctly. Every generated item naturally has a generated image, and we need to move these out of the separate program I design the graphics in (this being far, far faster than testing them within the game itself) and into the game. This might seem like a totally trivial thing, but in the graphics-creation program all the variables that might lead into the creation of an item are randomised, because in the real game they would be connected to generated civilizations – that don’t exist in the graphics creation program! So every “leadership = random.choice([‘Monarchy’,’Theocracy’,’Representation’,’Stratocracy’])” had to be corrected to “leadership = civ.leadership” for the appropriate civilization, and so forth across every variable (policies, aesthetic styles, home terrain, names of settlements, etc etc etc) that might feed into every possible generated item. This wasn’t particularly cognitively demanding but did take a little while – making the graphics separately and importing them in is still a hundred times faster, even with this tiresome final step, but this did take a little while to fully implement. Nevertheless, with this done, you could then look at any of the items on sale in a shop, and – drumroll! – get a lovely generated image and a little description to go with them. Here I am browsing through a general store:
The next step was to restructure the inventory. When I began working on 0.9 the inventory looked like this…
…and that was fine, but now I had all the items generating, it was immediately clear that some of these categories were going to become absolutely swamped with stuff (i.e. the trade goods category) while others would be relatively lacking, and that this would both generate an interface issue (and an aesthetic one) but would also make it trickier to locate the exact items you want to do something with, at a proper speed. As such, five new categories in the inventory have now been added – “weapons” (melee, ranged, etc), “ammunition” (musket balls, gunpowder, arrows, bolts, etc), “games” (board games, but also more later on), “tools” (pickaxes, shovels, watches, etc), and “survival” (the three basic resources for travelling, i.e. water, food, and supplies), each with an appropriate new icon and the rest of the sequence appropriately re-ordered. (“Keys”, “Notes”, “Scrolls” and “Tablets” do not presently exist, but will be popping up in the future). This then yields this:
With the inventory now updated the next step, of course, was to create the interface for buying / selling / trading. This is a pretty crucial part of the game so I took some time over this. The first thing was to figure out what I could fit into the screen’s size, and although it would have been lovely to fit in a) images of the items you’re thinking of buying/selling, b) images of the currency you’ll be using, c) a list of the items you’ll be buying/selling and how much it’s going to cost you, and d) any comments or questions from the person you are buying/selling from/to, it quickly became clear only three of these could fit and something would have to go. As such, the left side of the screen shows you the item you’re discussing (a) then on the right-hand side you have a list of what you are currently trading (c) and words from the person you’re haggling with (d). You can then look at the various things the person has for sale and select the ones you want, and on the right-hand side the price will update and show you a list of all the things you presently intend to buy. This looks like this in a specialist store…
…and something like this in a store with multiple item categories, e.g. a “General” store, an “Antiques” store, or a “Curiosities” store:
You then select what you want to buy by pressing enter on the items you want, and then when you press enter you are given the option of adding them into your inventory or shipping them to any other nation you are thus far aware of.
Now then, what about trading and selling? Given the lack of fantasy elements and more generally the tone of the game, we’re not going for the sort of in-game inventory where you can hold as much as you want (a la Dark Souls) nor the sort of in-game inventory where your carrying capacity is limited by an essentially arbitrary number of things (a la Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup), nor something where carrying capacity is a matter of the size of your items and organizing them appropriately (a la Resident Evil 4). After a lot of consideration and trying to combine both the interest in some of the detailed trading mechanics I have in mind here, and a degree of realism, and some long-term strategic choices it should be interesting for the player to make, I’ve settled on a two-part inventory system. Half of the inventory is the normal inventory as above, where your character carries items; all items now have a weight value, and over that weight value it takes you twice as long to move around (in-game time, not player experienced time) or three times if you really overload yourself. All items now show how much they weigh. In turn, there is a second value now, size. This value does not relate to how much you can carry, but does relate to how much you can ship to other nations to trade. You can therefore carry items yourself to other places to trade, but the more efficient method is to ship them ahead of you – but this requires advance planning of where you’ll be going next. Each nation has a limited amount of warehouse space it automatically gives you, and this space can be increased by purchasing more room in that state. Then, when you travel somewhere else, you can sell the items you have in your inventory and the items you shipped there. In this regard I was partly inspired by the rise of letters of credit in the European banking system during the Reformation (for a fantastic history of this see the novel “Q”) and also partly by things like the Hawala system, which in a very different way “abstracts” out what is being moved around and traded. I think this system both reaches a high level of realism re: what the player can carry, but also allows for major and distinctive trading mechanics, and encourages strategic thinking re: planning out your future moves, where you’ll need money, where you’ll be able to get money, and so forth.
Aside from this, various other things have also now happened. You can now find currency exchanges in market areas…
…and also when you enter and leave cities, something new now happens! This menu appears…
…and you have the option to just go on (assuming you can afford it, if the city has an entry or district cost), back out, exchange currencies at the border of the city, buy supplies, boost how much storage capacity you have in that city (infinite in your home city), or (later) you’ll be able to fast-travel to some other land location, like taking a ship to another location but instead with a horse, carriage, etc.
(You can see a tiny bit of final polish is needed here, but you get the idea)
Lastly, going back to shops, there is now a complex calculation for how much you can sell things for. Selling something in its home nation will always yield a lower price than it was bought for; nations with protectionist or planned economy policies will give you more money, but nations with free trade or mercantile policies will be far less impressed. In other nations, meanwhile, you are guaranteed as a basis a 15% boost in the sale price of anything you sell, and then many other factors come into play. For example, nations with policies clearly related to the item you’re selling will give you more money, so if you’re selling a history book to a trader from a nation with the “Antiquarian” intellectual policy, then naturally they’ll pay you far more. There are opposites to this, however, so philosophy and history books do not do well in states with the “Populism” cultural policy (it’s almost as if there’s a comment about the real world here). Some of these are complex, for example wine will sell better in a “Monastic” nation but only so long as the wine is of medium or high quality, but not low quality (since the monks have high tastes); while spirits will sell extra well in a “Conscription” nation but only at low and medium quality (since the conscripts can’t afford the highest quality drinks). There are also calculations whereby some nations will be particularly fond of goods from other nations regardless of what is being sold, and that boosts all prices – while other nations have the opposite, and dislike goods from particular places. It’s a complex set of calculations, and I haven’t listed all the factors here, but basically I wanted to ensure that a) it was logical to the player where things would fetch a high price, but also b) that this calculation was something the player would come to uncover in a given world, organically developing a sense of what the particularly good trade routes are.
Oh, and appropriate armour and jewellery and so forth now also appear on NPCs! There are of course many variables that determine what sorts of things they’ll be wearing, and especially what might be on a necklace or a ring that person is wearing, but this nicely adds to the variety of the game world – and, of course, now guards and soldiers are no longer walking around witout any clothes on, which I think we can all agree is a massive improvement.
Right, I think that’s everything for now! This is such an exciting update and I’m really pleased to finally be able to share it. There might be one last update before the actual release, but if not, come back on DECEMBER 31ST for the 0.9 release, and all the procedurally generated items you could ever want!


This program addresses issues of economic and social development policies and their effect on growth, poverty reduction, wealth creation and distribution in the medium to the long-term. Ghana’s rate of economic growth has been projected at 20 percent per annum, as the economy expands into oil and gas production and export from late 2010. What are the implications of such a steep growth, from the current 4-5 percent, for poverty reduction, inequality and sustainable development in the country? The projected growth has raised expectation that Ghana’s aspiration to be a middle-income economy would be met sooner than expected. There are also expectations that such a high level of growth will facilitate the structural transformation of the economy, especially in agriculture, industry and services, strengthen production, create employment, improve the wellbeing of poor farmers, and access to high quality of education at all levels.
However, questions have been raised about whether such growth will also spur the establishment of a democratic developmental state in Ghana and improve natural resource and environmental governance, while bridging the urban-rural and regional development gaps in the country. To address these issues, systematic studies and critical analysis areto be undertaken,under this programme, to improve knowledge and inform the making of cutting edge policy decisions. Taking a rights-based and political economy approach, specific studies are also undertaken to understand trends in Citizens’ and other stakeholders’ participation in economic and social policy formulation and implementation, the crafting of national consensus and influence over policy choices and outcomes, and improvements in public financial management and revenue generation and utilization.
Questions of national ownership of economic and social policies and their impact on national development and social cohesion would are also investigated here. Further, studies are carried out to critically monitor and analyze compliance with the directive principles of state policy (1992 Constitution) in the formulation and implementation of national development plans for the medium and long terms. Against the backdrop of the growth of an emergent economy, this programme also undertakes reviews of global and regional development frameworks, such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) etc. and their impact on Ghana’s relations with the international financial institutions and bilateral donors are monitored. Finally, the effects and implications of the development of regional economic communities and trends towards continental political and economic integration on national development are also critically studied.


With over 200 leading member companies, including 130 service providers, The MEF is a California, USA registered 501 c (3) industry association that is the enabling force for the development and implementation of agile, assured and orchestrated Third Network services for the digital economy and the hyper-connected world. Third Network services are delivered over automated, virtualized, and interconnected networks globally powered by Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0), Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO), SDN, and NFV.
CE 2.0 is MEF’s globally adopted services framework and the foundation for new services innovation. The current annual market for Carrier Ethernet products and services is approximately $80B.
The MEF is also facilitating industry neutral implementation environments for service orchestration (OpenLSO) and L2-L7 connectivity services (OpenCS) based on Open Source, SDN and NFV, as well as current commercial PNF products.
MEF’s Certification Programs, established for over 10 years have led to certification of compliance with MEF standards by the majority of the industry’s leading companies within the MEF membership.
Beyond certification, MEF provides a broad range of marketing capabilities that provide MEF member companies of all sizes in all geographic locations with unique, powerful and very cost-effective customer-networking and profile-raising opportunities.
Key benefits of membership for hardware and software solution providers include:
- Advance visibility into relevant industry technical standards developments
- Ability to influence standards to align with corporate objectives
- As a key contributor, achieve thought leadership in front of MEF’s 130+ SP members
- Achieve corporate and individual visibility and recognition via participation in MEF Marketing activities (e.g. webinars and seminars)
- Leverage the MEF global community of peer contacts
- Get your products certified
MEF members include Tier 1,2 and 3 service providers (approx.130), hardware and OSS/orchestration software providers, test labs and test equipment and test software providers. In 2016 and 2017, considerable growth from SDN and NFV technology providers is expected as our work increasingly leverages these technologies.
Membership is geographically dispersed with approximately 50% from North America, 23% APAC, 21% EMEA and 6% CALA. Africa and CALA will lead the regional growth as emerging markets move to interconnect with the global community using standardized CE 2.0 services.
The MEF membership meets quarterly and, between meetings, projects are progressed via a collaborative wiki workspace and online meetings (MEF provisions GoTo Meeting for all projects). Quarterly meetings take place in January, April, July/August and October each year. They are 4 days in duration and take place in North America (x3) and Europe (x1) with typically 150-250 people attending - including leading subject matter experts.
Not only are these very important meetings for influencing MEF work, but also for networking informally with industry thought leaders, subject matter experts in all fields and customers (actual or potential) during our cocktail receptions, corridor meetings and evening dinners. https://www.mef.net/news-events/mef-quarterly-meetings
There is a single category of membership – Principal company membership with an annual fee of $17,250. There are no charges for quarterly meetings or LSO Hackathon participation. There is no limit on the number of participating individuals for a given member company.


Selling your house is never easy. It is even more complicated when you want to sell your house quickly. There are different reasons why homeowners may be forced to sell their homes. If you are relocating due to work-related reasons, or you have built a bigger home for your family. You could also relocate because you want to find a better environment and schools for your family then you have to find a suitable home buyer quickly. In addition, you can sell your home because you have a pending bill and you have no finances to pay for it. In this case, many people choose to sell assets, and a home is such an asset that it can allow you to get fast cash.
There are different ways you can use to sell your home. However, not all are ideal for selling your house fast. Take, for example, if you choose to list your home with real estate buyers. Selling your house can take months or years. You have to follow a procedure before listing and even getting a potential buyer. You will be asked to renovate, change the curb appeal, de-clutter, and many other things that can cost you money and take a long time. If you opt to sell by placing a placard at the front of your yard, this will also take time.
However, this particular option stands out it can assist you in selling your home fast and get the amount you need urgently. This is selling your house to cash buyers. Cash buyers can buy your home within the shortest time possible, and therefore homeowners will not be forced to wait. There are many reasons as to why I would sell my house fast houston texas to cash buyers which is a great option.
First, cash buyers won't ask you to renovate. No painting, no changing the curb appeal. Instead, these experts will buy your home like it is, which is essential and helps you save the spending extra. Another advantage is that they will offer a free evaluation service. You won't have to pay an evaluator to come and assess your home. Instead, the cash buyer will do the evaluation on your behalf for free. You don't have to go through listing your home on different platforms to find a suitable buyer. Instead, the cash buyer will find a qualified buyer within a short period, eliminating any delays. This saves you time and the energy you would have spent looking for a suitable home buyer, negotiating the buying price, etc.
Another advantage of trusting cash buyers is that these experts do not charge any fee for their service. Instead, they help you to sell your home fast for free. Selling your home has never been this easy. You will be able to sell your home and get the amount you need quickly. Again once you sell your home to the cash buyers, they pay you in cash. You don't have to wait any longer to get the amount you need. You get the amount the same day or in less than one week.


Zhejiang Pingchai Pump Industry Co., LTD was founded in 1991. is located at No.15 Huancheng West Road, Pingyang County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Pingchai as a manufacturer specialized in manufacturing and developing engine oil pump for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The company covers an area of 20 acres with buildings area of 20,000 square meters and more than 200 employees. Pingchai has a research and development team with over 30 years of professional production experience, more than 200 advanced flexible manufacturing equipment and professional testing equipment. With an annual production capacity of 1 million oil pumps, it provide high-quality oil pumps for international market and service for OEM customers in domestic market.


Russia Looks Elsewhere For Movie Entertainment
Despite the tumultuous history of Russia with the West, Hollywood blockbuster movies have nevertheless created a profitable industry in the country over the past decades. Now, with mounting sanctions cutting off trade and a boycott by Hollywood and western film industries, some of Russia’s biggest cinemas chains have announced that they will be showing a different line-up in movie entertainment. This will include domestically produced content, as well as movies from India, South Korea, and Latin America.
President of the Karo cinema chain, Olga Zinyakova, told Russian newspapers that she doesn’t believe the current situation to be hopeless. After all, she says, Russian audiences have proven to have shown great interest in Bollywood films over the decades. South Korea and Latin America have likewise become major players in the global film industry.
Foreign films have long accounted for around 75 percent of the Russian box office, with cinema-going one of the most popular leisure activities of the general public.
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’s 1949 film, Dharti Ke Lal, was the first Indian film to be dubbed into Russian and viewed at Russian cinemas. However, it was in the mid 1950s, during the era of actor-director Raj Kapoor, that Indian movies became steadily more a staple of Russian cinemagoers. By the time of the collapse of the USSR, over two hundred Indian films had been screened around the country. Often, they proved to be among the most successful of foreign films or remakes, racking up millions of ticket-sales.
The 1972 film “Seeta aur Geeta”, for instance, a story about twins separated at birth and happily reunited later in life, became so popular in Russia, that a famous pair of Siamese twins born in Kyrgyzstan were given the names Seeta and Greeta by their parents. Former deputy prime minister, Vladislav Surkov, once alsoopenly admitted his love for Indian cinema.
Russia has also been showing a keen interest in securing diplomatic relations with many South American countries in recent years, such as Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina. This has lead to various partnerships in Russian and Latin American film and television, such as the recent collaboration between Russian production powerhouse, Central Partnership, and the Latin American film group BF Films.
The growing success of South Korea’s film industry has also been producing a wealth of quality cinema recently, with Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film “Parasite” receiving multiple awards, including an Oscar, at film festivals all over the world in all the most distinguished categories.
With Hollywood holding far less of a monopoly over international cinema than it has in past decades, the Russian cinema industry hopes that the combination of the world’s other film industries, as well as their own, will suffice to satisfy Russian audience during the troubled times ahead.
The leading cinema chains and theatres include Cinema Park, Formula Kino, Premier Hall, Karo, and Kinomax. Even though their film profile will be changing like the numbers in the bingo Australia offers, they are vowing to keep the prices of tickets at a low and affordable level.


Bulenox payouts and Bulenox withdrawals are fairly simple. All the details are below. In summary, your first few months you will be able to withdraw but with some caps on the amount. After month four you can withdraw as much as you can make!
Bulenox is looking to build long term relationships with futures traders, and I highly recommend them.
I always recommend visiting Bulenox and reading their rules before joining. While I do my best to keep my site up to date, if the rules change ultimately what Bulenox has on their website is what matters.
Bulenox Profit Split
The first $10,000 earned is 100% the traders.
Thereafter $40,000, Bulenox keeps 20% of the profit the remaining 80% is received by the trader.
After the withdrawal of the first $50,000, the Bulenox keeps 10% of the profit, the remaining 90% is received by the trader.
Bulenox’s percentage is charged at the time of transfer of funds to a personal bank account.
Bulenox Payments and Withdrawal Requests
Payment can be requested anytime during the calendar month. All payments are processed on the 1st and 16th day of every month.
The request for the 1st payout can be performed after Trader has traded for at least 20 or more individual trading days. A request for the 2nd and 3rd payments can be performed after the Trader has traded at least 12 individual trading days after Trader’s last withdrawal. 4th and subsequent payments can be requested anytime.
The minimum withdraw of 1-3 payments is $1,000. (For $10,000 account the minimum withdraw is $500) The maximum withdraw amount depends on the account size:
- $25,000 account – $1,000
- $50,000 account – $1,500
- $100,000 account – $1,750
- $150,000 account – $2,000
- $250,000 account – $2,500
Bulenox Withdraw and Payment Methods
Bulenox withdrawals can be requested via ACH/Wire Transfer, Paypal, Zelle, Payoneer.
Bulenox Safety Threshold
The withdrawal safety threshold reserve is defined as the minimum amount required to remain in the Trader’s Account to be able for withdraw.
- 50,000 Account – $2,600
- $100,000 Account – $3,100
- $150,000 Account – $4,600
- $250,000 Account – $5,600
Subject to the provisions of Master agreement with Bulenox, Trader is entitled to withdraw safety threshold reserve upon the termination of Master agreement.
Bulenox and Income Taxes
When a trader requests a withdrawal, a tax form will also be sent to pay taxes to an address that has been provided in the personal profile.
Traders who trade and receive payment on the Master Account are independent contractors. Form 1099-Misc Non-Employee Compensation will be mailed for US citizens or W-8BEN for foreign citizens.
Bulenox Advanced Trading and Custom Trading Accounts
The Master Account intended for advanced training and paid based on performance. Traders with proven results-oriented for a long-term relationship would receive on an individual basis a unique offer from our capital partners. The conditions and terms are discussed individually with each trader. The trader has a choice to continue to trade on the Master Account or to be transferred to our partners’ account.
Be Notified Of New Trader Evaluation Promotions
Submit your email if you want to be notified of new trader evaluation promotions. I never spam nor sell anything. Usually 2-3 emails a month are sent with the latest deals.
Futures and forex trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing ones’ financial security or life style. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Hypothetical Performance Disclosure:
Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown; in fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program. One of the limitations of hypothetical performance results is that they are generally prepared with the benefit of hindsight. In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk of actual trading. for example, the ability to withstand losses or to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses are material points which can also adversely affect actual trading results. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all which can adversely affect trading results.
You can read more here: Risk Disclosure
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The content provided is for informational purposes only. I do my best to keep the content current and accurate by updating it frequently. Sometimes the actual data, rules, requirements and other can differ from what’s stated on our website. CanadianFuturesTrader.ca is an independent website. You should always consult the rules, faqs, knowledge base and support of any of the websites and companies we link to or talk about on our site. The information on their site will always be what ultimately dictates the current rules of their program, software or other. While we are independent, we may be compensated for advertisements, sponsored products, or when you click on a link on our website. The contributors and authors are not registered or certified financial advisors. You should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions.


In 1969 a group of people got together and decided that the church could be used to benefit the town by offering a tea and coffee service.
On 2 January 1970, Priory Rest-a-While opened its doors for the first time, offering tea and coffee with a biscuit, to senior shoppers at a reasonable price.
Today Priory Restawhile is still going strong, offering tea and coffee including decaffeinated, in large or small cups with a biscuit, or you might like a Hot Chocolate or a nice cool orange juice. We now open our doors to ALL shoppers, any age, and our prices are still reasonable.
Restawhile has become a place not just to get a cup of coffee from but it’s also a place to meet with friends and have a chat, or to come in and have a chat with the servers, it’s a place that you can come to feel welcome and cared for. If you visit us for the first time please introduce yourself to us, you will be sure of a warm welcome.
Recently Restawhile has become a supporter of Fair-trade products, all our tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar is Fair-trade. Fair trade seeks to transform the lives of poor producers in the developing world by enabling them to use their skills and resources to trade their way out of poverty.
Fair trade sets out to:
• create opportunities for poor producers
• ensure trading practices are fair, both in terms of payment and
• ensure that children are not being exploited
• ensure there is no discrimination
• ensure working conditions are safe.
Fighting Poverty through Trade.
Restawhile is open on market days (Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 10.00am - 11.45am), come and have a rest and join us for a cuppa.


SMOK TFV8 Baby/Mini Coils
Vaping Excise Tax coming October 1st
Vaping products containing nicotine will now be taxed in Canada as of October 1st, 2022.
+ Eliquids produced/imported BEFORE Oct 1st will not be taxed.
+ Eliquids produced/imported AFTER Oct 1st will include the new vape tax.
Not all products will see a price increase immediately. As old stock sells through, new stock will reflect the new price with tax.
Stock up now before prices start to increase in October!
Click here for more details about the Canada Vape Tax.
Replacement coils designed for the Smok TFV8 Baby. Not compatible with the original TFV8.
Baby V2 S2 (Now called "Mini")
- Quadruple Mesh - 0.2ohm
- 30W - 70W (Optimal At 45W - 60W)
- Designed for the Smok Stick V9
- Sold in 3/pack
- V8 Baby-Q4 (Now called "Mini")
- 30-65W (Optimal 50-60W)
- Designed for the TFV8 Baby/Big Baby Beast
- Sold in 5/pack
*X-Baby Coils, Baby V2, and Baby coils are not cross-compatible.


Bitcoin is an electronic currency that allows payments to be made through the Internet and is characterized by the fact that it does not depend on a central entity, and can be transferred directly from person to person without intermediaries.
Its rapid expansion has caused it to be accepted to pay for services and consumption in businesses throughout much of the world. Even formal banking has already begun to treat it as one more asset.
The technologies that support Bitcoin
For its creation, different digital technologies were brought together, including cryptography and P2P network technology, but one of those that gives it security and reliability is Blockchain technology.
What is Blockchain?
The Blockchain is an advanced mathematical system that acts as an infallible accounting system for all transactions made with the currency.
Blockchain is essentially a decentralized and public database that stores transactions made with bitcoins.
The entire history of transactions is replicated in each of the computers that participate in the Blockchain and is validated by themselves through complex mathematical operations.
Cryptography and a chain of blocks intervene in this validation, which gives its name to Blockchain technology and makes the accounting book unalterable.
How does Blockchain work?
From an original transaction, a record (block) is created for each new subsequent transaction. This block includes a timestamp, a fingerprint strongly protected by cryptography and also refers to the fingerprint of the previous block so they are connected to form a chain.
At the end of a validation process, the block chain (the accounting book) is automatically updated throughout the Blockchain network, making it almost impossible to falsify it without the consent of the other participants.
But what is a bitcoin?
Both the currency and the protocol (software) to create it were devised by an obscure character named Satoshi Nakamoto whose whereabouts are currently unknown. His objective was none other than to encourage money transactions without the intervention or control of an intermediary entity.
Bitcoins are generated by an activity known as mining and that works within the platform. This activity consists of validating transactions in exchange for a reward in the same currency or fractions thereof. Once these new units are generated, they are placed on the market.
The first transaction (genesis block) generated by the Satoshi Nakamoto gave a reward of 50 BTC (bitcoins). From this movement of money, the following mining activities began within the platform, always based on Blockchain technology.
How much is a bitcoin worth?
The current value of this cryptocurrency, also named after the cryptographic systems that protect it from counterfeiting, fluctuates based on supply and demand. However, it is estimated that in 2025 it will cost $100,000.
If you want to know its current value, you can use various bitcoin calculators that work online. For this, just do a search on Google, Bing, Yahoo or the web search engine of your choice.
Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay


# 1 Invest the money you do not need
The fatal mistake is to invest the money you need. Imagine that you have a sum of money to finance your retirement or to buy your home.
What would be your state of mind when you put this money on the stock market with the risk of losing everything. You will have such pressure that you will be unable to reason properly and keep your cool.
At the slightest complication, you will not even wait for your invalidation threshold to sell your positions. Thus, you will accumulate small losses which, put end to end, will end up seriously starting your capital of departure .
Never forget that investing in the stock market can be very risky because you could lose all of your starting capital . There are even financial instruments like futures contracts that can make you lose even more than the starting bet. You will understand then that it is totally inadvisable to go into debt to invest in the stock markets.
# 2 Clarify your expectations and goals
clarify his investor profileBefore you start trading , you have to ask yourself about your expectations and objectives. Is it to make capital grow for your retirement, to pass it on to your children or simply as an alternative to saving no more money?
Personally, my goal is to invest a small seed money that I do not use in an immediate project. This capital is reserved for my stock market investments and will not be used for other purposes. I place this money on the stock market to make it grow according to my own trading strategy based on the technical analysis of stocks and trackers.
You will also need to determine the period of time you will invest. Is it a medium-term investment over a few years or a long-term investment over 10 years?
It is important to answer these questions because the answer is decisive in the selection of the financial product and the investment method . Indeed, if you only have capital for one or two years, it is not appropriate to invest in government bonds that are often preferred for long-term investments. You will not adopt either an investment method based on fundamental analysis because it only bears fruit on long terms (3, 5 or even 10 years).
# 3 To get started on the stock market, define your investor profile
Once you have clarified your expectations and objectives, move on to the next step and define your investor profile. There are two big schools to invest and start trading well.
The fundamental analysis is based on the interpretation of accounting ratios and financial (to compare companies among them) to identify investment opportunities (eg the price / earnings ratio).
You invest for the medium to long term in the hope of gaining capital gains and dividends . Fundamental analysis is particularly recommended if you are investing for the long term.
Indeed, the fundamental analysis is to bet on the performance of a company , the marketing of a product or a service or the restructuring by a competent management .
In other words, the results can take several years to appear and have a positive impact on the company’s stock price.
The technical analysis is to identify opportunities starting from the graphical analysis of the current and the interpretation of technical indicators . This is the investment method that I chose because it offers the advantage of investing also in the short-term, the medium-term and even in the longer term.
Technical analysis is a very personal investment method because you can build your own strategy . It is suitable for both aggressive traders and less risky investors.
know your investor profileIf I had to define my own investor profile? It is obvious that I am a short-term investor. I usually keep my positions for several weeks but rarely more than two months. I use exclusively technical analysis, chartism (study of stock charts) and Japanese candlesticks (graphical indicator). The latter are also very useful because they allow me to analyze the psychology of the market on highs or lows. They are often fearsome for identifying buying or selling signals.
The technical analysis allows me to identify trends market and confirm my position. In addition, the chartism gives me indications on the psychology of the stock markets. Thus, I can anticipate over several weeks the realization of a chartist figure and take a position accordingly.
# 4 Write a trading plan
You now know your investor profile, it only remains to plan your investments ! Prepare a trading plan that will clearly reflect your objectives, your investor profile and your investment method.
Define which financial product you are going to treat and hold a watchlist . It takes the values that you think have significant potential. It is based on this list that you will trade when the stock markets are open.
My trading plan can be summed up in a little notebook that I always have at my disposal. I detailed my trading strategy, the technical indicators that I use and the conditions necessary to proceed with the purchase:
3-moving average bullish configuration : The 5-day moving average is above the 20-day moving average, which is also higher than the 50-day moving average.
The RSI indicator that measures real profits online buying or selling pressure must be bullish. Graphically, this indicator bounded between 0 and 70 must be greater than 40.
The stochastic oscillator should be bullish (the signal line% K is greater than the slow curve% D) and should be above 30.
Courses in the high range of Bollinger Bands
Too often, I forgot to write down the reasons for placing an order on the stock markets. This made any exercise of hindsight and improvement impossible. I understood that it is imperative to learn from his mistakes and I am now improving my trading strategy for several years by analyzing each of my orders a posteriori.
Finally, at the close of markets, I maintain my watchlist . This includes all the values that seem promising from a technical analysis point of view. I monitor them closely, annotate the course graphics and indicate the conditions that would push me to buy. It becomes very easy to refresh this list daily and remember when to invest in value.
# 5 Manage the risk of your stock market portfolio
A stock market must be diversified, ie you have to vary your investments in different sectors of activity and possibly in different economic zones. However, we must not fall into the other way through which would be to multiply the positions in the portfolio. In general, a stock market portfolio contains between 8 and 12 stocks .
In addition, set your maximum risk of loss over your entire portfolio (for example 2%) and replicate this risk on each position to maintain control over your potential losses. The money management allows you to properly arbitrate your wallet.
My stock market portfolio consists of a maximum of 7 to 8 stocks . I do not want to dilute the performances of positions that I consider promising.
In addition, I want to focus totally on these few positions and analyze day after day their performance and the validity of my approach. As far as my risk aversion is concerned, I assume that a risk / benefit ratio should be at least greater than 2 .
First I calculate my target price and my invalidation threshold and finally, I control the risk / benefit ratio. This is the only way to know if the game is worth the effort.
These few principles will help you get started on the stock market and avoid the most common pitfalls. Here are some tips that I think are effective, but it’s up to you to define your own approach and your trading strategy. Starting on the stock market takes time but one or two hours a day will already be enough to seriously constitute a stock market portfolio.
Do not forget to share blogs or forums with the traders community to benefit from their experience. Also share your successes or failures with other trading enthusiasts.
Thanks to Maxime for this article which I hope will have enlightened you a little more on stock market techniques, especially on technical analysis. I particularly enjoyed sharing his graphical analysis techniques and the indicators used.
If you want to continue on this topic you can read the article Learn the stock market on the blog . You do not feel ready yet to get into this field but you are looking to make money on the internet, go to the article to make money online .


Sheet Piling Services, LLC
Founded in 2015 in Rosholt, WI by John and Brian Ostrowski. SPS specializes in the installation and removal of sheet piling across the United States. Our founding members have over 65 years of construction experience with over 30 of those years within the pipeline and sheet piling industries. SPS employs dedicated professionals with high levels of experience in the construction and sheet piling industry. We provide knowledgeable, economical, and safe service while developing and maintaining strong business relationships.


You’ve found your perfect second home, so let’s walk through what happens over the next couple of weeks. Just a few more steps before you step through the door of your Pacaso!
The path to closing
Reserve your share
Pacaso schedules a call to kick off your closing. You’ll sign the residential purchase agreement and addendum. You’ll receive instructions on how to wire your deposit, which is 10% of the share price.
Review and sign documents
You’ll receive two packets of documents to review and sign. The first includes the house policy, program manager agreement, inspection report and seller disclosures. The second has the operating agreement and ACH form for monthly operating expenses.
If you are financing a portion of your purchase, you must provide Pacaso with your most recent pay stub, bank statement and tax return. In addition, you will need to supply a credit report authorization.
Prepare for closing
Pacaso schedules a check-in call 5 days before closing. We’ll review your closing statement and wire instructions for sending the remaining funds. We’ll confirm all documents are signed and verify your first stay date.
Congratulations, you are now a Pacaso owner! It’s time to crack open the champagne and share the good news about your second home with your family and friends. Now, just one more step.
Following closing, schedule an onboarding session with your home manager. Download the Pacaso app so you can start booking your stays, and get ready to enjoy your new second home!
What to expect as an owner
Our support doesn't end at closing. Pacaso takes care of your home, so you can just show up and relax. Our ongoing services include property management, bill payment, maintenance and more. Owners are responsible for the home's monthly operating expenses, such as utilities and cleaning. Pacaso passes these costs through to owners, with no markup, based on the number of shares owned. We charge a $99 monthly fee for our management services.
Are closing costs included in the price?
Yes, real estate closing costs, such as title fees and commissions, are already included in the share price. If a buyer chooses to finance up to 70% of their purchase through Pacaso’s banking partners, an additional financing fee will be assessed at closing.
Does the Pacaso program management fee go up each year?
No, our program management fee is a fixed $99 per month.
Can Pacaso make changes to the owner operating agreement?
Material changes require an ownership vote. Pacaso has limited authority to make non-material changes (e.g., change of address for state reporting purposes) on behalf of the ownership group.
Can Pacaso raise monthly operating expenses?
All operating expenses are passed through at cost, and all cost statements are available to owners upon request. Pacaso cannot increase its fees without cause. As the LLC manager, we will only increase what is collected from owners as necessary to cover a change in household expenses (e.g., an increase in insurance rates).
Where do the reserve funds go and how are funds used?
Reserve funds are held in the individual LLC's bank account, managed by Pacaso. Funds are only used for the home’s repairs and maintenance. When the need for a major repair arises, Pacaso will allocate funds after a transparent competitive bid process.
What if another owner defaults? How does Pacaso protect me as an owner?
Pacaso serves as the corporate guarantor of any share financing protecting you should another owner default. In the unfortunate event of an owner default, Pacaso will step in to service the loan. If not resolved within 90 days, we will foreclose on that specific share and manage the resale without any disruption to the ownership group.


Apple on Thursday reported revenue slipped because it boosted income from companies and wearables in a pandemic-cobbled begin to the yr for the iPhone maker.
Apple Sees iPhone Revenues Fall in Q1
Revenue dipped to $11.2 billion (roughly Rs. 84,800 crores) on gross sales of $58.Three billion (roughly Rs. 4.41 lakh crores) within the fiscal second quarter, in comparison with internet earnings of $11.7 billion (roughy Rs. 88,600 crores) on income of $58 billion (roughly Rs. 4.39 lakh crores) in the identical interval a yr earlier.
“Regardless of COVID-19’s unprecedented world influence, we’re proud to report that Apple grew for the quarter, pushed by an all-time report in companies and a quarterly report for wearables,” chief government Tim Cook mentioned in an earnings launch.
Apple shares had been down greater than two % in after-hours trades that adopted the discharge of the earnings figures.
Income from iPhones — the massive earnings section for Apple lately — dropped some seven % from a yr earlier to $29 billion (roughly Rs. 2.18 lakh crores) in an interval the place smartphone gross sales have been sagging.
“Everybody knew that March could be tough for Apple, however, given the results of coronavirus on provide chains in China and demand all over the place, Apple’s efficiency was fairly stable,” mentioned eMarketer analyst Yoram Wurmser.
“On this atmosphere is spectacular, notably given a few of the extent of Apple’s publicity to the sooner lockdowns in Asia.”
The pandemic hit Apple on a number of fronts, disrupting its suppliers in China and the funds of its clients.
Prepare dinner mentioned throughout a name with analysts that Apple feels its provide chain rebounded nicely from the pandemic disruption and that whereas it would “tweak” it with classes discovered it was not planning any dramatic shift from counting on companions in China.
“In the event you have a look at the shock to the provision chain that passed off this quarter, for it to come back again up so shortly actually demonstrates that it is sturdy and resilient and so I be ok with the place we’re,” Prepare dinner mentioned.
“That mentioned, we’re all the time taking a look at tweaks.”
Apple was on tempo for a report monetary quarter earlier than the pandemic derailed lives and economies, in accordance with executives.
Apple noticed clients return to its shops in China after they had been re-opened in March, however foot visitors is lower than it was previous to closures, Prepare dinner mentioned.
With its provide chain “again up and operating,” Apple was optimistic that gross sales exterior China will acquire momentum as restrictions on individuals’s actions are lifted.
Distant work and studying traits have ramped up curiosity in iPads and Mac computer systems, and Apple is seeing revved demand for digital choices similar to music, streaming tv, apps, and cloud companies, in accordance with chief monetary officer Luca Maestri.
“Clients are actively participating with our ecosystem and digital companies,” Maestri mentioned.
Income from Apple companies grew 17 % within the quarter to an all-time excessive of $13.Three billion (roughly Rs. 1 lakh crores).
In the meantime, Apple smartwatches with options similar to heart-rate monitoring are being utilized in telemedicine, together with iPads, in accordance with Prepare dinner.
“In gentle of the COVID-19 pandemic, a worldwide lockdown, with shops closed throughout the globe we might characterize these outcomes as a significant feat in a darkish storm,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives mentioned in a observe to traders about Apple earnings.
In early April, Apple unveiled a brand new entry-level iPhone, aiming to enchantment to shoppers dealing with a out of the blue bleak financial backdrop.
The up to date iPhone SE has a beginning worth of $399, or lower than half the worth of its flagship gadgets.
The premium smartphone market, the place iPhones dominate, has been “saturated” for some time and other people have been ready longer to improve to new fashions which have lacked modifications dramatic sufficient to encourage spending.
The pandemic “wreaked havoc” on the smartphone market throughout the first three months of this yr, with total shipments falling 13 % to 272 million models, in accordance with business tracker Canalys.
“Demand for brand spanking new gadgets has been crushed,” mentioned Canalys senior analyst Ben Stanton mentioned of the smartphone market.
“Poor enterprise outcomes, worker redundancies and furloughs are inflicting quite a lot of nervousness and uncertainty.”
In a presence of confidence, Apple’s board of administrators accepted placing one other $50 billion (roughly Rs. 3.78 lakh crores) of the corporate’s money reserves towards shopping for again shares and bumped up the dividend to 82 cents per share of widespread inventory.


Homebuyers are finding one way to win the real-estate bidding wars popping up throughout central Ohio: pay in cash.
The percentage of central Ohio homes bought without a mortgage has risen dramatically the past few years as the housing market has regained footing.
According to the real-estate information service RealtyTrac, more than four in 10 central Ohio homes bought in the first quarter of 2014 were paid for with cash — twice the percentage reported a year ago.
Corporate investors, who buy homes to rent to tenants, account for most of that activity, especially last year when they paid cash for hundreds of central Ohio homes sold by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But even among routine listings, bought by owner-occupants, the number of cash transactions has skyrocketed.
According to the Columbus Realtors trade group, 24.6 percent of central Ohio homes sold this year through the Multiple Listing Service have been cash sales — well above the 8.5 percent seen a decade ago.
Retirees, downsizing from larger homes, help drive such purchases.
But also fueling the cash fire are buyers seeking leverage in case they end up in a bidding war for a home. Sellers typically prefer cash buyers because their offers have fewer strings attached that can slow down a deal, such as financing or an appraisal.
About a year ago, when the market started heating up, Michelle Santuomo, an agent with RE/MAX Metro Plus in German Village, began recommending that clients pay in cash when able.
“One of the things I’ve expressed with my clients is, ‘If you have the cash available, that will make your offer that much stronger. You can always go back and take out a mortgage after, but if you want to get this deal done, you might want to consider paying in cash.’ ”
Santuomo estimates that she has represented 10 cash buyers in the past year, most of them investors, but some of them were clients looking for an edge in a bidding war.
She recently represented a woman shopping for a condominium in sought-after areas of Grandview Heights, Upper Arlington and the Short North. After discussing the market with her client, the woman’s parents agreed to buy the condominium and sell it to their daughter.
Santuomo thinks the cash offer made the deal possible.
“They did get into a (bidding) situation and won the deal. I think the cash made the difference.”
A professional caretaker who paid cash on Wednesday for a Groveport house also thinks cash helped her secure the deal. The woman, who asked not to be identified, landed in a bidding war for the three-bedroom ranch listed for $49,000.
She ended up offering $61,000 in cash for the home, which was sold for less than the mortgage balance and therefore required the approval of the former owner’s bank.
“I know the bank wanted someone paying in cash,” she said.
She moved into the home on Thursday and kept her previous home for her sons to live in.
She’s now looking for other homes to buy and expects to again pay cash, part of which she accumulated through a recent inheritance.
“I don’t want any mortgage, any bills coming in,” she said. Most cash buyers, however, aren’t carrying thousands of dollars in their pockets — or their savings accounts. Like Santuomo’s client, they might borrow from families or draw on home-equity lines or other sources to make the deal, often with the expectation of getting a mortgage later.
Andrew Show, with Buyer’s Resource Realty Service in Worthington, said he is working with clients using a home-equity line to buy a condominium for their son with the intent of refinancing the property later.
Milt Lustnauer, a RE/MAX Premier Choice agent and this year’s president of Columbus Realtors, has been involved in similar deals.
“Mom and dad and family members are stepping up to offer cash … and later going back and refinancing instead of making the offer contingent upon financing,” said Lustnauer, who said he’s handled four cash transactions in the past 30 days.
RealtyTrac found that 42.7 percent of U.S. sales during the first quarter were cash transactions, but the percentage ranges widely from city to city.
Metropolitan areas that attract a lot of retirees or vacation-home buyers see a lot of cash deals. In several Florida cities, cash accounted for 60 or even 70 percent of sales during the first three months of the year, according to RealtyTrac.
Also experiencing a lot of cash deals are metro areas such as Toledo, Detroit, Atlanta and Memphis, where housing is relatively cheap and investors are active.
RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist said the percentage of cash deals appears to be declining a bit this summer, but he and others expect cash to play a major role in the housing market for the foreseeable future.
“I think we’re going to see kind of the same market for cash over the next 12 months until there are some loosening lending restrictions, particularly around allowing more first-time homebuyers into the market,” Michael Mahon, the general manager and executive vice president of HER Realtors, said.
Santuomo also thinks cash buyers will remain a big part of the market, at least until enough homes are offered for sale that bidding wars decline.
“Obviously not everyone’s able to buy things in cash, but in this market, you have to be willing to put your best foot forward if you want to buy a home.”


Throughout the United States, more and more Americans are choosing to become self-employed rather than working for someone else. While there are many advantages of taking charge and becoming your own boss, there are also many drawbacks. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy disadvantages of becoming self-employed is trying to obtain a mortgage. While the steps associated with this process can be slightly more difficult when compared to a traditionally-employed individual, it’s not impossible.
What to Expect When Obtaining a Mortgage
Perhaps one of the most common elements you should expect when it comes to securing a mortgage when you’re self-employed boils down to interest rates. You should expect to pay a higher interest rate than someone who features a traditional job. In general, if you see an advertised rate, you should expect to pay a higher rate. These advertised rates are generally meant for borrowers who have verifiable, regular income ñ as well as super ideal credit scores. Because you may be a less attractive borrower, you may have to spend a decent amount of time shopping around for a mortgage lender and negotiating terms. Be prepared to demonstrate your financial security and ability to pay by providing several years worth of financial documentation.
Mortgage Options for Self-Employed Individuals
Although obtaining a mortgage when you’re self-employed can be slightly more difficult, it’s not impossible. In order to increase the likelihood of securing a mortgage loan, you must be prepared to think outside of the box and seek out a mortgage from unlikely sources. Some of the most common mortgages for those who are self-employed include:
Stated Income/Stated Asset Mortgage: This type of mortgage is primarily based upon what you tell the financial institution what your income is. Unlike a traditional mortgage, the bank won’t actually verify this income. These are also called low-documentation loans. If you choose to go this route, be prepared to provide the banking institution with a variety of documentation such as invoices and other paperwork that proves your cash flow. You may also be required to showcase your recent tax returns.
Alt-A Mortgage: This type of mortgage may be your ideal choice if your tax returns display a significant business loss or little profits. Because financial institutions take on a significant risk when it comes to lending to those with unverified income, you should expect to pay a high interest rate throughout the duration of your loan. These loans generally land between subprime and prime loans when it comes to interest rates. The reason for this is because you’re considered a more risky investment than someone who has a traditional job with more solid income verification.


Updated: April 17, 2020
The Freelance Co-op is a cooperative of creative freelancers who work, create, and build our businesses using shared resources, knowledge, and experience. Studies predict that by 2027, over half of Americans will be freelancers and currently 47% of millennials do at least some freelance or contract work.
The Freelance Co-op provides legal resources, bookkeeping, client advice, marketing, scripts, templates and guides to make creativity sustainable.
This Freelancer’s Guide to the CARES Act is compiled from information from the most recent Federal Guidelines, text of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, The Internal Revenue Service, The Small Business Administration, and the US Chamber of Commerce.
This guidance is intended for US-Based freelancers. If you are or were recently employed full-time by a company, some of the information contained may not pertain to you. Consult your financial advisor or HR office for information about your specific situation.
As always, Information we share is not a substitute for legal, tax, or financial advice from a professional in any field. We are professionals and we’re sharing information related to our expertise. With that said, we are not substitutes for professionals that are up-to-date on legal and financial matters and who know your specific situation.
We also always recommend working with and seeking advice from professionals who are educated about the specifics of your industry, state, country, and other circumstances.
Please see our Earnings Disclaimer for further information.
Here are some primary source links that we’ll reference throughout the guide and where you can do more comprehensive research on the CARES Act.
The most talked about section of the CARES Act is the “2020 Recovery Rebates” commonly known as Stimulus Checks.
About 90% of Americans are eligible for this one-time $1,200 rebate. They are also eligible for an additional $500 per child.
The stimulus check will be paid based on information from your most recent tax return (2018 or 2019).
To qualify to receive a check you must:
- Be a U.S. resident or citizen
- Have an adjusted gross income under $75,000 ($112,500 for head of household and $150,000 married) — this is based on your most recent PERSONAL tax return (2018 or 2019 if you’ve already filed this year). This number can usually be found on line 8b of your tax return (IRS Form 1040).
- Not be a dependant on someone else’s tax return
- Have a work-eligible Social Security Number
How to get it
If you filed your 2018 taxes last year OR your 2019 taxes this year, you don’t have to do anything. In fact, DO NOT call the IRS or other financial advisors to check the status as this will impede their ability to get information and checks out in a timely manner. The IRS will calculate how much your check will be and distribute it however you typically receive tax returns (direct deposit into your bank account or with a paper check). The IRS has said that paper checks may take longer to receive than direct deposit.
If you haven’t filed taxes, the CARES Act instructs the IRS to let you know and send directions on how to receive it if they have not filed either a 2019 or 2018 tax return.
Per the bill, you should receive a notice about how much you received and how it was dispersed. If you receive the notice, but no money, you can contact the IRS per the instructions on the notice.
You can check on the status of your payment at this site:
When will I see my money?
Government officials, including President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have said that checks will be distributed in about 3 weeks, but those with paper checks may take longer.
This is an extremely optimistic estimate as both the 2008 Stimulus checks from the Bush administration and 2009 checks from the Obama administration took 3-4 months to hit bank accounts for most Americans.
Per the CARES Act, you should receive a notice about how much you received and how it was dispersed. If you receive the notice, but no money, you can contact the IRS per the instructions on the notice.
What if my Adjusted Gross Income is over $75,000?
Remember, this is on your personal tax return. If you’re a sole proprietor, this should be the amount you made after you deduct eligible business expenses.
The rebate amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 that a taxpayer’s income exceeds $75,000 or ($112,500 for head of household and $150,000 married). The amount is completely phased-out for single filers with incomes exceeding $99,000, $146,500 for head of household filers with one child, and $198,000 for joint filers with no children. For a typical family of four, the amount is completely phased out for those with adjusted gross incomes exceeding $218,000.
What if I haven’t filed taxes for 2018 or 2019?
You should file as soon as possible so you can be eligible for the rebate. Contact your tax preparer or file free online through the IRS Free file program.
What if the IRS doesn’t have my direct deposit information?
Per the IRS, in the coming weeks, Treasury plans to develop a web-based portal for individuals to provide their banking information to the IRS online, so that individuals can receive payments immediately as opposed to checks in the mail.
What if I’m a college student? Homeless? On SSI?
You’re probably eligible. More details can be found from the Senate Finance Committee here.
What if I owe back taxes?
Usually if you owe taxes or other debts, this is taken out of your tax return. But the CARES Act turns off just about all offsets, meaning you’ll likely still get the full amount. The only offset that is still enforced is if you owe past due child support that’s been reported to the Treasury Department from your state.
The CARES Act creates three new Unemployment Insurance Programs. They have confusingly similar names: Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
Because I’m a copywriter, I’m going to refer to them a bit differently so that we all know what we’re talking about:
- Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC)- We’ll call this one “The Money Boost”
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – We’ll call this one “The Time Boost”
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)- This is “The Eligibility Boost”
The Money Boost (PUC) – In short, The Money Boost part of the bill adds $600 per week to whatever Unemployment Insurance you’re eligible for through your state. This includes people already receiving Unemployment Insurance through their state and new applicants through the PUA program. As of now, the increased amount is through July 31, 2020.
The Time Boost (PEUC) – This provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits. Currently, most states only provide unemployment for 6 months (26 weeks). This increases the timeline of benefits to 9 months in most states.
The Eligibility Boost (PUA) – This is the big one for freelancers. It expands who is eligible for unemployment benefits to self-employed workers, including independent contractors, freelancers, workers seeking part-time work, and workers who do not have a long-enough work history to qualify for state UI benefits. This program runs through December 31, 2020 and workers can receive retroactive benefits from January 27, 2020. That means you can apply anytime this year. Workers are eligible for 39 weeks of unemployment insurance.
Anyone eligible for The Eligibility Boost is eligible for the time and money boosts, so we’ll just focus on who’s now eligible for Unemployment through PUA.
Applicants will need to provide self-certification that they are (1) partially or fully unemployed, OR (2) unable and unavailable to work because of one of the following circumstances:
- They have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have symptoms of it and are seeking diagnosis
- A member of their household has been diagnosed with COVID-19
- They are providing care for someone diagnosed with COVID-19
- They are providing care for a child or other household member who can’t attend school or work because it is closed due to COVID-19
- They are quarantined or have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine;
- They were scheduled to start employment and do not have a job or cannot reach their place of employment as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak
- They have become the breadwinner for a household because the head of household has died as a direct result of COVID-19
- They had to quit their job as a direct result of COVID-19
- Their place of employment is closed as a direct result of COVID-19
- They meet other criteria established by the Secretary of Labor
So if you’re self-quarantining, have local guidance to quarantine, your kids’ school was closed, or your client or place of work is closed, you qualify.
How to get it
You’ll apply through your State’s Department of Labor.
Many states require you to file for unemployment benefits on the web. Some provide toll-free numbers or other ways to obtain assistance in filing.
Here’s a link to find your state’s resources.
How much do I get?
This varies widely by state. Most states cover about 40-45% of your normal income. You’ll get the state’s normal unemployment formula plus the $600 per week “Money Boost.”
Some states will send it all in one check and some will send the $600 “Money Boost” separately
If I’m a freelancer without a regular paycheck, how will they calculate what I get?
Per Congress, the states are instructed to use the Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program formula. There’s a calculator on this page that can estimate your benefit.
How quick can I get money?
Some states had a one-week waiting period that’s now been waived, but unemployment claims are at the highest level ever — about 5 times the level of the 2008 recession. So state systems were overloaded before this expansion… meaning it could take longer than usual to process your claim.
The CARES Act makes select changes to taxes and tax policies in order to ease the burden on businesses impacted by COVID-19.
- Employers, including the self-employed, can delay the payment of the employer portion of the Social Security payroll tax for the remainder of the year and pay back the liability over the next two years.
- You may be able to get a 50% tax credit on wages (up to $10,000 per employee) for employees that you retain during the COVID-19 crisis if your business was shut down in full or in part. This is to encourage businesses to keep paying employees.
- Businesses that have net operating losses (NOLs) have some limitations relaxed. If your business had an NOL in a tax year beginning in 2018, 2019, or 2020, that NOL can now be carried back five years instead. This may improve cash flow and liquidity for some businesses. Pass-through businesses and sole proprietors will also be able to take advantage of the relaxed NOL limitations.
- Businesses that were due to receive corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT) credits at the end of 2021 can instead claim a refund now, in order to improve cash flow during the COVID-19 emergency.
- On your personal tax return, there’s a new deduction for up to $300 for charitable contributions. Previously, charitable contributions were only available for people who itemized their deductions. This new deduction is for you if you use the standard deduction formula.
Businesses are eligible for an employee retention tax credit if 1.) your business operations were fully or partially suspended due to a COVID-19 shut-down order; or 2.) gross receipts declined by more than 50% compared to the same quarter in the prior year.
Other eligibility guidelines are still forthcoming from the IRS.
How to get it
Most of these changes will apply to quarterly or yearly tax filings and guidelines have not been released from the IRS. Speak with your accountant or tax preparer about if you qualify for any of these new programs.
Thursday, April 2 we hosted a Stimulus Q&A with CPA Jonathan Medows. Access the recording here.
For the most up-to-date information, Join us for a LIVE Q&A with CPA Jonathan Medows. Thursday, April 2 at 1pm Eastern. Register here.
There are two major provisions in the CARES Act regarding Student Loans.
First, Until Sept. 30, there will be automatic payment suspensions for any student loan held by the federal government.
Secondly, employers can make student loan payments on behalf of their employees on a tax free basis, up to $5,250 annually. This means the loan payments would be excluded from the employee’s income. So if you have an LLC or Corporation and pay yourself a salary, you can pay your student loans through your company tax-free and it will not count towards your personal income.
For borrowers who withdraw from their school as a result of the coronavirus crisis, the Act requires the Secretary to cancel the borrower’s Direct Loan associated with the payment period in which they withdrew.
Most federal loans from the last 10 years are eligible for automatic payment suspensions.
F.F.E.L Loans, Perkins loans, and private loans are not eligible. Although, many private lenders have created their own emergency assistance programs.
If you pay yourself or other employees a paycheck from an LLC or Corporation, your company is eligible to participate in the employer program from March 27, 2020 through January 21, 2021.
How to get it
Most loan servicers will automatically suspend payments and interest of federal loans. You should check your online account to make sure you have no payment due.
Per the bill, you should receive a notice in the next few weeks about your specific loan.
To take advantage of the employer-repayment, contact your tax advisor about how to account for the payments.
If my payments stop, will interest continue to accrue?
No. The bill says interest will not accrue.
What if I’m currently behind?
All collections like seizure of tax refunds or wage garnishment should be suspended per the bill.
There’s a few other provisions in the CARES Act that may apply to your situation.
The deadline to file (and pay) income taxes has been delayed from April 15 to July 15 for filing of 2019 taxes.
The bill puts a temporary, nationwide 120-day eviction moratorium in place with no fees or penalties for nonpayment of residential rent. (Some states have also expanded this program or have their own program, check here for your state)
You qualify for the eviction moratorium if your landlord has a mortgage through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other federal entities.
Menstrual products, over-the-counter medical products, such as drugs and surgical masks, and telemedicine are now eligible for reimbursement through health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts.
There are two main expansions of Small Business Administration Loans and Programs.
First is a new program called the Paycheck Protection Program. This new program sets aside $350 billion in government-backed loans, and it is modeled after the existing SBA 7(a) loan program.
Paycheck Protection Program loans can be forgiven in whole or part if used for payroll to retain or rehire workers through June 2020.
The SBA just issued guidance on the much-talked about Paycheck Protection Program.
The Paycheck Protection Program IS a forgivable loan program AND freelancers do qualify.
However (and this is a HUGE However), at least 75 percent of the PPP loan proceeds shall be used for payroll costs.
That means, if you get a Paycheck Protection Program loan, you HAVE to use the majority of it to pay employees (NOT contractors).
So you will have to pay the loan back in full if you don’t have employees on payroll.
Secondly, the CARES Act expands eligibility for the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs).
These changes include:
- EIDLs are now also available to Tribal businesses, cooperatives, non-profits, and individuals operating as sole proprietors or independent contractors.
- EIDLs can be approved by the SBA based solely on an applicant’s credit score.
- EIDLs that are smaller than $200,000 can be approved without a personal guarantee.
- Borrowers can receive up to $10,000 emergency grant cash advance that can be forgiven if spent on paid leave, maintaining payroll, increased costs due to supply chain disruption, mortgage or lease payments or repaying obligations that cannot be met due to revenue losses.
Update (April 14, 2020)
The SBA just issued a new formula for calculating the advance.
To ensure that the greatest number of applicants can receive assistance during this challenging time, the amount of your Advance will be determined by the number of your pre-disaster (i.e., as of January 31, 2020) employees. The Advance will provide $1,000 per employee up to a maximum of $10,000.
Paycheck Protection Program
The Paycheck Protection Program offers loans for small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, select types of businesses with fewer than 1,500 employees, 501(c)(3) non-profits with fewer than 500 workers and some 501(c)(19) veteran organizations.
Additionally, the self-employed, sole proprietors, and freelance and gig economy workers are also eligible to apply. Businesses, even without a personal guarantee or collateral, can get a loan as long as they were operational on February 15, 2020.
The maximum loan amount under the Paycheck Protection Act is $10 million, with an interest rate no higher than 4%. No personal guarantee or collateral is required for the loan. The lenders are expected to defer fees, principal and interest for no less than six months and no more than one year.
You qualify if you are one of the following:
- A small business concern as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 USC 632), and subject to SBA’s affiliation rules under 13 CFR 121.301(f) unless specifically waived in the Act;
- A tax-exempt nonprofit organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), a tax-exempt veterans organization described in section 501(c)(19) of the IRC, Tribal business concern described in section 31(b)(2)(C) of the Small Business Act, or any other business;
- An individual who operates under a sole proprietorship or as an independent contractor or eligible self-employed individual, you were in operation on February 15, 2020. You must also submit such documentation as is necessary to establish eligibility such as payroll processor records, payroll tax filings, or Form 1099- MISC, or income and expenses from a sole proprietorship. For borrowers that do not have any such documentation, the borrower must provide other supporting documentation, such as bank records, sufficient to demonstrate the qualifying payroll amount.
You must also have been in operation on February 15, 2020 and either had employees for whom you paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors, as reported on a Form 1099-MISC.
Even if you meet the criteria above, you will be denied if:
- You are engaged in any activity that is illegal under federal, state, or local law
- You are a household employer (individuals who employ household employees such as nannies or housekeepers)
- An owner of 20 percent or more of the equity of the applicant is incarcerated, on probation, on parole; presently subject to an indictment, criminal information, arraignment, or other means by which formal criminal charges are brought in any jurisdiction; or has been convicted of a felony within the last five years; or
- You, or any business owned or controlled by you or any of your owners, has ever obtained a direct or guaranteed loan from SBA or any other Federal agency that is currently delinquent or has defaulted within the last seven years and caused a loss to the government
How to get it
Payment Protection Program
The Payment Protection Program works like other SBA Loans through a network of lenders. You can use Lender Match, a free online referral tool that connects small businesses with participating SBA-approved lenders within 48 hours.
However, the CARES Act expanded the lending network so more banks, credit unions and lenders can issue those loans.
Check with your local bank or credit union on how to apply for Paycheck Protection Loan (note, I attempted to contact several bankers on Monday, March 30 and they were still waiting on guidance from the SBA.). Applications open for small businesses and sole proprietorships on April 3rd. Independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply starting April 10th.
Here’s what you’ll need when you apply:
- Most recently filed tax return
- EIN documentation (proving you were in business prior to Feb. 15)
- Payroll reports (proving you had employees prior to Feb 15th and their pay rates)
- Payroll tax forms
- Proof of rent, utility, and health care costs in the form of receipts/invoices.
Economic Injury Disaster Loan & Grant
This program goes directly through the SBA (not lenders like the PPP).
You can apply for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) including the advance grant ($1,000 per employee up to $10,000) with a new streamlined online questionnaire found here.
Information that you need during the application process includes:
- Gross revenues for 12 months prior to January 31, 2020
- Cost of Goods Solds/Cost of Services for 12 months prior to January 31, 2020
- Rental Properties lost rents due to the disaster
- Business Details (number of employees, years in business, etc.)
- Ownership information including SSN
Then a loan officer will followup if they have additional questions.
- There’s no immediate deadline to apply.
- There’s no fee to apply.
- No credit card information is required.
Can I get both loans?
Yes, as long as they don’t pay for the same expenses.
If your EIDL loan was not used for payroll costs, it does not affect your eligibility for a PPP loan. If your EIDL loan was used for payroll costs, your PPP loan must be used to refinance your EIDL loan. Proceeds from any advance up to $10,000 on the EIDL loan will be deducted from the loan forgiveness amount on the PPP loan.
How much money can I get?
This is the methodology the SBA has recommended lenders use for the Paycheck Protection Program:
- Step 1: Aggregate payroll costs (defined in detail below in f.) from the last twelve months for employees whose principal place of residence is the United States.
- Step 2: Subtract any compensation paid to an employee in excess of an annual salary of $100,000 and/or any amounts paid to an independent contractor or sole proprietor in excess of $100,000 per year.
- Step 3: Calculate average monthly payroll costs (divide the amount from Step 2 by 12).
- Step 4: Multiply the average monthly payroll costs from Step 3 by 2.5.
- Step 5: Add the outstanding amount of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020, less the amount of any “advance” under an EIDL COVID-19 loan (because it does not have to be repaid)
If you are an Independent Contractor or freelancer with no employees,
- Step 1: Find your 2019 IRS Form 1040 Schedule C line 31 net profit amount (if you have not yet filed a 2019 return, fill it out and compute the value). If this amount is over $100,000, reduce it to $100,000. If this amount is zero or less, you are not eligible for a PPP loan.
- Step 2: Calculate the average monthly net profit amount (divide the amount from Step 1 by 12).
- Step 3: Multiply the average monthly net profit amount from Step 2 by 2.5.
- Step 4: Add the outstanding amount of any Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020 that you seek to refinance, less the amount of any advance under an EIDL COVID-19 loan
What qualifies as “payroll costs”?
Payroll costs consist of compensation to employees (whose principal place of residence is the United States) in the form of salary, wages, commissions, or similar compensation; cash tips or the equivalent (based on employer records of past tips or, in the absence of such records, a reasonable, good-faith employer estimate of such tips); payment for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave; allowance for separation or dismissal; payment for the provision of employee benefits consisting of group health care coverage, including insurance premiums, and retirement; payment of state and local taxes assessed on compensation of employees; and for an independent contractor or sole proprietor, wage, commissions, income, or net earnings from self-employment or similar compensation.
Does my own salary count?
If you have a corporation or LLC and pay yourself a salary, that counts as a payroll expense if:
- you were in business before February 15, 2020
- you pay yourself less than $100,000 per year
- your primary residence is in the US
- you’re not in jail
- you pay yourself as an employee of the business (meaning you issue yourself a W2, pay payroll taxes, FICA, etc.)
Any owner’s draw or non-payroll checks you issue yourself do NOT count as a payroll expense.
Do independent contractors count as employees for purposes of PPP loan calculations?
No, independent contractors have the ability to apply for a PPP loan on their own so they do not count for purposes of a borrower’s PPP loan calculation.
What if I’m a new business or a seasonal business?
Per the SBA: In general, borrowers can calculate their aggregate payroll costs using data
either from the previous 12 months or from calendar year 2019. For seasonal businesses,
the applicant may use average monthly payroll for the period between February 15, 2019, or March 1, 2019, and June 30, 2019. An applicant that was not in business from
February 15, 2019 to June 30, 2019 may use the average monthly payroll costs for the
period January 1, 2020 through February 29, 2020.
What can the PPP be used for in order to be forgiven?
- payroll costs (as defined in the Act and in 2.f.)
- costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums
- mortgage interest payments (but not mortgage prepayments or principal payments); iv. rent payments; v. utility payments
- interest payments on any other debt obligations that were incurred before February 15, 2020
- refinancing an SBA EIDL loan made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020. If you received an SBA EIDL loan from January 31, 2020
However (and this is a HUGE However), at least 75 percent of the PPP loan proceeds shall be used for payroll costs. For purposes of determining the percentage of use of proceeds for payroll costs, the amount of any EIDL refinanced will be included. For purposes of loan forgiveness, however, the borrower will have to document the proceeds used for payroll costs in order to determine the amount of forgiveness.
The CARES Act Hardship Distribution waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 72(t) on early withdrawals up to $100,000 from a retirement plan or IRA for an individual.
The bill also permits those individuals to pay tax on the income from the distribution over three years.
This means that you can get emergency cash from your retirement account regardless of your age.
Also, if you are currently on a retirement distribution schedule, you are not required to take a required minimum distribution from any individual retirement accounts or workplace retirement savings plans, like a 401(k)
You can have the 10% penalty waived for up to a $100,000 withdrawal if you:
- are diagnosed with COVID-19;
- have a spouse or dependent diagnosed with COVID-19;
- experienced adverse financial consequences as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, laid off, having work hours reduced, being unable to work due to lack of child care due to COVID-19, closing or reducing hours of a business owned or operated by the individual due to COVID-19; or
- other factors as determined by the Treasury Secretary.
So, eligibility criteria number 3 is the big one for most of us.
This change would not affect old-fashioned pensions.
How to get it
Speak with your retirement account holder or financial adviser on how to withdraw funds. Many financial institutions allow you to process your withdrawal online.
Other Useful Information
Many organizations are supporting freelancers at this time. The best list we’ve found so far is this one, created from members of the Freelancer’s Union.
The programs above are for US-Based freelancers.
The CBC has put together this list of resources for Canadian artists and freelancers.
Also, a professor from Carleton University did this breakdown of new government programs.