diff --git "a/reddit_finance_43_250k_421.txt" "b/reddit_finance_43_250k_421.txt" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/reddit_finance_43_250k_421.txt" @@ -0,0 +1,10000 @@ +I crossed the $100K NW mark today at 26. While I'm using a throwaway today for obvious reasons, I'm a fairly regular poster in this sub on my main account. I work in the construction industry and I'm sharing this here instead of a Milestone Monday thread because I think it's important to highlight career opportunities outside the engineering/software spectrum that at times seems to dominate this sub. Online and in the real world I try and be an advocate for construction/skilled trade jobs because it's been a great career path for me and I think there are a lot of opportunities for young people in my field. + +I got into construction by taking welding classes at a community college my last semester of high school alongside my regular classes - I wasn't enrolled in a vo-tech program but I wanted to learn. Around graduation I got my first welding job making just over minimum wage. I moved for university later that year, but I kept welding in between semesters and I dropped out when I had run out of money after my freshman year of college (full disclosure - my parents had saved up enough to pay for one year of school. When that ran out, I had nothing, so I dropped out to work). By the time I stopped going to school I could make about $1500/week pretax, and as a 19 year old I thought that was all the money in the world. I saved up enough to return to university and ended up graduating with a bachelors degree in construction management. Because I continued welding during school and took 9 months away from school for a paid co-op, I graduated substantially debt free, with the exception of a ~10k truck loan. My net worth was right around zero. Since graduation my career has looked like this: + +&nbsp; + +**Job #1** + +Age: 23 + +Net worth: $0 + +Job: Junior construction manager with an energy company (note that this was during the oil crash in 2014) + +Location: Midwest/Rust Belt, LCOL area + +Compensation: $80,000 salary with 10% bonus potential (Saw ~$55K after taxes) + +Spending: $20-25k + +&nbsp; + +**Job #2 [18 months later]** + +Age: 25 + +Net worth: ~$35k + +Job: Construction inspector, welding-focused, with a third-party inspection company + +Location: East Coast/New England, HCOL area + +Compensation: Hourly plus per diem when traveling, ended up being around $130k pretax (only $80k after taxes though, the northeast is expensive!) + +Spending: Around $50k + +&nbsp; + +**Job #3 [12 months later]** + +Age: 26 + +Net worth: ~$65K + +Location: Northeastern US, LCOL area + +Job: Construction inspector, piping/mechanical/welding/bolting, again with an energy company + +Compensation: Day rate, will end up being around $175k if I work all year + +Spending: Predicted to be around $50k + +&nbsp; + +I am currently still at job #3, where I can save something like $9K/mo. Taxes are lower than previous job due to location and compensation structure. + +&nbsp; + + +A brief NW breakdown: + +* $38k cash (checking, savings, HSA) + +* $26K retirement accounts + +* $37k taxable investments (I use Betterment for both my taxable and retirement savings and own mostly low cost index funds) + +&nbsp; + + +A few final notes - My spending is higher than optimal for a few reasons. By that I mean my spending is not very reflective of my lifestyle - I don't buy nice things or drive a nice vehicle, etc. However, there are elements of my life that I view as unavoidable and I don't lose a lot of sleep over spending on them. Most importantly I help provide support to my chronically ill sister, which usually means sending about $400/mo to help her with rent and expenses. This is not an issue for me, as I feel that it's the most worthwhile thing I could do with my money. Additionally, I definitely incur costs by moving and traveling for work. My compensation packages have typically included allowances for this, so again I have accepted this as part of the job. I also work a lot by some standards, usually around 60 hours a week. This isn't an issue for me but some people may view this as an unacceptable trade off. In my opinion the construction industry is a great way to put away money and work towards FI for those willing to work hard. There is a pronounced shortage of millenials in the industry and it shows - there are tons of opportunities to make great money in the trades (rig welders make anywhere from $3500-6000/week) or to make a good living as a construction manager, superintendent or inspector. + +*Edited for formatting + +This fork of BCH completely underscores that nobody making decisions in crypto has learned anything from 2018. People who aren't really into crypto are never going to weigh the pros or cons of using one currency over another. This is so asinine and it is frustrating watching the same story over and over again. + +Bitcoin was a name, a brand that people could identify with, a singular point of reference for new people to enter into the market. Maybe it did have a lot of faults. But now it's a complete mess and the market is in disarray with all these alts and choices. And what do the developers do? Why, it's time for more hardforking! + +It's like when Steve Jobs saw Steve Wozniak and his gang of nerds building computers. He instantly recognized the power and importance of the personal computer, but also instantly recognized non-enthusiasts would never want to solder circuits together in their garage. Love Apple or hate it, together the Steves made personal computing accessible for the masses. What crypto is doing right now is precisely the opposite, making it even more arcane, even more silly with petty feuds and slapfights over what so-and-so's "vision" was. The average Joe is going to see this, have no idea how to get involved nor want to, and is instead going to pay for whatever with ApplePay or good old fiat. + +It's been sad to watch crypto suffer as much as it has this year, and the worst part is it appears nobody has learned much of anything. Once cryptos usefulness as an endless speculation casino finally dries up (it's getting there), these worthless projects will be all that remains, eternally debating the next hardfork because this developer disagrees over some petty nonsense with another. + +Way to kill the golden goose, guys. +So OHI, Omega Healthcare Investors. + + +They are a REIT that distribute quarterly. Currently at 9% yield, Historically 5-7% yield. Underpriced in current situation. + + +Underpriced because covid has left some of their tenants with some problems of payment, though from a financial perspective they are not near to any problems at all, can still afford the div payout at 80% affo/share being paid out. Has atleast a 30% upside in the near term once they sort their tenant problem out. + + + +What are their tailwinds? Well It's a stock focused on skilled nursing real estate. The boomer generation is going to die off approximately 5 years from now for about 15 years~. Analysts expect this tailwind that will last 2 decades to come about around 2025. + + +Further tailwind, LOADS of their tenants revenue comes from Medicaid/care. Government program that is unlikely to be severely cut + + +All the boomers are going to die, and a big % of them will end up in nursing homes. + +https://www.omegahealthcare.com/~/media/Files/O/Omega-HealthCare/2021/Omega%20Healthcare%20-%20New%20Investor%20Presentation%20-%20November%202021.pdf + +Here alot of their tailwinds and industry overview is listed. + + +Has a 9% payout now, 8% div cagr history over 17 years, did not increase dividend going into 2021 due to the covid troubles, likely price lower largely because of that, since it's no longer div growing lots of funds that only do div growth have dropped this stock. + +Skilled nursing is very fragmented, there are no huge players in the industry, only 11% is owned by REITS, of which 50% is OHI. OHI plans to atleast double their stake in the next 10 years + +I personally have been loading up on this one since mid 2021. Any of you as bullish as I am about this ticker? +I started a dividend portfolio with $8000. Right now I have KO, JPM, APPL, WM, SBUX, O, DIS, and MSFT. What other stocks should I look at? Also should I just reinvest my dividends or should I also deposit money into my account monthly if I can? TIA +I don’t wanna have 100 stocks in my dividend portfolio. What’s a good amount? I’m thinking 2 to 3 of each field. Att Verizon. Etc. or is 2 good? Nike Reebok etc so if one falls one rises ? Thoughts? +These numbers and dates are based on the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies. + +First correction: + +Start: June 24, 2017: market cap 115.1 billion +End: July 16, 2017: market cap 68.8 billion +Total dip: 40.2% +Days total: 22 +Back to 115.1 billion: Aug 7, 2017 +Days total until back from previous ATH: 43 +Days it took to rise back from the bottom: 21 + +Second correction: + +Start: Sept 1, 2017: market cap 178.8 billion +End: Sept 15, 2017: market cap 107.5 billion +Total dip: 39.9% +Days total: 15 +Back to 178.8 billion: Oct 29, 2017 +Days total until back from previous ATH: 58 +Days it took to rise back from the bottom: 43 + +Both are pretty similar! + +Current correction: My mindless predictions based on 8th grade level statistics if history repeats itself. + +Start: Jan 7, 2018: market cap 835.5 billion +End: Jan 22-29: market cap 501.3 billion +Total dip: 40% +Back to 835.5 billion: Feb 12 - Mar 6 + +The difference from the first two peaks was (178.8MM - 115.1MM = 63.7MM). That’s a 55% increase. Both peaks were 69 days apart. + +The difference from the current peak to the last is (835.5MM - 178.8MM = 656.7MM). That’s a 367% increase, both peaks were 127 days apart. + +Sorry for the robotic repetition, but I wanted to make this data easy to absorb. + +Obviously, things are a bit different now from the last two corrections. *Big* money is being pumped into the market and it’s changing everything. It’s likely we won’t see anything close to my mindless prediction based on junior-high level statistical analysis with all these whales in the market now. But who the fuck knows! + +I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this. + +For me, personally, gathering this data was rather comforting... patience, patience, patience! + +Edit: adding quick links to news articles relating to the causes of the corrections. + +Second correction: +https://www.investopedia.com/news/cryptocurrency-correction-causes/ + +First correction: +https://www.google.com/amp/s/venturebeat.com/2017/07/16/3-reasons-cryptocurrency-prices-are-in-free-fall/amp/ + +TLDR edit, with a sweet table chart copy pasted from u/PM_ME_CUTE_SMILE + +These numbers and dates are based on the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies. + + | 1st | 2nd | 3rd +---|---|----|---- +Start | June 24, 2017 | Sept 1, 2017 | Jan 7, 2018 +Cap (bln)| 115.1 | 178.8 | 835.5 +End | July 16, 2017 | Sept 15, 2017 | Jan 22-29, 2018 +Cap (bln)| 68.8 | 107.5 | 501.3 +Dip (%)| 40.2 | 39.9 | 40 +Duration (days) | 22 | 15 | N/A +Back to pre correction level at| Aug 7, 2017 | Oct 29, 2017 | Feb 12 - Mar 6, 2018 +Days until back from previous ATH | 43 | 58 | N/A +Days to rise back from bottom | 21 | 43 | N/A + +The may interest rate rise of .25% was passed on in full as expected. After the rba increased cast rate by another .5% in june I expected it to be pass on in full however yesterday I received a letter informing me that my interest rate has increased by another .75% (up 1% in 2 months) with no explanation. I have never missed a payment and have had 2 mortgages with this bank. I’ve just sold my last house so this won’t impact me but I definitely won’t be using this bank for future purchases. + +Can anyone offer some insight as to why they would do this to a loyal customer? Surely this isn’t common practice and most people will be looking to refinance with another lender after a stunt like this? +Longtime lurker, first-time poster here. I wanted to get y'all's take on a situation I found myself in recently, and some advice for next time. + +I'm a PhD student, which comes with a decent stipend (~$2500/month) in a relatively cheap city. The catch in my city is that it's cheap because there's lots of old housing stock. If you actually want an apartment without a 50-year-old kitchen, more than two electrical circuits for the entire place, etc., you'll pay a bit more. + +So after getting tired of my old/broken apartment, which I rent for $800/month, I applied for a place that's $1000/month. + +Long story short, the landlord said "no", owing to a 3x-income rule. Now, I currently spend about $1500/mo total, and I could optimize a lot further -- even so, that's $1000/month into savings. I will *HAPPILY* give up $200/month of that to have an apartment that was renovated in this century. I'm a home-body introvert and housing quality is worth it to me. + +Is it common for landlords to have hard-and-fast rules like this? (I've rented in other cities but as a full-time employee so 3x income wasn't an issue) If it comes up again, any strategies for convincing the landlord? More fundamentally -- am I unreasonable for thinking I can spend $1000 in rent? + +Extra bonus twist: I worked full-time for a while before coming back for the PhD. I actually did pretty well (as an engineer) and have ~$100k in savings and no debt. I tried making the point to the landlord after the first "no" that I could theoretically cover rent for ~8 years from savings, but he wasn't willing to bend. I wouldn't actually run down savings like that, but I found the lack of sway in that argument surprising. + +Thoughts? +This dip is just day traders and/or counterfeit shorts, trying to shake our will. Good luck with that. + +There isn't a day that does by any longer where I let myself be surprised by the rise and fall of my favorite stock's price. But, if I zoom out a month, or two, or back to my first buy in January, I'm zen as heck just like that. + +I read and trust the wealth of quality DD I've read, and I KNOW that the short HF have NOT closed their trades. They can't close their short positions. + +Checkers or wreckers, Lambo or Ramen. No Guts, No Glory. + +Buy. Hold. DRS. Be patient. + +Cheers. 🚀🚀🚀 + +📷 +What’s the story on this stock it shows that it’s 104.2% held by institutional investors. Evidently the hedges are playing the game on this one with the WSB. Is there a chance to make money on this particular trade? + +What is today’s run up just a fluke +Hi all, + +I am helping my sister with a school project to "invest" $100,000 and whoever in the class makes the most out of their $100K by mid April gets an A on the final. The only rules to this are: + +3 of the following 5 must be invested in: Stocks, Mutual Funds, Commodities, Currencies, Money Market. + +In each one a minimum of $10K must be invested. + +Example: $80K stocks, $10K currencies, $10K commodities. + +The "purchase" will be made at the close of the markets on Monday and those prices will be the ones used to determine how much is made/lost. + +You can reallocate your money after 2 weeks but only once. + +From what I've gathered from my sister it is that many of the class members have been talking about going mostly stock and basically gambling to hit big in the next 2 months. My concern with that plan is the recent movement of the market and whether or not we are done seeing a drop. These are kids in the late teens/20. + +I'm hoping for any advice to help my sister to get an A in this. Thanks for any help! + +"There was a chain re-organization in the Bitcoin blockchain. This is a common occurrence that is part of Bitcoin's normal operation. It is a result of decentralized consensus under Proof-of-Work. All PoW chains do this. " - Aantonop on Twitter + +[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-21/why-bitcoin-double-spend-story-is-being-misinterpreted](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-21/why-bitcoin-double-spend-story-is-being-misinterpreted) +My goal is to achieve $10M in networth, and even though I know this may be naive I always feel if I did that then 80% of my problems would go away and there’s no new downsides that I would not experience otherwise. + +So for those who have achieved fatFIRE, which I define as around $10M and not through some sort of windfall inheritance, can you list your top 3 pros AND cons as compared to before when you were in the process of achieving it? +My SO and I are likely going to be having children in the next 3-5 years. This post is not to ask for advice about college funds/developmental theory/trust funds/child rearing/psychology/etc. + +I most specifically am curious how you leverage your financial position to give your kids every 'unfair' advantage that exists. There seems to be very little information about this online. + +I have no background in this area having grown up relatively poor. + +Do I begin making contributions to Ivy League schools or their research programs in the hopes of securing a spot in 18-24 years? Network with big name private schools in the area? Do I try to plug into parallel charitable organizations that can provide enhanced access to academic/STEM programs that are otherwise very competitive? + +I'm assuming my position with various financial and legal professionals would provide access to elite internships but that seems very far down the road and the first 18 years are my current focus. + +We already hear the line about "oh let us know when you have kids so we can x,y, and z" but I get the feeling a lot of these people are blowing smoke up my ass. + +Any input is appreciated. +I recently fatFIREd and consolidated most of my assets into a private bank service. Most of my investments are still self-directed, and a small portion of my assets are in private funds offered by them. While I do like those private fund offerings, index funds have served me well so far, and I'm not a big fan of paying high expense fees. + +I'm a little concerned my advisor might think I'm "cheap" by me self directing most of my assets. I don't get pressured into investing in private funds by any means, and my advisor is very clear about the expense fees of the funds he presents to me. + +I remember reading an article that some private banks raised their minimum assets requirements from 5m to 10-20m. Clients who couldn't qualify for those amounts were offered to move to a different tier of service. + +Has anyone ever kicked out or felt like his bank or firm wanted to end the relationship because they haven't invested enough assets with them? +Non qualified distributions from 529s result in a 10% penalty. Edit: you also need to pay tax on earnings at ordinary rates. + +This penalty only applies to earnings as you already paid the tax on contributions. If this is true, it seems like you would want to slightly overfund a 529. E.g. if I expect 200k qualified education expenses, plan to get 200k in appreciation (invest 50k as baby, hoping it grows to 250k over 18 years) and withdraw the contributions penalty free. + +But this only seems possible if you do this for the final withdrawal, after spending down all earnings in acct, due to the pro rata rule, which makes every distribution a combination of original contributions and earnings. I.e. you can’t take out the basis before you spend down all the earnings in the event that you need to use the basis or accidentally over funded so you want to remove the basis so earnings don’t keep accumulating. + +EDIT: it seems like this doesn’t work because according to comments below, even the final distribution is taxed using the pro rata rule; my conclusion, don’t overfund a 529 unless you plan to give to grandchildren/others on qualified expenses. + + +Pro rata rule + +Basis portion = (total contributions/529 value)* account distribution +Earnings portion = Amount of distribution- basis portion. +Long time listener, first time caller (throwaway account but happy to verify with mods if helpful/required). + +Relevant info: Early 30s, married, one kid (infant), hopefully one or two more before we’re done. Current NW 3M (2M liquid, .5 in retirement accounts/529, .5 in home equity). No debt other than our mortgage (1.5M - VHCOL area). Income is roughly 500K/year between my spouse and I (we each make about the same) and should grow at about 5-10% a year if we stay put. Spend is high - roughly 250K a year (mortgage, nanny, paying for convenience, etc.). Additionally, I am the beneficiary of a trust with between 6-10M in assets that I will receive distributions from over the next decade (total size will depend on the value of some currently illiquid private placements, so I am assuming the low end of that range for planning purposes). + +I spent the last few years at an MBB consulting firm/BB investment bank/AmLaw 100 law firm. I didn’t love the job but liked the money and the structure. My dad passed away shortly after my kid was born, events which cured me of any desire to go back to the stress and time demands of my work. I took some time off to take care of my kid and try to figure out what I wanted to do next. I did a good job at one of those things but not the other. After getting restless for a while, I took a job at a startup. On paper, everything looked good - cool company, more money (at least in the short term), the (small) possibility of equity upside, and way better work/life balance after a really tough year. + +Given the combined size of my current net worth and my inheritance, my plan was to just let everything sit in the market for the next ten years. We’d work until then, and we’d try to keep our expenses roughly where they are now - they jumped up recently due to a new home purchase and childcare, but should be relatively stable going forward. This seems like the most straightforward and low-risk path to 15-20M in my 40s. + +The new job is fine but I am struggling a little bit with not working for myself given the safety net I have and a long held desire to not have a boss. I don’t have a startup idea that I’d like to pursue, but I am interested in buying a small business and working with management to grow it (so easy, I know). + +I’m conflicted about possibly blowing an easy path to really significant wealth vs. getting there and feeling like I never really earned it and whether or not I might regret it later. I’m a generically intelligent guy with decent people skills and feel like I could reasonably expect to keep this job (or one like it) as long as I was willing to do it. I’m also worried about wasting a prime opportunity to be a present and involved dad vs. pursuing my own professional desires when I basically just need to keep the car on the road at this point. I’d appreciate any insight - practical or philosophical - that you’d be willing to lend. And yes, I talk to my therapist about this, but there a great number of thoughtful and astute posters on this sub, so would be interested to hear the thoughts of others. +This sucks, I expected another bottom or semi bottom at least but it keeps going up. I can't believe I missed the bottom. You guys were right, we wouldn't be able to time the market. +Whom of you have successfully owner financed deals in your market, whether they finance/carry the down, or the entire property? How big was the deal? I seem to be able to persuade people into it if I can get them to hear me out on it, I just have yet to close on one yet. + +I know there are many different opinions on this matter but I am seeking the advice of those who have done this. +I actively monitor several smaller 2nd/3rd tier markets and right now there are bidding wars on anything that might potentially cash flow. + +Is it really possible to make good investments in real estate right now from a non fix and flip perspective? + +How are people actually making the numbers works? +It seems like every year I am adding new clauses to specifically address things that tenants have done. + +This year I had to add "No indoor furniture outside." A couple of my properties are older bungalows with nice front porches on them. Nothing ruins the aesthetics like an old couch thrown out there... +Could someone please explain the benefits of refinancing an investment property? + +Example: purchase an investment property, make capital improvements/ renovations to add value and then go to the bank to refinance the property for a higher mortgage amount. This is the only example of refinancing a property I have seen, but there may be other refinancing methods I am not aware of. + +\-Why is this beneficial? + +With the refinanced larger mortgage: + +\-Don't you now have higher mortgage payments? + +\-Aren't you now further away from paying off the mortgage? + +I initially (and incorrectly) thought you refinanced a property for a lower mortgage after you put enough equity into the property. + +Thank you! +Hello all, + +&#x200B; + +I am curious in real estate as an investment vehicle and as such, I am in the very beginning stages of reading, researching and investigating. I don't currently have any investment properties and I've never bought a property or house before. + +&#x200B; + +Currently, I am reading several books by Brandon Turner, listening to Bigger Pockets, reading r/realestateinvesting and lining up a few people I know involved with real estate investing so that I might be able to buy them coffee and pick their brains over "why did you get involved in real estate investing? How has that journey been?". As an investor in stocks, mutual funds, ect., I understand the underlying concepts of diversification and risk when it comes to investment vehicles. As much as I could put $50k on black tomorrow at a Casino and double my money, I, like many others, don't do that because I'm not comfortable with the risk vs. reward. + +&#x200B; + +With all of this said, I'm really getting the vibe through these Brandon Turner and Bigger Pocket books / information that this is a bit of "too good to be true" and that I'm getting a bit swindled. I can already tell that my emotions are turning up and that I'm getting excited to start this amazing journey and make a 5 year plan to quit a career path I started only 3 years ago (nursing). I notice that I keep mentally reminding/checking myself to "hold your horses" and that "if it seems too good to be true....it probably is". + +&#x200B; + +Am I the only one out there that feels this way? I've made a mental note of a few questions I have off the bat, maybe others can further chime in with their own thoughts or concerns + +* If you keep accumulating houses (SFR's) that are paying for themselves, what happens during a recession or economic downturn if no one wants to rent? As much as it would be difficult to cover one Mortgage payment, having a portfolio of 7+ houses and only 3 of them renting out seems extremely risky to me. This topic of vacancy doesn't seem to be really addressed in any of the books +* From what I've understood, getting loans for more and more properties from a bank isn't as easy as Bigger Pockets seems to illustrate. My fiance's father has been involved in real estate for 15+ years and quickly pointed out that banks will quickly change their stance or deny you if they find out that loans are entering the territory of "investment housing". Maybe I'm reading these books wrong, but it seems like an extremely high frequency to go to the bank for refinancing and getting new loans through the BRRRR method. +* How much of this is just the idea that people don't publish books or podcasts on failing or ruining their lives? I understand that Brandon Turner and almost all of his guests are successful at this, but I never seem to hear much about people that failed. Brandon Turner mentions in his books about property investors going belly up during 2008 but never seems to connect that he could be one of those people one day. + +&#x200B; + +Thanks in advance for the time to read this long winded mental vomit. I just need an objective check in from anyone out there that is willing to chime in with their thoughts. +A little background on this: someone handed me a business card recently that just said "Investing Psychologist." While I've never met someone that marketed themselves this way and thought it was kind of strange, it did get me thinking. The subject is fascinating, and yes, I know there are whole books about it. Lots of maxims float around too (see: Be brave when everyone else is afraid; be afraid when everyone else is brave, etc.). + + +But I'm more interested in how these ideas work in real life. What are some cool or unexpected things you've learned about investing psychology? Doesn't matter how--books, experience, words of a self-proclaimed guru, everything counts. Also, if any of you are Investing Psychologists, or choose to brand yourself this way, I'm super interested in hearing from you! +Looking to maybe get a 3 unit building by the time I’m 30. At minimium a 2 bedroom condo/apartment. I live in NYC. I’ll be making roughly $73,000 before taxes once I secure a job in my field. I know nothing is set in stone, but going based off my goal, how much would be a good starting point to save up? $50,000? Obviously more the better, but I’m curious as to what number you all set your goal on to have for your first deal. +Coming from the stock to the crypto world, it's not that much of a change: in many aspects it seems that there are psychological and social factors that matter much more than fundamentals. + +The plethora of chart/fibonacci-based predictions is based on market sentiment isn't it? + +I'd like to hear criticism! +Now with karma farming on this subreddit having monetary gain, people have started exploiting this sub to make money and it's only going to get worse. Create multiple accounts, post on reddit with all these accounts and just upvote all your accounts. + +In order to counteract this, mods need to ban users who post low effort comments and posts. Or better yet, change how moons are distributed so it doesnt incentivize spamming and exploitation. +Howdy, 26M and 28F here, with a joint income of 53.5k pa, and a deposit of ~85k. Currently living together at my childhood home with my mum and brother with the intention of saving up for a deposit for a house. We've been given an MIP with Nationwide for ~365k, but have been increasingly disappointed with the houses that have been put up for sale recently, as opposed to when we began searching. + +We're getting pretty desperate to move out, but don't want the biggest purchase in our lives to date to be a rushed decision full of compromises in order to move out. We live well below our means, and I feel we have a sizeable enough deposit for us to not be able to save as much for a year. We're both likely to receive pay rises within a year, and our LISA's government bonus doesn't get released until March 2023. We've budgeted a year's expenses including rent, and we'll still have enough to save, albeit not as much. + +Are we likely to get the wrong end of the stick should things go tits up within a year? +Is our deposit "enough" to warrant this kind of decision? +What would you do? Again, we're -very- desperate to move out. + +Thanks. +Today I got a courtesy call from a bank saying that I had to go in because the type of savings account that I had open was closing and that I needed to transfer it over into a different type of savings account. + +I never opened this account so I called my father asking about it. He said that my uncle opened a savings account in my name to help my credit score which I believe is a lie (right?). + +Then I got a call from my uncle asking the name of the person that called me. He said not to worry about the account and that it would not mess up my finances. I am very confused about the whole situation. + +I checked all my credit reports and everything seemed fine there. Are there any ways to see if I have any other open bank accounts I don't know about? What other things should I be worried about here? + +Edit: I’m 25 + +Edit 2: Turns out my uncle just opened an account to meet a quota at his job. Similar to the Well's Fargo thing that someone commented. +Check out Endeavor going public this week. Ticker $EDR. +I'm interested because they own the UFC. I'm a fan of the UFC as a sport and business. +Elon Musk is on the board of EDR. +They are in the entertainment biz and got hit hard by COVID. I'm sure they will recover as they open up. +[https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/ufc-owner-endeavor-aims-over-16-bln-valuation-second-ipo-attempt-2021-04-20/](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/ufc-owner-endeavor-aims-over-16-bln-valuation-second-ipo-attempt-2021-04-20/) +First of, I'm not a financial advisor or professional investor, nor do I currently own any $AMC stock - but I might very well own the stock after the market opens today. + +There are currently TONS of different $AMC content all over the internet pointing in many different directions. Most relate to $AMC's role in the recent march against Wall st. started by [r/wallstreetbets](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/). Whilst I wont go too far into details with that story, the aftermath of those same events are why I have come the the conclusion that $AMC might now be a viable short to mid-term investment (admittedly a risky one). + +The current state is: + +* AMC is still highly shorted - **78.24% of float.** (as of today, according to Marketwatch.) +* AMC is now trading around their **early 2020 pre-COVID-19 level** **@ 7,5$** (6,9$ in pre-market today) +* AMC has received **ALOT** of media coverage +* AMC has received **a financial bail-out card** and now has cash to operate into mid 2021 +* The **COVID-19 situation is loosening its grip** on the company going forward into 2021 + +As mentioned, I'm gonna focus on the 'macro' indicators and current situation more than the financial numbers. However, it is important to mention that the financial situation of the company is no longer critical in the short-term. This fact is important because the former, seemingly, un-viable financial situation, was one of the bigger reasons the stock was initially shorted in so high numbers. + +So what are these positive 'macro' indicators? + +* Lockdowns are ending +* Citizens are hungering to reengage in recreational activities outside their homes +* 2021/2022 are going to be great movie years, due to many big titles being delayed +* Rumors/possibilities of strategic partnership(s) with producers - it makes sense, because there will always be a demand to experience high-end movies on high-end equipment. +* A renewed short-squeeze is still possible, although that is not my reason for being bullish - it's merely worth mentioning. + +All in all, I think that the high level of short interest is the main reason why $AMC is trading at currently levels and I see no reason, that the stock could not rise to meet pre-COVID trading ranges around the 10$ mark. + +**TLDR: $AMC is currently undervalued as prices to not reflect the companys improved financial and market situation.** + +**Edit 1: spelling** +I work in a grocery store and we often have customers using their EBT card to pay for their groceries. I have seen on multiple occasions people try to conceal what the card is, out of what I assume is embarrassment and this breaks my heart. Typically what happens is they try to quickly swipe the card and stuff it back in their wallet or purse before anyone can see. Due to these cards being finicky the magnetic strips often don't read so they have to pull the card back out. + +I just felt like I should put it out there, in case anyone has felt this, that I and none of my co-workers have ever looked down on someone for using their EBT. You also don't ever need to feel like we are judging the food you are buying! We all need some sweets and a guilty pleasure food item to get through the day. + +We are all humans trying to get by and I hope this can reduce the anxiety for someone who may feel self-conscious at the grocery store in the future! +While this isn’t EXPLICITLY related to FatFIRE vs any other type of fire, I’m pretty sure that this really good rate was available due to having excellent credit and a low debt to income ratio, so I think it’s likely more obtainable by the fatfire crowd. It’s a refinance of an existing loan, and I called my current servicer (mr cooper). I’m paying a few points, but it was lower than anything I could find on bankrate. I also locked in rates to finance a few investment properties on 30 year terms in the low 3s. Investment properties carry higher rates. Just a PSA for all you fat homeowners out there! +Anyone own a high end vacation home that they rent out a sizable portion of the year? + +If so, what do you see for net income as a percentage of purchase price and/or market value? +Hi, I'm a new driver in the UK. Previously lived abroad, and I just tried getting quotes for insurance and got £700 for third party but only £600 for comprehensive. + +What am I missing here? +Just wanted to say that, and to thank all the apes here for the lessons learned during these 1½ years. + +It's like everything we predicted is happening all at once. + +Although I'm enjoying it on an individual level, I shouldn't dance as this total crash will affect many people I hold dear. +Full disclosure: I have a small position in $ASTS and warrant $ASTSW. Disclaimer: I'm not a financial advisor. Do your own DD as always. + +I want to share some info on $ASTS (AST Spacemobile) to save potential retail investors time when they do their DD. There is this idea of "20-100x Return Or 100% Loss" associated with $ASTS floating around, but AST Spacemobile is no $NKLA. The technology was proven to work by AST and again by Lynk. Apple is diving in this as well. AST Spacemobile the real deal with over 1000 patents, extensive satellite expertise particularly their CEO, and their own majority owned satellite subsidiarity Nanoavionics and is already cash flow positive. AST Spacemobile itself has no debt. + +The good stuff: the data that got these giant institutional investors Vadafone, Rakuten, American Tower, Samsung NEXT, AT&T, Cisneros all lined up to give money to AST Spacemobile started with the tiny 12kg Bluewalker 1 satellite that successfully proved that AST tech worked: + +"*On April 1, 2019, AST successfully launched BW1, which connected directly to an antenna (“BW2”) at AST’s facility in Midland, Texas, to test its satellite to ground communications technology. During such testing, AST was able to validate its cellular architecture and was capable of managing communications delays from LEO orbit and the effects of doppler in a satellite to ground cellular environment using the 4G-LTE protocol.*" + +The 1.5 ton, 10-meter antenna Bluewalker 3 satellite currently in progress of being built and is slated to launch at the end of 2021 is much more capable and will fully enable AST to demonstrate their tech: + +"*The BW3 test satellite is expected to enable live ground, sea, and airborne testing with unmodified LTE and 5G devices such as smartphones, tablets and internet of things (“IoT”) equipment. The satellite is also expected to enable live testing for voice, video and data. Testing will be available for approximately six minutes per satellite pass approximately two times per day in certain areas. For U.S. based testing, AST will utilize a gateway installed in Midland, Texas and in Hawaii. AST will install at least two additional gateways for the full constellation, one on the east coast and a second on the west coast. With the BW3 test satellite, AST’s main objective is to demonstrate the entire technology stack of the AST constellation satellite design by providing direct broadband communications between an AST- patented LEO satellite and standard compliant LTE and 5G devices without any modification using UE standard in select bands in the 698 MHz to 960 MHz range and using gateways located in a number of selected countries, including the U.S. The BW3 test satellite will provide the testing and validation plans for the BB1 satellite design, expected to be used for the first phase of commercial satellites comprising the SpaceMobile Service.*" + +Lynk, a competing company, also [demonstrated](https://vimeo.com/398041128/e10228da19) the technology worked when they successfully connected a tiny satellite to a normal handset and witnessed by independent third-party observers: + +[Article](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200318005113/en/Lynk-First-to-Connect-Satellite-Directly-to-Standard-Mobile-Phones-on-Earth) + +&#x200B; + +Additionally, **Apple** is [reportedly](https://www.channelnews.com.au/telstra-set-to-become-surplus-to-requirement-if-apple-satellite-iphones-take-off/) not holding back on putting a lot of resources to dive into this potentially massively lucrative market: + +"*Currently Apple is spending billions, developing a new satellite service that will beam internet services directly to devices, bypassing carrier networks*" + +Apple has [already started the process](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/1160408/apple-fi-5g-killer-technology-profits-confidential-by-ray-blanco--anti5g-stock-research-report) of doing the very thing that AST Spacemobile is set up to do, calling it Apple-Fi: + +"***To roll out its revolutionary technology, Apple has reportedly hired Michael Trela and John Fenwick, two world-famous aerospace engineers who are widely considered to be pioneers in the field of satellite technology. Not only that, Apple also recently brought onboard Matt Ettus, Ashley Moore Williams, and Daniel Ellis, experts renowned for their work with wireless technologies. Not only that, but it is also being alleged that Apple is currently in the process of creating a satellite mesh network to provide its customers with insane network coverage. In this regard, the company has already filed plans with the FCC to launch between 1,400 and 3,000 satellites.***" + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +In order to connect from Earth to space LEO and back, you either need a big dish/antenna on Earth to connect to a small satellite or increase the size of the satellite to connect to a small, normal cellphone. A fairly long technical paper submitted to the FCC [here](https://fcc.report/IBFS/SAT-PDR-20200413-00034/2511994) describes how AST Spacemobile will use its constellation of satellites to act as a 900 meters squared satellite. This is proven tech and has been done many times. + +The document found [here](https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10061972201614/AST%205G%20Fund%20Ex%20Parte%2010-06-20%20(00168439xC33F1).pdf) submitted to the FCC describing how they brilliantly deal with doppler issue: + +Some interesting technical points were described in the document: + +"*-The AST low earth orbiting (“LEO”) satellites system (“SpaceMobile”) is able to communicate directly with standard unmodified off-the shelf cellular devices from their 700 kilometer high orbits through the use of AST’s patented architecture of large LEO satellites with specially-designed proprietary antenna arrays with very large aperture. The configuration results in enough antenna gain to enable the satellite to communicate effectively with standard mobile handsets operating on terrestrial broadband wireless frequencies.* + +*- The AST SpaceMobile system will connect to user terminals that operate on standard 3GPP frequencies that are licensed to terrestrial carriers with which AST has agreements that grant AST consent to use the spectrum. The service will fill the terrestrial carriers’ gaps in coverage to provide broadband mobile services where the terrestrial carrier spectrum is not available or in use. This mitigates and eliminates the risk of interference.* + +*- Potential interference also will be managed by the use of other methods, including frequency selection, Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC), beams control, and power control. These techniques are discussed at length in the Technical Sharing Analysis submitted to the Commission by AST on July 6, 2020;amendment to IBFS File No. SAT-PDR-20200413-00034 (Call Sign S3065).* + +*- Each satellite is capable of supporting approximately 2800 spot beams. The satellite can generate cellular cells ranging from 12.5 kilometers (C-band and CBRS) to 24-48kilometers (Lowband and midband). The above-referenced Technical Sharing Analysis contains an overview of the SpaceMobile approaches for frequency sharing and interference management using parameters in this range.* + +*- The SpaceMobile service will meet a low(sub-100 ms) latency(with latency well below 40 ms). AST holds,and/or has pending, approximately 650 patent claims,many of which pertain to advanced technology that will be implemented on the ground to address Doppler and delay.* + +*- The SpaceMobile service will meet and exceed the download and upload speed requirements of 35 Mbps / 3 Mbps.* + +*- AST’s patented technology incorporates beam handover,which is analogous to the terrestrial user equipment (UE) handoff between neighboring base stations (eNodeB’s). Based on the schedule files that list the handoff time instances, the setting satellite simultaneously turns off,and the rising satellite turns on a beam in the overlapping cell.AST’s patented technologies for compensation of delay/Doppler makes the UEs in the cell being handed off see near equal delay/Doppler before and after the handoff, making them synchronize quickly to new beams from rising formation. The UE keeps track of the received signal strength (RSSI) of both the serving and adjacent beams. When the serving beam’s RSSI is weaker than the adjacent beam’s RSSI, it requests serving eNodeB to initiate handoff. The decision to hand off or not is made by the serving eNodeB.*" + +Here, AST claimed that their proprietary antenna arrays with very large aperture allow them to have enough gain to communicate with mobile handsets. They also claim to have download/upload speed of at least 35 Mbps/3 Mbps and a latency well below 40ms. These numbers are highly conservative just to show that AST at minimum should qualify for a huge 5G grant. Starlink is on the same LEO as AST will be and Starlink is able to do latency in the 20's ms, which is inline with current terrestrial broadband/5G. + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +**Patent** found [here](https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=10979133&IDKey=06F3538FA7C8%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO2%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526co1%3DAND%2526d%3DPTXT%2526s1%3DAvellan%2526s2%3DAbel%2526OS%3DAvellan%252BAND%252BAbel%2526RS%3DAvellan%252BAND%252BAbel) and the website [here](https://www.wired.com/story/your-phone-may-soon-receive-4g-service-from-space/) described some the details of AST proprietary antenna arrays: + +"*AST is building a new, unproven type of satellite constellation that’s a riff on so-called “fractionated satellites,” which divide the capability of one large satellite among several smaller ones. For example, one satellite might host a scientific payload, while another might be responsible for communicating with ground stations. The two would communicate with one another through wireless links. A fractionated satellite system has never flown in orbit, although Darpa spent six years and more than $200 million dollars developing a fractionated satellite before abandoning the concept in 2013 due to budgetary constraints.* + +*AST’s system will consist of dozens of small, pizza box-sized satellites flying in formation as they receive cell signals. According to AST’s founder and CEO Abel Avellan, the system isn’t truly fractionated because each of the small satellites will have the same capabilities, rather than splitting the functionality of one larger satellite. But the formation will be managed by a large control satellite, which will direct network traffic and satellite movement like a conductor leading an orchestra. Although the later versions of the satellites in AST’s system will communicate with one another over Wi-Fi or a similar wireless protocol, Avellan says the first satellites to go up will be physically connected.* + +*The advantage of AST’s approach is that the satellites can be spread out over hundreds of feet. Since each satellite is itself a receiver and is working in tandem with the others, this has the effect of creating a massive antenna. “In essence we are building a very, very large satellite with a lot of power that can connect directly to a handset,” says Avellan. “Our system is a replica of the terrestrial network in space.”*" + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +The CEO himself is an engineer and communication/satellite genius. He's not a salesman and definitely isn't the type that can get all of those giant institutions to invest in $ASTS through words instead of concrete data. There are more patents and technical stuff dealing with waveform and others but I found them to be uninteresting to traders and not worth listing them all. + +To conclude, anyone that claims this stock goes to zero is ignorant to the technical data at hand and completely dismisses the incredible work AST Spacemobile research team has done. I have a strong belief that any analyst from the [numerous banks](https://twitter.com/spacanpanman/status/1373825830938378241) Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Raymond James, Scotia, LightShed and Benchmark that attended AST Spacemobile analyst day will have favorable price target and analysis. +[Report](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm) + +Participation Rate: 63.2% + +Wage growth yoy: 3.2% + +November revised up 20k, December revised down 90k. Net 70K lower. + +Looks like there might be some irregularities going on with the large adjustment in December. + + + + + + +I have the option of choosing from Axis, HDFC, ICICI, Standard Chartered, Citibank, Kotak and SBI. + +Which should I go for, what benefits does each bank offer? + + +Edit: to clarify, my employer has given me the option of choosing between these seven banks. + +After reading the responses, I've decided not to go with Axis and HDFC. SBI is also a no no because I've had terrible experiences with them (mother's account). + +Left between Kotak, Citibank, ICICI and standard chartered. Leaning towards ICICI or Citibank. +A)In context of direct Vs regular mutual funds, an ICICI employee was insisting that in case of regular mutual funds, fund manager would actively manage funds where as in case direct they wouldn't. Is this true? + +B) I would like to understand if a regular plan has anything to add value (over direct) post purchase. + +C) Is it correct in assuming post purchase both types of funds go in the same pot and they are not distinguished in ay sense? + +I have done basic search (here & Google) on this topic an couldn't find definitive answers. + +Thanks. +I bout my 1st ever option this past week. Saw all the hype on RKT and knew in my gut it was gonna crash hard. Made a 56c put (just 1) and sold at 2.26! + +I know its chump change but gave me the confidence to buy a 2nd option that has already paid for itself! I bought a DraftKings 15c call (x10) @$70 when it dropped to $54 knowing im my gut it would go back up to 60-65 at rhe leaat this upcoming week. Went back to almost 60 on the same day. Up to 26c, up $110 so far. Im hoping it hits 65-70 this week. Call ends on 3/12. + +Wish me luck boys!! +As the title says, I've just come out of University and started a Ltd company (web design). I've registered and got my taxpayer reference. + +The company is only me, and I've been earning since October 2018 (currently just over £2,000). + +I've read various guides and checked out the [Gov.uk](https://Gov.uk) website but I wanted to hear first hand what I need to be doing. I've not made decisions regarding paying myself yet because I'm not sure what the best way to do things is. + +Thanks for the help!! +Not to spark a debate on the science but it's interesting to look at the economic impacts already being felt in Coastal cities. Many of you know I'm from New Orleans and just south of there we have state commissions actually deciding which Coastal towns to abandon and which ones to direct funding to. Florida is seemingly in a similar debacle but they have significantly more wealth concentrated directly on the coastal communities. + + +https://bloom.bg/2oQbNTI + +>“These boats are going to be the canary in the mine,” said Cason, who became mayor in 2011 after retiring from the U.S. foreign service. “When the boats can’t go out, the property values go down.” + +>If property values start to fall, Cason said, banks could stop writing 30-year mortgages for coastal homes, shrinking the pool of able buyers and sending prices lower still. Those properties make up a quarter of the city’s tax base; if that revenue fell, the city would struggle to provide the services that make it such a desirable place to live, causing more sales and another drop in revenue. + +>And all of that could happen before the rising sea consumes a single home. + +... + +>Sean Becketti, the chief economist at Freddie Mac, warned in a report last year of a housing crisis for coastal areas more severe than the Great Recession, one that could spread through banks, insurers and other industries. And, unlike the recession, there’s no hope of a bounce back in property values. +Throwaway because this is a lot of personal information, but I'm way over my head + +My father has terminal cancer. He has weeks to months left- it's hard to tell. I just found out today that he has been throwing away all his medical bills because he doesn't see a point in paying them. He has insurance, but they are still in the thousands because of multiple hospital stays. He is 62 and has a pension, but it's not much. He cannot afford these bills, which is why he's throwing them away. + +He has a small life insurance policy, and no other assets. I know he has a credit card, so I'm assuming there's debt there too. He gets a pension, but I don't know how much or where that is going or what they are spending it on. He was behind on all his bills, and I've paid three months of back rent plus September ($7,200), the cell phone bill ($315), and the car insurance ($341) as those seem like priority for now, but I don't have unlimited funds. + +Will there be severe repercussions for this? The life insurance is important because we need that for burial expenses. I've spent almost 10K in the last week just on these bills, food shopping, basics like sheets and pillows for my dad's bed, etc. This is most of my savings; I don't have much left. + +Also, I still have two half-siblings who are only 18 and 19. Their mother was an addict who left when they were very young. My father is their sole support. I live about an hour away, and they already said that they do not want to move to my area. After my dad passes, are they eligible for anything? One is in college (lives in the dorms during school year), the other works part-time at a grocery store and just graduated high school- he is not going to college but is considering trade school. They are adults but they are not self-sufficient yet. + +Sorry if this isn't the right place. I've never had to deal with this, and nobody that I know in real life knows the answers, and I feel extremely overwhelmed. + +EDIT: I cannot thank you all enough. I am much better prepared to handle the finance side of this now. I'm extremely grateful. I'm so surprised and thankful for the response here- when I logged off yesterday, I had a few replies and I was grateful. I was shocked to log in today and see all of the replies. I'll never be able to reply to everyone, but I am very, very appreciative. +So a lot of people around here like Austrian economics. I get that. But I never really got a handle on Austrian economics is. I have read a book by Mises and did not really explained anything. + +The Mises book talked about why Praxeology is a better way of coming up with a theory then Empiricism. I am not really convinced that coming up with a set of axioms and deriving results from them is really better then actually observing the world, but that is not entirely important. What is important is that if you are trying to derive all of economics from axioms, then those axioms are extremely important. They need to be absolutely bulletproof and hold true no matter what happens, and it seems to me that the only way to understand a school that relies on axioms and proofs is to actually figure out what the axioms are and to look at the proofs. After all, if you are examining the real world impact of a school that reject Empiricism, then you have already reject that school. + +So here is my problem - it is easy for me to find things that Austrian economists have concluded. It is easy for me to find Austrian policy recommendations, it is easy for me to find their criticisms of mainstream doctrines, but I have not yet been able to find a list of axioms anywhere, nor have I been able to find any sample proofs. It would be nice if someone can point me at a proof that Austrian economist would accept. (e.g. deriving a fact from something that is not an axiom) + +So I am willing to read books that people recommend as long as they contain the axioms (or sample proofs) in there somewhere, and I am also willing to read websites, blogs and the such. Can someone recommend a few sources? +I was driving home from work when I wondered how people would live if nearly all jobs were done by robots and computers. Manufacturing has become pretty heavily automated, and even service jobs are becoming automated. + +If robots did all the work, would money be worth anything? +Dear Readers, + +We at /r/Economics wish you a Happy New Year. + +The 2017 State of the Subreddit survey can be found [**Here**](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15wESrfdIaVjAN7aUmcNStjojkXzw6kbZHsufAZ7niGM/edit) + +Please do us mods a big favor and fill it out! We read the survey responses carefully and they are an enormous guide to moderation policy and content creation. + +For example, both Rule V (images and videos) and Rule VI (top-level comments) were originally launched based on feedback from previous responses. + +We will leave this link up for the next two weeks. After that, we will collect and analyze the responses and summarize in a public presentation. + +Sincerely, + +* ***The /r/Economics Mods*** +I started my 401k very late and luckily i work for a amazing company that has a great match program and stock purchase program. I was just letting my 401k do its own thing for a while until a older employee started talking about how much better he was doing doing the investing himself. + +I opened up a brokerage account and just moved 2.5k over to dip my toes into the market.. and i have already doubled that in about two weeks. Complete luck...I have done some research but was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on ways to improve in the long term. Even very common advice will help because i am so new to this. Thanks!! + + +Edit : Thank you everyone for the awesome advice. + +Definitely will look into all of the material everyone recommended! + +Edit 2 : Man,you guys are awesome. So much information to take in. Thank you all. +I bought my house in 2016 for £120,000 with a £50,000 deposit and a £70,000 mortgage. Since then house prices have increased in my area, with my next door neighbour recently selling her house for around £170,000. + +If I put an approx. value on my property of £160,000 (Zoopla estimates £162K - £179K) then my equity has increased by about 20% to around 60%. + +So when it comes to remortgaging how could I access some of this equity (say £10,000)? This would be going into savings and to fund a couple of projects I've been wanting to do on the house which aren't urgent. + +My assumption would be my monthly mortgage payments would increase on remortgage, but would my term (25 years) stay the same? +https://steemit.com/ethereum/@kjnk/a-proposal-for-a-new-gas-economy-for-ethereum + +Vitalik recently tweeted about fee volatility being a huge problem with Ethereum. As a dApp developer that's constantly thinking about fee economics and optimizing dApp interactions around it, it would be amazing if Ethereum fees were cheap and predictable... +Will smart money follow the dev power? + +Will smart money clue in once ETH implements necessary scarcity mechanisms with casper for retaining value in the ecosystem? + +More & more we're seeing Ethereum Dapps holding ETH in reserve to may for users running their contract & have frictionless usage. + +Check out the Ethereum stackoverflow. + +I personally dislike Mayweather, but I think this is awesome for us, whether he can read the word Ethereum or not. Whether Stox is a scam, or 99% of his followers will even have a clue/chance how to buy the ICO, let alone figure out what to do by the time the ICO is released. + +Right now, you can still go up to 10 people (outside of our group of family and friends) and they would still be clueless as to what Ethereum is. They may have heard of Bitcoin, but Vitalik be damned if they knew what blockchain was. + +We all know that Ethereum is Web 3.0, but we can and should harness the power of Web 2.0 to garner more attention to this space. Instagrams, Social Media defines the Web 2.0 of this generation and the amount of attention we can bring to Blockchain through this outlet is pretty staggering. + +I use Instagram a lot, especially the stories. Most recently they now exponentially increase the number of views you have per story if you use the location tag in your post. It takes the location and pins it to the main story for the city you are currently in. If I was to normally receive 200 views on a video without a location, with one, I could add 400-500 more views just by simply adding this tag. If you are in a major city and they pick it up, you will have thousands of views. A lot of my stories have to deal with Blockchain and crypto as well. There are thousands upon thousands upon millions of people right now actively viewing all stories in the cities they are in. + +For those of us that use Social Media, HODL Ethereum for the long term, and feel comfortable enough with promoting this through our social media outlets... please do so. Every single time someone reads or sees the word Ethereum, if their curiosity leads them to google, we will continue to see this space grow. + +I dont consider people buying Ethereum today, now or in the future as Dumb Money, as FUD and other bullshit most of us try to promote here. I see it as an opportunity for every single person to at least own 1 ETH or 1 BTC, and be apart of this historical moment in our lives. + +It took me 1 google search about Vitalik, his life, blockchain and Ethereum which led me down the rabbit hole and I havent recovered since, nor do I plan on doing so in the near future. This is my home and my future. While the rest of them are trying to buy crypto and enter this space, I now want to learn to code and create Smart Contracts. + +The cryptospace is beautiful and everyone can benefit from it. Share it with everyone. I promise it will only help us in the long run. + + +Hello r/ethtrader! My name is Scott Stevens, I am a practicing ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) and I hate paying taxes! Unfortunately, for US citizens and those subject to US tax law. . . we gotta. + +All the recent price action has caught the attention of the general public, the media, and unfortunately the IRS. As usual, they will be looking to take their cut. Additionally, with the recent passage of the Republican tax bill, one key tax loophole has been closed, the "1031 exchange." This is a provision that allows for "like kind" exchanges of property. While cryptocurrency is considered property by the IRS, the new tax bill ~~clarifies~~ states that starting in 2018, that 1031 exchanges are valid exclusively for real estate. What this means is that every single cryptocurrency trade we make is a potentially taxable event. + +Edit: There is some debate about whether 1031 exchanges are valid for crypto before the new tax provision kicks in. My opinion is that it is unlikely that the IRS considers them valid. This is *only* my opinion; I"m not trying to "trick" people into supporting my cause by stating this. + +For anyone who has made significant profits this year, it will be far easier to pay the piper now rather than face the penalties and interest the IRS will assess later. There are certainly ways you could try to skirt around the IRS, through Monero or Zcash or any number of ways to obfuscate your trades. But the bottom line is that if you end up cashing out into fiat into any traditional banking system, even years down the road, there will be questions about where the money came from, and you will be required to document it. If you've made any significant profit, you can spend years looking over your shoulder and worrying, or you can accept the reality of "death and taxes." [Bitcoin.tax](https://bitcoin.tax/) has some great resources, including a directory of professionals that can help you with your individual situation. + +The good news is that you can do some good in the world, and reduce your tax liability at the same time by donating cryptocurrency to charity! By donating an appreciated asset, such as stock shares, real estate, or cryptocurrency, you do not realize any capital gains on the donation, and receive a tax deduction for your donation. + +As a small holder of multiple "altcoins," I've been frustrated by the lack of options to donate anything but Bitcoin and Ethereum to most major charities. Certainly it is simple to trade altcoins into Bitcoin or Eth, and then donate those, but the trade to convert my altcoins then becomes taxable, and I do not get the same reduction in tax basis compared to as if I had donated the altcoin directly. + +For that reason, I've created my own non-profit entity, [Blockchain Benevolence](https://www.blockchainbenevolence.org/), with the hope of being able to accept nearly any cryptocurrency as a donation. We will use these donations to fund cataract surgeries in third world countries, including Ethiopia, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Rwanda, and Ghana. The supplies to perform a single life-changing surgery in one of these countries costs only $25. Cataracts are the worlds leading cause of preventable blindness, and a simple 10-15 minute procedure can literally change someone's life overnight. We are working closely with an existing organization, the [Himalayan Cataract Project.](http://www.cureblindness.org/) Donations we receive will be used to purchase the supplies for surgery, which will be routed through their existing network to those in need. The HCP has been featured on 60 minutes, Vice, and has won several awards for their work. + +I am not soliciting for donations at this time- this nonprofit was only incorporated a few months ago and we do not yet have 501(c)3 status from the IRS. Our application for this is in, but it is a process that can take from 3-18 months. Until we have that status, donations will not be tax-deductible. + +However, The Himalayan Cataract Project does have 501(c)3 status, and is able to accept donations directly. I have been helping them set up the ability to accept crypto donations, and they will be able to accept BTC, ETH, and LTC. + +DM me here or email at blockchainbenevolence @gmail.com for more information, or if you are interested in donating to the Himalayan Cataract Project! Remember, for your donation to be tax deductible for 2017's taxes, your donation has to be in before year-end. +I was told we were killed years ago by EOS and again recently by Cardano. Do you mean we’re still alive and landing widespread adoption with companies like visa?! +Stock market started crashing ... + +Cryptocurrency market is crashing as well ... + +Is this the begining of the recession that we were hearing about for a while ? + +What pushes the big banks to not allow their clients to buy cryptocurrencies with credit cards but not their debit cards ? Too many defaulted payments from people who lost their money during January's drop ? + +Let's discuss ... + + +&#x200B; + +>Part 1: The proxy statement has a lot of important highlights. +> +>Part 2: Capital stock, Stock Splits & Stock splits in the form of a stock dividend +> +>Part 3: A potential Crypto / NFT Spin-off or digital dividend related to GameStop's Marketplace +> +>Part 4: A look at Overstock's digital dividend, and NVIDIA and Tesla's stock split in the form of a stock dividend. + +# Part 1: On April 21st the updated 14A Proxy Statement Notice of 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 2, 2022 was released: + +&#x200B; + +>"We are asking our stockholders to approve an amendment to our Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Existing Charter”), to increase the number of *authorized* shares of our common stock to 1,000,000,000, and correspondingly increase the number of authorized shares of all classes of our stock to 1,005,000,000 in order to implement a stock split of our common stock in the form of a stock dividend (the “Stock Split”) and provide flexibility for future corporate needs. Our Existing Charter c*urrently authorizes the issuance of 300,000,000 shares of common stock and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock*. + +"***The primary purpose of increasing the number of authorized shares of our common stock is to facilitate the potential Stock Split***. Our Board intends to approve the Stock Split, subject to and *contingent upon* stockholder ***approval*** and the effectiveness of the Authorized Shares Amendment." + +"A proportional increase in our authorized but unissued shares of common stock as a result of the Authorized Shares Amendment would also have the additional benefit of enabling the Board to issue additional shares of common stock in its discretion from time to time for general corporate purposes. ***The corporate purposes for which our Board may issue additional shares of common stock include future acquisitions***, **capital-raising** or financing transactions involving common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities, stock splits, stock dividends and current or future equity compensation plans." + +"***Except for*** shares of common stock reserved for grants pursuant to our ***equity compensation plans*** ***and*** shares of common stock expected to be distributed to stockholders to effect the ***planned Stock Split***, we ***do not currently have any other plans***, agreements, commitments or understandings with respect to the issuance of the additional shares (or the currently authorized but unissued shares) of common stock, nor do we currently have any plans, arrangements, commitments or understandings with respect to the issuance of any shares of preferred stock." + +"The a*vailability of additional authorized* but unissued shares of common stock may enable our Board to ***render it more difficult, or discourage an attempt to obtain control of, the Company***, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock." + +THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT STOCKHOLDERS VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE AUTHORIZED SHARES AMENDMENT. + +[*https://investor.gamestop.com/sec-filings/sec-filing/pre-14a/0001193125-22-101866*](https://investor.gamestop.com/sec-filings/sec-filing/pre-14a/0001193125-22-101866) + +[*https://gamestop.gcs-web.com/sec-filings/sec-filing/def-14a/0001193125-22-113167*](https://gamestop.gcs-web.com/sec-filings/sec-filing/def-14a/0001193125-22-113167) + +&#x200B; + +# Part 2: Capital stock, Stock Splits & Stock splits in the form of a stock dividend. + +# Capital stock + +Capital stock is the total amount of stock, both common and preferred, that a public company has the *authorization to issue.* GameStop at this time has only issued common stock, of which 300M are currently *authorized* and only 75.9M are *outstanding / issued* at this time. GameStop is proposing to increase the amount of their *authorized* common stock by way of vote to the shareholders. The record date for shareholders to be able to vote on this is April 8th, 2022. + +Increases in the total capital stock *outstanding / issued* may negatively impact existing shareholders since it usually results in share dilution. That means each existing share represents a smaller percentage of ownership, making the shares less valuable as the company's earnings are divided by the new, larger number of shares to determine the company's earnings per share (EPS). Earnings per share is a company's profit divided by the *outstanding / issued* shares of its common stock. + +Despite possible dilution of shares, increases in capital stock can ultimately be beneficial for investors. The increase in capital for the company raised by selling additional shares of stock can finance additional company growth. If the company invests the additional capital successfully, then the ultimate gains in stock price payouts realized by investors may be more than sufficient to compensate for the dilution of their shares. GameStop's stock split in the form of share dividend will result in an increase to their outstanding / issued shares. **However, the outstanding / issued shares will be allocated (percentage ownership) proportionately to existing shareholders, thus will not dilute existing shareholder's value.** + +# Stock Splits + +Stock splits occur when companies increase their total number of shares outstanding, but the overall value of all their shares remains identical. As a result, splits give each shareholder more shares, but they also proportionally lower the value of each share. \[Example: You own 100 shares at $10.00 each for a value of $1000.00. After a 2:1 split, you own 200 shares at $5.00 each for a total of $1000.00\] + +GameStop has declared their stock split to be in the form of a stock dividend. We don't yet know at what ratio it intends to split its stock, but each shareholder will end up with more shares \[same total dollar value\]. + +# Important terms related to the stock split + +**Record Date:** The date on which all GME stockholders are identified to determine who will receive the stock dividend, as of the close of market. This means that if you held shares as of the close of market on the record date, you will be entitled to receive the stock dividend shares. + +**Distribution Date:** The date on which the additional shares will be distributed to stockholders of record date. + +**Ex-Dividend Date:** The date GME stock is expected to begin trading at the lower, split-adjusted price. + +# Stock splits in the form of a stock dividend + +**Gamestop is doing a stock split** \- ***not to be confused with*** **a standard declared dividend** (e.g. declared dividend where extra stock or cash must be credited per share to the shareholder, and where the shareholder value ends up higher). A declared dividend would have to come from GameStop's capital account - meaning that the value would have to be debited from retained earnings (which GameStop does not have a lot of room to play with). What we are dealing with now is a ***stock split*** (by form of stock dividend) that adds shares to your holdings but keeps the ***same*** ***equivalent total dollar value.*** A stand alone dividend paid results in your having the same amount of shares as you did before, PLUS extra cash or shares resulting in a higher net dollar value. + +In the stock split by form of stock dividend, additional shares are given to shareholders whereas in a traditional (forward) stock split already issued shares are split into an agreed ratio. No additional shares are allotted in a traditional stock split, and no changes to capital account reporting are made. + +With a stock split by way of stock dividend, this means extra shares are allocated to shareholders - and this means that naked shorts need to come up with however many shares the stock split ratio is geared to. For example, if the stock split by form of dividend is 7:1, then a shareholder will end up with a total of 7 shares for every one share owned. This presents a challenge for counterfeit / synthetic / naked shorts, as they need to come up with the additional 'x' shares by the ex-dividend date of the stock split, or they need to close their naked short before then. + +If a share has been leant out and then sold short, the lender owns the share (you own the share with Fidelity, and Fidelity lends your share to Citadel) plus the buyer (me) who purchased the leant share (from Citadel) also owns a share. GameStop will only issue the 7:1 shares back for the original share, so the market participant that borrowed (Citadel) and sold the extra share now in existence will be on the line for the additional shares unless they cover and return the share to the lender before the ex-dividend date. + +Key Differences between a split in the form of a Stock Dividend vs a traditional Stock Split: + +1. A stock dividend means dividend which is paid in the form of additional shares whereas stock split is a division of issued shares in the ratio as decided by Company. +2. In the Stock dividend, additional shares are given to shareholders whereas in stock split already issued shares are split in an agreed ratio. No additional shares are allotted +3. In a stock dividend, existing shareholders are allotted additional shares whereas the shares which are already held are divided. + +**Note: Gamestop has declared a stock split (in the form of a share dividend),** ***which is not the same as a ordinary or declared dividend.*** All eligible shareholders (not short) will receive stock dividends on the dividend distribution date. A stock split requires *all* shareholders *to receive shares only* \- unless otherwise specifically stated by the issuer in the proxy governing the stock split that an election for cash can be made. For example, GameStop would need to document that there is an option for the stock split distribution to be allocated by either cash or stock distributions. If they don't specifically provide this option, the only consideration is your receiving additional shares on the distribution date. + +**An explanation post from a year ago on why this will destroy anyone short selling GME:** [*https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/mqn97y/an\_explanation\_of\_why\_a\_dividend\_andor\_share/*](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/mqn97y/an_explanation_of_why_a_dividend_andor_share/) + +&#x200B; + +# Part 3: A potential Crypto / NFT Spin-off or digital dividend related to GameStop's Marketplace + +**The specifics of the stock split in the form of a stock dividend are pending, and the increase of authorized shares needs to be voted on at the AGM. Could this stock dividend preclude or incorporate a spin-off?** + +https://preview.redd.it/eaqckjsg3zs81.png?width=3200&format=png&auto=webp&s=8647db36e1a8f454c75d34763807e6d68aaacebe + +GameStop is proposing an increase in the number of *authorized* shares of Class A common stock from 300,000,000 to 1,000,000,000. to accommodate a stock split, which is at this time at an undeclared ratio (while there is lots of speculation that it might be 7:1). The stock split by form of a stock dividend will result in an update to their balance sheet shareholder equity Class A Common stock shares *outstanding*. If this was just a share dividend and not a stock split, then they would need to debit retained earnings. Any share dividends are issued from their capital account, and GameStop currently has limited resources to *issue* dividends (cash or stock). Which brings to question the potential for a crypto/NFT spin-off or carve-out. + +# A potential Crypto / NFT Spin-off or digital dividend is a consideration subsequent to, or in conjunction with, this recently announced stock split: + +***Hypothetical:*** **Consider that GameStop may implement the stock split (increasing the shares owned for existing shareholders and reducing the price of $GME making the shares more affordable for new investors); and then follow this with a Crypto/NFT based dividend - similar to the court precedent set by Overstock's issuance of 'digital dividends;. The foundation for this has already been laid out by GameStop as highlighted in it's 2020 Prospectus.** + +&#x200B; + +>*GameStop could spin off their NFT Marketplace division as a separate company with its own stock, but issued as NFT units'. Shareholders would receive an NFT 'unit(s)' for every $GME share(s) they own. Any market participant that holds a short position in GME would need to provide an NFT 'unit' for their counterfeit shares - which of course they don't have. If the NFT 'unit' is issued by GameStop combined with $GME shares 'non-transferrable for a specified period of time', in such a way that shorts cannot substitute a cash equivalent for the unit offering - the shorts will be forced to cover! R.C.'s 'Checkmate'!* + +From GameStop's Prospectus: [https://news.gamestop.com/node/18961/html#supprom192873\_24](https://news.gamestop.com/node/18961/html#supprom192873_24) + +"We may issue units from time to time in such amounts and in as many distinct series as we determine. We will issue each series of units under a unit agreement to be entered into between us and a unit agent to be designated in the applicable prospectus supplement. When we refer to a series of units, we mean all units issued as part of the same series under the applicable unit agreement. + +We may issue units consisting of any combination of two or more securities described in this prospectus. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security". These units may be issuable as, and *for a specified period of time may be transferable as, a single security only,* rather than as the separate constituent securities comprising such units." + +*Worth the read: Spin-off, carve-outs, mergers and more:* + +1. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/sjz2i3/an\_nft\_spinoff\_for\_moass\_re\_immutable\_x\_licensee/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/sjz2i3/an_nft_spinoff_for_moass_re_immutable_x_licensee/) +2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/tszhia/gamestop\_is\_planning\_on\_dpoing\_gmee\_onto/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/tszhia/gamestop_is_planning_on_dpoing_gmee_onto/) +3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/tv9pm7/ryan\_cohen\_killer\_of\_the\_shorts\_tesla\_overstock/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/tv9pm7/ryan_cohen_killer_of_the_shorts_tesla_overstock/) +4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/txnwhu/checkmate/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/txnwhu/checkmate/) +5. [u/hottodoggu2](https://www.reddit.com/user/hottodoggu2/): One purpose of increasing the share number to 1 billion from 300 million, can be a stock-for-stock merger. I can't foresee any other reason why this would be needed, unless Gamestop were lining up something huge. \[can't link, can find the post in user profile\] + +&#x200B; + +# Part 4: A look at Overstock's digital dividend, and NVIDIA and Tesla's stock split in the form of a stock dividend. + +# Overstock + +[https://cointelegraph.com/news/court-tosses-out-short-sellers-lawsuit-targeting-overstock-s-digital-dividend](https://cointelegraph.com/news/court-tosses-out-short-sellers-lawsuit-targeting-overstock-s-digital-dividend) + +[https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertanzalone/2020/05/20/overstock-pays-ostko-over-4-million-shares-now-trading/?sh=746d41b5248b](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertanzalone/2020/05/20/overstock-pays-ostko-over-4-million-shares-now-trading/?sh=746d41b5248b) + +[https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/09/21/2300565/33533/en/Utah-District-Court-Again-Rules-in-Favor-of-Overstock-com-in-Securities-Class-Action-Lawsuit.html](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/09/21/2300565/33533/en/Utah-District-Court-Again-Rules-in-Favor-of-Overstock-com-in-Securities-Class-Action-Lawsuit.html) + +https://preview.redd.it/mkhwdauj3zs81.png?width=1302&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c0f41b3a53ff84dd77f0fdce5df49bff1711c63 + +# NVIDIA Stock Split by way of stock dividend announced May 21, 2021 with a July 19, 2021 distribution date: + +Stock split frequently asked questions: [*https://s22.q4cdn.com/364334381/files/doc\_downloads/doc\_faq/06/21/NVIDIA-2021-Stock-Split-FAQ.pdf*](https://s22.q4cdn.com/364334381/files/doc_downloads/doc_faq/06/21/NVIDIA-2021-Stock-Split-FAQ.pdf) + +*NVIDIA had less than 1% short interest (SI) during the stock split:* + +https://preview.redd.it/v0hs6j2l3zs81.png?width=3033&format=png&auto=webp&s=4ba3818475282fc3fae3fc7f118d067fddcd352a + +# Tesla Stock Split by way of stock dividend August 2020: + +Short interest and borrowing fees on Tesla were considered high at a reported 7.10% SI to float and a 0.30% borrowing fee. Note GameStop's *reported* SI and borrowing fees are *extensively* higher. Current Ortex data shows GameStop reported short interest is at 22.21%. Cost to borrow 8.72%. + +[https://www.thestreet.com/tesla/articles/tesla-short-interest-declines-as-stock-hits-all-time-high](https://www.thestreet.com/tesla/articles/tesla-short-interest-declines-as-stock-hits-all-time-high) + +[https://electrek.co/2020/08/20/tesla-tsla-surges-near-2000-stock-split-shorts-running/](https://electrek.co/2020/08/20/tesla-tsla-surges-near-2000-stock-split-shorts-running/) + +&#x200B; + +[ Tesla's 5:1 stock split in the form of a stock dividend. Announced August 11, 2020. Record date August 21, 2020. Ex-dividend date August 31, 2020. ](https://preview.redd.it/3polbk6m3zs81.png?width=1003&format=png&auto=webp&s=095d8875f215c3652b730f97fd3e7a3cd8930b02) + +Note, similar to GameStop, Tesla's short interest declined without share price appreciation the year prior to their stock split. After the dividend distribution, Tesla's shares squeezed over a period of several months. GME has less outstanding shares, less liquidity, higher borrowing rates, higher margin requirements, and as DD supports - an extensively higher hidden short interest. + +Tesla's reported short interest hit a May 2019 high of *only 43.66 million* shares shorted. GameStop had reported short interest of *over* *200 million* by FINRA report - [309.43% SI in October 202](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/u2ylh7/never_forget_gamestops_short_interest_in_october/i4q9ep7/?context=3)0 and 220%+ during January 2021 'sneeze squeeze' (court docs). + +Tesla share price remained elevated after the squeeze. They have just announced another stock split, to be voted on at their October 2022 AGM. + +[ Share price reflected is after Tesla's 5:1 stock split. Multiply shares owned by 5 and then watch the price appreciation. Zoomed-in to December 2020 - it kept running after this. ](https://preview.redd.it/kxyp610n3zs81.png?width=514&format=png&auto=webp&s=00bca6383cef4e6c0f3fcfa4438fd4c6959e2cbd) + +# This is a good read in conjunction with this post: + +**Direct Registration of Shares (DRS) helps coil the spring and can help INTESIFY the squeeze. You still have time to buy GameStop and DRS your shares from a broker to Computershare! A look at the benefit of DRS and a comparison of GME to the Tesla squeeze by stock split in the form of stock dividend.** + +[*https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/u4a8h8/direct\_registration\_of\_shares\_drs\_helps\_coil\_the/*](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/u4a8h8/direct_registration_of_shares_drs_helps_coil_the/) + +&#x200B; + + DISCLOSURE: * Information contained in this post has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable in nature. No representations or warranty, express or implied, is made by as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. All opinions and estimates contained in this post are subject to change without notice and are provided in good faith but without legal responsibility. This is not financial advice, and neither I, nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this email or the information contained herein. * + +*Repost as this is a good post that got buried in new (Plus updated from the original).* + +*Edit: Amended intro from pre-announced planned increase to common shares to the official proxy statement for the AGM announcement with planned increased to common shares. Added link to Tesla article, plus commentary on short interest. Formatting. Added post to read in conjunction with this post. Added new release 14A proxy for 2022 Annual Meeting.* +(Please no judgement or “you should have done x,y,z” I already know what I did wrong and that I’m a huge fuck up here) + +Around 7 years ago my (now ex) boyfriend got his electricity shut off. He told me that he had tried reasoning with the electric company, tried getting a payment plan, but they wouldn’t accept anything. So I, being an idiot, put his electric bill in my name even though I was pretty pissed that he hadn’t gotten the bill straightened up. I told him that I didn’t want to hear another thing about it and he needed to put the bill on auto pay. Our relationship was shitty and always on/off. + +Well, a few years back, the electric company started sending me bills in the mail for like $5,000. We hadn’t talked in a few months so I called him furious and told him he needed to get this fixed. He told me that he would take money out of his retirement and pay it off. He then told me that he hadn’t paid it or his old bill bc he was addicted to meth and that’s where all of his money went. He was a resturaunt manager and made VERY good money, especially considering he wasn’t paying an electric bill! So he told me that he was quitting drugs and he would work on getting the bill into someone else’s name. + +Yes I could have had the power disconnected at any time before that and I should have but I cared too much. We were no longer together but would text occasionally. + +He was not successful in his recovery and had a stroke a year ago. When he got out of the hospital he wasn’t going to be able to live by himself anymore so he told me that he got the account put into his daughter’s name, and he was moving in with her and letting the bank take the house (the house was in foreclosure the whole time that I’ve known him but the bank couldn’t kick him out on a technicality). Promised that everything with the electric company was squared away. + +I got a letter in the mail today saying that my $9,287.97 bill will be sent to collections in June. I called him screaming that he needs to fix this NOW and he was like “oh I don’t know how that happened I didn’t know that, I’ll take care of it” and stopped answering his texts. He got a big inheritance before his stroke and he could have paid this shit off but didn’t. I never got any of these promises and agreements in writing and small claims court has to be below $6,000 anyway so I couldn’t even use that avenue if I wanted to. My credit is about to be destroyed after all of the work that I have done. I’m ruined and there is nothing that I can do about it. + +IF ANYONE ASKS YOU TO CO-SIGN ANYTHING OR PUT SOMETHING IN YOUR NAME SAY NO. I say don’t even do it if you have a signed contract from them saying that they will pay you back. + +IF YOU WANT SOMEONE TO CO-SIGN SOMETHING FOR YOU you need to understand when they say no, they are protecting themselves. If they do agree to do it, for the love of god don’t fuck them over. + +Edit: I just remembered that he no longer works and is collecting disability, which makes him and his money legally judgement proof. +# Hello from Italy to all active apes, + +&#x200B; + +Today there is a lot of focus on the ***topics of January 2021 block buttons Broker + Apex Fintech Solutions LLC and its affiliates, including Peak6 Investments LLC and*** **Northern Star** ***+ SHITADEL.*** + +Remembering everything that happened today, new and old content comes out, then I also do to unmask who really stinks of shit. + +*We already know a lot about it, but a few more wrinkles in the brain never hurts.* + +Starting from the most recent sources, u/StonkCobain publishes a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ux1lzr/tradezero_was_instructed_by_apex_clearing_co_not/) which reports that the SEC has accused the broker-dealer TradeZero America Inc., and its co-founder, Daniel Pipitone, of having falsely declared to the customers of the company that they had not limited the purchases of shares meme from the customers when in reality they did + +TradeZero and Pipitone agreed to enter the SEC order on the grounds that they had violated Sections 17 (a) (2) and (3) of the 1933 Securities Act. Without admitting or denying the allegations, TradeZero and Pipitone have agreed a cease and desist order, detain an independent consultant for compliance to ensure future compliance with federal securities laws, a $100,000 fine for TradeZero and a $25,000 fine for Pipitone. + +The SEC investigation was conducted by Heather A. Powell and Jason D. Schall of the SEC office in Washington, DC. They were supervised by Deputy Director Melissa Robertson and Mrs Hodgman. + +&#x200B; + +TradeZero is a not very well known trading platform, but this is the reflection that has been and will be on many brokers. + +[https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/news\/press-release\/2022-88?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=govdelivery ](https://preview.redd.it/mjc4pr66nn191.png?width=557&format=png&auto=webp&s=1f8a93b2aa75de68be8b72e06dfefb13c7790760) + +# P.S = Ridiculous sanctions dictated by the SEC + +# + +So let’s clear up Apex Fintech Solutions LLC.🧐 + +***SHITADEL is really close to APEX***, it is a document of 2015 but I think that the old links have never been interrupted. ( I have not found documents that say it ) + +[https:\/\/dashprime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/APEX\_2Q2015\_Rule606Disc.pdf](https://preview.redd.it/zu8duz680q191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=2503b0b248276b8c6e3acc782f177b26f1f83a0a) + +Apex Fintech Solutions LLC, the fin tech for fin techs, is the parent company of [Apex Clearing Corporation,](https://www.apexclearing.com/) a custody and clearing platform thats powering innovation and the future of digital wealth management, and ***Apex Pro, a trusted clearing partner to broker-dealers, ATS's (*** [My post On orders ATS’s and not ATS](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/uurcv2/openended_shitadel_otc_nms_transparency_data_and/) ***)***, routing firms, professional trading firms, hedge funds, institutions and emerging managers. We offer cryptocurrency trading and custody services through Apex Crypto LLC, which is expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex Fintech Solutions pending receipt of required regulatory approvals. Collectively, our suite of solutions creates an environment where companies with the biggest ideas in fin'tech are empowered to change the world. If you've got the guts to dream, we've got the guts to help you realize those dreams. + +[successivamente vediamo cosa fa di bello questo attività](https://preview.redd.it/t7s5dkeeio191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b0738302e7bd632be55b1337617a49215209660) + +Nice image found in their document, we know they work in many areas of finance, but we focus on the ***brokerage service.*** + +&#x200B; + +[https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/1834518\/000119312521169589\/d121216ds4a.htm ](https://preview.redd.it/8e8nu2z0ro191.png?width=605&format=png&auto=webp&s=9910811d202b3fc85abdc4f825052785d40c4d54) + +&#x200B; + +# Which Brokerage Firms Use Which Clearing Firms? + +[https:\/\/investorjunkie.com\/stock-brokers\/broker-clearing-firms\/ ](https://preview.redd.it/bpbvioi3lp191.png?width=424&format=png&auto=webp&s=8a9039f0fd7fcf9cf8a5cd29acf168951b9b8256) + +&#x200B; + +***We already know that Apex Clearing Corp. is the clearing agent associated with WeBull. 👀*** + +[https:\/\/www.webull.com\/help\/faq\/5-Is-my-brokerage-account-insured-and-protected ](https://preview.redd.it/q8ecejoexp191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=83b83f0939a03a01d36bd2dec4320e5260bd8c23) + +&#x200B; + +***As we saw in their image of APEX Fintech in brokerage services also located Etoro, so I guess it will also be his clearing agent.*** + +[https:\/\/www.etoro.com\/en-us\/customer-service\/help\/1503401282\/does-etoro-use-third-party-brokers\/ ](https://preview.redd.it/ng3j9xt3np191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=57eccbb34f79bae27eb1ce3b2f6798752546e484) + +Learn more : + +* [https://www.etoro.com/wpcontent/uploads/2021/10/APEX\_Safety\_of\_Customer\_Asset.pdf](https://www.etoro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/APEX_Safety_of_Customer_Asset.pdf) +* [https://www.etoro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/APEX\_Customer\_Agreement.pdf](https://www.etoro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/APEX_Customer_Agreement.pdf) + +[https:\/\/www.etoro.com\/en-us\/customer-service\/security\/ ](https://preview.redd.it/stpq82evmp191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=81e940c2337a8ea2b2d84d7c87ac2d26f86eebfd) + +# PAY REAL ATTENTION TO WHICH BROKER YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE MOON. + +# Stay away from the stench of SHITADEL 💩🤢🤮 + +>*I personally will no longer use broker, only more transfer agent ( CS ) or bank.* + +Remaining on the subject we begin to see what are the stinky business charges and what possible links come out with the craps already mentioned. + +[tutto fumo che non porta a SHITADEL](https://preview.redd.it/c3era6saqo191.png?width=4320&format=png&auto=webp&s=6ff7e3ef5c833394cedc98c9df68be7eab3b332b) + +# Everyone talks about these people, creating clouds of smoke and covering the real fire.🔥🍖 + +[https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/person\/jason-kunreuther ](https://preview.redd.it/q210m1uqio191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=c987c9d15a1da666a2e6b9456e1c3ddb86e86546) + +&#x200B; + +Here is a nice link between ***SHITADEL, PEAK6 and Tradezero, this can give a lot of meaning to the actions he has done and the accused.*** + +[https:\/\/peak6.com\/news\/apex-fintech-solutions\/tradezero-america-appoints-apex-clearing-as-custodian-partner\/ ](https://preview.redd.it/d61ypg3pyo191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=91cb745a2aededbfa40266ad9e7a2eeba6412148) + +It’s funny to read that they will have a long productivity + +&#x200B; + +Remaining on the piece the link between Apex Fintech and Peak6, is essentially a merger with the acquisition company for special purposes ( SPAC ) between Northern Star Investment ( name claimed by Peak6 ) and Apex Clearing to be listed on the stock exchange. + +[https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/0001834518\/000119312521109685\/d121216ds4.htm ](https://preview.redd.it/zm5f1jcruu191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=cdb81b2ab4a6e8783eb6d31c22e17f4c67b0ce7f) + +[https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/1834518\/000119312521194367\/d169320d425.htm ](https://preview.redd.it/35r8sx4tzp191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=fbc48da11a99139214b5cb7c9157e38e138fc8d6) + +[Northern Star Investment Corp. II](https://northernstaric2.com) is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The management team and Board of Directors are composed of veteran consumer, media, technology, retail and finance industry executives and founders, including Joanna Coles, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer, and Jonathan Ledecky, President and Chief Operating Officer. + +# There’s a possible link to the collapse of Snap Inc. these days. + +[https:\/\/peak6.com\/news\/apex-fintech-solutions\/leading-fintech-apex-clearing-holdings-to-list-on-nyse-through-merger-with-northern-star-investment-corp-ii\/ ](https://preview.redd.it/7k11ba43hp191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=59d7994ca31302dab28c68dfea0bea80a2ffb64e) + +# I add this already known information between K.GRIFFIN and Northern Star Investment Corp. II + +https://preview.redd.it/ik7xb8s4kp191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=d605d8856ed5261096c18f33c6015994f36a1fcd + +I thank u/Bellweirboy and I recommend you to see [his post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/srovzk/apex_clearing_peak_6_a_power_couple_poker_and_a/)that gives an even more definite idea of PEAK6 + +&#x200B; + +*PEAK6 is a private investment and technology firm started by Jenny Just and Matt Hulsizer in 1997. PEAK6 began with a simple premise: to apply technology to make the options market operate more efficiently—and to realize great financial returns in the process. More than two decades later, we invest in, own and start businesses that allow us to apply our unique blend of technology and operational expertise to make industries and businesses perform better. Our core businesses include Apex Clearing, a technology-driven clearing and custody provider, National Flood Services, a leading BPO for the flood insurance industry, and PEAK6 Capital Management, a proprietary trading group specializing in equity options.* + +[https:\/\/fintel.io\/so\/us\/nstb\/citadel-advisors-llc ](https://preview.redd.it/b7095db9ep191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=b1db981b6745d65ea76feeeb415b63ab8dc7f1e9) + +This piece of shit, like so many other hedge funds, is against GME. + +&#x200B; + +***To finish well this D.D, announce that Northern Star Investment Corp. II is based on a bet, where millennials are involved and generation Z which will inherit up to 68 trillion in the coming years.*** + +( similar announcement in [my post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/uxrppy/a_great_swisseuropean_publishes_fantastic_content/) where a great Swiss-German announces that the monkeys will be fucking rich ) + +Strange that announce in advance the flight to the moon of GME... It’s because SHITADEL and all those under him should be massacred and not get away with it as smooth as in 2008. + +&#x200B; + +# So I’m wondering, if we monkeys fly, maybe they’ll use Northern Star Investment Corp. II to clean up their crimes? + +[https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/here-list-all-brokers-using-apex-clearing-firm-trade-stock-lakes\/ ](https://preview.redd.it/uvcu4r9ybp191.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f886ac47abb6e46fdb3651d54d9fd2694874b18) +“Oh it's another person ripping on Solana, predictable". Yep. Yeah it is I don't get how rhetorical this discussion on Solana is and yet it stays relevant. + +Since its [launch back in March 2020](https://messari.io/asset/solana/profile), Solana has had a series of issues - from hacking to downtime to people being drained of their investments and funds completely frozen. + +In 2022 alone, Solana has had not one.... not two... but "[12 serious outages](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/solanas-sixth-network-outage-will-surely-push-sol-price-down-the-hill/)". And yet people still buy. People still buy regardless of hacks, this last one netting [5 million usd](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/03/hackers-attack-solana-crypto-stealing-millions.html) in losses so far. That puts the total hacked from everyday investors IN THIS YEAR ALONE at over [500-million usd](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/blockchain-hackers-stole-almost-700-million-in-2022-solana-bsc-2022-3). Why the hell stand behind this crypto? There's literally thousands of cryptos to choose from. Is their NFT art seriously worth it? Seriously. Is speed that important? The chain is obviously compromised to hell and has made cryptocurrency a laughing-stock to skeptics. Their nodes are shit and obviously centralized by "The Solana Foundation" contributing to new nodes. Gtfo, so now the nodes have to vote along with "the Solana Foundation" or lose their funding. Sounds super decentralized. + +It's a trash project and I just want to genuinely understand why it's still relevant when there's literally thousands of projects around and some solid ones too far outside the top 10. Maybe I'm preaching to the choir but it blows my mind. +I'm about to buy a used car from a dealer pretty soon and am looking for advice. My Dad has helped me a bit, but doesn't know too much about buying used cars. + +Is it best to negotiate the total value of the car first and then the down payment + monthly payments? What about the down and monthly payments, should I extend out the length of the payment? I'm a new college grad and am moving, and don't want to be paying too much just on a car. I suggested to my Dad a 5 year repayment, but he kind of scoffed and recommended me to do a 4 year plan. Is it that common to pay off a used car ($15,000) that quickly? +IDEX Megathread 6/29 + +&#x200B; + +Please keep all discussion about IDEX here! + +&#x200B; + +All news, catalysts, and DD can be submitted as a stand-alone post. + +&#x200B; + +Please don't downvote others' comments in megathreads. Sorted by New is default within this post + + +Talk about your plays today or things you are on the lookout for. This is where you belong if your comment includes a ticker. + +*keep it civil please* +Thanks to everyone who helped with our last topic: "Steps to Stabilize and Exit Poverty" + +In continuation of our communal wiki build, today I would like to know: "**What are the best low-income options for transportation?**" We have had some good threads on the topic, but I want to create a formal post to consolidate ideas and see if there are other recommendations. + +As a reminder, **I'm posting a topic on most Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and soliciting advice from the community**. I'll take your suggestions and build them into a wiki page for each topic. Once we've built up a foundation we'll go live with the wiki and I'll solicit feedback for additional topics/gaps to fill. + +Check back frequently-- even if you aren't experienced with the current topic there will be some that you can likely contribute to in the future. + +Thanks again for helping improve our community. +Hi, I was wondering if there were any good open source backtesting libraries for high frequency order book and trade data. + +I’m currently storing order book updates and trade data myself and would like to backtest with it. + +I was hoping r/algotrading might be able to point me in the right direction. It seems like a vital tool for an aspiring algo trader. + +Extra points if there is optimization or ml included +I've looked at a couple of services that offer DCA and rebalancing "bots" (e.g. kucoin, 8commas.io, gate.io etc.). However, they don't offer a combination of these too. It's either (a) you start your DCA bot or (b) go for a rebalancing method. + +Do you think it would make sense to combine these two investment strategies? I can't get my head around this... I have the feeling that it could be counterproductive but I'd really like to see/do some backtesting for this. Maybe you have an idea how this could be backtested (quickly)? +Have got a simple bot running on AWS ec2 24/7, just got the bill for this month and its around $100usd. Seems a bit expensive in the test/dev phase. What do you guys use? +I recall there was a post on using Bayesian for optimizing indicator parameters or maybe something like that. Just wondering if anyone has success on using Bayesian for optimizing your algos. +Hey guys, I was wondering if you had any experience with this. +I’m in a fraternity at my college and I met a guy who’s really smart and knows a lot of math and I could definitely see us working together on the market. The problem is is that I’m already pretty far ahead and I’ve made a couple working algorithms and I’m not sure if I should willingly tell someone my strategies, especially someone as capable as him. +I tried working with a partner before and it ended up being a constant battle, my ideas vs his ideas and we could never come to agreement, and to pursue each other’s ideas independently would take too much time to verify it being a bad idea. +Do partnerships work in this field? How can you prevent someone from just taking your idea and running with it? +Did you see the famous Mari/o AI video on YouTube? +That is a neat algorithm. Evolution applied to neural networks. + +Do you think this can be applied to trading ? + +Inputs can be historical Ohlc data. Outputs can be sell and buy commands. + +Does it sound interesting? Or I am wrong? +Hello there, say you are using a strategy with constant take profits and stop losses, like 2%, how are you dealing with cryptocurrencies that have big price changes? + +For example Solana: 2% of $150 and 2% of $60 expects a totally different price movement. Are you still using percent? Or something like ticks? +Bitcoin turned out to be an effective way for me to end my employment....hopefully forever. I began investing in Bitcoin in late 2014 after a dear friend shared a post about his experience buying Bitcoin on Google+. I had heard of it twice before that, but didn't enter the game. + +After he posted, an angel showed up in the comments....presumably one of the early successful investors. He offered anyone willing to participate a little donation, if they jumped through the hoops of getting a wallet and providing an address. He also happily answered some of our questions. I took the bait. + +It wasn't long before I felt the power of crypto and was unsatisfied with my donation level investment. I remember commenting in the post, I am going to experiment with $100...which makes me LOL today. Soon enough, I started schemin. $100 turned into $300, and $300 into over a $1000 by the end of 2014. Hooked I was, like any drug will do. + +Early 2015 saw me turn to raising funding through family/friends and creating a excel sheet to start keeping tabs. "There is this thing, you won't/can't understand, so you will just have to trust me," I said. Several more fish on the line, and more bank. I started sending out a weekly newsletter to keep these folks abreast of the ongoing sentiment and fund performance. + +Ofc, Jan. 15th came while I was sleeping, and it hurt a little. Not because the price fell, but because it capitulated and I was unable to fully appreciate it (I was full blown injecting the stuff already). + +Nonetheless, I started thinking a little more like a real investor, although I didn't believe in HODL. I still don't. I created this post. + +https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2sa1kt/if_there_are_even_1000_people_like_me/ (Fuck Uphold btw) + +I stuck to the plan and invested between 2-4% of every paycheck throughout 2015 and early 16. I also started taking a look at the next door neighbors, taking some elevated risks margin trading on POLO (which is dead to me now). That was a good success. + +Fast forward, I find myself liberated from corporate work life, with absolutely no debt, a healthy savings and enough play for the next big ride. I want to now actually contribute something of more consequence to the ecosystem and let others stand on my shoulders as I stood on those that came before me. + +EDIT: I forgot to mention that I helped spread the virus by seeding several people myself. All are hooked. I would say in all, 10-15 others are now "in the game" from my donations. So donations can work! + +EDIT 2: I don't want to offer specific advice here as this is just one story of success. Many got rekt being careless or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Cycles can bring you up or tear you down. I was pretty lucky to start taking risks at the end of a bear market. Nonetheless, I have no confidence, not a single bitcoin, in traditional investments like stocks. And I am not an investor either. I like the action of trading and moving all over the place. My convictions only lie in being somewhere that feels new and refreshing. + +EDIT 3: Since I got enough downvotes, I thought it would be the honorable thing to do to delete all comments related to advising people to liquidate 401Ks for crypto. I don't really want to hand out that advice. That is just my personal preference. + +EDIT 4: Where did I say I was rich? Hahaha, people love to jump to conclusions. I am happy where I am and look forward to what the future holds in store for crypto. + +Cheers! +Users seem to be flocking away from snapchat since the widely hated update (https://sludgefeed.com/snapchat-update-might-be-most-hated-ever/). While their most recent earnings was solid, this could be be a good shorting opportunity. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +I am not referring to abandoning financial discipline altogether; I think I will always focus on valuing my free time over material possessions, seeking out an alternative lifestyle and avoiding the hedonic treadmill. I am still on board with all of those things. + +I have spent a number of years reading forums on these topics, as well as reading blogs periodically. It just seems like the discussions become recycled after a while, the blogs while occasionally inspiring at this point there isn't much new to be seen or heard. + +I have had a tremendous appetite in the past for reading as many of these discussions as I can and I just feel like I'm losing steam. Just wondering if anyone else has felt this way, perhaps taken a break from reading forums and blogs, etc. I wonder if part of the process for me has been trying to figure out exactly where I fit in regarding how aggressive I want to be, and perhaps I am just reaching a point in time where I have a better idea of what I want from a lifestyle standpoint/savings standpoint than I did previously...... +Welcome to the Daily General Discussion thread of /r/EthTrader. + +*** + +Thread guidelines: + +- Please refrain from discussing non-Ethereum related tokens here. You are welcome to discuss altcoins in the Daily Altcoin Discussion thread. +- All [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/about/rules/) apply here so please be familiar with them. + +*** + +To view live streaming comments for this thread, [click here](https://reddit-stream.com/comments/auto). Account permissions are required to post comments through Reddit-Stream.com. + +*** + +Enjoy! +This is a vent because I feel like I don’t have anywhere else to do it. + +I’m 30 and living on my own since I was 24. I haven’t struggled so much in a while, but this year, everything just hit all at once. We had a high risk pregnancy, the cost of delivery, lack of pay when I was on maternity leave and then our entire central air system needed to be replaced during the hottest weeks of the summer. It wiped out our savings. I overdrafted my account for the first time in 7 years last week. + +While that is stressing me out as it is, every other day, either my brother (32) or my mother (59) call and complain to me about how they have no money (brother lives with mom still). My brother has been having car troubles on and off for months now and my mom has some costly home repairs after a tree fell on her house. + +I’m sympathetic to all of it, I am. But neither one of them work full time. My mom works 20 hours a week (sometimes less) and my brother 28. The real kicker is that my brother admitted last week that he has thousands of dollars in his bank account, he’s just stressed that he doesn’t have enough spending money for a new graphics card for his computer. + +Meanwhile, I’m starting a second job next week and will be away from my baby for 50+ hours out of the week just to have enough income to start putting money back in our accounts. + +I never thought I would be back to this kind of struggle and I’m bitter about it. +A grandparent of mine started running out of funds about a year ago, they are in their 90s and unmarried. They took out a couple of credit cards and spent on them (nothing lavish, food, electricity, etc...) knowing they wouldn't be able to pay them off. They currently make the minimum payments, so nothing has hit collections yet, and they don't have enough money to pay these off even if they wanted to. + +They are in the middle stage of dementia. It seems increasingly likely they will pass sooner than later, but it's also possible they linger. + +So, I am curious if this is something I need to worry about, both for their sake, and selfishly, for my own. I am not signed on any of the debt, but I also know debt collectors will sometimes hassle family. +How could an investor benefit from that? + +You could buy the dip, but with what? And how? Wouldn’t all the banks and brokerages close their doors temporarily if not permanently? + +Even if you squirreled away a bunch of cash under your mattress, would that money have any value? And where would you buy those dips? + +I’m not saying I think this will actually happen, but I’m the type of guy that likes to have a plan for all contingencies. +Mostly through finally stabilizing spending and responsible payment. I put it on the card, but I know I will pay it off, before any interest. I am building credit, and have auto pay so I don’t screw up. Best part is I got a $2000 necklace for $575 out the door and am proud that I haggled for the first time. Maybe this isn’t the right place for this, but the idea that I could make a $575 purchase stress free is new and insane to me. Grind on! +Not sure if this is super obvious to everybody else on here, but I'm a decently broke college student who just found out that this is a thing that works, so here is my advice! I have a checking account with TD Bank but the university I'm at is at least a 15 minute drive to the nearest TD Bank ATM, so it makes withdrawing cash a hassle. There are other ATMs on campus from other banks that I can withdraw from, but they take a rather hefty withdraw fee of $5 (at least, it seems hefty to me) so it makes withdrawing from them almost not worth it unless you take out a lot. As someone who needs to withdraw small amounts frequently, this would not work for me. + +&#x200B; + +Enter cashback- if you have a debit card and you pay with it anywhere, there's always an option for cashback that I usually just skip over because I never thought about it. But it's money directly from your checking account and there's no withdraw fee, so it essentially bypasses you having to pay a fee for having a different bank than is available to you. I went to CVS today, bought some Tic-Tacs for $0.99, and got $40 cashback interest-free. Again, I'm sorry if this is a really obvious/simplistic thing but as a college student I'm always looking for ways to save every last cent possible, and this is something that is really going to help me over the next year. I hope it helps everyone here too! +I don’t know if this is the right place but it’s where I’m starting! + +My husband lost his job on St. Patrick’s day, and we qualified for food stamps for ourselves and my daughter to the tune of $200some for March and $700 for April. We are so so grateful for this AND he got a new job that starts May 9th— which means we won’t qualify for food stamps any longer probably by the end of June if not earlier, since he will make more than their income threshold. + +My question is, I want to spend that $900 on smart choices, nonperishables, things that are an investment into our pantry. We have a deep freezer we bought a few years ago during tax season that is an option too. I’m a vegetarian but my husband isn’t! + +TIA! +Let me preface by saying that I believe Buy Hodl DRS is the way and if anyone wants to interpret what I say as otherwise that will be on the reader, not on me. + +I believe as the Federal Reserve began printing its currency faster and faster after 2008 that it had increasing motivation to suppress the prices of stocks, commodities, crypto, etc. I think as the Fed expanded the dollar supply, the DTCC had to expand the share supply (in everything) to match. Otherwise the whole market would have squeezed a long time ago. Every chart would be a parabolic curve up which would have more to say about the dollar than any given stock. It would have been a give away that the dollar is worthless. + +On February 24, 2021 we had the biggest post-sneeze run up in GME to date. It ran from \~$48 to \~$200 that afternoon. At the exact same time the Federal Reserve was experience technical difficulties specifically with its Fedwire service. It's pretty hard to find this story now but here's a link from February 25, 2021 + +[https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/24/business/federal-reserve-outage-fedwire/index.html](https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/24/business/federal-reserve-outage-fedwire/index.html) + +These two events occurred at the exact same time on the same day, and that's too much for me to dismiss as coincidence. + +I believe the Fed's printing press is part of a system that is shorting EVERYTHING and especially shorting GME. Maybe they are doing it themselves or maybe they have a bunch of dumb stormtroopers out in front of them and the Fed is backing them. If I am correct then that could mean that the system that is shorting GME has infinite collateral and can't be margin called and it has infinite resources to pay interest on short positions. + +That said, I believe it is false to say the Fed can print money forever. Eventually they would print too much and their currency would lose its value; no one would be able to afford to use it anymore. Call it hyperinflation if you like. Once a certain threshold is crossed, the dollar, and the Fed become irrelevant. The Fed won't go there if it has other options. + +I believe if the system shorting GME is backed by the Fed, the idea of synthetic shares might be overblown. I do believe in synthetic shares but perhaps the same effect could be achieved by accelerating the velocity by which shares are bought, loaned and sold short by using the Fed's backing. I think it can be both synthetic shares and the Fed's backing but as the amount of shorting necessary to hold prices down increases (probably exponentially), excessive synthetics create an exploitable Achilles Heel that the infinite printing press does not. + +However, if it's the printing press that's holding prices down we are in strange times, indeed. Consider RC's August 10 tweet: "if we print a few trillion more, it should bring inflation down". I believe RC is using sarcasm to point out the obvious: You can't inflate a currency to achieve lower prices. But I think he was talking about the Fed printing money to hold prices down (especially the price of GME) in markets. Another RC tweet, this from February 9, 2022, is brought to mind: " Who will be the piñata for all this inflation?" If the system shorting GME is connected to the printing press then it is stuffed with cash right now. Eventually it will break open like a piñata. + +I believe the market crash we have all been waiting for could be a crash UP and it will actually be the crash of the dollar. Eventually (perhaps very soon), we will see GME's price rocket up to absurd heights and when it does I think we could flip GME's chart upside down and we would be looking at the chart of the dollar. That's why, personally, I won't be selling anything I have for any amount of dollars. No matter the prices I see, if measured in dollars then I will consider that a "fake squeeze". I'm not holding for dollars; I'm hodling beyond. + +Finally, I'm going to turn my title on its head and say that I do NOT believe the Federal Reserve is the final boss. The Fed is a corporation, just like GME, and just like GME, somebody owns it. Somebody is the Beneficiary. I would like to know who. +Specifically credit card and student loan debt. They didn't cosign for anything. Would they be responsible for it if something happened to me? + +**EDIT:** Okay, I'll just type out everything here because my inbox blew up and I'm tired of answering the same questions. + +I finished grad school in 2012. I have an MSLIS degree with a concentration in school library media, and I'm a certified public librarian and K-12 school librarian in NY. At the time I was working in retail. 3 months after I graduated I got hired as a school librarian in New Hampshire, and I moved there from Long Island. I was their school librarian/computer teacher for one year. I only lasted a year because I was honestly not very good at it. The job gave me a lot of stress and anxiety, to the point where I was hospitalized by my therapist in December 2012 after trying to kill myself. My therapist and the various doctors at the hospital suggested I quit for medical reasons, but I didn't want to. I had made it almost half the year, so I wanted to stick it out and see if it got better. It didn't get better, *I* didn't get better, and the principal said she wasn't going to renew my contract. I was actually greatly relieved. I started looking for a new job in May 2013, one month before I officially became unemployed at the end of June. + +So, while I am a certified teacher, my teaching experience wasn't really all that positive. Ideally I'd rather not go back, but at this point I'll take whatever job I can get. I have applied to schools. I have also been applying to public libraries, universities, museums, and prison libraries. As for something immediate and part-time, I have been applying to retail, supermarkets, and fast food. The only job I could get was a part-time seasonal retail position that lasted from this past November to last month. + +I can't move in with my parents as A)Their house physically does not have the space, and B)They live in a complex for senior citizens 55+. I'm 25 years too young. + + +As I mentioned earlier, and as some people have found from my comment history, I used to be in therapy. I was in therapy at my grad school's psychological services center for 2 years. They also put me in touch with a psychiatrist at a local teaching hospital so I could get on medication, which I started taking in 2011. When I moved to NH in 2012 I got a new therapist and continued to take my 40mg of Prozac. When I was hospitalized, the psychiatrist there took me off the Prozac and put me on Effexor. I took that from December 2012 until this past October. After I lost my job, I naturally also lost my insurance. I was getting the Effexor 90 days at a time, so I had a bit of a stockpile. I then started ordering it online and paying out of pocket from my savings/unemployment, but I ultimately couldn't afford it anymore. I did eventually get on Medicaid...but then they refused to pay for the Effexor, so I had to stop taking it this past October. I still had some old Prozac to take to help with the withdrawals, at least. So since Halloween 2014 I have been off my meds. And I tried going to a local grad school's PSC for help, but they said they had no one who could see me. And I have absolutely no money, so I can't afford any copay. + +And finally I am transgender. However I am very firmly in the closet, and have not really begun to transition yet (if I ever do). So for all intents and purposes I present to the public as an ordinary miserable guy. + +All I came here for was to ask if I died, would my parents get my debt. And they apparently won't. Will I hang myself tomorrow? Probably not, but I'm not exactly careful crossing the street anymore. +I'm a lurker of this sub, and a Dave Ramsey believer. My wife and I have been living on a budget since we got married 10 years ago, and have debt snowballed my student loans, two cars, and multiple giant medical bills. For the last two years we have been putting money in to our emergency fund and 401k, and simply making the monthly payments on my wife's car. + +Today we looked at what is in our E fund and decided that we can take money out of it and pay off my wife's car. In a few months we'll be back up to a full 6 months expenses saved in the E fund. + +After plugging everything in to the budget spreadsheets we've been using and calculating our savings rate for the first time, we couldn't believe it. 43%! Knew we were saving a decent amount, but that was impressive to us. + +Now that we know how much we are saving (compared to just having a notion of how much it is), we know how much we can attack our mortgage with, and that we can be absolutely debt free in under 7 years, plus a rocking retirement outlook. A rocking EARLY retirement outlook! + +tl:dr Been saving dilligently, paid off last consumer debt today, finally calculated SR and knowledge is FI power +We’ve been together since we were practically kids. I’m only 31. It was very sudden. It’s been very hard. I want to make sure I do what’s best. He took care of our finances and would’ve helped me with this sort of thing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. (I don’t have any debt.) +I invested all my eBay profits for the last 10 years in GME stock. He would have said sell when it was up $20 a share. Won’t he be amazed to learn he married a very smart lady? Anyone else going to be surprising a spouse that has no idea what is happening? Holding GME +Thank all of you for the comments and the awards. I will place them in the mantle. +What financial help do is there out there? Centrelink is not a lot of money and you have to meet obligations but my situation is not quite "looking for work". You could say getting centrelink money I should be more grateful but the reality is, I'd be left with $60ish per week to spend after rent. + +I'm in a commissions based job but my office made no money because it's slower than predicted. So my director said to close the office until they figure out a way to make money because at the rate they were going the partners said they had to cut wages. + +I'm going to still be employed but I get not salary. Essentially, the current deals could go through at any point which means I get the commission (my boss will try finish it). + +My boss said to hold out until the company's financial situation is sorted (based on a deal being made). That could be weeks or months, there's really no forecasted date. + +If anyone needs more information on my situation to provide better advice I'm happy to give it. + +Update: Just wanted to clarify. My team leader is one of the partners of the company. He's the one I work with 90% of the time. It was my directors choice to stop paying me and my team leader was the one who felt like it was unfair to keep me in the dark about the whole situation because he said the other two partners were not going to tell me the reason for stopping the pay. +Hi All, + +I've been looking to buy my first property this year and went to the bank for a pre-approval, and later a broker for a second opinion. Both have told me rather different information and I'm confused as to whose information to go by. + +Some basic information, I'm on a $83K salary and have $40k in HECS debt ($381 deducted monthly from salary), no dependents, no other loans or credit cards. I first went to CommBank for a pre-approval 2 months ago to get an idea of what I can afford. I provided all information truthfully and specifically pointed out my HECS debt. I was given a conditional pre-approval for $630k. + +Earlier this month I went to a broker for a second opinion and to see if there was a more suitable package out there for me. I gave the same information and he said my max borrowing capacity would be $560k. I told him about my pre-approval with CommBank and he was adamant there was no way I could get that. He told me my HECS was the main thing holding me back, and if I got rid of it, my borrowing capacity would go to $650k. + +The broker also mentioned that it doesn't sound right that I got my pre-approval so quickly (over 2 days; I sent in my financial information and filled out some forms e.g. borrower's ID verification the day before I saw the lending specialist and then got the pre-approval the day I saw her) when typically it takes a few weeks to get evaluation. + +I later went back online to the CommBank borrowing calculator and although it was less than what the lending specialist had quoted for me, it was still more than what the broker had quoted. So I'm not sure where the broker is getting his numbers. + +I'm not sure where to go from here because I've been looking at properties in the market with the $630k loan in mind. Do I see a second broker? I specifically went to a local branch of Aussie home loans that had stellar online reviews. Or is the concern about my HECS real and I should work on paying that off first? + +Thanks in advance! +I often read about how much obesity is costing a given country, but the numbers are usually pretty bland and unexplained figures similar to "The US spends X billion a year on obesity and related health problems". But all this figure tells us is literally that there's a certain number spent on these healthcare costs - but literally nothing else. Obviously there are more healthcare costs for the obese individual than the relatively fit individual - but obese people are (In 99% of cases) employed people who not only pay taxes, but also add to the economy through their employment - but obviously less than a fit person, in general. + +The framing of the economic problem of obesity is often that "It's costing the economy money", but is that sensationalised? Do obese people contribute a total net positive to the economy? + +I hope this question doesn't come off as incendiary - I don't think people's value come purely from their estimated economic value. I'm curious because I had a hard time finding information about this topic, and because it might enlighten me on how media sensationalises economic topics. +Hi! I'm interested in the use of Minecraft as a tool to simulate and thus teach economic principles. I'll admit that I am art student and thus almost completely uneducated when it comes to economic theory so I may not entirely understand the responses to this question, but I am very curious to see how someone with more authority on the subject would approach the process of developing such a curriculum! + +My approach, which you are free to criticize, would be to encourage students to try and determine their own economic infrastructure within a Minecraft server to try and anticipate/visualize an economy. This brings me to my second question: what are your feelings about player economies? Can player economies be used to understand real world economics? At what point does a simulated economy become a 'real' economy? Can player economies be used to demonstrate the viability of experimental economic practices? These might be really naive questions but I'd appreciate any feedback/answers the community is willing to give!! <3 +How do they know that any change in prices are due to investors anticipating rate increases, and not just some other random event? + +And how do they know exactly 7 or 6 or 5? Is it some fancy statistics they use - basically, how do they know? +Just wondering if anyone could list some places that MA economists work outside the public sector. Are there good jobs at banks? Auto companies? Any input would be greatly appreciated. +I tried searching but couldn’t find anything, I’m on my phone so apologies if I missed a post. + +What would the above change do to the economy? Spending would reduce to items that are needed and other non essential spending would be reduced. I would assume people would be investing their money in productive assets like shares, housing, etc. +hi! im a high school junior and interested in learning about inflation. my idea about inflation is pretty basic. i want to understand current inflation scenario as well. + + +pls suggest any researchers, papers or books. +His main argument against macro economics is that you can't arrive at the macro level from the micro. Examples of this include general relativity and quantum physics, biological systems and chemistry, music and individual notes. The macro level in these examples is not explained by arbitrarily summing the micro. + +At each new level of complexity, new rules and laws must be found. You can't explain the behaviour of water from isolating an individual water molecule and analysing its properties, instead you must look at the interactions between millions of water molecules to understand how water behaves. + +There are emergent properties in complex systems, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts that macroeconomics fails to take into account as it is 'blown up micro' e.g. arriving at market demand by summing individual consumer demand (and since the consumer is a 'representative' one, it isnt really a market demand consisting of different individuals) + + +Another example he gave was that the supply curve is not upward sloping. In over 150 studies on firms, they found that marginal cost did not rise as output rose. Instead it fell, as factories often have built in excess capacity, and therefore work at increasing efficiency as output rises. Engineers know about the issue of diminishing marginal productivity, and therefore build their factories in such a way that this doesnt happen. + +For demand to be downward sloping Microeconomists stated that consumers must have homothetic prefernces in a good, so the proportion of their income spent on the good as income rises is the same, so somone who earns £10 a day and spends £2 on pizza each day must also spend £20,000 on pizza when they earn £100,000 a day. Another condition is that consumers engel curves must be parallel, but since these are straight lines, and income begins at 0 on an engel curve graph, parallel lines that start at the origin are...the same line, meaning there is 1 representative consumer. +From the [Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report](https://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-reports/fcic_final_report_full.pdf), page 402-403: + +"The causes of foreclosures have been analyzed by many academics and government agencies. Two events are typically necessary for a mortgage default. First, monthly payments become unaffordable owing to unemployment or other financial hardship, or because mortgage payments increase. And second (in the opinion of many, now the more important factor), the home’s value becomes less than the debt owed—in other words, the borrower has negative equity. + +“The evidence is irrefutable,” Laurie Goodman, a senior managing director with Amherst Securities, told Congress in 2009: “Negative equity is the most important predictor of default. When the borrower has negative equity, unemployment acts as one of many possible catalysts, increasing the probability of default.”" + +\-- + +I understand how a home buyer, seeing their debt exceed the value of their home, might be inclined to walk away from the loan. Especially if other things go awry, like losing your job. A quick search shows that this is known as a "strategic default" + +However, I'm confused, because a couple of paragraphs later strategic defaults are mentioned, but they're referred to as if it were a separate phenomenon (bold added by me): + +&#x200B; + +"Given the extraordinary prevalence and extent of negative equity, the phenomenon of “strategic defaults” has **also** been on the rise: homeowners purposefully walk away from mortgage obligations when they perceive that their homes are worth less than what they owe and they believe that the value will not be going up anytime soon." + +&#x200B; + +What I don't understand is how negative equity in and of itself would lead someone to default on their mortgage, apart from strategic defaults. +Apologies for such a broad question. + +What are the current discussions/debates taking place in the field of Economics surrounding Education? + +In the hopes of narrowing the discussions slightly (but not to simply restrict discussions to just these topics) + + +* Differences in Education outcomes / opportunity between Black American/Hispanic American/Native American v. White Americans + + +* Discussions on university tuition / effects this has on populations (Especially in comparison to other systems; German, Finnish) + + +* Views on teacher quality + + +* What views on Education are heavily supported in the Economics community, and what views are more contentious / controversial? + +* What major reports/research has come out of the field on this topic, both recently, and in the past? +&#x200B; + +Hi guys, Bernanke's famous quote 'QE works in practice, but not in theory,' is cited a lot in articles. Does anyone of you know the original quote? I only seem to find newspaper articles. Some say it was in conversations with the Brookings institute, other say in was while giving a speech. + +Any hints would be appreciated! + +Thanks! + +[https://www.ft.com/content/3b164d2e-4f03-11e4-9c88-00144feab7de](https://www.ft.com/content/3b164d2e-4f03-11e4-9c88-00144feab7de) +I was recommended 3 of his books (and another by Greenspan) but I've never heard of Tooze. Is his research sound or is it more closely related to pop-econ? +I frequently heard the national debt brought up in presidential debates this election. I saw Trump bring it up, but I have been hearing about it my whole life. People say things like, "We have to deal with the $9 Trillion in debt that your children will have to pay off." In my understanding, hasn't our nation pretty much always been in debt? The Revolution certainly left us in debt. I guess we were probably on top of our debt after WWII, but debt doesn't seem like something a nation ever has to repay, unless someone threatens war over it, but isn't our military one of the most competent in the world? Would China go to war with us? +I guess my question lies in the nature of national debt. What factors would make it so a future generation will absolutely have to pay $9 Trillion? Apparently we've been getting on fine not paying it off, so why would our kids have to? +I understand this is a simple question, but when it gets thrown around in political debates, it seems like more of a fear tactic than a real concern. +I don't mean "Why does he need to cut this cost?" I mean "why is sales tax structured in such a way that he even needs to, or can, request this?" + +In the UK, where I live, VAT - the European alternative to sales tax - is very straightforward. Theoretically, everyone pays VAT, but businesses are allowed to spend the VAT they collect from buyers to pay the VAT on their own purchases from their suppliers. In practice, businesses can legally avoid actually paying VAT on their purchases by telling the supplier their VAT registration number. This is then all recorded in a central government database so the government knows how much VAT is outstanding. + +This is true regardless of whether the goods or services being supplied are an input, or a capital good (such as assembly line equipment). For the purposes of VAT, the government doesn't care about that. + +So in the UK, if Tesla wanted to build a new assembly line here, Tesla would simply give their suppliers their VAT registration number. The VAT they collected on the cars they sold would eventually pay for all the VAT on their equipment - assuming they made a profit. (Tesla might, however, have to pay higher business rates as a result of owning more assembly line equipment - but that's a completely *different* type of tax code stupidity.) + +Why on earth doesn't the United States have a VAT instead of a sales tax, to avoid this kind of problem? +I want to learn about German Corporate Governance otherwise known as Rhine Capitalism and more generally Shareholder model. I have found lots of papers on the topic but I really want to learn about employee ownership of capital across Germany. How it works. The characteristics of Rhine Capitalism and the connection between labour and capital. + +Is this the right place to be asking about this?? Is there a better subreddit that you all can recommend? +For a city to exist, it must ship in *a lot* of food, every day. Presumably it must ship something back out again to wherever the food comes from, in exchange. What do modern cities "export" in this way? +I’m a Canadian, and I see that our leadership has borrowed something like $72 billion to assist the fallout from the pandemic. In worldnews it says they will subsidize employee wages by as much as $875/week/employee. People lays off by the pandemic are getting $500/week for the next four months. + +These are great short term initiatives and I get that. But my children are going to be the ones saddled with extra debt. I personally know that debt is hard on your back. I really want to know what kind of things Canada will experience down the road as a result from this bailout. +We keep hearing from central banks that they're considering CBDC. +Currencies are digital already and the vast majority of transactions happen digitally (from bank reserves to small payments). I can go months without using any cash. +Also some central banks even said they don't plan CBDC to completely replace cash. + +I don't understand what would they want to change in terms of functionality. + +Payments and money/currency units are already digital, some banks are even settling private transfers the same day (like 1980s technology is finally here!) + +They already issue. + +I can see either banks being cut off from retail and people having just a central bank account (which o consider highly unlikely), or issuance of rule based currencies like (spend it in a month) to control consumer behaviour. + +What am I missing? +Hey Reddit, + +I want to learn economics so that I can be a better businessperson, but I don't have the first idea where to find useful information about it. + +I have a certain conception about economics that may be untrue, I'll share it so others can tell me if it's false or not. In the college I went to, the economics course was just a "mandatory" that people took because they were required for a lot of degrees, commonly referred to as boring and inapplicable to real life. + +If this conception of the way colleges generally teach economics is false then I want to find out where I can learn the real-life applicable study of economics so that I can use it in business. If it's true, then I want to find out how to self-teach myself exactly what I learn in a college classroom, for free. + +Where do I start? I'm at a loss as to where and how to learn real-life applicable, business oriented economics. + +If you're responding to this thread, please tell me a little bit about your formal experience with anything economics-related, so I can understand why you're recommending the things you are. + +If you're reading this thread, please upvote other suggestions in the comment section that you think were good responses to my questions, so I can figure out which resources/concepts/areas of economics to start with, thanks! + +TLDR: Unsure if colleges teach economics right, want to self-teach myself economics for business but am clueless where to start. +As far as I see it, the progress of globalization and the liberal world order is under threat from right-nationalist sentiment and i believe that a minimum wage for the whole planet could go towards weakening this backlash . Here a few reasons why + +1. It would somewhat disincentive outsourcing from the 1st world as a floor has been established +2. While it could lead to net job loss, it would likely increase the standard-of-living in exporter countries + +3. It would help change the perception that globalization is destined to be a "race to the bottom" + +&#x200B; + +KEEP IN MIND I am not proposing any particular scheme, I am more interested int he principle of a minimum wage that defies borders . + +&#x200B; + +So, would this policy increase well-being and help undermine isolationism ? +You hear a lot of conjecture from both the left and right regarding social issues, moral priorities, and accusations of the employment and direction of political and organizational power; however, something I often hear from both the left and the right is that the middle-class is collapsing and the wealth inequality between the lower class and the '1%' is growing, thus reflecting the instability and deterioration of the middle-class and the economy. + +How much truth is there to this? What exactly are the ramifications of a situation that would occur such as this? What real issues are the economy facing today if not this? +Hi, + +I am preparing for an exam which is heavy in spatial models. My school does not provide me with sufficient sources though. Most of it are spatial models based on Hotellig and Salop, but way more complicated than those I could find on Youtube. Do you have any sources where I could learn advanced stuff? +I have heard people saying that woman are delaying births, and that we ought to see a rebound towards the replacement rate. + +However, I'm skeptical because Japan, South Korea, China, Norway, and other developing countries are not seeing that rebound. + +If the crisis becomes more serious, are there any consensus amongst economists on how we could tackle the problem? +So I was having a discussion on when one draws the line regarding a certain price discrimination strategy and it being unethical. I know discriminating on gender is a completely unethical but I am not sure why from a debate stand point. Also companies jacking up prices at parks or cinemas or airports etc. is sometimes considered unethical but how does one draw the line on what is right and wrong? + +Anyway my thoughts around this topic are pretty scattered. I've read on pricing strategies and how companies look to maximize revenue or profit but I never came across a book/debate/discussion around pricing strategies and ethics and what is being done around it. I wonder if anyone here has been exposed to this topic. I would love to read more on pricing from an ethics stand point. +I want to know if this is a valid way of thinking about my near future. As a result of COVID-19, I’ve been stood down without pay from my full time job. As a response to this, the government will reimburse my employer $1,500 per fortnight to pay me to help my until this all blows over. + +Now, before this all happened my post-tax wage was approximately $2,000 per fortnight. Obviously this amount is more than the government assistance, but I’d get this payment doing no work.. + +My thinking is that if I do decide to find a new employer and lose this assistance, I will be losing this ‘free’ (I.e without effort/work) money and so the remuneration I would have to accept will have to makeup for this loss. + +Does this mean I should look for employment paying $3,500 per fortnight to make it worth the work I’d put into it? + +(Of course, ignoring the fact I may not be qualified for employment at that wage) +In the countries that have them, they're cheaper than supermarkets, which seems logical because supermarkets have a much higher overhead. + +While some analogues exist here in the US (swap meets and farmer's markets), I rarely hear about people relying on them to meet their actual daily needs. What makes them feasible in some countries but not in others? +For example Compulsory car insurance, health insurance? What would be the argument against making certain forms of insurance compulsory? (Other than general arguments that government shouldn't make things shouldn't be compulsory) +I'm taking an intro to epidemiology class and I find it quite fascinating. The study of measuring disease in populations seems to be applicable to few things in economics like causal inference, and study designs of groups of people. + +In addition to those, are there any topics in epidemiology that are widely studied by economists? If so, what are they? +**Some context:** + +I am not an economist nor an economy student. I am a citizen of the world interested in the topic. I'm trying to approach the topic from a measurable standpoint rather than the "infinite growth in a finite world" mantra that we can sometimes hear or read. + +From my uneducated perspective, every political decision regarding economy seems to be aiming at an economic growth, which would then be infinite. But I fail to understand on what premises this belief is based. + +**My questions:** + +Some studies suggest that GDP growth is dependent on energy use growth (see [graph](https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gdp_energy.png) or more [detailed study](ftp://mse.univ-paris1.fr/pub/mse/CES2014/14097.pdf) for such an example). This feels intuitive: the more energy you use, the more goods/services you can produce (with more or less energy efficiency but the trend shouldn't change). + +1. How true is that claim? Are there more subtleties that I should be aware of? +2. Considering that the world of physics sets an upper bound to how much additional energy we can use every year\*, is infinite economic growth conceivable? +3. If economic theory academics consider it is, then what hypotheses and observations support that? + +\*: energy sources such as oil, gas, or radioactive material, and raw materials to build renewable/non-renewable power plants are limited; and that would be without considering the issue of climate change that adds extra pressure on our fossil fuels use +Been researching concepts related to supply and demand, but I can’t seem to grasp this particular part when it comes to surplus pricing. For example, let’s say I, a supplier, will make an additional widget for every dollar I receive per widget ($1 to make 1, $2 to make 2, $3 to make 3, etc.) and the demand starts at 9 people when each widget is priced at $1, but then decreased by one for every additional dollar (9 willing to pay $1, 8 willing to pay $2, 7 willing to pay $3, etc.) + +Now, with this info, we know that the equilibrium would be 5 widgets priced at $5 each, which would earn me $25. But let’s say I make 9 widgets. Economics says I should lower the price of each widget from $5 to $1 so 9 people will buy all my supply, restoring equilibrium. But overall, that would only make me $9 total, which seems counterintuitive since I’m trying to maximize my profit. + + +So in this case, if I could sell 5 of them for $5 each, earning me $25, and then sell the remaining 4 for $4, then $3, then $2, and then $1 to the remaining demand until I get rid of them all. That would make me $35 total, which is more than if I just dropped the price of each just for the sake of selling all of them. + +So, from a profit maximizing point of view, why wouldn’t I just incrementally decease the price of the widgets so I can get the most money per buyer until I sell everything? +Reading picketty who argues that when r (=rate of return on capital) is greater than g (=rate of economic growth) there will be a spiral towards ever an greater concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands. + +But I don't really understand why this is the case? Could someone put this is simple terms for me? + +Thanks. +Will there be a point at which many boomers will be trying to sell their homes to go into nursing homes, etc. but because so much of the next generation (Millennials and Gen Z'ers) have relatively less well-paying jobs, and high amounts of debt, will not be able to afford them, the prices will come down significantly? Why or why not? +I thought taxing alcohol would be a no brainer because of all the negative externalities. Some people argued that it unfairly punishes those that drink responsibly and that there are no negative externalities of a little alcohol. + +Do most of you support alcohol taxes or not? If not, how else do we pay for the damages to public property, increase in crimes, healthcare (that's not out of pocket) etc that (excessive) alcohol consumption causes. +In [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6fkdagNrjI) video, Milton Friedman talks about how the FED mostly failed in its actions, moreover when Friedman talks about the Great Depression, he says that the FED tightened the money supply which of the main cause. With that in mind, it seems like Bernanke's FED was a tremendous success. Was is it the first time the FED did not fail? +Hi all, first time posting here. I graduated from a Russell group University (probs tier below Oxbridge) with a first in economics and I can't understand, from all the classical theory (but perhaps not monetarist) that I've learned and from a pure common sensical standpoint, the BoE and govt's response to the economic condition we (the UK) find ourselves in. With inflation primarily caused by energy and food supply shocks, why are the BoE increasing interest rates, which wouldn't address the issue at hand due to the price inelasticity of energy and food. Conventionally wouldn't increasing interest rates only serve to increase the cost of (floating rate debt) for households and businesses, quelling the private sector, stunting growth and ultimately fuelling stagflation. I understand the spill over effects that energy and food prices have on the production and goods and services and the consequential inflation that bring, which to some degree rationalises the BoE's response to this event. However, why is the default position from the BoE not to support the British Govt fiscally through open market operations to subsidise food and energy and provide funding to invest in our supply side for future energy and food dependency and efficiency? Surely policy akin to this gets that gets to the heart of the issue and rejects the likely recession coming our way is the most obvious policy to escape this situation? But why is this not the case? Is it to do with the BoE's balance sheet, financial market conditions prohibiting more aggressive expansionary policy or am I just entirely wrong and in fact the correct course of action is indeed a more cautious approach. I would appreciate it if anyone could help me out here +I'm just dipping my toe in economics so please forgive me for my rather primitive characterisation of Patnaik and the overall substance of my question. + +In a 2019 interview Patnaik (an Indian economist apparently) claims that Ricardo's theory is basically bunkum: + +> For example, Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage says that there is always benefit from specialisation and trade for both trading countries, but it is a logically incorrect theory. Ricardo himself was a poorly educated, but very clever stockbroker. + +>> He was a very modest man you know. He said ‘I am not as learned as Adam Smith. I have not studied philosophy, I have not studied history.’ If you read Ricardo, you see he had very good reason to be modest! Because if he had studied philosophy, which includes the study of logic, he could not have put forward the theory of comparative advantage, which assumed that both countries entering into trade could produce both commodities. + +>>> This is a very simple material fallacy, namely an incorrect statement of fact since Ricardo’s country could never produce tropical goods whose ‘cost of production’ could not even be defined in his country. His basic assumption is not true for any Northern country, so the conclusion of mutual benefit is not true as I have pointed out with numerical examples in my essay ‘Ricardo’s Fallacy’ (in K S Jomo ed. The Pioneers of Development Economics). + +https://mronline.org/2019/03/14/utsa-patnaik-on-agrarian-history-and-imperialism/ + +I'm at a loss, does her claim carry any substance? +What are the repercussions of implementing a Universal Basic Income. What consequences would it have in the short term, and in the long term. How would Basic Income affect our lives? With increasing automation and possible replacement of all human jobs by machines in the future, would basic income become a necessity? +Non-native English speaker here. + +I have a BS in Economics and an MBA and I live in Bangladesh and I have been searching for a job of a "pure economist" for 6 months now without luck. There are a very few of such jobs in the government, but the government pay scale pays much less than living wage and they transfer you to remote areas without basic services. + +I currently work as an universal banker by the way. + +So given that there are no economist jobs in my country, is there ANY WAY to make my own job as an Economist? + +Like becoming a consultant or something like that? I need to create my own job such that its a *true occupation*. For instance, if I ever apply as skilled worker in the category of Economist in a country like say Canada or Australia, I should be able to use my experience in my own created job for the application. +Hello all, how is UBI supposed to be implemented. I have views that are more fiscally conservative, however, I have been looking at Andrew Yang's policies. I have to say, I'm very impressed. UBI ($1000/month) seems excellent on paper (like socialism lol), but how is the government going to pay for this? Taxes? Budget cuts? Cutting useless departments? Cutting government benefits? + +Just as a disclaimer, I respect all view points, wether you're from the right or left, please feel free to answer. +Why wouldn't interest rates automatically adjust to excessive saving and investments go up? I get that if they didn't then that would reduce the money chasing output and cause deflation and production would decline and unemployment would rise in the short run. Eventually prices would adjust to this deflation after a downturn and, presumably, the economy would return to equilibrium and full employment in the long run, right? + +But more importantly, why wouldn't an increase in savings decrease interest rates and increase investments in the first place? How would such a situation arise according to this view? +Hi, I'm a third year PhD student in mathematics. My research focuses on mathematical biology and uncertainty quantification, though I've done a good bit of coursework in dynamical systems, probability, analysis and algebra. I am interested in learning about econ on the side. I'm not looking to do this as a serious research direction, just out of curiosity and and a desire to better understand things on which I vote. + +Can anyone recommend good resources on understanding different concepts, viewpoints and modes of thought in economics? I'm not worried about mathematical complexity, but I have no training on economics. + +Thanks very much in advance. +According to economic data the real interest rate is about 2.2% and the inflation rate is around 2% this means that combined the nominal interest rate should be 4.2%. Yet when I go to the bank to open a savings account rates are closer to 1%. Because we live in a world where there is competition for banking (and because presumably people's banking preferences are quite interest sensitive) wouldn't it be profitable for any bank to increase it's rates until they hit near the nominal interest rate which would increase market share? To put my question in other words, at equilibrium, isn't the nominal interest rate equal to the savings rate at a bank? If so, why is banking not at equilibrium? +I was wondering why 10yr government bond yields for the likes of Germany and Ireland are negative, whereas the US and UK are still yielding above 0% + +Are irish bonds seen as less risky than uk bonds? Or is it a result of past monetary policy and comparably lower rates being required to stimulate these economies more, during previous years. + +Thanks in advance +Hi, I'm a third year PhD student in mathematics. My research focuses on mathematical biology and uncertainty quantification, though I've done a good bit of coursework in dynamical systems, probability, analysis and algebra. I am interested in learning about econ on the side. I'm not looking to do this as a serious research direction, just out of curiosity and and a desire to better understand things on which I vote. + +Can anyone recommend good resources on understanding different concepts, viewpoints and modes of thought in economics? I'm not worried about mathematical complexity, but I have no training on economics. + +Thanks very much in advance. +Hello, +While I understand the arguments against restrictive zoning rules and prohibitive rent control (favours long term renters at the expense of new tenants and can lead to a shortage of available homes due to under construction), one counterpoint I’ve never seen adresses properly is the value/utility/peace of mind which rent controls can offer. + +I’d argue that there’s a case to be made _for_ rent controls given that it makes it much easier for households to plan for thé future since they have a pretty good estimate of what their rent will be year in year out. + +So my question is the following: do rent controls reduce the uncertainty surrounding household expenditures and, if so, to what extent does this put a wrench in the whole « rent controls are bad » argument which I often find in Reddit Econ subs? +Hi, I'm learning about basics of economics and apparently innovation and new ideas are the main source of growth for economy and investments. Many people invest in real estate and the price of US households have gone up \~5% per year on average since 2000. [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ASPUS](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ASPUS) + +&#x200B; + +I realize new homes are probably higher quality compared to 20 years ago, but I'm suspicious innovation in house quality is the reason the price is rising 5% yearly. Is there better explanation for why real estate prices rise consistently over decades faster compared to CPI? +We’ve all heard the arguments from progressive economists like Piketty in favor of comprising half of a board to be comprised of workers, but how exactly would this work best? Who would decide which workers get to be on the board, the workers necessarily or shareholders more broadly? Can any worker be on the board? How would this work in the context of universities and hospitals provided they are publicly owned? Would it be entirely comprised of workers? Who gets to decide this? Shouldn’t students in the context of universities also have a say in this as they are stakeholders even though they are not workers? Would this help decrease the costs of tuition perhaps? Would this apply to all companies you think regardless of their size? + +Thanks. +Hi, I'm a third year PhD student in mathematics. My research focuses on mathematical biology and uncertainty quantification, though I've done a good bit of coursework in dynamical systems, probability, analysis and algebra. I am interested in learning about econ on the side. I'm not looking to do this as a serious research direction, just out of curiosity and and a desire to better understand things on which I vote. + +Can anyone recommend good resources on understanding different concepts, viewpoints and modes of thought in economics? I'm not worried about mathematical complexity, but I have no training on economics. + +Thanks very much in advance. +Basically, does a higher inflation rate mean more volatility? + +If so, is there any consistent ratio of SD/Mean of inflation that I can use for simulations? +Can anybody point to researched cases of successful predatory pricing in which a firm lowers prices to cause other firms to leave the market and then raises prices and successfully recovers lost revenue? + +I can only find lawsuits of firms being forced to raise prices on the theory that they will be a bad actor in the future, but I haven't seen a successful case studied yet. I have read of a couple unsuccessful cases though. +First of all, I'm not sure if I'm phrasing my question clearly or correctly, so let me start with an analogy. + +Let's say I draw an outline of a cat that is easily recognizable as a cat. Now someone else comes along and draws a larger cat by outlining my cat, but just a bit bigger. You can imagine that some of the sharper details will be lost. + +Now another guy comes along and traces the 2nd guy's trace, only bigger again. More details lost. So on and so on until we are basically just left with an oval. No cat is recognizable. + +With that analogy in mind, I'm wondering if index-based investing means that a core of investors (those who buy individual stocks) end up steering the whole ship, since the others (index investors) are just essentially multiplying whatever the core are buying/selling. + +So essentially any small effect of buying/selling gets multiplied by the money that is being blindly invested via indexes. + +Does this make sense? + +Apologies for any English mistakes. +This is in response to a comment earlier about millennial buying the assets boomers are selling. If we are talking about current stocks I would argue the opposite is happening. Stocks are so expensive (both in P/E and nominal pricing). Because housing and stocks weren't truly allowed to collapse during covid millennial are buying assets at high valuations when recessions are normally times for generational wealth transfer. As Boomers are more in wealth preservation they are not at as much risk from a market collapse as younger people are at this point. + +I think the way millennial will become the wealthiest generation in the world would be through inheritance. This of course will mean that a specific few millennials will be extremely wealthy and the less fortunate will have to deal with the consequences of astronomical debt. We see repeatedly that federal government is inclined to cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations and cut spending on social and infrastructure programs that benefit the many. +Seriously, Nancy Pelosi averages 10x returns per year in the stock market but Congress is too busy with shitting on Crypto. Hypocrisy at its finest. Oh, I forgot, maybe most congress members are making inside tradings. Maybe thats why they don't give a f\*ck about its members insider trading suspects and they are dealing with crypto instead. + + + +>AOC pushes back on Pelosi: 'No reason members of Congress should hold and trade individual stock' + +Another headline; + +>Pelosi said it's fine for lawmakers to trade stocks. She's wrong. + +The System is fucked up. +Hello, + +I currently WFH (on a permanent basis) with a $70,000 salary. I LOVE working from home.. I work in my PJs and I have my personal computer next to me at all times. + +A recruiter private messaged me on LinkedIn asking if I am interested in a position with a hybrid schedule (3/4 days a week in office, 1/2 days WFH). The typical salary is $85k-$100k plus a 5-8% annual bonus. Associate ->Senior (corp. finance). The office is located 45m-1HR from home. I am a single 20 something with no dependents. + +Would it be dumb for me to not consider this position because it is not fully remote? I know it is a \~35% increase in pay (disregarding taxes) and it puts me in a solid position for future job negotiations. +Boys, Girls, Apes & Apettes... + +I've been psychologically fucked since january due to our beloved GME. The ups and downs has been something like i've never seen before (donald trump voice), the sheer amount of manipulation, injustice, series of events, hope, etc.. it's a lot to take in. + +I do believe we're in End Game now. The level of energy since last night has not been seen since the beginning of this saga. + +**I would just like to remind the apes that despite we can smell the tendies and start feeling light as if we're exiting gravity, this would be the time for shorts to do something fucking insane to kill morale.** + +I'm seeing a lot of posts as if we've already won... Apes, we've now entered the real battle. + +Don't rejoice until those tendies are sitting in your account, it'll save you psychological & emotional fuckery. + +Trust me, i thought i was immune to it after the first time around in January, until it happens again. + +We've got them by the balls... Love you all, it's been a pleasure to experience all of this with the most solid community in history. + +**TO THE FUCKING MOON.** +Welcome to the Daily General Discussion thread of /r/EthTrader. + +*** + +Thread guidelines: + +- Please refrain from discussing non-Ethereum related tokens here. You are welcome to discuss altcoins in the Daily Altcoin Discussion thread. +- All [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/about/rules/) apply here so please be familiar with them. + +*** + +To view live streaming comments for this thread, [click here](https://reddit-stream.com/comments/auto). Account permissions are required to post comments through Reddit-Stream.com. + +*** + +Enjoy! +So I asked in another thread if swapping between coins (BTC for ETH, or ETH for LTC, or whatever) was taxable. And I now have the answer direct from the IRS. BUT... it's a bit weird how they have worded it IMO and I think there's some interesting wiggle room. [Here is the full notice](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-21.pdf) and here is the specific language I noticed (in **bold**): + +>Q-5: How is the fair market value of virtual currency determined? +>A-5: For U.S. tax purposes, transactions using virtual currency must be reported in U.S. dollars. Therefore, taxpayers will be required to determine the fair market value of virtual currency in U.S. dollars as of the date of payment or receipt. **If a virtual currency is listed on an exchange** and the exchange rate is established by market supply and demand, **the fair market value of the virtual currency is determined** by converting the virtual currency into U.S. dollars (or into another real currency which in turn can be converted into U.S. dollars) at the exchange rate, **in a reasonable manner that is consistently applied**. + +So as I read this, YOU get to decide which exchange you use to determine fair market value. This could be quite significant as there can be huge price differentials between exchanges at times! Also, it's done in a "reasonable" manner, consistently applied. The IRS has a bad habit of using the word "reasonable" in their rules, which opens all sorts of doors to wriggle through, since reasonable is subjective and not easily measured unless taken to court to set a precedent. + +For example, I consider it reasonable for me that I always use the USD value at whichever exchange is showing the highest price for the asset in question at the time I made the purchase, regardless of where I actually made the purchase. I will be consistent in using this methodology, therefore it meets their requirements of reasonable and consistent. + +>Q-6: Does a taxpayer have gain or loss upon an exchange of virtual currency for other property? +>A-6: Yes. **If the fair market value of property received in exchange for virtual currency exceeds the taxpayer’s adjusted basis of the virtual currency, the taxpayer has taxable gain.** The taxpayer has a loss if the fair market value of the property received is less than the adjusted basis of the virtual currency. + +This feeds right into the next question... + +>Q-7: What type of gain or loss does a taxpayer realize on the sale or exchange of virtual currency? +>A-7: The character of the gain or loss generally depends on whether the virtual currency is a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer. **A taxpayer generally realizes capital gain or loss on the sale or exchange of virtual currency that is a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer.** For example, stocks, bonds, and other investment property are generally capital assets. A taxpayer generally realizes ordinary gain or loss on the sale or exchange of virtual currency that is not a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer. Inventory and other property held mainly for sale to customers in a trade or business are examples of property that is not a capital asset. + +So that's pretty clear, if we exchange one coin for another, there's a cap gain or loss on that exchange. I presume that means calculating the cost basis for every step of the way on all sides of any exchanges. What a headache. + +>8: Does a taxpayer who “mines” virtual currency (for example, uses computer resources to validate Bitcoin transactions and maintain the public Bitcoin transaction ledger) realize gross income upon receipt of the virtual currency resulting from those activities? +>A-8: **Yes, when a taxpayer successfully “mines” virtual currency, the fair market value of the virtual currency as of the date of receipt is includible in gross income.** + +So anyone mining - including cloud miners I'm sure - is expected to report those gains and pay taxes. But here's where that gets weird... what's your cost basis on something you mined from nothing? You didn't buy it directly. Is it the cost of your equipment or mining contracts? Because that starts to sound a lot like a business but what if it's just a hobby for someone? This is almost but not quite addressed in the next question in the PDF. + +I've got my accountants looking into this further but this is what they sent me as a starting point. It answers the big picture question (is this stuff taxable - no real surprises there) but also brings up more questions on *exactly* how we deal with all this. I have a feeling my taxes are going to be extra messy for 2017. + +Last week I was seeing 24 hour volumes of ETH/USD on GDAX of 800k or higher. Right now we're sitting at a 24 hour volume of 77k. Why such a drastic swing? Anyone got any half-baked ideas? +https://christopherdavid.co/in-the-spirit-of-transparency-e8037d9a0bfd#.grqd5sfoy + +Apparently they are abandoning the Arcade City name (and CD isnt too happy) Would have been a smart move to do before the token sale ended, after taking the money it seems....scammy. + +Besides entertainment value, I thought it's worth posting because they apparently plan to do a new token sale. + + +http://imgur.com/a/bUEqR + +Christopher David apparently owns the FB page, the intellectual property AND plans to shut down their website +Welcome to the Daily Altcoin Discussion thread of /r/EthTrader. + +*** + +The thread guidelines are as follows: + +- All sub rules apply here so please review our **[rules page](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/about/rules/)** to become familiar with them. The rules page is also linked in the announcement bar above. +- This thread is intended as a welcome place for discussion of all non-Ethereum related crypto. + +*** + + Resources and other information: + +* Newcomers who have basic questions about Ethereum can find answers by visiting /r/EthereumNoobies or our Ethereum Education wiki page, [see here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/wiki/education). + +* To view live streaming comments for this thread, [click here](https://reddit-stream.com/comments/auto). Account permissions are required to post comments through Reddit-Stream.com. + +*** + +Enjoy! + +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +For the first time we have insurance with coverage for mental health. It’s a copay of $30 per visit with no maximum. We’ve budgeted so that I can go once a week. I put it off for years because we didn’t have the money and I’m so relieved to finally start prioritizing my mental health. +I like math models, coding and statistics. Getting a graduate degree is something that I will probably do in the next few years. I was wondering what someone on a quant team does on a day-to-day basis? I've seen some listings for positions in quant roles and they all seem to want Ph.d's - is it worth getting a Ph.d in the specifically for the field or is it better to pursue something more generalized? What kind of responsibilities do quants have? I realize answers might differ a lot depending on what kind of financial firm you work for. But anything to shed a bit of light for me would be great. + +Thanks! +DRS. DRS. DRS. There….! Once was stonk named G M E, it made me crazy money money, so much that I went out drunk to Sea, almost every single morning… + +There once was a stock named G M E the main stream media said it was funny but I wasn’t laughing I was pissed so that day I decided to buy my ship! + +It was not just one strait up line it would take a lot of meticulous time, but I thought that to myself “Well that’s just fine!” + +During that time I skimmed the D&D I also read superstonk on the daily. I never lost HYPE and I know you are me! so let’s make some fucking money, And DRS G M E! +On Tuesday, February 10, 2015, we received a note from Google in regards to our app, stating: + +> This is a notification that your application, Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet, with package ID com.mycelium.wallet, has been removed from the Google Play Store. + +> REASON FOR SUSPENSION: Violation of the paid and free provision of the Content Policy and [section 3.5](http://www.android.com/us/developer-distribution-agreement.html#pricing-payments) of the Developer Distribution Agreement. Please refer to the Third Party Payments help center article for more information. + + +That particular section states: + +> 3.5 You may also choose to distribute Products for free. If the Product is free, you will not be charged a Transaction Fee. You may not start charging a user for a Product that was initially free unless the charge correlates with an alternative version of the Product. The Payment Processor must process all fees a Developer receives for any version of a Product distributed via the Store. + +Since that text is a bit vague, we were not sure exactly what it applied to in our wallet, and were guessing it was one of three things: + +1. LocalTrader fees +2. Addition of the option to choose your bitcoin transaction fee that Google may have thought we charge +3. Donation button + +We requested for a more detailed explanation, and were told we would hear back within 72 hours. + +On Thursday, February 12, 2015 we received a follow-up that stated the following: + +> We appreciate the opportunity to review your appeal. + +> Donations may only be collected within an app under specific conditions. The donation must be facilitated via a web browser, and any collection made through a secure payment system. Donations are only permitted for validated non-profit charitable organizations (for example, a validated 501(c)(3) charitable organization or the local equivalent). After a regular review, your app has been administratively suspended pending verification that you are an eligible and currently certified charitable organization. + +> In order for us to process your appeal, please attach a copy of your organization’s IRS determination letter or other acceptable proof in your reply to this notification. The provided information must indicate your status as a charitable organization. + +> Please be advised we will not be able to reinstate your application without the above documentation. + + +So, **the issue turned out to be the donation button**, which is the easiest thing to fix (we just remove the button), however, Google's stipulations of making us prove that we are a charity, "or else", made us think this would be very difficult to get out of. We replied with an explanation stating that + +> We were not aware of the fact that giving users an opportunity to donate to the developers is violating the agreement. + +> 1) Bitcoin software is very sensitive to malware. If a software would imitate our brand and upload a backdoored version, users would unwillingly send money to it. This risk is partly mitigated by many links pointing to the existing package name https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycelium.wallet - if we would create a new app, users would not know that this is not a malicious version. If the application stays blocked, we might see someone taking advantage of the situation and uploading a fake version under a new ID, to trick users into thinking a it was provided by us. + +> 2) Leaving users on old versions is a potential security risk for their bitcoins. We do need to provide security updates, like in the case of the SecureRandom bug. The Android Developers described the problem at. We are constantly in touch with the security community and were able to provide patched versions minutes after the disclosure of the 0-day exploit. If there would be a similar incident and we had users stuck on the old version, users on Android would be at risk. + + +This morning, Google replied letting us know that they have accepted our appeal and have reinstated our app. We have removed the donation buttons from all our versions (beta and final), and just as a precaution set the LocalTrader fees to 0% as well. Our wallet app should be back up on Google Play by now, and we are glad to have this episode behind us. If you are a developer too, please keep this donation thing in mind as well. + +And finally, thank you very much for all the support we have received from our users! +Yesterday there were two big things that happened that may not seem related initially, but our awesome DD has helped to uncover their relation. + +&#x200B; + +**1. Jefferies ceased short selling of GME (and the popcorn stock)** + +Jefferies is a brokerage used by hedge funds for trading, and it's largely owned by...BlackRock and Vanguard! + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/nrgdlo/this\_is\_huge\_news\_investment\_banking\_company](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/nrgdlo/this_is_huge_news_investment_banking_company/) + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/nrwju5/institutions\_own\_74\_of\_jeffries\_financial\_group](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/nrwju5/institutions_own_74_of_jeffries_financial_group/) + +&#x200B; + +**2. Borrowed shares have disappeared and are not being replenished** + +There have been two posts discussing that BlackRock (and likely also Vanguard) have been lending out shares for SHF to dig a bigger hole (and make some tendies for themselves). Those borrowed shares have dried up. + +[https://gme.crazyawesomecompany.com/about.php](https://gme.crazyawesomecompany.com/about.php) + +[https://iborrowdesk.com/report/GME](https://iborrowdesk.com/report/GME) + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/mutwug/blackrock\_lending\_piles\_of\_gme\_shares\_at](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/mutwug/blackrock_lending_piles_of_gme_shares_at/) + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/n2jdy6/update\_blackrock\_is\_about\_to\_delete\_shitadel\_out](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/n2jdy6/update_blackrock_is_about_to_delete_shitadel_out/) + +&#x200B; + +I think this is no coincidence and, for some reason, they felt like now is the right time to start clamping down on this shorting bullshit. +**Current dividend portfolio:** + +**CLM** \- 27 shares @ 13.26 - 0.16 USD monthly + +**SGR.UN (REIT)** \- 1 share @ 12.23 - 0.08 CAD monthly + +**SHW** \- 1 share @ 706.20 - 1.34 USD/1.42 CAD Quarterly + +**ZWC (ETF)** \- 20 shares @ 17.36 - 0.11 CAD monthly + +&#x200B; + +**Monthly Div (if nothing changes):** 6.44 CAD + +**Yearly Div (if nothing changes):** 88.36 CAD + +&#x200B; + +\*\*Quick background/Thank you!:\*\*About a month ago I found out what a dividend stock was, thanks to my discord group. Thanks to them I did a lot of research into dividend stock (mainly Monthly dividend stocks) and asked around on wallstreetbets. An awesome user directed me here and I posted asking "What the highest dividend stock", it was met with a few people telling me to "focus on high dividend quarterly stock"/"Blue Chip dividend stock"/"Stock that has given dividend for years or increased dividend", and a few users private messaged me showing some really high dividend stock they were into. To all the people that replied I seriously thank you! + +&#x200B; + +**My Goal** + +My goal is to try and make $20 a month, via dividends, by the end of 2021 by any means (of course this means relying Heavily on a high dividend stock (which I'm aware isn't the best for the long term). However doing some research I found a few high dividend stocks that have some solid backing, mainly the "ZWs" (ZWC, ZWG, ZWP) all backed by a Canadian bank. + +Currently, the quickest way to do said goal is to buy more CLM, but I don't like the idea of "all my eggs in one basket" so I'm trying to spread it across multiple dividends if possible. + +&#x200B; + +**Current stock opinions:** + +* **ZWC** is a monthly high dividend stock that is backed by a bank (Bank Of Montreal (BMO)) so I have some solid faith in it long term, +* **SHW** is doing a 3:1 split at the end of the month and doing research into the company shows they are definitely a Long term hold + * Funny enough I bought into this stock purely for the split not knowing they gave dividends till very recently +* the rest are more placeholders for now till I can find a better stock. I haven't lost money per share yet (In fact I actually gained some) so it's been a nice "cushion" in the small crash that happened yesterday. + +If you have any stock or opinions on my current dividend portfolio it would be much appreciated! +I've recently started a new job which was advertised on seek for having a salary of $80k-$100k. +After the interview my boss said my pay would be $72k p.a. +Is this normal? I don't see the point in advertising a salary range if you then offer the new employee less :S +If this has happened to anyone, did you bring it up with your employer? +Hey Everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. + +I (29 Year Old, Canadian) am fairly new to the stock market game. Started investing around when the COVID crash happened. Received a decent sized chunk of change (basically free money) and invested in some dividend stocks based on some advice and research. Looking (and hoping) to re-invest 200-300 a month into this portfolio: + +$AAPL - 2 shares + +$O - 3 shares + +$[XEI.TO](https://XEI.TO) \- 12 shares + +$[XIU.TO](https://XIU.TO) \- 10 shares + +$DIS - 2 shares + +$PEP - 4 shares + +$T - 4 shares + +$MSFT - 3 shares + +Hoping to get some advice on for long term growth to sit on. Don't need the money, so looking to sit on at least 20-30 years. Anything you would change? Better dividend growth stocks out there? + +ALSO, and a big also... my wife thinks investing in the Market is a waste of money and thinks it will all be lost in a year. She just wants to put it in the bank in our low yield savings account. Can anyone here good at math ballpark our investment growth for the next 20-30 years? Possible outcomes with dividend growth from re-investing in hopes to convince my wife that this is a good idea for us! + +Thanks all in advance. :) +I looked at $O which closed above the 100 Day resistance level on Friday. I am interested in this stock and wondering what others think of the current price? It has seen a 4% decline over the past few days but that decline was while trading above the resistance. + +Do you view this as a breakout attempt, a fluke, or something else? +A while back, I read an article talking about receiving dividends each month. To me, as I had just started investing, thought it made a lot of sense, especially if I was looking to have a supplement on a monthly basis. + +Though I believe this helps me diversify, now I'm wondering if I've added too many stocks and should pull back, invest in my big winners. + +For reference: + +**Months 1, 4, 7, 10:** + +FRT, IIPR, KO, MJ (ETF), NRZ, SPG + +**Months 2, 5, 8, 11:** + +AAPL, ABBV, BMY, EPD, T, VZ + +**Months 3, 6, 9, 12:** + +JNJ, MSFT, NEE, PFE, PII + +&#x200B; + +I also have O mixed in there as well. Looking at selling out of some non-dividend stock I have to get in to SCHD and SCHY. + +I'm happy to hear of any constructive criticism on this plan. This is all very new to me, but after inhaling a lot of posts in r/dividends it seems that most are looking to help and/or learn. I appreciate that from both sides. +I'm using an out of state plan currently. But when i consider opening a new account in-state to take advantage of state tax incentives (IL) I'm torn between whether I should just add more to my established 529 or start a new one. + +I could roll over but it would take multiple years to efficiently move the account from one state to the other due to contribution limitations related to state tax incentives. + +Hope this is clear enough, I appreciate the help! +I don’t make tons of money but have a stable job, and over 15k saved up. I started a Roth IRA last year and maxed it out. For some reason I’m nervous about maxing it out this year - maybe just because seeing the number in my savings feels good. Should I max it out again this year? I’m using a target retirement fund - what are the chances of me putting money into my Roth and losing it completely? +Been talking a lot about interest rates with friends lately, and it seems like it's pretty split between people who pay the minimum payment on a loan vs more. Most of the people I'm talking to have student loans but a few was for a house. I'm curious to learn why people would or wouldn't pay more? +For some background, I would consider myself at the upper-end of middle class; my parents have always financially supported my every need and want and I've never had to really work to make my own money. My parents split when I was 13, and have been giving me monthly allowances ever since. Currently, I receive $400 a month to pay for gas, food, etc. and my mom has also given me her credit card. + +My parents have a college fund for me and I get financial aid, but I'm feeling really overwhelmed because I have NO IDEA how tf financial aid works at college and my parents are really getting on my ass about it. Recently, I also learned that one of my family friends in her early 20's has a rare form of cancer, and she's been scrambling to figure out her finances. My family has been talking to her about mutual funds, stocks, life insurance, etc. and it really freaked me out because I (again) have NO IDEA what they were talking about and I don't want to be in a financial situation like that. + +A friend of mine who's (mostly) financially independent told me I should open a credit card to build credit, but I'm scared that I'll screw myself over. My parents tell me to invest in cryptocurrency, but I also have no idea how that works. I currently only have $1600 in savings and make some money from selling clothes online (not a stable income). My dad doesn't want me to work while I go to school, and I really want to graduate college and grad school (as close as possible to) debt free. + +I've heard sooooo many horror stories about college debt ruining people's lives, and I don't want to be mooching off my parents when I'm older. How do I start becoming financially independent and stable? You might think I'm joking about how clueless I am about all of this, but I legitimately don't know the first thing about finances. I love spending money (if I get a dollar, I spend a dollar) and I'm worried about my habits negatively affecting my future :// + +Tl;dr: Lowkey grew up spoiled and knew nothing about money, but I want to eventually become financially independent, but don't know where to start. What are the first steps I can take as an 18-year-old soon-to-be college student to save and become financially secure? +Hi everyone +I’m hoping to get some advice on this situation. I will be receiving a settlement for a car accident I was in, in the realm of $1.5M. I have about $185,000 worth of debt (mortgage, car loan, a credit card). + +I can either take the payment in a lump sum, or take a structured settlement. I am hoping to make this money work for me, and support me for the next 40 years. + +What would you folks do with the money? How would you make it work for you? +I would appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance! +I don’t make tons of money but have a stable job, and over 15k saved up. I started a Roth IRA last year and maxed it out. For some reason I’m nervous about maxing it out this year - maybe just because seeing the number in my savings feels good. Should I max it out again this year? I’m using a target retirement fund - what are the chances of me putting money into my Roth and losing it completely? +We're trying to decide on the best way to set aside money for our kids' education. Some things to note: We are 35 and 38, our kids are 2 and 4, and we have a third on the way. We are very fortunate in that we don't have any debt (mortgage, car, etc. are all paid off), max out our 401(k)s, and have enough in savings and investments to not worry about retirement. + +The first obvious choice would be a 529, but I don't want the money to be restricted for educational expenses only in case they choose not to attend college, or win a scholarship (understand you can change beneficiaries). In addition, there aren't tax advantages in our state. + +I was interested in potentially opening a roth IRA but our income appears to disqualify us from making contributions. I also looked into a custodial roth IRA, but it sounds like the kids having their own earned income is a requirement (I've read a little about potential workarounds that could qualify as earned income for toddlers but don't know if we really want to deal with that). + +Lastly, I've thought about a UTMA but am concerned about giving our 18-21 year olds a windfall of cash with no restrictions, although I hope we raise them to be good financial stewards. + +Would love to know what others in a similar position are doing, and if there are any other options we should be considering. +I live at home and am starting community college in the fall. I make $7.25 and hour and make about $100 a week getting paid every 2 weeks. Paying $1000 a semester with parents paying other half. Idk if this info will help with responses but I appreciate anything you guys can tell me. +I'm currently a technical lead making 58.5k/yr and I would say I'm over efficient in my job (that is I probably work an average of 30 hours a week compared to the traditional 40+). + +My company recently underwent some structural/process changes and is in need of someone to step up to be manager of the team (that I'm a lead in) because the current temp manager has way too much on his plate. + +It's not that I don't feel like I can't do the position but when I asked what the difference in comp would be, I was surprised to find out it's only an additional 5% (about 62k). I expressed how this was a lot less than what I was expecting and made my counter offer at 75k (which is more than I'd expect anyway, but I was okay negotiating to 70k-72k). + +Supervisor asked me why I felt I warranted that much and I laid out everything I've done, my value, comparisons to similar positions, how I nearly doubled my starting salary over 2.5 years, etc. He said that perhaps we could revisit in a couple months (specifically 4-5) to discuss a further raise. The thing is, that's when my annual is due anyway and I fear they'll just "combine" it and low ball me. + +I'd be managing a team of 9 people, half of whom are high maintenance. And even after optimizing for the role, I think I would be working a full 40+ for only 3k more a year. + +The thing is, I said I was 90% interested pending the salary increase and even after hearing it I said I'll have to think it over. But now I don't want to do it because it doesn't seem worth it for such a small increase but I don't know if what I am asking for is excessive either. + +As far as leverage goes, he's only gone to 2 people for this position and the other person turned it down immediately. I'm responsible for a majority of the process changes that has happened and understand the role inside and out but I'm not sure what the likelihood is for them to just get a different manager in the company and integrate them. + +~~Edit 1: This got a lot more traction than I anticipated. I think I am going to turn the position down, however I wanted to know how this could impact things moving forward. I essentially said I was pretty much interested and ready but needed to know the salary increase prior to making a decision and after hearing it I was bummed but said even though I 95% want it, I'd have to think it over. So how do I professionally go about declining something that I nearly accepted all due to salary?~~ + +**Edit 2: Thanks for all the responses. It's been interesting to see how divided the comments have been with "it's good for your future growth, take it" and "it's not worth the added stress / work for the marginal increase, don't take it". As I've not yet made a decision, I think I am going to stand firm with my counter offer and see what happens. I would not feel comfortable doing the role without being compensated for the added value and then regret the decision later. I'm less likely to regret NOT taking the position for a minor increase as I know my own capabilities and what I bring to the table--here or elsewhere.** +This is to all you regards out there spam posting about how “everything is over” and “don’t be a bag holder.” Ryan Cohen revealing he owned a massive stake in BBBY was not the reason for the initial run-up, and it has nothing to do with how many shares are outstanding. + +Obviously his sale will take the stock back down below $15 (where he announced his stake) but what does that have to do with the short interest? Absolutely nothing. Paper hands can’t even sit on their shares for a week, and fall for the first attempt to get them to sell out. + +Those who bought below $15 are still holding. Those waiting for the shorts to exit their positions are still holding. The stock will slowly rise back up after all of this negative attention, and suddenly you’ll be buying back in at $20 like everyone else. Stop buying calls that expire in 2 days expecting massive gains. Buy shares, sit down, shut the fuck up and wait. + +Position: 200 shares @ $10.80, selling covered calls to dumbasses. + + + +Come back to this post in a week and cry about it. + + + +Edit: It hasn’t even been a week. Cry about it. +I don't want to be a jerk. But I see so many posts on Reddit of people losing money--significant fractions of their net worth--and blaming everyone but themselves; I feel there are some young folks here who need to hear this. + +The S&P500 is up about 25% YTD--that's extremely rare. It's up 115% since the March 2020 low. Look yourself in a mirror, and ask yourself if you're doing better than the market. + +This is not addressed to Bogleheads--you guys are doing fine. It's not addressed to traders who've been around since the dot com era. This is not addressed to retirees who've been through all this many times before. This is addressed to the novice investors of Reddit who entered the market after Covid and whose performance is negative, during an amazing bull run. + +Finance is one of the most cut-throat fields in existence. You are competing with people who are vastly more experienced, wealthier, and more influential than you. Some of the smartest people in the world. It's certainly possible for someone with a small portfolio to outperform--but it's not a game. You need to take it seriously. It requires work, study, temperament. Just because you're young doesn't mean you can afford to set your finances back years. + +Do you know how to determine the fair value of a company? Do you know how risk-free yields influence that calculation? Do you actually do that calculation before deploying your capital? + +Do you try to predict the short-term direction of the market? Try to predict when the next crash will be? How's that been working for you? + +Don't blame others. The market is not rigged against you--that's no excuse when it has been so easy to make money. No one forced you to buy stock in a company that had negative earnings; it's up to you to consider a margin of safety. Some people have genuinely been dealt a rotten hand---but you can't blame others for wealth inequality if it was **your own bad decisions** that caused you to lose money. Learn from it. + +The market won't always be like this. Since Covid the overall market has been on 'easy' mode. I don't pretend to be an expert investor, but I've been in the market since about 2005 and it's almost never this easy. As interest rates return to their historical levels and the effects of Covid become normalized, it will only get harder. Don't let your pride and arrogance get the better of you. + +**TL;DR:** Git gud, scrub. +There has been a ton of discussion about the standstill agreement over the past year and how that has been handcuffing RC. Now once it’s expired, it has been argued that RC will be free to ride in on a white horse, start telling everyone off including the SEC and the hedge funds and buy up all the shares of GME that he can. + +That is not realistic and does not make sense if you were RC. I know you want a MOASS trigger, but if you were RC, you wouldn’t either. More importantly, it will be a good thing for the approach to continue as it has - the progress that has been made and the future that is unfolding is phenomenal. + +Gag Order + +“RC can’t say anything because of the gag order in the standstill”. Not true, the restrictions in the standstill all relate to voting powers, control of voting shares and colluding with other voters. Not only that, but it goes against what Ryan Cohen himself said! They will be playing this tight to their chest. Judge us by our actions and not our words (or lack thereof). + +Acquiring More Shares + +First off, it’s important to note that the restriction is that RC can’t acquire more than 19.9% of the company. Had he wanted to, he could have already purchased more to get to the 19.9% stake or closer to it. He didn’t. + +Due to his role as chairman of the Board, RC has knowledge of material nonpublic information and as a result cannot trade his securities until such information is made public or no longer material. Otherwise he would be in violation of insider trading laws. This is why public companies have blackout periods where their employees can’t trade shares. Given how GME hasn’t press released much but we know a lot is in the works, until all material information is made public (whether in a quarterly report or press releases or otherwise), RC won’t be buying more shares. + +Liability + +It’s easy to accept that, in the event of a MOASS, retail investors will be blamed for their greed that caused the fall of the financial system as you know it. The thing is, retail investors is a single person or group that can be specifically vilified. If you choose, you will be able to continue to walk in anonymity following MOASS and you won’t get in legal trouble for simply selling your shares at the then accepted price (even if it’s in the millions, because it’s a marketplace and if you’re a willing seller to a willing buyer, that’s fine). + +What happens if RC starts a roadshow to attack the hedge funds that shorted GME? What happens if he buys a bunch of shares and that triggers the squeeze? Now you have a single pain point that regulators, lawmakers, competitors and institutions/banks/hedge funds can go after as the cause of a financial crisis. + +Now ask why you need the standstill lifting to mean something? + +Patience is tough. Especially in a situation like this. For me, I’ve purchased GME on the basis of an investment thesis that focuses on the future of the company led by a visionary who has demonstrated success if focusing on customer first and the team that he put together. And the shorts haven’t closed. Neither of those have changed, so I’m zen to have RC, MF and team continue to move towards revolutionizing their industry. + +TL; DR I don’t think the expiry of the standstill period will make any difference to how RC, the board and GME management is conducting business. For me, I expect the expiry to come and go with no change whatsoever. And that’s a good thing. + +Buy, hold, DRS. If you know how to trade options properly and have the financial capability to do so, then you do you boo. NFA +I am a high school graduate from the east coast and my parents have sent me on a yearlong dedicated religious program located in California. I am strongly against the religion/beliefs. After attending the program for 3 weeks, the directors have asked me to leave. My parents were infuriated and do not want me home until the program's duration is over (early August 2016.) + +I'm near San Fransisco and have 2 days before the program leaves me. What should I do? + +~ I will be turning 18 within the next month. + +Update: found a place to stay for the night on the outskirts of the bay area. Found housing in Southern California until I get back on my feet. Sorry I haven't been saying much here, there's just been so much going on. Thank you all for the support and suggestions! I really appreciate everything. +Just figured out the password to my presale wallet.... I don't even know what to do with myself right now.. Warren Buffet can't even make gains like this... Is there such a thing as a crypto financial adviser or crypto wealth management specialist? I've never been rich before, but the voice in my head says go buy a yacht tomorrow morning. Also, I know your supposed to keep it hush hush when you come up this much this fast, hence the throwaway, but how am I seriously supposed to act all calm and not tell all my friends and family that I made the greatest investment of the century? Fuck and what about taxes?? I'm already feeling like golum and hissing at the idea of forking over how ever much the government is going to want... how do actual rich people get out of that? Wheres all these loopholes I keep hearing about? My mind is racing too fast.... Do I sit tight and wait another year to become an actual millionaire? Do I diversify a bit? Buy a house? Help me out reddit, wtf do I do next? +Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying Monday. Just a couple of quick queries about ICN and DGD. I'm a long term ETH holder and I'm thinking of picking up a couple of the above ICOs for a bit of fun, but I need to know: + +* 1) How does ICN and DGD pay dividends? Straight into your ETH address? How do they know who has the tokens? Do you have to register somehow, or do they know from a blockchain scan? +* 2) I'm using a Ledger Nano S, with the native Chrome wallet. This isn't 100% compatible with ICN or DGD is it? So what's the easiest way of holding these in that case if I wanted to use the Legder. MyEtherWallet? +* 3) Where is the best place to get DGD? + +Thanks in advance and have a great day. +Welcome to the **/r/EthTrader** Daily Discussion thread. The thread guidelines are as follows: +*** + +- Discussion topics include, but are not limited to, general discussion, details related to events of the day, technical analysis, and minor questions. +- Do not create separate posts outside the daily thread which can be identified under the content categories mentioned above. If you do, your post may be removed and/or heavily downvoted. Important content should be posted as a separate thread. +- Be excellent to each other. + +*** + +Thank you in advance for your participation. Enjoy! +Welcome to the Daily General Discussion thread of /r/EthTrader. + +*** + +Thread guidelines: + +- Please refrain from discussing non-Ethereum related tokens here. You are welcome to discuss altcoins in the Daily Altcoin Discussion thread. +- All [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/about/rules/) apply here so please be familiar with them. + +*** + +To view live streaming comments for this thread, [click here](https://reddit-stream.com/comments/auto). Account permissions are required to post comments through Reddit-Stream.com. + +*** + +Enjoy! +6 months ago I was offered a mortgage product at 2.29%. My budget was £300k. If I had to buy the same house again with the same monthly repayment budget when mortgage rates are 6% how much would that house have to be worth? + +I think that would give an indication of how prices might need to fall. Would the calculation be as simple as that or would it be more nuanced as some people will be forced to sell while others just take their property off the market limiting supply? + +I know a lot of prospective buyers are panicking right now with the higher rates but im of the opinion, higher rates = lower prices so its all just swings and roundabouts. +yes, this is my life savings. yes, I'm scared as heck, but for some reason i think it could work in my favor. full regard.. for the boys + +[YOLO](https://preview.redd.it/iwoqqs6f5r4a1.png?width=2890&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d5f8f282db16c065f8d9e39d6b8b80690c60ca8) + +UPDATE: was down $29k at open. engaged diamond hands, held through the rally & realized a $6k loss. this was fun; I'll let you know what my next "investment" will be 😎 + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/nt8777pfpw4a1.png?width=2890&format=png&auto=webp&s=d13d9ecebdd8efb89a1c9ea7f669b7d00fb8f7e7 +A ton of Bitcoin services tries to localize to every language. The problem with that is that they often don't do it correctly. Even if the translation is *technically correct*, it still may not sound fluent. + +These things things do make a difference. **In Germany, shitty translations are strongly associated with scams.** (Probably elsewhere too, but I can't speak for that.) **If you can't get your localization perfect, don't localize to German**. Most people know English. If they don't know English, they are likely older and already sceptical towards Bitcoin. If it's English, they might go away because they don't understand it. If it's shitty German, they *will* go away because it feels like a scam, and they will associate Bitcoin with it. + +Coinbase is advertising an "**Unreliable solution**" (instead of trustless solution) and "**Busy function**" (the English term is "feature full", which is supposed to mean "full of features", but they translated it as "the feature [is] full [of something]". + +**Do it right, or Don't. Fucking. Localize. To. German.** I suspect the same also applies to Nordic countries (and any other country where English is wide spread). For countries where most people don't know English (e.g. Spain, I think), sure, translate and translate shittily if you really can't afford to get it right (it probably pays to get it right, though). For countries where people speak English, just use English. The benefit even from a perfect translation might not be worth it, and a bad translation *will* hurt you. + +Examples why you need a really experienced translator: It is often a better idea to use English words than to try to find German equivalents. If you're writing about a technical topic - even to an inexperienced audience - and there are no English words, you're likely doing it wrong. There are also technical terms that need to be translated correctly - for example (bad example since it's not really true anymore), a "shopping cart" in an online store should be translated as Warenkorb (~shopping basket), not Einkaufswagen (shopping cart) and certainly not "Einkaufskorb" (different word for shopping basket). Depending on what you do, it will just sound weird, make people *think* to figure out what you meant, or make it impossible to figure out. + +An anecdote: +I've often met people from other languages who are surprised I use a localized OS. The reason is that the German localization is *good*, the localizations for their languages are so shitty that anyone who speaks English uses that instead. +Has anyone in here choose to remodel the house instead of retire a few years earlier? If so, how’s that working out for you? + +We are a family of 3 with 3 dogs. Our 1600 Sq ft house starts to feel a bit small,the kiddo likes to play outdoor and we kind of wish that we can expand the playing area for the kiddo and the dogs to roam around. +Not to mention when we have guests like grandparents coming, working from home, everyone is fighting for a space. + +Our net worth is around 6. 5M (depending on the day). 3.5 M in stocks, 2M in the primary home, and the rest are in rental properties. + +Our 1600 Sq ft home is worth more than 2.5M at the moment due to the prime location - VHCOL.Nearby houses with big yard are in the 4-5M range here. The property tax alone is a killer. Since this is our community and where my kiddo goes to school, our only option is to remodel and given the VHCOL, it will be at least 1M to expand the house and get the yard we want but also, the 1M investment will be easily recouped given the house location. + + +We are in mid 40s. We are feeling kind of done with work and can probably drag on for a couple more years (pulling around 700-800k per year). Our math says that we can’t fatFIRE (unless we move out to cheaper area) and yet,putting an extra 1M to remodeling will set us back a few more years. + +I am leaning toward working a few more years in order to remodel. Kiddo is 7 and I think we will build more memories with bigger yard ( and some for the dogs too). All of us love our community and don’t really want to move to other areas. + +Still, today, the thought of working till my 50s cause some funny reaction in my stomach. Just want to hear from others who have done it and how is it paying off for you. +This subreddit really put me on a personal journey to understanding the value of budgeting and personal finance. + +I found this interactive article from the NYT to be a very interesting account of how other’s approach finance: + +[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/18/magazine/money-diaries.html](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/18/magazine/money-diaries.html) +Hello apes of all genders. With the awakening given to us by u/atobitt regarding the rampant corruption that runs up and down the chain I began my due diligence. I ran across an article that I thought had to be shared. + +I would like to say that I didn’t write this article but it’s on a crappy website that wants to spam you with ads. However, it’s written in a mature ape language that’s easy to understand and reads to me who the actual illuminati is. Surprise it isn’t the Rockefeller’s, Rothschilds or Bilderbergs. + +Here is the article: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/secret-trillion-dollar-company-owns-20790205 + +Enjoy 🍌 + +Conspiracy theorists are convinced that a tiny organisation owns all of the wealth in the US. + +Who owns America? That depends who you ask. A growing body of opinion points to an obscure, but immensely powerful organisation called CEDE and Company. + +This small New York based financial institution has a dozen directors and no more than a half dozen employees but holds, according to some reports, some 34 trillion dollars in assets. A complex system of interlocking bodies, such as The Depository Trust &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Clearing Corporation, the National Securities Clearing Corporation and the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation oversee all stock trading in the US. They all come under the umbrella of Cede. + +And, on paper at least, own all the stocks traded. The multi-trillion dollar secret works like this: The Depository Trust Company is a private bank for securities. Every other financial organisation in the US, bankers and brokerage houses, is obliged to secure membership with DTC. +Like the Federal Reserve, DTC is a private company entrusted with national responsibility. It processes all stock and paper securities for every US bank and brokerage house. + +Cede technically owns nearly all of the publicly issued stock in the United States. Private investors don’t own the stock they think they own, but rather have contractual rights that are part of a complex chain of rights ending up at Cede and Company. + +It sounds dry and academic, but it impacts every American. And as long as the USA remains the preeminent economic power on Earth, it affects the rest of us too. + +The Depository Trust Company absolutely controls every paper asset transaction in America and they physically hold the majority of stock and bond certificates in their name. Very few people hold genuine stock ownership certificates. Most trust their brokers to do that for them. + +And many Americans, who unlike Brits depend on private finance for all of their retirement and health needs, are concerned that these precious stocks could at any moment ‘vanish’ overnight to service the country’s staggering national debt. The Depository Trust &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Clearing Corporation is notoriously publicity-shy, but the DTC’s Jim McNeff spoke to financial journalist Anthony Wayne. Explaining to Wayne how infallible the DTC’s governance of the US stock market was, he said ”DTC's first controlled test was 4 or 5 years ago. Do you remember Black Monday? There were 535 million transactions on Monday, and 400 million transactions on Tuesday". "DTC cleared every transaction without a single glitch!". + +Wayne’s conclusion from that interview that Black Monday – a colossal financial downturn that ruined many Americans – was a controlled test. That it was a deliberately manipulated disaster for the benefit of the DTC. + +With the global financial system becoming ever more complex, it’s increasingly hard for even the experts to understand much more than a part of it. + +The 2008 financial crash which led from a crisis in the US subprime mortgage market to a series of massive bailouts that taxpayers are still paying for is just one symptom of a system that’s not only too big to fail. + +As one Reddit user put it: “America has gone bankrupt 4 times. The government has mortgaged the entire country. No one really owns anything...we don't even have our original birth certificates. Titles and deeds have small print telling you the original is with the DTCC. + +“All the people, and their property, are really owned by Cede, which is owned by the private bankers… “It is not a lawful system, but it is legal.” + +EDIT 1: Found this 6Y Reddit user who was deleted and only got like 4 upvotes on his post 🤔 + +And correction it is the damn Rothschilds and fam. + +https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/26xqtg/who_owns_cede_co/?utm_source=share&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;utm_medium=ios_app&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;utm_name=iossmf + +EDIT 2: And we thought England owned us. Larger share holder in this shadowy clan is Australia. DTC is 13th in the club. LETS MAKE THEM LAST PLACE! + +http://www.gwb.com.au/gwb/news/banking/wpac97.html + +This is WWIII. They need us or the game is over. What are they going to do play against themselves? 10 Million floor is still cheap. We want reparations for all of our ancestors you reptilian creatures! + +EDIT 3: +- Owners of all stock certificates. +- Owner of all birth certificates. +- 🤔 +NFL player Ryan Broyles who is a WR for the Detroit Lions is preaching frugality and passing down investment and financial advice to the youth. + +With over 1.4 million guaranteed and a total potential of 4 years/3.6 million dollar contract, Ryan lives on an approximate 60k USD$ annual budget for himself, his wife and his new born. + +Well done Ryan! + +Article: http://www.prosportsdaily.com/Headlines/ExternalArticle?articleId=368673 +When Celsius went under they pretty much took 95% of crypto, and at the time like 60% of my net worth with it. + +I had completely over invested and losing all of that devastated me a bit financially but more mentally. My trust was broken. U had worked so many hard hours to earn the dollars to invest in crypto to put in Celsius all for it to be devoured. But I also realized I was okay. I had a job, friends, a roof over my head, and a nice cat named Margot. + +Basically although I was disappointed I stopped being depressed over the funds quite quickly when I realized I could do nothing now and being sad helped no one. Instead I needed to work harder than ever to rebuild my portfolio from the ground up. This time storing more safely…. + +I’m really sorry to everyone who lost money it fucking sucks. But it’s just money and you’re still alive and being depressed isn’t going to get you out of this whole. Follow the court case to see if any of your money will be returned and also work hard to rebuild. You all got this. + +I put a similar message out after I lost my initial funds but when it happened again on a scale as big as FTX I knew I should put out another. +**EDIT:** [**Wonga has now gone into administration,**](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45359395) **See FAQ below, I'm not an expert in any way but my current advice would be if you have a claim please still send it to** [**customercomplaints@wonga.com**](mailto:customercomplaints@wonga.com) **and you can find more details around their complaints proceedure** [**here.**](https://www.wonga.com/complaints) **I would also recommend contacting the financial ombudsmen if you do not recieve a response after 5 days, if you get an automated response you need to wait up to the normal 8 weeks for a full response.** + +​ + +**FAQ:** + +**1) I have a Wonga loan, will this be written off?** + +>**Unfortunately for you, the repayments will still have to be made.** + +**2) I have made a claim against Wonga. If successful, will I get any compensation?** + +>**There is now much less of a chance of getting a payout, if a complaint is upheld.** +> +>**Compensation payments will be on the list of payments that could be made if and when Wonga's assets are sold. However, they are not at the front of the queue.** + +**3) I have another question** + +>[Link to the BBC FAQ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45359773) + +​ + +**Sorry to anyone if the advice I've given doesn't help them, I originally posted this purely because it was time sensitive.** + +​ + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +​ + +Hi Everyone, I only just realised that I could get compensation on the interest and charges wonga have stung me with, as they caused my debt to spiral. + +​ Rather than going to a 3rd Party company and losing up to 25% of what is owed to you, I have included a spreadsheet that I have used to calculate how much you are owed. + +Search your email for from:Wonga "Approved", this should list all the times you have been approved for a loan. Input this data into the spreadsheet and then use the templates provided in the links below to log a complaint with them telling them how much you are due, do not settle if they low ball you if they try it go straight to the financial ombudsman! Try to search your emails if you have any other payday loans and use this for additional information. + +Edit: Personal info on google account and formatted links ​ + +Links + +[Spreadsheet](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1w2soDW9QvPstHmQ2h4iOTCf_svHuud49) + +[How to calculate the interest](https://debtcamel.co.uk/interest-payday-loan-refunds/) + +[Email or Letter Templates](https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/) +TLDR: HMRC made a big tax calculation mistake and insisted they were correct. It was only resolved after a lot of pain and persistence. Check your tax calculations! + +I submit self assessments every year and my tax is very simple, just have PAYE from one employer plus some interest and SIPP contributions. This year I was due refund due to the SIPP. Shortly after I submitted, I got a letter from HMRC saying my calculation had been corrected and I had a "tax underpayment" from a previous year of nearly £4000 (!) which I needed to pay. + +I phoned HMRC and a lady looked into the issue. After being on hold for 20 minutes, she came back and said she had partially corrected it. I asked why and she said it looks like "shoddy accounting" by HMRC (!). She removed some of it but said I still owed £400 of underpayment but she couldn't explain why. I then spent the next 30 minutes arguing that this was not possible. I settle my tax in full every year, either through a cash payment if I owe them or they pay me out if I'm in credit. All she could say was that the system said I owed it, so I needed to pay it. She said this was probably due to bank interest which I hadn't informed them of, but I showed her that I had declared everything in the SA. Astonishingly, she then said putting income in the self assessment was not sufficient, I had to phone HMRC up every time I earned interest as well so that they could "add it to my tax code". I tried to explain that since I do self assessments, my tax code is irrelevant to my tax calculation and if I paid this now, I would have paid that tax twice. I walked her through my tax calculation to prove this. She eventually got irritated and said that people need to pay their taxes so I need to pay mine and then she hung up on me. + +I rang back, got a new agent and went through the whole process again. This time sense seemed to prevail and the agent agreed with my reasoning. He couldn't explain the £4000 but said that the £400 underpayment was listed as "potential underpayment" which "the system should have cancelled". He had to raise a ticket to get it all fixed in the system and eventually I got a letter in the post admitting to the mistake and confirming they now actually owed me money. + +I'm not an accountant but I keep meticulous records of my tax and a parallel spreadsheet calculating everything. It worries me how many people might accept HMRC's calculations without double checking themselves and get done in. It's even more worrying that at least one of their agents clearly doesn't understand how self assessments work. + +Double check HMRC's tax calculations! +Amongst the benefits of having an NUS extra card are... + +- 6 months free Amazon Prime membership +- 10% off at co-op +- Student entry prices for venues +- 12% off 16-25 railcard +- Free cheeseburger at McDonald's + +And so much more: https://www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/discounts/ + +How to get the card: + +Sign up to this course, which costs £4 and is registered with NUS. + +https://www.gogroopie.com/deal/1rowtbjwey/ + +Follow email instructions to register and remember what you set as your password as you'll need it to get the card. + +Head over to NUS Extra website and apply for a three year card (£33.50 incl. postage) - listing 'eCareers' as your educational provider. + +Fill out the details, entering your 'Student password' and bandabing badaboom you have your three year NUS Extra card for £37.50 and 15 minutes of your time!! + +Happy saving! + +**(Posted again after adjusting title at request of Mods)** +I just wanted to share my story. Like many /r/Bitcoin posters I had a smart friend who got in early and explained what he knew about Bitcoin to me. It was back in November, 2013. + +I was so excited about the amazing mountain chart that looked to be skyrocketing, I jumped in and bought 1 BTC for $1,000. + +Gasp! For those of you expecting for an ensuing rant about how terrible Bitcoin is, let me disappoint you. Because thankfully, I also did something much smarter: I set up an automated BTC buy plan (dollar cost averaging) via Coinbase, just $50 USD every 2 weeks. Well I now have 4 BTC and have an average price paid just under the current price. In other words, even though 25% of the BTC I own was bought at the highest price it's ever been, it doesn't matter, thanks to the magic of DCA. My advice is this: you can and should invest in BTC as much as you feel you should, but be smart about it, and don't expect instant results just like any mutual fund or stock or precious metals investor will tell you. I'm glad and proud to own Bitcoin, and my only decision in the future will be how much to increase my auto-buy setup. If you're not already doing it, please take advantage of dollar cost averaging your BTC purchases, just like investing in other vehicles. You can thank me later. +In four months it's going to be January. What's so special about that? Well that's when a mass majority of us started buying into GME. That is the month that all of the shares we've been buying up start hitting that 1 year mark, that's the month our short positions start turning into long positions and every month after that. We know you want those juicy capital gains tax. The longer this drags on the less you get in the end. +Edit: Based on premarket at time of this writing, if MOASS starts today I call dibs on being the catalyst. +> Apple Inc. is backing off plans to increase production of its new iPhones this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialize, according to people familiar with the matter, [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-28/apple-ditches-iphone-production-increase-after-demand-falters) News reports. + +This is inline preliminary reports from Fedex and Ford. Markets, consumer, economy, FX, and treasury yields continue to deteriorate badly, however inflation is hiding much of the pain in the numbers and statistics. Also note that headline CPI is clouded by releases from the SPR which is expected to end this October and energy is likely to spike in the winter due to the current EU/Russia conflict. + +I would also like to point out recent earnings from HD and SBUX where each reported lower volume but higher sales as a result of higher pricing. Inflation is extremely embedded into our economy, yet markets have not come to terms with the pain or the time (years) that will be required to bring it back to normal levels. + +There is also a very interesting dichotomy between corporate leaders and Fed officials. While many Fed officials see a softish landing or refuse to consider the possibility of a deep recession, note that some of the biggest CEOs have flagged a hard landing as early as summer. + +While the S&P has begun to come off lower towards the 15xish forward multiple, it should rightfully be at a lower multiple as a result of the higher rates. Additionally, earnings expectations have yet to come down. This is partly why many major banks have begun to forecast a S&P in the low 3000s. + +There is no such thing as a free lunch in the stock market. The gains we've seen over the last two years will be paid back in kind. +So Tesla was caught in the eye of the storm today, dropping nearly 10% in the midst of this market correction. May also have to do with the company stopping orders for the Model Y. May also be a short term correction as people take profits from the ATH. + +For all those on the sidelines who watched the price go up in the last few months and not get in - myself included - what do you say about it’s current price? Still overvalued in your opinion? Are you waiting until the price drops more? Are you buying small to average down if it goes further? + +I had been one of those sceptics who thought Tesla was in a bubble and would eventually return to around $500-600. However I must admit after lots of research Tesla does seem to be 5 years ahead of other EV makers and i’ve been waiting ever since to see a price drop. + +Does this drop in price justify buying a position in Tesla or are you expecting a bigger drop? I personally don’t believe the Model Y news is too shocking, Elon Musk has consistently acknowledged the challenge of mass-scale production. +I graduated college with a bachelors a year and a half ago. My first year out of college I did an internship which paid 30k/year. Once it ended, I got an actual job and now make 57k/yr, which is pretty high for my job/experience range (I'm a cell biologist). I'm fairly young (23) but I dream of having my own place. I want to be able to make improvements on the place I live without it feeling like a waste because its not mine. But its so far away!?!? How does anyone own a home before they're 39?? + +Take home pay is 3705/month. I live in San diego, CA. I went to the cheapest school in Cali (6k/yr) and worked as an RA my entire time there so I didn't have any housing/food payments so I managed to graduate debt free. My current job pays 100% of my health/dental premium. My budget is as follows; + + +Rent: 900 + +Utilities: 100 + +Household goods (I just moved into my own unfurnished room for the first time a few months ago, so I'm slowly getting things like pots/pans and craigslist furniture): 150 + +Transport (Gas, Ubers, & Bike supplies. I bike to work 3 days/wk): 125 + +Groceries: 240 + +Eating out: 50 + +Alcohol: 40 + +Entertainment: 50 + +Gym: 25 + +Misc goods (beauty products/random stuff/seasonal stuff): 222 + +Savings/Large expenses: 1785 + +1785 is roughly 48% of my income, seems good for savings right? + +Lets say big purchases (Crowns for my teeth, car repairs, car insurance which I pay in lump sum every 6month, etc) end up averaging $285/month. I feel like I end up having to spend $400 on something or another every few months so that is probably fairly accurate. That leaves me with $1500 to save every month. + +If that holds, I'm able to save 18,00/yr. But $6000 of that each year will go to my roth IRA, leaving me with 12,000/yr. + +The average home price in San Diego is $629,000. To get a house here (its a hot market), you generally need at least 30% down. So around 188k. It would take me !16! years to save that much, and the price will probably have increase by a lot by then. + +So how do normal people buy houses?? Is my view on the average age range for people buying houses just skewed? Do people buy them later in life than I thought? Or am I missing some fundamental obvious fact that I somehow inexplicably glossed over?? 16 years just seems like forever. +The USA spends millions /Billions of dollars every year on training police/ agents to infiltrate and undermine these organizations. These illegal syndicates destroy our communities. They endorse murder and throw good people into an eternal cycle of prison/ release that US citizens will never break. They ruin families. They lure good children with potential and academic fortitude to a life of luxury and riches and lust and CRIME OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE. + +THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SPENT $95 MILLION DOLLARS IN 1984 to combat drugs. In Ronald Regans War on Drugs campaign 80' - 84' the USA spent $200 Million to combat a war on a problem that the CIA helped create. + +https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch01p1.htm + +https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/17/the-us-has-spent-over-a-trillion-dollars-fighting-war-on-drugs.html + +The war on terror. Not the war on terrorists. Not the war on the enemies of the United States. We/ I waged war on an idea a concept that America has coined to originate in the Middle East. And then spent Trillions of dollars in 20 years time to combat something that the USA ultimately lost, tuck tailed and ran and left 13 marines dead at an airport in Kabul. + +https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/3140845/first-anniversary-of-the-2021-kabul-airport-attack/ + +https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-09-01/costsofwar + +If we as a people can come together and decide that these things need to be addressed... these things need government funded intervention. These things need death penalties and jail sentencing for life. + +Then we need to see these terrorist organizations for what they really are. + +Goldman Sachs + +https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/goldman-sachs-charged-foreign-bribery-case-and-agrees-pay-over-29-billion + +Citi + +https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/business/citigroup-fine-risk-management.html + +BofA + +https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bank-america-pay-1665-billion-historic-justice-department-settlement-financial-fraud-leading + +Citadel + +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-07/ex-citadel-analyst-gets-51-months-for-hedge-fund-covid-scam + +https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-11 + +If we as a country can say that drugs and crime are destroying our community. Then enact legislation to destroy these problems and throw people in prison and make these criminals the social scum of the earth... then we can do the same thing for corporations that bankrupt small businesses, destroy families and steal BILLIONS UPON TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. + +"Well they're a business that redistributes the wealth back into the community." + +https://wallmine.com/people/28227/brian-t-moynihan + +https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/o16cbm/billionaires_boys_club_part_5_the_foundational/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb + +They don't redistribute shit. And the money they do let go of stays in their circle. It's called OLD MONEY for a reason. + +It's time to treat these corporations like the terrorist criminals they are. + +No worries boys. I'll buy more and DRS THAT SHIT. NOT FOR THE PAYCHECK BUT BECAUSE THIS SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY THING THAT HURTS RICH PEOPLE.... MAKING THEM POOR! JUST LIKE ME =) +The USA spends millions /Billions of dollars every year on training police/ agents to infiltrate and undermine these organizations. These illegal syndicates destroy our communities. They endorse murder and throw good people into an eternal cycle of prison/ release that US citizens will never break. They ruin families. They lure good children with potential and academic fortitude to a life of luxury and riches and lust and CRIME OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE. + +THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SPENT $95 MILLION DOLLARS IN 1984 to combat drugs. In Ronald Regans War on Drugs campaign 80' - 84' the USA spent $200 Million to combat a war on a problem that the CIA helped create. + +https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch01p1.htm + +https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/17/the-us-has-spent-over-a-trillion-dollars-fighting-war-on-drugs.html + +The war on terror. Not the war on terrorists. Not the war on the enemies of the United States. We/ I waged war on an idea a concept that America has coined to originate in the Middle East. And then spent Trillions of dollars in 20 years time to combat something that the USA ultimately lost, tuck tailed and ran and left 13 marines dead at an airport in Kabul. + +https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/3140845/first-anniversary-of-the-2021-kabul-airport-attack/ + +https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-09-01/costsofwar + +If we as a people can come together and decide that these things need to be addressed... these things need government funded intervention. These things need death penalties and jail sentencing for life. + +Then we need to see these terrorist organizations for what they really are. + +Goldman Sachs + +https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/goldman-sachs-charged-foreign-bribery-case-and-agrees-pay-over-29-billion + +Citi + +https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/business/citigroup-fine-risk-management.html + +BofA + +https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bank-america-pay-1665-billion-historic-justice-department-settlement-financial-fraud-leading + +Citadel + +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-07/ex-citadel-analyst-gets-51-months-for-hedge-fund-covid-scam + +https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-11 + +If we as a country can say that drugs and crime are destroying our community. Then enact legislation to destroy these problems and throw people in prison and make these criminals the social scum of the earth... then we can do the same thing for corporations that bankrupt small businesses, destroy families and steal BILLIONS UPON TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. + +"Well they're a business that redistributes the wealth back into the community." + +https://wallmine.com/people/28227/brian-t-moynihan + +https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/o16cbm/billionaires_boys_club_part_5_the_foundational/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb + +They don't redistribute shit. And the money they do let go of stays in their circle. It's called OLD MONEY for a reason. + +It's time to treat these corporations like the terrorist criminals they are. + +No worries boys. I'll buy more and DRS THAT SHIT. NOT FOR THE PAYCHECK BUT BECAUSE THIS SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY THING THAT HURTS RICH PEOPLE.... MAKING THEM POOR! JUST LIKE ME =) +We are moving to a new rental. We met with our landlords mid June to write them a security deposit check with our Ally checking account. We’ve had Ally for a year and love them. They took it, no problem. Days go by and they haven’t cashed it. We live in California so security deposits are rather noticeable (at least for us). + +They emailed us asking us if we could provide checks from a physical bank or a major bank? And that Wells Fargo would be preferred. We usually pay rent with our bank on the east coast but have been slowly switching to Ally. We are okay getting a west coast bank but I can’t figure out the big deal. Is there something I don’t know about Ally or are our future land lords old school? + +UPDATE: It is not in the lease. The lease is signed already and they agreed to do Ally check for security deposit. +In Australia to be in the top 1% you need to have a net worth of around 6MM + +How is this done, not sure if that is possible as an employee? Are most of the top 1% successful business owners? +Snapchat is on the road to go public next year. It's estimated to have revenues of 1B for 2017, and is said to potentially price itself at a multiple of 25x ad sales. + +Do you guys plan to buy? A large question is whether or not they will be able to grow their ad sales business, and if so, how. Any thoughts on that as well? +I rely on my bank statements to keep a good record of where I spend money. It frustrates me when your biller name bears no relation to your trading name. If there is any way you can identify yourself better for transactional purposes, it would be great if you could do this. +Over the last 12 months I've been buying and selling items on Facebook Marketplace with some success, and on going back over my sales through the year I've inadvertently found that I made too much money to be able to lay dumb with the ATO I feel (profit margin of 45% ish over $130,000 of revenue) + +I'm good at selling the item, but I have no idea what I need to be doing or how to set this up as a tax paying business. I have a spreadsheet showing every single purchase, sale and any expenses with dates and locations for everything, is this enough? + +I'm an idiot, please help! +I rely on my bank statements to keep a good record of where I spend money. It frustrates me when your biller name bears no relation to your trading name. If there is any way you can identify yourself better for transactional purposes, it would be great if you could do this. +So I'm 20 years old live a VERY familial lifestyle with my great family. Thing is we have a mortgage going on, my dad passed away before this and my older brother works the mortgage. I on the other hand finished school 2 years and now I work, netting around $50k a year. I also started studying teaching this semester, I'll be able to finish this in about 6 years and start a career making 70-80k gross per annum. +My brother kindly suggested and asked me to consider a trade e.g plumbing or becoming a builder through tafe. Thinking about it it's not bad considering I'll be making more money through apprenticeship (is this true, do apprenctices get paid more than 50k?) and will also work towards my certificate. + +Also my situation is that from the $1920 fortnightly net payment I get, I give $1000 to my mum, she saves this for potential renovations or whatever, invest atleast $500 and th rest goes towards internet plan for my whole family, 5 people and then other expenses. + +So I guess should I continue with the teaching or do this? I mean my current situation isn't bad at all and I am thankful for it. But yeah would It be wise to go for a career in trades and give up my current situation for it. +Hi r/ausfinance, + +We are having a Christmas giveaway! + +In a very generous gesture, one of our sub members has kindly donated four $50 booktopia giftcards. These giftcards will be given to four (4) winners. + +To enter, all you need to do is comment below which personal finance book you would like to purchase & read, and the winners will be chosen next Friday lunchtime (18th) by the mod team. + +Good luck and Merry Christmas! +I swapped $50 of ETH to USDC and ended up with a mere $18.73. + +Fucking fees. Had it on metamask and for fun I decided to see if I can put it in USDC so I can swap for shitcoins that only have USDC as trading pairs. + +Uniswap btw. I was stupid enough to overlook the gas fees. This is where the title of the OP comes in. + +Fees are literally slowing down adoption. Buy fees, sell fees, send fees, fees. + +Unless you have whale sized portfolios, Just HODL. I could of had more profit than from ETH than what I just did. The fees aren't worth it. +So the most common thing I hear is just to DCA. Basically hold onto your stocks (which you believe in the company) and buy dips in intervals when it goes down. + +But let's say you buy a stock like TSLA. If it goes over $900, you sell 20% for profit and then wait until it goes back down to buy another 20%. Wouldn't that strategy makes more sense in terms of actually getting at least some profits on paper? I feel like holding and not taking any profit is a bit of a waste? What's everyone's opinion on when to sell a small percentage of your portfolio vs just holding? + +I mean you can sell 10% or 20% when a particular stock goes up, then buy the dip again when it goes back down.....vs just holding (not taking profits) and buying dips. You would probably make more gains in the long run by selling a small percentage every time the stock runs up? + +PS: I live in a country with no capital gains tax +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +> U.S. stock futures rose on early Monday morning as Wall Street tried to recover from another decline last week. + +> Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded 872 points higher, implying a gain of about 906 points at the Monday open. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to robust Monday opening gains for the two indexes. + +[CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/05/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html) +Is anyone else doing this? Is it as easy as it seams? + +Had no issues opening the account and linking my funding account. + +Do I just need to put in $10k and let it go for the year? And assume that I can put in $10k each year after? + +If an emergency arrises I can pull the purchase it seems? Just take a 3 month penalty if held less than 5 years? + +Is there anything I missing before I fund? + +&#x200B; + +Thank you! + Hi All + +This is my first ever DD. Been here 14 months now and whist I’ve tried to help many people in that time, it seems that the stock dividend vote announcement has a lot of people grabbing at straws. We can all guess the ins and outs, we can ask someone who actually knows (anyone asked Dr.T for example?), or we can read up on it ourselves. + +I’ve just spent the last three hours looking at the NSCC’s rule book on how dividends are handled and hope this proves useful in shining a light on what *could* happen, who responsibilities lie with, and what critical outstanding questions we all have left at the end! + +These Rules can be found here: [https://www.dtcc.com/\~/media/Files/Downloads/legal/rules/nscc\_rules.pdf](https://www.dtcc.com/~/media/Files/Downloads/legal/rules/nscc_rules.pdf) + +I suggest everyone looks into this as our next major goal; well that is after r/place finishes of course. + +*Oddly, I remember making a comment about 8 months ago where, after a long stagnancy period, and no news from the SEC on their report, I claimed that the price was being held by the SEC and that all this would end with an NSCC audit.* *I was wrong about the first part but I may not be far off on the second part.* + +CAVEAT: Please note, I am not an expert, some of what is written below is probably incorrect. I am happy to amend any major misgivings but hope, above all else, we can start thinking for ourselves instead of guessing. + +&#x200B; + +\#**INTRO – Who are the NSCC?** + +[https://www.dtcc.com/about/businesses-and-subsidiaries/nscc](https://www.dtcc.com/about/businesses-and-subsidiaries/nscc) + +https://preview.redd.it/wvpo70cxgkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=6e95378c907306ed345e2040be8340f8a57e2c73 + +\#**WHAT DO THEY DO AND WHAT IS CNS?** + +[https://www.dtcc.com/clearing-services/equities-clearing-services/cns](https://www.dtcc.com/clearing-services/equities-clearing-services/cns) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/k216fzuygkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=5657cd9f00cb9cff4ac48d5e694d281287a266a8 + +To understand the whole system, that last paragraph is critical. Read it again. What does continuous net settlement do? The next screenshot is from Page 74. + +This is a description of the continuous net settlement system… + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/vt9d4210hkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=68bfac637a3ca6563fbc3624d350dcde9fb589b8 + +And the next paragraph should really help hit home about longs and shorts working together to improve system efficiency. I.e. being short is part of the system but of course we’re talking about legitimately borrowed shares, and they aren't the real issue! + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/5lx1b841hkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=876a5e8e791a14393e72f3af6885b229e20b4c7f + +So at this point, I had a thought. Price cycles are likely to be someone short that is a Member, and cannot escape their obligations. Sounds reasonable right? Which is why we get to see price fluctuations. + +With a great DD on the front page right this minute on swap theory, is it possible that non-Members – who do not have to report to the Corporation (DTCC) – can be anything they like? If so, nobody would care just how many synthetic shorts there are hidden in swaps? Question to the wrinkle brains. + +Please re-read the above and understand what CNS is as share dividends are also subject to CNS system, not just trades. + +Case Study: Assuming we vote on to increase the total shares available and GameStop pull the trigger on a dividend at say 7:1, the DTCC have (let’s say) 250 million shares for issuance to anyone who hasn’t DRS’d; who gets them and how is it decided? If you’re here for that money answer, you must appreciate the CNS system. + +Another point while I’m here: doesn’t this really show that the NSCC could, at very short notice, tell how big a problem we have here? If there is a hugely disproportionate number of longs reporting (brokers), there must have been naked shorting, even if they’re hidden in swaps. That just masks the obligation of reporting in the Daily Reports, and removes the need for additional funds. + +\#**GET ON WITH IT – WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT HERE IN THIS DOC?!?** + +The word ‘DIVIDEND’. It appears eighty-one times in this rule book (link above). I’ve skim read all 81 instances and there are many that I feel are very important for us to understand right now as it seems to directly affect what may happen in the future. The following is a selection of instances I feel are important, along with my interpretation of the wording, meaning, and possible outcome. The best I can hope for is our usual commitment to be open minded, and a hive effort in figuring out what is and isn’t relevant. + +NOTE: the rule book clearly accommodates CASH dividends, STOCK dividends, and even ‘other’ dividends – as you can see above in the CNS screenshot. + +**#DAY 1 – GAMESTOP ISSUE A SHARE DIVIDEND.** **NOW WHAT?** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/n449v0p2hkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=71698f7f2f3a64f80d99316ee57b492358dd1155 + +So, important shit right here. The Record Date is the day they receive a dividend issuance notification. **By the end of said day, a full report of ALL short and long positions will be generated.** **I repeat: The Record Date positions of all members must show whether they are short or long.** + +Note: Before I forget, I have a question here. This is DTCC Members, of course they can’t force non-members to do shit. Co-operating agencies such as those in Europe, despite not being on US soil, will no doubt comply. What about non-cooperating agencies in, oh I don’t know, Brazil?! I’ll move on… + +On Page 77 it covers what happens with a cash dividend, and ‘other’ dividends (see further below for a side-section on this), but let’s focus what happens with a STOCK dividend. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/987hi7m3hkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=e40d7b77ac11092796ba1474d04b1d9a00e5b381 + +Note that a new term is introduced: Payable Date. As you’d guess, this is the date that GameStop says we get our dividends. But there’s some juicy shit here. + +**So, first really good bit of info – all members must present an honest account of their short or long position!** **Now if like me at this point you cynically suggest that certain parties are going to lie, I gotchya fam, the rules cover this later so sit tight for now and just continue reading.** + +The reason this information is retrieved is to allow the NSCC to use net settlement and allow efficiencies in the handling of dividends. I.e. pair longs and short together so that obligations are met. Yes, just like trades, the NSCC handle dividends the same way – by reducing workload and balancing positives with negatives. (another bit on that in a minute) + +Finally, some bad news maybe? Fractional shares are not added to this report and receive cash. Sorry if that’s you but it’s there in black and white. + +Now on a related point, there’s a term called “as of”. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/m2p4buv4hkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=9078a35e379093b4b6582840a2068c3f90491e7c + +This seems to suggest that the Record Date Report will be based off of completed trades not occurring any more than 2 days prior. I.e. Members cannot say “you’ve not given me enough notice to give you all Report info!!” Yes you can, we’re not asking for today’s (Report Date) figures, we’re asking for two days prior so cough up. *Let me know if you think I’ve misinterpreted.* + +\#**POSSIBLE IMPORTANT SIDE-NOTE – DIVIDENDS OF SECURITIES NOT COVERED IN THE CNS SYSTEM** + +NFT dividends wouldn’t be covered in the CNS system because they’re not recognised securities. Shares – of course – are. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/ux9e9xx5hkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=fd6310366a2a0a6e703d3cd4930a3ef5cd956732 + +So it seems that whilst the CNS system will not actively issue these dividends (that's down to the DTC anyway), the allocation of them is still done in the same way for DTCC securities. That is, as above, balancing those who report to be LONG on the Report Day, against those who report to be SHORT. So if your take away from this: 1) GREAT, you’ve just found out that the DTCC can’t fuck with NFT’s; I share that sentiment. 2) Wait, does this mean that shares ARE allocated according to CNS – yes, that is my view and indeed helps us understand what happens next… + +&#x200B; + +\#**DIVIDENDS PAID AS SECURITIES OR CASH – OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, GAMESTOP SAID THEY’RE ISSUING SHARES, NOT CASH – IS THERE ANY FUD HERE?** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/lfyt7ww6hkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0aa3b81a593d73efc65820a8262d15487559465 + +Page 78 states that the Procedures indicate whether a recipient can or will get shares or cash. This comes up in more detail when we get to the Procedures but basically GameStop will indicate in their paperwork that this is a SHARE dividend, so that there’s no room for interpretation. See section on ###OPTIONAL DIVIDENDS### to read more on this. + +NOTE – Jump ahead to ###END OF CNS### if you don’t want to be side tracked about how CNS ensures Member risk is offset, or how their own wording suggests that DRS’ing all shares out of the DTCC *might* mean they cannot be counter party to risk anymore. + +\#**PROCEDURE VII. CNS ACCOUNTING OPERATION – OR INSTANCE 42 OF THE WORD ‘DIVIDEND’** ***MAY*** **BE SAYING THAT DRS LOCKING THE FLOAT IS GAME OVER** + +Page 249. + +https://preview.redd.it/idlnztu9hkr81.png?width=632&format=png&auto=webp&s=171690c5817dd339500fa89feb43109fe1cfad18 + +CNS is a continual on-going accounting system. **The Corporation is** **always** **the contra side for all positions**. What does that mean and have we strayed a little from dividend talk? Yes, we’ve strayed, but this seems important. The Corporation (being the DTCC) are contra to ALL positions. + +*Contra* + +*preposition* + +*against; in opposition or contrast to* + +That means that if Member SUS (as a random example not particularly related to any company at all \*cough\*!) indicate they’re short 169 million shares, the DTCC must be LONG 169 million shares. Doesn’t this prove that if we take all the DTCC’s shares away, they cannot possibly be contra party to a short position?? Sounds like it to me. + +\#**PROCEDURE VII. Sub-part F.** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/uujtl0lbhkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=9d0364d97533c936cde77e8207913b4f54c5a8bd + +https://preview.redd.it/iw6huf8chkr81.png?width=925&format=png&auto=webp&s=c67d08c71bbd588bf5084ea8d4c5243ee6d13ca0 + +OK so to balance the previous concerns we had that an infinite money glitch might be available, Member SUS must provide a balance at the end of each day with cash equivalent of their short position, based on the current market value. So this is why, if someone is short, they need cash, and lots of it. + +I thought it was interesting to see all of this but we have wandered off track. ###END OF CNS### + +\#**PROCEDURE VII. SUB-PART G – >>>THE INTERESTING BIT.<<<** + +So you either read the above section on CNS handling of cash, or skipped it, but there’s also a section on handling DIVIDENDS! If you read anything, read this. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/4cjvojbdhkr81.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=909de0d120721ccd6e4bfcc894c6864a28d8a7c6 + +So, on the Record Date, a report is generated about who is long and who is short from the ‘as of’ date (two days prior). That report is updated continually and informs Members whether they are due said dividend, or owe said dividend, based on whether they are LONG or SHORT said equity. + +In other words (I think), Members who are short need to close positions by the Record Date. + +I repeat from earlier – it still seems that fractional shares are given cash only. + +How this is handled is covered on page 260 in a section title DUE BILL ACCOUNTING. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/1z6dubeehkr81.png?width=892&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc5829c5c9695fa68cd588adde5131adc3844780 + +So, it seems that: the DTCC receive securities from GameStop and distribute them out to members according to a distribution algorithm (search this term and you’ll see it being used) after matching short and long positions. How does a member that’s short remove the responsibility to owe a dividend? It’s not stated here but can we assume it’s: Buy the share back? + +Oh, another question then: what if a certain party removes their short position with a swap, and the Report shows a significant surplus of longs? (IMO, that’s the most likely scenario) Surely there’s an internal problem at this point that the NSCC can’t handle? + +\###OPTIONAL DIVIDENDS### + +\#**OPTIONAL DIVIDENDS – SHARES \*OR\* CASH (just for info – not likely, right?)** + +You may remember earlier we started seeding that there was an option to issue shares **or** cash dividend; well that’s specifically covered on page 260. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/8vswxu6hhkr81.png?width=633&format=png&auto=webp&s=11779a11f7a28f0442cd7c66e3fc4f485492164f + +So there does exist the possibility that GameStop say the dividend is OPTIONAL, and in this case, most recipients will be given the default option: shares. However, this section does say that Members who state they wish to receive cash instead, can do so. I repeat: not likely to happen, just for info. + +&#x200B; + +\#**DECLARING OF SECURITIES INELIGIBLE FOR PROCESSING – ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING ‘WE FOUND FUCKERY AND DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO’?!?!** + +Still with Procedure VII, this time sub-part H. ‘Miscellaneous CNS activity’. Sounds fuckey. + +So, let’s say that the CNS can’t match longs and shorts; there have just been too many short positions entered to the Record Date Report, or indeed too many longs! (brokers around the world are demanding more dividends than exist is surely the most likely outcome imo) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/niup974jhkr81.png?width=920&format=png&auto=webp&s=bec64385ae3775c2e51dd15ebb6be2f762fce1b4 + +So it looks to me like this is when everyone eats each other. “CNS Receive and Deliver Instructions are produced instructing a Member to receive securities from or deliver securities to another Member of the Corporation or a participant of an interfacing clearing corporation” + +Longs and shorts cannot be matched, the CNS says ‘fuck this I have no idea’, and war ensues. Note: this is at the decision of the Corporation. Are they going to ‘decide’ this? Hmmm + +At this point I also wonder how a Member would lean on another? You’re short, I’m long, if you buy my shares and close out, this means the remaining parties get their dividend… but I don’t want to do that. What then?! + +Who the hell plays the role of ‘interfacing clearing corporation’ in this case and what would they do about it?! How long can this last? + +&#x200B; + +\#**TL;DR / Summary** + +Imagine we vote to increase shares available to 1B, and GameStop issues a share dividend at 7:1. The DTCC receives a boatload share dividend from GameStop and to know how to distribute them amongst its members, the NSCC continuous net settlement system steps in to match shorts with longs. The CNS system does this with normal trades (to reduce workload) so why would dividends be any different? It’s not. + +At the Record Date (watch out for this) Corporation (DTCC) members must declare if they’re long or short. Remember, there are only, let’s say, 30 million shares with the DTCC at present – and reducing FAST. If the CNS system can match a short with a long in all cases but these 30 million, who are all long, GREAT! The system works. Technically, this should be ok from here on in. Shorts need to close, longs need to sell (price goes up – at some point they will), dividends issued to whoever is left. + +Hence, by the Record Date, shorts need to close. + +In all cases, the DTCC is the CONTRA PARTY to all longs and shorts (all securities including shares and dividends). Whilst not the main topic of the DD, I feel this really does enforce the belief that DRS’ing removes the DTCC ability to even be contra party. + +If there are ‘anomalies’ (The DTCC themselves decide if this is the case) and the CNS system cannot perform its function, such as significant additional number of longs, the rules say that a method of arbitrage will be employed whereby Members (between themselves) resolve their short/long mismatch positions. This is where we hope they eat each other! + +Factional shares do not receive dividends, they receive cash. + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +The many outstanding questions I’ve raised above I hope are answered by wrinkle brains. Please go easy on me, I know some of this is disjointed and lacks a real conclusion. It’s likely amendments need to be made; I will try to accommodate this when I see them raised. + +For now, I’d just love to see someone go OHHHH that’s the thing I’ve been wondering! 😊 +I try to have rational conversations with people about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. + +I can debate pretty much everything except as soon as someone mentions tulips i am all set with them. + +I feel the conversation goes from me talking from a place of all my years of experience and learning about the technology to someone regurgitating something they saw on TV and thinking it makes them sound clever and they really don't care about what I have to say to begin with. +I have applied for several internships over the course of a month. + +If a company offers one to me, I would assume that I have a limited time to accept their offer. + +What if I accept their offer, and then am offered a more desirable internship? Could I just call them and say I no longer want to work for them? + +&#x200B; + +Thanks! +February 22nd 2019 is the last day I worked so it's been 3 years now. + +Last year's post is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/lppel7/two_year_update_39_yo_fired/ + +**Expenses** + +So unfortunately I've changed the way I spend money and it's not compatible with Mint anymore, so I don't have the full category breakdowns with charts / graphs I've had in the past, but I'll do my best. + +**Taxes:** $50,245. I paid $40,000 in quarterly Federal estimated taxes and $8000 in quarterly State estimated taxes, in addition to the $655 I owed for Federal and $1575 I owed for State last April. (I realized a bunch of capital gains last year and had some significant interest income.) + +**Home:** $3460. $99 per month for HOA, $515 for the year for Insurance, and I've started investing my HELOC so I have about $185 per month in Interest from that, plus the $50 yearly HELOC maintenance fee. $1520 in property taxes. + +**Healthcare:** $4840. Health Insurance was $327 last year and $345 starting this year with Dental going from $26 per month to $28 per month. Got a Crown last year that cost me $565. + +**Utilities:** $2450. Electric for the year $842 (just over $100 in the four A/C months, and $50 the rest of the year). Gas for the year $456 (~$70 in the four winter months, $17 for the rest of the year) Internet is still $73 per month ($876). Phone bill is $275 for the year. + +**Automotive:** $2175. I spent $1059 on gas last year and drove a total of 5200 miles. Auto Insurance was $506 per six months, twice, so $1012. $105 oil change. No other maintanence, but I'll probably be getting my brakes done and need new tires this year, so that will be a hit. + +**Entertainment:** $657. $13.77 for Amazon Prime, $7.99 for Disney+, $17.99 for Netflix, $9.99 for Spotify, and $5 for Clash of Clans. The Prime, Netflix, and Spotify are all reimbursed (~$430 per year). I also spent around $120 on other video games last year. + +Debit Card: $12,592. Now the categorization problem. I switched over to using a pre-paid debit card (5% cash back) but it does not have Mint integration, and I'm not going to categorize the 400+ lines by hand. I did a quick run through and just threw a "1" next to lines that looked like food / dining / snacks, and a "2" against lines that looked like "misc spending" whether that be gifts, clothes, shoes, bidet, etc. That $12,592 is the grand total I put on the debit card over the year with about $2600 of that total already categorized above (e.g. Prime/Netflix/Spotify, Internet, and some other stuff is all on the Debit Card). + +**Food:** My "Food" tally was $8590. This more/less matches the $8000-$9000 in spending I've had the past two years. + +**Purchases:** $1408. This included things like my $566 bidet, $80 shoes, a few hundred dollars in Christmas gifts, movie ticket purchases, my $115 concealed pistol license renewal, and other Amazon purchases. + +**TOTAL** Ignoring the Taxes section, my total expenses add to $23,580. This pretty much jibes with my expenses from last year ($28,000, but I had several big "one-timers" last year like the $2000 roof assessment and $3500 TV I bought). + +--------------------- + +**Investments:** + +I'll just add to the Table I posted last year. + +Type|Retirement Day|1 Year|2 Years|3 Years +:--|:--|:--|:--|:-- +*Traditional IRA*|$299,000|$348,000|$380,170|$410,285 +*Roth IRA*|$14,500|$18,150|$70,236|$75,800 +*Brokerage*|$18,400|$22,900|$37,108|$179,110 +**Total Vanguard (3 Above)**|$331,800|$389,100|$487,515|$665,195 +Other Holdings, Crypto/Bitcoin|$145,000|$291,000|$1,315,000|$985,000 +HSA Investment|$6000|$7400|$8760|$9453 +Cash|$20,000|$9000|$135,000|$9345 + +Crypto is down a little bit from where it was 1 year ago, but that still puts me at around $1,670,000 in financial accounts. During the bull run last year for Bitcoin I sold off a bit and moved the money into my brokerage account, which is why I'm going to have a $40,000+ tax bill this year. + +I also started getting into the DeFi, Crypto Lending / Interest Earning systems. I ended up having interest income of ~$52,000 last year, which is pretty nice given my expenses are in the $25,000 range. And that was just for the partial year, I'm expecting closer to $80,000+ this year. + +It's a bit risky and out of many peoples comfort zones, but I'd been working out okay for me so far. + +**The Living Part** + +Is this pandemic thing still going on? Has it been another whole year already. + +I'm still not going out a whole bunch, but it's certainly not as locked down as before. My D&D buddy and his wife had another kid last year and the pregnancy was pretty rough (just constantly tired / nauseous.) So D&D was on hold but I was still going over and playing other games. Going hard on Gloomhaven, and lately we've been playing Terraforming Mars which was surprisingly good. Now that the kid is born and Mom's feeling better, last week we had a quick 30-minute "Session 0" to re-establish where we are in the world, do some in-town tasks (buy new horses since a Troll ate ours...) and what we want to do going forward. I just got a text today inviting me over for D&D this weekend, so yay! + +Home life is same old. I'm kind of on a 6-8 hour sleeping cycle many days. Get up in the morning, drink some water, hang out listening to a podcast or watching a video, then going back to sleep for a few hours. Lots of periodic napping. + +Two of my cousins are planning on a cruise getaway in the fall which I might go on. I've never been on a cruise but I want to, and this might be a good chance. My one cousin (36F) has been cruising solo for the past couple years, and now it's her and her brother (34M) who are arranging this thing in the fall. This might be a good opportunity to reconnect. The Cousins have never really been close: we all get along and are excited to see each other, but it was really only a twice a year 4th of July and Christmas situation, which totally evaporated the past two years for obvious reasons. + +**Moving House** + +One last topic, I guess. I'm considering moving house soon. I've been in this 800 sq ft condo for 12 years now and I'm thinking about moving to 1) upgrade and 2) be closer to my circle of friends. [Rough Map](https://i.imgur.com/6PqU5Ky.png) "B" is the D&D friend and one I hang out with the most but is 30 miles away. + +As we all get older I can only assume we'll be hanging out together more and more often, especially once these guys start retiring too. I want to move into a bigger (and nicer) place that is more centrally located to my inner circle of 4 close friends. + +There are some really nice areas over there and I'm looking at places that are currently in the $350,000 to $450,000 range. Things keep coming up for sale and I have my eye on a few neighborhoods, but I'm just not ready to pull the trigger just yet. I'm not **really** in any rush, there's nothing pushing me other than a mere desire. So I can wait. Wait out the pandemic, wait out the... whatever it is the market is doing right now. Wait for the next Crypto bull run later this year or next year. But I'll keep looking at Zillow and refining what exactly I'm looking for. Maybe one will pop up that I just cannot refuse. We'll see. +Over the last 5 months people have been saying a crash or major correction would happen due to all the stimulus money being printed and that there would be high levels of inflation. The cost of everything was going to sky rocket. They were going full Weimer. When once should never go full Weimer. + +If instead the market tanks because states start requiring masks again or restrictions on travel would people like Burry and the other inflation crew admit they were wrong or just continue saying inflation is coming? +Anyone got an idea as to why? I just picked some up with the thought any Iv run up will buff the penny price and make it worth money. +This is right after powers announcements. Since it’s a new strike block and only for a day, makes it seem like market makers or big players are expecting a drop off the face of the planet. +Alot of people have bought at peaks and prives above 350 euros. I have heard from noumerous people that are in these positions, that they are speculating on selling at 500 then waiting for it to drop to buy on lower amounts so they can put themselves in a better position with more shares when the puts start being covered. I'm here to tell you that's not how it work. Diamond hands means diamond hands, you hold, i know greed is a big factor and you want more money but if we want the price to skyrocket (potentially going up to 10k, very possible based on 2008 shorts squeeze) we have to hold. I bought at 349 and i had my fair share of temptations, but don't give into them, this all rests on our shoulder and we all can make a shit tone of money, we just need to hold with what we have. + +Sencerely, +A fellow retard + +Ps. Btw cancel your 420 limits, 420 is pennies and i'm not taking that, put one down for 10000.69 + +OU AND I'M NOT ADVISING ANYTHING, I JUST LIKE THE STOCK, THIS IS NOT A FINANCIAL ADVICE I'M REALLY REALLYY RETARTED. +**TL;DR:** I created a spreadsheet that automates pulling trending +cryptocurrencies, recent tweets, and bullish/bearish sentiment into Google +Sheets. You can find it here: + +[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QtxaDWCoXkIqjPVVkU8DNsx8GBaBd180COwn1CIasa8/copy](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QtxaDWCoXkIqjPVVkU8DNsx8GBaBd180COwn1CIasa8/copy) + +I know some crypto users prefer to work in spreadsheets (including myself) so I +created a spreadsheet that looks at trending symbols and estimates +bullish/bearish sentiment. I never had the time to develop software engineering +skills, but the recent launch of a few add-ins has allowed regular joes like +myself to harness the power of APIs. + +### The Beauty of Sentiment Trading + +According to [Google Trends](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=sentiment +analysis), the word “sentiment analysis” has been gaining steady traction over +the past 5 years. + +Sentiment refers to the attitude expressed by an individual regarding a certain +topic. This is especially relevant in trading, where so much of the change in +price is dictated by emotions: + +When it is applied to trading, sentiment can be used (with great potential +windfall) as a directional signal to figure out whether you should enter a +crypto position within your portfolio. + +A way you can utilize sentiment when trading crypto, is to measure the +positivity or negativity of a tweet. If recent tweets have been overwhelmingly +bullish (aka, the person expects the crypto rise) and movement is beginning to +happen in the currency, chances are good that the trend will continue. + +Luckily for you, StockTwits already does this with around 225 different +cryptocurrencies. And if you can combine the sentiment with trending +cryptocurrencies, you can catch the wave right as it forms. + +### Services Used: + +1. Google Sheets +1. [Spreadstreet Google Sheets +Add-in](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/spreadstreet/fghpmppcbabgnpekploacbjijhppnkpp?authuser=0) +1. StockTwits +1. CoinMarketCap API + +Full disclosure: The google sheets add-in is a 14-day free trial, and $15 per month after. However, no one should be refused access on the basis of money (especially true for students and less fortunate). Send me a message, and I will make sure you are not left in the dark. + +### A note on security + +Users have expressed hesitation about running a google sheets add-in on their main computer, so I will attempt to ease those concerns: + +- I am located in the U.S., and my business is registered in the state of Maryland +- If this were malicious, people would have downvoted the add-in into oblivion, and it would have been removed from the store +- **If you are still worried, you can open it within a virtual machine and test it first** + +### What it pulls: + +* Trending Symbols (30 at a time) +* Historical Price Data +* Recent Tweets +* Bullish/Bearish Sentiment of recent tweets + +### AN OVERVIEW OF THE SECTIONS + + +[The Dashboard](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*A1l5GDAw2ke0QQHGvlAthQ.png) + +[Changing the timeframe](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*Hmx0ksx61_hwC8oqPAu_IQ.png) + +[Changing the cryptocurrency](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*kqyjmlOJoec7f_DUONu-9w.png) + +[Instructions Tab](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*5TnvAqMDCMFZe48YbJ0UkQ.png) + +[Summary Tab](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*Mxj9g0-sEyvPcinWVB1EQg.png) + +### How to use the spreadsheet to spot trending cryptocurrencies + +You will spend most of your time in the “Analysis” tab, where the trending +cryptocurrencies reside. + +I am almost always looking at the “By Hour” timeframe, as the “By Day” and “By +Week” is usually a missed opportunity…however, those time frames can still be +very useful (albeit, for different reasons). + +You want to ride the wave on a cryptocurrency under one or both of the following +conditions: + +1. The tweets are very recent, preferably within the last hour +1. Overwhelmingly Bullish sentiment + +[A Great Example](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*0cYaT-Q5CrjUePOcBYx5PQ.png) + +[A Bad Example](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*hBdy-4j-AYo9m1-V39modg.png) + +### Getting the spreadsheet to work for you + +**1. Install the Spreadstreet add-in for Google Sheets** + +* [Click this link to download the Spreadstreet Google Sheets +Add-in](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/spreadstreet/fghpmppcbabgnpekploacbjijhppnkpp?authuser=0) +* Follow the installation instructions included with the add-in and log-in + +**2. Get sheet ready for use with the add-in** + +* **Important** Open the template, click the menu Add-ons / Spreadstreet / Help / +View in store, and then click Manage and in the dropdown menu click Use in this +document. +* Numbers in row 26 and below should populate. If they do not, refresh the sheet + +**3. After logging into the add-in, refresh the sheet** + +* In the analysis tab, change the “TIMEFRAME” dropdown to one of the other +choices…this refreshes the pull +* Note: CoinMarketCap API has limits. Be careful when attempting to refresh the +sheet too many times + +### Troubleshooting + +1. ***Important*** Open the template, click the menu Add-ons / Spreadstreet / Help +/ View in store, and then click Manage and in the dropdown menu click “Use in +this document.” +1. A reload of the entire worksheet fixes quite a few problems. +1. Deleting and re-pasting the formula in A1 of the “Data” tab fixes things as +well. +1. If all else fails, drop me a message +1. The “TIMEFRAME” cell in the Analysis tab (B3) refreshes the pull. Change the +results for new data. + +**Some trending coins are not pulling correctly…what’s going on?** + +StockTwits has a list of ~225 coins it currently supports. See the “TweetInfo” +tab for the full list. + +**I have tried logging in, activating the template with “Use in this document” +and refreshed the sheet…still nothing.** + +Head to the “Data” tab. Delete the formula in cell A1, and repaste the +following: =SS(“tickers-coinmarketcap”, headers, “0”, Currency) + +Hoping this is something that is useful to everyone, and I am more than happy to +help peeps setup the sheet so they can use it. Just send me a message on here. + +Original Medium article can be found here: https://medium.com/@spreadstreet/financial-modeling-for-cryptocurrencies-the-spreadsheet-that-got-me-my-first-1-000-gain-f4d0d1a6e5ed + +### RESOURCES + +Download the spreadsheet: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QtxaDWCoXkIqjPVVkU8DNsx8GBaBd180COwn1CIasa8/copy](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QtxaDWCoXkIqjPVVkU8DNsx8GBaBd180COwn1CIasa8/copy) + +Download the add-in: +[https://spreadstreet.io/tools/google-sheets-add-in](https://spreadstreet.io/tools/google-sheets-add-in) + +Help: [https://spreadstreet.io/docs](https://spreadstreet.io/docs) + +First time install and login: +[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLjtPR4T2bg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLjtPR4T2bg) + +Bitfinex Candles endpoint help: +[https://spreadstreet.io/knowledge-base/bitfinex-api-candles-endpoint/](https://spreadstreet.io/knowledge-base/cryptonator-api-complete-ticker-endpoint/) + +### RELATED POSTS + +[Top 12 Cryptocurrencies Ranked by Risk-Adjusted +Return](https://medium.com/spreadstreet/top-12-cryptocurrencies-ranked-by-risk-adjusted-return-34356cb6acab) + +[10 Statistical Price Predictions for 10 +Cryptocurrencies](https://medium.com/@spreadstreet/10-statistical-price-predictions-for-10-cryptocurrencies-b8167f076d5d) + +[Bitcoin Madness: How to Simulate Bitcoin Prices in Google +Sheets](https://medium.com/@spreadstreet/bitcoin-madness-how-to-simulate-bitcoin-prices-in-google-sheets-c61cb42f26ed) + +### ABOUT THE AUTHOR + +John Young is the founder of Spreadstreet.io, former Financial Analyst for a big-ass company, and runner-up in the 6th grade spelling bee. He would have invested in Google if he knew about it...and had any money. + +He is the author of the Spreadstreet blog, which has over 3 readers (not a typo). He hopes to hit 10, but honestly writing is a lot of work. + +### The Broader Markets + +**Last Week –** Following a volatile week of large moves in both directions the SPY ended the week down 2.9% following two weekly declines near 5%. The 2.9% decline was about in line with what options were pricing. + +**This Week –** SPY options are again pricing about a 2.8% move for the upcoming week. + +**Implied Volatility / VIX –** The VIX closed the week near 32, up from 30 the week before. It is near some of its highest closing levels of 2022. + +**Expected Moves for This Week** (via Options AI) + +* SPY **2.8%** (+/- $11) +* QQQ **3.4%** (+/- $10) +* IWM **3.5%** (+/- $6) +* DIA **2.4%** (+/- $8) + +**Economic Calendar** + +* Monday – ISM Manufacturing +* Tuesday – Fed speeches: Williams, Mester, Daly +* Wednesday – ADP Employment, ISM Services +* Friday – Non farm payrolls + +## + +## In the News + +Last week I looked at how high vol was in the FAANG+ names and detailed some Iron Condors in Amazon. AMZN stock closed last week about where it ended the week before, however, overall market IV was higher. So a scorecard on high IV neutral trades would look like this so far. Stock not moving: yes, IV going lower: no. + +Most of these names begin to report in late October with some reporting before Oct 21st expiry, like TSLA, and others after, like AMZN and GOOGL. With that in mind, and with IV even higher let’s look at another high IV strategy for those that may be looking to turn bullish in a stock. We’ll use GOOGL, as an example, using Oct 21st expiry, as earnings don’t come into play until the week after. And we’ll compare two credit put spreads, one at the money, the other out of the money: + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/lj9t0zoejer91.png?width=498&format=png&auto=webp&s=5fe2ac758c23c94bad4a83411afa6174485e531c + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/sqs7itrfjer91.png?width=495&format=png&auto=webp&s=da22cbc31d24db489f667c11d13290ed83f5482b + +The first put spread sells the at the money put and buys the expected move put, risking 3, to make 2, if GOOGL is above $94 on Oct 21st. With the way stocks are whipping around this type of trade can be thought of as a fairly straightforward bullish play, with a little but of wiggle room below where the stock is trading (but not much). The more important factor is with IV this high, this trade doesn’t need a big snapback rally. It just needs a small one, or even one that starts from lower and just gets back to this point in the stock. In other words it doesn’t necessarily need to have its timing exactly right, nor its magnitude of move exactly right. Playing for a reversal with calls or debit call spreads kind of needs to have those things perfect at this point, with IV so high. + +The second trade is an out-of-the-money put spread, risking about 75 to make 25 with its strikes set at the expected move. This is the type of trade someone does when they just think IV is beginning to overprice downside risk, and often at levels where they’d psychologically be a buyer of the stock. The advantage with a credit put spread vs a cash-secured put is that if the market crashes, it’s just a $75 loss rather than unlimited risk below. + +GOOGL is simply an example here. There are a ton of similar stocks with similarly high IV at the moment. Eventually, there will be a snapback rally where calls work, but until then it’s interesting to look at some credit spreads and the defined risk associated with selling moves rather than trying to time them for a reversal. + +## + +## Earnings + +*Links* below go to the Options AI calendar where you can see the other companies each day and click through to see charts (free to use). Recent earnings moves (actual) start with the most recent: + +[Wednesday](https://tools.optionsai.com/earnings-calendar/this-week?day=2022-10-05) + +* **Lam Weston** LW / **Expected Move: 7.3%** / Recent moves: +3%, +8%, +8% + +[Thursday](https://tools.optionsai.com/earnings-calendar/this-week?day=2022-10-06) + +* **Constellation Brands** STZ / **Expected Move: 4.4%** / Recent moves: -4%, +5%, -3% +* **Conagra** CAG / **Expected Move: 4.2%** / Recent moves: -3%, -4%, +5% + +[Friday](https://tools.optionsai.com/earnings-calendar/this-week?day=2022-10-07) + +* **Tilray** TLRY / **Expected Move: 14.6%** / Recent moves: +12%, +3%, +13% +I was given advice that you guys are the gurus of solving this sort of problem so here goes. + +First thing I want to say is that both me and my father do have jobs but we aren't able to make ends with what we make. I work for a temp agency in manufacturing and my father is a mechanic. I barley make about 80 to 120 a week which usually goes towards food and my father makes about 100 from his current employer. I have been holding of asking for help since we both work but at this point I'm desperate. Anything will do, but what I want more than anything is advice. We currently reside in a car someone let us borrow outside where my dad works in South Central LA. + +Any input is appreciated TY + + +The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday unveiled the cost-of-living adjustments for pension plans and other retirement items for the 2019 tax year, including the first increase to the contribution limit for the Individual Retirement Arrangement in six years. The limit on annual contributions to an IRA has increased to $6,000 from $5,500 for the 2019 tax year, while the limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $18,500 to $19,000. + +https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ira-contribution-limit-lifted-for-the-first-time-in-six-years-2018-11-01?mod=bnbh +Disclaimer: I am a LTC bag holder since 2017. I don't intent this to be a FUD post, rather a discussion where I want to hear other people's opinions. + +&#x200B; + +I noticed LTC has been slowly, but very steadily, going down the pecking order in the top 10 cryptocurrencies. Main reasons why I think so are: + +&#x200B; + +* It is far away \~40% of its ATH, and has barely seen any positive price movement since this bull run started (as compared to others in the top 10). +* The critics of LTC are correct that LTC doesn't provide any feature that the other currencies don't provide. It doesn't have any such feature which another crypto doesn't have. +* It was supposed to be the "silver to BTC's gold", but even the actual silver is being considered less and less of an investment or a currency. +* Mainly it is (was?) used to transfer coins from one exchange/wallet to another because it's faster and cheaper than \*Bitcoin\*. But now coins like ADA and XLM provide better and faster services. +* Lastly, we have been saying that it will gain value once mimblewimble is implemented. But we already have Monero as a privacy coin, which arguably is the best privacy coin currently. And I don't think LTC is gonna beat Monero in it's own game. + +&#x200B; + +I dont see much new money flowing in into LTC, as opposed to cryptos like uniswap, chainlink or polkadot. I feel once it drops from the top 10, LTC will be left behind in the dust unfortunately when the other crypto's really gather steam in this bull run. + +An example would be Lisk from the last bull run of 2017. It was a good coin but it just sort of burnt out and fell off the face of the earth. + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +Edit: + +Just wanted to make a counter-argument against myself. I just noticed that LTC still has higher 24h volume than BNB, Polkadot, Uniswap and Chain. ADA has almost the same volume than LTC, a bit higher though. + +So maybe people are still using LTC. +https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uber-lyft-drivers-pay-retirement-194651798.html + +Americans are increasingly falling behind on their retirement savings, and it could be even worse for the millions working in the gig economy. + +Despite the overall gig economy booming with companies like Lyft (LYFT) and Uber (UBER) going public, the companies’ staunch resistance to meet drivers’ demands for full-time employment and benefits “has the potential” to worsen the retirement crisis, Chad Parks, Founder and CEO of Ubiquity Retirement + Savings told Yahoo Finance. +Just a friendly reminder. I see many mentions on this sub and other of people doubling down on a losing trade. What I don't see nearly as often is mention of people doubling up on winning trades. + +The last couple months I have been more focused on getting the most out of my winners (taking larger positions, holding longer, and doubling up) and the results have been spectacular. When I am sure of a trade and the price starts to move as I predicted, I double it! Then raise my stop to the break even. If it moves my way again, triple it and move the stop up again! + +As always, manage your risk and cut losses early. Yes, some of these have turned on me and wiped out small gains, but my big winners have more than made up for it. As they say, when it's raining gold, don't be afraid to reach for a larger bucket. + +Hope this works for you all too! +Best of luck, traders. +I’m a 29M and currently FI, in between jobs (failed startup), and may not go back to a 9-5. For those who retired at a young age when no one else around you was, how did you answer the question? “I’m retired” doesn’t feel acceptable. +So I’m currently 22 and living at home with my parents. I have about 60k in savings. I’m currently working a job that pays $30 an hour. I’ve been here for years and I’m miserable and really want to quit. However I know that banks want 6 months of statements and income to show. The job is reliable but I want to leave. I want to buy my own property as my parents have their own and I was going to use our house as a guarantor. Is it a good time to quit now have a break and get back into something later down the track, or stick it out? + + +Edit: thanks so much for all your advice. I just gave in my notice today, going to put off trying to save for a property for now. Going to take a break for a bit and get back into it! +My partner and I inspected this house in Feb 2019, which sold at auction for $1.285m. It has just been relisted for auction yesterday and the agent is giving a guide of around $1.55m which is a \~20% increase in just over 19 months ([https://www.domain.com.au/10-the-appian-way-avalon-beach-nsw-2107-2016572153](https://www.domain.com.au/10-the-appian-way-avalon-beach-nsw-2107-2016572153)). + +No real changes to the property in that time other than very minor renovations, including painting the outside of the house, and a few basic appliances (rangehood, oven, dishwasher) in the kitchen. + +This is actually getting to the point of being unbelievable. How is this kind of appreciation sensible? + +In my opinion the irreversible change made by painting the outside and covering the original building fabric (red brick) actually removes value but obviously others will see it differently. +I am an apprentice, saved up a bit. Looking to buy a decent Ute. Was looking round the 25-30 mark but lot of the utes in this price are hot shit in the current market. So wondering if it was a better idea to buy brand new with the 25k as a deposit. Then pay off the remains over 2 years. + +Hoping this Ute will last me to the dawn of time lol. + +No I don’t want to buy a Corolla. +Hi all, I'm new to options trading and I 've been looking at Poor Man's Covered Calls (PMCC) as a relatively inexpensive way to trade options. + +I'm bullish on MSFT (for fundamental and technical reasons). I want to buy a deep, ITM call such as the Jan 21 2022 260 call. And I want to sell the Oct 15 2021 310 call. MSFT's current price is $304.36. + +Let's say the stock price reaches 310 and my short call gets assigned. From what I've read about PMCCs, the deep ITM call (basically a LEAP) will be auto-exercised although this depends on the broker. So in my case, my broker will buy 100 shares of MSFT at 260. That means that I will buy $26,000 worth of MSFT stock. But let's say I only have $10,000 in my account. What will happen? One of the main reasons why people are drawn to PMCCs is because it requires less capital at risk than a regular covered call. + +What will happen to my brokerage account if I'm required to buy 100 shares of MSFT (because I exercised the call) but I don't have all of the money necessary to do so? I'm will Interactive Brokers if it helps. + +&#x200B; + +Thanks +If so what is your strategy? how long has it been working? how often does it not work? What is your underlying portfolio value? Do you work as well or trade full time? + +I've had pretty good luck with the wheel ( some bad luck too but I typically close on profit even when the underlying doesn't behave as I'd expect). I mostly just wheel small amounts for weeklys. And every once in a while I'll wheel higher IV stocks ~45-60 days out (higher premium to risk of course) + +My portfolio is about 100k right now but its not necessarily set up idealy to wheel for passive income. I know 100k is a decent starting position, not sure if it's enough to start a serious theta gang portfolio though. + +I'd eventually like to make like 6-7k per month just from the wheel but i'm not sure how much cash I'll need. At this point I'd have to wheel super high volatility underlying for that kind of premium, or have much more capital to put up for less volatile stocks. + +So I'm just asking here. Maybe someone has reached the point where they have achieved this and are living off of premium and can give me advice! + +Thank you all! +Hi guys, + +I have been buying calls in and out since the end of the year 2019 and as you all know it was the beginning of a big run in the market, I made decent money and I had to empty my account because I needed the money to save it to buy a house in the future... That being said, I want to get in the options market again but I'm not willing to take the same risks I took before and I'm starting from the bottom because I don't want to touch my saved money. + +I want to sell CC but I need to buy 100 shares first and I'm planning to do it in Ford Company, the way I plan to achieve it is as follows: + +1) The first weeks I'll be depositing on my account $50-$75 weekly from my paycheck until I have enough money to buy 100 shares. + +2) I will be selling CC every week and keep depositing $50-$75 weekly and reinvesting the premium to buy more shares. + +3) This step is the repeating process of the two steps above. + +After I described my plan, I'd like any advice or things I could improve to make my account grow faster, I know this process is going to take a long time but I think it is doable, also I'll be buying shares from other good companies to diversify. +I really enjoy rolling AAPL weekly credit spreads and have good luck with returns. I like the $1 spreads and relatively decent credit. I'm looking to diversify the strategy a bit and find other tickers that fit into this mold. + +Anyone have any suggestions? Decent liquidity, $1 spreads, weekly options, and at least $15-$20 worth of credit on a weekly 25-30 delta $1 spread. I've looked at DIS and a couple others. +I'm thinking about selling open a cciv either 25 or 30 March 19 Put. The premium for 30p is about 8.5 and 25p is about 5. I'm thinking I could do a vega play here since the iv is **247.97%.** What option would be the best to capture the most iv crush? + +Should I go with Feb19 or Mar19? +So yeah this is almost it. I am studying hard options since last summer in order to make a transition to theta-land. + +My strategy will consist eyes on keeping a watchilist of 30/40 easy to understand stocks with good price. Then those who take a modest dip like a -4/5 % for some reasons or none will go to stage 2 where i go deep in a DCF valuation to get some confidence on the position. + +The position will never be more than 20% of my portfolio. Portfolio will run on no more than 50% buying power left (sorry for bad terms). This is because i wanna survive a covid like crash. + +Every position will chase a return on margin of ~1% and delta ~80% to be conservative. + +Goal: 3-4 montly % giving that i will have to roll sometimes... + +What do you think? Is it achievable? Feel free to roast me or ask for more info. +I'm considering getting into some risky positions of cannabis / biotech / 3d printing on companies that may not make it as big players (or make it at all). Looking at the premiums for puts on these stocks (NNDM for example) you can get the 7$ for 3$ premium fir an expiration jan2023. I'm thinking i can sell those, have 700$ blocked for this and pocketing the 300$, and hopefully until then i get ti buy them back as they slowly decay or if a move happens in a good direction. Of course it may never happen and the stock may die and i ll lose the 700-300. But I'm thinking time is on my side here. Is there anything i m missing? Is this real theta strategy ? +Thanks +How often, if ever, do you cash out gains to pay yourself/use the money for non-options needs? + +I've been weighing cashing out some of my gains. However, that money re-invested mean more capital for options plays. That money will almost certainly generate a better RoR than getting dumped into the mortgage or even a traditional investment account. Also if I don't cash out I'll be continuing to grind toward reaching Portfolio Margin requirements. + +I also like the idea of banking my initial investment so that I'm truly playing on "house money". + +How do you weigh these factors and determine how, if ever, you cash out gains from your options account? +I recently heard for the first time about the Lightning Network (LN). Whilst I find the concept very interesting,I still have some concerns. It seems like a massive risk and headache to run my own software and learn how to use Lightning and at the end of the day not a lot of merchants actually accept it anyways. I’m keen to test LN but I’m not a tech-y person and I fail to see how I can use this thing in the real world or do anything useful with it. + +As far as my understanding goes, The Lighting Network solves the problem of the Bitcoin network taking too long to process transactions. This might be the technological breakthrough that Bitcoin was waiting for. I find the idea of transacting with Bitcoin immediately, without having to anxiously wait for my transactions to be confirmed on the Bitcoin blockchain thrilling. Maybe we will finally be able to use Bitcoin in our day-to-day lives? I’m sure that Bitcoin will become mainstream when people start using it in the real world and merchants start accepting it. + +All that is great, but my main concern is, can we really use Lightning to pay for things in real life? Can I send Bitcoin over Lightning to my friends and family without them needing to understand how to use this thing? How the hell do I get started with Lightning without spending 2 days of technical deep-dive? I’ve heard of a few people trying to use the technology, but haven’t personally heard of anyone actually using it for anything meaningful. At most, I’ve met some people using the technology to make transactions between other lightning “power” users. But that’s all. + +I’ve heard of a few solutions that claim to make it “easy” and “useful” such as “[Bluewallet](https://bluewallet.io/)”, “[Lastbit](https://lastbit.io/)”, and “[Fold](https://foldapp.com/)” but I’m unsure if they are worth my time at all. Ultimately I’ve been disappointed so many times by products in this space that claim to be the holy grail and that simply do not deliver… +To break this down for everyone who is worried or wants to know what to expect AMC in the coming week: + +AMC current status (30JAN2021) : +AMC has 44.6 million shorted shares and a grand total of 52 million shares. That means 86% of shares are shorted (by hedge funds) and 14% are being longed (all of us) + +Now what everyone is waiting for is when shorted shares expire and they (hedge funds) have to cover what they bet on. Keep in mind not EVERY share will expire on Monday. So we MUST hold beyond that. + +Today’s target (1/29) was to beat $8.63 (what hedge funds were betting it would be come Monday) and we did that closing at $13.29! AWESOME. This short will expire in 0.5 trading days (Monday) + +So Monday when they’re forced to cover ($8.63) they will have to buy it at its current price to cover their bet. Raising the price up even higher. + +But this isn’t even the best part. All of their other shorts are SIGNIFICANTLY lower. There are 9 different short stocks between $1.98-$5.96. Some of those shorts are 1.9 days away (Tue) 2.5 days (wed) 3.2 days (Thur) so the longer you hold, the higher the price gets and the more they have to cover. + +Over the next few trading days it is going to be a vIolent squeeze. We are at the starting line of what GME did. Hold your ground. Gains Monday are inevitable. But the gains on Tuesday-Thursday will be much higher. + +Short squeezes are historic: and to give you an example Volkswagen had a 46% short at $6 share price which squeezed to $110 a share back in 2008. AMC is at 84% short at $13 The percentage is significantly higher and there’s a lot more room to grow. On the high end we’re talking the possibility of hitting $150-200 a share if everyone is smart and holding until Thursday + +My recommendation: +1. HOLD +2. Buy more on Monday if you can afford it because it’s going to violently rise +3. Enjoy the ride until AT LEAST Thursday evening when all the shorts expire and the price is at it’s highest. +Hi PF family, + +I'm trying to build a roadmap / outline for my finances moving forward. I am currently reading through the entire wiki but I'm not 100% literate and there's a lot of information to go through. I thought I'd create a post to gather basic advice from redditors as I read. Here's the story: + +For years I had been living without a permanent residence and no primary source of income. About a year ago I was able to secure a $35k/year job and now rent a room in CA. My monthly expenses add up to just under $900, so I've been able to pocket roughly $1,200+ each month. I recently found out I now have $15,000 saved up in my Chase checking account, which is more money than I ever thought I would have. I'm accustomed to spending all my money on survival. A coworker suggested there are ways to have my money make money for me, and that I could learn about it here. + +I am approaching 30 years old with no higher education. Is college a good investment? This job and this living situation aren't going to last forever. I've never had to consider a future since I never thought I'd have one. + +I would appreciate any advice. Ask as many questions as you need. I have nothing but time. + + + +Edit: Thank you everyone for the advice and well wishes. I didn't think anyone would read this post, let alone respond with such an outpouring of support. I read everything you've said here and have taken steps to move forward. I opened a high interest savings account and now my money will grow at 2% annually instead of just sitting there. I'm going to invest that money in myself. I applied through FAFSA for financial aid so I can start going to community college and pursue a degree in computer science. I'm still researching and trying to put together a career path, but this is a field I'm interested in and I believe I will succeed in. +Without MOASS (happening yet) this has become about market reform for me. + +GameStop the company is doing great, turn around is in mid motion and it's going well. I'm a customer of their legacy business, a user of their newer products, and will be a customer of their future products. + +GME the stock is doing great because the customers of the company are locking the float so they can own the stock, which has given GameStop the company cover for said turn around. + +My only problem is abusive shorting and other manipulations of the stock that amount to fraud. + +Dave Lauer, Dr. Trimbath, Jon Stewart and more have been animated by the market reform movement from Superstonk, the correlation is direct. And I don't think they are rooting for us to get rich, they are rooting for fair and equal financial markets. + +Citadel is on the other end of these proposed SEC rule changes, they have told you they have spent billions on infrastructure meant to defraud retail investors and enrich themselves. Remember: hedge fund, market maker, with control over exchanges, and they use it to create fake liquidity. + +I made my comments today, and saved what I wrote so if I have to I can easily resubmit. + +Market reform is my way...also, buy, hold, DRS, Book. + +Edit: first sentence needed some clarification +I have still some shares with PostFinance and asked them about the split and they just told me, that it was a regular split. I told them that this has to be a mistake because it was supposed to be a split via dividend but they don't seem to care. + +https://preview.redd.it/p61kibmo2hf91.jpg?width=722&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=049ddaa74717032b2beabb14208706de68582616 + +Translation: *In a split, the whole quantity is usually booked out first and as soon as the corrected quantity arrives from the depots. This is correctly listed in the corresponding document: GAMESTOP CL A ORD ISIN: US36467W1099 NKN: 2274310 -xxx GAMESTOP CL A ORD ISIN: US36467W1099 NKN: 2274310 1 : 4 +xxxx Do you have anymore questions? Contact us. We are glad to be here for you. With kind regards* + +&#x200B; + +Another swiss ape called Swissquote and recorded the conversation, he was speaking to a specialist and he basically told him the same thing... They think that we don't care because it doesn't change the value... And even if they handled it as a splividend we would still have the same amount of shares with the same price as now. + +In an ideal world where all shares are real this would be true, but we know that this isn't the case. They are diluting the float with fake shares and therefore they are financially harming us, the investors of this company. + +If you have still some shares with PostFinance or Swissquote, I ask you to take action now and report this to Finma (Swiss SEC) [https://www.finma.ch](https://www.finma.ch) + +If you have shares with other institutions in Switzerland, please ask them how they handled the Split. + +Be kind but ask questions, it's your investment! +I understand that almost no one is going to give away a strategy/edge/setup that theyve spent significant time to develop, especially if it's highly profitable. I also understand that anyone promising to sell you one should be avoided like the plague. + +I'm not asking anyone to give away their secrets, but to the highly consistent/successful traders, I am curious how you developed the strategy you are using today, and how long it took you to do so? +I currently only have an extra charged laptop and my phone with 4G with my broker app in case either the power or home internet or main computer goes out while trading. Any other recommendations on what else I can use besides a battery backup generator? +Party City. + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +It's a well known, household name that's existed since 1984, yet if you were to ask how the company makes money, 99.9% of people would inaccurately state that it's just a brick-and-mortar party store and nothing more. + +They're wrong. + +Party City is not **just** the largest retailer dedicated exclusively to selling party goods; **it's also the largest wholesale distributor and producer of party goods in the world.** The wholesale/distributor part of PRTY is known as Amscan, and I think this is the hidden gem of the business that people don't know about. + +This is all to say if you're buying party goods literally anywhere, you're liking supporting PRTY without even knowing. Additionally, [Party City sells directly on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/stores/PartyCity/PartyCity/page/B26E1A61-40CC-4708-83DA-187E7FD38BA8), which means they're also embracing the shift to e-commerce as well. + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +I also think the average person would assume the company is *"yet another unprofitable shit co that has no fundamentals at all"*, and again, they're wrong. + +PRTY is indeed **profitable** and has a **P/E of \~2.0**, which is crazy considering the average of the S&P500 is \~20. It also generates **\~$2 billion in annual revenue despite having a \~$200 million market cap**, resulting in a **P/S of \~0.1**. The fact that this isn't a cool, high flying tech stock that will revolutionize the way we live is a big reason why so many people don't care for it and why it's being overlooked by almost everyone. + +It's often the most boring, unsexy companies that yield the highest returns because the perception is baked into the price. Yes, Party City isn't a revolutionary business that will disrupt the world, but it doesn't have to be in order for it to be a successful investment. + +I'm almost certain that even AFTER presented with the fact that this has a **P/E of \~2 and a P/S of \~0.1**, many people will then dismiss this information as signs that this is a "value trap", at which point I have nothing more to say. People will always shift conflicting data to realign with what they already believe to be true, which is that Party City can't possibly be a good investment, so I'll never be able to convince someone to change their perspective who has already reached a conclusion before they've even looked under the hood. + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +Another misconception is that if asked to visualize how the stock has performed without seeing any chart, the average person would assume it's been a straight line down and is therefore a bad investment today. + +They're misinformed. + +[PRTY's performance since IPO.](https://preview.redd.it/rf4m9u6q6qk91.png?width=1404&format=png&auto=webp&s=2b6060710a3cad8c3e188eb30a872a6b1ebe9045) + +While yes, the 5 year chart shows a -92% decrease in price since its IPO, that doesn't tell the full story at all. If you bought at IPO and literally NEVER averaged down, you'd be down massively, and if you didn't know why this drop happened, you'd quickly assume it's because the business is dead/dying. + +[PRTY's Performance from March 2020 lows to June 2021 highs.](https://preview.redd.it/1lx6qgqr6qk91.png?width=1098&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa82d9b012bb21d77730d19cb2365b2e7f9fed83) + +However, if you bought during the 2020 lows of $0.30 and sold the June 2021 highs of $11, you'd have netted a whopping 3,200% return on investment! **That's more than TSLA did, and PRTY did so with little to no media coverage or any retail interest whatsoever.** + +Fascinating, right? + +&#x200B; + +So what the fuck happened, and why is it back at $1.80? + +Well, there were four major events that drove the stock down: + +1. The helium shortage of 2019. +2. The onset of COVID in 2020. +3. Rising interest rates in 2022. +4. Another helium shortage in 2022. + +The first major drop was in October 2019 ($7 -> $1.50, a 75% loss) was due to the company dealing with a helium shortage. They only had one helium supplier, so when that one supplier was unable to provide any helium, investors ran for the hill because PRTY was no longer able to sell balloons, which are one of their highest margin items they specialize in. It's one of their main niches. + +Insiders bought the dip, showing support that they believe in the business, and it recovered from $1.50 to $3. + +Then, in March of 2020, the stock fell again from $3 to $0.30 as everyone assumed that the business was dead. Quarantine was the final nail in the coffin and nobody would be hosting social gatherings during a lock-down, so the company was essentially presumed dead. + +However, despite all odds, the company survived and went on to 33x from $0.30 to $11. With the rapid release of vaccines to the public and social distancing ending much, much sooner than anyone could have anticipated, PRTY arose from the dead. + +That brings us to 2022. Rising interest rates led to people running away from risky assets like PRTY, which brought the stock from $11 to $3. Then, two earnings ago, they revealed that another helium shortage was occurring, which brought it from $3 back to $1. + +Which brings us to this month. + +[PRTY's August 2022 performance.](https://preview.redd.it/vy06aufw6qk91.png?width=1382&format=png&auto=webp&s=262f6a7204a2670416a666971a036ba9917b4c5d) + +I know many people will look at the fact that PRTY is up 60% this month and view this as *"another pump you're too late to"*, but the reason why this occurred was because during their latest earnings call, the company reassured investors they were much more prepared to deal with this new helium shortage than they were 3 years ago since they had several helium suppliers this time and that they were confident in this year's Halloween being one of their best. + +I'd also argue that part of this surge is from new found retail interest of people looking for "the next BBBY" leading this to come up on people's screeners. If this went from $0.30 to $11 with no retail interest, who knows where it can go now that it's gaining traction? It has that meme potential that makes the average investor immediately cringe at the mere mention of it despite having solid fundamentals to back up the bullish argument. + +&#x200B; + +In conclusion, I don't think merely looking at the performance from its IPO to today is a good means of analyzing whether PRTY is a good investment \*today\*. Like every investment, it has good periods and bad periods, and I'm more inclined to believe PRTY is headed for another good period. + +How high will this go? No clue, but I intend to hold my shares for a long time. Halloween is a make or break period that will reveal if PRTY survives and thrives or if it slowly bleeds and dies, and I look forward to seeing how this plays out. + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +This is a high risk play with high reward, and I advise everyone to be cautious. All this post is trying to do is correct people's misconceptions of Party City and give a brief history of what has historically caused the stock to move up AND down over the last 5 years. Know your risk tolerance, and don't risk money you can't afford to lose. + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +Now for a quick FAQ: + +&#x200B; + +* *"We're in a recession, and you're posting about a dying brick and mortar party store. What the fuck is wrong with you?"* + +First off, I already clarified that the "dying brick and mortar" narrative completely disregards Amscan and Party City's storefront on Amazon. I can't understate just how much this common misconception is causing people to avoid the business. + +Second off, Party City has endured several recessions and actually has a history of being **recession resistant**. Quoting [this Seeking Alpha author](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4497639-party-city-undervalued-2022-reopening-play): + +"Party City is also recession resistant; it grew EBITDA every single year from 2000 to 2018." + +Lastly, I'd argue that a recession is far less scary than the **global lock-down this company has already endured**. I genuinely believe the company's darkest days are behind them. + +&#x200B; + +* *"Why would anyone shop at Party City when they can just buy everything on Amazon? Business has no moat."* + +Like I said before, [Party City already sells directly on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/stores/PartyCity/PartyCity/page/B26E1A61-40CC-4708-83DA-187E7FD38BA8) They aren't direct competitors. The existence of Amazon also shouldn't distract you from looking for opportunities wherever they may appear nor does its success signify the death of physical retail stores. + +As for a moat, the main niche that Party City addresses that Amazon isn't is balloon delivery. You can't "Amazon Prime" an inflated balloon, but [you can always depend on Party City to do same day deliveries of them](https://www.partycity.com/balloon-delivery). The balloon business is an incredibly high margin business that Party City is the leader in addressing. + +I'd also argue that there's still value in physical stores. People like seeing the things they buy in person BEFORE they buy it to help validate their purchase. + +&#x200B; + +* *"I haven't shopped there in years / The location by me just closed down / The stores are always empty!"* + +Anecdotal evidence will lead you nowhere. + +If "nobody shops there", how did the company make **\~$2.1 BILLION in revenue** last year? + +Why is the "location by you closing" a bearish thing? Reducing store count reduces costs from potentially poorly performing locations, which is a good thing. The company had to do everything possible to survive the pandemic, and they have! + +The "stores are always empty" because \~25% of their revenue comes from solely Halloween. If you ever visit one during Halloween season, you'll be surprised just how packed it is. + +&#x200B; + +* *"The company has too much debt, BANKRUPTCY IMMINENT! Terminal value is ZERO!!"* + +I'm not going to sugarcoat it: the debt load is scary. \~$1.3 billion in debt is nothing to scoff at. I'm also not in denial that bankruptcy is a real possibility. + +However, when you're dealing with hairy companies like Party City, you just grow accustomed to it. The verge of bankruptcy is ripe with opportunity, and if you're looking for massive returns, you normally have to take massive risk. + +There's also still something to be optimistic about when it comes to their debt given that: + +1. The majority of it isn't due until 2026, which is far from "imminent". 4 years is plenty of time. +2. They only have to pay roughly \~$40 million of that debt this year, which they should be more than capable of. + +PRTY also has more assets than debt ($2.5B > $1.3B), which is healthier than a lot of other struggling retailers. + +I also don't think the terminal value is zero. If anything, I see a "worst case future" where they close down their physical stores and focus only on Amscan, which would still leave them as the leading wholesale distributor of party goods in the world. That still sounds like an attractive business to me. + +&#x200B; + +Best of luck to everyone, and thanks for reading. +Hi, I’m hoping this is allowed here. My in-laws will be visiting us for just over 90 days in 2023, and we’re trying to look into how to insure them while they’re here in case they need any medical care (as well as the obvious risk of cancellations etc). + +Due to their circumstances, we need to purchase the coverage ourselves, they’re not able to. + +They’re US residents (not citizens), and would also be looking to visit again for a similar length of time later in the year (making sure to stay under the maximum allowed time for a general visitor visa). + +None of the usual UK comparison sites work because they’re all for people travelling from the UK to somewhere else. We’ve been trying to look at US travel insurance sites, but that’s difficult because they use different terminology. + +I’m conscious that this may not sound personal finance related - it is, because if we don’t get the insurance sorted, we’ll have to pay if anything happens while they’re here. Has anyone had any experience insuring overseas relatives for a trip like this? Is there a UK-based alternative we could look into as a way to ensure they have medical coverage during the trip? +You bought bitcoin at $50,000? LUCKY they shout. Before our pride gets to us and our ego makes our head so big it can't get through the door, this is a repeat of what happened before. + +The people who bought Amazon in 2000. + +How about the crazy woman who put $5,000 into netflix in the beginning? + +How about that friend who has half his IRA in Tesla? + +That guy who took his sales commissions and kept buying real estate in 2014,2015,2016,2017? + +That family friend who bought gold in the early 70s (no joke my dad's friend did this-he sold and even borrowed to buy as much gold as possible in the early 70s). + +Most of society doesn't want to invest. We could state that most cannot invest due to wages. FAIR point. However, I know tons of people who could invest-they have the disposable income. They don't want to. I repeat -they do NOT want to. They don't want to learn. They want to just roll with it. Maybe they put some money into what their advisor recommends. And why does he recommend it? His boss told him it's a good investment. + +If you are buying bitcoin, unless you are trying to be a quick trader (hint: most traders lose money), you have done something different. Bitcoin is not close to on the radar for most people. You have accepted volatility in exchange for a long term vision. Best of luck! +Especially today - AMD hit a new high and most rocketed like there’s no tomorrow. When you look at their past month performance, it’s crazy, but I understand their earnings and all those good stuff were out during that period. Chip shortage = high demand = never out of business doesn’t seem to be the main push anymore. What else is behind this crazy push? +A few years ago I bought my first car for around 7.5k, I put a 4k deposit down and have been making payments of around £70 a month. + +A lot of people I speak to spend upwards of £200 a month towards their monthly payments, is this an average amount to spend? + +I’m currently weighing up what my options are because my car is now at a point where it’s 7 years old and has now done over 50k miles, so I assume the value will only depreciate from here! +When an individual first crosses $250k total income including concessional super contributions, and becomes liable for Div 293 tax, their marginal tax rate (i.e. the tax rate paid on each additional $1 of earnings) increases to a staggering 62% before factoring in taxes on spending and living, like GST and rates. + +This scenario was posed 2 years ago by [u/WalksOnLego](https://www.reddit.com/user/WalksOnLego/) in a post [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/e1rckv/effective_top_tax_rate_62/), and I don't understand the conclusion. I've worked through an example here and hoping someone can show me where I (we) are incorrect. + +Let’s keep the scenario really simple: An individual has a salary of $230,000 plus 10% super. No other income, no deductions, and for the sake of keeping it simple let's assume no voluntary concessional super contributions. + +Employer’s super contribution is 10% of $230,000 = $23,000. This will be taxed at 15% in the super fund (tax = $3,450). + +Salary is taxed according to normal income tax rules, which gives income tax of $74,167 (using ATO Simple Tax Calculator) and Medicare Levy of $4,600 (2%). + +Now we factor in Div 293 tax, because the total income, including super, is $253,000 which is over the threshold of $250,000. Div 293 is calculated as 15% of the lower of + +1. total income over $250,000 (in this case, $3,000) +2. Concessional super contributions (in this case, $23,000) + +So the Div 293 tax will be 15% of $3,000 = $450. + +The person’s total tax is $74,167 + $4,600 + $3,450 + $450 = $82,667. This is an effective tax rate of just 32.67%. + +Now let’s say that person gets a side hustle which generates $5,000 per year, but no additional super as they’re an independent contractor. + +Now the person’s taxable income is $230,000 + $5,000 = $235,000 which generates income tax of $76,417 and Medicare Levy of $4,700. + +Total income is now $258,000. Div 293 is calculated as 15% of the lower of + +1. total income over $250,000 (now $8,000) +2. Concessional super contributions (still $23,000) + +So the Div 293 tax will be 15% of $8,000 = $1,200. + +The person’s total tax is now $76,417 + $4,700 + $3,450 + $1,200 = $85,767. The person's effective tax rate is now 33.24%, which doesn't seem like too much of an increase on the face of it. + +However this is an increased total tax bill of $3,100 compared to before, and has been caused by an increase in earnings of $5,000. Thus the marginal tax rate (tax on each incremental $1 earned) for this person is 62%. + +Heaps of people responded to the original post to say this was incorrect. What am I missing here? +After a few false starts, I’ve condensed my portfolio into coins I fully believe in. Time will tell if they are good choices are not, but for now I’m confident. + +The biggest cut i’ve made is Solana, thankfully before the January crash kicked in. I didn’t make any money, but I didn’t lose any either. So could be worse. + +Knowing my luck it will be worth like 1000 dollars a coin in a couple of years, but the rampant tech issues made me lose enough confidence to cash out my Sol. + +Which coin have you completely lost faith in? +I currently live in NYC with my mom and my siblings. My brother is a extremely volatile and I literally have to walk on eggshells around him just so I don't get punched in the face for saying the wrong thing. + +I am in college at the moment and I have a minimum wage job. I do have a good amount of money in my bank account to move to a cheap city like New Mexico and survive for 2 months. + +But that would mean leaving school, I just got an internship too and leaving my boyfriend and friends. However, I can't live with my family and I can't afford to live in NYC by myself and I don't have anyone I can move in with. So my only option is to live at home and get my B.A and then hopefully get a good job and leave. I will be graduating with my B.A next Fall but I can't live here any more. I feel so trapped right now. + +So, hypothetically let's say I buy a one way ticket to a cheaper state, what should be my steps? + +I also went on google to check for high paying jobs without a degree. Also since everything is online now, I can technically do school anywhere so it is possible for me to still get my B.A. However, if I do move I need to have a good paying job to support myself. Sorry I'm rambling. + + +Please any advice is welcomed. +For context, I am 15. My household consists of me, my mother, and my little sister. I am not sure if this is the right subreddit for this, but it was the first place I thought of. My dad owes 26K in child support so the only income we have is my mother (I work but I don't make much). My mom makes just barely over the maximum income threshold to receive government assistance with food and daycare (little sister) because her job makers her work overtime. This is the only reason we cross the threshold. She has asked if she could not work OT and has explained the problem to her work but they refused. And now we've also lost help when it comes to school lunches so when summer is over that's going to be even more in bills. We can't even pay all of our bills at the moment. She doesn't know what to do and I don't either. Any help or tips are appreciated. Thank you. (Sorry if this isn't the correct sub for this). + +Edit: there has been lots of requests for me to share my state and try to get some more information on my mom's income and the bills etc etc. I will try to do that sometime soon. For the state, we live in Iowa. + +**THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE HELP SO FAR** + +Not done reading comments and replying, replies just might be a bit more delayed as more and more comments come in. + + +We own a home and raise our daughter in a residential neighborhood and for the 6 years since we moved in there was a very nice family renting the SFH next door. + +Last summer the owner of the place (who's not the sharpest tool in the shed) got into a financial pinch, decided to sell it and basically told our wonderful neighbors to get out and didn't give them a chance to renew their lease. The house sat empty and on the market for over 6 months while he lowered the price multiple times. About two weeks ago he began renting the place out again to some unsavory characters, turns out it's the owner's brother in law and his ladyfriend. + +On their first night there the fire truck had to come and smoke was billowing out of the windows. They keep the lights on round the clock, coming and going all night long making noise in our gangway. I've been around the block when it comes to illicit materials and looking at their faces, their habits and the nature of the people they have coming to "visit" it is pretty clear to me they are meth heads and maybe even dealers. A lot of their "visitors" bang loudly on the doors and yell and scream to get in and just last night around 2am we were woken up by the main renter himself banging and trying to break in through his own window because he had "locked himself out". + +We have friends that are cops and were able to find out that this guy has a record that's a mile long including things like narcotic possession, domestic battery and breaking into his neighbors garage to steal shit. Needless to say we are pretty irked by the whole situation. + +The for sale sign is still up so I think the owner is just trying to get some income out of the place by renting it to them while looking for a buyer, but you never know, he could get tired of trying to sell it, considering he's already had a tough time, and we could get stuck with these people mere feet from our home. + +I've seen dozens of suitors come look at the place, inside and out, and leave within 10 minutes. I've been inside it many times and can confirm, its a bit of a mess. It's over 100 years old, the layout is awkward and it needs a ton of work like new siding, roofing and more. + +I'm toying with the idea of making the owner a lowball offer to buy it but I am concerned about the risks involved, namely owning two properties right next to each other (no diversification) and taking on the responsibility of an additional mortgage payment, property taxes and responsibility to fix and maintain a whole second home. I also know that investment property mortgage rates are typically higher than that of a home you live in and you also need to put down a minimum payment of 10-15%. + +Granted, we have some money saved and we could do it and if they accept my lowball offer (I am honestly thinking a max of 40% under his asking price) it could turn out to be a great investment opportunity. We live in a good location with great public school, shopping and transit options so finding renters shouldn't be a huge problem and we could control who lives next door and if he were to accept my (admittedly very low offer) we could probably rent it for at least 60-80% more than what the monthly mortgage payment would be. + +I'd love to get PF's opinion on this whole situation. Horrible idea? Brilliant opportunity? +Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday he expects vehicle deliveries to increase by 30 to 40 percent over last year, when the company reported deliveries of 367,500 vehicles. The new guidance from Musk implies deliveries of between 477,750 and 514,500 cars, a range that encompasses the company’s previously stated goal to deliver half a million cars in 2020. + +Musk offered the updated numbers during the company’s 2020 shareholder’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon, which was accompanied by a presentation about Tesla’s battery advances. After thanking Tesla owners for their word-of-mouth marketing, he noted: + + +“In 2019, we had 50% growth. And I think we’ll do really pretty well in 2020, probably somewhere between 30 to 40 percent growth, despite a lot of very difficult circumstances.” + +The company’s shares dropped more than 6% during the presentation, which took place after normal trading hours. + +During the “battery day” portion of the presentation, Tesla confirmed that it is making its own battery cells at a facility in Fremont. + +Joining Musk on stage, Tesla’s senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, Drew Baglino, described the new cells as a “large tabless cell,” with a “shingled spiral” design. The cells are larger than the ones Tesla purchases from Panasonic and other suppliers, and offer “thermal benefits” which make them appropriate for use in electric vehicles. + +Baglino said battery, manufacturing and design changes underway at Tesla would eventually “unlock” a 54% improvement in the range of the company’s vehicles. + +Musk, who is famous for being overly optimistic on such matters, said with all the battery and manufacturing advances Tesla is working on: “About 3 years from now, we’re confident we can make a very compelling $25,000 electric vehicle that’s also fully autonomous.” + +Near-term, Tesla says it aims to produce 10 gigawatt hours worth of its new battery cells at its pilot plant within a year. Musk noted that whatever cells it produces in Fremont would be supplemental to 100 gigawatt hours worth of cells it buys from suppliers. The company also said it had secured rights to a lithium clay deposit in Nevada to mine for its batteries. + +On Monday, Musk warned that the advances announced at battery day won’t find their way into mass production until 2021, sending the company’s stock down about 6% ahead of the event on Tuesday. + +Due partly to Covid-19 health orders that limit the size of in-person gatherings, Tesla postponed its annual meeting from July this year to Sept. 22, 2020. The company previously held its shareholder meetings at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California but moved the event to Fremont, where its U.S. vehicle assembly plant is based. Shareholders parked and sat in their cars at the meeting, which Musk characterized as a “drive-in.” They honked in lieu of applause. + +Al Prescott, Tesla's VP of legal, at the company's socially distanced 2020 shareholders meeting, as attendees listen in their cars. +Al Prescott, Tesla’s VP of legal, at the company’s socially distanced 2020 shareholders meeting, as attendees listen in their cars. +Those who wanted to attend had to obtain a winning lottery-style ticket (or other special access) to the meeting. Otherwise, shareholders could log into a website to ask questions to be answered during the live-streamed event. + +Since its last shareholder meeting in June 2019, Tesla’s long-time CTO JB Straubel resigned from the company. He worked there from the start, even before Musk took the CEO reins in 2008. + +Tesla also appointed a new board member, Hiromichi Mizuno, formerly the Chief Investment Officer of the Japan Government Pension Investment Fund, and a famous critic of shortsellers. Long-time Elon Musk collaborator and proponent, venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, is leaving the Tesla board as well, though he still sits on the board of Musk’s aerospace venture, SpaceX. + +Remaining board members at Tesla authorized a five-for-one stock split, which the company implemented in August this year. The split followed four consecutive quarters of reported profitability for Tesla, and a season where Musk clashed with health authorities in California over Covid-19 restrictions that temporarily shut down their vehicle assembly plant in Fremont. + +The stock split also followed a huge payout to Musk, part of his unprecedented compensation package. + +Expecting Tesla to talk about where its metals for batteries are sourced, and to promote battery tech suitable for Semi and Cybertruck vehicles, Cannacord Genuity analyst Jed Dorsheimer wrote in a note to investors before the meeting: + +“The big question will be on follow through. It’s one thing to announce all these breakthroughs, which might be great for momentum algorithms, but like most things TSLA, the devil will be in the details, which sadly will take some time to play out.” + +Cannacord maintains a “Hold” rating and a price target of $442 on shares of Tesla currently. + +Shares of the electric car maker are up more than 400% year-to-date. + +https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/22/elon-musk-at-battery-day-tesla-deliveries-to-rise-30percent-to-40percent-in-2020.html +[Stolen work](http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-18/housing-recovery-weekly-mortgage-purchase-apps-drop-again-down-66-2004) + +[Confounded Interest Blog](https://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com) + +[and an email from Confounded Interest owner...](http://i.imgur.com/BC7oaGp.jpg) + +Edit* I only point this out as the other specifically banned him then posted his work. +Just want to take this chance to thank him for what he has done. That his genius and his life, the latter now against his will revealed by a reporter – it's her job, understandably – is a true inspiration to me. + +Despite his apparent effort to live a normal life with his family, what is to come will not simply be a storm of media coverage. He will have to shut the blinds, stay home, and fear now that his fortune (and presumable access to it) is revealed, different parties will go after him for motives you could imagine. Media, the government, companies, and maybe people who want him to bail out MtGox, if not pay off the money they lost on gambling sites. + +We should respect him as a person – an extraordinary person that created a system that opened many's eyes to not only the a monetary tool that frees us from any central institution, for better or for worse, but also to the idea that has been so empowering and given rise to a host of innovations in the world. He has brought hope and possibility to the community that shares the same believes, and numerous constructive discussions on subjects that extend beyond the Internet. + +Thank you, Satoshi. +I'm only 23, but thanks to subs like this I've been able to get $50k+ invested into the market over the last 4ish years. It's nice to know that I have this, but I feel like a new pair of shoes for once would feel kind of nice too. I'm half tempted to just sell like $2k worth of VTI and level myself up you know? Get some nice clothes, a pair of shoes, new tools for work, maybe a climbing gym membership. Do I need to create a new 5% investment allocation that I can use to just invest in myself? +beware stupid people in large numbers. the bets will escalate, and people will actually jump when the crowd cheers you on to JUMP JUMP JUMP, you can make stupid decisions based on crowd mentality. so personally the only bets I make are GME related WITH STOCK as the focus of the bet. I for one will not be personally checking if they "held" up their end of the bet. because they made some GME bets during a FTD cycle oh wow. it went up, it's almost like they wanted to do that stuff or were too stupid to know what they were about to do. so lets move on with our lives and stop holding these people accountable for their stupidity or lack of knowledge about the cyclical nature of this stock. I for one am the type of person TO ACTUALLY JUMP. so if I make a stupid bet, I'd hope my friends stop me from being accountable for my actions before I do something stupid again. +I’ve been bagholding XSPA since 5,40. If BYFC is really going to moon on monday and tuesday should I dump XSPA for BYFC and buy back XSPA later because I really think it has potential? +With more of us working from home it's worth remembering the government gives tax back for things you needed to buy for working from home up to £2,500 (can also claim back up to 4 years). This only applies where your employer hasn't paid / paid you back for it. Could include laptop, monitor, desk etc, could also include additional gas and electricity. + +https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-income-tax-relief-for-your-employment-expenses-p87 + +Edit: Also came across a MoneySavingExpert post on it which may contain useful information: + +https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/04/martin-lewis--working-from-home-due-to-coronavirus--claim-p6-wk-/ +[Link](http://www.nyu.edu/econ/user/gertlerm/kansasfed.pdf). + +This week's article was nominated by /u/mrlibya, who writes: + +> We explore the implications of asset price volatility for the management of monetary policy. We show that it is desirable for central banks to focus on underlying inflationary pressures. Asset prices become relevant only to the extent they may signal potential inflationary or deflationary forces. Rules that directly target asset prices appear to have undesirable side effects. We base our conclusions on (i) simulation of different policy rules in a small scale macro model and (ii) a comparative analysis of recent U.S. and Japanese monetary policy. + +*** + +We're a bit behind because of Journal day, but we will be running 2 more papers in December. [Make your nomination here](http://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/2nzsj0/article_of_the_week_nomination_thread_for_december/). The final week in December will be an end-of-year "How are the mods doing?" subreddit discussion forum. +Welcome to the open discussion thread. + +This space is reserved for open discussion or questions on research and news on economics. + +Talk about economics among yourselves. +Jerome Powell, who guided the Federal Reserve and the nation’s economy through the staggering and sudden Covid-19 recession by implementing unprecedented monetary stimulus, has been nominated for a second term as chairman of the U.S. central bank. + +President Joe Biden made the announcement Monday morning following weeks of speculation that a push from progressives might see Fed Governor Lael Brainard get the spot. + +Brainard instead will be vice chair of the board of governors; she had been widely expected to get a separate vice chair for supervision post, which oversees the nation’s banking system. As vice chair, she would succeed Richard Clarida, whose term expires Jan. 31, 2022. + +“As I’ve said before, we can’t just return to where we were before the pandemic, we need to build our economy back better, and I’m confident that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard’s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable, and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before,” Biden said in a statement. + +The nominations next head to the Senate for confirmation. + +In making the decision, Biden praised the Powell Fed for its “decisive” action in the early days of the pandemic. + +The Fed rolled out an unprecedented array of lending programs while also cutting interest rates back to near zero and instituting a monthly bond-buying program that would increase the central bank’s holdings of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities by more than $4 trillion. + +“Chair Powell has provided steady leadership during an unprecedently challenging period, including the biggest economic downturn in modern history and attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve,” a White House statement said. “During that time, Lael Brainard – one of our country’s leading macroeconomists – has played a key leadership role at the Federal Reserve, working with Powell to help power our country’s robust economic recovery.” + +Though Powell carried the day, it was not without controversy. + +The Fed has been under fire lately following an ethics scandal in which multiple officials engaged in trading stocks at a time when the institution was implementing policies aimed at boosting markets. Powell disclosed that he owned municipal bonds, which the Fed also was buying, and he also bought and sold funds tied to the broad stock market indexes. + +At the same time, the Fed has been hit with inflation running faster than it had anticipated – in fact, at the sharpest pace in 30 years. Official Fed policy since September 2020 has been to let inflation run somewhat hotter than the standard 2% target if it allows for full and inclusive employment, but prices have been rising well above that level. + +Powell has held to the line that inflation will cool off once factors associated with the pandemic return to normal. But the recent readings have raised questions about the so-called average inflation targeting that signaled a historic turn in central bank monetary policy. + +The inflation also has come with a rapid economic recovery and a decline in the unemployment rate from a pandemic peak of 14.8% to its current 4.6%. + +The White House statement said the recovery is “a testament to the success of the President’s economic agenda, and it is a testament to decisive action by Chair Powell and the Federal Reserve to cushion the impact of the pandemic and get America’s economy back on track.” + +Brainard emerged as a key force in the race over who would carry the Fed through the next four years. She has taken point on several issues important to the Biden administration, particularly the need for the Fed to brace the banking system against disruptive climate change events. + +A former undersecretary of the Treasury during the Obama administration, Brainard also has been a strong proponent of a digital dollar. + +The White House statement stressed the importance of progressive for the Fed in the years to come. + +Biden said that Powell and Brainard “also share my deep belief that urgent action is needed to address the economic risks posed by climate change, and stay ahead of emerging risks in our financial system.” + +“Fundamentally, if we want to continue to build on the economic success of this year we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve – and I have full confidence after their trial by fire over the last 20 months that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard will provide the strong leadership our country needs,” he added. + +Political pressure, and a Covid struggle +President Donald Trump appointed Powell to the position in 2018 in somewhat of a surprise. Trump chose to pass over then-Chair Janet Yellen, an unusual move in that Fed leaders are rarely removed after just one term. Former President Barack Obama initially appointed Powell to a 14-year term as governor in 2014. + +Though Trump nominated Powell, he later fired withering criticism at the Fed chief when the central bank raised interest rates seven times in 2017 and 2018. The former president went as far as to call the Fed policymakers “boneheads” for trying to normalize policy as the economy recovered. + +As for Brainard, she is now widely expected to be named vice chair of supervision, a key Fed post to oversee the nation’s banking system. + +The Fed is empowered by Congress to fulfill two mandates: Maximize U.S. employment and keep inflation stable. Its leaders, known as governors, are nominated by the president and vote on how to adjust interest rates, regulate the nation’s largest banks and monitor the health of the economy. + +To combat the spike in unemployment and recession that began in the spring of 2020, the central bank slashed interest rates and began buying some $120 billion in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities every month. It also instituted a variety of lending programs aimed at keeping fixed income markets functioning after they endured significant stress at the beginning of the pandemic. + +Economists credit that quick and sizable response for stabilizing financial markets and later repressing long-term interest rates. Lower interest rates make it easier for corporations to take on loans to build new factories, or for individuals to buy homes or cars. + +“Under Powell the Fed has placed more emphasis on having the economy operate at maximum employment,” Mike Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan, said via email. + +“This is a goal progressive economists have long advocated and a goal which is presumably consistent with Biden’s agenda.” + +Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, one of Biden’s top economic advisors and a counselor on his Fed nominations, told CNBC earlier this month that she is happy with the Fed chief’s work. Yellen was the first woman to serve as the Fed’s chair and is the country’s first female Treasury secretary. + +“I talked to him about candidates and advised him to pick somebody who is experienced and credible,” Yellen said. “I think that Chair Powell has certainly done a good job.” + +Powell is also popular on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have praised his leadership and amiability since he took over for Yellen in February 2018. + +The news is likely a disappointment to progressives including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who said in September that the Fed’s role in relaxing banking regulations in recent years makes Powell a “dangerous man” and that she would oppose his renomination. +EDIT: I have 6 derogatory marks on my credit report (most of them from an operation I had when I didn't have insurance - they're in collections and according to my report, were opened in very early 2017 - I called the collection agency and I explained my situation and they said if I pay in full and set up payments, they will remove it from my report - if I settle, it stays and says "paid in full" - I took the removed from report option). My oldest account is from 2014, so I think I'm just going to ether dispute that one or let it fall off. + +I have two lines of credit on my report. A credit card from 2007 which I was extremely delinquent on (but I paid off in 2009) and my student loan, which I've missed 8 payments on out of 33. I am attempting to call them to lower payments and I made myself promise to stay on time with my payments. + +Lastly, I can't open a regular credit card at the moment because my credit SUCKS, so it appears my only option is a secured credit card. My bank offers a secure credit card IF I fail the regular credit card application process. I know a hard inquiry hurts your score, but to me it seems worth it for a minor reduction in score to get a new line of credit. The only thing I can think of is maybe get a contracted phone since they report to the credit agencies (AT&T) and try to stay on time with them. I don't have the means to get financed for a car because, well, my credit sucks, so unless I have a huge down payment I'm screwed there too. + +I just want to know if this is even possible. My options right now are staying current with a loan and getting a secured credit card. I do have some debt I could pay off that was opened early 2017, but I don't know how much paying it will help my score. + +I see how to improve score in the Wiki but I don't see much about the relative success and possibility of bringing up a really low score. + +Am I screwed for life? + + +Anyone else think darkcoin will blow up? Once darksend comes out and people get word it's the best coin for privacy I think it can only go up. The dev seems like a pretty smart guy and they haven't even started on marketing and it's at 20 for market cap. I have a bunch of different coins but this one really excites me and the low amount of coins should rise the price nicely too. +Apparently, once you enter the free giveaway for this coin's ICO, you get a nice little threat in your C:\Windows\KMS-R@1nHook.dll file. Be wary everyone. +• Bitcoin is losing its Currency use case – Bitcoin transaction volumes have reached a new two year low even after the much awaited implementation of SegWit. It appears SegWit has arrived too late to the party to make a real difference and build on BTC’s use case of one day becoming a currency used to trade… +o Why are transaction volumes dropping though? My thoughts on this are simple. The HODL effect and FOMO. Crypto investors have become so fearful that they might miss out on the next big parabolic move upwards that no one is using their Bitcoin, or Altcoins to buy anything with besides other coins, essentially creating a rotation of FIAT in Crypto. +o The HODL effect has now reached an all time high. Volumes are at a two year low and we are sitting at a Market Cap of $450bln. We had the same transaction volumes in March 2016 when the Market Cap was just $8bln. The market is paralyzed. Very little new money is entering the market since the recent lows back in early February. The market is in a stagnation period with no one wanting to move. +o Add to this the $250bln that entered the market back in December at all time high prices and we have even more HODLERS awaiting a potential breakeven point before they potentially liquidise their positions. +o All the time transaction volumes fall/stagnate, one of the fundamental use cases for Crypto, being a means to trade with is being diluted. Which will indirectly or directly affect the perceived value of the coin inquestion. It feels as though we are in a vicious cycle now with no one wanting to make the first move. +o How do we get out of this? We need a catalyst. We need a partnership or real world infrastructure disruption. The Novelty is over and now it is time to bring Crypto to life. We urgently need to get out of Project/ICO mode and move onto implementation and disruption mode! +o We need real world application or a partnership that everyone can get behind and remember that Crypto has a use case and that is to improve upon current infrastructure. It needs to demonstrate clearly and practically how commercially and socially valuable it can be in day to day living/working/playing. It only takes one of the 1500 in circulation… C’mon Crypto - I’m still Bullish! + +Hey guys! I'm actually looking for a reason why it isn't smart to invest in BAT. Did some research and broke it down to the following + - Brendan Eich is the founder. Creator of Javascript, founder of Mozilla and Firefox. + - Basics of BAT is simply that users can get paid by watching ads on the internet -> Brave browser +- Strong team, large public because of Firefox + +Now, a lot of the altcoins out there are hard to comprehend to what it exactly does. You'll need to really understand the blockchain to know exactly what it does and as we are early adopters, the world isn't ready for this, yet, I think ? For BAT however, you don't need to understand anything. It's plain and simple: use the Brave browser, choose whether you want to receive ads or not. If not, you don't have the trackers and ads websites often use, and, as per Brendan, this will save you a lot of data and battery life for your phone. If you do want to receive ads, you can actually get money for this, paid in BATs. Every body wins here. + +Brendan already has a lot of users with Firefox. If he does want to promote Brave, it should be easy enough to transfer from Firefox to Brave so the word is easy to spread. This is a very simplistic explanation of what the purpose of BAT is but I think it's necessary because I want you to easily understand what it is to answer following questions: + +How can it fail ? I've been looking for some negativity on the web to make sure I don't want to pour money down the drain. Are there any downsides? What can stop BAT from hitting 1 dollar and up ? Am I missing something and is my explanation correct ? +Hey guys! I'm actually looking for a reason why it isn't smart to invest in BAT. Did some research and broke it down to the following + - Brendan Eich is the founder. Creator of Javascript, founder of Mozilla and Firefox. + - Basics of BAT is simply that users can get paid by watching ads on the internet -> Brave browser +- Strong team, large public because of Firefox + +Now, a lot of the altcoins out there are hard to comprehend to what it exactly does. You'll need to really understand the blockchain to know exactly what it does and as we are early adopters, the world isn't ready for this, yet, I think ? For BAT however, you don't need to understand anything. It's plain and simple: use the Brave browser, choose whether you want to receive ads or not. If not, you don't have the trackers and ads websites often use, and, as per Brendan, this will save you a lot of data and battery life for your phone. If you do want to receive ads, you can actually get money for this, paid in BATs. Every body wins here. + +Brendan already has a lot of users with Firefox. If he does want to promote Brave, it should be easy enough to transfer from Firefox to Brave so the word is easy to spread. This is a very simplistic explanation of what the purpose of BAT is but I think it's necessary because I want you to easily understand what it is to answer following questions: + +How can it fail ? I've been looking for some negativity on the web to make sure I don't want to pour money down the drain. Are there any downsides? What can stop BAT from hitting 1 dollar and up ? Am I missing something and is my explanation correct ? +Following the feedback on my UKPF post from [a few months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/comments/i7oei5/would_you_find_a_cost_comparison_site_for/), I've since found a far more capable coder than myself and built Broker Library: + +[https://brokerlibrary.co.uk/](https://brokerlibrary.co.uk/) + +The site has been the product of many hours of scouring broker charges pages and even more hours of Excel number-crunching, so hopefully you find it useful. + +The idea behind the site was to save people having to manually try and figure out the costs of each broker from sites like Monevator's comparison table. Each broker has its own charging structure, and they can be a bloody nightmare to figure out and compare. + +There's essentially two parts to the site. + +Firstly, there's a broker cost calculator. + +The calculator simply works out how much each broker would cost, based on inputs like portfolio size, number of trades per month, international shares trading etc, and ranks them by cheapest to most expensive. + +Costs included in the calculations include: + +* The annual platform fee (including any extra charges for ISA or SIPP) +* Dealing fees, which are dependent on whether you're buying UK shares/US shares/funds. Dealing fees are reduced by any frequent trading discounts or free trades offered by the broker +* SIPP drawdown charges (if applicable) +* FX fees for any international trades + +Where a broker also offers a regular investing plan (for those investing on a monthly basis), the calculator displays the cost for the regular investing plan separately. + +The cost displayed on the results screen is the annual cost (in £) of using the broker, and doesn't include any one-off fees like annuity purchase costs, account opening/closing fees, UFPLS costs etc. + +However, the cheapest broker might not always be the best. + +That's why the second part of the site is a broker reviewing tool. This lets you leave a review for your broker, and view reviews left by others. + +You can rate each broker on a number of different metrics, and leave comments if you wish. Hopefully the reviews provide a useful way for people to gauge whether a broker is right for them, using more qualitative criteria based on the user experiences of other investors. Each broker has its own page of reviews, and the overall rating appears alongside the cost on your calculator results screen. + +This is version 1 of the site, so please let me know - either on here or via the 'Any suggestions?' button - any improvements you'd like to see. + +Feel free to give it a try, and please let me know if you have any feedback! +Following the feedback on my UKPF post from [a few months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/comments/i7oei5/would_you_find_a_cost_comparison_site_for/), I've since found a far more capable coder than myself and built Broker Library: + +[https://brokerlibrary.co.uk/](https://brokerlibrary.co.uk/) + +The site has been the product of many hours of scouring broker charges pages and even more hours of Excel number-crunching, so hopefully you find it useful. + +The idea behind the site was to save people having to manually try and figure out the costs of each broker from sites like Monevator's comparison table. Each broker has its own charging structure, and they can be a bloody nightmare to figure out and compare. + +There's essentially two parts to the site. + +Firstly, there's a broker cost calculator. + +The calculator simply works out how much each broker would cost, based on inputs like portfolio size, number of trades per month, international shares trading etc, and ranks them by cheapest to most expensive. + +Costs included in the calculations include: + +* The annual platform fee (including any extra charges for ISA or SIPP) +* Dealing fees, which are dependent on whether you're buying UK shares/US shares/funds. Dealing fees are reduced by any frequent trading discounts or free trades offered by the broker +* SIPP drawdown charges (if applicable) +* FX fees for any international trades + +Where a broker also offers a regular investing plan (for those investing on a monthly basis), the calculator displays the cost for the regular investing plan separately. + +The cost displayed on the results screen is the annual cost (in £) of using the broker, and doesn't include any one-off fees like annuity purchase costs, account opening/closing fees, UFPLS costs etc. + +However, the cheapest broker might not always be the best. + +That's why the second part of the site is a broker reviewing tool. This lets you leave a review for your broker, and view reviews left by others. + +You can rate each broker on a number of different metrics, and leave comments if you wish. Hopefully the reviews provide a useful way for people to gauge whether a broker is right for them, using more qualitative criteria based on the user experiences of other investors. Each broker has its own page of reviews, and the overall rating appears alongside the cost on your calculator results screen. + +This is version 1 of the site, so please let me know - either on here or via the 'Any suggestions?' button - any improvements you'd like to see. + +Feel free to give it a try, and please let me know if you have any feedback! +The reserve bank of India put this restriction on PMC bank. + +People are distressed. Many have their life's saving in their bank account which is in this bank. + +[Look](https://www.facebook.com/100028370856999/videos/262803374675356/) at this man raging because he cannot pay dialysis bill for his mother who is in hospital even when he has enough money in his bank account. The bank officials say he can withdraw max $14 for the next 6 months. + +The bank called cops on that man but the cop was smart enough to back up. + +Another woman in background says that she lost her husband and needs to withdraw money from the bank to meet day to day expenses. Another man says that he needs to pay bills for his sister's wedding. + +This is why we need a decentralized financial system. + +[PMC Bank: Customers file police complaint against chairman, directors for misappropriation of funds](https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/banks/pmc-bank-customers-plan-legal-action-get-money-back-rbi-restriction/story/381373.html) + +[RBI imposes restrictions on PMC Bank; withdrawal restricted to Rs 1,000 per account](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/rbi-bars-punjab-maharashtra-co-op-bank-from-business-transactions/articleshow/71271849.cms) + +Update - +[RBI Raises Withdrawal Limit To Rs. 10,000 For PMC Bank Account Holders](https://www.ndtv.com/business/pmc-bank-news-pmc-bank-withdrawal-limit-raised-to-rs-10-000-from-rs-1-000-by-rbi-2107627?fbclid=IwAR1zh2zAnIjiLavf8QoUvBC5tQYXqrmBA4ehCmddkrbzyAxVbWdxpwAGLc0) + +You can now withdraw $141 over a period of 6 months. +Attorney in New York. Family owns farmland in Brazil and I am the next in line. Size is roughly over 800 acres, with soy plantation and livestock. Currently run in a very old school way. Does anyone have experience with international land owning or knows of resources on how to manage it and possible ways to take it up to the next level? +For those who don’t know, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain offer permanent residence path through investments. About 500k Euro or less. + +Once you obtain the Visa, you are eligible for their public healthcare and travel all over Schengen area. + +I start paying attention because I have grown increasingly worried about how expensive healthcare in America is. + +I’d say 500k Euro is very doable for folks in this sub. Any opinions about this matter? +I posted this 20 days ago: + +[Personal sacrifice limits during the pandemic?](https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE/comments/fq24e2/personal_sacrifice_limits_during_the_pandemic/) + +Today, we received our funds from Chase Bank. Paychex processes the payroll and they generated a report 12 days ago that removed the FICA and adds in a cap for employees earning over $100k / year. Chase took an online application 9 days ago along with supporting documentation, issued the approval 1 day ago, and we received exactly 2.5x our monthly payroll costs off the Paychex report. + +We also received an email today that Chase is no longer taking applications because the original amount of money allotted for the SBA PPP program has been allocated already. We have several friends who also own businesses that were unable to participate and they are starting to really struggle. + +So mostly this is a followup for those who wanted to see how things turned out. +Some quick background - I'm in my late twenties and achieved a degree of financial independence through equity investments and side businesses. A friend of mine, an early employee at a notable SV company, and I are very interested learning all about and focusing on real estate deals, particularly very large apartment complexes. + +&#x200B; + +Recently, we've been approached by a number of friends with similar backgrounds who are interested in participating as a syndicate. We are now in the situation where we decent capital to deploy, and are comfortable waiting to monitor the market and get educated. + +&#x200B; + +While my partner and I are doing a lot of research (biggerpockets, etc.), the fact is that we are obviously very green when it comes to RE and there is no substitute for experience. For those of you who invest with syndicates or are sponsors, how did you get started and what tips do you have for someone starting out? We're running the numbers on apartment complexes in LCOL midwest areas, but at this stage I'm far from confident in investing other people's money without more preparation. + +&#x200B; + +Appreciate your advice and thoughts - wanted to hear about fatFIRE experiences. +Some of you got rugged pretty bad today. Remember, money is something you can make back. Learn from your losses moving forward, but don't do something you can't take back. + +988 is available in the US. For assistance in some other countries there are resources [here.](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/11181469) + +https://preview.redd.it/oafqlw43cji91.png?width=779&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d028c1e03afdc0dd5e2da88e1f62fe6b420bb54 +For those of you who haven't been paying attention, since around midnight EST this morning, Loopring's LRC token (and many others) have been going ballistic. Seriously, like 50% gains in 12 hours. Now if you were a broker handling shorts, you have to worry about the DTCC and clearing houses etc. and eventually if shit gets real rough, you collude with each other to turn off the buy button to make prices come back down. Familiar story, I know. + +But what about Loopring, which is the FOUNDATION of the GameStop marketplace? Be your own bank. Defi > Tradfi. You can't turn off their fucking buy button, Right Anakin? I mean, MarketWatch and Brian Sozzi and the rest of the clown fluffers are salivating for the opportunity to trash the GameStop Marketplace and Loopring right? + +So remember a year ago, when LRC shot up to $3+ and since about this time last year almost exactly (swaps or short contracts anyone??), has been steadily dropping (as with all crypt0) to about $.24 or so as of late. I mean, if you had 100:1 leverage or wanted to take out a 1 year swap on this shit because you knew that you had the time, why wouldn't you? Easy money right? + +Then BOOM. Last night things got spicy. Shit started happening on huge volume. Someone had to buy in. Was it because of Fed rate hikes? Was it closing of short positions? Was it closing of swaps? Whatever it was, at midnight, was not retail. And anyone else that is/was short LRC is in trouble, because now you have to quickly deal with 50% price increases and mama ain't gonna like that. Can't turn off the buy button. And what to do?? Otherwise this could cascade and really fuck up our GrEaT StORmTroOPeR PlAn. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/6ivb1306jyx91.png?width=1112&format=png&auto=webp&s=9382ca3fbc1520a9a5596d609d1d13453418ae40 + +**DDOS attack**. Let's make sure we kill the hype. Prevent the token from approaching our margin limits. Attempt to control the price. And guess what else?? We can also rig the media to talk about the "GameStop Marketplace in Turmoil" or "Loopring Suffers Security" breach bullshit that we all know is coming. But guess what? + +I'm still here bitches. Fuck you, pay me. +Since the whole point of gaining financial independence is to gain the freedom to do what you want in life, has anyone here lived the FIRE lifestyle to the point where you get maybe 80% of the way to your savings goals and then "retire" into a different, lower paying, second career? Maybe you were a software engineer in silicon valley making 100-200k a year, built a nest egg, then took a job as a cop making in the 40s. + +Anyone here do this and care to share your experiences on this? As someone living the, "I'm bored in my office cube" lifestyle, this of course has been on my mind. +Hi again. You may remember my [post from last year](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/5lh5r0/two_teachers_in_high_col_area_32m_33f_closing_in/) that summed up the FI journey that my husband and I have been on as two teachers in a HCOL area. Like many, we’ve had a bang-up year and I wanted to take the time to reflect and also offer some strategies we’ve employed this in 2017. + +But first, let’s do the numbers: + +Household Income for 2017: **$154k** ($87k me, $67k husband) + +Household Expenses: **$49k** + + +NW on 12/31/2016: **$463k** + +NW on 12/31/2017: **$702k** ([...holy crap.](https://imgur.com/MqLPTSK)) + + +Now right off the bat, **$67k** of that came from the cashout that we did of my husband’s pension. More on that below. **$73k** came from contributions to retirement and taxable accounts ($18k my 403(b), $18k husband’s 403(b), $18k husband’s 457, $11k to IRAs, $4k from my employer 403(b) contributions, and another $4k extra into our taxable account). The remaining **~$99k** is all in gains. We’re largely invested in VTSAX or similar funds. + +Several major events/decisions happened that altered the course of 2017 for us: + +* Two days after last year’s post, Jim Collins announced the FI Chautauqua in the UK in August. The Ecuador Chautauquas are usually in October, so this was finally an opportunity that we could take advantage of as teachers. We had the cash on hand, so we decided to quickly pull the trigger and register. +* By April, we knew that my husband’s job had become completely untenable. He decided that he would not be returning for the following school year. We didn’t know what would be next, but we had time to figure it out. +* We did our usual traveling during the summer, which got boosted since the Chautauqua was added after we already had two other trips planned. We spent a week in Chicago, and then 2 weeks in Northern California doing San Francisco, Napa, Tahoe, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite (we hiked Half Dome!). Then the Chautauqua was an amazing time in London and other parts of the UK, with a stop in Madrid on the way home. All of this was funded through either travel hacking ($4.5k in value) or extra side gigs that we took on in the winter/spring ($7k, most of which went to the Chautauqua). This is not included in the annual expenses above. +* The Chautauqua was flat out amazing, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for us. We’re in the “boring” middle part of our FI journey, and the new twist of husband’s job uncertainty had us primed for new perspectives and conversations. We were lucky enough to have 1-on-1 conversations with Jim Collins (takeaway: further nuts-and-bolts optimization), the Mad Fientist (takeaway: how can you start living aspects of your “FI Life” NOW, instead of waiting to hit the number?), and Vicki Robin (takeaway: husband needs time to reevaluate his career? Now’s a great time to have a kid and make good use of time off! lol.). Those conversations really got us thinking, but the most valuable part of the week was the conversations and relationships we built with the other attendees. Being able to openly and socially talk about FI with other people IN PERSON is very very liberating. We made some amazing friends and even went back to visit for a weekend in London earlier this December. +* In the middle of Chautauqua, husband got contacted about two different part time teaching positions. They were both very small (1 and 1.5 days per week, respectively), but it wound up that the schedules were compatible and he was offered both. So he’s been working part time since the beginning of the school year, and his advanced status on the experience/education scale means that he’s still making ~$40k for just 2.5 days/week. He’s no longer eligible for the state pension program, so we cash that out and now contribute almost his entire salary to the 403(b) and 457 that he’s still eligible for. He also started doing a lot of local volunteering with the leftover time in his week. +* Husband’s scaled-back work schedule also came in handy this fall as I got knocked completely out of commission by the first trimester… of my pregnancy :). We’re due in May, and have a lot to still decide about next school year. I will plan to go back full-time in the fall, but we’re not sure whether husband will continue to teach part time and we put our little tax deduction in daycare, or if we want him to step back entirely and stay at home full time. TBD, and we have time to decide! Without a doubt, the best gift that our FI work has given us is flexibility, freedom, and choices as we make decisions about our baby. Money is of course a consideration, but we feel amazingly privileged to have as many options as we do. + +**Additional thoughts...** + +Many people in last year’s post were flabbergasted at the salaries that my husband and I pull in as teachers. To paraphrase many of the points that I made in the comments: YES, I realize that these are not “normal” teacher salaries. However, this is **not on accident**, and we worked diligently to find positions over the last 12 years of our careers that paid well and have given us good job satisfaction. It’s an incredibly hard balance to strike, and I’m happy to discuss more if other teachers have questions. Between the two of us, we’ve taught in 12 districts/schools in four states (public, parochial, and independent schools), ranging from ages K-college. For both of us, leveraging graduate and post-graduate education has been huge (there are cheap ways to do this!). My first year out of college, I was paid $40k, the following year in a Catholic school, it was $26k. There’s no way that we could have made the FI strides that we have without increasing our incomes, so that’s what we did. + +One fun juxtaposition from this year, from two of my husband’s friends. Friend #1 lives far away, and from what my husband has shared with him about FI, he is convinced that we’re “depriving” ourselves. This friend pays for 2-3 artisan coffees each day and carries a ton of CC and student debt. Friend #2 also knows about FI (but not our NW), lives locally and told us that he refers to us as his “rich friends” because of the city we live in, how we travel, and the fact that we have season tickets to the Celtics and Red Sox. Funny how different people pick and choose what to “see” in the FI lifestyle :) + +**TL;DR:** holy crap 2017 markets/teaching is hard/don’t put off “living” for when you’re FI/find your FI community/I got knocked up/looking forward to 2018! + + +I saw lots of articles talking about how wall street is fearful of the millennial generation, now in their mid 20s to mid 30s , not investing in the stock market. It said like 70+% don't invest at all. What would happen to the stock market if it just continued this way as millennials aged into their 40s 50s and 60s? +Hi we currently pay 1,330 on rent and looking to buy soon our first home this spring. With that being said the houses with the space and area we need are ranging from 400-450k. + +150k combined income. + +After taxes and retirement etc. we have about $7,600 take home monthly. Both our jobs do offer over time , so we can easily bring 8k plus take home monthly. + +No debt other than $370 a month car loan, $10k left on it. + +House would be a mortgage of about $2,800 + +We don’t spend much on frivolous things but do like to travel. 3-5k yearly on travel. + +We have 3 kids age 15, 12,8. + +I’m worried that down the line this will be stressful to pay, because we’re used to paying 1330 a month , but I also know our incomes will likely only increase over the years. We don’t want to be house poor, but still want a nice home. + +Am I over thinking this? +Is there any consensus on whether this is a good idea? I’ve found very little specific to this issue online. Is it always better to put retirement money that would otherwise be in a taxable account into an IRA, even if you can’t deduct the contribution? The need to record contributions for 20+ years seems like the main drawback. + +Hello all, + +So I have two accounts with vanguard. A regular brokerage account and a Roth IRA brokerage account. I recently funded my Roth IRA and have the money in a target retirement fund. I understand many people invest in mutual funds within the Roth IRA as well. My question is this: would it be better to invest in mutual funds in my regular brokerage account? It seems ok to keep investing within my Roth IRA in the target retirement fund and invest in mutual funds or ETF’s within my regular brokerage account. Thank you all in advance. +I recently retired early (57F). At the time we saw a financial planner and he reconfigured my $500K 401(k) from 100% equity to 50% Vanguard money market, 25% Vanguard equity funds and 25% Vanguard bond funds. + +Everyone says to "buy the dip." I am still afraid to look at my 401(k) balance, but if shares in the equity funds are way down, shouldn't i take 10-20% of my money market fund and buy one some shares of the best undervalued Vanguard equity fund(s)? This seems like a golden opportunity. My thought would be to rebalance everything again in 6 months. + +I would love your advice/thoughts. Thank you! +I work for a small independent company that does not offer retirement benefits. Recently, we had a former employee who switched to financial advisor and came to our company to offer life insurance and retirement options. Being 32 years old with little retirement, I knew that I needed to open an account so I did. With their suggestion, I opened a Traditional IRA with Capitol Group/American Funds. Well, I have since began researching more into retirement accounts and am concerned that working with this company may not be the best way to build a retirement fund due to high fees and less than optimal returns. Are the fees worth it for someone who finds it very overwhelming to choose different investments and would prefer a less stressful way of retirement planning? + +TLDR: opened Traditional IRA with Capital Group/American Funds with no knowledge of financial planning. Wondering if their high fees are worth it for a more low maintenance approach or should I open an account with a company with less fees and better returns? + +&#x200B; + +Any advice or knowledge with the company is welcome. Thank you. + +&#x200B; + +Edited: Btw, I am a woman. +I make $13.88/hr working 20-25 hours a week. She makes $11.00/hr working 18-22 hours a week. I have a little over $2k in the bank and I think she has about the same. She has a $240 car payment due every month, I don’t have car payments and neither of us can currently afford to move out and pay rent. I’m trying my hardest to save up and make steady progress with my income and this Seattle trip would be over $400 per person. I know it would be fun and it would be a good experience but it’s such an expensive trip and I don’t think we should do it. I’d be stressed the entire time thinking about how it was costing me a solid chunk of everything I have anyways. Thoughts? + + +Edit: with more calculations and planning its creeping up to $600+ +Hi folks, wanted to ask for some advice/thoughts. + +- 23 y/o in Texas +- Current salary $77k, will be $86k in Feb 2018 +- $63k in savings, $26k in 401k, $30k in state retirement system (not accessible until separation from job) +- 760 FICO score, was 800+ until I paid off my truck +- Living at home currently. Not paying rent. No debts. + +Thinking about getting an investment property and possibly a home for myself. + +Thinking about buying around a $140-150k rental property (single family dwelling). Have only spoken with one lender so far (BofA) who said I would have to put 20% down since it's a rental. Factoring 3% for closing costs for a total cost of $34,500. Would finance on 30yr mortgage. This would leave me with around $30k still left in savings. I would rent this house out and hopefully have positive cash flow. + +I'm also ready to move out of the parents and get my own place. The homes I like are around $250-275k or so. I would wait until Feb 2018 (when I get my raise) and save aggressively until then. I estimate I could save an additional $13k by then for a total savings of $43k in Feb 2018. I'd be unable to put 20% down on my personal property since the rental took a big chunk out but I could put 7-10% down on it (factoring 3% for closing costs and a house at 275k, this would cost ~$36k). + +Questions... + +1) What are your overall thoughts on this strategy? + +2) Does it matter whether I get a rental first and then the personal residence? Or should I flip flop this around? If I get my personal residence first, should I put 20% down on it? That would take a big hit on my savings and delay buying a rental as I would have to build up my savings again. + +3) Another strategy I've thought is buying the 1st rental as described but instead of buying a personal house, I would get an apartment. Monthly rent would be less than the mortgage on a 250-275k house and I wouldn't have to put a down payment. I could take this extra savings (and hopefully positive cash flow from rental) and build up my savings until I can buy a second rental. I'm thinking I could save at least $1500 a month (netting $4200 a month, minus $1500 for apt rent, and $1200 for living expenses). If I can work one overtime shift a month I could save an additional $700 for a possible total savings of $2200 a month. I feel like this method would allow me to build up my savings again quickly so I can buy rental property #2. + +--- One of my concerns if I got two rental properties before a personal one would be my debt-to-income ratio would be too high to afford a personal residence. As in: + +Rental Property 1 - 150k house, monthly mortgage of $1000 Rental Property 2 - 150k house, monthly mortgage of $1000 + +43% debt-to-income ratio at $86k salary - $3081/month + +I already have $2000 in 'debts' from my two rentals, leaving me with only roughly $1000 before I reach the max debt-to-income ratio. The homes I like would have a monthly mortgage in excess of that. + +Do the banks still factor the rental mortgages as debts even if you have tenants and positive cash flow? If they did, would I be restricted to a mortgage that kept me within my debt-to-income ratio? + +I'd love to hear some of yalls advice! These are just some ideas I've thought about. It's all new to me so I just wanted to explore some possible options. Thanks again. +Hi r/financialplanning! I'm in quite a pickle and am not sure where to turn to.. This past week I found out I was being underpaid at work, instead of $12.50 I've been getting $11. It's not a huge difference, but it's added up. My employer said she'd pay me the proper wage from now on.. it's my bad, I never noticed because I used to get small paychecks dispersed over each week. But it's taken it's toll and now I only have only $200 in my bank account after a snowball of bills kept adding up. I also have credit card debt for the first time in my life (about $1080 after I had make an unexpected emergency trip across the country for my family). I'm looking for a new job (and have been for over a month) but I'm still a college student and have been having an extremely difficult time finding anything that pays over minimum, which is $10.50 here in Santa Barbara CA, I need to be making around $14-$15 an hour at least. + +So far I've paid my way through three years of school and a move across country all with my own savings and work wages, but after all this time my savings finally ran out. I've been working every month of every year since I was 13 (I'm now 22), have a great and extensive resume, and have been completely financially independent since I was 18. I truly believe I'm a fantastic employee, and have wonderful references, so my workforce experience is not the problem. My struggle is that every higher paying job that I can find requires a bachelors degree, and since I'm still finishing school I'm not quite there yet. I don't know if I'll be able to finish school without making more money.. and in order to make more money on minimum wage I'd have to work full time which doesn't leave me any room for school. The only way I could afford to go to school on a part time job is if I was making a bachelors degree wage, which I can't do until I graduate school.. which I can't do unless I make more money.. this has been killing me + + +I'm so ready to be in the workforce, school is wonderful and I really love to learn, and for the past three years I've only gotten a few B's and everything else is A's, I want to succeed here, but I can't survive it in my current situation. My rent is $640 a month, utilities around $80, groceries are expensive here, at least $250+ a month (even though I shop only discounts). I now make about $450 - $500 every two weeks, my employer can't give me more hours. After everything I have less than $100 left if I'm lucky... my school can only give me $1000 in financial aid for a 6 month period, but it's barely enough to cover everything while I focus so hard on my coursework. I don't know how I'll pay off my credit card debt with only $100 In spending money leftover each month. Im in a loop of barely making it by, and just when I start to find my footing it falls out from under me. I'm terrified and don't know if I'll ever be able to live a financially stable life, my family was always broke and in debt and now I'm worried I'll be left to the same fate. Please.. I'm so lost... all I need is a better job, all I need is a chance. +Hi we currently pay 1,330 on rent and looking to buy soon our first home this spring. With that being said the houses with the space and area we need are ranging from 400-450k. + +150k combined income. + +After taxes and retirement etc. we have about $7,600 take home monthly. Both our jobs do offer over time , so we can easily bring 8k plus take home monthly. + +No debt other than $370 a month car loan, $10k left on it. + +House would be a mortgage of about $2,800 + +We don’t spend much on frivolous things but do like to travel. 3-5k yearly on travel. + +We have 3 kids age 15, 12,8. + +I’m worried that down the line this will be stressful to pay, because we’re used to paying 1330 a month , but I also know our incomes will likely only increase over the years. We don’t want to be house poor, but still want a nice home. + +Am I over thinking this? +I am 33 and my wife is 31. Between cash ($135k) and vested company equity ($80k from RSU’s that I haven’t cashed out) I have around $215k. I’ll get another vesting in Feb ($40k-ish). All of this is assuming no stock price change which my company has been a pretty great trajectory with a huge pathway forward. I started to save up the cash for our 6 month emergency fund and then kept going to pay off the house in one fell swoop. We have $0 in consumer debt, contribute 15% to retirement and have college plans in place for the kids. + +With my company’s trajectory, I want to hold the vested RSUs or we could pay off the rest of our mortgage ($230k) in February on a $330k house. When we bought the house 5 years ago we were in a far less fortunate spot and did not have 20% to put down, so we have PMI in our mortgage and a 3.2% rate. + +Anyone face this “dilemma” and have any advice on going either direction? +Looking at charts it appears Americans are now around 2008 levels of consumer debt, mortgage debt the highest in history. Folks have spent their wonderful home equity increases on vacations and shiny new depreciating liabilities. Wages of course have not kept pace with the rising cost of things. Cost of consumer goods is still sky high, fuel is still high, inflation still high. For the economy to keep growing there needs to be consumer spending. I don't think people realize how closely related excessive debt spending is to a quickly growing economy. where does the money come from to prop up the average working American. Home values have leveled and in some areas beginning to drop. There won't be any more stimulus from the fed, consumer credit is all spent and maxed out, companies are beginning to trim staff. Can anyone provide a compelling reason how the bull has more to go? + +Hmm like i said... + https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/26/powell-warns-of-some-pain-ahead-as-fed-fights-to-lower-inflation.html +Hi All + +Longtime lurker first time poster just wanting to share my thoughts on why my allocation to VAS is 0% amd why i think yours should be too! I know this sub is heavily on the passive side of the passive vs active debate so to try and stop an echo chamber being formed i thoight it would be good to do a little write up for the active camp! Here goes: + +1) Diversification? + +You might not know it but most of the time the ASX300 is 20-25% the big 4 banks. With that high an allocation to 4 companies part of an oligopoly you are taking on a fair amount of stock specific risk. At a secor level about half the ASX300 is made up of resoruces and financial stocks so you have very little sector diversification as your portfolio is highly exposed to the risk factors that face the resources and financials sector I.E your portfolio is overly exposed to commodity prices, chinese commodit demand, inflation, interest rates, banking regulation and yes the proprty market (Given most banks loan books are stacked witg residential property collateral). + +2) 100% Equity 100% Of The Time + +VAS is 100% invested in equites 100% of the time. So even in the worst market conditions you are still 100% invested and expericning 100% of the bear market. Why not employ even a simple overlay like a 200 day SMA and sell when the index moves below the moving average I.E sell when the market trends down. We know the stock prices exhibt a momentuem effect (Hundreds of studies) so why not take advantage of this market anaomly and stay long when the going is good and limit your drawdown when thinga get rough. Not to mention this strategy would also limit drawdowns substabtaily meaning you can eliminate the prospect of asymetric returns dragging on your long term performance I.E eliminate the chance that the GFC happens and you lose 50% which means you now need 100% gain to get back even. + +3) Go All In On Fraking Credits + +Like most people i am "overweight Australia". Whilst the ASX represents something like 2% of the global sharemarket it makes up more like 25% of my portfolio and there is one very good reason - Franking credits. No where else in the world other than aus (And i think maybe NZ) do you get such a substantial tax advantage by having a company pay out its earnings to you as a dividends. Im not going to delve too deeply into franking credits and why they are amazeing but clearly it represents a huge advantage to the australian investor - So why not take advantage of that edge. Overweight the Australian part of your portfolio to income stocks paying a fully franked dividend and take advantage. VAS does this almost accidently to some extent but its a clear edge that you as an australian investor has so why not exploit it as much as possible! Dont waste your time looking for capital growth in AUS take the income and reap the rewards! + +I've got a bunch more i could write but im on the train now and i think 3 points is a good place to wrap it up - Feel free to (try and) tear me apary on the comments. + +Edit - Sorry for all the spelling errors my phone doesnt have auto correct +I just went to a Gamestop store and it was packed. I waited around until it died down a little to talk to the manager. She said they are always busy- they went from the slowest store to the top 3rd busiest store in the district in under a year and are looking to hire more people. Brick and mortar aint dying. Tits jacked +Last year, I asked you all for [advice on reducing my retirement investments so I could improve our backyard](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/h95fha/have_any_of_you_taken_a_year_off_saving_for/). Well, I took your advice, built all the stuff we wanted, and have just closed out that program of work. + +**Edit::** The mods asked me to remove the link to my personal blog with the story of all the work and the pictures. Per their recommendation, though, [I have put the pictures up on Imgur](https://imgur.com/gallery/8ToyDl8). **/edit** + +First off, shout-out to /u/reltubjp, /u/Grey_Duck-, and /u/Askew123 who recommended refinancing our house to pull cash out of the equity for this work. The timing was right and I was able to reduce our interest rate, switch from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage, and our home value had shot up so the cash we got out covered about 45% of the work. + +Thanks to /u/willywonka1971, /u/Doro-Hoa, /u/booostedd, /u/Shortsonfire79, and /u/Ginfly who introduced me to the world of /r/churning and credit card bonuses. For the big projects, I had to write a check, but I was able to use credit cards for a good amount and the bonuses and rewards covered about 2.6% of the total cost (about $1500). + +And for everyone who just generally supported reducing retirement investments, thank you! It ended up being the best decision in the end, especially because I didn't have to reduce that much. I dropped my 401k investment to my company match amount for 5 months, but then with covid stimulus checks, a good end-of-year bonus, holiday gifts, a nice tax refund (we had a second kid in 2020 and that jumped our tax refund WAY up because suddenly he got some covid stimulus money on top of the child tax credit), we not only did all the work that we wanted to do, but starting in January 2021 I was able to actually start maxing out my 401k for the first time ever *and* we maxed out my IRA *and* I started a spousal IRA for my wife and maxed out both 2020 and 2021 for her. So not only did we get to build all of our outdoor improvements, we also *increased* our retirement savings. + +It wasn't all roses and sunshine, unfortunately. We had some other expenses along the way (as homeowners do), so our sinking funds are gone at this point. I don't have a dedicated salary-replacement "emergency fund" and instead have budget categories in YNAB for thinks like home repair, auto maintenance, health, etc. We went about 15% over budget once everything was said and done, and that money had to be taken from those sinking funds. + +But I wrote the last check last week and we're done-done. I expect it'll be December 2022 before our cash-on-hand is back where I'm comfortable with it. In the meantime, we'll continue maxing out our retirement. I've learned some more about FIRE since I wrote 13 months ago and I'm a bit more uncertain about when I'll be able to FIRE because who knows what the market will do over the next 15-20 years? With my 401k and our IRAs, it looks like we're on track for me to RE around the age of 50, which is the same year I'll pay off our house after the refinance. But I expect to start contributing around $10k/year to a taxable brokerage beginning in 2023 or 2024 once our cash savings is built back up, so that'd be ~12 years of additional investing by the age of 50. At the very least, I should hit FI before 50 even if I don't retire early. + +And between now and then, our family and friends get to enjoy our new backyard, which is spectacular. I'm so very glad I did this, and can't believe how good the timing was. Even with the increased cost of lumber, being able to dedicate the covid checks plus our tax refund to the work really pushed us over the hump. + +If anyone else is wondering whether or not to invest their money into something other than retirement, my recommendation now is: + +* Check out [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/nufs4d/can_i_afford_this_large_oneoff_purchase/) by /u/monodactyl. I wondered recently if I could afford an electric car, and using the charts they provided I realized that the opportunity cost is 2x the actual cost of the vehicle. I don't want to work another 2.5 years just to have an electric car now. +* Determine if the money will be spent on something that significantly increases your quality of life. For me, a car wouldn't because I don't drive much. But we now spend hours a day in our backyard and our kids love it. We have already hosted two large get-togethers (with friends who are vaccinated) and it was great. Our backyard will continue to be enjoyed for the rest of our lives, so reducing retirement investments temporarily is a great trade-off. + +So thanks to everyone for responding and providing me guidance last year. I couldn't be happier with the outcome. +Dr. Trimbath recently [tweeted](https://twitter.com/SusanneTrimbath/status/1562962746487894016?t=UsTSZbE-9koNBDnv83jlNA&s=19) that "[The European Central Bank is] trying to undo European Commissiom Regulation [EU] No 909/2014 for mandatory buy-ins on FTDs. Not just delay implementation like ESMA got, but outright over-turn the reg." + +She links an [article](https://www.securitiesfinancetimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=567&navigationaction=features&page=&newssection=features) where the journalists notes, + +>In a proposal released in March 2022 (amending Regulation [EU] No 909/2014), the European Commission put forward a “two step approach” to finalising CSDR settlement discipline provision, combining steps to clarify settlement discipline rules and to revise the timeline for implementation of mandatory buy-in provisions. [...] Significantly, in advancing this proposal, the Commission rejected the option to suspend the MBI framework entirely. + +While this is seemingly good news for apes [the proposal](https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/library/esma70-450-1173_consultation_paper_-_amendment_of_article_19_of_csdr_rts_on_settlement_discipline.pdf) indicates that, + +>ESMA shall [...] develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify [...] the details of operation of the appropriate buy-in process [...] including appropriate timeframes to deliver the financial instrument following the buy-in process [...]. Such timeframes shall be calibrated taking into account the asset type and liquidity of the financial instruments. + +The security delivery timeframe can therefore be extended because of illiquidity, since liquidity is defined by[ [EU] No 600/2014](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R0600) as "ready and willing buyers and sellers on a continuous basis". + +So while the European Securities and Markets Authority seemingly wants a mandatory buy-in framework that forces delivery of FTDs it only wants it enforced so long as the relevant security is sufficiently liquid. What if an EuroApe is not a "ready and willing seller" of his or her GME IOUs driving price formation through the roof? Sorry, but no mandatory buy-in for you it seems. This is reminiscent of the NSCC's rule to clear FTDs via buy-in that can be postponed in the event of a "disorderly market", presumably via illiquidity. + +What do? [Respond](https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/consultations/consultation-paper-amendment-article-19-csdr-rts-settlement-discipline#registration-form_consultation). ESMA prefers responses to the specific questions specified in Annex I of the proposal but those questions don't pertain to mandatory buy-ins. I would suggest a response referring the specific areas I've highlighted above with a focus and emphasis on accurate price formation over the misguided focus and emphasis on liquidity. + +Also DRS, natch. + +*Edits 1 & 2: added link and DRS comment +Many are predicting a market crash or a financial crisis in the next few years. +What do you think would happen to P2P Lending platforms in this case? +The P2P markets are also very different (China vs. India vs. Europ vs. North America...) and they are differently regulated everywhere. + +Would it mirror what would was happening with banks in the last crisis? + +I am mostly interested in the Euro market but opinions on others are also welcome. + +Big CPI report coming on Tuesday. Gas prices are down. Inflation appears to be easing. What sector would see the biggest boost if the MoM number is low. Retail? + +[https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/09/the-august-consumer-inflation-report-could-decide-whether-market-rally-continues-in-week-ahead.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/09/the-august-consumer-inflation-report-could-decide-whether-market-rally-continues-in-week-ahead.html) +Another guy made $64 using his son's Christmas money but CNN spins it as making 250% ROI. + +http://www.kspr.com/life/money/the-best-stock-investment-i-ever-made/21052342_29576020 + +So glad that guy followed the age-old advice of trusting your gut. Just like all those "winners" made every day on the market trusting their guts while selling low and buying high. If idiots weren't doing dumb shit like this, the big money wouldn't have anyone to manipulate with their big stock "tips." +This sounds crazy. Very crazy, tinfoil hat even.... But hear me out. + +Hedgies are fuk. Everyone knows it. We all know it. All shorts must cover. Everyone knows it. Media won't touch GME with a 2000 ft pole. Media is paid off and complicit. It's not "if MOASS" it's "wen MOASS". + +There was a DD recently about some "live" liquidity testing. Something in the realm of 40k volume in buys was enough to raise the price that it took 180K shorts to bring the price back down. The hypothesis was that this was long Wales testing the extremely unstable waters with very little capital. I say it's the opposite. I think it's Kenny testing the liftoff. Why? Cause it's exactly what I would do. + +If I were a pompous, greedy, ego maniac that was backed into a corner like a wet cat with literally NO escape except kicking the can, I'd want to Fuck over anyone else in my path. Nobody wants to be the last HF holding the shorts. What's the next best thing? Be the first..... + +As I see it, if I were Kenny, here's how I would do it. + +1. Live liquidity testing on shit volume days. See how unstable the price is with differing amounts of buy pressure. Basically take your foot off the break and tap the gas peddle. Test the MOASS. Bring the price up and back down. Do it a bunch of times to see which other HFs start to freak out. Know who would fall first in the chain. + +2. Start spreading FUD about all the other HF short on GME. It's not just Shitadel and we all know it. We're waiting for the little dominos to knock over the big one's, but if the end result is the same (all shorts must cover) and there's literally no way out, I'd start changing my image from the only bad guy to "one of many" bad guys. Get their names out there. (We've seen this recently) + +3. Compile PFOF data. They get (or used to get) almost the entirety of the order flow data from brokers. They can within a pretty good estimate determine the FED'S max pain. When I say the FED's max pain, I'm talking March/April/May 2022. Why? Cause that's when the majority of the retail float goes short term to long term. If the FED were to ever step in, it would be if they find out they are only getting 15% tax off the MOASS vs ~40%. Both scenarios work out. Trigger the MOASS where the largest number of stonks move to long term and maybe the FED will step in and save them (cause they know the FED wants that money) OR, Fuck the fed and take them down with em. + +4. Keep a VERY close eye on Cohen. Cohen has a crytp0 dividend in his back pocket. A reverse uno card. Based off #1 live liquidity testing, he already knows how long it would take where he would get margin called to start covering. If Cohen announced a crypt0 dividend, I would trigger the MOASS that very day within minutes. Before it can be issued, it takes 10 days from the announcement. Then if it's anything like overstonk, it could get lawsuits to suppress. All the meanwhile, he'd get to start covering in dirty dirty ways and hide as much as possible before all REAL shares are tied to a crypt0. + +5. As he starts to cover shorts and the economy starts to tank, counterbalance with some longs that will also moon. Anyone notice they are long on movie stonk? *Wink* *wink* + +TL;DR: +If I was a wall street prick with an ego bigger than the short interest on GME, the last thing I'd want to be is the next Bear Stearns. Last to hold the bag pays the most or closes it's doors. If MOASS is inevitable, I'd get out first. If I'm going down, Fuck everyone and they're all going down with me. But in NO way am I the last to hold the bag. I'd rather be first and brag about it in a TED talk a year from now. +Imagine the collective of multiple international institutional and individual investors, European Union, South Korea, Japan, China(?), UK, Vatican, Australia, Austria, Antarctica, etc + +&#x200B; + +What an international mess it would be to have virtually (potentially literally) every country with access to the internet and reddit with individual investors trying to apply pressure on the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a call of JUSTICE, and FAIRNESS. + +&#x200B; + +I remember reading something about French government asking SEC to look into something, but the SEC was all like "thanks for calling us, it is an internal issue, we will keep you posted, stay posted to our emails" or something along those lines. Of course, we have seen Brazil been involved too, so Im sure even penguins got something here to say. + +&#x200B; + +TL;DR + +**buy \[through IEX\] and hodl** +Listen up degenerates. +I see you yoloing your money on Tesla and AMD + +But I’m about to give you the best investment of all time. + +A 1 dollar condom. + +So… it costs 233 000 dollars to raise a child. +Instead of raising a kid you put that into the qqq and make 7% per year. + +Invest for decades and that 233 k will turn into +3,3 million dollars, +After 50 years. + +Literally turning 1 dollar into 3,3 million. + +That’s better then everything on this sub. + +Buy 3 condoms save 9,9 million and so on. + +Condom calls 2090 confirmed!! +As the Fed continues to release signals of interest rate hikes and balance sheet reductions, which has led investors to re-price risky assets, Amazon ([AMZN.US](https://AMZN.US)) stock price has also been very sluggish. As of Monday's close, the stock closed down 2.16% at $3,022.44. Will Amazon's stock price continue to fall in the future? The answer may be found by analyzing the actual yield. + +**Real rate of return** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/7oyu897ea3t81.jpg?width=882&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99a05251816c504b32e048f30111439f50b8ef77 + +As you can see in the chart, as long as you superimpose the chart of Amazon's stock price with that of the Inflation Bond Index ETF ([TIP.US](https://TIP.US)), it's easy to see that the two have been strongly correlated since 2018. + +It is understood that the inflation bond index ETF is a basket of inflation-protected bonds. This means that when the inflation bond index ETF is rising, it indicates that real yields are falling; when the ETF is falling, it indicates that real yields are rising. + +**Will real interest rates soar?** + +The 10-year U.S. inflation-protected bond yield has been negative since the start of 2019, except for a brief turn positive during the market turmoil in March 2020. However, in the past week, the yield has soared rapidly from -0.49% to -0.15%, and it is infinitely close to returning to positive territory. In November, the yield on 10-year U.S. inflation-protected bonds hit a low of -1.26%. + +While the extraordinary era of negative real interest rates over the past few years has supported demand for riskier assets, it has also created an unprecedentedly loose financial environment. But now everything could be turned upside down - the Fed desperately needs to raise real interest rates in order to curb inflation. + +Market expectations for a hike in the Fed's policy rate have risen sharply. Interest rate futures prices tied to the date of the Fed's meeting now imply that the Fed's policy rate will peak at around 3.15% in mid-2023, well above the current 0.25%-0.5%. Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said on Friday that the Fed may need to raise interest rates well beyond its current forecasts — possibly more than 4%. + +Therefore, it is highly likely that real yields will soar, which means that the inflation bond index ETF will continue to fall, and Amazon's stock price will fall further, and the speed of Amazon's stock price decline may depend on the efficiency of the company's management of free cash flow. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/r24pusmta3t81.jpg?width=1011&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84f887547a346576a97d2a8308d07aa42edbfea7 + +As you can see from the chart, the ratio of Amazon's operating cash flow generated over the past 12 months divided by the stock market value is also closely related to the change in the yield on the 10-year U.S. inflation-protected bond. As can be seen, the ratio has generally been trending downward as Amazon's trailing 12-month operating free cash flow has declined over the past few quarters. + +Operating cash flow will be an important metric to watch in Amazon's quarterly earnings report, as if the metric continues to fall, it will only put more pressure on Amazon's stock; however, if the metric can rise, it should help boost its stock. share price. + +However, as long as the Fed maintains a hawkish stance, fundamentals are unlikely to change Amazon's overall downward path. Because the challenges Amazon faces today have more to do with macro trends, the repricing of risky assets, where investors weigh the value of future earnings and cash flows in a higher interest rate environment, rather than fundamentals. + +**Technical analysis** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/9jrcn7u4b3t81.jpg?width=883&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e699d02e5dc02d3192271d0ce4656259ca9603e9 + +Amazon's technicals are very weak right now, with bearish signals rising from the pandemic lows. The stock has been trading lower since the beginning of 2022, when Amazon stock fell below its Trading Channel, and appears to be on the verge of falling to $2,890. However, the stock is unlikely to stop at $2,890 and more likely to reclaim lows around $2,650 in early March. + +In addition, Amazon's Relative Strength Index (RSI) is trending lower, with a longer-term downward trend. While the RSI is trending up in the short-term, the short-term RSI trend is more likely to be overwhelmed by the long-term RSI bearish momentum. It is understood that the relative strength index is to analyze the intention and strength of the market's buying and selling orders by comparing the average closing increase and the average closing decline in a period of time, so as to make a future market trend. + +**Summarize** + +Taken together, combined with Amazon's own bearish technical momentum and an upward trend in real yields, Amazon's stock price could fall further in the coming months. +I think 99.9999% of us in the sub wish we could go back in time and load up on $5 BTC, but that ship has sailed. You cannot go back in time, but you can change your future. If you have the ability to throw a large sum of fiat into one crypto, what would it be? + +I know you should DCA and should not put all your eggs in one basket, but if you had to go long on just one crypto, what would it be (and why)? + In follow-up to u/Delicious_Reporter21, we all wanted to see what things looked like if we extended the hold times on the stock pic lists. I got restless, and this is free to try, so I ran the same tests OP explained. + +Looking back at the post I see the date OP used are 5-9-2022 to 5-13-2022 in the window, while OP said the test was back to 2016…perhaps this was an oversight? I also noticed many of the charts OP included in the post were removed recently. + +So, using the first available information on Mad Money picks (April 16, 2016) to 5-16-2022 I ran the similar tests. + +As far as holding only 1 day…there seems to be an edge over the SPY in recent years, but not so much early on, and not consistently. + +[Not significant until COVID+ but interesting. 1 day only though!](https://preview.redd.it/5nitqsbbk4091.png?width=3299&format=png&auto=webp&s=7cf16d226f86cb3e8bc43a7f95c0d11b2dc130ae) + +[Flatter, not bad I guess.](https://preview.redd.it/axn5sysbk4091.png?width=3300&format=png&auto=webp&s=399ff21b0090d31b7a3e3335cb16764bfbe3b69a) + +On the 14-day tests, things go to crap pretty quick. Now for whatever reason I COULD NOT run a BUY 14-day test. I tried 4 times and got a server error each time. So maybe you all try and see what you get. + +[Sell 14 is nasty.](https://preview.redd.it/ep4eda9ek4091.png?width=3299&format=png&auto=webp&s=c4054663756464d1dbb47a3722537e2175d4a311) + +Why not 28 days while we are at it? They both look crappy. Try it if you like. Seems to me the 1-day hold is significant, which supports some ‘theories’. So, in short, JC calls the crud (no surprise). So if anything jump in and out quick and try to catch the retail wave the morning after. I would be curious as to why the post was modified so much? I can’t find those charts anymore. Is this you Jim?? + +1-day it is. +How long have you scalp traded? What percentage stop loss do you use? After what percentage gain do you take profit? Question comes from a new scaler who is keen to see how others approach it. Thanks in advance! +Can someone please explain me the 2% trading rule. For an example if I have $5000 total balance. Do I trade all $5000 in a single trade and try to aim at maximum loss of 2% if it happens in this case ( $100 ) or if my total balance is $5000 I can only risk $100 per trade since that's 2% ? I really don't understand this and would be really helpful if someone can point me at the right direction. Thanks! +Hello, + +I'm looking for some advice regarding Tech/Finance jobs as a STEM graduate. I graduated a couple of years ago with a Civil Engineering degree. I did well through university and ended up graduating with HD+ average and university medal. + +I've been working as a graduate structural engineer since graduating and have come to the realisation that I do not really enjoy the industry. The pay is decent, but would be considered average when compared to a lot of industries, and I really don't enjoy the nature of the construction industry (too much hassling, confrontation, and corner cutting for my liking). + +I am looking towards trying to pivot into the Tech or Finance industry, but I unfortunately have very little coding experience (only a couple of subjects required it during my studies). + +What sort of jobs within the Tech/Finance industries required an analytical mindset and will hire from outside Finance/IT degrees? I love everything to do with data, numbers, and problem solving. + +I tried my luck out for quantitative trading positions, but stumbled at the final hurdle in the hiring process of a couple of companies. Obviously these positions are super competitive due to the obscene salaries. + +Any insight into starting positions would be much appreciated, whether it be jobs or companies, or telling me I need to go back to university for a computer science degree. I was always told that STEM degrees were great in terms of being able to branch out into other industries, but am a bit lost in terms of where to look for entry-level roles. + +Thank you. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. + +**Background** + +I want to propose a different method for selecting your FIRE number. I think that it has several benefits over the general "build the life you want, then save for it" approach. + +The benefit I see for the "build your life" approach is that you will know what you are saving for. You know that you enjoy the hobbies you will be retiring to, the friends and family you will get to see more often, etc. I think that this is important, especially given how often folks seem to have posts essentially saying "I retired, didn't have anything structured in my life, now I don't know who I am and have no motivation". I think this approach also gives you a more reasonable expectation of what your actually FIRE costs will be, and how much you need to save. + +However, I think many people who discover FIRE see the downside almost immediately. "The life I want is to not work". There are a number of people just desperate to get out of whatever misery they feel they are in. Often, the advice on these posts is "if you're miserable now, you'll be miserable when you retire; figure out how to not be miserable". This is generally good advice, but when you're in the thick of things it is hard to see that you really need to be discovering what makes you happy, instead of just trying to avoid what makes you miserable. + +**Proposal** + +My proposal is basically this: find your leanFIRE number, get there as quickly as possible, then continue working while you build the life you want. + +I think that this really solves the "misery" factor. If you sprint to leanFIRE, you can know that you can quit whatever job makes you miserable, if in fact the job is what makes you miserable. You will have that safety net to allow you to take the risks of potentially finding another job, or maybe just telling your boss "I don't enjoy this part of my role, is there anyway that someone else can take it over". You will have the freedom to make career decisions that you would not otherwise be able to because you are beholden to costs of living. + +I think that this also enhances the "build your life" approach. Once you have hit leanFIRE, you can start deciding what to splurge on. Now, I don't mean that you take your entire salary and start blowing it on everything; what I mean is that, of your salary, you save a large portion of it which offsets the amount that you spend. Basically, the numbers* are such that, if you are already financially independent, you can spend an additional 3.84% (assuming 4% SWR) of your salary (while saving the rest) and remain financially independent. This means that your leanFIRE number can keep moving up while you try new things and *discover* the life you want. Once you've discovered it, you will already be able to pay for it because you've been saving for it the whole time anyway, and remained financially independent along the way. + +This approach also lets you have some lifestyle creep. As long as you are happy to continue working, you can buy the bigger TV or the nicer car, or whatever. Once you are financially independent, it becomes easier to let yourself do these things, and it becomes easier for them to be affordable, so long as you are still happy working. + + +*Here is the math for those interested. Given that you are FI, you have: + +spending = savings * swr + +You want to increase your savings to accomodate some newspending, or: + +savings + salary - newspending = (spending + newspending) / swr +savings + salary - newspending = (savings * swr + newspending) / swr +savings * swr + salary * swr - newspending * swr = savings * swr + newspending +salary * swr - newspending * swr = newspending +salary * swr = newspending + newspending * swr +salary * swr = newspending * (1 + swr) +salary * swr / (1 + swr) = newspending + +assuming swr = 4%, you get: + +newspending = salary * (0.04 / (1 + 0.04)) = salary * 0.04 / 1.04 ~= salary * 0.0384 +Background: Been renting the house for 4 years and when we moved in, when chatting she mentioned we would probably be her last tenants and i mentioned max mortgage we could get would be 180k and she said oh you could buy this one. + +&#x200B; + +Well now we are in a position that we have a bit over 10k in help to buy ISA's and so i would like to approach my landlady nicely as she is kind of a family friend and let her know we are just about in a position to buy a house. + +&#x200B; + +My trouble is everything i try to draft to her, we don't have much contact and everything i draft seems overly direct .. has anyone had experience with anything like this and can suggest the best way about this? - last time we communicated was a text letting her know the boiler was playing up and to expect a plumbers invoice ...last winter (she is fine with me doing all this admin and arranging for work to be done) + + +So yeah is a text ok? care to help me draft it? +I currently have 40k sat in a Santander savings account currently paying 2.72%, as I’ll be earning over 50k this year I was wondering what the best distribution of these savings would be to maximise my earnings? I’ve been looking at potentially putting 20k in an isa and fix for a year, leaving 20k to move around different saving accounts. Any help would be appreciated, thanks. +So the question is, do I keep using my car until it’s screwed (but paying annually for any work that needs doing)... or is it best to keep replacing every few years whilst there’s still some value in the car to trade against a lower mileage/less used one and repeat. + +I use my car 5 days a week, and average about 200-250 miles a week. + +I currently have a 2011 Fiesta which I bought about 3 years ago for £5,000 and within the next 18 months or so, it’ll be 10 years old (currently has 52,500 miles on the clock). + +I will never pay more than £5,000 for my work car. So is this a simple question of maths over a set period to see what works out best? +My wife and I both work, but after her maternity leave I think the intention will be to leave her job and become a full time mum. + +Any top tips to minimise the pinch of loosing 1 income are greatly appreciated. +Hi all, + +I’m wondering what the general consensus is on private schools? Are they a waste of money and the money spent would be better saved and invested over that period or does the higher level of education and (perhaps more importantly) the connections you make with people who are likely to end up in in more powerful positions make it worth it? +Basically the title. If an investment goes red I have diamond hands to a fault. I hold bags and wait for a possible redemption. Sometimes I double down and buy dips to average down. + +I may believe in a stock but I'm not always right and I need a better strategy for cutting my losses and moving on. My runners more than make up for my losses but I don't like to have all my money tied up in very red stocks. + +Anybody have suggestions or strategies you employ? +So to start this off ill set a scene for you, last week I was out to dinner with my parents and the parents of a close friend of mine and the basis behind my question, their daughter (Age 7-9?). + +Her parents make out well, they have a nice house, 3 cars and travel often. During our dinner me applying for a loan was brought up by my father, an embarrassing moment for myself as I was denied but it did bring up an interesting topic. + +From what I understand the girls father has had a credit card in his daughters name since she was 2 years old. He claims to use it for gas and coffee in the aims of having her start off with years of perfect credit. + +Im single myself and im a long way off from a child but the idea of this just really caught me off guard, is this a common thing and how can any credit card company sign a card over to a two year old? Surely he will have to be caught at some point, and Im sure there has to be some legal ramifications for this. + +I have been wanting to mention it to my aforementioned friend but it seems impolite, however I came across this page while searching for a new loan I can apply to for schooling and it seemed like a great place to finally discuss this with people, looking forward to the responses. + + + +There was some discussion a while back about making a Rent v. Buy Flowchart. Many posts on here are asking whether to rent or buy where they live, so I hope this helps. + +Happy to take on any suggestions for edits? + +https://imgur.com/a/14IsziB + +EDIT: I’ve applied the suggestions from the thread to lower the legal, surveyor and valuation fees. Open to taking more suggestions for improvements where you identify them. +So how many times can you get an FHA loan? Can you get it as many times as you want? I know you only need to do one year of on time payments on the first FHA loan to apply again. +just wondering for anyone in real estate, did you come from a project manager lead, web developer role, or engineering and used your money to get into real estate? whether buying single family homes or becoming a realtor. + +Update: thank you all for your responses, i have a cheap mom so those habits will be instilled in me for the good of saving. + +i will not get caught up in building an empire and forget to have fun, it's sad some people do but it was a personal goal of mine to have 10 houses in 10 countries that I like so I always have a home when I want to travel +Hello all, + +I will be seeing my first 4-unit rental property this coming week. I have experience with SFH and Duplexes, but I have never ventured into the 4-units quite yet. + +They are all 3br and 2ba. The numbers seem to add up pretty well and it is in a desirable neighborhood right next to the university. There is an HOA fee of $80 a month that covers water, trash, exterior repairs, stucco, and roof repairs, and it doesn't really kill the deal. The rents seem a bit low at $750 for the downstairs units and $775 for the upstairs units. + +They are asking $99,000 per unit. I think that I would be able to rent for at least 1k per unit a month. Is there anything that you all could think of that could help me make the right choice? Thank you all! +My sister makes a good living already, so if several rentals were vacant, they could afford to cover the mortgage. They have excellent credit and live in an area with less than 1 month inventory of houses on the market. They would hire a property Management company to handle things (asked me and I said no). There are pros and cons to both approaches. Her husband and her are split on which approach to take. They have more savings that can be used to cover any issues if something happens. Thank you for your advice! +I was under the impression that if I bought my flat and it went up in value then when I remortgaged in 2 years the repayments would be a lot more attractive as more of the loan would be deemed to have been ‘paid off’ but now people are telling me different. + +Point 2: or would I be able to pull this new equity out to buy another place for instance? (Not necessarily planning to) + +Background: about to buy a flat at 380k with a 90% LTV, going to be fully refurbishing it and living in it for at least 2 years (2 yr fixed rate). For argument sake and judging by similar properties, imagining it will rise to 525k. + +Thanks for your help! +So someone who was on the WeBull thread for GME asked me a question about blindly following things posted on reddit regarding the recent theory about Blockbuster, so I did some searching and I found this information that may be something but it could be coincidence: + +I found that BB Liquidating Inc. is owned by an entity that states its offices are located at [2001 Ross Ave, Suite 2100](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BLIAQ/profile?p=BLIAQ), so I looked up that address and found the law offices of [Gibson Dunn & Crutcher](https://www.gibsondunn.com/office/dallas/). GD&C are heavy hitters for big companies... When you cross reference them, it turns out they have worked for Citadel on numerous occasions, the most recently in 2008 when the [United States District Attorneys office for SDNY accused Citadel](https://www.gibsondunn.com/2008-year-end-update-on-corporate-deferred-prosecution-and-non-prosecution-agreements/) of committing wire fraud... + +Now it could be coincidence that a law firm that has represented [Citadel](https://casetext.com/case/citadel-sec-llc-v-chi-bd-options-exch-inc-1) in the past and likely currently, happens to be the headquarters for BB Liquidating, but it might be something that a wrinkle brain could look further into. + +Just a parting thought: BB Liquidating Inc's stock price has fluctuated from between [$0.35+ to as little as a fraction of a cent going back 10+ years](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BLIAQ/chart?p=BLIAQ#eyJPSExDIjp0cnVlLCJzdGlja3lDcm9zc2hhaXIiOmZhbHNlLCJ0aGVtZSI6ImxpZ2h0IiwibGF5b3V0Ijp7ImludGVydmFsIjoid2VlayIsInBlcmlvZGljaXR5IjoxLCJ0aW1lVW5pdCI6bnVsbCwiY2FuZGxlV2lkdGgiOjEuOTI4NjMzMDE1NDA4MTAwOCwiZmxpcHBlZCI6ZmFsc2UsInZvbHVtZVVuZGVybGF5Ijp0cnVlLCJhZGoiOnRydWUsImNyb3NzaGFpciI6dHJ1ZSwiY2hhcnRUeXBlIjoibW91bnRhaW4iLCJleHRlbmRlZCI6ZmFsc2UsIm1hcmtldFNlc3Npb25zIjp7fSwiYWdncmVnYXRpb25UeXBlIjoib2hsYyIsImNoYXJ0U2NhbGUiOiJsaW5lYXIiLCJwYW5lbHMiOnsiY2hhcnQiOnsicGVyY2VudCI6MSwiZGlzcGxheSI6IkJMSUFRIiwiY2hhcnROYW1lIjoiY2hhcnQiLCJpbmRleCI6MCwieUF4aXMiOnsibmFtZSI6ImNoYXJ0IiwicG9zaXRpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ5YXhpc0xIUyI6W10sInlheGlzUkhTIjpbImNoYXJ0Iiwi4oCMdm9sIHVuZHLigIwiXX19LCJzZXRTcGFuIjpudWxsLCJvdXRsaWVycyI6ZmFsc2UsImxpbmVXaWR0aCI6MiwiY29sb3IiOiIjMDA4MWYyIiwic3RyaXBlZEJhY2tncm91bmQiOnRydWUsInN5bWJvbHMiOlt7InN5bWJvbCI6IkJMSUFRIiwic3ltYm9sT2JqZWN0Ijp7InN5bWJvbCI6IkJMSUFRIiwicXVvdGVUeXBlIjoiRVFVSVRZIiwiZXhjaGFuZ2VUaW1lem9uZU5hbWUiOiJBbWVyaWNhL05ld19Zb3JrIn0sInBlcmlvZGljaXR5IjoxLCJpbnRlcnZhbCI6IndlZWsiLCJ0aW1lVW5pdCI6bnVsbCwic2V0U3BhbiI6bnVsbH1dLCJzdHVkaWVzIjp7IuKAjHZvbCB1bmRy4oCMIjp7InR5cGUiOiJ2b2wgdW5kciIsImlucHV0cyI6eyJpZCI6IuKAjHZvbCB1bmRy4oCMIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IuKAjHZvbCB1bmRy4oCMIn0sIm91dHB1dHMiOnsiVXAgVm9sdW1lIjoiIzBkYmQ2ZWVlIiwiRG93biBWb2x1bWUiOiIjZmY1NTQ3ZWUifSwicGFuZWwiOiJjaGFydCIsInBhcmFtZXRlcnMiOnsiY2hhcnROYW1lIjoiY2hhcnQiLCJlZGl0TW9kZSI6dHJ1ZSwicGFuZWxOYW1lIjoiY2hhcnQifX19LCJyYW5nZSI6bnVsbH0sImV2ZW50cyI6eyJkaXZzIjpmYWxzZSwic3BsaXRzIjpmYWxzZSwidHJhZGluZ0hvcml6b24iOiJub25lIiwic2lnRGV2RXZlbnRzIjpbXX19), which seems odd since Blockbuster declared bankruptcy in 2010. If BB Liquidating was solely made to liquidate the assets of Blockbuster, why would it still be trading on OTC markets, and if the theory about it being used to inflate assets for liquidity, that may be the reason for the increased scrutiny for pink slip stocks. + +Edited for spelling mistakes, tired and have been drinking. + +Update information: + +In 2018, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher represented [Prime Communications](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001326380/000132638018000116/exhibit991pressrelease.htm) in the acquisition of Gamestops Spring Mobile businesses/stores... + +Link: + +I'm not [Patrick Bateman,](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.gq-magazine.co.uk%2Fphotos%2F5e9ee080be258400088d6fc3%2F3%3A2%2Fw_1620%2Ch_1080%2Cc_limit%2F20200421-psycho-04.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gq-magazine.co.uk%2Ffashion%2Farticle%2Famerican-psycho-patrick-bateman-style&tbnid=APoKFkp67P-taM&vet=12ahUKEwi0vIjU-OfyAhWMrHIEHbvAD6gQMygBegUIARDMAQ..i&docid=NbQFsz-XrMiiWM&w=1620&h=1080&q=patrick%20bateman&client=firefox-b-1-d&ved=2ahUKEwi0vIjU-OfyAhWMrHIEHbvAD6gQMygBegUIARDMAQ) but wouldn't GD&C gain detailed information regarding GME's finances while facilitating a $700m acquisition? + +&#x200B; + +DOES ANYONE HAVE DETAILED 13F-HR FILINGS FROM CITADEL BETWEEN 2017 AND 2019? I want to see if there is a correlation between their GME holdings (call/put) positions increasing around the time that G,D&C were representing Prime Communications in the Spring Mobile deal. + +**- 27 trillion in circulation** + +**- unlimited supply cap** + +**- only 1 node** + +**- 1% of holders own 30%** + +**- 25% supply minted in the last 6 months** + +**- 38 million notes printed every day** + +**- loses at least 3% of value every year** + +**- in a bear market since its conception** + +Had to repost this here bc it might be the most accurate and perspective post I’ve seen on the topic yet. + +OG Credit to: u/laurcrv +Edit:, it looks as though Market Watch has copied this post: [https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-personal-savings-have-fallen-off-a-cliff-how-to-boost-your-savings-in-case-of-a-looming-recession-11666722275?mod=home-page](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-personal-savings-have-fallen-off-a-cliff-how-to-boost-your-savings-in-case-of-a-looming-recession-11666722275?mod=home-page) + +Source: [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVE](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVE) + +It hasn't been this low since 2009. Does this mean that people are running out of money to spend? Hence, we could see inflation slow down now because people can't afford excessive purchases anymore. People have exhausted their covid money and then some. + +The $4.8 trillion during covid was caused by people's fears of the economy collapsing so they saved, stimulus checks, and the lack of things to spend their money on due to stay-at-home orders. + +Also, it's quite shocking to see how Americans are able to spend their money so fast. It's as if people thought the boom was going to last forever and that they weren't ever going to run out of money. The average American can't seem to see beyond the next 3 months. Personally, my savings have actually increased because I didn't believe this boom would last forever. + +There is a theory on inflation that suggests inflation is partly psychological and not based in reality. People and businesses just expect inflation after a while so workers continuously ask for higher wages which in turn causes businesses to charge higher prices. Here, we can see that people actually have less money now to spend than in 2009. To break this cycle, the fed needs to provide an interest rate shock like what Volcker did. \[0\]\[1\]\[2\]\[3\] + +**The main question is: is there a correlation between personal savings and inflation? Another question is if personal savings is now so low, why are people still spending so much? Is is because of their gain in home equity (which is still far above 2019) that is making people "feel" rich?** + +\[0\][https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/FOMC20091201memo05.pdf](https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/FOMC20091201memo05.pdf) + +\[1\][https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/search/review/html/inflation-expectations.en.html](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/search/review/html/inflation-expectations.en.html) + +\[2\][https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/11/30/what-are-inflation-expectations-why-do-they-matter](https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/11/30/what-are-inflation-expectations-why-do-they-matter) + +\[3\][https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/08/08/Inflation-Expectations-and-the-Supply-Chain-521686](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/08/08/Inflation-Expectations-and-the-Supply-Chain-521686) +Anyone willing to share their journey from beginning to profitable algo trading? Day like this just remind me trading ES profitably and consistently is a monumental task. + +What was it like when you started and how long it takes you to be profitable? What was your worst moment? + +Trading is a lonely activities and can be really tough both mentally and physically. +Currently testing my first algo and at the moment it just buys and sells a set size based on my indicators. One of the things I'd like to implement is scaling into and out positions. For some reason I'm running into a mental block around when and how I would want this to happen programmatically. + +Out of curiosity, is anyone out there implementing this in their algo? And if so how are you determining if/when to scale in or out? Are you just reanalyzing after initial entry to determine if you should increase size? Are you just scaling out based on target percentages of return? +Hi, I’m an applied math and statistics major doing a minor in CS from a top University in Australia. I’m looking at getting into a Quant role after my Honours year (4th year here) or potentially even a masters. I was wondering if anyone had any insight as to what personal projects would develop the programming skills required in a quant trading or researcher role and would make a resume stand out as well, as well as what languages are useful in the industry. I get that they’re both different roles so I wouldn’t mind ideas for projects for both. Thanks +The president on Friday night said he preferred a ban of TikTok from the U.S. rather than a sale, catching both Bytedance (BDNCE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) off-guard, say sources. + +TikTok initially tried to save the deal by making additional concessions, such as adding 10K U.S. jobs over the next three years, and Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming agreeing to sell his stake, but it's not clear that's going to change Trump's mind. For now, deal talks are dead, reports the Journal +Last Friday, I found out all my limit buying orders in CoinbasePro were gone, so I went 'Yay!', but soon I realized there is nothing in my portfolio - My USD balance of $8,800 had just disappeared. + +So I called Coinbase, but all I could do was suspend my account, and I filled out the complaint form online. + +Then I looked through my Gmail, and found an email from Coinbase sent on Thursday, saying "Congratulations! You have successfully transferred 0.8970 BTC to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (I removed the address after my post got deleted by the moderator)." + +That email was the only message from Coinbase regarding this transfer. No verification request, no Google Authentication confirmation, nothing. + +I would like to see the Coinbase transaction record, but I couldn't because I had just suspended my account. + +As of now (Monday P.M.) I did not receive any response from Coinbase. + +Can someone PLEASE help? That money is like 70% of my asset. (sob) +Now the tax payers are bailing out shadow banking. Junk bonds are risky loans that private equity, hedge funds, and other shadow banking institutions give out to desperate companies that can't get loans from regular banks anymore. That's why junk bonds are shadow banking instead of traditional banking. JPow is using his unlimited printer to BAILOUT and give free money to the shadiest and greediest characters of wall street and society in general - private equity, hedge fund managers, shady billionaires. + +PE, hedgies, shady billionaires were screwed because the economy just halted and companies were going to default on these risky loans since they had no revenue coming in. This is who JPow is helping. He just bailed them all out by buying these risky junk bonds on the back of the American tax payer. You may become homeless and starve, but private equity, hedge fund managers, and shady billionaires will be made whole by the fed. + +JPow's cover story for buying junk bonds is that he is helping corporations so they can keep American jobs intact. That is a total lie. Corporations will get all this free money and then lay off people anyway during the summer. All the free money will go to the wall street elite and billionaires. + +Edit: Let me make it even simpler. Shadow banker (evil blood sucking parasite of wall street) gives money to company XYZ and company XYZ gives a high yield bond aka junk bond to the shadow banker. Company XYZ loses all revenue because of corona. Mr. shadow banker is now holding a worthless bond because XYZ went bankrupt and cannot pay the interest payments anymore. Mr. shadow banker very sad and maybe going broke too. Oh wait, here comes JPow with his unlimited money printer. JPow buys this bond from Mr. Shadow banker who gets saved from his risky loan and mr. shadow banker gets all his money back. The fed now owns this risky bond on the back of the American tax payer but this bond will likely be worthless since company XYZ can never pay back the loan. JPow saved the shadow banker, question is will JPow save you when you are homeless and starving? + +Edit: Some people saying, you just don't understand this stuff. It's too complicated. Don't worry the billionaires know what they are doing. Well you know what, if its that complicated and confusing it probably shouldn't be happening. Wall Street loves to create complicated tricky instruments so they can steal all the money from the average American. +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/8jmhzeyynlh71.jpg?width=1444&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9426270b325d245f1dd661adfcb4d491e1a0432e + +https://preview.redd.it/gyr2pgyynlh71.jpg?width=1424&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59b0766c2bc7b0c88c26c9e5db689dc8c254b91d + +https://preview.redd.it/af544hyynlh71.jpg?width=1433&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dfa394b3673aadc85090a56aad6ad0693d85af75 + +https://preview.redd.it/g04lldyynlh71.jpg?width=1437&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca7318524bdff8303775c21f178fe485790f2b3f + +https://preview.redd.it/o8tjqdyynlh71.jpg?width=1431&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d9f61e41a07b1b5a966363da061b391422a0ce93 + +https://preview.redd.it/8t38mfyynlh71.jpg?width=1418&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=719bfdff3edb7f489f0f18297caa0b4460693f54 + +https://preview.redd.it/yfkhfjyynlh71.jpg?width=1451&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50e5effb61b7e9b3821103f9ea5c1bd58b50461c + +https://preview.redd.it/guubagyynlh71.jpg?width=1432&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e471ef3f2c3aa543a5f060125e1c7d348ef4cfe3 + +https://preview.redd.it/uo7fxgyynlh71.jpg?width=1432&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0d66cbc555659c09eec71ba06405876e8cd282b + +https://preview.redd.it/vmcw3fyynlh71.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7587772249d3603ef46ce69e5a521ce263b257a3 + +https://preview.redd.it/1qgopgyynlh71.jpg?width=1413&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4500eca348d2b6d3989b23aa7fb5e3869210285 + +https://preview.redd.it/gq1nkgyynlh71.jpg?width=839&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b2563450c46a6bd76f9d2e361a3259fd9f05b58 + +https://preview.redd.it/nhrozeyynlh71.jpg?width=1442&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2671a0342183583f2ee4bde1e044e462669ece7c + +https://preview.redd.it/zmm47gyynlh71.jpg?width=1427&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=242fe17fa0dd33d700c2ce221a0589bbf1858e09 + +https://preview.redd.it/56h63gyynlh71.jpg?width=1543&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=982333b53556ae6af424073bccdb8e858987b5d3 + +https://preview.redd.it/5z6affyynlh71.jpg?width=1948&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7d37dc68dbac8991167a578ca47aeea6114bf7a + +https://preview.redd.it/9dnf7gyynlh71.jpg?width=887&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f7b82eec92600feb9aaeba381740cbff91134b3 + +https://preview.redd.it/b7yr1gyynlh71.jpg?width=1458&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbe0d834fd823b5719fbc63ae1a398edfdeaad8d + +https://preview.redd.it/btw0qxyynlh71.jpg?width=635&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=476caaaf005990fadcd1734f2cac4cb537341f37 +[LINK](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/kraft-heinz-tanks-after-disclosing-it-was-subpoenaed-by-sec-over-accounting-policies.html) + +Terrible earnings and the dividend cut really speaks to the struggles that brand name companies are having. + +I think it's interesting that these long term safe haven names don't seem so safe anymore. You used to be able to count on these guys to be safe dividend payers in good times and bad but it's been a struggle lately. Of course, KHC is more leveraged than a lot of the others but it's still an interesting strategy. + +The other part that is worrisome is this from the earnings report "the Company recorded non-cash impairment charges of $15.4 billion to lower the carrying amount of goodwill in certain reporting units, primarily U.S. Refrigerated and Canada Retail, and certain intangible assets, primarily the Kraft and Oscar Mayer trademarks." + +That's a big impairment charge to some big brand names. + +I wonder how Buffet feels about this unless he's just taking it private eventually. +Hi all, +So I am in a very fortunate WFH position where I am permitted to live in a caravan full time and travel Australia while still performing my full time role. +It is a National position and I will be stopping in at various workplaces for short periods as I go. + +My question for anyone that has done it, what can or can't I claim on tax here? +Apartment blocks have a finite lifetime, so what happens when the block needs to be demolished and a larger/newer block setup? Do all the apartment owners have to agree, or is there some mechanism for the sale? What actually occurs in a block where each apartment is owned by a different owner? + +[EDIT - ANSWER] So the answer to this seems to be "it depends", on what state you are in, and to a lesser extent what the Body Corporate rules are. In Victoria, 100% of the apartment owners have to agree to sell, while in NSW it's 75%, and 70% in Qld. The ownership ratio is ratio of aprtments, not owners, so if a single owner owns 2 units out of say 8 they have 25% of the apartment. +I apologise in advance as there have been so many of these posts but I think it's useful for newbies to read this, as it was for me. + +After initially reading the famous flowchart I reluctantly decided that it might be a good idea to put aside some money in an emergency fund. I honestly didn't see the point at first as I couldn't really imagine when I would need it. + +However, this week we tried to put our heating on and of course the boiler is broken and we need a new one. + +Fortunately, this is no problem as I have my emergency fund! And I've been doing a little happy dance in my head all day knowing that i can comfortably afford this. Especially as I have just got married and I was so close to spending every penny in my bank account on the wedding. + +So if there is anyone out there who thinks they dont need an emergency fund, please think again. It has saved my bacon. + +Thanks for reading :) +My husband was injured recently and all of the cash in his wallet was covered in blood. It's about $400, so I'd really hate to have to just throw it away. I've already contacted my bank, but they weren't sure if they could take it since it's now a biohazard. They said they'd call me back either tomorrow or Monday, but I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and if so, what their experience was. + +And what, if any, other options do I have if the bank won't take the money? + +Thanks! + +Edit: Whoa, this blew up over night. Thank you all for your advice. We ended up just putting the money in the pockets of an old pair of jeans and sending it through the washing machine, which worked well. And to all of the people who asked about my husband, he's okay. He just needed a few stitches. +I know that saving is important but the “cut out coffee” advice seems like it’s not worth the metal effort- right? Why not instead focus on figuring out creative ways to make an extra $10/ day? The skill of making more money just seems to compound faster than saving. Thoughts? +No idea what is happening, but the volume has spiked quite dramatically in the last 20 minutes. + +Yep, this is crypto, pump and dump territory, so who knows how long this will sustain. + +Interesting to watch right now - it's going up like a rocket across the board. + +Anyone have any insider info as to whether this is just another pump? - if it is, it's a pretty big one! +I know people here like privacy, but if cryptocurrencies go mainstream then if have to be traceable. So many countries have one (or more) of theses problems: + +* Corruption in public procurement. +* Political party funding with injustificated money +* Secret lobby. +* Narco-states. +* Super rich who do not pay taxes. +* Bribery. + +And the list go on. And as example, look what happen in Argentina: + +[Former Secretary of Public Works (at the time) José López was found with a bag with \~ $ 9 million that was hidden in a church.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/17/argentina-ex-minister-convent-cash-jose-lopez) + +With Monero (as example) these things would never be public and corruption would go unpunished. +So I downloaded tinder last week because I’m graduated from college and going to be in my hometown for a while. I figured may as well try the dating app again. I even bought the $8 unlimited swipes to try and help boost my chances of talking to women. + +I got one match and she never responded after asking how I was. After a week of nothing and constant swiping, I decided to [delete](https://imgur.com/a/oy1HXn0) the app and short the fuck out of the stock or buy puts to protest this app since it cucked me. I can’t believe I threw $8 at this for nothing, so now I’ll throw my life savings against it to short it. + +MTCH is not just tinder, it is a group of 14 dating apps such as hinge, okc, plenty of fish, and a bunch of others. You can check their [website](https://mtch.com/ourcompany) out to see more. Maybe 2 of these apps are widely used (tinder and hinge) so that’s not a good start if you have 14 apps and only 2 are popular. + +We’ve seen companies like Netflix get absolutely hammered due to a loss in subscriptions. Match is about to head in the same direction. When a recession comes will people pay $25 a month for tinder gold? Idk about you but I don’t want to pay $25 a month for 0 matches and a bruised ego. + +After I deleted the app I vented my frustrations out in the daily discussion thread where user u/sloanemonroe told me only 4% of guys get swiped on. Think about how many times your puts have had a 4% chance of hitting and expired worthless. That’s you on tinder. You think you’ll get a lot, but you end up expiring worthless and getting no matches. Don’t blame yourself, blame the app that needs to go be yeeted out of existence. + +I just don’t see how they keep a paying user base during a recession and I don’t see how they didn’t spread themselves too thin with 14 apps. The stock also has a 79PE while the actual stock is priced at $71. Everything about this company screams short it to 0. If Snapchat tanked 60% in a day, I don’t see how MTCH won’t. + +This is how capitalism works. When a company fails to serve the needs of the people we short the fuck out of it and put it out of business so a competitor can do it right. That’s what needs to happen here. + +Edit: for those saying institutions own most of this stock, they are doing this to start a massive short position like they do to other stocks they short. +I recently started listening to David Sinclair's 'Lifespan - Why We Age - and Why We Don't Have To.' In the book he discusses what has been learned about the mechanisms of aging, and how we on the brink of emerging technologies and pharmaceuticals that can combat these mechanisms to allow us to live for much longer. He emphasizes that this increased lifespan will also include a dramatically increased 'healthspan', and envisions that within our lifetime we could see the average lifespan in developed countries increase by over 20 years. 80-90 year-olds could be traveling and hiking trails in full health, with another 20-30 years to look forward to. + +In the later chapters he discusses how this future, although idealistic on the surface, does harbor some complications when it comes to overpopulation (limited resources) and government. It would lead to a very quick draw-down of social security funds, as the program was not designed for a population that would live much past mid-sixties. The traditional age of retirement would be pushed back drastically for people to live comfortably into their new golden years. People who worked in physically demanding jobs for 30-40+ years would need to continue their back-breaking work into their 70s+ (although in better health) or else learn new marketable skills. If caught in the middle of their career during this technological breakthrough, they may reconsider their college degree or lack thereof altogether. + +As with most emerging technologies, the initial onset of age-combating drugs will likely be prohibitively expensive. For as much as a late-stage capitalism dystopia it may sound like, the wealthy will inevitably be the first to benefit from these technologies, conjuring thoughts of Mr. Burns-like immortals. Then, even when it becomes mainstream, the wealthy will enjoy all the benefits of their extra years without the worry of money. + +Being financially independent in a time like this could effectively double the value you get from the 25x+ yearly expenses nest egg, where value is measured as healthy years not working. Also, having the money available to benefit from these technologies early on could literally buy you time. In this future, there is a much higher incentive to make financial independence a goal. It wouldn't be surprising if the temperance typically preached in these types of communities becomes a much more embraced virtue in a future of increasing population. + +Edit- A couple posts seem to think this is impossible for the sole reason that they haven’t seen it before. These drugs are already proven to extend the life of mice, worms, apes, etc. but are not fully tested on humans (and take a while to do so as we tend to live pretty long as it is). Healthy skepticism is great, but I’d encourage those outright disregarding the possibility of life extending technologies to respect what science has given us thus far, and respect that it will continue to provide incredible advancements for us in the future. +So after missing work for a couple of days, I log back into my computer and see an email from our Risk and Compliance Department. + +The bank I work for is listed on an exchange that allows for Interac Online transfers, there is a large amount of people using the service to fund their accounts + wire transfers. + +Well, to summarize the lengthy email - Due to the fact that we have members coming in daily to inquire about cryptocurrency and how to buy it + the amount of money also leaving the wealth management side to be invested into cryptos is alarming for the executives. The bank decided to not allow any transactions for cryptocurrencies and will hold your account until they call you. Comments will be made on your account, and you will be flagged for a high-risk or suspicious account and will be treated differently when applying for loans/mortgages, or anything else banking related. + +Super disappointed in the decision by the executives, this is a step back for the organization - other organizations are actually holding Blockchain info sessions and what not. What do you guys think? + +Oh and my advice to you all, go to your bank or call them and ask what their policies are in regards to cryptocurrencies. If they do not allow for that, use a different bank that does. This will make your life easier both currently and in the future with your bank. + + +EDIT: A lot of you are asking me what bank, I don't want to disclose that information for obvious privacy reasons. Like I said, call your bank and figure out for your protection. +I’m just looking for opinions and help on starting my “nest egg” for retirement with stocks that pay dividends and no foreseeable future of stoping their dividend payouts. +Hello Mooners, + +I was randomly scrolling and saw a post with like 10 comments, 4-5 are from users without Moons’s Vault! + +https://blockonomi.com/redditors-are-now-using-moonsswap-to-trade-reddit-moons/ + +They most likely don’t know that Moons exist, so when you see a a user without without any number near his name, that means no Vault. + +Send them this link to open the Vault: + +https://amp.reddit.com/community-points/ + + +This is really important of we enter into new Market 📈 + +Edit: Moons are ERC20 and can be traded, they worth real $ , trade Moons on **https://MoonSSwap.com** +***TL:DR -*** + +>***Both Plan & Book are held in the name of the registered shareholder (I.E, you).*** +> +>***Both Plan & Book are removed from CEDE & Co (the DTC's nominee).*** +> +>***Both Plan & Book are unavailable for lending.*** +> +>***Both Plan & Book (inc. DSPP) shareholder names & positions are made visible to the issuer (GameStop)*** +> +>***GameStop decides which DRS information is disclosed in the quarterly reports (as aligned with market regulation and legislation). The naming conventions of Book/Plan bear no impact on visibility of shares held to the issuer.*** +> +>***Both DSPP & DRS are ‘book entry’ means of holding shares.*** +> +>***Fractional shares are real shares (...are a*** ***portion of an equity stock that is less than one full share) and are held in the registered holder's name.*** + +&#x200B; + +[Please Avoid Community Division](https://preview.redd.it/is2s6va8xg5a1.jpg?width=892&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f61ce0209d694a005005af4c833edbcfb7dc6ce) + +**.........////////////////////////........** + +# Book v Plan - Understanding the Difference: + +**RESOURCES:** + +* What are the differences between Book & Plan: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/z2pec0/book\_v\_plan\_understanding\_the\_difference/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/z2pec0/book_v_plan_understanding_the_difference/) +* Computershare FAQ: [https://www.computershare.com/us/becoming-a-registered-shareholder-in-us-listed-companies](https://www.computershare.com/us/becoming-a-registered-shareholder-in-us-listed-companies) +* CS Company Share Structure: [https://www.computershare.com/PublishingImages/company-share-structure.jpg](https://www.computershare.com/PublishingImages/company-share-structure.jpg) *(all shares are removed from* *CEDE & Co (the DTC's nominee*\*)\* +* Dr. T : "difference w/o distinction" = [https://twitter.com/SusanneTrimbath/status/1594838022381785090?s=20&t=NMtT--WTNcnTtqdA\_lExvA](https://twitter.com/SusanneTrimbath/status/1594838022381785090?s=20&t=NMtT--WTNcnTtqdA_lExvA) +* Computershare’s President of Global Capital Markets, Paul Conn: "there really is no practical difference" between Book and Plan = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H\_pEIhIdTo&t=481s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H_pEIhIdTo&t=481s) + +[President of Global Capital Markets, Paul Conn](https://preview.redd.it/vzkmimnfxg5a1.jpg?width=1832&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a28595bbad63fc9054849ec41d7d96ad562bce5f) + +Established differences thus far: + +* Book is eligible for requesting a paper certificate, Plan does not. *GameStop has indefinitely suspended the paper certificates without issued reason.* +* Plan facilitates the holding of fractional shares, Book does not. + +**.........////////////////////////........** + +# FAQ IN PICTURES: + +Computershare FAQ: [https://www.computershare.com/us/becoming-a-registered-shareholder-in-us-listed-companies](https://www.computershare.com/us/becoming-a-registered-shareholder-in-us-listed-companies) + +&#x200B; + +[You are legally recognised as the direct owner of the shares.](https://preview.redd.it/pztgh3cuyg5a1.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e5c6f9f6ab7baf4b48c7efd11cb4e50552c996f) + +[Shares are not lent out.](https://preview.redd.it/4xovp1imyg5a1.jpg?width=2148&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4239df803e2398760154d2d82895e0f7471014be) + +[Shares belong to you, the registered shareholder.](https://preview.redd.it/56hyl0rnyg5a1.jpg?width=2154&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8eb4a8e659d58ca84ee2f743609ba0e30dee9690) + +[Fractional shares can't be moved to book.](https://preview.redd.it/990fobx5zg5a1.jpg?width=2242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6ead30961a1f1a902697c1c96018126bb0b77fd) + +[Shares are removed from the CEDE & Co \(the DTC's nominee\).](https://preview.redd.it/6nrqf366zg5a1.jpg?width=2166&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3aa90c3220b6308df9722d7dbfa2482d9dabffe6) + +[Shares are not accessible to DTCC\/DTC or CEDE & Co.](https://preview.redd.it/y481wql6zg5a1.jpg?width=2176&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa4cda30e97c7be61bb78a0ada4480b7427336fd) + +[All shares as DRS'd are visible to the issuer - in both Plan and Book.](https://preview.redd.it/59z4d6y6zg5a1.jpg?width=2152&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60090303bc5d10911c76ca1b8a131f4322afbcd7) + +[GameStop \(the issuer\) decides what is disclosed in the quarterly DRS figures.](https://preview.redd.it/8kzuj2d7zg5a1.jpg?width=2182&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f65ba84cb5d107ab2299452c5700571b8900128) + +[Fewer shares recorded in CEDE & Co \(DTC nominee\) when DRS'd](https://preview.redd.it/71mf1ws7zg5a1.jpg?width=2156&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b784b444d45fefbe1af7bb38985a3b98aed5751e) + +[\\"Both DSPP & DRS are ‘book entry’ means of holding shares\\"](https://preview.redd.it/bjzmiy48zg5a1.jpg?width=2164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=592c724aac73342dea6e4f5615de0ec937d9782b) + +[\\"A difference w\/o distinction\\"](https://preview.redd.it/9xj7z89izg5a1.jpg?width=1140&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5e411cce75743b3080590004e269b6d19b7b9a1) + +**.........////////////////////////........** + +# TRANSFERRING TIPS: + +***Always time to take a moment to assess the situation and make decisions that are right for you.*** + +It's entirely your choice as to how you hold shares in Computershare, but just to remind you that there might be implications involved in the switch from Plan to Book - such as fractional shares being sold, and recurring buys shut off. + +If you change from DRIP to BOOK it will automatically **trigger a sale of any fractional shares leftove**r **AND IT WILL SHUT OFF YOUR DIRECT PURCHASE PLAN**, in other words, if you have it set to buy automatically every month, that will get **SHUT OFF**. + +You can cancel the fractional share sale, and you'd have to enroll in DRIP again if you want to continue to have shares purchased automatically every month. You can set a limit order for a fractional share, but it will just sell it as a market order if you leave it there overnight.. so don't actually do that! + +If you are going to go "book," it's been discussed that Computershare strongly advises calling them at **1-800-564-6253** to do so. There have been reports of those who have done the after hours termination of the plan still had their fractional sold, even with canceling the pending sell order that appears. + +The selling of fractional shares can be avoided by calling Computershare and asking them to keep one share plus the fractional in plan. For those that want to move shares from plan shares to “pure DRS” that is the safest way to avoid having a fractional share be potentially sold. That avoids the possibility of shares being sold and also avoids any fees. + +More detail in this post here (courtesy of [u/platinumsparkles](https://www.reddit.com/u/platinumsparkles/)): [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zhxaeh/dont\_forget\_to\_set\_your\_full\_dividend/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zhxaeh/dont_forget_to_set_your_full_dividend/) \-*(don't miss out on buys by forgetting to switch them back on - instructions with pictures)* + +**.........////////////////////////........** + +# CONVERSATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS: + +Please note that as of early **2022** \- the following [FAQ](https://www.computershare.com/us/becoming-a-registered-shareholder-in-us-listed-companies) was **removed** from Computershare's site: + +[NO LONGER RELEVANT TO DISCUSSIONS - OUTDATED FAQ](https://preview.redd.it/i0lzhrutzg5a1.jpg?width=930&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d027655715aa40156ac57dd227d507d01a22918) + +This is the same FAQ as often referenced in Dr. T's tweet below (dated November, 2021): + +https://preview.redd.it/j2gzh2tuzg5a1.jpg?width=1132&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adfb03f195fc624409ed26b9076e9dbf5d3692b8 + +&#x200B; + +Archive is here: [http://web.archive.org/web/20220223200242/https://www.computershare.com/us/becoming-a-registered-shareholder-in-us-listed-companies](http://web.archive.org/web/20220223200242/https://www.computershare.com/us/becoming-a-registered-shareholder-in-us-listed-companies) + +REMEMBER: + +Computershare is a transfer agent. They cannot trade as brokers do. They move shares to the DTC for efficient settlement after registered shareholders request to do so. This is not where shares are being held. + +Taking case in point - SHLDQ. You cannot sell this from Computershare directly. But you can send this back to a brokerage (therefore back to the DTC) before you sell. + +You don't need to send GME to a brokerage to sell. Even fractional shares can be sold via Computershare - just not via a limit order. If you place a limit order it will just sell at market price by end of day. + +A **Computershare** nominee where DSPP shares are held are still in **Computershare**. I.E "a **Computershare** nominee". Not a third party brokerage accessible to DTC/DTCC or CEDE & Co. + +Shares are removed from CEDE & Co (the DTC's nominee), held in registered shareholders names and are unavailable for lending in both Book & Plan. + +**.........////////////////////////........** + +# FACTS, NOT SPECULATION + +The only way to get absolute resolve in any understanding is to get information directly from source. Draw meaning or conclusions from accurate and relevant resources - and not interpretation or speculation. + +How to contact Computershare: + +* Computershare, 100 University Avenue, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2Y1 +* **+353 (0) 1 447 5566** +* [https://www.computershare.com/corporate/about-us/locations/contact-us](https://www.computershare.com/corporate/about-us/locations/contact-us) + +*^(\*\*Please note that the moderation team have reached out to Computershare’s President of Global Capital Markets, Paul Con. We will update this post with received correspondence in due course.)* + +**.........////////////////////////........** + +# This is how you switch safely + +**Converting Plan Holdings to Book** + +If you want to convert any shares from "Plan Holdings" to "Book" plan, there are at least two ways to do so, with potentially slightly different outcomes. + +&#x200B; + +1. **Online**, you may go into your "Plan Holdings" and un-enroll those shares from DRIP. The whole shares will be moved into a "Book" plan. The **fractions will be automatically entered into a sell order**. If you allow that sale to proceed, they'll end up mailing you a check or transferring the proceeds to your bank, according to your settings. You can go to your PENDING ORDERS and cancel this (People have still reported that their fractional was sold later even after cancelling, so your best bet may be to call). +2. By **phone**, you may direct Computershare to move only your whole shares from "Plan Holdings" to "Book". I've seen confusing reports as to whether they require you to leave at least one whole share behind along with the fractions, so you may need to leave 1.X or simply 0.X behind. In this case, you **keep your fractions** in "Plan Holdings". This should leave your recurring purchases intact, but I'd double check with the agent. + +**To Contact GME dept in Computershare - 800 522 6645** + +or [https://www-us.computershare.com/Investor/#Contact/Enquiry](https://www-us.computershare.com/Investor/#Contact/Enquiry) + +**International number: 00800-3823-3823** + +# [If you have recurring purchases set up you will need to set that back up!!!!](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zhxaeh/dont_forget_to_set_your_full_dividend/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +# This is for the people who have already switched! + +If you had Computershare buying automatically for you once or twice every month and you switched shares to BOOK online, most likely that cancelled your plan, and you need to set it up again! + +[go to: Manage Investment Plans](https://preview.redd.it/d896mhlmhh5a1.jpg?width=509&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11a37e093c95f3d1fff2e05f5c5b611f8d2a16f3) + +https://preview.redd.it/5hycq06phh5a1.jpg?width=357&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff9217659c0119ce487a57ff799df89e3afb9bfa + +If you don't see "Full Dividend Reinvestment" under Enrollment Status, then you won't get shares bought for you automatically. + +It's the MOST CONVENIENT thing ever to not even have to remember to buy shares every month! Computershare will just send you a text that your shares have been deposited. + +[You can do a one-time or recurring purchase, or BOTH!](https://preview.redd.it/aqqr4t1rhh5a1.jpg?width=1523&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b64be698f1b5c8df7b02b6d8bcb839f915d69a43) + +# Please Avoid Community Division + +There’s no wrong way to like or hold the stock. No matter how you hodl GME, you’re welcome in this community. Everyone is an individual investor and someone’s investment strategy may be different than yours. Even if you disagree with someone’s investment strategy, while participating in Superstonk, it’s still expected that you engage constructively and respectfully. + +&#x200B; + +[Rule 1. Be Nice, or Else.](https://preview.redd.it/94jq6x820h5a1.jpg?width=954&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40af3fddf66b325fe31022359631700e3b57f330) + +&#x200B; + +Please be wary of anything that compels people to act quickly and hastily, as this is where mistakes happen. There is always time to take a moment to assess the situation and make decisions that are right for you. + +**Book v Plan : Understanding the difference**: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/z2pec0/book\_v\_plan\_understanding\_the\_difference/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/z2pec0/book_v_plan_understanding_the_difference/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) +42, laid off 6 months ago, net worth about 5.6mm. Figured was close enough to my number, wanted to relocate to be close to family, and job mkt in my industry was not friendly so decided to make the move to RE. Ideally it would’ve been in 2-3 more years w NW closer to 7mm but trying to roll w the punches (think moving closer to aging parents is more important than grinding out another 1mm or so) + +Slashed our annual spend from 270k to 140k (cut kids private school, this years gift to parents, eating out, summer camps, cleaning lady, etc) + +Have some passive investments that haven’t fully ramped yet. Will increase to 120k next year, 180k in 2022, 240k 2023, and about 280k in 2024. Generally a safe investment generating 4mm post tax over next 20 years which will fund my RE for next 25 years, gets me to mid 60s without touching my principal (hopefully). Haven’t been able to sell apt in vhcol city to relocate. Kids remote learning school year started again so that takes up a bit of my time now. + +Feeling very anxious all the time. I worry about selling apt, equity investments as they will fund home purchase in new city. (I know, cash needed in near term shouldn’t be in equities but hoping for a rally closer to highs before liquidating) New city is still decently expensive so expect to spend 1.3mm on new house. + +Anyone else in similar boat where post RE you feel all sorts of stress about lack of identity, financial stress and uncertainty, etc? Since cash flow from investment hasn’t ramped enough yet, even new lower cost structure for next 16 months is higher than my passive income. Think that’s creating anxiety. + +I think since COVID and I haven’t relocated yet, I don’t know what my day to day life will look like yet (or I’m not living it yet where kids go to school and I enjoy hobbies like fishing, hiking, etc and can start volunteering, philanthropy). + +Right now I just am home everyday which is a big loss of identity from the 20 years on wall st. + +Maybe it’s true where people says your mind will always find something new to worry about? Any thoughts or advice on if all the anxiety I feel is normal and will pass? + +Just know that Im not able to feel like I thought Fat fire would feel like. the joy of waking up whenever and taking in the sunny days walking through a park without a care in the world. Still very anxious all the time. + +Plus since we cut spend so drastically cause our passive income hasn’t fully ramped, we aren’t eating or ordering out, not traveling (partly due to COVID, partly to keep expenses low for now), feels like we are living a lean fire life, not fat fire. +After having worked in a consulting firm for a few years, I decided to work as a freelancer. Have been doing this successfully for last few years and I couldn’t be more satisfied being able to choose my work and play time. ( I work 70% year roughly). However over the last few projects I am starting to feel the burnt out of doing everything on my own, all the way from doing BD, endless client meetings , creating POCs, AND the actual work of slide prep, documentation, excel analysis. My issue is more with having to do the ground level work myself, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed up until a few years ago, reason I decided to be a career consultant. + +BUT I am finding it increasingly tedious and boring. I am also feeling the burnout of having to switch gears between hyperfocusing for the real deliverables and doing the big level thinking. +I am starting to understand that the natural progression is to be less hands on and do more review, strategic planning and scoping work over time. Which is why the apprenticeship model works so well in larger firms. In consulting , analysts/ all levels attend client meetings and gather the necessary requirements together. Nothing is lost in translation. Besides everyone has the same approach uses a common lexicon for outputs. + +I was thinking how do others in a similar situation create leverage on a daily basis ? If you were to do this how would you ? What kind of people would you hire ? How can you ensure smooth KT or that client confidentiality is not lost ? Has anyone successfully outsourced work using freelance websites such as freelancer, fivver etc? + +TLDR : Decided to work as an independent consultant, from the time I fatfired. Feeling the burnout of having to do everything, besides working on real deliverables, which I am finding increasingly tedious and boring. Those who are working as independent consultants, how do you create leverage? +I've a good strategy to enter in to a trade but I don't wait for the trade to mature. But my strategy says I should wait until a certain parameter (ie: wickfill) but when I see green i get fomo and close the position. The ommissions I've made is so much of money. Any tips for being patient and letting the trade run. thanks ! +I'm a musician and decided to pursue music instead of going to college. For a while I've been playing bars/restaurants/private events and average 25k a year. Recently, a certain theme park has hired me to just sit and play guitar for 5hrs a day around 15 times a month. I'm now 21 and making 90k a year with the new gig doing what I love. So I really want to know what to do and where I should be putting my money. Where to invest? How much to save? Any tips or advice is helpful, it's just a lot more money than I'm used to having and I want to be wise with it. +I was just thinking today with recent gains I've seen, we're only 5 good trades away from being a millionaire. + +For example, I've seen 5x options gains fairly regularly on here for various stocks. If you happen to do that 5 times, you're golden. + +$1k > $5k +$5k > $25k +$25k > $125k +$125k > $625k +$625k > $3.1M + +Obviously we're all unlikely to go all in each time, but it's not all that farfetched to get lucky and have returns like this and I know plenty of people that would just let it ride. + +Anyway was just thinking about this and found it interesting lol. Carry on. +What is the best personal finance book you've read that has greatly impacted your path to fatFIRE? + +I'm looking for a gift for my husband who is 1. hard to buy for 2. wants to fatFire in the next 10 years. + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; +I'm in the process of buying a $1.6m house in Seattle and I wanted to move forward with a quick close and so am paying in cash for the house. + +My preferred route to finance the house after paying cash is to take a mortgage for $750k to maximize the tax benefits and take a line of credit from our bank for the outstanding balance. I understand we have 90 days to complete financing associated with the house purchase. + +However - my mortgage broker says the rates available will be much better pre-close than post-close. + +Below is what he said: + +>It is true that you are able to buy the home in cash and then get a loan immediately afterwards.  Towards the end of last year, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instituted an “Adverse Market Fee” for any and all refinances, which causes rates to be higher on a refinance than on a purchase.  In addition, the refinance would be termed a cash-out refinance, which automatically carries higher rates with it as well.  I just quickly ran the figures and if you used a loan of $750k to purchase the home, the rate today would be 2.875%.  The rate on a cash-out refinance, however, would be 3.25%.  As such, you would be saving approximately 0.375% in the interest rate by getting a new loan at the time of purchase as opposed to after closing. + +Is it possible to get the same rate pre-close vs post close? +Yesterday I bought 3k shares of AMTD GROUP on Robinhood, that was 29k gain amd also bought 24k shares on Ameritrade, that was the nice one. My first big gain in my life. Omg +I’m single and approaching 31. I do not currently have private health insurance that includes hospital cover. + +I earn over 90k and, as far as I can tell, will begin paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge (1%) in the next tax year, unless I get private hospital cover. + +I am in good health and take care of myself. Of course there is always a risk of complications, but I have made an informed decision not to get an extensive cover. + +Am I right in pursing a basic hospital cover that is cheaper than what I would pay from the Medicare Levy Surcharge if I didn’t have a cover? + +My total income is $103k (excl superannuation). Estimated Medicare Levy Surcharge = 1% of $103k = $1030. Most basic private health insurance policies are around $1020-$1140 per annum. So I won’t be saving much money, but will be able to chose to put $1030 towards a very basic private health cover for me rather than to the government as a tax payment? + +Any insights or further info would be appreciated. +So with cost of living spiraling out of control and wages not going up, things are getting pretty desperate for most of us and I've been brainstorming ways of saving money so each paycheck stretches a bit further. + +I know there are a few places e.g. JB Hifi or the gym that you can theoretically haggle with on prices, but I've never successfully managed to pull it off because of not knowing where to start or what's even considered a fair discount. + +Wondering if anyone here is good at haggling, what your practical tips are and what kind of discounts you've managed to score. + +Thanks! +One of the main reasons for people in Australia flocking to property/real estate as an investment is due to the "safe as houses" cliche in which houses are seen as a far more guaranteed return than stocks. + +If the government don't want to touch levers directly related to housing investment, would it not then make sense to implement some ways to make buying shares more appealing in comparison? + +Given the money is used to fund companies, which creates jobs, it can be seen as a far more productive use of cash for society than pumping money into investment properties. + +Could some combination of things like: + +* Reducing the length required to hold stocks for the CGT discount +* Reducing/removing the % amount of tax paid on stocks gains entirely? (NZ does this) +* Encourage banks to make wider-spread the availability of programs like NAB's Equity Builder that allows access to some leverage for the markets? +* Incentivise investment in companies under a certain $ market cap size to encourage more innovation? +* Greater education / initiatives about investing in stocks & how to get started (highlighting the financial viability of the rent + invest combo, etc) + +... any other similar ideas? + +That way it could be framed in a more positive light, and stop making residential housing as much of a speculative asset. + I think for most people it's difficult to speak with your employer about wages and about getting an increase. I'm interested in what people's opinions are about this. +So my cable company has been charging me for a cablecard that I do not posses. I have called them several times about this and they say its a glitch in the system and that they will get it fixed but they never do. So far I've paid them $40 for this cable card that I do not posses. + +What is the best way to get them to take me seriously on my next call. + +Edit: + +Just got off the phone with a rep who called me because of the FFC complaint. My gosh I had never felt more in control of a situation with a company, the guy never try to say no, he fixed the problem, credited me back and also allowed me to modify my contract to be internet and phone only and I'm just gonna be using PlayStation Vue for service. + +Thank you everyone for your great responses. + +If you have a similar problem just file an FFC complaint like most of the users have said, it seems to work the best. +I have elected for my monthly bonus to go 100% into my 401k. I'm looking at pay stub and my gross bonus was $984.13. federal income tax is 17.96, social security took $61.01, medicare took $14.27, my state income tax took $15.00 , and state took $5.03 for paid family leave. + +That left me with a contribution of $870.86 actually going to my 401k. It's not a Roth 401k so I don't understand why all the taxes were taken especially income tax by federal and state governments. +I currently own a townhouse that I bought 5 years ago. I love the location and the increase in value, but man oh man, I have not loved the maintenance and repairs that have come with it! Granted my place is larger than I need and it's from the early 80s, I probably should have anticipated the work that would be involved... + +Anyways, enough about me. Are any of you currently renting (or planning to) for life vs buying a home? I feel like this is a fairly uncommon plan, especially when paired with the idea of FIRE, and am wondering if it's really feasible when you wish to retire early. +My wife and I have a few (bad) FI jokes that we use over and over again that help remind us of our FI goals. + +My favorite one is that one of us will say "I have no idea how we are going to pay the mortgage this month." (House has been paid off for 5+ years. We literally have no idea how to pay the mortgage this month.) + +Similarly my wife will occasionally answer a telemarketing call for sport, and when they offer us a "lower interest rate on our mortgage," my wife says "Wait, so you'll pay me?" + +Does anyone else use jokes like this to support FI thinking? Any good, or bad, ones you care to share? +Apple is probably content with Google paying increasing annual fees to be the default search engine on iOS devices but I would be surprised if they don't have their own search engine ready to go if/when the DoJ blocks Google from paying Apple billions a year to be the default search engine so curious what would happen to Google if that happened? + +&#x200B; + +While Pixels are nice phones, I've purchased 3 of them, they don't seem to have much more than a niche place in the market so I see Google having issues if Apple launches/defaults to their own search engine. + +&#x200B; + +[https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-now-shows-its-own-search-results-threatening-google-ios14-2020-10](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-now-shows-its-own-search-results-threatening-google-ios14-2020-10) +Hit me with your best shot, fire away! I personally like many others jumped in on some LRC when i started to hear the rumblings about the Gamestop deal. Whether or not that ever becomes reality who knows, but I bought in at around $1.20 so so far so good. I hear rumours every other week about Cardano and what amazing thing is coming there next, but so far since they haven't delivered much in my opinion I am not holding my breath. + +What about everyone else? What juicy rumours has everyone heard lately that they're buying up? + + +President Joe Biden will sign an executive order this week to task federal agencies with assessing the risks and opportunities that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies bring to the U.S. and outline the government’s strategy for the market’s regulation, reported [*Bloomberg*](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-07/biden-to-sign-crypto-order-as-industry-faces-sanctions-pressure?srnd=cryptocurrencies-v2). + +The order will direct federal agencies to examine potential regulatory changes and the national security and economic impact of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, people familiar with the administration’s plans told *Bloomberg*. + + +“The executive order, which has been in the works since last year, will require federal agencies across the government to report later this year what they’re doing regarding digital tokens,” per the report. “The plan is expected to begin carving out roles for agencies across the government, from the State Department to the Commerce Department.” + +Regulatory efforts [would also involve](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/biden-administration-to-regulate-bitcoin-as-a-matter-of-national-security-report) the Treasury Department, National Economic Council, Council of Economic Advisers, and the White House National Security Council. + +Bitcoin has risen to the spotlight since the U.S. and its allies began imposing restrictions on Russia in a push to isolate the country’s economy and suppress its abilities to continue marching forward in its Ukraine invasion. Despite being a [tangible alternative to Russian citizens](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/biden-imposes-sanctions-on-russia-bitcoin-jumps-to-39k) who may now find themselves unable to send and receive money freely, Bitcoin is [likely unable](https://www.btcpolicy.org/blog/no-bitcoin-wont-save-russia-from-western-sanctions) to equally help the nation bypass Western sanctions altogether. + +However, U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns regarding such a possibility, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who [sent a letter](https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2022.03.01%20Letter%20to%20Treasury%20re%20OFAC%20crypto%20sanctions%20enforcement.pdf) to the Treasury Department inquiring about its plans to combat an eventual Russian usage of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. +* Italian yields have surged above 4% this week, spreads widened +* The meeting is set to take place at 11 a.m. Frankfurt time + +*Carolynn Look* + +> The European Central Bank’s Governing Council will hold an unscheduled meeting to discuss the recent selloff in government bonds, which has grown in intensity after plans were announced to begin raising interest rates from record lows. +> +> The rate-setting panel will convene on Wednesday “to discuss current market conditions,” according to an ECB spokesperson. The meeting will begin at 11am Frankfurt time, a person familiar with the matter said. A statement may follow. +> +> The announcement comes after the yield on Italy’s 10-year debt rose above 4% for the first time since 2014 this week. Investors are so far unconvinced the ECB can raise borrowing costs to combat unprecedented euro-zone inflation while also keeping yields among the bloc’s most vulnerable members in check. +> +> A possible 75 basis-point rate increase from the Federal Reserve later in the day could add to the jitters. +> +> Italian yields fell back as much as 29 basis points to 3.89% at Wednesday’s open, while the euro rose as much as 0.6% to 1.0475 against the dollar and money markets pared bets on a half-point rate hike next month to 50%. +> +> “The central bank needs to be concerned if investors cannot buy or sell bonds in secondary markets and issuers have to postpone funding,” said Christoph Rieger, head of fixed-rate strategy at Commerzbank. “In contrast to earlier episodes of disorderly market movements, however, inflation makes the difference this time around. The ECB cannot simply pour money at the problem as monetary tightening and higher rates are actually needed.” +> +> While government bonds have been jumpy for some time, the ECB has so far only allocated reinvestments from its pandemic asset-purchase program toward stabilizing what it considers unwarranted market turbulence. +> +> Investors, meanwhile, have been on the lookout for an additional instrument to tackle so-called fragmentation, and there was some disappointment when officials didn’t unveil one at their policy meeting last week. +> +> ### ‘No Limits’ +> +> While the Governing Council says it can quickly devise a new tool, it’s been reluctant to reveal details, convinced that there are few benefits in doing so and worried the markets may immediately try to test its limits. +> +> Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel -- who’s in charge of the ECB’s market operations -- signaled Tuesday evening that any response to bond-market panic will come when it’s needed and will depend on the specific situation officials are faced with. +> +> She did, however, pledge that the ECB won’t tolerate “changes in financing conditions that go beyond fundamental factors and that threaten monetary-policy transmission,” saying the commitment to stave off fragmentation “has no limits.” +> +> Those remarks drew parallels to former ECB President Mario Draghi’s famous 2012 promise to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. Schnabel highlighted the ECB’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program and the OMT created under Draghi as examples of policy makers’ ability to respond to different kinds of market stress. +> +> The bond storm comes with the ECB poised to end eight years of negative rates with a “sustained” cycle of hikes planned from July and including a likely half-point move in September. It plans to end net purchases under a long-standing bond-buying program at the start of next month. +> +> Several Governing Council members were due to speak on Wednesday. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel’s remarks at 11:15 a.m. in Milan have been cancelled, as have Bank of Spain chief Pablo Hernandez de Cos’s at 2:30 p.m. +> +> Wednesday’s ad hoc meeting was first reported by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. + +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-15/ecb-s-governing-council-to-meet-to-discuss-market-conditions +**What are bonds** + +First, an introduction on what bonds actually are. + +Simply put, a bond is the "asset side" of governmental or corporate debt. When a government or corporation borrows money, the borrower now holds a liability, and the lender holds an asset, which is expected to return them their original investment (the money they lent) plus profit (interest) at some later date. A bond is basically a token that says some government or company owes you some amount of principal by some date known as the maturity date (usually 3 months to 30 years, depending on the type of bond), plus interest. Because bonds are a tokenization of debt, they can be easily traded in a liquid, open market, just like stocks. This means that the original lender does not need to be the person who is repaid when the bond matures; the repayment and interest simply goes to whomever holds the bond at the time. + +There are two main types of bonds: corporate bonds, and government bonds. + +Corporate bonds are the main way companies raise money, apart from selling shares. + +Government bonds are how the government raises money to cover budget deficits (ie: when the government spends more than they have the tax revenue to spend, they borrow the remainder by selling bonds to whomever will buy them). If nobody is buying the government bonds, the interest will go up organically due to supply and demand until people are willing to buy them. Government bonds are often known as **treasuries**, and are broken down into three categories: treasury bills (short-term maturity), treasury notes (mid-term maturity), and treasury bonds (long-term maturity). + +One of the main buyers of US government bonds is the Federal Reserve, which is the name of America's central bank. This is the entity that is able to actually print US dollars. Everyone has heard of things like how the US government recently ran huge deficits due to "stimulus spending", and that it printed the money it needed for that spending. Well, this is a slightly inaccurate picture of how it works. The government chooses fiscal policy, which means they build the budget and they set the tax rates. They are the ones who choose to overspend and run a deficit. However, they don't choose monetary policy: they cannot print money. This power was delegated by congress to the Federal Reserve over 100 years ago. + +So, when the government runs a deficit, they sell bonds to borrow the money. If the FED chooses to, it can print a whole bunch of money and then lend that money to the government (ie: the taxpayer) by buying the government bonds with it. That is how newly printed money actually gets into the economy: the FED prints it and then lends it out to companies and to the government by buying corporate and government bonds. When the FED buys a bunch of treasuries (government bonds), it is really lending out freshly-printed cash to the American people (since the government's liabilities are really the taxpayers' liabilities), and the people then owe that money, with interest, back to the FED by the time the treasury matures. + +When the FED decides to buy up the government's bonds in order to lend to the taxpayers the money that congress is spending, they are also putting downward pressure on the bond interest rate. This is because, if the FED decided *not* to lend a bunch of money to the government to cover its deficits, the bond interest would organically rise through supply & demand until other buyers (individuals, companies, foreign investors, whatever) are willing to buy those bonds. + +So, when the FED wants to keep bond interest low, they achieve this indirectly by creating what is basically artificial demand for US bonds by buying a ton of them with money that they printed at no cost to themselves. Due to how supply & demand works with debt, the more demand there is for bonds, the lower the interest those bonds offer. + +So, the Federal Reserve executes its main task of managing the US bond rate by choosing how much government debt it buys. If they want bond rates to go up, they will print less cash and buy fewer bonds. If they want it to go down, they will print more cash and buy more bonds. + +The FED is essentially a whale with the power to print money, who uses said printed money to manipulate the US bond market, ostensibly for the good of everybody. + +**The risk-free rate** + +The interest rate on American government bonds is considered one of the most important variables in the American (and even worldwide) economy. This is because the American gov is considered the de-facto safest borrower of all borrowers in the world. In other words, if I buy an American government bond, I am lending my money to the entity that is considered to have the smallest risk of defaulting in the world (maybe this is arguable, but regardless this is a premise that is at the core of the world economy; what's important is that people believe it). + +There is a concept in economics called the "risk-free rate". This is the interest you can get for lending your money to a 0-risk borrower, and should logically be the lowest interest rate you see anywhere in that economy. Of course, there is always technically some risk when you lend money, so the risk-free rate is technically imaginary. However, in practice, just about everybody considers the US bond rate (specifically, treasury bills, the US bond with the shortest maturity) to be the risk-free rate, as the risk is considered to be so low as to be negligible. + +So, if buying American gov bonds is the safest way to lend money, it means that every single other form of loan must pay higher interest. Why? Because every other borrower is considered higher risk, and for me as a lender, I will not accept less interest for greater risk. So, if American bond interest goes up, all other loan interest (corporate bonds, bank loans, mortgages, credit cards, whatever) will organically go up, because everything must pay greater interest than American bonds to compensate for greater risk. This is simply a matter of supply & demand mechanics. + +So, American bond interest is kind of like the baseline or the "sea level" for all interest rates in the entire economy. This even stretches to other countries, because anyone can buy a bond from the US gov, and they are considered the safest borrower in the world, so nobody will ever lend money to anybody else unless they are compensated with greater interest than US bond interest. + +**The cost of capital** + +So, if US bond rates go up, and therefore all interest in the economy goes up, that means money itself has gotten more expensive. Loan interest is literally just the cost of money (known as the cost of capital). The lesser the interest, the cheaper it is for me to acquire money right now. When you realize that the entire world runs mainly on debt, it becomes clear how significant this phenomenon is. + +So, when US bond rates go up, the price of capital itself goes up. That means it becomes more costly for businesses to raise money, more costly to mortgage a house, more costly to open a line of credit to buy investments, more costly to spend with credit cards, more costly to use leverage in securities markets, etc. + +This means that growth goes down, spending goes down, wages go down, etc. It also means the prices of goods go down (or at least climb slower), because people aren't willing to pay as much, since capital itself is more expensive to acquire. + +What happens when prices go down? Well, that's a reduction in inflation. So, when inflation is getting too high, the FED (central bank) will make bond interest go up to apply recessive forces on the economy to curb said inflation. + +If inflation is low, the FED might reduce bond interest in order to make the cost of capital lower to juice the economy, prop up securities markets, and incentivize growth. Too much growth though, and we end up with inflation again, meaning the FED might increase rates again. This causes a sort of wave-like dance between bond rates and the heat of the economy. + +So, the FED influences bond rates ostensibly to keep the economy balanced: not too hot and inflationary (can be very bad) and not too cold and deflationary (also can be very bad). + +It is also worth noting that the FED wields a couple other levers it can use to increase or decrease the cost of capital (ie: the general interest rates in the economy) that are separate from bond rates. They can change the reserve requirements of banks (what percentage of total assets a bank must hold in reserve). If banks need to hold more in reserve, then they have less liquid money to lend out, so the supply of capital goes down, so market interest (cost of capital) rises. Also, the FED can change the discount rate, which is the amount of interest they charge banks for short-term loans (24 hours or less) from the FED itself. When these rates go up, banks are disincentivized from borrowing from the FED, so the banks end up with less liquid capital, which means they need to be more conservative about the loans they themselves give out, which makes the supply of capital go down and thus the cost of capital go up. + +**What does this mean for markets?** + +When bond rates go up, most investment markets go down. Why? Well, the higher bond rates go, the more I can make by investing in bonds, without the risk going up. So, as bond rates go up, it becomes more and more attractive to move my wealth out of riskier markets like stocks and into what is considered the safest investment market in the world: US bonds. Since rates going up means I get greater returns on my bond investments, but the risk doesn't change, US gov bonds become more and more sensible to an investor as the rates increase. + +Of course, bonds rates going up a smidgen doesn't actually suddenly make bonds a strategically more sound investment than riskier things like stocks. In fact, US bond rates have been so comically low for so long that it hasn't made much sense to buy bonds in years (decades, really). However, when people hear that the FED is going to increase bond rates, they think "bond rates going up means people will sell stocks to buy bonds, so I better sell now to front-run that", which is the main thing that *actually* causes stocks to fall when bond rates increase. + +**Some historical context** + +US bond rates hit an ATH in 1981 around 15% (edit: some sources seem to say 20%; unsure which is correct). Unsurprisingly, the stock market hit a low at the same time (like I said before, the orthodox narrative is that there is an inverse relationship between bond rates and most securities markets). Think about how ridiculous 15% bond rates are. That would mean you could buy what is definitionally the safest investment available and get 15% returns each year. By contrast, the safest stock ETFs (still way riskier than US bonds) average like 7% a year. + +So, in the 80s, you could double your money every 5 years while accepting what is usually considered 0 risk. Ever wonder why boomers seemed to get wealthy so easily? This is one of the reasons. + +Since the ATH in 1981, the treasury bond rate has fallen continuously until Covid hit, at which point it pivoted at a low of about 0.5%. Since then, it has been going back up, but is still extremely low, at around 1.5%. + +Since bond rates going down means stocks go up (at least, this is a very popular narrative, though some disagree), the stock market has been in a tremendous and arguably unnatural bull run for about 40 years, only pausing twice very briefly for "corrections" circa 1999 and 2008. + +Since US bond rates have gotten so close to 0%, they can't really lower them any further without going negative (which is actually a thing, and some countries are trying negative interest now. This is an extremely weird rabbit hole that nobody really knows the true consequences of yet. Imagine getting paid to borrow money. Several countries have been experimenting with this over the last 7 years, and a few I believe for even longer). The chair of the FED (Jerome Powell) said a few months back that they have no intention of going to negative interest rates, so that means these past 40 years of propping up markets by reducing bond rates has probably come to an end. + +You could think of the continuous lowering of rates for the last 40 years as the FED spending its ammunition to prop up markets and propel economic growth, but now that rates are barely above 0% and the FED isn't willing to go negative, they are out of ammo. Not only are they out of ammo when it comes to lowering the rates, but one might also argue they are also currently incentivized to *increase* rates to combat rising inflation. + +This is why there is fear. The FED has been sticking its hands in for 40 years to prop up markets, and now it seems they are going to stop, at least for now. + +I hope this ~~ELI5~~ ~~ELI12~~ ELI-an-Intro-to-Econ student about why US gov bond rates are such an important concept for understanding global economics has been enlightening! + +[Source](https://np.reddit.com/user/pseudoHappyHippy/posts/) +"Market went up because the economy is booming". Two minutes later "market is going down because the booming market means there will be no rate cuts" + +So let me get this straight: people bought stocks --> market went up --> same people realized there won't be any rate cuts --> same people sell stocks --> market goes down. + +Conclusion: Either people are stupid or CNBC makes up any reason that could explain the market movement. + +How can anyone hate wall street, lol. +Title says it all really, the markets are absolutely racing upwards today. Maybe a rebound, maybe a dead cat bounce, maybe a rally, maybe just a small pull back we don't know. + +Nothing has changed from last week so don't be surprised if the markets continue going back down again tomorrow, especially with the heightened political tensions in Europe at the moment as well as the threat of inflation increasing scaring the larger market investors out for now. + +However, no matter what the future holds today saw an amazing rally upwards and everyone that sold yesterday must be hating themselves. Especially for some alts that are pushing into the 30% range, that's almost 3 years of stocks growth right there in 24 hours! + +The last month has really shown us yet again that shorting / leveraging / day trading crypto can make you some pocket change here and there but you miss one key swing and you're out on the streets with nothing. +Hi all - I am considering looking for a lodger to live in my house with me for some extra income. I understand they are easier to manage (get ride of if they're a problem) than tenants, and have no tax payable up to a certain amount. + +What are some thing to look out for when searching for a tenant? Where did you look? What boundaries do you set when they move in? How do you arrange payment with them? Is/was it worth it? And any other tips/experiences are greatly appreciated :) +Let's say that theirs this nice condo I'm looking at, is it worth getting a mortgage on it or just renting it by lease. Money wouldn't be an issue exactly but not sure if theirs benefits to buying it instead if leasing +I want to buy something I can hand down to my kids. My Grandfather invested in gold sovereigns. I was thinking about a vintage watch for each of them. But in reality I have no idea what might be a good investment. I have a couple of thousand each for two boys and will (hopefully) be handing down in 25 years or so. +Last year was a terrible year for me. Because of issues with family I wasn’t able to make as much money as I used to and the little money I had would go onto paying for my mother’s expenses. + +It definitely took a toll on me. Out of 7 accounts I had all of them got closed because of non payment. + +At one point in the end of the year I was able to give a huge chunk of money on payments. But because of some drama my mother stole my money by opening fraud cases and my card payments were cancelled. + +This is mainly what fucked my credit and I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to recover from it, so the remaining accounts I had were closed because of non payment. + +I only have one left. + +I wanna be able to fix my credit, but right now it may be hard to make full payments. I had to move a lot last year and I kept getting fucked over by my family. + +I am no longer associated with them. + +I am not sure what steps I should take to fix my credit. I have two in collections so far, the others haven’t been sold to collections yet. + +I wanna be able to purchase a house in the future years. Which is the main reason why I wanna clean my credit and well because I also don’t like owing money. + +Like I said, it was just a terrible year both mentally and financially. +Current mortgage: $188k @ 3.875% +Student loans: $122k @ 4.9% + +House is valued at about $500k. + +Potential refi: $310k @ 3.1% + +No other debt. + +I can afford my current payments so this would be to consolidate into 1 payment while saving some on interest long term. I would continue paying what I am now, but it would be about an extra $350/month to principal. I am in healthcare with a very stable income. + +Good idea? Bad idea? Thoughts? +I’ve got $2000 here, $4000 there, $10000 and $40000 somewhere else. I’m purely hands off with my investments because I don’t have a clue. When I read “diversify your profile” it may as well be gibberish. +When I left a job of 10 years I followed recommendations to consolidate into a Roth IRA and roll the rest over into a regular IRA, but in doing so I took a big penalty. Now I see my retirement savings getting slowly whittled away from annual fees. +I’m now with a new job with a matching 401K or 403B or some such (see? Clueless) and unsure if I should plop it down there or ??? +Any help in simple language appreciated. +Signed, A Money Moron. +So I got connected with an FIC (Fraternal Insurance Counselor) from MODERN WOODMEN. I don't know much about this organization. I was looking for advice on if I should rollover two 401ks I have from 2 previous employers. He recommended I go with AMERICAN FUNDS as they have had great returns over the years. As we were looking into the rollover we found out my 2 401ks have and expense ration of 0.11 with no fees and 0.65 with $30 in fees anually. I thought that was pretty good but he said it wouldn't be good to leave them since no one is monitoring them and one of them (0.11) is actually a closed investment (meaning my old employer abandoned the plan and the one I'm in is just leftover with former employees) + +Is he correct here? Does anyone know anything about American Funds? + +Luckily Fidelity made me freeze the 401k accounts for 10 days because I had to change my address. + +Sidenote:. I lost confidence in him when he told me I can only take out 10% of a Roth IRA when I know you can take out any amount excluding the interest without penalty. + +Sidenote 2:. Modern Woodmen is free. I believe they make their money off Commisions. +Throwaway account due to embarrassment. + +Me and my boyfriend have been together for only 10 months. We dated on and off previously before deciding to just officially be together. Given we were both in debt, he moved in 4 months later so we could help each other out. We were both in a financially bad place, but manage to just get by. Exactly 23 days after him moving in, I found out I was pregnant. Whomp whomp. + +Firstly, we are madly in love and very excited about the baby, but due to some pregnancy medical complications I am off work and on medical leave and he makes much less than me. Losing my income has proven to be quite hard, and we are falling deeper and deeper into debt. July 1st rent has not yet been paid, I'm not behind 2 biweekly payments on a loan I took out before I was with him, we have a double insurance payment coming out at the end of the month and we still need more baby items, and groceries. Oh, and we have 2 dogs. + +Before getting pregnant our bills were paid. It was pretty tight, but with some planning we still managed to do a some fun things here and there with some extra disposable income. The stress of it all is really getting to me and I am feeling out of control of our finances, and not sure how to even attempt at fixing it. + +Does anyone have any suggestions on how to control our finances? Medical leave pays me 55% of $43,000..weekly, which is less than what I made), and his income is $35,000. We have monthly payments of rent ($1,080), Internet ($48), cellphones ($130), hydro ($60ish), car insurance ($188..except this month being a double payment), loan ($191 biweekly) and then our dogs, groceries and living expenses (approx $150-200). + +Any insight on getting our shit together would be helpful. And no, getting rid of the dogs is not an option lol + +Thanks! +Hi everyone, + +Finance noob here. I'm 30, currently almost out of debt and my credit score is on the mend. I'm to the point I can start really looking ahead; I have a few financial goals and I'm unsure of where to really start. I feel like I am late to the game with compounding interest but I have a few goals: + +1) Emergency fund. +2) In 4 years, purchase an RV (instead of a home/renting an apartment). This is preferably with as much paid in cash as possible. +3) Retire relatively comfortably, hopefully by 55 or so. + +Currently I have an employer-matched Roth that I am conservatively contributing to (5% right now while I pay down immediate debt). I plan to increase this but not sure of the benefit of, say, 10% vs. 15% at this stage. After bills I have a good bit of play room; by the time I'm 31 in a few months all my high interest debt should be gone and I can look to raise my contribution more. + +After bills, I can comfortably stash away $1.5k per month currently, which is about half my takehome. Is this best served in a savings account (split between the emergency fund and RV perhaps), or should I contribute more heavily to the Roth? Should I do an even split on the three funds or should there be a heirarchy? + +Sorry for the confusion on my part. I barely know what I am doing and frankly I am bad at math. +I have a friend who was complaining about he never has money, and I find out that he's paying almost $15,000 per year on a Diamond Resorts timeshare. I'm helping him out with budgeting and stuff, but I've never had the problem of how to unload a timeshare - is there any use trying to sell it and get out from under? I'm tempted to just tell him to stop paying their bills and ignore the bill collectors and take the hit to his credit. +A few months ago I lost my job. I am several months late on pretty much all my bills. I’m working again and just to be safe I want to focus on getting as much of my debt paid off as fast as possible. Should I spend a couple months saving up an emergency fund while just paying my minimum payments or should I just start throwing all of my money at my debt immediately? +Our main car has a blown head gasket. I hate this vehicle with a passion because it has had so many problems over the years but my partner drives it mostly, forgives its shortcomings, and we figure mechanic bills are cheaper than lease payments...because FI/RE. However, this time it's different. We have +250K miles on it and a new engine is going to cost 3x more than the car is worth. + +In my mind right now, I don't give a fuck how much a Honda Odyssey/Toyota Sienna costs: I want one. Sure there are cheaper used mini vans around, and maybe we'll get one of those off the used market to haul the kids around... This got me thinking; How many of you have arrived at a moment in your life where you said "Fuck it. I don't care what the price on the sticker says. It's time..." +Here is my current situation (rounded numbers): + +2-unit house, with $2100/month mortgage/taxes/insurance + +Renting out one unit for $2100/month (under market rent) + Renting out one room for $700 (and split utilities) in unit I live in (also under market rent), so total $2.8k/month in rental income. + +My 9-5 regular job ~100k, my girlfriend ~50k. She currently pays ~850/month for her apartment sharing with her girl friend (in pretty bad shape place since it has not been renovated in a long time compared to mine). + +I would need to get rid off my roommate with $700/month rent for my girlfriend to move in. + +What do you think is fair share she should be contributing? + +----------------------------------------- Update 2 ------------------------------------------ + +1. I live in a state which does not recognize common law status. Thanks for bringing this up though in case it would help someone else. + +2. We've been together under 10 months. + +--------------------------------------------UPDATE 1------------------------------------------------------------- + +Wow, I was not expecting so many replies! Thank you everyone. Few points/responses to common comments below: + +1. Idea of her paying for any repairs in the house has not even crossed my mind. I would be responsible for it all as I'm now 100%. +2. I will have a rental contract in place with her, month to month, as I have now with current tenant/roommate. +3. Market rate for room is $900, hence I mentioned current rent is under market as is. +4. Current roommate cannot stay because 1. She would take over the room (We are fairly introverted so we need our own spaces) 2. We need privacy, 3. Three people would be too much +5. Folks who mention that I'm breaking even so I should not charge her are incorrect-- taxes & water cost alone take a cut. Upcoming and ongoing outside repairs/renovations are needed as well. Hence having current roommate. +I’m counting nickels too but at the moment I can still afford food. I am volunteering for a pantry and a food delivery that are both so overwhelmed they can only take referrals from doctors and churches etc. + +I only say this to remind folks if you need help maybe a local church or clinic can provide some guidance. + +I hope you all find a way to get all that you need. A stranger somewhere understands and is on your side. +First of all, I would like to say that in this analysys I did not want to dwell too much into the technical aspects of the PLTR's software product or the financial performance of the company. I am well aware that those are one of the most important fundamental elements when valuing a business and I did spend a lot of time on them while doing my research, before ultimately deciding to invest in the company. However I believe that most of the redditors on this forum , especially those that are already investors, already have at least basic understanding of PLTR's financial situation and the specifications of its software. In this thesis I will try to give my perspective about why I think PLTR is a low bottom company with significant potential for growth, based on more "abstract" and less known factors. + +&#x200B; + + + +First of all, let's take a look at the commercial side of its business. Currently BP and Airbus contracts are responsible for 20 percent of the PLTR's revenue and some analyst think that such high-concentration is bad. However, they said the same think about PLTR's government work when the stock debuted. In short, they said that it is very worrying that PLTR generates such a high-percentage of its revenue from the U.S government and tried to convince investors to value PLTR not as a soft company, but as a defence contractor. I am glad that I did not listen to them at that time and bought the stock at 10 dollars, cuz my thinking was that if the U.S government values the PLTR's software so highly it is extremely likely that commercial businesess will do the same. Do you get where I am going? If Airbus and BP are paying the company more than 100 million dollars combined per year, then that means that PLTR's software is extremely efficient and if used right, could potentially safe customers hundreds of millions dollars of expenses or lost revenue. If you want more confirmation about how important the software could be for the business, have in mind that when partnering with the U.S Agency for Disease Control and Prevention, there are rumours that as early as January 2020 Palantir was able to build confidential models that showed the potential for a rapidly rising outbreak. Palantir then rushed in mid-February to recall staff from abroad and order them into a four-week quarantine. Now imagine if you knew about this as early as PLTR. March puts for the win. + +Even forgetting about the software and PLTR's growing revenue, let's take a look at some other factors that can't be measured by financial modelling. Currently PLTR is the only SaasS company in the world that is in talks to receive Impact Level 6 certification from the DoD. That means that PLTR will have access to classified information. Yeah, that is the kind of information that if you share with unauthorised personnel you go to prison for commiting treason against the state. Furthermore, the marine that participated in the operation of killing Bin Laden said in his book that PLTR soft. was instrumental in the sucess of the mission. To top it off , PLTR's lobbyist include figures like retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Terry Pau and ex- US State Secretary Condoleezza Rais and the new Director of National Intelligence in the Biden admin- Avril Haines is a former employee. Well, I think that we can say with great certainty that PLTR has become extremely important for the U.S government operations. If history has taught us anything, it is that if the U.S government values something , it will not shy away from spending millions of taxpayers dollars to keep it afloat. But it as not only the U.S government. PLTR has won numerous contracts with government agencies of other countries like the British NHS and PLTR's head of operation in Israel- Hamutal Meridor, served as senior director of Verint, with deep ties to Unit 8200. Unit 8200 is an Israeli Intelligence Corps *unit* of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for collecting signal intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption. + +If you are still not sure about PLTR's importance maybe you would like to know more about who is behind the company. Peter Thiel is a cofounder and the current largest shareholder. Yeah, that is right-Peter fucking Thiel. This guy was a business associate with Elon Musk in Paypal, he was the first investor in Facebook and a mentor of Zuckerberg and is a close friend of Chamath. He also bankrupted Gawker, cuz they had the audacity to leak the news that he is homosexual. Many people believe that he is one of the most well-connected men in the world and it comes at no surprise that he is a member of The Bilderberg group ( conspiracy theorists believe that these guys control the world) . I forgot to mention that his nickname is King Midas, cuz everything that he touches turns to gold. + +Palantir's other cofounder and current Ceo- Alex Karp is also a pretty interesting guy to say the least. He is a juris doctor from Stanford University, and a doctorate in neoclassical social theory from Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt, Germany. He is also a regular participant in the Davos economic forum. Oh, he also actively practices Tai Chi and Quidong. Yes, this guy actually studied the blade, how could you not trust him? + +To sum it up, I will use Alex Karp's own words: “We are going to deliver the world’s best software with the world’s most efficient way of delivering it. Investors will decide what that’s worth to them. And I think you’ll find in a number of years that there will be a consensus: Palantir is a truly special software company that is arguably the most important software company in the world.” -Karp the day they went public + +PS: English is not my mother tongue and I wrote this piece in a rush, so please excuse me if there are any grammatical or spelling errors. +Hi all - would appreciate some advice. I live in a great 2 bed flat in London, rent is £2000 pcm which is split not quite evenly with my flatmate because his room is quite a bit bigger. We’ve lived here for about a year, and get on really well and love living together. Our contract has a 6 month break clause. + +When lockdown started, he left London to go home to his parents, and has been there ever since. He continues to pay rent on the flat, and I��ve been here on my own the whole time. But he’s now weighing up whether to just end the contract and leave, given the uncertainty as to how much longer lockdown will last. I definitely understand it must be frustrating to be paying substantial rent on a place he’s not using. + +I obviously don’t want him to leave - firstly because it’s been great living with him and I’m looking forward to him coming back, but secondly because I have no idea where this would leave me. I couldn’t pay the entire rent on my own, but I’m not sure how I could find a replacement tenant in these circumstances. Any suggestions/ways to approach this/help? Thanks. +Everything was just a shill, + +"You have to go to college to get a good job" + +This is just a shill that got implanted into people's heads as being the truth so that they can shill their kids into it. + +Amongst other things, + +Peer pressure is just a form of FOMO + +You have a fear of not being accepted and missing out on being a part of the cool crowd, + +You got shilled into thinking mainstream news always tells the truth. Really its mostly propaganda, and a whole bunch of shills inbetween. + + +*"Milk , it does a body good"* + +Those commercials were really just all the mass producers of milk collectively shilling you to buy mass produced hormone filled garbage. + +Peanut butter used to be "The industry standard nut butter" + + +Swear to god, it never occurred to me as a kid that you can also have Almond Butter, pecan butter, pistachio butter etc etc, and those nuts have more positive effects on health. Almond butter is better than mass produced peanuts that get over irradiated too much + +So why not make produce it? Because peanut butter was the cheapest to produce, they knew if people srarted demanding different nut butters that it would open up the door for more competition . + +So they did everything they could to keep you buying peanut butter. peter pan on the cover whatever it took . Same shit happened with cereal, it wasnt until people started blowing whistles on dangerous food additives when we became more health conscious. + + +Christopher Columbus got shilled in school as some sort of revolutionary hero. We got convinced he was the first person to discover america. Sort of how Bcash owns Bitcoin.com and gives inexperienced noobs a thought of being BitCoin. He wasn't a hero, not to everyone. So many people were slaughtered. Mostly my ancetors in Puerto rico and all surrounding islands. + +Vikings sailed accross to North america before he did. They knew the place existed, + + + +Most of our childhood lives was filled with manipulation, propaganda, misinformation , and just flat out lies. I can really only trust the news for weather, and sport scores + +This is seriously why we need decentralization. Fuck all these people. Centralization failed and fucked us many times over. Even with all this new "sick tech" + +Centralization sucks. + + +I've got a lot of emotions swirling in my head right now. This post is probably not for everyone. + +I've always wanted to have the 'expat lifestyle', I also love to travel - I like Japan, but I'm also not obsessed or anything like that. + +Me: 27M ~85k salary + super as a business analyst. + +I have a friend who moved to Japan because he loves all Japanese things, he's working in some kind of start up or something and got a job working in a Japanese company. I jokingly said "get me one too" to which he said, "okay, how does a product manager role sound?". Well shit. I updated and sent over my resume and here we go. + +His boss has kind of unofficially given the go-ahead for me to continue through the hiring process, providing I don't cock up the interviews, I think I've got a good shot. I've never been a product manager before but I think I should be fine doing it, it's in my industry. I also think it would be pretty cool to have on my resume. Salary-wise, we've had an initial discussion and it would be about ~82kAUD that's about it. Maybe there's a bonus, not really sure so let's assume no. I'd probably intend to do it for at least a year and if I like it a lot maybe two then do whatever comes next. + +However, I'm still not sure if I should go. + +CON: I don't really like my company and would eventually move on but I've heard working in a Japanese company is worse (it's half Japanese half international). + +CON: COVID-19 is still a thing. It looks to be an absolute ball ache to leave the country right now (I need to apply for an exemption) then there's the whole quarantine in Japan (I think it's 14 days which I assume will cost me - maybe the company will pay for it?). + +CON: Financially speaking, I'd be better off staying in Australia. If I get all my bonuses my salary will be just over 90k and I'll be making super contributions. + +PRO: Probably going to be an amazing experience living in Tokyo. I'd learn basic Japanese (I've done a gap year before and picked up basic Mandarin). + +PRO: If I left mid financial year I would get a healthy tax return which would offset some of the losses. + +PRO: Finally get to leave Australia and travel again. + +PRO: The salary in Japan is comfortable, I'll be able to live a life and still put money away. + +CON/PRO: Not sure how this will affect my long-term career. + +PRO: Japanese food all the time. + +Thoughts? +My wife ( F55 ) and I ( M55) went and saw a financial advisor and I am hoping to get a sense check of the advice and any alternative views. FYI we have not been very proactive in our financial wellbeing - our strategy has focused on paying off the house and putting the kids through private school. Thus we can be considered financial n00bs or only somewhat educated in this area. The main focus of the advice was retirement planning - ie making sure we have enough to live on in retirement. He also provided some advice / quotes on insurance but I have not included those here. + +I have some specific concerns / questions about the advice provided + +* The fees seem quite high - do they seem appropriate ? +* What is the benefit of using Netwealth platform over having a SMSF ? +* Should I consider having the investments owned by a discretionary trust ? : what are the pro/cons ? +* I am worried that the Financial Advisor is trying to insert himself into our investment process ongoing. He initially was proposing to have read/write access to all the accounts and balked when i asked if there was an option where we could authorise all transactions. He has since confirmed that this is possible on netwealth. +* I am happy to take ( and pay for ) some financial advice in the first year or two but after that i want to be able to run it by myself. What should i be aware of ? + +# Inputs + +*Current Position* + +|Dependents|2 kids - 19,22| +|:-|:-| +|My Income|$220k + super| +|Wife Income|$85k + super ( she works at a not for profit )| + +*Assets* + +|*Savings - offset account*|$185k| +|:-|:-| +|Primary Residence|$3M| +|Home Contents, Cars etc|$60k| + +*Liabilities* + +|*Mortgage*|$85k| +|:-|:-| + + +*Super* + +|Who|Super Fund|Amount|Death|TPD| +|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| +|Me|MLC MasterKey Super Fundamentals|$220k||| +|Me|Commonwealth Bank Group Super Accumulate Plus|$130k|$720k|$720k| +|Wife| AustralianSuper Divisions (Standard Product)|$130k||| +|Wife| Colonial First State FirstChoice Employer Super|$75k|$10k|$10k| + +# Summary Of Advice Received + +***Advice Summary For Me*** + +1. we recommend that you set up a new investment account through NetWealth Wealth Accelerator Plus with an initial investment of $100,000. You should also set up a regular savings plan of $2,500 per month into your new investment portfolio. +2. Rollover your entire MLC MasterKey Super Fundamentals account to a new superannuation portfolio with NetWealth Super Accelerator Plus. +3. Rollover most of your superannuation with Commonwealth Bank Group Super to NetWealth Super Accelerator Plus, however, retain at least $10,000 in this account so that your insurance cover is not cancelled. +4. Invest your new superannuation portfolio in line with your Aggressive risk profile. + +***Advice Summary For Wife*** + +1. Rollover your entire AustralianSuper Divisions account to a new superannuation portfolio with NetWealth Super Accelerator Plus. +2. Rollover most of your superannuation with Colonial First State FirstChoice Employer to NetWealth Super Accelerator Plus, however, retain at least $5,000 in this account so that your insurance cover is not cancelled. +3. Invest your new superannuation portfolio in line with your Balanced risk profile + +***Advice to both*** + +1. You should ensure that fee aggregation is implementing on both of your superannuation account and the recommended investment portfolio to reduce your ongoing fees. +2. we recommend that you each arrange with your employer to Salary Sacrifice up to your concessional contribution cap. We estimate that XX will be able to make Salary Sacrifice contributions of $5,500 per annum, and that YY will make Salary Sacrifice contributions of $19,000 per annum. You should review your salary sacrifice arrangements each financial year. + +***Fees*** + +*Advice Fees* + +|Initial Advice Fee|$4.4k| +|:-|:-| +|Ongoing Advisor Service Fee|$4.5k ( $1.5k / account )| + +*Product Fees* + +|||^(Upfront)|^(Upfront)|^(Ongoing)|^(Ongoing)| +|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| +|**^(Who)**|***^(Investment Product)***|**^(Amount Invested)**|**^(Buy/Sell Spread)**|**^(Admin Fees)**|**^(Investment Fees (ICR))**| +|^(Me)|^(Commonwealth Bank Group Super Accumulate Plus)| ^($10,000)| ^($0 (0.00%))| ^($86 (1.72%))| ^($52 (0.52%))| +|^(Me)| ^(NetWealth Super Accelerator Plus)| ^($339,835)| ^($583 (0.17%))| ^($1,116 (0.32%))| ^($2,325 (0.68%))| +|^(Me)| ^(NetWealth Wealth Accelerator Plus)| ^($100,000)| ^($177 (0.18%))| ^($531 (0.53%))| ^($695 (0.69%))| +|^(Me)|*^(Subtotal)*| *^($449,835)*| *^($760 (0.17%))*| *^($1,733 (0.39%))*| *^($3,072 (0.68%))*| +|^(Wife)|^(Colonial First State FirstChoice Employer Super)| ^($5,000)| ^($70 (1.40%))| ^($75 (1.50%))| ^($25 (0.49%))| +|^(Wife)| ^(NetWealth Super Accelerator Plus)| ^($199,930)| ^($296 (0.15%))| ^($704 (0.35%))| ^($1,344 (0.67%))| +|^(Wife)|*^(Subtotal)*| *^($204,930)*| *^($366 (0.18%))* | *^($779 (0.38%))*| *^($1,369 (0.67%))*| +||**^(TOTAL)**| **^($654,765)**| **^($1,126 (0.17%))** | **^($2,512 (0.38%))**| **^($4,441 (0.68%))**| +First, I have a math degree as a solid C+ student so someone should definitely check my maths. First, ignore price for now and just assume your purchase price was at $150.00 (my current average). + +We will represent that as PP (Purchase Price) so PP=$150. + +What I need to figure out is what my sold price is, represented as PS (Price Sold)...Hmmm, seems a bit crazy as I haven't sold yet . In other works, how do we know what we should sell at? Ahhh, let's take a look at history on other squeeze stocks Percentage Gain! + +What is Percentage Gain? + +Investopedia + +Percentage Gain = (PS - PP) / PP ​× 100 + +So, lets re-arrange the formula and solve for PS (Price Sold). + +PS = (Percentage Gain X PP) / 100 + PP + +&#x200B; + +Now, let's look at history of 3 squeezes, one everyone claims was the largest ever (VW) (spoiler, its not by percentage gain) and two other lesser known ones... + +&#x200B; + +VW - quadrupled in one day (250 to 1000) so using our formula we get about 300% Percent Gain + +Apply VM 300% to GME: + +PS = (300 X 150) / 100 + 150 + +PS = $600 + +Profit, yes but not the droids we are look for... + +&#x200B; + +Moving on two something called KaloBios, a 10,000% Gain + +KaloBios - 10,000% Gain + +PS = (10000 X 150) / 100 + 150 + +PS = $15,150 + +&#x200B; + +And yet another one: + +Gateway Industries - 20,000% Gain + +PS = (20000 X 150) / 100 + 150 + +PS = $30,150 + +&#x200B; + +Now, what if you truly, truly believe like I do that GME is the idiosyncratic stock that DD has proven to be shorted to oblivion? + +What if it was 100 times larger than Gateway? + +PS = (20000 X 100 times larger X 150) / 100 + 150 + +Drum roll please...your new absolute f-em target should be no less than... + +PS = $3,000,150 PER SHARE + +&#x200B; + +Yes, I know its not the $120,000,000 that is currently the floor, but just trying to get Apes to understand that any cap (ie. $3500) that any broker throws out is completely fucking insane. + +Lesson: Hold the line and don't sell at all, you can leverage the shit out of the value of your stock at any small local bank or credit union that survives which means: + +PS = InfuckingFinity +Hi, Sorry for the throw away and sorry for the length. Nobody knows any of this other than a couple of really close friends. To be honest, I'm a bit worried about telling anybody at all just because for the way people may treat me or expect things from me if they find out. + +In around 2013 I got into cryptocurrency (sorry another one of those) with around £500 (little over 1 Bitcoin at the time) and have been trading between crypto currencies on different exchanges. + +I was probably up to around 5 Bitcoins in 2017 which is where it started getting very surreal. I'd buy a random coin that looks promising (Verge, Antshares and Funfair being the main ones) and within weeks I'd be getting 10-15x returns. + +It's been getting overwhelming recently - at first it was just when I made big losses or sold at the wrong time, but now even when Im at a £ value all time high or doing well I'm just stressed and tired. +Right now I’m on a huge spike, around £3 million (so over 100x my current annual salary of 26k) so I need to sell some. So I guess thats around £2m after tax and fees. + +I will use Coinfloor to sell them, and contact an accounting company to help me with tax. I'm not entirely sure "how" it will be taxed but Im hoping they will be able to assist. + +Also a bit worried about being hit with a SAR when I put a massive amount in my bank - I only have record of around £60 worth of Bitcoin which I purchased in 2013 and the other £400 or so was cash. I used to trade on Cryptsy and BTC-e so some of my earlier trades are missing, but fortunately all the significant ones where I go from like 4 BTC to 300BTC are all on current exchanges so I could export a CSV. Would it be a good idea to just go into the bank and ask to speak to somebody, providing all the information I can? + +I’m not a particularly materialistic person so I don't want to splash out on a fancy car or do anything extravagant. However, I would like to pay my parents mortgage (I think that’s around £60k left out of £100k, they switched to interest only so havent been paying it for a long time) and give my siblings a lump sum of around £30k each. + +Assuming I'm left approximately £1.8m to £2m I would like to put it into an index fund to provide a passive income. + +Does this make sense or am I misunderstanding it? + +Im looking at the Vanguard Lifestrategy 80: https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investments/vanguard-lifestrategy-80-equity-fund-accumulation-shares + +Looking at the last 5 years it has an average return 10% per year. If I was to just take out 3% and leave the rest so it grows, I could potentially earn £45k per year, which would increase over time? I understand past performance doesn't mean anything about the future - so I could limit myself at like £30k at any point the value becomes less than my original investment. + +Does that seem like a sensible plan? or would anybody else have a better one? + +Thanks for reading this far if you did + +> Thank you everyone for the replies, I really really appreciate it and a lot of concerns I had have been cleared up. +> +> The next step for me I guess is to speak to a tax advisor and then a wealth advisor. As previously mentioned I had emailed 2 places but I'll request Tuesday off work which will give me the chance to call or go in and speak to them. +> I still like the idea of putting most of it it into an index fund. +> +> I currently work as a software engineer and I really enjoy it so I'll stick with it. However, I work with a legacy OS which the company (and every other company in the UK) are trying desperately to move away from. 'The Board' are having a meeting soon to decide what to do with us when our role is no longer required (probably around 5 years away but I'll only be 30 when that happens). Most people have speculated the outcome will be redundancy. +> +> I qualify for a 6 month sabbatical leave now and a couple of my friends are planning to get the train from London to Russia and then take the trans-sib through to Asia at the end of this year, stopping off in hostels on the way. I was invited so I think I'll find out if the offer is still there and go along with them. It could be a good opportunity to find myself. +> +> I have decided I will pay off my parents’ house and give around £30k to my siblings. I'll probably also offer to get my brothers bathroom done, since his daughter is severely disabled and having a disabled friendly bathroom/wet room thing would probably be really beneficial when she starts getting bigger. My sister is still young so she will probably have to wait - she won't be happy, but I like to think she'd be grateful when it comes to getting a house. I will help her out with driving lessons and stuff in the meantime. +> +> My dad was a factory worker for 18 years and recently lost his job. Not long ago my Mum was talking about the idea of saving for a mortgage on a 70-80k house and getting him to do it up and then rent it out. He built our conservatory, fitted our kitchen, fitted our bathroom and is quite proficient at that kind of thing. My mum is also very good at painting/decorating. I’m tempted to give it a go just once to see how it goes, it may or may not be profitable but if it is it could potentially mean flexible working for him. However, I will definitely seek advice on that separately before doing anything like that. +> +> Again, thank you all for the responses. I'm feeling a lot less anxious and quite excited. If I do this properly, I could really reduce life's pressure for my family and me. I might be back soon asking for more advice, but I will certainly be back to let everyone know how it all goes and what the advisers say. Maybe my experience will be worth something to somebody else in the same situation. + + +Can you please say a quick prayer for me that my unemployment comes through as I am the bread winner for a family of 5. Thank you in advance. May your blessings come back 10 fold +It was a tragic boating accident. I just moved all my bitcoin to a hardware wallet, when it happened to slip my hands and into the ocean. + +Any further transfers done on that wallet are because of Poseidon. +Dear Apes, I am wondering what ever happened to indicting the rich and corrupt for their financial crimes in 2008? + +Millions of Families were ruined and what happened to those who did this financial terrorism on American Citizens- nothing. + +Apes already know the narrative is being set up to allow a Scapegoat just like in 2008. + +Apes see the corruption that’s rotting the system from the inside out. + +I’ll be patient, but I expect a repeat of the 2008 crisis- Scapegoats will be made and the rich will become richer. + +SEC do your job this time around and quit visiting Pornhub on American Taxpayers Dollars. + +Peace and Love to Apes. +# Automod Issues + +I've received several reports of automod going [Terminator](https://twitter.com/RedChessQueen99/status/1387022130320220166) on some of you, and honestly I haven't edited the code or changed anything, so I think it's somewhat related to issues on Reddit's end. However, I did have a line of code in there that technically could be removed, so I did so. It should be back to its old self. + +However, if it continues to have issues, I apologize and will be digging into it to find answers. Please comment here if you were having issues to test. + +# New Mod + +We have had her chilling in chat for a day now and she's already impressed the whole team, so please welcome u/luridess to the moderator team. She wil be helping with general moderator duties and providing valuable insight to the team, and has limited permissions (posts, comments, modmail, and flair) + +Thanks everyone and sorry for the confusion! + +Red + +Edit: just saw on reddit automod sub that reddit IS having issues with automod specifically around karma and u/sodypop said they are working on it. Please be patient everyone while we adjust. +Doing interview tomorrow. Obviously familiar with why reddit chose to accept, but curious about compelling reasons for more traditional businesses especially. Don't know yet when it will actually air, but will update once I know. Thanks for your help! + +*edit: Great responses. Really appreciate the help making sure I am accurate with the big points. Still don't know when it will air on BBC Radio 4, but will update this post when I learn. Thanks!* + +*edit 2: Interview went well (I think). The story is currently scheduled to air Monday on BBC Radio 4, but I don't know the time yet. Will update when I do. thanks again!* + +*edit 3: [Here's the interview - Bitcoin story starts at 25 min](http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01rl5rb/World_at_One_01_04_2013/) +[Economic Growth and Income Inequality](http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/top20/45.1.1-28.pdf) + +**Summary**: + +> Data from developing economies indicate that the earlier phases of economic +development tend to be characterized by increasing income inequality, as those +engaged in the small but growing modern sector of the economy pull away from +those still left in agriculture and other subsistence activities. The degree of inequality reaches a peak, however, and then diminishes with further development, as the +modern sector comes to dominate the economy and perhaps more so if it creates +room for redistributive activity. The resulting “Kuznets curve” has been the subject +of much empirical research and discussion within development economics. +I know thats easier said than done but you guys really need to relax for a bit. When im reading the daily some of you seem really stressed out and i think you should take your mind off crypto for a bit. + +Youre mental health is important and if youre getting stressed out because of "red days" "dips" etc you might have invested more than youre comfortable with and should consider taking out some of that money to alleviate some of that stress. + +It just hurts to see how it negatively impacts some (most) of you.. +I've wanted to write this for a bit to help some people out with potential jobs that might be to scared to view a casino as a possible job. Also I tend to ramble and its kind of long but I think informative and is my story. + +Casinos are popping up all across the country if they aren't already in your neck of the woods. These casinos cannot operate with machines and need bodies, most of these positions are paid low hourly wages plus tips. I cannot verify what wages for each department are but I can verify what casino dealers get paid. + +When I applied a few years ago I was told I would have to do a 7 week class consisting of 4 days a week 4 hours a day that will be unpaid and the casino will pay for my gaming license and put me to work immediately after all licensing is finalized. In order to obtain a gaming license you will have to go through a background check which consists of: Criminal history, credit history, debts, traffic infractions etc. The training director told us about how much the dealers were making on average and it was around $22 hours plus the $4 per hour, now coming from different pizza places and restaurants I worked at that seemed "normal" to me. + +Fast forward 3 months my gaming license came in I was called for orientation which was 2 days to familiarize myself with the company and procedures, sit down with the "pencil" (aka scheduler) and setup your first week schedule so that you can start making tips instead of training pay. As I'm sure most jobs have a 90 day probationary period where you're monitored a little closer than usual especially in this position where you're dealing with 10's of thousands of dollars / casino chips. After your 90 days you get a sit-down with a Pit boss and they basically tell you good job, work on these things and that's about that. + +After your 90 days the casino usually has classes so you can learn more games which while training are unpaid and upon completion of the class you will start earning $0.25 more an hour (great incentive right?). Usually you're competing with about 50 other people who want in this class and may not get chosen, which sucks but guess what? next month there's another game you can go sign up for! + +Ok so you don't wanna be a dealer and rely on tips? well there's a few other positions you can apply for or transfer to if and when you realize that dealing isn't for you. (Keep in mind usually casino dealers are some of the top earning positions in the casino besides higher up supervisors aka pit bosses.) See all those slots machines in the casino? Well someone has to fix them, Hear all the bells and dings coming from that machine? Well someone has to verify their ID print out a tax form and pay them. Surveillance needs people to monitor all things in the casino, and security guards are there to (well I'm not sure what they do because they have to call the police for anything crazy) direct people where to go. + +All of these jobs are able to become careers for some people, there's always going to be a need for a supervisor and managers. As much as most companies are moving away from a labor force and going remote this is an industry that needs bodies, the environment might not be right for everyone due to the fact that almost every casino runs 24/7 and needs people for all 24 hours 365 days a year means there's always room for more employees. + +&#x200B; + +I hoped this helped someone out there, if you wanna ask a question I cannot be too specific on certain things due to regulations but I can probably answer it. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +As we approach the DTCC Cartel vs GME Shareholders Endgame, it occurs to me that the safest place for GME shareholders to sell their shares will be via Computershare. + +According to **Section 13** of their brochure, Computershare have the right to use any Broker of their choosing for purchases or sales. This means that as well as their current fiat Broker, Merrill Lynch, they could also choose to sell our shares through the GameStop-partnered crypto Broker FTX. + +[https://cda.computershare.com/Content/1a56f72c-e002-417e-a6ed-8925edb42713](https://cda.computershare.com/Content/1a56f72c-e002-417e-a6ed-8925edb42713) + +From the **Disbursement Section** of their Q&A Brochure, we also know that Computershare are set up for direct deposits as well as currency conversion of funds. + +[https://www-us.computershare.com/content/download.asp?docid=%7Bf2ea5d8b-8dee-44d3-af60-b633864f03cd%7D](https://www-us.computershare.com/content/download.asp?docid=%7Bf2ea5d8b-8dee-44d3-af60-b633864f03cd%7D) + +Q: How do I request payment of my cheques directly to my bank account? + +A: Many companies offer direct deposit of payments to their holder’s bank accounts. + +Q: Can I receive my payment in another currency? + +A: Many companies offer the opportunity to receive payment in various currencies. + +Once you include the GameStop Wallet, it appears that both Computershare and GME now have everything in place to allow GME shareholders to conveniently sell their shares via Computershare in the asset/currency of their choice. + +IMHO this is even more exciting as it means that all sales will be Computershare batch sales through either the fiat Broker or crypto Broker and the sales funds will then be deposited directly into Computershare’s own account before disbursement into our individual accounts. This will provide much needed extra security because at no time will our fiat bank account numbers or GameStop Wallet addresses be exposed to Brokers or purchasers. + +The Endgame approaches Apes! + +If you haven’t already, it may be time to get those GameStop Wallets ready. [https://wallet.gamestop.com/](https://wallet.gamestop.com/) + +And to sign up for that GME-Branded FTX Visa Card. + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/xycl78/visa\_partnered\_with\_ftx\_im\_in\_first\_line\_to\_get/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/xycl78/visa_partnered_with_ftx_im_in_first_line_to_get/) + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/x8gmkf/gamestop\_partnering\_with\_ftx\_guess\_who\_else/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/x8gmkf/gamestop_partnering_with_ftx_guess_who_else/) + +Buy, DRS, DRS Tweak, Hodl, Shop + +&#x200B; + +**Edit 1**: GME non-DRSers may want to keep in mind that most fiat Brokers are not yet set up for crypto sales. + +**Edit 2**: I’m assuming there will be Computershare batch sales as Apes will direct Computershare to sell their share(s) at whatever [www.gmefloor.com](http://www.gmefloor.com/) is priced at for that particular moment/day! + +**Edit 3**: Would Credit Suisse please hurry up and die already so that we can go back to typing CS for Computershare! + + +**Edit 4**: Recent post providing information on Computershare's preparation for a blockchain system. + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ybyu9p/computershare\_tested\_blockchain\_ownership\_of/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ybyu9p/computershare_tested_blockchain_ownership_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) +# UPDATE: It's $3B in Transactions on the GameStop Marketplace powered by IMX. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/nq5cy6owfof81.png?width=597&format=png&auto=webp&s=fbff502866db31179a0a5b0f02fe8d4204b9aa2f + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +I posted a screenshot of the Milestones for GameStop to reach ([https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/sjij8f/looks\_like\_gamestop\_is\_planning\_for\_3b\_in\_primary/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/sjij8f/looks_like_gamestop_is_planning_for_3b_in_primary/)) and just read through them more carefully. + +# TLDR: BULLISH AF, GAMESTOP MARKETPLACE WILL DO MUCH MUCH MORE THAN $3B IN TRANSACTIONS PER YEAR. + +**~~Also, please have a read through and correct me if I am wrong here. This is just my current interpretation of the agreement and I could be interpreting the words wrong because I am an engineer and not a lawyer.~~** + +First, read the Proposal Details here: + +[Details of the Proposal](https://preview.redd.it/s93td6j9bnf81.png?width=1896&format=png&auto=webp&s=2f172168c48d5c0fee4ea2bd9e9489258e7a2477) + +" GameStop will be integrating Immutable X’s technology into its NFT marketplace. **In addition, there will be joint business development efforts to grow the developer, artist and gaming studio ecosystem on Immutable X via the GameStop NFT marketplace.** " + +So, there will be development efforts to grow the Immutable X ecosystem: [https://market.x.immutable.com/](https://market.x.immutable.com/) + +Now, read Milestone 4, and 5. + +[Milestone 4 & 5](https://preview.redd.it/k1el0u7hbnf81.png?width=1894&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b6014b0921d2d17f26063a5266ec4777d90bad3) + +**Milestone 4:** Reach a cumulative amount of $1.5 billion in combined Primary Sales and Secondary Market Sales Transactions **ON** Immutable X + +**Milestone 5:** Reach a cumulative amount of $3.0 billion in combined Primary Sales and Secondary Market Sales Transactions **ON** Immutable X + +&#x200B; + +Here is the ecosystem on Immutable X + +[https:\/\/market.x.immutable.com\/](https://preview.redd.it/uw93n8albnf81.png?width=1887&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a406f30fb68fb85ff5faf7d1528173810569b88) + +**~~SO,~~** ~~to me it seems that GameStop is confident they will be able to help grow Immutable X's ecosystem to $3B in customer transactions within the next 2 years.~~ + +~~This does not mention what they expect their own GameStop Marketplace to do in transactions. But if they believe they can grow Immutable X's ecosystem to that I bet they are planning for A LOT more in transactions on their own platform. The $3B in transactions would just be a small chunk of the overall GameStop marketplace pie.~~ + +Again, please read through the terms yourself and feel free to add to the discussion. I may be wrong in my interpretation of this. + +Thanks! + +🦍💜🦍💜🚀 +\*\*\* from 4.3m in June (adjusted) \*\*\* + +According to data from ADP, private payrolls growth in the US slowed to a crawl, increasing only 167,000 in July - I break down the report [here](https://finbytes.co.uk/us-private-sector-employment-rises-by-just-167k/). + +Equity markets initially fell in the pre-market trading period, before shrugging off the negative news with the S&P 500 now up 0.5%. + +Possible reasons? Well, it's not really new information, since last week's jobless claims data all but confirmed a stagnating labour market. + +Anyhow, here are my **three** key takes from today's report: + +* The declines were broad-based across company sizes, although payrolls actually declined at mid-sized businesses (50-499 employees) by 25k, while small and large-sized firms rose by 63k and 129k, respectively +* After rising as much as 900,000 in June, payrolls growth in leisure and hospitality moderated to just 38,000 +* There were just four sub sectors that recorded employment declines in July: natural resources/mining, construction, information services and financial services. +\- Are there any implications to doing this? + +\- I know applying for any financial product shows up on a credit report, will this affect any applications for credit in the future? + +\- I'm also in the market for buying property (my first) later this year, should I switch before or after this? + +\- Is it worth keeping the accounts I have open after I've moved my funds out? + +\- Is there any chance of negotiating the interest rates with my current bank? +Ive been looking to buy for ages (its pretty much my only long term financial goal) - but finding the banks arent willing to lend me much. + +- 580k loan (max of 4 banks), i earn 100k pa and have 17k in HECS debt + +This pretty small ammount, and the fact that im bidding against mostly dual income couples or people with interest free loans from BOMAD has made the property market feel super inaccessible. + +Has anyone managed to buy solo? Do you have any tips or tactics you found helpful? + +Cheers! +The state of the Australian property market is generally measured by the “Corelogic Hedonic Price Index”. No index is 100% accurate in assessing the state of the market. I’ve done some relatively deep research into the index including a call with Corelogic’s Head of Research Tim Lawless and I can say that the Corelogic Hedonic index is generally a very well designed piece of statistics. However that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, the index has never been tested by market dynamics like what has transpired through Coronavirus, and due to a technicality in how the index is calculated, I am confident that the index is currently *overstating the true values in the property market*. + +The below may be a little bit technical for some people, but for a TL;DR summary consider the following metaphor; the Corelogic index is a cruise ship and the destination is the true market. The true market (our destination) has just changed because now the cruise ship is riddled with Covid, so Corelogic is spinning the steering wheel to change our direction. However right now, even though we have spun the wheel, the ship is still not pointing toward our true destination (and it is taking some time to adjust course). Read in the link below to understand exactly why this is (no paywall). + +[https://medium.com/@james.waugh28/australian-house-prices-will-fall-until-september-a1b6f078f51d?source=friends\_link&sk=51f1edda3b9841deafa8835c5b4910de](https://medium.com/@james.waugh28/australian-house-prices-will-fall-until-september-a1b6f078f51d?source=friends_link&sk=51f1edda3b9841deafa8835c5b4910de) + +If you enjoy please like and share this free research 🙂. +From 1 July, Australian Retirement Trust is changing their index investment options + +from "Closely match the performance benchmark, before investment tax and investment fees and costs." + +to "Closely match the performance benchmark, before investment tax and investment fees and costs **whilst maintaining a materially lower weighted carbon intensity**." + +Refer to pages 12 and 13 of https://cdn.australianretirementtrust.com.au/library/media/pdfs/pds/updates/sen-2022-product-update-v3-interactive.pdf?rev=19cfc089f6ec4d4c865088a1f1d435a3 + +Credit to https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/96yzmnpn +If I have experience of 2-3 years in the industry, will I manage to be hired again? + +Quitting due to burn out, mental health reasons and sick of this toxic workplace. + +Had enough of this effing hellhole. I’ve seen at least 60 people leave this place after the past 2.5 years. The average duration someone stays is approx 6 months. + +I work in private pathology. +I was born into poverty + +the only consistent thing in my life has been trauma abuse and neglect + +no car or even one I could borrow/rent from someone, I live a 20 minute drive from the nearest roach infested gas station + +I lose half my paycheck to transpiration to abuse my body working overtime just for the other half to be eaten away to survive + +I was left on my own with my education so for a lot of things I’m stuck on a third grade level and struggle so much to remaster those topics + +all my savings have been drained helping my family survive + +the house I’m living in is falling apart around me + +I have 0 life skills and knowledge on how to navigate adulthood and the only people I have to go to for advice are the ones who got me here in the first place + +my body feels the effects of lack of nutrition everyday + +I’ve tried so relentlessly to improve my situation, sacrificed so much, pushed through depression and ptsd daily, yet life just keeps falling apart around me + +I have siblings who were just as fucked in life as me who need someone there but mentally I am gone and even after years of pushing through daily so much has been stacked against me and them that its going downhill fast + +I’m so scared I’m gonna fail them, but even giving 100% 24/7 I cant make any improvement + +I’m still just a kid, I don’t know how to handle this and I’m really scared of failing my siblings + +I feel like I’m reaching a point of not being able to keep control over the depression +I’m so scared of abandoning my siblings in this world but ive been running on empty for years and no amount of work has has made me any progress + +please tell me theres something I can do to get out of this, or at least give my siblings a chance at life +https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/real-unemployment-rate-closer-10-percent-says-fed-chair-jerome-n1257331 + +https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/10/fed-chair-powell-citing-bleak-jobs-picture-says-policy-will-need-to-stay-patiently-accommodative.html + +> The real unemployment rate in the U.S. is closer to 10 percent, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday, after misclassification errors are factored in to the official government figure. The current unemployment rate, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, is 6.3 percent. +> +> "We are still very far from a strong labor market whose benefits are broadly shared," Powell said, in a virtual speech for the Economic Club of New York on the state of the labor market. "The pandemic has led to the largest 12-month decline in labor force participation since at least 1948," he said. +> +> While the national unemployment rate has fallen from its March peak of 14.8 percent, it is still much higher than its pre-pandemic level. The unemployment rate in February 2020, before the coronavirus took hold of the economy, was just 3.5 percent, the lowest level in almost 50 years. + +> “Given the number of people who have lost their jobs and the likelihood that some will struggle to find work in the post-pandemic economy, achieving and sustaining maximum employment will require more than supportive monetary policy,” Powell said, stressing the importance of low interest rates. “It will require a society-wide commitment,” he added. + +CNBC: The Fed is keeping its benchmark short-term borrowing rate anchored near zero and is buying at least $120 billion of bonds each month. +This is my first post as I have been lurking the past month: + +I have held a position in ATVK for about a month now, it has declined over the past week by 15%. This was due to fake manipulation and the twitter using other tickers probably has not helped. + +Now, there are some solid catalysts coming up which I believe can return us all some nice profits (taken from a post in $ATVK subreddit from [u/XlusiveEire](https://www.reddit.com/user/XlusiveEire/)): + +1. New website just launched - [http://www.ameritekventures.com/](http://www.ameritekventures.com/) +2. $EPAZ merger “announced” - dig into the website +3. 250+ million shares to be cancelled today (in court against toxic lenders - SEC Siding with $ATVK +4. Drone and AI tech. +5. Cannabis plays +6. BlockChain plays +7. Covid vaccine transportation play + +The court case is today and it is heavily believed that ATVK will win this case, which should give some strong PR. With all these factors and how the market has fallen because of GME etc, I feel this is a strong time to hop in **🚀** **🚀** + +For clarity, I hold 3100 shares @ 0.1555916 +Today we are going to discuss the importance of always applying a relevant trading strategy based on the current conditions of the particular market and timeframe that you are observing. No trading strategy will be effective 100% of the time, and for this reason, it is important that you are able to identify the current conditions that you are observing in the broader market and apply the most effective strategy to suit. + +Throughout this post, I will explain the difference between the two most obvious market characteristics: mean reversion and momentum. I will also offer simple ways in which we can quickly determine the current market conditions. Finally, I will provide two trading strategies based on using the Bollinger Bands as either a mean reversion or momentum style indicator. Both of these strategies are back-tested and available for you to use. See the YouTube links below for more information on each of these strategies. + +[Mean Reversion vs Momentum Trending Characteristics](https://preview.redd.it/r5j45dern5p61.png?width=2158&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef95390620ab7de623be7b77909f1a408254b593) + +**Mean Reverting Markets** + +Mean reversion style markets are commonly observed trading within horizontal ranges, between a rather obvious level of support and resistance. They do not frequently make significant higher highs or lower lows, instead, once price encounters the support or resistance area of the range, it changes direction and begins traveling back towards the mean (average price of the range). This is known as regression to the mean. A quick way to identify a mean-reverting market is to look for an absence of significant higher highs or higher lows over a specific period of time. Mean reverting markets will often look like a large consolidation pattern. As you gain experience by looking at many different charts, you will develop the ability to identify a mean-reverting style market at a glance. + +When trading a market that is currently exhibiting mean reversion style characteristics, we want to ensure that we are using an appropriate strategy. There are many different strategies that work quite well for this kind of market behavior. Generally, they involve identifying overbought and oversold areas that are in confluence with areas of support and resistance. The strategy that I have provided in the link below uses the Bollinger Bands as a mean reversion style indicator. It provides signals to buy and sell based on whether price is considered to be oversold or overbought from a mean reversion perspective. It offers trade entry and exit signals (both long and short) as well as stop loss placement. + +***Mean Reversion Trading Strategy:*** [https://youtu.be/t49BjkA3Iew](https://youtu.be/t49BjkA3Iew) + +**Trending Markets** + +Trending markets are a personal favorite of mine to trade, they generally offer exponentially greater risk to reward opportunities than mean reverting markets do. A trending market is defined as a market that is making a series of higher highs and higher lows (up-trend), or a series of lower lows and lower highs (down-trend). Trending markets are moving with momentum in a clearly defined direction. A quick way to identify a trending market is to look for the higher highs and higher lows (or lower highs and lower lows) or to examine the behavior or a 20EMA. In a trending market, we can expect a 20EMA to be pointing sharply higher or lower on the chart, determined by the direction of the trend. The reason that trending markets generally offer far greater risk to reward opportunities is that the profit potential is significantly greater. Unlike mean reversion strategies (where we want to exit our position as price approaches the boundary of the trading range), trending markets allow us to stay in our position for a potentially far greater period of time, and for a far larger move (without accepting additional risk). + +Strategies that best suit a momentum trending style market generally involve entering a position during an anticipated breakout and remaining in the trade until the resulting trend is broken. The strategy that I have provided in the link below uses the Bollinger Bands as a momentum style indicator. It provides entry signals based on price breakouts, allowing us exposure to the following momentum trend. + +***Trending/ Momentum Trading Strategy:*** [https://youtu.be/7CFpyAtFa\_4](https://youtu.be/7CFpyAtFa_4) + +*Having the skills to differentiate between mean-reverting and trending market characteristics will be of great benefit to you as a trader. If you have any further questions regarding market characteristics or trading in general, please leave a comment or direct message me, I will respond in due course.* +A great start to the week with a lot of momentum names gaining traction. We once again saw BIO techs get a lot of buyers with many names making notable moves. the S&P 500 had a very aggressive close in the final 20 minutes of trading; Putting in a record high. + +(I regularly keep an eye on QQQ’s and SPY to give me an overall view of how the markets are doing. For example if you’re looking to enter a large cap tech name then you want to see QQQ’s stable or moving higher.) + +We also saw a lot of attention towards chip makers, lithium companies, EV’s and battery makers. As momentum continues in the markets it’s important to remember that the trend is your friend. Whether you or I feel the market is over priced is irrelevant. + +You may notice that quite often I’ll have names on the watch for multiple days or even weeks. This is because as a break out swing trader we only enter once the stock is perfectly set up. Patience in waiting for the perfect entry is what allows fantastic risk to reward. + +As we’re already in quite a few names most of today will be spent monitoring current positions, taking profit, adding etc. However some names I am interested in are below. + +**$PACB –** Pacific Biosciences engages in the development, manufacture and sale of an integrated platform for genetic analysis. Yesterday we broke out of the daily range and now we’re gapping up to test ATH. + +&#x200B; + +**$OPEN –** Open door technologies operates an online platform for buying, sell and trading residential properties. ARK’s cathie wood has been buying up shares in this company at an aggressive rate. We’re starting to the daily get compressed and Line for a daily and ATH breakout. + +&#x200B; + +**$CRSP –** Crispr Therapeutics has been one of the top Bio techs on my list. They engage in Genome-editing, their website can be found here (FULL DD to come soon in a new post) http://www.crisprtx.com + +We’re starting to see it accumulate and find great support around this region. With the other names breaking out their daily ranges Im expecting to see some buyers step in here very soon. For me I want to see it hold $172 with higher than usual volume for the breakout play. + +&#x200B; + + **$SPCE –** We originally took entry on this at $34 and we’ve seen had a massive run up and consolidation since then. An aggressive sell off occurred on 2nd Feb but was brought up aggressively yesterday. Ark invest purchased a whopping 1.7 million shares. We have then seen further large buyers and the stock hold this move higher extremely well. If we can break above the 58 to 59 region it’s likely we’ll see a breakout into ATH. + +&#x200B; + +**$MP –** Mp Materials (yes she’s back 😅) I am still watching this name for a potential breakout as the merger date creeps upon us and the daily price action gets tighter and tighter. I have this in my long term account and a position in my swing account. I’ll be looking to add on the daily breakout. We saw multiple swipes yesterday on increased volume. I’d like to see this hold at open and move higher for a change of character. + +&#x200B; + +$RMO – Romeo power a EV battery maker with billion dollar contracts in place. They sold off aggressively with other Battery makers however we found some solid support at the $18 region and pushed out of range yesterday. Can we see this hold 19.5 and break 20? If so I would expect an explosive move higher. + +&#x200B; + +## As mentioned I am already in quite a few names so my main focus will be on those. + +&#x200B; + +A couple are: + +**EVGN** is looking extremely strong in premarket. I’d like to see if this can hold and potentially stabilise around $10 to form a new base. + +**NIO** broke out of range yesterday and I’m still holding the full position. I want to see how this reacts to $60. If we can break and hold above then I’ll look to add more size. +I feel compelled to write this post because I am seeing it first hand right now. People everywhere are asking whether GameStop or AMC or Blackberry or even Silver are good buys. Why? Because they are ALL in the news, embedded in culture at this very moment. They are being texted and shared with friends and discussed across the Internet. **I want to write about this to shed light on a really interesting concept in markets related to this and I hope it helps someone.** + +First of all, there's an old trader rule that says *"if a stock makes the news, you're late."* What that means is someone who was more prepared, who had built a long-term plan, was involved before the news became a thing. Before you knew what it was. It's important to remember that people do this for a living - studying companies, writing about them, reading about them, and building a position over time before the news cycle begins. You need to know this to make better decisions. Otherwise you will chase news headlines and continue to be *"late."* Now of course, some people do chase headlines for a living, buying on big news announcements, but just remember that someone out there was there long before it happened. The awareness of this will really change your perspective on markets. + +The next topic I want to shed some light on is the broad market and all of the ideas available to you if you just look around. **I see WAY TOO many people talking about AMC and Blackberry and others.** There are 3000+ other stocks in the market. That's right... 3000. Add in crypto and that's easily another 1000+ crypto projects. Add in forex and futures and that's easily another 500+ futures and forex trades. The point I am trying to make is - REALLY? You're going to buy AMC or Blackberry just because you saw a headline? There are 5000+ other trades and ideas out there. Take your time. Be patient. Don't chase. Look at the entire market. It's wide open to you. + +The final point of this post is the idea that the market is not going anywhere. **Avoid FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) at all costs. My good friend tells me to embrace JOMO (Joy of Missing Out).** The point here, and concluding paragraph, is that the market has been open for 100+ years. It is not going anywhere. No one is telling you to buy or sell. You are talking to yourself and spiraling into a whirlwind of FOMO. You have to take ownership of your portfolio. There is no manipulation or scam going on other than your decision making. The same way you research a car or TV, hours of research, reading reviews, studying your budget, is the same way you should approach markets. There is no rush to do anything. You won't "miss the move." As I said, the market has been open 100+ years. Relax. JOMO is a great strategy in certain times. + +I hope this post helps and I wrote it because you all mean a lot to me. I have been online talking markets since 2010. I am thankful to the Internet, Reddit, and even Twitter because of the doors they've opened in my life. Especially around markets. So I really write this post to help someone, anyone, who is new or confused about the markets. I also want to say that I write this having done all the above. No joke. I have done ALL of the above and been hosed so many times. So I hope this helps. + +Thanks for reading and good luck! +I am 28 but have never actually lived alone. I moved out o my parents when I was 18 but my brother and I got an apartment and we've lived together since then. Well he finally got himself a gf and its looking like he's going to want to live with her once our lease is up. That isn't until next may/June so I have some time, but I've been trying to figure things out so I'm ready by then. + +How can I calculate how much I can afford for rent? I don't make a ton but I think I can survive living alone if my rent isn't too crazy. Is it worth it to look at apartment complexes around town now, or will prices/options now not be available in 6 months. What do I need to know/look into before I have to find my own spot? +Feel free to tell me to do my research better but this is what I dont understand about NFTs,obviously there are some great exceptions but my point stands for majority of them. + +There are some really good and low risk coins that they can invest in,where they will have massive profits or at least, dont lose that much money. But instead, people rather buy some computer drawn cartoon monkeys or just simple pixel art for thousands of dollars. + +I get that you technically "own" the picture but why would anyone want to buy it off you?It feels like people just dump all their money on these thinking it will be the next Bitcoin. +I've had $10k invested for 3 years now with a pretty normal 70-30 allocation. And the returns are around $400 total. This seems quite subpar. Just the dividends alone have totaled over $600 which means the portfolio is actually under loss, right? What am I missing here? Every online media outlet/investing website seems to have a 5* rating for this company. +EDIT: Not exactly 3 years, but close enough. The sample size is large enough to warrant my concern I think. +Someone asked for specifics. Here's the allocation and performance: http://imgur.com/a/zDKms +I inherited my father’s land when he passed there due to a landslide. This was in 2017, and I have had the land listed to some degree since. + +I originally listed it for what he paid for it prior to building (he didn’t do so legally with permits, hence the landslide). Around $80k. The realtor then wanted 8% commission, and didn’t get a single offer in a year. His firm specialized in higher end properties, and Idk why he took my listing considering he barely marketed it. + +I then relisted it with another firm for a year. They insisted they’d be able to sell it at a higher price. 10% commission. Again, ZERO offers. + +I’m trying to figure out wtf to do with this property. I want nothing to do with it- it brings back bad memories. + +I’m trying to figure out if I should roll the dice with another realtor, somehow auction it off or sell to one of those “we’ll pay cash now” types of people. + +Anyone know the best way to offload a stigmatized property? +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. + +Interesting [nytimes article on the rise of the prenup](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/smarter-living/millennial-prenup-weddings-money.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsmarter-living&action=click&contentCollection=smarter-living&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront) with the millennial generation: + +> Prenuptial agreements, commonly known as prenups, are legal documents that outline how engaged couples will divide their assets if they divorce. And, in recent years, more millennials have been requesting them, according to a survey of matrimonial lawyers. +> +> One likely reason: Millennials are marrying later than previous generations, with years to build up assets and debt on their own. “I got married at 23, so we put nothing and nothing together,” said Louis Cannataro, partner and founder of Cannataro Park Avenue Financial, where he has advised dozens of millennial clients on their prenups. “But when someone’s getting married in their 30s, there’s a different approach.” +> +> That approach accounts for the changing role of women in the work force, too. In 1980, just 13 percent of women who lived with a male partner earned at least half the couple’s income — today, that number has nearly tripled. +> +> So while prenups traditionally protected the party with money — which often was the man, and which often led to resentment — millennials usually tackle the agreements as a team. + +Would love to hear about any success — or failure — stories of folks in here in regards to a prenup, millennial or not. Figured it relates a lot to this community after seeing the recommendation in the article that those with "robust retirement accounts" may want to consider one. +The original post was a series of graphs comparing things between millennials and baby boomers. Here's the top comment: + + +> Of course people under the age of 30 say they're going to save millions and retire early... everyone says that. Baby Boomers have shifted their answers because they're in their 50s and 60s and they can look at their accounts and see the reality. They didn't save as much as they wanted to (Neither will Millennials) and they can't retire as soon as they want to (The same will happen with Millennials) + + +[and here's the rest of the thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/5740ly/retirement_plans_millennials_vs_baby_boomers/?sort=top) +**TL;DR:** + +* **Unlike Europe, the US market for CMBS is much more uniform making it easier to set up. It’s hard to set up commercial real estate bundles across countries/jurisdictions vs. plain ol’ US states. This helps explain why the US market at one point in 2019 ($171 Billion) outpaced Europe’s ($4 Billion).** +* **CMBS bundles offer up a specific workaround for anyone who wants to pay their loan/lease off early: defeasance. Defeasance = substituting collateral A for collateral B, just like how Indiana Jones swapped out the Golden idol with a rock in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. You can defease entire CMBS loans, like the Village of Merrick Park deal did (WFRBS 2011-C3).** +* **Defeasance is meant to make the entire CMBS bundle more stable by swapping it out with a SPECIFIC type of collateral: US Treasuries.** +* **If CMBS loans are swapping out collateral like store loans (like GME) in commercial real estate, then it overcomplicates our picture of the CMBS market, especially when we know that the same Treasuries are being rehypothecated (copy pasted) into different bundles to keep them kickin. 2021 saw the biggest boost in defeasance in 13 years…and 13 years ago was 2008.** + +EDIT 2: Finally got this under the 40K word count so editing should be easier. Hopefully it flows more smoothly! + +EDIT 3: Good call from Dr\_Gingerballs, here's a shorter thesis: + +**TL;DRx2: Treasuries are being pushed into CMBS loans not just when things go wrong short-term, but even when things go right long-term, meaning even more treasury rehypothecation is probably going on than we think including last year's ATH matching the 2008 crash.** + +For the culture: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gU35Tgtlmg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gU35Tgtlmg) + +**Sections** + +**0. Preface** + +1. **Europeland** +2. **On the Way Up** +3. **Rate Me Harder Baby** +4. **ABS: Compare & Contrast** +5. **WFCM: Wet Fart Crime Managers** +6. **Press Pause** +7. **Indiana Jones & the Ol’ Switcheroo** +8. **ELI5: Defeasance** +9. **Enhance!** +10. **What to Expect When You’re Expecting: A Bad to Worst Case Scenario** +11. **The Temple of Doom** + +*Previously, on “The Big Mall Short”:* [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/t5br7k/the\_big\_mall\_short\_7\_from\_the\_window\_to\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/t5br7k/the_big_mall_short_7_from_the_window_to_the/) + +**The Big Mall Short #7: From the Window to the Walmart, till the Sweat drips down my Ballmart** + +# 0. Preface + +This is the Big Mall Short. + +If you recall from Pt. 2, CMBS--or commercial mortgage backed securities--are a grab bag of loans to different offices, retail stores, and commercial real estate that you can buy or sell, or bet whether the price of all those leases will be paid off as those spaces do business. They’re often tied in with signed leases to these spots. **If many of those offices, retail stores, and commercial real estate spots fail, welp then they can’t pay their lease and the entire grab bag (CMBS) might go down. These leases can be made to offices or factories, but they can also be made to retail stores like Tuesday Morning or GameStop.** + +In our previous episode, we talked about Walmart’s history of being welcomed to new towns with open arms, before it often runs off into the night and leaves “dark stores” in its wake. **When Walmart leaves, it also has an effect on the commercial real estate bundles that it is a part of.** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/2abu10ex69n81.png?width=2774&format=png&auto=webp&s=7103b77179df63ee82efe0f61a939bb1ea49d954 + +**We also caught wind of how Ladder Capital (talked about in TheIntercept’s whistleblower-led “The Bigger Short” on CMBS fraud) had originated all of the Walmart-linked GME loans we saw with Wells Fargo (WFCM). This might have meant that Ladder Capital may have been engaging in similar shady dealings with GME stores, as it was with other stores in its portfolios as uncovered by that whistleblower.** + +In this post, we’re diving into the more nitty gritty language and complexity behind some CMBS mortgages **(Warning: this will probably be the most “relatively” boring topic of those covered in this series). In particular, we are looking at 1 term: defeasance.** + +&#x200B; + +# 1. Europeland + +For our story thus far, you might notice that it’s largely an American story. **Now this can’t just be random, right? Why haven’t we seen any storylines like “The Big Mall Short” in Europe per se?** + +&#x200B; + +**You can see some hints when you compare the number of CMBS deals between the states and Europe. In 2017, American CMBS deals hit nearly $171 Billion. Europe barely got to $4 billion**. + +Now that is a crazy gap. Part of the reason for the bigger appeal is that the American market is a lot more uniform or consistent, than the European one: + +&#x200B; + +>“**European CMBS is secured by properties in various jurisdictions and, therefore, the legal frameworks and requirements, in addition to the associated risks, may vary from transaction to transaction.** + +&#x200B; + +>**However, the size and consistency of the U.S. market and the presence of significant loan sponsors** (which often have growing European operations) mean that developments in U.S. CMBS will have a strong influence on structural features that are incorporated into European CMBS.” + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +So while you physically might have a landmass the size of the US cover almost the same space as Europe, bundling a mall in Oklahoma with a mall in Maine into a CMBS is way easier than bundling one shopping centre in Portugal with one in Denmark. + +&#x200B; + +**Legalese and “structural influence” aside, this might make American CMBS products the way to go.** And this was especially the case going into 2019 and 2020, as falling interest rates meant the number of “private-label” CMBS deals kept going up. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/1onbd67579n81.png?width=958&format=png&auto=webp&s=3c211b9a418a2b7e367b77745c646318ba6cc568 + +For me, this meant if I wanted to understand some technicalities of how CMBS bundles operate, I should just focus on the American deals. + +# 2. On the Way Up + +Since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, CMBS deals dropped off immediately after, before slowly building up to higher highs up until 2019: + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/yatr86af79n81.png?width=743&format=png&auto=webp&s=f9a69b5c56493e2761f3a773bd619f911fe07492 + +Before Covid was on the minds of many, ratings analysts thought that more CMBS deals would come through going into 2020. **Reasons included that commercial real estate valuations stood roughly 30% above their August 2007 peak and that high demand from investors remained while interest rates were low.** + +&#x200B; + +But that picture is a very rosy one compared to what we know now, especially about CMBS valuations: that originators and financiers like Ladder Capital, UBS, Starwood, and Goldman were lying about just how good those CMBS loans really were. + +# 3. Rate Me Harder Baby + +I wanted to get an idea of how these pre-Covid deals looked like, to see if I could figure out if there were any signs of bad news. + +Back in 2019, Fitch was going to rate/grade about 186 new CMBS loan deals (“structured finance transactions…engaged to rate”) from Jan. 7 to Dec. 18th of that year. (By comparison, about 145 RMBS loans were to be rated) SC loans were included (no idea what the fuck that is.) + +Here’s an example of what their rating schedule looked like: + +&#x200B; + +[shoutout to that Margaritaville CDO lol](https://preview.redd.it/p87gfuzk79n81.png?width=811&format=png&auto=webp&s=44db9f624545cdb0aac94f2734db643173a47dab) + +That highlighted Credit Suisse CSAIL deal actually includes a GME store in Fontana, CA (Cardenas Market Center). + +&#x200B; + +That deal was worth \~$790 million GME made up a tiny bit of that, just 2.4%. (That GME lease was meant to expire 3/31/21. **I’ll cover more of this soon in another post, from our previously mentioned small sample of GME loans, almost all but 20 expired in 2021.)** + +Now who was the loan originator? AHH FUCKING STARWOOD, from my ol' faithful chart of CMBS originating crime: + +&#x200B; + +[the big mall short's ol Faithful](https://preview.redd.it/d9bhrl3s79n81.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=fa0a4f6b0a226a07810af77e5b5c6dbf26b75857) + +That CSAIL deal was done alongside Midland Services (master servicer here, vs. Wells Fargo in our Walmart deals) and Special Servicer (LNR Partners). So many of the same shady players featured in "The Bigger Short" were still setting up new CMBS deals, up through 2019. It wouldn't be too unlikely to imagine that there might have been some shady valuations of the collateral inside those loans as well, based on what we know now. + +# 4. ABS: Compare & Contrast + +While digging into those ratings, I was able to leaf through other bundles that they were rating. These included other ABS products, or asset-backet securities. (Remember: CMBS are technically also asset-backed securities, but the assets only really include commercial real estate.) Examples of what Fitch was rating back then included: + +Cars! + +* Ford Auto Securitization Trust,Series 2019-A (Apr. 11) +* HUI JU TONG 2019-1 Retail Auto Mortgage Loan Securitization Trust (Nov. 28) +* CarMax Auto Owner Trust 2019-1 (US ABS) (Jan. 9) + +Credit cards! + +* Evergreen Credit Card Trust, Series 2019-3 (Oct. 21) +* Master Credit Card Trust II, Series 2019-2 (Aug. 19) + +Planes ! + +* Castlelake Aircraft Structured Trust 2019-1 +* Pioneer Aircraft Finance Limited (May 13) +* Thunderbolt III Aircraft Lease Limited (Oct. 21) + +Farming stuff! + +* John Deere Owner Trust 2019 + +Student loans (cry cry!) + +* ECMC Group Student Loan Trust 2019-1 (Jul 29) + +&#x200B; + +Because I had both ABS and CMBS loans to leaf through, I tried to see if there were any items of interest or overlap between some of the different products. + +&#x200B; + +While reading up on these, i**t reminded me of one near-2008 crash study I found for another post that said sometimes tracking CMBS indices (CMBX) is a good enough counter to track ABS indices (ABX) to see how the market as a whole moves as it might move in tandem. You might even remember this ABX index being mentioned in "The Big Short":** + +&#x200B; + +[Vinnie Daniel: What's the ABX at? Porter Collins: What's ABX? Vinnie Daniel: It tracks mortgage bond value. Go back to sleep.](https://preview.redd.it/ywh9ina289n81.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=44dcc764374b53472238a8219019568c3b29c37d) + +However, there was 1 thing that I found out stood as a marked difference from the other ABS products. + +&#x200B; + +And it’s something familiar to many of us. + +# 5. Wet Fart Crime Managers + +Let's imagine a bank that deals with CMBS loans that's called Wet Fart Crime Managers, or WFCM. (Let's just say that they are also known for things like, oh... opening credit cards without people knowing.) + +[Now I'm not saying that Wet Fart Crime Managers have this logo...theirs only has 5 horses.](https://preview.redd.it/a0d2ji0889n81.png?width=827&format=png&auto=webp&s=eaf99a843bdf0cca6b5d39d5978c2a0ab9d4c83c) + +**Now let’s look at a VASTLY oversimplified picture of what they might do when setting up a bundle of commercial real estate loans for investors. Let's call that bundle Jenga tower #69.** + +&#x200B; + +**It’s made up of these 3 leases from 3 retail stores, that pay a certain amount of money each month under what’s called a lease. Here’s what that monthly payout to WFCM’s tower #69 looks like:** + +>Retail Store Lease 1: $100 +> +>Retail Store Lease 2: $100 +> +>Retail Store Lease 3: $100 + +&#x200B; + +**WFCM might tell its investors to put money into this deal, saying “You can invest in this and get regular monthly cash flow for a decade!” Investors buy in in droves.** + +&#x200B; + +[CMBS investors chomping at that WFCM titty](https://preview.redd.it/dsv5ae8d89n81.png?width=680&format=png&auto=webp&s=25c2b0800502e00f50a08d4756eeb7a6b1ff6fae) + +We can also say maybe all these stores signed on for 10 years, so that’s 12 months x 10 years or 12 x 10 = 120 months of dollar dollar bills floating on these investors’ jacked up titties and ballsacks. **Every store then is paying $12,000 to WFCM over those 10 years EACH.** + +Remember, this presupposes that the retail store pays $100 a month for their monthly lease and only pays out once-a-month and doesn’t pay ahead. **But what if they were doing really well, and decided to pay their $12,000 all at once?** + +**Well, fun fact! Many commercial real estate loans actually FORBID you from prepaying your loan all at once.** This roadblock comes up in many CMBS loans, stopping ppl in their tracks from being able to pay these leases/loans off early. + +# 6. Press Pause + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/9n9hxawj89n81.png?width=513&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8342da881f828168d27aeee84c31eef802eac4a + +**So wait, why can’t a Retail Store pay all at once?** + +**Well, here’s the thing: WFCM wants to hustle and sell a dream to its investors: “I promise you regular payments of $10 a month every month for 10 years!**” (In this scenario, let’s say $10 a month is the interest/return they get for investing in CMBX #69.) + +When investors hear this, they get hyped and yell out “Sold!” . They buy in. **But remember, they said “regular” and “monthly” as part of the appeal. Every. Month. Not just all at once.** + +Investors now signing onto the dotted line means **“Yes, we are “Moneytaint LLC”, we want to get $10 a month every month for 10 years straight…for these 3 retail store loans bundled together into $300 together.”** WFCM does not want to violate that contract spanning 10 years which in legal terms is a no-no. This is all the equivalent of a very serious pinky promise among adults.) + +So their moral of the story is, you better damn well hope they give investors their $10 a month every month for 10 years like they promised! + +Retail Store #3 argues that there must be a way to do this, right? But how? + +# 7. Indiana Jones & the Ol’ Switcheroo + +So what if Retail Store Loan #3 can be paid off ASAP because they’re the fucking tits? Well, WFCM can still make the bundle work and payout by redoing its tower: + +&#x200B; + +>Retail Store Loan 1: $100 +> +>Retail Store Loan 2: $100 +> +>**SOMETHING ELSE: $100** + +&#x200B; + +Something else, eh? WFCM has a dilemma that might have an easy fix: **if you can replace it with something else that costs $100, maybe another item, you can do the ol’ switcheroo on the “something else”. That “something else” then can serve as the collateral instead of the money you were getting from Retail Store #3.** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/w5tvpkmp89n81.png?width=354&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8be1d888395fd5882c8ffa3ec24a85cdf5b68f6 + +**If you’ve ever seen the Indiana Jones movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, there’s a famous scene where Indiana Jones switches out the Golden Idol with something else that weighs the same amount so that it doesn’t trigger the entire temple crashing down.** + +Does this sound familiar for our example? It should! + +&#x200B; + +In the case of a retail store #3 wanting to pay something off early, this is not normally allowed. But if you pull an ol’ Indy switcheroo, then shit keeps on chugging. + +&#x200B; + +**​​Hm, now where could I get another “something else” easily, that–oh, I don’t know–that you know won’t just disappear, because the thing backing it probably won’t disappear, and usually lasts 10 years perfectly too!** + +&#x200B; + +[\\"fuck did I leave the oven on? Oh no, sorry that was the printer\\"](https://preview.redd.it/iy7cre0s89n81.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c726d2a1fac1716e6677f1969126f7d0ffc833d) + +Yup...**You can use Treasuries!** + +**This, my dear apes, is what is known as “defeasance”.** + +# 8. ELI5: Defeasance + +**Defeasance = collateral substitution, swapping out A for B.** + +**In defeasance, you swap out collateral in a CMBS for a Treasury bond that's considered less risky. This makes the entire tower more “stable”, while still paying out regular amounts to investors (their “yield expectations”).** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/5w4pa0r999n81.png?width=480&format=png&auto=webp&s=34a1eb51213eb181d83b42e7adbe2bf2d70b7bd7 + +Know **that it doesn’t necessarily have to be 10-year treasuries. I’m using that just to simplify the math in our example and throughout the post.** + +**But despite that smoothbrain take, you can see here how this might explain our example: if you swap out a 10-year treasury so that Retail Store #3 holds up its end of the bargain and pays everything off, then everything keeps moving and the investors are none the wiser! So that your tower that used to look like this:** + +&#x200B; + +>Retail Store Loan 1: $100 +> +>Retail Store Loan 2: $100 +> +>**SOMETHING ELSE: $100** + +&#x200B; + +Now looks like: + +&#x200B; + +>Retail Store Loan 1: $100 +> +>Retail Store Loan 2: $100 +> +>**10-Year Treasury: $100** + +# 9. Enhance! + +&#x200B; + +[preach motherfuckers](https://preview.redd.it/4130h4hh99n81.png?width=1279&format=png&auto=webp&s=c320b9613bc35d41f85f34d9e59becd1e3096944) + +What might a defeasance look like in a rating like Fitch's from earlier? + +Here's one example: Moody’s rating of COMM 2015-CCRE: + +&#x200B; + +>Rating Action: Moody's affirms six classes of **COMM 2015-CCRE27** +> +>Global Credit Research - 11 Mar 2022 +> +>Approximately $631 million of structured securities affected… +> +>**FACTORS THAT WOULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS: Factors that could lead to an upgrade of the ratings include…an increase in the pool's share of defeasance** or an improvement in pool performance +> +>DEAL PERFORMANCE: As of the February 11, 2022 distribution date…**Ten loans, constituting 11.4% of the pool, have defeased and are secured by US government securities.”** + +&#x200B; + +**Here, they reiterate that more defeasance = upgrade in ratings.** + +In Pt #7, I talked about how Ladder Capital had one GameStop store in Idaho that was part of 2 separate leases (all 33 of the GME stores were pretty much split into either of those 2 leases). One of those was WFCM 2016-C37. + +&#x200B; + +[from pt. 7, the ballmart post](https://preview.redd.it/rty0pu2m99n81.png?width=921&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca39d912425bafe52ada1f64301553b4bf63a7c6) + +Here’s the defeasance details on that loan bundle: + +&#x200B; + +>**“Four loans, constituting 6.5% of the pool, have defeased and are secured by US government securities”...** + +&#x200B; + +Like some of the bundles above, you can defease small slices, but you can also do so for larger chunks: + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/qkr09buq99n81.png?width=997&format=png&auto=webp&s=7b7760c1b3802f04ba2721f204587295228b1433 + +**Here, one whole loan got defeased (its entire collateral swapped for treasuries) for its ENTIRE balance.** + +&#x200B; + +This operates all fine and well as long as the market is functioning fine and well too. So based on what we know so far about CMBS loans, CMBX towers, defeasance and–yes–treasuries, what might we expect? + +# 10. What to Expect When You’re Expecting: A Bad to Worst Case Scenario + +Examing a deal like the one below, you might catch the following language: [https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1332551/000129415412000038/exh99\_1.htm](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1332551/000129415412000038/exh99_1.htm) + +&#x200B; + +>U.S. $150,000,000 +> +>MASTER REPURCHASE AND SECURITIES CONTRACT +> +>by and between RCC REAL ESTATE SPE 4, LLC, as Seller and WELLS FARGO BANK, as Buyer +> +>Dated as of February 27, 2012 + +&#x200B; + +>**Buyer or its designee may engage in repurchase transactions with the Purchased Assets or otherwise sell, pledge, repledge, transfer, hypothecate or rehypothecate the Purchased Assets**, all on terms that Buyer may determine; provided, that no such transaction shall affect the obligations of Buyer to transfer the Purchased Assets to Seller on the applicable Repurchase Dates free and clear of any pledge, Lien, security interest, encumbrance, charge or other adverse claim. + +&#x200B; + +**In legalese here, you find that you can rehypothecate the entire purchased asset inside this loan bundle.** + +Here’s another angle. Let’s look at Western Asset Management that deals in mainly MBS (homes) it seems, but also CMBS: [https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1465885/000162828019002555/wmc10k12312018.htm](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1465885/000162828019002555/wmc10k12312018.htm) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/g5xehsp4a9n81.png?width=1586&format=png&auto=webp&s=e6b0fed021b3dd5336d7ceb8a77cd8aa804969d0 + +&#x200B; + +>**The Company primarily finances its investment acquisitions with repurchase agreements...ranging from one month to three months...A reduction in the value of pledged assets requires the Company to post additional securities as collateral...** +> +>**Under the terms of the repurchase agreements the Company may rehypothecate pledged U.S. Treasury securities** it receives from its repurchase agreement as incremental collateral in order to increase the Company’s cash position. At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company did not have any rehypothecated U.S. Treasury securities. + +&#x200B; + +[sure, why not](https://preview.redd.it/ybs5loaca9n81.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6161002372ac83431e290e634fae8b167f05ced) + +So treasuries can be swapped into these CMBS towers via defeasance for long-term changes, but in case the assets aren't doing too hot then they can also have the assets swapped out with treasuries to prop the towers up? + +But remember, we know that one of the big issues in this GME saga is that there is not enough good collateral to go around, so treasuries end up in more than one spot. Might we see that here as well? + +&#x200B; + +>“**After a pause in 2020, borrowers once again gravitated toward defeasance in 2021, which jumped 67% to its highest level ($12.1 billion) over the last 13 years,** while supplemental debt fell 28% to $1.2 billion.” + +**Wait, the highest level of defeasance in THIRTEEN YEARS? WAIT APES, PULL OUT A CALCULATOR WHAT’S 2021 - 2013?** + +&#x200B; + +[hold on this is gonna take me a while](https://preview.redd.it/4blz3p3ga9n81.png?width=612&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a6108f56b1ad41449e46340a39306228a477d65) + +**FUCK. So the last time that defeasance was this high where good collateral (treasuries) was swapped out at these numbers was right up until the 2008 crash.** + +# 11. The Temple of Doom + +In "Indiana Jones & Raiders of the Lost Ark", Indiana Jones manages to swap out the idol. But the temple still collapses. + +Looking back at 2019, we see that part of the push for more defeasance was the reduction in interest rates, as well as a marked increase in property values. This led to more borrowers refinancing through defeasance. That year also saw the greatest amount of defeasance in the office sector (37%). + +Certain markets were also more heavily pushing these defeasance swap-outs in different georgraphic areas: + +>New York had the largest share of defeasance volume at 26 percent (cough cough u/Hellshield), followed by California with 17 percent and Texas with 8 percent. Analysts noted that each of these states includes at least one major market where property prices have skyrocketed. + +Once you know that treasuries--many of which we've seen as rehypothecated from earlier DDs--show up in this way in our CMBS towers--it leaves you feeling a lot like Indiana Jones after the idol swap. Many in the CMBS market might have just one move left to do at this point. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/bbkt35sip9n81.png?width=450&format=png&auto=webp&s=0e17cb3b60e6cf5a209b411f9b8d579937e194aa + +Turn. + +And run. + +&#x200B; + +**TL;DR:** + +* **Unlike Europe, the US market for CMBS is much more uniform making it easier to set up. It’s hard to set up commercial real estate bundles across countries/jurisdictions vs. plain ol’ US states. This helps explain why the US market at one point in 2019 ($171 Billion) outpaced Europe’s ($4 Billion).** +* **CMBS bundles offer up a specific workaround for anyone who wants to pay their loan/lease off early: defeasance. Defeasance = substituting collateral A for collateral B, just like how Indiana Jones swapped out the Golden idol with a rock in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. You can defease entire CMBS loans, like the Village of Merrick Park deal did (WFRBS 2011-C3).** +* **Defeasance is meant to make the entire CMBS bundle more stable by swapping it out with a SPECIFIC type of collateral: US Treasuries.** +* **If CMBS loans are swapping out collateral like store loans (like GME) in commercial real estate, then it overcomplicates our picture of the CMBS market, especially when we know that the same Treasuries are being rehypothecated (copy pasted) into different bundles to keep them kickin. 2021 saw the biggest boost in defeasance in 13 years…and 13 years ago was 2008.** + +EDIT 3: Good call from Dr\_Gingerballs, here's a shorter thesis: + +**TL;DRx2: Treasuries are being pushed into CMBS loans not just when things go wrong short-term, but even when things go right long-term, meaning even more treasury rehypothecation is probably going on than we think including last year's ATH matching the 2008 crash.** +My wife and I set a goal to be able to buy a 2nd home in the mountains and only occasionally rent it to pay for it. + +We want to use it for family vacations and place for the kids to always have and eventually inherit. + +Has anyone done this? + +I wonder if it turns in to a maintenance nightmare unless you are up there all the time? Or maybe you get bored of the same location? +I know this is a little unusual for /r/pf, but [$10,000](http://money.msn.com/auto-insurance/dui-the-10000-dollar-ride-home) is a significant amount of money and paying this amount can be easily avoided, so it seemed appropriate, especially with New Year's Eve just around the corner. + +I live frugally and save heavily, so when I learned that the *average* cost of a DUI is $10K it really woke me up. That's twice the cost of my car! + +I realized that I just don't know what the legal limit in my state (0.08% BAC) feels like, or how much alcohol it takes to get me there. I bought a well-reviewed breathalyzer on Amazon for about $120. This has two benefits: I now know what various BACs feel like, and more importantly, I have an objective yes/no decision maker for whether I'm good to drive. + +I'm a big guy (6'3"/190lbs), so I was shocked to learn that 3 drinks puts me over the limit. I feel completely fine to drive at that level and have definitely driven at that level in the past. I'm just glad I never got pulled because I would have been out 10 grand. + +I encourage anyone reading this who drinks to either be *extremely* conservative about driving after any alcohol or to get a breathalyzer so you can know for sure whether you're safe from a financial disaster. + +Obviously driving drunk has other dangers, but this is still /r/pf. + +Ok guys, the title says it all. I've been looking at the following... + +ARK - I think this easily goes to $7-8 before end of year. + +NEO- from a buying standpoint...I love this in the low $30's. + +REQ- with Colossus coming soon I think REQ is primed up. + +QSP- this is a gut feeling, but I'm watching closely. + +ADA- just a matter of when!!! + +Talk to me, what are you all looking at? + I have always thought that the freedom and autonomy you get from FIRE, the ability to form your life in a way that suits you best is a great goal to have. + + +But instead of spending 20 years or so just grinding a job i may or may not like, and then figure out what I want to spend my freedom doing; I would rather try to put me in a position when I can get most of the freedom and autonomy I seek long before that. + + +Most of us find pleasure in "working"; focused tasks that lead to something of value for others. Just see how people spend time helping others on reddit completely free of charge, because it is an inherently pleasureable feeling to posess some knowledge and use that to help others. + + + +What I want is basically this ([similar to the points in this book\)](https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805): + +1. Freedom to work when I want and where I want. If I want to travel to New York for a month I could do that. If I want to take a month off I could choose to do that. + +2. Being in charge of the work I do, have a great deal of autonomy in how I do the work, and not have to be micromanaged. + + +3. Creating something of value; being a part of something "greater" than me, finding some purpose. That usually means creating something that people find valuable in some ways. + +An ideal day for me would be something like 4-5 hours of focused work every 4-5 days of the week. There would be little stress and few strict "deadlines". + +If I could manage to find such work (or make most likely create it myself), I would happily do that for the rest of my life without the need to retire. I would not mind grinding a few years to get in such a position. + +Have anyone here had similar thoughts, or perhaps taken the step to create work that suits your preferences? + +Do you have any thoughts on what would be required to achieve this goal? +**/r/financialindependence metrics:** + +Total Subscribers: 109,236 + +Subreddit Rank: 400 + +Subreddit Growth & Milestones: http://redditmetrics.com/r/financialindependence +Warning: Wall of text below. + + +Today was payday, and my assets saw that long awaited bump past the six figure mark. I know this is a long way from FIRE but it's extremely gratifying to finally hit this first big milestone and I wanted to share some of the timeline of reaching this with you. Hopefully it will be inspiring, particularly with those of you who, like me, come from a more blue collar background. + + +It started 6 years ago really, I was working as an EMT making $10 an hour. I loved that job, still look back fondly on it and am heavily leaning towards returning to that line of work upon "retirement". But I had to admit at a certain point that I was never going to be able to move out of my parents house at those kinds of wages, even with the 60 hour weeks I was working. So I made the decision to join the military, I knew it was my only shot at going to college, my parents were not well off enough to help me through college and I loathed the idea of financing my degree with student debt. So I signed 6 years of my life away to the armed forces, which is what really got me on this track to begin with. See when I took the ASVAB I scored well enough to qualify for any job I wanted, unfortunately due to a slight physical handicap of mine my options were pared down to mostly administrative positions that no one wants. So from the limited choices I had, I chose one of the most boring paper-pushing jobs in the military... that came with a 20 grand signing bonus. (because those positions are hard to fill, they offer above average incentives for them) + + +That 20k became the seed that has now sprouted into my pursuit of FIRE. It was my emergency fund that I maintained for the next 4 years, replenishing any time I was forced to use any of it. It followed me through 2 combat zone deployments (I hadnt realized paper-pushers worked in combat zones, now I know better). It made me realize that I was capable of owning and maintaining large sums of money, rather than living paycheck to paycheck like literally every person I knew. + + +The other thing the military gave me was a college education, paid for using my GI bill. Which I used as efficiently as possible (2yr college followed by a transfer to a state school) to cover close to 100% of my college expenses. I came out with a BS in Electrical Engineering and used my internship with a local utility to secure an entry level engineering position with a starting salary of 60k upon graduation. + + +Shortly before I graduated two things happened, I met my girlfriend, now fiance, and I stumbled upon these forums and was introduced to the idea of Financial Independence. Upon graduation I turned my dreams of FIRE into a tangible goal, my girlfriend and I moved in together after several months of dating and we began tracking our expenses to the penny to establish a baseline. She's been on board with FIRE from the moment I mentioned it, and although she's not as interested in the nitty gritty details of investing, she's been a great budgeter, keeping me on track when I've become lax about it. After a month we formed a budget based on our findings and have continued to maintain the budget for the past 2 years now, tweaking it periodically, we began with a cap of 48k on annual spending, which over 2 years time has risen to 52k (we bought a house and got 2 pets, lifestyle inflation at work). + + +Her income beyond her half of our expenses has gone almost entirely to paying off her student debt for her medical degree (roughly 70k, now just below 2k, should be paid off in March), with only the minimums in her company 401k to hit her match. Mine has gone entirely into tax advantaged accounts through my work, the military, and my IRA, with whatever little is left over going to my brokerage account. + + +Both of our incomes have risen slightly with job changes, to around 70k for both of us. We've had some minor windfalls along the way, 1k here, 2k there from unexpected company bonuses or backpay, but for the most part every penny we've saved has been from strict budgeting and automatic investments. + + +In the future I expect things to change, in the short term our savings rate will skyrocket once her loans are paid off, and in the longer term it will plummet and our expenses will rise once we start a family and one of us has to go part-time. But for the moment we are just happy to be where we're at and have every intention of staying the course, with optimistic projections putting actual FIRE at 8 years from now and pessimistic ones more like 20 years out. But the benefits of even just being at this level have been immeasurable. We don't feel stressed about our jobs like we were at first, knowing that we could live for years off just what we have saved now. We learn new skills every day as we DIY most things in our lives. We are much more in tune with where our money goes, budgeting feels second nature (I'm not sure how anyone can sleep at night without a budget, it's such peace of mind for us to know how much we're spending). + + +One of the biggest motivations for us to FIRE is to be able to spend more time with our future children, we think of it as the ultimate luxury purchase, more important than new cars (we bought used cars with cash for about 4k each), brand name clothes (we shop frequently at secondhand stores), or other consumer items. The only things we may have splurged on were some nice vacations and our 230k home purchase, but we intend to raise a family here and didn't feel it would make sense to move again once we'd outgrown a starter home (the military came to rescue again with a VA loan that helped us get a house with 0% down, so I never even had to stop my 401k contributions). + + +To those of you just starting out, I would say this: + +- FIRE is a purchase just like any other, decide how important it actually is to you (to us it was not important enough to give up travel and a large home) and save for it accordingly. + +- Be strategic about how you progress in your life, for me it was by trading my years in the military for a number of advantages I gained as a result (the military is not as useful to everyone, but I do recommend it to many people, if you take advantage of the opportunities it offers it can be a pretty good deal) and by foregoing an enjoyable, exciting career in emergency medicine for a better paying one in engineering. + +- Dont be afraid to leave a job for a higher paying one, your company has little to no loyalty to you, return the sentiment whenever possible. + +- Automate whatever you can, the less your plan relies on you manually doing things to make it work, the more likely you are to stick to it when you're feeling lazy, depressed, forgetful, or spendy. + + +And lastly: + + +- Budget budget budget, we would never have gotten to this point without a budget. + +Tl:dr - military, college, engineer, save save save, yay 100k! +I bought a car for $1700 in Aug 2021. I put $3700 into repairs and maintenance, got 42,000 miles out of it, and now it finally won't start. + +I knew this day was coming. + +Thank goodness that car allowed me to make enough to get another one without making payments. This is my blessing. + +I'm also thankful that I'm healthy and able to continue to work. I don't take that for granted. + +UPDATE: I have my replacement car. A 99 Camry with 230k miles. Since I bought 2 previous cars from the guy, I got an extra $100 off. + +Grand Total: $2824. Slightly over budget by $24, but it's a pretty good ride considering the age. Leaves me with $900 of emergency money, but a paid for car. +I bought a car for $1700 in Aug 2021. I put $3700 into repairs and maintenance, got 42,000 miles out of it, and now it finally won't start. + +I knew this day was coming. + +Thank goodness that car allowed me to make enough to get another one without making payments. This is my blessing. + +I'm also thankful that I'm healthy and able to continue to work. I don't take that for granted. + +UPDATE: I have my replacement car. A 99 Camry with 230k miles. Since I bought 2 previous cars from the guy, I got an extra $100 off. + +Grand Total: $2824. Slightly over budget by $24, but it's a pretty good ride considering the age. Leaves me with $900 of emergency money, but a paid for car. +About Friday night was when the first signs of trouble started when our hot water suddenly stopped working. After Saturday morning, *no* water from any source was working, with several other parts of Mississippi experiencing varying degrees of water problems. Eventually, parts of the state received an official warning that due to water pressure issues, residents would be placed under a "boil water" alert. But for my neighborhood specifically, ***there's no water at all***, and from Christmas day until now, we've started experiencing occasional black-outs where the power will go out for up to 2 hours at a time, in addition to the water problems. + +The officials keep saying help is coming, but it hasn't for days. Some of my neighbors are *still* trapped in their houses by hardened snow and ice. + +Alarmingly, despite how slow progress has been to fix these problems, I got off the phone with one of my neighbors who went into town, and he found out that the commercial businesses in the urban area have stable power, plenty of water, and heating. However, the urban apartments and residential housing are still under the same water advisory as other parts of the state, only the commercial buildings appear to not be having any issues + +I am very disappointed in our state officials to put it ***very*** mildly. + +The problem is, I haven't been able to get my son to school (not public) because he has not taken a shower in *days,* I have not taken one in days either because there's no water, which also means no laundry either, we also wasted too much of my little earnings on water bottles to drink, so I'm in a bind. + +The other issue is the occasional blackouts make it hard to maintain a comfortable temperature in the house, because it drops back down every time it happens, and it takes about 20-30 minutes for the heat to spread throughout the building, which is not a very sizable house in the first place. + +**Is there an affordable way for me to get around these problems?** Supposedly, the power should be fixed tomorrow, but no date has been given for when the water will start flowing again. I don't want my boy to miss more days of school which might cause other problems down the line, and I have to get a shower myself, I don't have much money left to buy more bottle water either, which is all that's left since everyone ran out and got the rest of the gallon jugs. I don't get paid until Thursday. + +I just don't understand how our leaders knew all this was a risk post-storm and still have had nothing in place to help their residents quickly. Like I said, there are still people buried in my neighborhood, no tow trucks have come through to treat our streets either. But the commercial businesses are first priority for them I guess. +This is your safe place for questions on financial careers, homework problems and finance in general. No question in the finance domain is unwelcome. + +Replies are expected to be constructive and civil. + +Any questions about your *personal* finances belong in /r/PersonalFinance, and career-seekers are encouraged to also visit /r/FinancialCareers. +I didn't see this posted yesterday. What are peoples thoughts on this? Big 4 shares are off a bit this morning (1-3% depending on the bank). + + [https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/apra-pushes-banks-to-suspend-dividends-20200407-p54hzh.html](https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/apra-pushes-banks-to-suspend-dividends-20200407-p54hzh.html) +Hello all, + +TLDR; + +Got rejected from discount, CBA acknowledged i was on the highest rate, reached out to manager who set our loan and pass on discount. + +Love this group a lot and i think few weeks ago saw a post on another individual who got rate discount. + +I am with CBA and thought to give it a go via their app auto messaging, when i reached out to them they had informed me that i am at the highest concession rate and i am eligible for review every 3 \~ 4 months. + +So i had asked them to review through as i have also receive an offer from HSBC to be at 4.64%. + +I then proceed to have them for a review, only for a specialists to informed me that i am not eligible for discount. + +Instead of giving up, i ended up asking them why and how they came to the conclusion since they acknowledged i was at the higher rate, CBA proceed to gives 1000 reasons on a process that they worked with. + +Only then i got send with a blunt response to say the case is close, i wasn't too happy with it, i then proceed to wrote a letter to my account manager who had set up our home loan initially for them to review, only for the review to come in favour of the discount and now going through it. + +I think is worth to be firm and to keep negotiating with them until someone who can action through and help with the discount part. + +Hope this helps with your discount rate as any discounts will help long run ! + +Cheers +Hello all, + +TLDR; + +Got rejected from discount, CBA acknowledged i was on the highest rate, reached out to manager who set our loan and pass on discount. + +Love this group a lot and i think few weeks ago saw a post on another individual who got rate discount. + +I am with CBA and thought to give it a go via their app auto messaging, when i reached out to them they had informed me that i am at the highest concession rate and i am eligible for review every 3 \~ 4 months. + +So i had asked them to review through as i have also receive an offer from HSBC to be at 4.64%. + +I then proceed to have them for a review, only for a specialists to informed me that i am not eligible for discount. + +Instead of giving up, i ended up asking them why and how they came to the conclusion since they acknowledged i was at the higher rate, CBA proceed to gives 1000 reasons on a process that they worked with. + +Only then i got send with a blunt response to say the case is close, i wasn't too happy with it, i then proceed to wrote a letter to my account manager who had set up our home loan initially for them to review, only for the review to come in favour of the discount and now going through it. + +I think is worth to be firm and to keep negotiating with them until someone who can action through and help with the discount part. + +Hope this helps with your discount rate as any discounts will help long run ! + +Cheers +We are a 30y and 40y couple in the fatFIRE community, who aspires in early retirement. I was kicked out from my work last month and I don't want to be an employee anymore. This is the time to pull the trigger and do the life I prepared for myself. + + +Our NW wealth consists of: + +* 150k$ (600k purchased price - 450k of credit) for a house in the Bahamas (my plan was to retire there but in 1 or 2 years) + +* 4200k$ in managed funds in differents markets (50% stock/ 50% bonds). I got this amount of wealth through an investment, which increased 10 fold. + +* 600k$ in blocked retirement funds + + +Moving to the Bahamas was a choice to live in the sun, but also to avoid paying the 40k$ yearly taxes we currently pay in our residence country (somewhere in Europe) + +I believe our confortable yearly expenses should be between 60k$ and 90k$ in the Bahamas. Based on the 3 or 4% rule, this should be perfectly doable (even 2% would make it). + + +However I cannot help but I feel unsecure about this move: + +* I am not sure about my level of expenses, especially regarding health insurance and traveling. I believe 30k$/year is doable for the base cost in the Bahamas, but I don't think I would be happy with less than 60k$ + +* For me, there is a (low) risk that the stock markets would drop 50% and not recover (low growth due to the population stagnation and climate challenges). Even then, my plan is doable. + +* Even though I prepared myself for my new FIRE life, being kicked out unexpectedly from work, left me very unsecure about my situation. + + +Does my scenario sound familiar? The psychological aspect is complicated when you really pull the trigger, and you have so many new variables (relocation, life change, new type of investments, no easy rollback). How did you feel when you did it, and how did you feel after doing it? + + +I'm talking specifically about losing money. I was just thinking about this today. I gotta be the only retard to lose money on tesla(ok not really but in my head I am)..I lost 800 bucks on it because I sold too early before they got added to s&p. 800 bucks...in any other scenario of losing that much money, lets say someone came up to me and scammed me, I woild be sweating bullets, damn near ready to kill them. But I lost that much money on tesla and I was like "that sucks, oh well". + +Literally that was the most of my reaction. There have been times I got 500 bucks and go "meh, nice." Or "damn, I cant believe that's all I got". As if thats not a lot of money to a lot of ppl. + + +Its an interesting psychological thing to me how this thing that really defines our life is just so casually treated simply because we are "investing". + +Shit is crazy to me. Whats more crazy is how quickly you get used to the losing and gaining. +TL:DR- No one is talking about the DOMO Capital AMA. Can we talk about the DOMO Capital AMA? + +There is an AMA coming up today on 4/20 at 4:20pm CT with DOMO capital. I feel like apes have been distracted by a lot of different things today. +I would like to start a discussion about topics/ questions to ask DOMO as I believe they are a good source of information. DOMO has had our backs for a while and seem to consistently be on Apes side. +I believe direct questions about the squeeze would be counter productive since DOMO probably can’t comment on the squeeze directly. +Lets get some wrinkle brains working on useful questions so we don’t waste this opportunity! + +Not financial advice, I am not a professional. I just like the stock. I speak for myself and talk of “WE” as a collective of individual investors. + +Holding during first mini squeeze, XX shares at XXX average. 💎 🙌 +I posted on here yesterday about the ‘best’ decision people made and got quite a response. Interested to hear about the bad times too ;) + +Edit: could just be a bad experience too . +My previous letting agents ignored me for 3 months of demanding my £800 deposit back (and having requested it back via Deposit Protection Scheme), and now after finally getting through to them on the phone they say they will now return my deposit but will deduct £40 for the damage to the skirting board. + +I have had nothing but a terrible experience of these letting agents since the get-go. Their fees (before the ban) were exorbitant and they have had near zero responsiveness to any of the problems with the property. + +I went above and beyond on cleaning this property, top-to-bottom, inside and out, on top of and behind every cupboard (since they told me that they would deduct the full cleaner fees if it wasn't immaculately professionally cleaned). After this stressful move and delay in returning a deposit (I'm still waiting on this) it now seems like an insult that they're deciding to include this damage. The damage in question is in [this](https://imgur.com/a/J33dpen) photo I took before moving out. Would this be worth £40, or could this be normal wear-and-tear? + +Edit: After two phone calls (the first being on Tuesday) they accepted by have asked for **£60** on DPS, and didn't submit until late Friday afternoon. Absolutely taking the piss. +Unless you are living under a rock, cryptocurrencies and the stock market are taking a beating with worse to come in the short term. + +The likely explanation is that investors are moving money away from stocks and crypto into fiat, precious metals and other low risk options. + +Rising inflation, rates, supply shortages, war, a pandemic are all combining to create a perfect storm. + +I am confident that in the long term we will see crypto roar back as it always does. So long as you stick to holding through the storm (even if you are at a significant loss) the charts historically show that you will come out on top in the long run. + +Let's be honest though, it's easier said than done. As crypto is so volatile and the majority of holders are sitting on significant losses, it might be tempting to panic sell at a loss. + +But I firmly believe if we hold, DCA with whatever spare change we have, we will all come out much wealthier when crypto inevitably bounces back. +I've never bought options before. + +I'd like a long time horizon, like 12+ months if possible. And the price I think it will rise to would be $150+, depends on the price of the options. + +Thanks. +Why is this Bear Market different? + +In all previous Bear Markets crypto was "declared" dead. In this Bear Market and this year only, we saw so many adoptions and partnerships evolved in the middle of a recession (or at least it feels like one). + +I mean, only in this year we saw some major adoptions and partnerships from world famous brands, companies, governments and financial institutions. + +I agree, I don't like most of them, but mass adoption comes with a price, and as much as you all will claim that you are a true DeFi guerilla, I know that you are just here to see your portfolio go massively up into a green dildo candle paradise! + +I made a list with all the Big News of Mass Adoption that happened during a bloody bear market while everything was crashing like crazy, the list consists only of the news that I could think of right now, and I am sure you could easily extend it to 100+ + +**This is why this Bear Market is different, and why we will experience a massive bullrun within the next couple of year, here are my 33 reasons why this will happen:** + +1. **Fidelity Investments** will offer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency +2. **Goldman Sachs** starts trading Bitcoin +3. **GameStop** accepts BTC and Doge +4. Wall Street Moguls will start their crypto CEX called **EDX Markets** +5. **Rockstar** Games Co-Founder Dan Houser Makes Huge Investment in Blockchain Games Studio +6. **FIFA** Launches Digital Asset Project on Algorand ahead of World Cup +7. Bitcoin to be accepted by **McDonald's and Walmart** via Lightning Network +8. **Nike** is now selling their physical shoes with accompanying tokens on-chain +9. **Norway**’s Central Bank Digital Currency To Be Based On Ethereum +10. The government of **Norway** has approved bitcoin mining +11. **Samsung** will launch its cryptocurrency exchange platform in 2023 +12. **Gucci** will accept 10 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether, and Dogecoin +13. **Reddit** Launches Community Points and goes Mainnet +14. **Reddit** makes a NFT giveaway to its community. +15. Tether adopted as an official currency by **Myanmar(Burma)** government in exile to fight against military dictatorship +16. President of **Ukraine** Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on legalization of crypto. +17. **Japan**’s government approves policy to drive Web 3.0 adoption +18. Crypto adoption in **Croatia** \- you can now buy groceries using crypto +19. Social media giant **Meta (META)** has started to roll out non-fungible tokens (NFT) across 100 countries after integrating with Coinbase +20. **Meta** currently supports Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow NFTs on Facebook and Instagram +21. **Google**’s cloud group forms Web3 team to capitalize on booming popularity of crypto +22. **Reddit** co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six and Polygon Network have created a $200 million initiative to invest in social media and Web 3-based projects +23. **LG Electronics** launches crypto wallet and NFT platform on smart TVs +24. **Starbucks** Rolls out NFT-based Membership Program by Adopting Polygon +25. **GameSto**p Forms Partnership with FTX +26. Singapore's **DBS Bank** enters the Metaverse with Sandbox Partnership +27. VeChain (VET) Announces Major Marketing Partnership with **UFC** +28. **BlackRock** has partnered with crypto exchange Coinbase to offer institutional investors access to bitcoin +29. **Nigeria**, Binance in Talks for Digital City to Develop Blockchain +30. **eBay** Launches First Collection of NFTs in Partnership with Green Web3 Company OneOf +31. Binance and **Mastercard** Partner To Enable Payments In Cryptos Like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin At 90M Stores +32. Central Bank of **Bahrain** to Test Bitcoin Payments Via OpenNode +33. **Formula 1** joins metaverse with two trademark filings for Las Vegas circuit + +&#x200B; + +Feel free to add and extend this list, and yes, this is your daily HOPIUM. DCA, Hodl and up to the Moon. + +&#x200B; + +**EDIT:** Adding a couple from the comments as we speak: + +34. CDC became the main sponsor of **Formula 1** season 2022 + +35. **Formula 1** is sponsored by FTX, Tezos, OKex and Bybit +I've just had a chat with the train guard who informed me that they lift the restrictions for July/August as the schools/students are not commuting. + +I take the train 3-4times a week so not enough to gain from a weekly pass, but the railcard drops my return from 11 to 6.50, so a decent saving! Hopefully will save some others some £. + +Cheers! +Hi All, + +I'll try and summarise this. I am 41 years old in June and had a wake up call exactly a year back - I HAVE ONLY 31K IN MY PENSION! + +I earn around 69K a year and with company shares per year that bring my total salary to around 100K per annum gross. + +I decided to go hard on my pension and through my employers pension scheme decided to salary sacrifice and live off 35K gross per year. + +The employer only matches up to 5%. + +My total including the 5% comes to around 3K per month to the pension. I figured I'd benefit from the 40% tax thingy. Sorry don't know the technical terms. + +Today an elder leader of mine stated that I am mad to be sacrificing that much and that I should only match the 5% and throw the rest into an ISA. + +So his advice is to send approx 500 to the pension, which includes the 5% and shove the rest into an ISA. That won't be exactly 2500 since I'll now be susceptible to the 40% tax for anything over the 50K threshold. + +He said I could make more through going with an ISA and not have to wait until an age where I might be alive or not. Live life a little. + +What are your thoughts? +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +Alright you fucking ****** here’s a play thats so obvious and easy you’re gonna be wondering how you couldn’t see what I see. + + +So Zuck just got cucked on his shitty platform and even shittier Metaverse transition. That combined with paypal, spotify, and some other tech heavy less than stellar reports have broken the rally that’s happening this week. The market was wayy wayy wayy oversold and is simply retracing its gains back this week. But guess what stock didn’t really share in the retracement? + +AMZN broke out of its comfy 3000-3600 trading range that its been sitting in for the last two years, during the January correction. It bottomed at 2800 before correcting in the last 5 sessions back to 3000. Then after hours yesterday the stock dropped 200 back to 2800 purely off of investors fears that tech is getting clobbered in their earnings reports. + +This is a huge opportunity. All AMZN has to do is post an OKish earnings report and this thing will pop to 3k tomorrow. God forbid it actually posts some good earnings which it easily could do. Long story short this is a great entry point for AMZN. You can chose how you want to play it. I only do options cause I’m not a pussy. + + 30 FEB4 2905c 53 FEB18 3285c -53 FEB4 3300c + +For you single digit IQs thats a short position for the last one. A calendar spread + +[BINGO BITCHES](https://youtu.be/_ElWlUr_tw8) + +Premarket edit: I told u/buythedipandhold that I would donate 10k to the charity of his choice and mods deleted his comment. MODs do your fucking job and undelete that shit. No undelete no donate + +Second Premarket edit: STANDBY FOR GAINPORN!!!!!!!!!!! [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/skfpgt/0500k_real_quick/) +Simple question, I've got no savings and finally 'made it' to a job with the ability to save - and there's a 4% 401k (I think it's a 403b). They let me choose the fund, but I've got absolutely no idea about any of them. What mistakes and windfalls did you all make? +Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-disappointment-trade-is-now-in-full-swing-analysts-on-global-stock-selloff-2017-03-27?dist=markets + +What do you guys think? Is this it? Or will the markets yet confound conventional wisdom and take a turn for the heavens? +&#x200B; + +[ EXPERIMENT - Tracking Top 10 Cryptos of 2018 - Month Thirty-Four - Down -56&#37; ](https://preview.redd.it/iz7n0jc7hz361.png?width=666&format=png&auto=webp&s=e4998536cc4eda21db7bfb9bbdbcb98f955cc225) + + ***The full blog post with all the tables is*** [***here***](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-35/)***.*** + +tl;dr + +* MOON USE CASE: In honor of the US Elections in November, I've hidden some presidential links in the post. I'll give the first person to name the three presidents AND the actors who impersonated them some moons. +* What's this all about? I purchased $100 of each of Top Ten Cryptos in Jan. 2018, haven't sold or traded. Did the same in 2019 and 2020. ***Learn more about the history and rules of the Experiments*** [***here***](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/about/)***.*** +* **November** \- **XRP** and **XLM** put on a show, stocks had a good month, but nowhere near the crypto's performance. +* **Overall since Jan. 2018** \- **Bitcoin** still far ahead, now **ETH** is approaching its break even point. +* *Combining all three three years, Top Ten Crypto Portfolio strategy handily outperforming S&P if I'd taken a similar approach and $100 into BTC three years ago is finally worth more than $100 into S&P.* + +## Month Thirty Five – Down 56% + +[2018 Top Ten Summary - Still only BTC in green](https://preview.redd.it/fizjwfc3jz361.png?width=902&format=png&auto=webp&s=9026f7e9225d81dacf1766bab7251a645d759df5) + +Whew, quite a month for crypto.  After a modest [October](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-34), the cryptocurrency market took off in November, and took off [bigly](https://youtu.be/DJruzDNNHL4?t=22). Although **Bitcoin** received much of the press, **BTC** was outperformed by most of its 2018 Top Ten Portfolio peers this month.  + +Taking a look at the 2018 Experiment as a whole, after 35 months, **Bitcoin** remains the only crypto in the green.  It is now +48% since [January 1st, 2018](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-one/) and is returning more than the S&P 500 over the same time period (much more on that below). **Ethereum** is coming up fast to the break even point as well, now down only -16% since the beginning of the experiment. + +## Question of the month: + +#### Which crypto was ahead after the first year of the 2018 Top Ten Cryptocurrency Index Fund Experiment?  + +A) Bitcoin + +B) Ethereum + +C) Stellar + +D) XRP + +*Scroll down for the answer.* + +## Ranking and November Winners and Losers + +[2018 Top Ten Rank](https://preview.redd.it/0i525d0djz361.png?width=339&format=png&auto=webp&s=131e19d434e288baac3bd3c527600d5ff86dc621) + +Lots of movement in November: except for **BTC**  and **ETH**, everyone changed rank.  And mostly positive changes for this group of older coins:  besides one place slips from both **IOTA**  and **Bitcoin Cash**, the rest of the movement was upward and solidly so. + +**XRP, ADA, LTC, NEM, Dash,** and **Stellar** all advanced in the rankings. The highest climbers this month?  **Stellar** climbed an impressive six spots from #17 to #11 and is once again knocking on the door of the Top Ten. With little media attention **Dash** quietly had a great month, also gaining five spots from #30 to #25.  And **NEM** gained five places and regained a spot in the Top Twenty moving from #24 to #19.  + +*PSA for the other NEM hodlers who might be out there somewhere in the universe:* there’s a NEM Airdrop coming, which may have something to do with recent positive price action and rank movement. XEM holders will get 1:1 Symbol (XYM) in January 2021. + +*Back to our regularly scheduled program…* + +**Drop outs:** After thirty-five months of this experiment 40% of the cryptos that [started 2018 in the Top Ten](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-one/) have dropped out.  **NEM, Dash, IOTA**, and **Stellar** have been replaced by **Binance Coin, Tether**, **LINK**, and most recently, **DOT**. + +***November  Winners*** – **XRP** easily outperformed its 2018 Top Ten peers, finishing the month +175% and wrestling the #3 position away from **Tether**.  + +I was curious last time **XRP** had such a good year, so I went back through three years of data for you, dear reader.  When was the last time in the 2018 Top Ten Index Fund Experiment **XRP** had such a good month?  + +Never.  + +The closest it got to November 2020’s outsized gains was when it finished +65% in September of 2018, over two years ago. + +**Stellar** was on fire as well, up +156% and nearly breaking back into the Top Ten.  + +***November Losers*** –  **BCH** was up +18% for the month, making it the worst performing crypto of the group by far.  A bit of a tough luck loss for **Bitcoin Cash**, but it simply couldn’t keep up with the rest of the field.  Second worst performing was **IOTA** (+39%) followed by **Bitcoin** at +43% + +For the overly competitive nerds, below is a tally of the winners of the first 35 months of the 2018 Top Ten Crypto Index Fund Experiment. **Bitcoin** still has the most monthly wins (9) and **Cardano** in second place with 6 monthly wins. **NEM** has lost 8 months, the most out of this group. + +Every crypto has at least one monthly win and **Bitcoin** is unique as the only cryptocurrency that hasn’t lost a month yet since January 2018. + +[2018 Top Ten Monthly Ws\/Ls ](https://preview.redd.it/k3p9a7nujz361.png?width=390&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c47074dffc8888c9bf0ebcac85d49d2f9c414bc) + +## Overall update – BTC returns surpass S&P, ETH in distant second, portfolio nears -50%, IOTA in last place. + +It’s taken nearly three years, but it’s happened: for the first time since the Top Ten Experiment began, I can report that putting $100 into **Bitcoin** on January 1st, 2018 has returned more than the US stock market as measured by the S&P 500.  After finally breaking even in [October](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-34) (**BTC** ended October +4%, the first time it finished in positive territory), it significantly increased its gains in November, ending the +48%.  While this monthly performance failed to keep up with the rest of the 2018 Top Ten in November, it was more than enough to surpass the gains of the S&P, which is up +35% over the same time period.  + +To sum up: *$100 into* ***Bitcoin*** *on January 1st, 2018 is currently worth $148 compared to $135 had it been redirected to the S&P on New Year’s Day, 2018.* + +**ETH** is still a distant second place, but made significant gains in November and is within striking distance of the break even point, now down only -16% since [January 2018](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-one/)**.**  + +The 2018 Top Ten portfolio as a whole?  Down -56%.  If you’re just finding these posts now, that sounds horrible, but actually represents the highest point since [May 2018](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-five/).  More details and a summary table below. + +Thanks to a strong month, **Dash** has narrowly escaped the bottom, replaced by **IOTA** which has lost -90%. The initial $100 invested in **IOTA** 35 months ago is worth $9.74 today. + +## Total Market Cap for the entire cryptocurrency sector: + +[2018 Market Cap - finally higher than when it started 35 months ago](https://preview.redd.it/61222wh9kz361.png?width=709&format=png&auto=webp&s=512a09f5d9f70af91b9c186bb89eb763804efb56) + +Another first for the 2018 Top Ten portfolio: after gaining a massive $182B in November, the overall crypto market is now at *a higher level than when the Experiment started nearly three years ago*. It’s only up +1% but definitely a milestone.  It’s been a tough road back though: you get a pretty good sense of the journey by looking at the table above. + +## Bitcoin dominance: + +[2018 Bit Dom tracking](https://preview.redd.it/72fvw29ekz361.png?width=617&format=png&auto=webp&s=c564761c316aabf80b46762454754e8af6afc782) + +After a big leap last month, BitDom fell about one percentage point in November, signaling altcoin gains.  For context, BitDom was 68% earlier in the year and since the [beginning of the experiment](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-one/), the range of **Bitcoin** dominance has been quite wide: we saw a high of 70% BitDom in September 2019 and a low of 33% BitDom in February 2018. + +## Overall return on $1,000 investment since January 1st, 2018: + +[2018 Top Ten ROI](https://preview.redd.it/p6sovyhhkz361.png?width=335&format=png&auto=webp&s=24db80cb3cb5cfbfc0d866305e962d75d733f14f) + +The 2018 Top Ten Portfolio gained about $171 bucks in November and is getting tantalizingly close to the halfway back point.  If I cashed out today, the $1000 initial investment would return about $435, down -56% from [January 2018](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-one/). + +For newcomers, welcome.  + +Also, yes, being down -56% on crypto in nearly three years sounds bad (and it is), but for some perspective it might be helpful to take a look at the ROI over the life of the experiment, month by month: + +[2018 Top Ten Monthly ROI](https://preview.redd.it/iem5olskkz361.png?width=734&format=png&auto=webp&s=10daa4bbe67f28058141696d94bff4069accc5ad) + +Looking at the table, you can see that returns are trending in a positive direction and -56% is a level that hasn’t been seen since May 2018.  The absolute worst month to hold the 2018 Top Ten?  Back in January 2019 when it was down [\-88%](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-thirteen/). + +So the Top Ten Cryptos of 2018 are down -56%. What about the ***2019*** and ***2020*** Top Tens? Enough beating around the [bush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Qwtv5hCBk), let’s take a look: + +* [2019 Top Ten Experiment](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2019-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-23): up +143% (total value $2,432) +* [2020 Top Ten Experiment](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2020-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-11): up +129% (total value $2,287) + +So overall? Taking the three portfolios together, here’s the bottom bottom *bottom* line:  + +**After a $3000 investment in the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Top Ten Cryptocurrencies, my combined portfolios are worth $‭5,154‬** ($435+ $2,432 +$2,287). + +**That’s up about +72%** for the three combined portfolios, compared to +18% [just last month](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-34).  + +Not a bad month for the Top Ten Crypto Index Fund Experiments! + +Here’s a table to help visualize: + +[Combined Three Year Top Ten ROI](https://preview.redd.it/phuvstptkz361.png?width=453&format=png&auto=webp&s=036eb160277e3165b14361f2e937c1e102d99937) + +That’s a +72% gain by investing $1k on whichever cryptos happened to be in the Top Ten on January 1st for three straight years.  + +But surely I would have done even better if I went all in on one crypto, right?  + +Let’s take a look.  Only five cryptos have begun each of the last three years in the Top Ten: **BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH,** and **LTC**. Which one wins? + +[Three Year Club](https://preview.redd.it/7zgjlzxwkz361.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=6e4dc70b3f68e035e2b1aaa24d87e21dc50b6c01) + +**Ethereum.**  Going all in on **ETH** with $3,000 USD (dropped in $1k chunks on January 1st three times in a row since New Year’s Day 2018) I would be up +237%, turning that $3k into over $10k. Going all in on **Bitcoin** would have yielded +216%.   + +At this point in the Experiment, each individual crypto has outperformed the +72% gains of the Top Ten Index Fund approach except **BCH** which is only up +19%. + +## Comparison to S&P 500: + +I’m also tracking the S&P 500 as part of the experiment to have a comparison point with other popular investments options. Despite all the chaos of the US elections, the S&P 500 Index rallied significantly and set a new all time high this month: it ended November up +35% since January 2018.  + +[Monthly S&P since Jan. 2018](https://preview.redd.it/e2v0knlzkz361.png?width=511&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c093764531e9cedbe396d90143e5c8e2eea24fb) + +The initial $1k investment into crypto on [January 1st, 2018](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-one/) would have been worth about $1350 had it been redirected to the S&P. + +But what if I took the same invest-$1,000-on-January-1st-of-each-year approach with the S&P 500 that I’ve been documenting through the Top Ten Crypto Experiments? Here are the numbers: + +* $1000 investment in S&P 500 on January 1st, 2018 = $1350 today +* $1000 investment in S&P 500 on January 1st, 2019 = $1440 today +* $1000 investment in S&P 500 on January 1st, 2020 = $1120 today + +Taken together, here’s the bottom bottom *bottom* line for a similar approach with the S&P:  + +**After three $1,000 investments into an S&P 500 index fund in January 2018, 2019, and 2020, my portfolio would be worth $3,910.** + +That is up **+30%** [since January 2018](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-one/) compared to a **+72%** gain of the combined Top Ten Crypto Experiment Portfolios.   + +You can compare against five individual coins  (**BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH,** and **LTC)** by using the table above if you want.  The key takeaway? The S&P 500 is currently underperforming the 2018 Top Ten Portfolio each of the cryptos in the Three Year Club except for **Bitcoin Cash.** + +Here’s a table summarizing the three year ROI comparison between crypto and S&P as per the rules of the Top Ten Experiments: + +[Combined 3-year ROI vs. S&P](https://preview.redd.it/zdzhelu2lz361.png?width=660&format=png&auto=webp&s=82d278b9ace7b67f3715127e750acd7e24e6e738) + +That’s seven monthly victories for the S&P vs. four monthly victories for crypto in 2020.   + +But crypto has held the momentum in the second half of the year and has opened up the largest gap of the Experiment so far: an impressive +42% difference in November, even as stocks saw all time highs. + +## Conclusion: + +Despite US election confusion and an explosion of new COVID cases in November, both traditional and crypto markets had a strong month.  **Bitcoin** received the most attention, but alts did very well too, even some of the more established cryptos that make up the 2018 Top Ten portfolio.  One more month to go in 2020.  Are we in for a bit of a correction or can crypto climb higher before year’s end?  Stay tuned. + +Thanks for reading and for supporting the experiment. I hope you’ve found it helpful. I continue to be committed to seeing this process through and reporting along the way. Feel free to reach out with any questions and stay tuned for progress reports. Keep an eye out for my parallel projects where I repeat the experiment twice, purchasing another $1000 ($100 each) of two new sets of Top Ten cryptos as of [January 1st, 2019](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2019-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-23) then again on [January 1st, 2020](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2020-top-10-cryptocurrencies-month-11). + +## And the Answer is… + +**C) Stellar** + +After the [first 12 months](https://toptencryptoindexfund.com/tracking-2018-top-ten-month-twelve/) of the 2018 Top Ten Crypto Index Fund Experiment, **XLM** was firmly in the lead, down “only” -66%.  **Bitcoin** was in second place, down -71% after year one. +As we can see on CMC Binance only holds 13.38% of reserves in BTC, 8.40% in ETH and 14.04% in Other. + +BUSD of 30.59% + USDT of 22.78% + BNB of 10.82% = 64.19% of reserves. So the majority of holdings are their own token that is claimed to be backed 1:1 (proof? I have not found), Tether which everyone knows is fraudulent, and BNB which is also their own token. + +FTX was just ruined partly because they owned so much of their own (illiquid) tokens. If Binance needed to liquidate would they be able to cover all their needs? This seems unlikely given the percentage of these holdings. + +CMC: [https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/) + +Binance holds $4B in BTC compared to Coinbase holding $33B. That is a massive difference. +Andreas preaches financial responsibility for people and governments. He has dedicated his life to make the world a better place through his seminars and public speaking events. Anyone that has listened to this man knows what I mean. +https://i.imgur.com/DJj2Rlx.jpg + +I’m 28 and I’ve been investing every since I was employed FT at 22. Today hits my first milestone of hopefully many where I hit 100k in my brokerage account. + +I have another 95K in my retirement account that I’m also waiting for to hit 100k. + +It feels extremely good and I’m looking forward to what the future holds. + +Thanks these big winners: +$AMD +$NVDA +$AAPL +$TSM +$COST +$SOFI +$LOW + +Edit: fixed Apple ticker. + +Edit2: adding brokerage + retirement link: https://i.imgur.com/LU8GYPY.jpg +My boyfriend spends way to much time watching green/red dildos go up and down for pleasure, yet he insists this is a long term investment that he will make profit from +If that’s the case why can’t he leave it alone for time to relax and spend time with me rather then acting like he’s gambling everything on the line. + If he’s really getting fucked by his investment then leave it alone and turn your phone off? +Till then ima f myself with my black dildo +A few things I've found that help to save money on tampons/pads. + +I've saved a bunch of money (about $14 a month) by using a menstrual cup. They're a silicone cup that you insert into your vagina that collects all the menses; they're safe and are actually distributed by aid organizations to impoverished communities. The cons are that it can be awkward/uncomfortable to use when you first learn how to insert it, and if you have a heavy flow you might have to change it more than once a day (only a problem for me during the first day). For that reason I would use a pad with it as well until you get the hang of it. But tampons are so expensive that for a while that was the only option for me. I bought mine on amazon and it was guaranteed to last for 7 years. The other pro with this is that you can actually look at your menses to see how much you get, what it looks like, so you can get a better picture of your health and understand your body better. + +The other way to save money on tampons is that if you're using birth control getting permission from your doctor to continuously use it for 3 months, having a break for one month where you get your period, using it for three months, and so on. This also has helped me with not stress eating right before my period, which also saves money. + + +Wrote about this in a comment on another thread. + +Buying some TSLA $550 calls this week with a Nov 18th expiration and selling calls against them until the share price recovers or corrects for the long term. In my estimation the current share price is not necessarily the floor, especially considering the Twitter deal, and [Elon’s margin loan linked to TSLA](https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/musk-looks-scrap-tesla-margin-loan-with-new-twitter-funding-bloomberg-law-2022-05-12/). However, now that he’s reduced the margin loan by 50% (6.5B) there should be less downside speculation. + +Considering that whenever TSLA breaks out it happens relatively quickly, long term ITM calls have a higher potential upside than puts and premium prices are still quite good. + +I saw some analysis here about taking quick puts and going in and out, but not much about long term leaps or puts. I’m still bullish on TSLA long term even though it was severely overbought and see this recent fiasco with Twitter and Elon as a solid profit opportunity. + +If anyone is going bearish long term I’d love to hear your thoughts on why and vice versa. + +EDIT 1: I listed this in a comment below but I’ll put it here as well. After assessing my plan again and zooming out to look at the broader market, I decided to change plans. Below I’ll list how and why. + +“However after running potential scenarios using IV vs HV, evaluating the current financial climate around Tesla, and creating a cost benefit analysis using the Greeks, I’ve decided to use this same strategy with a different stock. I’d be able to make the same profit in the short term (1-3 months) while giving up some potential upside in the long term. + +The reason for this was as somebody else mentioned in this thread, Twitter is a very big unknown and I don’t feel secure risking so much money on something as volatile as Tesla when I could be making similar profit with significantly less risk on multiple contracts in a stock like AMD or AAPL. Hope that’s helpful and best of luck.” +Seriously, Nancy Pelosi averages 10x returns per year in the stock market but Congress is too busy with shitting on Crypto. Hypocrisy at its finest. Oh, I forgot, maybe most congress members are making inside tradings. Maybe thats why they don't give a f\*ck about its members insider trading suspects and they are dealing with crypto instead. + + + +>AOC pushes back on Pelosi: 'No reason members of Congress should hold and trade individual stock' + +Another headline; + +>Pelosi said it's fine for lawmakers to trade stocks. She's wrong. + +The System is fucked up. +Been trading for about 2 months or so and I’m at that point where I’ve had a few very profitable days ( other really small green day’s) but also a lot of red day. Always feels like it’s 1 step forward, 2 steps back. It gets frustrating seeing your account bleeding little by little by paper cuts. How long did it take you guys to become consistently profitable? We’re there any “aha” moments? + +Edit- thanks everyone for the insightful comments. I’m reading all of them. I appreciate it! +Am American. Am moving to London on a high potential individual visa. Have job offer. + +I'm working out a budget, and - is £2250 (after taxes) a month reasonable for "everything but rent" (excluding savings) living in zone 1-2? (Food, entertainment, transport, utilities - but not travel or savings.) + +That's about $500 less than I tended to spend in San Francisco, so no, I am not frugal, but my impression is that things are less expensive in London than SF. (For a start, I expect to save about $300 a month by not having a car.) +The corrupt elite that currently controls our financial world, and the world in general, cannot afford the peasants to get rich. If apes were to suck trillions of dollars out of their shitty scam of a system, it would not only be a wealth exchange of dimensions, it would be an exchange of control. + +The 0.01% literally can't afford to lose a MOASS amount of money to retail, because a great number of said retail investors would use that money to fight the elite and their agendas. + +An ape is nothing for them to worry about, but an ape armed with a bazooka, driving a gold plated Cadillac and with millions of dollars in his pocket to spend on taking the current, fraudulent system down is a completely different opponent. + +And there would be a lot of said apes, if MOASS happens and apes get paid. + +This is only my opinion and purely speculation, but I think there is a good chance, that these greasy fucks will burn the entire world to the ground before letting the average Joes become rich, enabling them to fight back. + +No matter what, their scam is coming to an end if our diamond hands hold true. Buy, hodl and DRS for a better and way less corrupt future. +Long time lurker, single digit poster. I’m a recovering options trader, and have been involved in most facets of the options business for the last 15 years, from market maker to managing director. + +If people are interested, I’m going to do an AMA on options this Friday at 3pm CT. I’m happy to talk basic strategies, how options market structure works, how liquidity providers and executing brokers think about flow, and what technology goes into it. + +Feel free to post suggestions for topics, or questions here in advance. I don't know how to make you a million dollars unless you give me enough time, but I'm more-so interested in discussing the what, how and why of options markets. + +If this does gather some interest, I’m happy to continue, or otherwise just go back to slinging vega. + +https://preview.redd.it/ddcsvbjoti251.jpg?width=2100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1361310af38164ecd6aec03748fd817fefa40799 +"Palantir USG Inc., Palo Alto, California, has been awarded a $32,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract that provides data-as-a-service platform for two separate mission areas. The first is the Project Brown Heron effort that has the Palantir Gotham platform configured to automatically ingest data from across the Department of the Air Force (DAF) that continually push personnel, equipment, planning, health, and other readiness data sources into their common data foundation. This readiness information is a critical component to DAF-wide COVID-19 analysis and decision making. The second is to provide mission-critical space situational awareness and command and control capabilities to operational users at the National Space Defense Center and the Combined Space Operations Center. Work will be performed in Palo Alto, California, and is expected to be completed Nov. 30, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,857,144; and fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $4,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8806-21-C-0010)." + +[Link](https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2591938/) +# Weekly Property Mega Thread + +\-=-=-=-=- + +Welcome to the [/r/AusFinance](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance) weekly Property Mega Thread. + +This post will be republished at 02:00AEST every Friday morning. + +Click here to see all previous weekly threads: +[https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/search/?q=%22weekly%20property%20mega%20thread%22&restrict\_sr=1&sort=new](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/search/?q=%22weekly%20property%20mega%20thread%22&restrict_sr=1&sort=new) + +# What happens here? + +Please use this thread for general property-related discussions, such as: + +* First Homeowner concerns +* Getting started +* Will house pricing keep going up? +* Thought about \[this property\]? +* That half burned-down inner city unit that sold for $2.4m. Don't forget your shocked Pikachu face. + +The goal is to have a safe space for some of the most common posts, while supporting more original and interesting content in their own posts.Single posts about property may be removed and directed to this thread. + +\-=-=-=-=- +I like to think a MOASS is inevitable if I continue to HODL. Not selling, buying more, reading DD. But somehow I feel like we're telegraphing our expectations and timing all too well, and getting our hopes up too often. We've seen amazing pricing action the past few weeks and stonks keep climbing. But as for me, I'm going to just skip the dates, keep liking the stock, and HODL. + +https://preview.redd.it/p2wu7sf7aqm61.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1736f77de73afc56cb4fe8cb8ea35f67f18f93a6 +Maybe this is common knowledge but withdraws from GDAX are free to the user and they pay the network fee. I am not sure if there is a minimum withdraw amount, but I have withdrawn as little as $10, which is usually less than the fee costs by itself. + +I've only tested this with BTC, but it should work with LTC and ETH as well. +# The Apollo Cryptocurrency + +Apollo is the "all-in-one cryptocurrency" that has everything - smart contracts, sharding, the BEST privacy features, and more! They'll be sure to tell you all about Apollo's amazing features in their communities. Here's the only problem - **it has absolutely none of those things right now and is all promises** from a dev team that has not proven one bit of a competency yet. Their website is even built on Wix - but I'm sure they have the ability to make the great cryptocurrency anyone has ever seen like they say. Anyway.... + +**Apollo is an NXT fork** that lowered the block time down to 2 seconds. They have several other insignificant changes to the code (I'm talking seriously insignificant - like it changes nearly nothing) and will hail them as the greatest lines of code ever written, using big technical-sounding words to trick their extremely devoted, cult-like followers and mask what is essentially either: + +1. An already existing feature of NXT with a different name +2. Changing a few lines in the code + +So why is this an issue? There are plenty of cloned coins in crypto that claim to be the next best thing since sliced bread - so what's the issue with APL? Well there's a few. First, APL itself has been pumping parabolically recently and the APL team is fueling this pump as hard as possible. They are actively telling people word-for-word to load their bags now, we're going to be $1/APL soon (above Ethereum and Ripple in market cap) because we make them obsolete, and more. If you say anything about "if you made money on APL you should consider taking profits" or "the price has to correct after increasing like this" you will be IMMEDIATELY BANNED from their community, no questions asked. I'll go onto the Telegram next, but I need to mention that **the founders have been verifiably dumping as much APL as they can during this pump on investors while continuing to fuel the buying with hype and fake news to keep this going for as long as possible.** This isn't a surprise, as they already did this in the past: [https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/9m90il/proof\_that\_apollo\_foundation\_is\_dumping\_their\_own/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/9m90il/proof_that_apollo_foundation_is_dumping_their_own/). Here are some APL Founder-held addresses if you'd like to watch them get rich in real-time: APL-4BUY-KK5W-B3KC-DMHBM and APL-NZKH-MZRE-2CTT-98NPZ + +&#x200B; + +# The Telegram + +Now the Telegram. I could write a whole separate post just on this, but the APL Telegram group is the single most brainwashed group of people I have ever seen in crypto, and that's saying something because I've been in 100's of Telegrams. **Saying ANYTHING - and I'm not kidding - ANYTHING - about the tech of APL (even asking a question about it), mentioning NXT, saying the word "fork", "dump", "sell" - the list goes on - will get you immediately banned**. They ban so often that I've made a list of comments that got people banned so far: + +\-"The price is up 700% in a week. I think I might take some profit in case it drops" + +\-"Isn't the privacy of this coin exactly the same as NXT? Can someone explain how it is any better?" + +\-"Why do you keep banning people for asking legitimate questions?" (followed up with response from an admin "These 'questions' are just FUD on NXT's tech...these people just want to see the project fail". + +\- "How do you plan to implement sharding in Q1 when their is no code in the Github for it yet?" + +\- "You guys think the privacy of this coin is really better than Monero?" + +Not only will you get banned. If you ask a question about the tech and get banned, the rest of the Telegram follows it up in the chat BY HAILING THE ADMINS like they are some sort of savant for saving them from the terribles FUDers. It is actually so ridiculous that I invite you, /r/cryptocurrency, to go see this for yourself. Ask a question - any question - about the tech of NXT - or really, just say anything that isn't "NXT TO THE MOON!". Just google the Telegram for the Apollo Community and see what goes on there for yourself. + +&#x200B; + +# The Founder: Steve McCullah + +Now let's talk about the founder. I'm not even concerned if he was a scammer or not in the past, that's irrelevant. The concern is what he's doing right now. Besides clearly dumping coins, he is using the Telegram - which through banning all opposition to the project is essentially just a massive brainwashed hivemind that will do whatever the founder says - to pump the coin and swarm anyone who tries to pose any sort of legitimate argument against it with tons of people who act like they would die for this project. This has happenned at least 15+ times since yesterday in the Telegram. Here's a great example: [https://imgur.com/a/09vUQo9](https://imgur.com/a/09vUQo9) + +**That is the FOUNDER of the project**. His defense to criticism always has to do with the price/market cap of the project, usually followed with a vague promise about how some tech planned on the APL roadmap will pump APL more and destroy other cryptocurrencies. To see how well it works, read the comments of that tweet: [https://twitter.com/lioryaffe/status/1087075217447546882](https://twitter.com/lioryaffe/status/1087075217447546882) + +So this is bad, but then there's the fake news. The Founder CONSTANTLY publishes fake news to his massive army of shills to keep them buying and pumping the price of APL so he can dump on them. Here's an excellent example of this: [https://imgur.com/a/eUCENY7](https://imgur.com/a/eUCENY7) + +This one happened a few hours ago, and the APL Telegram is taking this news at face value, no questions asked, and talking about how Bitcoin is dead - that APL is new standard. They are eating news like this up as 100% fact. If you ask any questions about that news - what are the actual location, where are the news articles, etc - community turns on you and will call you names until an admin bans you. If an admin is there, you'll just get banned immediately. Seen it happen at least 10 times already with this one piece of news. + +The founder, when trying to defend this project, shills a few major points: + +1. "3rd generation cryptocurrency" (as if forking NXT in 2018 magically makes this project better than all others), +2. Ultimate privacy (Guess what? It's not private at all! They use a coin scrammbler in the wallet- something which exists for bitcoin, ethereum, and many other coins - and claim that this makes their coin have the greatest privacy of any coin ever, +3. Decentralized file-storage (we all know storing files on the actual blockchain itself is essentially impossible, especially with NXT's tech - not that they even have any product out for this claim anyway. Don't worry, it's "coming soon" though) +4. Their coin "Forging" system - something already implemented by NXT that they have given a new name to + +I don't even know what can be done at this point, or how to stop this machine from turning and making the founders rich. They already made several millions from dumping last time so they had the funds to hire John McAfee to shill the project this time around. The SEC should honestly be investigating the founder (Steve McCullah) and his practices, but I doubt that will happen. I'm not usually one to call out projects so harshly like this, but I feel terrible for the innocent people that are all going to get burned by the pump-and-dump happening now by holding their coins as the price drops into the ground. I invite you, reddit, to help spread the news and STOP SCAMS like this from plaguing the cryptocurrency space. If you have any suggestions of what we can do to stop projects like this, let me know as there are many people watching this project scam who feel helpless right now. +I work as a Bartender and I have told my boss about bitcoin a few times and he always seemed interested in it. But last night I had a guest that owns a couple of hotels come in that I know, so I suggested for the second time that he should accept Bitcoin. He responded favorably and said he watched the CNN documentary about it, so I was telling him how easy it is to set it up when my boss (a 70 year old ex cop) chimes in from the kitchen and starts yelling at me saying that bitcoin is just drug money and that last year $50 billion dollars in bitcoin was used to buy drugs. + +I said that's impossible because the market cap of bitcoin is less then $5 billion and the amount of drugs sold in US dollars is a hundred fold higher then bitcoin. Then he spouts off that the FBI and CIA have a report talking about how much drug activity is done in bitcoin and that I am pumping a ponzi scheme. + +I responded by saying that if Expedia, Dell, overstock, and Virgin Galactic are supporting a ponzi scheme then that's a much bigger story isn't it. + +He couldn't take being wrong so he just started yelling and making me look like a criminal to this guy that is actually interested in accepting bitcoin. + +So he sent me home, i thought i was fired but then I got a text from his wife saying sorry and that I just shouldn't discuss bitcoin at the bar. + +Seriously, wtf. + +Fuck him, I am applying to work at other bars today. + +Thanks for reading. Just wanted to vent to people that understand. +Currently spend around +$40-50/w in veg +$400/m Costco meat,drinks, others + +Seems high to me but costs have been going up so not sure if everyone is seeing the same $$. +I had been hoping to be able to post in tomorrow's Monday milestone thread after hitting a big one, but sadly I missed it by inches on Friday... + +[Mint screenshot](http://imgur.com/a/ZoFXd) + +Nevertheless, I guess I could still say I'm there. $1.5M was always the spot where I felt I could reasonably consider hitting the brakes. My spending is consistently around $35K a year, but I figure that my retirement life will add as much as another $25K to that to account for: + +* more travel +* health insurance +* higher rent/mortgage (my $850/mo mortgage is low for my area) +* new cars (I've driven a beater for a really long time) +* taxes, which aren't included in my current spending estimate + +So there you have it. Even if I spend the expected maximum in each of those areas, I'm sitting at $60k/year, or exactly 4% SWR. + +And yet, now that I'm here, I can't imagine hitting the brakes. I'm 37 years old. I've been feeling stagnant in my current position for a while and have been strategically applying for higher-level roles both inside and outside my current company for the last few months -- none of which have panned out yet. I'm finishing a second masters degree this year. Ambition is a part of who I am, even if I'll never be CEO of a company. + +Particularly for those of you who have already gone through the transition, but also for those on your way: How did you change the focus of your life so drastically? I've never actually thought I'd stop entirely once I got below 4%, but it won't be long until my proposed spending represents 3.5%, then 3.33%, and so on... + +I could just increase my spending, but I've never found material things to be very important, which is a big part of how I got here at a relatively young age. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that work is a big part of how I define myself and my contribution to the world. I also happen to be paid well, with a pretty low stress position. It's hard to walk away from that. + +Does it make sense to just keep coasting and collecting a paycheck? Keep pushing for more responsibility and higher pay, even though I clearly don't need it? + +This is more of a rhetorical question, and I don't expect that anyone's really going to be able to solve my first-world problem. It's helpful just to write it out and share with the therapy group. If you have thoughts on how you have or plan to make a similar transition, I'm really curious to hear it. + Hi all, + +I made a big big dumb mistake at 19. I had to move out of my mom's house, and as luck would have it my old car decided to blow her motor. Since I had my first big girl job, I somehow thought it would be a good idea to finance a 2017 GTI from a dealership...... at 19... with a 670 Credit Score. + +Now I am stuck with a $715 car payment on top of my $150 insurance for said car, and it is just killing me. For context, I make around $550 a week after taxes (I am a contractor so if I have a doctor's appointment or sick time I do not get paid so sometimes I get 450). I have tried to refinance my car but no luck. I am currently stuck with Santander with a lovely 23% APR. Please help me, what should my next steps be? What should I do? That was a huge dumb mistake I made out of ignorance. +Hello. + +I was due to begin working on a behavioral health unit for a hospital tomorrow. They contacted me Friday and informed me that, due to a misdemeanor DUI on my record, they could no longer continue the employment onboarding process. I communicated my DUI, my substance use disorder, and explained the role addiction has had in inspiring my pursuit of a career in mental health. I ensured this was addressed both in my application and in my interview. + +In accepting the rescinded offer, I turned down four separate opportunities for employment. + +I would appreciate any experience and advice that this community could offer. + +Thank you. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +Hey reddit! I was wondering if I could get some advice one what exactly I should be doing with my money. I am always in debt and have 0 savings. I live paycheck to paycheck. I am 28 years old. I have 200 in a Roth IRA. I am a nurse working support (per diem) so I make more money an hour that being regular staff at my hospital. I bring home roughly $1800 every two weeks. If I can work overtime, it can be upwards of around 2000. Overtime is never a guarantee though and my job is exhausting ( I work in ICU) so I am not always mentally able to commit to working OT. I just paid off my lasik and I have $200 left on my car that I will pay this month. My extra money has been used up with going out to eat, bars, and vacations. I am upset with myself for being so irresponsible. +These are my debts/financial obligations per month accompanied by interest rate if applicable: +Rent: $825 +Student loan: $805, total debt: $60,260 @ 6.375% +Car Ins: $100 +Cell Phone: $100 +Gym: $46 +Credit Card 1: $150, total debt 6,132 @ 29.99% +Credit Card 2: $150, total debt 4,444 @ 20.99% +Gas: $80, my job is 45 miles away from my home +Groceries: $200 (this is a high end estimate) +Should I be saving while also paying off my debt? Should I be aggressively paying off my debt and then worry about savings? Thinking about not have a roth ira full every year gives me anxiety for my future. I just feel defeated. I have been living this way for years would appreciate any advice. + +My company has recently been sold, I’ve worked here for 6 years and my 401k has a respectable amount of money in it. Since the deal was completed our 401k had been frozen meaning no more contributions from us or the old company. The new company will eventually start us on a new plan but we don’t really have any details. I just turned 30 years old I’m looking to purchase my first home soon and I’ve recently had an unforeseen emergency expense. My thoughts are I can get a lot done with the money and that would enable me to save a lot more each month, I’m just wondering if I’m thinking too short term and not looking enough long term? I plan on staying with the new company unless things really go south, so I’ll be contributing to the new 401k. + +As far as my plans for the money I would be able to pay off the recent expense, my car has 1 year left on the loan so I’d pay that off. Splitting home purchasing costs with my SO, then with whatever is left would probably be split between savings and some investments + + + +Edit: Really appreciate all the input, seems to be a unanimous “DON’T TOUCH IT.” I hear you all loud and clear, I’m not in absolute dire straits where I need the money. My thoughts were it could just help lighten the load a bit. + +Like I said details are sparse at the moment but there’s a chance I might be able roll it into the new 401k hopefully we get more information at the end of the month. +We’ve tried over and over again but we stink at it. Something will come up and we will deviate a little then about a week after the levies will break. Any and ice? +So I (41F) make about $79k and my husband (40M) makes $163k. +We’ve been contributing to 401ks for a while and he has about $360k in his work one and I think he’s contributing at 14% +I’ve got $140k in mine and I was contributing some lower percentage but it’s been at 19% for at least the last year, maybe more. + +In addition my husband has a pension with the company, a defense contractor. Not sure how much is in that but it has to be a lot as he has worked there for 15 years. At least $100k. We decided to not depend on that because the news is rife with news of people losing pensions. We have an emergency savings account with about $45k. We hope when that gets big enough we can use it to add another story on our house or as a down payment for a new, bigger house when prices drop a bit and then of course build it up again. + +So long story short... I think we have $646k saved if you count the pension, $546k if not. And I recently read that at age 40 you should have 3 times your income which is $726k at the moment. So does that mean we are 22% behind?! So in my head I’m like “oh shit throw more at the 401k” but it caps out at $19k so that’s not going to work. + +Should we open a Roth and then tell our companies to put the money over $19k into there? Is that a thing companies will even do? And what happens if we max out the Roth? + +Many thanks for any advice here! My parents were terrible about saving for retirement and I’ve got overdeveloped anxieties about personal finances. +I’m getting about $40,000 for a car accident settlement and currently only have a few thousand in my savings. I have a credit card with about $1,500 on it for a car repair I had to do. I also have $8,000 in student loans that are about $100/month. Other than that, no other debt. I plan on paying off the credit card but not sure what to do with the rest of the cash. I want to put around $15,000 aside for an emergency fund, but I also want to move to a different state and buy a house. Do you think I can accomplish the two? The homes in the city I want to live in are about $175,000 for a well kept 3/1 starter home. Im somewhat handy and get excited about small home projects and having a backyard to garden. Im 31, single, alone with no parents, currently have an Economics BA degree and feel pretty good about finding a $40K-50K salary job in the city I would move to. + +I’m just lost at this point in my life. I don’t have much money in retirement/investments and don’t have anyone to lean on. But I’m being blessed with this cash and don’t want to mess it up. I worry about energy and housing costs in the future which is why I’m leaning so heavily towards buying a home and locking in a mortgage. I currently live with my brother and our rent is only $600 each which is allowing me to finally save money. But he wants to move too and has a gf so I don’t want to be in his way. I just want to be independent. + +Am I being paranoid about housing and energy costs or do you agree things are only going to get worse? What would you do in my situation? + +Thank you in advance for all your input. +My husband is retired and only has 200k in retirement funds from a 401k. We haven't touched it since he retired and won't need to since I make enough for us to live comfortably. However, it would be nice to not have a mortgage payment and we only owe 75k on the house. Would there be any downside to withdrawing 75k from his retirement to pay off the house? +Thank you in advance for your time. + +I am 36 and recently married. I earn around 71.5k annually with a yearly bonus that averages to around 4k after tax. + +I own a home with a 30 year 3.5 fixed mortgage. I owe less than 150k and on zillow it is listed at around 230k. + +I have 77k in savings that I have in a high yield savings account currently earning 1.75%. + +I have approximately 130k in my Roth 401k. I contribute 6% of my salary and my employer matches the 6%. + +I also have another 24k in a Roth IRA. Only about 8k is invested. I don't know what to do with the rest of it. Its just sitting in a holding account earning nothing. Seems crazy to buy when the market is at an all time high but it has been that way for years now. + +I own 2 older cars, both with low mileage (55k) + +How am I doing overall? I would like to retire at 65 or younger but not sure if I'm on track or not. +I just need to vent right now. + +I got my dad turned onto Bitcoin and he ended up with a sizeable chunk on coinbase, right? He gets his passwords compromised at least once a year, so being the dutiful son that I am, I buy him a trezor and my wife and I help him set it up. + +He's a little upset that he can't check his balance all the time, but I assure him it's much safer in his trezor that's sitting in his closet safe than it is on coinbase. + +Fast forward to yesterday. I'm on vacation and he calls me asking why his trezor pin doesn't work. He tells me, "it already had me put in all 24 of those damn passwords, why won't it work?". + +I told him over and over and over when I set up his trezor and the seed phrase. "Dad, don't type this in anywhere, don't even take a photo of it". And what does he do the first time he tries to use his trezor himself? + +I am so angry and frustrated right now it's kinda ruining my vacation. You cannot save people from themselves. + +EDIT: While I appreciate the "advice" of all you crypto aficionados, consider this - dear old dad was supposed to leave the trezor in his safe and not touch it without me. Literally he had an index card with all the Do's, Don'ts, and all that. And sweet lord Satoshi, y'all project/assume a lot. + +EDIT2: Reading all the comments, both the empathetic and the weirdly hostile/salty ones, made me feel better about the whole situation. And yeah, my immediate thought as soon as he called me was that I should have kept the seed to myself. Fuck me for trusting my old man to listen to me. Big lesson learned, and not about BTC. + +And since people have asked what exactly happened and to pass that lesson along: Afaik he tried to access his trezor and ended up on a trezor lookalike site that prompted him to put in his recovery seed. I don't know much beyond that right now. +The whole inflation thing finally clicked. I panicked and entered almost at ATH of 69k. Feelsbad. +Went down the rabbit hole, hours of research. Fiat, Inflation, USD is the real shitcoin etc. +Bought some more at 46k which did help lower avg price but am still nervous. +Remember hearing about Btc when it was 7k and thinking "its going to go way higher"...If only I had acted back then. + +Edit: +Woah you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for the support. Especially the ppl who bought at 2017 ATH. Mad respect for you folks! +I’m a 24 y/o student with $14k saved up. I’m looking to build my portfolio and will put a partial of my account into etfs and indexes. If you had to pick a growth stock for the next decade, which one would you pick and why? + +**EDIT: So I went with SE QQQJ ARKK ARKG LIT THNQ SMH ICLN. Thanks for your responses everyone!! +To the beautiful ape who runs my precious Stonk O Tracker, + + Thank you for the beautiful gift of knowledge. I'm not claiming to be a data scientist and I'm matured enough as an ape to stop posting anything with a DD tag because that's none of my business. + + But the beautiful thing you built and continue to add to constantly makes life easy to the point where I log into my broker once a month maybe less. + + The real reason I'm writing this now though is that goddamn dark pool short percentage. I don't know how you know. I don't care. I've trusted you this far and you've never let me down. That's the coolest thing I've seen any ape do. + + Most importantly of all, thank you for introducing me to grooving cat and Ievan Polkka. The Kiffness remix is probably my favorite song in the world now and I blast it as I'm waiting for the markets to open. + + Thanks for being you, you wrinkle brained code monkey. + + Best wishes to you and yours, + + Jaykles + + + +Ps. If you're like wtf is this, https://gme.crazyawesomecompany.com/ + + +Edit: format, typo + +Edit: Thanks to u/carlsan who pointed out it was u/graafhenk made the website. +Some of you got rugged pretty bad today. Remember, money is something you can make back. Learn from your losses moving forward, but don't do something you can't take back. + +988 is available in the US. For assistance in some other countries there are resources [here.](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/11181469) + +https://preview.redd.it/oafqlw43cji91.png?width=779&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d028c1e03afdc0dd5e2da88e1f62fe6b420bb54 +I want to preface this post by saying that I *personally* only trade stocks at the moment and do not have a ton of experience trading options, which is why all of my posts and education are based around stocks. With that being said, I have done my fair share of options trading in the past and definitely know enough of the basics to share for all the traders that ask me about options on a daily basis. If you already have a bit of experience with options, this post may not be very beneficial to you because I'm just going to cover the basics of options, how they work, and give a quick rundown on ways that you can trade them! + +First and foremost, **what are options?** Options are actually... *options*. When you buy an option contract, you then have the option to buy or sell the underlying stock at a pre-determined price up to a pre-specified date. If you decide to do this, you are then "exercising" your options. + +There are two types of options that you can trade, which are call options and put options. **Call options,** or just "calls," allow the holder to **buy** at the pre-determined price and are the options equivalent to simply buying or longing the underlying stock. Because of this, your call options' price will generally rise as the price of the underlying stock rises. **Put options,** or just "puts," allow the holder to **sell** at the pre-determined price and are the options equivalent to short-selling the underlying stock. Because of this, your put options' price will generally rise as the underlying stock declines. Because one single option contract represent 100 shares of the underlying stock, you would have 100 shares of that stock for every call contract that you exercised. + +[https://imgur.com/a/WQrLJ1y](https://imgur.com/a/WQrLJ1y) + +Now, the pre-determined price that you can either buy or sell you shares at by exercising your option contract(s) is known as the **strike price.** When buying options you have to choose a strike price, along with an **expiration date,** which is the last day that your options can be exercised. Both the strike price and expiration date play a big role in choosing which contracts to buy, because they greatly affect how the options will trade. Before getting into why these have such a big affect on the options, it's important to know a bit more general options information. + +*As for strike prices,* there are really two main kinds. **In The Money (ITM)** and **Out of The Money (OTM)**. ITM and OTM refer to the underlying stock's price in relation to the strike price of the contract. Calls with a strike price below the current price of the underlying stock are considered ITM, whereas calls with a strike price above the current price would be considered OTM. On the other side of the spectrum... since you want the stock's price to go down when you own puts, your put options would be ITM if the strike price is above the current stock price and OTM if the strike price is below the current stock price. + +[https://imgur.com/a/MgopDLP](https://imgur.com/a/MgopDLP) + +I know it's a bit confusing if you're new to options. **To give an example:** If stock XYZ was trading at $100, a call option with a strike price of $90 would be ITM since the underlying stock is already above the strike price. However since calls and puts are essentially opposite, a put with a strike price of $90 would be an OTM put in this scenario. + +Whether an option is ITM or OTM has a big impact on how to option will trade. The main reason for this is because **all** OTM options are **worthless** at expiration. This means that if you invested $100 by buying one call option at $1.00 ($1.00 x 100), your contract would be worth $0 if it was OTM at the market's close on the expiration date and you would lose your full $100 investment. Because of this, OTM options are generally higher risk, higher reward than ITM options. Although ITM won't be worthless at expiration like OTM options, they will still lose value over time because all options are affected by time decay. + +**Time decay** in options causes the price of the contracts, also known as the **premium**, to decrease as it gets closer to expiration. This alone makes being a profitable options trader much more difficult in my opinion, because even if the price of the underlying stocks remains the same for days at a time, both calls and puts will decrease in value because of the time decay. So in order to profit from options, you have to not only be right about the stock's direction, but you have to time it near perfectly as well to avoid your position from being eaten away by time decay. + +Time decay, along with other factors that go into analyzing options contracts, are represented by what are known as **Greeks.** The Greeks are theta, vega, delta, and gamma. Like I said, the meaning of this post is really just to cover the basics so I'm not going to go into a ton of detail on the Greeks in this post, but I do at least want to explain theta. **Theta** is the greek representing time decay in options. You can see an options theta (along with the other Greeks) before you even trade it and it can tell you how much the contract is expected to be affected by time decay. Generally, the theta will be higher for OTM options because they affected more significantly by time decay since they ultimately expire at $0. Similarly, theta will be higher for options that are a few weeks away from expiration compared to options a few months away from expiration, because they lose more value as the expiration date approaches. + +Theta makes general trading rules like *"don't fight the trend"* even more important. For example, if you bought calls in a downtrending stock because you thought that it was near its bottom, you would end up losing money because of theta if that stock did bottom out and started to consolidate at support. So in this situation you'd be correct about the stock finding the bottom, but you would still lose money if it didn't start to bounce back up quickly. If you had just bought the underlying stock rather than call options, you'd be at breakeven as the stock found its temporary bottom and began consolidating at support. + +[https://imgur.com/a/7i4avcU](https://imgur.com/a/7i4avcU) + +Although time decay can have a major negative impact on your options trades, there is actually a way to have it work in your favor. You can short options contracts, which is also called **writing.** Just like with shorting stocks, you profit from the price going down so time decay create profits for options that you sold short. In my opinion, this should really only be done by experienced traders though because writing options creates more overall risk than regular buying and selling. + +The reason is because there is technically no limit to how how options can go and if you short either calls or puts, you would lose money as the options increase in price. It's the same reason that many people are afraid to short-sell stocks, but options are generally more volatile, which creates even more risk. Even though I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for beginners, I wanted to at least explain the concept of writing options in this post. + +Regardless of how you trade options, it's important to at least understand all of these factors that go into their fluctuations and how their premiums are priced. Like any other type of trading, you should only be using money that you can afford to lose in its entirety while trading options... especially if you're trading the extremely volatile contracts that are near their expiration, which are the ones that attract so many traders because of their ability to make big runs in a short period of time. + +Maybe after this you'll see why I stick to trading stocks rather than options. They can definitely be a great tools for experienced traders, but they're much more complex than most new traders think and can be very dangerous for inexperienced traders that are enticed by the big potential returns. + +Hope this was helpful, let me know what ya think!! +[https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/05/jobs-report-july-2022-528000.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/05/jobs-report-july-2022-528000.html) + + + +Hiring in July was far better than expected, defying signs that the economic recovery is losing steam, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. + +Nonfarm payrolls rose 528,000 for the month and the unemployment rate was 3.5%, easily topping the Dow Jones estimates of 258,000 and 3.6% respectively. + +Wage growth also surged higher, as average earning earnings jumped 0.5% for the month and 5.2% from the same time a year ago. Those numbers add fuel to an inflation picture that already has consumer prices rising at their fastest rate since the early 1980s. +Hey, I recently told a friend I spend roughly $200/week on groceries living alone, and they looked at me like I'm some kind of madman. I acknowledge that my grocery bill is about $50/week higher because I buy more expensive meats for my own meals, But I can't honestly imagine dropping my total grocery bill under $150/week. How much do you guys spend? + +When I say groceries I mean everything you buy from a supermarket: Toilet paper, cleaning products, shampoo, panadol/basic medicine etc. +Hi all, +I'm on track to receive a $200,000 legacy halfway through the year, which I want to put towards a property. Currently my wife and I work part time as I am studying and we have a 1 year old daughter. We are both 25. +We bring in roughly $1100 per week net of tax and currently rent. We have $35,000 in savings. We've been renting for six years. +I was wondering if it is possible to borrow any amount of money at all to put towards a property when working casual/part time. Ideally we'd be able to borrow another $250,000. +What might work in our favour - when I receive the legacy my wife, 1 year and old daughter will be temporarily shacked up with my parents, so our living expenses will decrease drastically. We are very lucky to have thay option. +I'll be able to pick up work full time when I complete my degree in a little over a year's time, but we'd ideally want to buy when living with my folks and sign on a tenant for that time. +Would love to hear your thoughts. +I can't seem to feel regret for constantly holding cash and being risk adverse because of the economic climate. If I had put my money in absolutely any asset it would have increased significantly more than cash. What's your thoughts? + +Edit : thanks everyone for your comments and your thoughts, really helps with my investment process moving forward. Yes the title is meant to say worst not worth! +I initially posted this on investing, however someone had suggested that maybe I should repost this on this sub Reddit. I'm hoping to get advice on making my $380K last long enough to take care of myself and pay my caregivers into the foreseeable future. + +I am a 41 -year-old quadriplegic and I received some money for damages. I started the portfolio with Merrill Lynch in October of 2005 and since then it has appreciated approximately 5.21% a year since then. The rate of return of the S&P 500 since October 2005 is 8.46%. I have a balance of 65% stock and 35% bonds which is invested in a mix of mutual funds, bonds funds, and ETF's. I'm nervous to manage my money so I was thinking about index funds, but I just don't know if it's worth paying Merrill Lynch 1%. I plan to withdrawal approximately $10K - $15K a year for the foreseeable future, may be a little bit more when I get older. Should I continue with Merrill Lynch? Many thanks in advance. +[Update] WOW!!! THIS IS INCREDIBLE! I just came back from the city and log into my reddit to see the overwhelming number of responses. This is amazing, thank you all! I'm going to sift through everyone's responses and figure out what works. I hope this thread is useful for others as well and has given people ideas. + +Thanks again everyone! :) +Hi all + +Small update on CTXR: + +We've been included in to the Russel3000 list - the Russel2000 list is rumored to come out on monday. I see us on that list too. A lot of buying pressure will come in. + +[Official link: https:\/\/content.ftserussell.com\/sites\/default\/files\/russell\_3000\_index\_additions\_-\_2021.pdf](https://preview.redd.it/4nbjdv9fnm371.png?width=1501&format=png&auto=webp&s=741ecd5dcb3038e3678d8825bcf4e5d4e5f1e357) + +Who's ready to ride this out? :D All the institutions will buy in massively! +First off, my apologies if this is on this subreddit already. I searched but could not find anything. + +I got into a not-at-fault collision with a Maserati on Thursday. The Maserati pulled out in front of me trying to make a left-hand turn on a road and was determined at-fault by police. So that's not a question at all. + +My question is if I accept his settlement (my bumper was banged up), do I need to go through with repairs? I called around and got quotes for a new bumper, plus a day rental for when it's "in the shop," but I don't plan on having it repaired. The car is worth about $6,000 tops and it doesn't make sense for me to throw $1,000 into it for a banged up bumper. Now, the guy who gave me the money (it's already been completed — $1,130 — is asking for a receipt to show I got the repairs done. Am I obligated to show him that? +Long awaited (albeit small) video and audio was just uploaded, here you go guys: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71k10ziAEPs&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71k10ziAEPs&t=1s) + +tl;dr: Angry brown CEO calls out Donnie Pump & JPow for propping up markets, doesn't matter cause they can't hear him over the BRRRRR + +Article linked to interview: [https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/09/chamath-palihapitiya-us-needs-to-let-hedge-funds-billionaires-fail.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/09/chamath-palihapitiya-us-needs-to-let-hedge-funds-billionaires-fail.html) + +Accidentally posted an older article before out of pure excitement after hearing this fucking ledge call out the fucked up shit going on within the market, all while destroying Wapner and his (actually, and not in an endearing way) retarded buddies trying to form rebuttals. + +Through all the pain watching all of our portfolios go up in flames the past few weeks, this motherfucker came in and spoke for all us and really put a smile on my face. + +Here is a soundbite of the interview, if you enjoy it I edited and added a small video with full audio. It's a little long, but I promise it's worth listening to. This mf was spittin. + +[https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1248323677898366978?s=20](https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1248323677898366978?s=20) + +Positions: Who fucking cares at this point most of us are broke as of this week + +edit: As of 3:30pm Wapner is currently live on air bringing up rebuttals to the airline argument two hours later without Chamath there, guess he needed a bit of time to pull the giant factual based dildo out of his ass. + +Thank you for the gold kind stranger. Typically a lurker who occasionally contributes semi-funny shitpost-esque comments, but watching this today had me not only fired up, but laughing my ass off as he tore CNBC to shreds. +I'm in the middle of an experiment you all might be interested in. I wanted to see if there was any benefit to selling put options to acquire shares vs dollar cost averaging vs lump sum buying. + +Edit: Skip to the end for the most current results. + +Here is the rule set: + +1) The accounts start with a fixed amount of cash and no more will be added. +2) Each account will buy shares according to its own rule and will hold until all of the accounts have purchased as many shares as possible. +3) No market timing or technical analysis is allowed. +4) All purchases must be made in each account at the same time at or near market price. +5) The lump sum account will by as many shares as possible on the first day of the experiment. +6) The DCA account buys as many shares as possible each week using 1/12 of the initial cash supply. +7) The CSP account uses 1/3 of the remaining cash each week to secure as many ATM put contracts as possible. +8) The contracts will be sold on Thursday so that they expire 8 days later on Friday. The strike price will be chosen as close to the market price as possible consistent with maximizing the extrinsic value. +9) Contracts that are OTM one day before expiration may be repurchased at less than 15% of their sale price immediately before new contracts are written. +8) If dividend payments or options premiums allow for the purchase of more shares, then that is permitted as long as the purchase is consistent with rule 4. + +The experiment has been running about a month now. I am using QQQ as the underlying and following the CSP method in a traditional IRA account. The other two methods are just paper trades in a spreadsheet. + +QQQ had a pretty good pullback after week 1, which set the lump sum account back. The sideways trading since then has benefited the dollar cost averaging account slightly. It has a lot less volatility and about 1% more total value. + +The CSP account is pretty interesting. The first week it took assignment on its contracts. After that it was 50/50. The options premium is having a noticable benefit and has pushed it's value about 2% higher than the lump sum account. + +If there is any interest in this kind of experiment, I will post a weekly update for you. + +Edit: + Here are the results so far. They should be updated every Monday + +Date | market | strike | lump sum shares | lump sum P/L | DCA shares | DCA P/L | CSP shares | CSP P/L +--: | --: | --: | --: | --: | --: | --: | --: | --: +25-Feb | $322.82 | 322.5 | 947 | 0.00% | 77 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% +4-Mar | $309.30 | 310 | 947 | -4.18% | 157 | -0.34% | 300 | -1.29% +11-Mar | $318.33 | 318 | 947 | -1.39% | 235 | 0.12% | 300 | 0.48% +18-Mar | $316.33 | 316 | 947 | -2.01% | 314 | -0.03% | 500 | 0.86% +25-Mar | $310.83 | 312 | 948 | -3.59% | 394 | -0.55% | 500 | -0.02% +1-Apr | $323.81 | 324 | 948 | 0.43% | 471 | 1.12% | 500 | 2.22% +8-Apr | $334.72 | 335 | 948 | 3.81% | 545 | 2.80% | 500 | 4.01% +15-Apr | $340.55 | 340 | 948 | 5.62% | 618 | 3.84% | 500 | 5.20% +22-Apr | $339.44 | 339 | 948 | 5.27% | 691 | 3.61% | 600 | 5.00% +29-Apr | $339.76 | 340 | 948 | 5.37% | 764 | 3.68% | 700 | 5.40% +6-May | $327.50 | 328 | 948 | 1.57% | 840 | 0.62% | 800 | 2.34% +13-May | $321.13 | 321 | 949 | -0.29% | 917 | -1.13% | 900 | 0.46% +20-May | $327.65 | 0 | 949 | 1.73% | 941 | 0.83% | 956 | 2.38% +1-Jun | 332.89 | 0 | 950 | 3.46% | 941 | 2.44% | 956 | 4.02% + +The all-in account bought 947 shares at the beginning of the experiment at a cost of $322.82 per share. The market immediately dropped by 4%, which had the most dramatic effect on the all-in account because it had the greatest market exposure. The initial losses were partially offset by the best dividend returns, $373.76, which allowed the all-in account to buy one extra share. The final cost basis for the all-in account was by far the best at $322.82. + +The DCA account bought about 75 shares each week, except for the week of May 20 when it used up the last of the available cash by purchasing 24 shares. This account had the lowest market exposure so it also had the lowest volatility and the lowest dividend of $123.93. Its final cost per share was $325.38, just slightly higher than the all-in account. + +The CSP account wrote three contracts at a $322.50 strike in the first week just before the market dropped. Those contracts were assigned which gave the CSP account an initial market exposure that was higher than the DCA account but lower than the all-in account. It also earned a dividend payment, $197.34, that was higher than the DCA account and lower than the all-in account. The total premium (minus fees) earned during the 12 week period was $7200.19 or 2.4% of the inital investment, which would be a 10.2% annualized return. The CSP account has the highest average purchase price of $327.78, but that is offset by the premiums earned, which brings down the basis to $318.81 per share before taxes. If this was done in a taxable account with a 30% tax rate, the final basis would be $321.51, which is still better than the DCA or all-in methods. +First things first: **I AM NOT SUGGESTING THIS IS OVER** + +In fact, given the market's overall valuation the last several years and the potential unknowns surrounding the coronavirus and its effects on the global economy, I believe we do still have further to fall. That said, already we are starting to see some panic selling in what are ultimately fundamentally sound companies in the tech industry, airline industry, energy sector and many others. + +I think that even though IMO right now is not the time to BUY BUY BUY, it is a great time to start conducting fundamental research across multiple industries and companies, and in particular looking at their liquidity and cash reserves as when the shit hits the fan, money talks. Cash is king and the companies that have good financial liquidity will be able to pull through this. + +Many companies especially in the energy sector will not survive this panic especially given the current shenanigans between SA and Russia, and will end up in chapter 11. It's possible that we may even see some bankruptcies, mergers, consolidations, and yes bailouts in larger, debt heavy companies in other industries that you wouldn't expect. But in all this madness, there will be diamonds in the rough that emerge. + +With all that said, let's start compiling a list of companies to investigate. This is not intended to be a list of "lulz AAPL is goin up cuz its Apple duh!". Many companies will feel the effects of this for a long time - at least the rest of 2020 IMO - but times like these are where we see who the strong participants in the market really are. + +**Personally, I'll be looking at ALL major and regional airlines. I'll also be looking across major defense contractors and the financial sector. Also, eventually there WILL be a vaccine for this virus, so biotech and the medical industry obviously deserve some attention.** + +This thread is intended to be a place to collect ideas not to immediately buy, but to **research**. I would love to see active discussion here and see some lurkers come out of the woodwork and share their DD on why they believe Company X will be a great buy when all this is over. Let's encourage in depth research and take this seriously. Most people will only see a few opportunities like this in their lifetimes. +Get a job! Seriously. Instead of looking for a quick buck, starting actually contributing to the space. + +Crypto market is hiring like crazy and it's one of the best paying industries. And the good part is, if you've been in this space for a while and understand the basics of cryptocurrency, it's mostly enough to get your foot in the door. + +Good crypto job sites: + +* [https://crypto.jobs/](https://crypto.jobs/) +* [https://pompcryptojobs.com/](https://pompcryptojobs.com/) +* [https://web3.career/](https://web3.career/) (for those with less experience) + +Crypto companies on a hiring spree: + +* [Crypto.com](https://crypto.com/careers) +* [Unstoppable Domains](https://grnh.se/ce6691704us) +* [BlockFi](https://boards.greenhouse.io/blockfi) +* [Kraken](https://jobs.lever.co/kraken) +* And many more than you can find [here](https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Cryptocurrency&start=10&vjk=b4d0027b7c025573). + +Pro tip: Be an active community member in the companies you want to be hired. 99% of companies hire from the community. Help others by answering their questions on Telegram and Discord, make content (memes, tutorials, tweets, ..) and you will get noticed. + +If you know a crypto project or a company that's looking for people, feel free to leave a comment. + +Good luck! +Just what it says. Shorter’s truly are the dumb-storm troopers of the galaxy. MSM continues to “Jump the shark!” With their narrative of a dead and dying store. Ryan Cohen and the board have our backs and we are ending this with DRS. Tell your family and friends and sing the truth loud and clear as we all become millionaires off their Greed! Happy Holidays everyone we will be victorious soon buying DRS-ing more on Tuesday. +My chief (and really only) complaint with Vanguard is their website interface. For example, they have a super nice chart under their "performance" tab. However, it seemingly will only show the performance of all accounts you have with Vanguard. + +More often than not, I want to see the performance of one account. I want to see how EACH account is performing, not all of my accounts together. Am I missing something? Is there a way to see this chart for just my Roth or just my standard brokerage? +It's undeniable that the bull run of basically 2009 -> 2021 was fueled at least partially (if not majorly) by various forms of quantitative easing. Interest rates were historically extremely low. If you couple them with inflation at the time (2-3%), it was basically free to borrow money (with interest rates being 0-0.25%). + +The market has very few reasons to be bullish in the current short term (6-18 months). The market is forward looking. We're starring down the barrel of at least 12 months of "no more quantitative easing" (aka higher interest rates). Couple that with quanatitive tighting, consumers feeling the effects of inflation and being unable to scrounge together discretionary funds for travel, renovations, general consumerism, etc. + +Russia/Ukraine is, from what it seems, not getting any better. + +American wages are having to grow due to a tight labor market. "Quiet quitting" is becoming a major thing. How are companies supposed to innovate/grow in these conditions? + +There really isn't one country/region that is doing well. Europe has its issues. China has its issues. America has it issues. + +Advice around here says: have about 3-6 months worth of cash and put the rest into equities. You're talking about most people having 95% of their non-real-estate net worth in equities based on how close they are relative to their retirement. + +S&P could stand to fall a lot more from 3800, couldn't it? We're still in a 19-20x P/E ratio area which is above 15x-17x which is the historical average. Historically, we're still technically "expensive". Historically, interest rates are still low, meaning they have more room to rise. If earnings suck during the next 2 quarters (which, they might/probably will for a slew of reasons), price could totally fall and we'd *still* be expensive P/E wise. + +CPI/PCE have yet to top/slow down based on recent reports. We don't know how the "European energy crisis" will play out for the winter. + +How likely is it that we will be back to 4500 within 18 months (18% from current levels)? Can the 2m+ investors here who have the majority of their net worth in equities really stomach another 15-30%+ downturn in the next 12-18 months? + +Are the days of "just DCA and you'll make 10% returns with dividends reinvested" over because the Federal Reserve finally turned off the easy free money cheat code? Are we in for a decade of subpar returns? +I know this is a random thought, but it has been waying on my mind and making it harder to trade as of late. Most of the time I have my 5-6 trades setup and basically have to just wait to execute them. I'm having trouble staying at my computer though for the entire trading day because I get anxious looking at charts nonstop and having nothing else to do. Anyone have any tricks or help that can either keep me focused or something I can do that'll positively affect my trading as I "Kill time"? +My method to really get interested in subject (school, books and this time trading) is to read something that I won't be able to understand about the topic and then studying until my questions are answered. What do you think is a more advanced topic on trading that would make me ask myself lots of question and as well humble me in this journey? +So here’s the scenario. Let’s say you’re in a trade that you’re green on, but it hasn’t hit your profit target yet. Your mind is telling you to get out of the trade to take the little bit of profit you have, while the chart is telling you not to yet. What are some ways you can minimize that fear of losing money and allow yourself to stay in that trade? +Before you tear me to pieces like hyenas guys I must admit I am a total pleb noob. I just had an idea and wanted to discuss it with you fine people in this fine sub. Yeah I could just Google it but what's the fun in that? + +So if you day trade the S&P 500 and only go long, you can never lose in the long term right? + +If your long works out in that day, you profit. If the price goes down you hold it long term and S&P 500 always goes up in the really really long term right? As long as you are only putting a portion of your capital? + +Can you even trade like that? Is the temporary unavailability of some funds due to the long term holding not worth it? + +In the very least can it be a psychological soothener of the jittery trader nerves? + +I know this isn't Wall Street bets but please feel free to question my chromosomes. + +Thank you! I am learning everyday and I really appreciate every little thing I glean from this sub. +Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to lay off an unspecified number of employees as low oil prices force the company to delay major projects, the company said in an email to staff. + +“These are difficult times,” Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said in the message, the text of which was released by the company Wednesday. “We are making tough decisions, some of which will result in friends and colleagues leaving the company.” + +The oil behemoth’s job cut is just the latest sign of struggle among U.S. energy producers seeking to weather the industry’s worst downturn in recent memory. Just this week two high-profile mergers were announced as explorers seek to gain scale and cut costs to survive the devastating impact of COVID-19 on global demand for fuel. + +Exxon’s stock has plunged and the company has all but ended its aggressive, US$30 billion-a-year counter-cyclical growth strategy. The company was forced to slash its capital spending budget by a third, or US$10 billion, earlier this year. Rivals such as BP Plc and Chevron Corp. have also announced large layoffs in recent weeks. + +“Our plan is to continue to stage project execution and spending,” Woods said. “Making the organization more efficient and more nimble will reduce the number of required positions and, unfortunately, reduce the number of people we need.” + +Exxon’s stock has plunged 52 per cent this year and briefly lost its long-held crown as America’s top oil and gas producer to Chevron Corp. Its dividend yield stands at more than 10 per cent suggesting that investors believe it may be cut for the first time in at least four decades. + +https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/exxon-mobil-to-lay-off-employees-citing-tough-markets-reorganization-1.1511378 +I find a significant amount of this sub is unrelatable for me because the vast majority of you are CS/engineering types. I don't dismiss the value in those roles, but when people graduate and instantly start earning 75k/year, it doesn't really speak to my experience where I started off at half of that. + +My net worth breaks down as follows: + +* 4k cash (low because I'm in the middle of receiving an inheritance) + +* 86k IRA (most in a roth, some in a trad) + +* 300k home less a 240k mortgage (likely worth more than 300, but I'll be conservative since a sale would knock off 20k in commission instantly) + +* 83k 401k/rollover + +* 28k taxable account + +* 2k in fundrise (eREIT fund, just for fun / see how it works) + +I'm not including my cars or anything else of value in this as their value depreciates/fluctuates too much, and I'll probably never sell them. + +Before I go further, here's the tl;dr of how I was able to hit 1/4+ million in NW at 27 without a high-paying degree: + +* People helped me. A lot. + +* I had smart parents who gave me a tremendous advantage. I was essentially taught the principles of this sub at a young age. + +* Lucked out into a career with excellent upward mobility despite a bad degree. + +* The market, both stocks and housing, has been kind to me. + + +So, I will say it as it will undoubtedly be a comment on here - I did not hit this milestone on my own. I had a lot of help and a good bit of luck. I suspect that's true for more of the people in this sub with a net worth relatively higher than their peers. Anyhow, I really enjoy reading stories of how people are accomplishing their goals of FI on here, and since this sub is pretty slow since saving money doesn't tend to lend to the most riveting stories, here's mine (it's long and fairly generic, my apologies): + +My investing started in high school when I got my first job at 16. My parents were very, very strict on saving. Even from a young age, they would offer me my allowance as either $1 now, or $1.50 in a savings account I couldn't touch. I remember getting so excited that I was getting 50 cents for free! I don't know if I would be this enthusiastic about investing/saving if they hadn't taught me this lesson early on. + +In high school, my parents used to deduct $200 biweekly from my work paycheck. It used to frustrate me a lot because that was usually over half of what I made, but my family lived in a big house and my parents were always very generous with buying us what we needed, so I accepted that we all needed to pitch in. Unknown to me, my parents used to take that $200/biweekly and put it into an IRA for me. By the time I graduated college ~6 years later, I had nearly 40k in this account. I would have likely squandered most of this, so hats off to my parents for this one. Like I said, I have smart parents who gave me a tremendous advantage. + +I went to college and majored in microbiology. I have no idea what the hell I was thinking because the job market was not kind to me in those jobs. I continued to work throughout college, got a few scholarships due to a high ACT score and community volunteering, went to a cheaper school, and my parents/older brother gave me a gift of just under $8,000 to pay off my last semester. I graduated with about $3,000 in the bank, zero debt. + +Right out of college, my job prospects were basically a bunch of $12/hour lab technician jobs. I had a relatively high GPA, good experience for a BS student, but I soon found out that there really isn't jack for a science major unless you have a phd. I went through a rigorous job interview for an $18/hour lab job at a place my friend worked at. I found out after I didn't get it that the job went to someone with a phd and several years of experience - how was I going to compete with that? + +Thankfully, I got lucky. There is no other way to put this. A few weeks into my job search a recruiter contacted me about a medical sales job. It was entry-level at 35k/year, but it paid more than lab jobs, and I was having no luck. I took it. At this point, I was moved back in with my parents and paying nothing for living there. I took them out every once in a while for dinner, but other than that, my parents were very stubborn about accepting nothing from me. I invested what I could into my 401k (about 8k/year initially), maxed out my IRA, and lived on the rest while still trying to contribute to a taxable account for a future house purchase. + +The next few years were much of the same. I lived incredibly cheap, I indulged in free activities for fun, and I networked like crazy to find new jobs. Seriously, I was all over LinkedIn (and I still am). I was diligent in updating my profile any time I hit a measurable achievement in work, and recruiters noticed. It seems like every few months now I get recruiters contacting me about a new job. In the past 5+ years, my salary went from 35 -> 44 -> 55 -> 65k. These are all base salaries with commission on top. I currently make about 85k/year. I just got contacted for a new job making almost 50% more in base, which I won't be taking for now, but LinkedIn networking does lead to some amazing opportunities. If I had to summarize the past few years with a few lessons, it would probably be this: + +1) Take advantage of any help you can get if it's not a burden on the other person. Living with my parents, and later my brother, allowed me to save literally 75% of my earnings. I helped my brother offset a small amount of his mortgage, and since we were both new to the city we lived in, we had another person to hang out with and keep company. + +2) Loyalty in work is for suckers. Okay, not really, I have had some great bosses that I miss working for. But, I spent 2 years of my life at my first job and never got a raise, despite good reviews. Leaving a job for a new one has resulted in a ~20%+ raise every single time. My next job move will probably increase my base by 40-50%, a raise I will never get where I'm at now. + +Over the past few years I've been lucky to be investing in a total bull market, which has measurably inflated my NW in front of my eyes. About two years post-college, I moved in with my older brother, who charged me almost nothing in rent. I started dating, which cut down on my rate of savings, but also directed me to start looking into buying my own place. I wound up buying a 290k house in a hot market. I put down 20% with another $10,000 gift from my grandparents (hey, I told you I got a lot of help). I estimate it's now worth ~320k, so I would likely come out around even if I sold it after fees and whatnot. The markets have definitely been kind to me, but I won't be surprised if everything drops 30% in a year. It wouldn't bother me in the slightest if it did. + +As for future plans, I would ideally like to be retired by 35, but 40-45 might be more realistic for me. My fiancee will be earning about 90k/year after she graduates in two years, so that will be a big boon for us. I'm in the process of receiving an inheritance of about 110k, which will be immediately directed into Vanguard. That's essentially my story. Nothing too exceptional here, just a lot of work, luck, generous family, and favorable market conditions. My very rough guesstimate is that my NW would be around 120-140k without the help of my family. + + +I started a new job recently as a tow truck driver. I am part of an amazing crew now. Left a terrible boss for this new place. I've always struggled to ask for help. I decided to open up to another driver about my situation while he was training me. He said "I'll feed a mouth that's open" and got me lunches and drinks while training. Amazing. Gave me the courage to ask the owner of the company for a pay advance to cover my phone bill and food until I get my first paycheck in another 2 weeks. He's giving me the $200 I asked for tomorrow, and gave me the $80 I needed to get a DOT card so I can legally drive commercial trucks. Had I not asked for help, of be down to my last $5.82 and a phone that would be shut off, meaning I couldn't work. I HATE asking for help, especially money. Just had to suck it up and do it. I'm slowly learning to ask for help when I need it and pay it back as quickly as possible. + +That's my story and advice, here's a question: + +How many people here struggle really hard to ask for help and feel downright shame and guilt in doing so? I have my entire life, more so now that I'm almost 30 and don't have my life together. Is it common with impoverished people? +# 💎 VANITY ($VNY) Token ~ Customize your crypto wallet + +&#x200B; + +Ever wanted more than just a random string of digits as your wallet address? 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Be sure to visit their 📣 [Telegram](https://t.me/vanitytokenofficial) group to talk with the team and the community. + +There's also a 📣 [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/EAfMdT8M) group! + +Vanity is working with [Blockcast](https://blockcast.cc/) to increase its reach. Blockcast is a news organisation for cryptocurrency and offers marketing services. + +If you want to know more about Vanity, visit the 🌐[Website ](https://vanitytoken.net/)and read the litepaper. + +Buy $VNY on [💰 Pancake swap](https://pancakeswap.finance/swap#/swap?outputCurrency=0xAbc69f2025bDb12efcdB8fd048d240fFf943ca82) + *The First Ever Token to Provide Custom Wallets for multiple blockchains.* + +&#x200B; + +Vanity ($VNY) is the first product driven token ever launched to allows people to buy, sell, and trade customized addresses. + +Following changes to Vanity's contract code, it has been relaunched two weeks ago, is steadily climbing andnearing a 1000 holders. With the updated contract, the developer can ensure that the token will work well in conjunction with the address marketplace that is currently being build. + +Be sure to visit the 🌐[Website](https://vanitytoken.net/) to read about Vanity's core concept and technical details. + +&#x200B; + +Vanity is listed on[ Coinmarketcap](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/vanity/) &[ CoinGecko](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/vanity/). + +Contract address: 0xabc69f2025bdb12efcdb8fd048d240fff943ca82 + +&#x200B; + +**⚙️ Tokenomics:** + +Every transaction taxed by 10%, which goes to: + +🔥 Redistribution to holders - 4% + +🔥 marketing and operations wallet - 2% + +🔥 Customized LP Function: 2% + +🔥 Burn tokens - 2% + +🔥 In addition, to protect against large dumps, the contract include a Customized **Anti-Whale and Bot System**: Holders of 0.8% or more VANITY will not be able to Sell and Transfer more than 10% of their token in 24h. this doesn't apply for purchases. + +&#x200B; + +**🔎 Further information** + +📜[ BSC Scan](https://bscscan.com/address/0xabc69f2025bdb12efcdb8fd048d240fff943ca82#code) 🔒[ Liquidity lock](https://dxsale.app/app/v2_9/dxlockview?id=2&add=0xC0FFEE1268A4aAe653a4a9Ca81e183dCCAD1a029&type=lplock&chain=BSC) + +✏️[Audit](https://solidity.finance/audits/Vanity/) + +**BUY $VNY:** + +💰[ Pancake swap](https://exchange.pancakeswap.finance/#/swap?outputCurrency=0xAbc69f2025bDb12efcdB8fd048d240fFf943ca82) + +🗣**SOCIALS:** + +📣[ Telegram](https://t.me/vanitytokenofficial) 📣[ Discord](https://discord.gg/EAfMdT8M) + +🐦[ Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/vanitytoken) 🤖[ Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/VanityTokenOfficial/) + +**Charts:** + +📊[ Bogged](https://charts.bogged.finance/0xAbc69f2025bDb12efcdB8fd048d240fFf943ca82) +Seriously, it's free money, but you have to actively go collect it. + + +I wasn't paying much attention to the crypto world for the last couple of days, and I almost missed hearing about the UNI airdrop. This is the official Uniswap governance token. Most of the people on here should qualify (you need to have been using Uniswap since before the 1st of this month). + + +The market cap is relatively low right now, under $300mil, but I've heard estimates of around $1bil by the time the airdrop is complete. So not that low, but it's free and has potential to go higher. + + +You can claim an automatic 400, just for having used Uniswap, and you will get more if you were providing liquidity (I got 400.09 total, yay, lol). Somebody got like half a million (in USD worth I believe) just because they had been providing liquidity since the early Uniswap days. + + +It was worth $1400 USD, 3.5 ETH, when I got mine, so it is definitely worth the time and effort. You will need to pay the gas for the transaction, so make sure you have at least 0.1 ETH. + + +https://twitter.com/UniswapProtocol/status/1306385710434451461 +I work in non profit. I just got 10 years employment. I get acceptable yearly raises and the working environment, benefits and flexibility is absolutely amazing. + +We had a big change in senior management a few years ago. We actually have a COO now. + +Our funding significantly improved this year. About $20M more for the yearly budget. It’s like 50% increase. + +I got an email offering separation packages. First I’ve seen ever here. + +Really, really cheap. $10k to separate. It’s non-profit so let’s forgive that. The memo was phrased interestingly too: “we heard some staff is considering leaving, so we’ve been authorized to offer a separation package. Sign something, and we are permanently separated. Here’s your $$$. Bye”. (Totally paraphrased) + +Pre-tax With all benefits, vacation, 403b and everything - I get about 140k/yr. I take home about half of that in a paycheck. I can get a lot more money in my field in for-profit but really don’t want the stress and burnout. I’m a Software Engineer. + +10k is like 2 months of after-tax pay. + +I’m not going to take it, but I’m really interested in the motivation - why would they offer this at all? What is the game they are playing? Is the future dim? + +Can I glean anything from this offer? Should I begin looking for another job? Am I over reacting? + +Edit: this offer was sent to all employees over email. Unless they did something fishy with the email headers, it was not sent to me personally or a group of people. + +Edit 2: The correct answer was to formally decline to my manager and director. A friendly email that says I like my job and the compensation and I’m happy. However, this offer is horrible and if they do want to negotiate a separation package let me know. + +I got the reply within an hour: “we want you to stay”. + +And then a personal conversation with some friendly senior management that “I’m reading between the wrong lines”. +Edit: Just some added information that a lot of people have asked about. I have zero debt, as well as zero credit history. I am now aware that I need to work on that credit so that will be one of my first steps. Also looking into the 401k and am making a budget to follow. Also going to look into IRA since a lot of people have mentioned that as well. + +I have learned more about finance today from this post than the last 20 years combined. Thank you to everyone who posted the thoughtful advice, I appreciate it so much! + +Edit 2: I am aware that 30k is not actually that much money. This is normal entry level pay for my field in the area. This is my first job out of college and I'm just trying to start good habits early. +Not a talk about my money and where I’m at, so remove if not allowed, but I just wanted to thank this entire sub and everyone in it. + +I grew up poor(er) than those surrounding me, but not completely desolate. All of my friends in better positions, parents paid their schooling in full, their cars, everything. I knew I didn’t want to grow up and be in the position that my parents were and currently are, with negative net worths each in their 50s. + +I’m currently in my 20s and just graduated around -40k from student loans, and know that because of the help of everyone here and my willpower to not be average, I will be in a great position in 30 years and RE (somewhat) + +My (older) coworkers brought up how they didn’t see retirement being possible until they’re 70 and the “rigged” system. I expressed that at my rate, I should be able to retire by 50-55. Two of them actually laughed in my face and told me to stop dreaming. We all make roughly the same income in a LCOL, so I know exactly what’s possible with our incomes, and 50-55 years old is very reasonable. The lady who laughed in my face then went on to tell me the company “screwed her” because she “set up auto deposits into her retirement account” 14 years ago, and realized a few years back they were never deducted from her paychecks and invested. This sort of tells you about the type of person I’m talking about, who didn’t realize what was happening to her money for 14 years. + +Thanks to you guys and the knowledge I absorb here, as well as my burning desire to live frugally yet comfortably for a Financially Independent future, I can gladly say this will never be in the shoes of these people. +I never buy fresh ground beef these days because I can't justify it. However, the other day, a combination of exhaustion and desperation (or we can just say laziness) I wound up at the grocery store near my house vs. the usual Aldi. + +I was there for just the minimum almond milk and my favorite ramen cups that I can't get at Aldi. In passing through the meat department, I spotted an ultra low number - because, hey, when you're poor, the lowest numbers catch your eye. + +I snagged myself a smidge over a pound of ground beef (by my eye and how it fills the pan) for $0.07! Tickled to pieces I meandered to the register and lo and behold no one batted am eye! + +I'm carrying the high from this Saturday night win into next week bc other than that, Christmas looks bleak. +As the title says, I have had a disappointing experience with Vanguard. I requested an ISA transfer from Nutmeg to Vanguard right at the beginning of the new tax year. Weeks later, Nutmeg asked me if I wanted to transfer in specie (for which there is a hefty fee) or cash. I chose cash, which Nutmeg promptly acknowledged. + +Nothing happened again for weeks. I then had a message in my Vanguard account saying that the transfer had been rejected because I wanted to transfer it over as cash rather than in specie. Told them please ask Nutmeg to sell the holdings and transfer as cash. \[It's annoying that there is no option to "transfer as cash" on the initial transfer request page with Vanguard!\] + +It's been more than two months now since the initial transfer request and nothing has happened. I've chased both providers multiple times. Nutmeg respond quickly, claiming the delay is with Vanguard who are not responding. Vanguard claim the delay is with Nutmeg. Vanguard have advised me several times that the transfer should take no longer than 30 working days -- it's taken twice as long thus far and still hasn't been completed. + +My frustration is the lack of communication from Vanguard. It takes several days to get a response from them through their platform messaging system and when they do reply, it's only generic waffle. Utterly disappointed. I have politely reminded them of the financial ombudsman - but Vanguard don't seem to care. What are my options here? Wait it out? Would I have a case here to complain to the ombudsman? If so, what do I claim for? +NIO just did it, and so did NVIDIA!! + +>At NIO Day, the company’s annual customer event, the EV maker revealed its NVIDIA DRIVE Orin-powered supercomputer, dubbed Adam, which will first appear in the ET7 sedan that will ship in China starting in 2022.... +> +> +> +>... As the first of NIO’s EVs to feature Orin, the flagship ET7 is a high-performance vehicle that accelerates from zero to 100km in only 3.9 seconds. It also features a new 150kw battery for extended mileage range. +> +> +> +>Source: [https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/01/09/2155851/0/en/NIO-Partners-with-NVIDIA-to-Develop-a-New-Generation-of-Automated-Driving-Electric-Vehicles.html](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/01/09/2155851/0/en/NIO-Partners-with-NVIDIA-to-Develop-a-New-Generation-of-Automated-Driving-Electric-Vehicles.html) +Robert Breedlove has said this on a few podcasts. I shared with a friend who was skeptical. He dug in and found that this stat comes from the fed website. Per my skeptical friend this is misleading. + +He says that “printed” does not mean “created.” He says that printed more accurately means converting non physical cash into physical cash. + +Further, some economists say this is a sign of a strengthening economy bc banks are responding to patrons desire for more cash to spend. + +This last part seems highly debatable and dubious. But I’d love some feedback on what Breedlove was actually saying. Does “printed” mean “created” or only converted? + +Appreciate some thoughts. +Ever since it was confirmed (edit: leaked via Github, not confirmed by Loopring or Gamestop) that Loopring was working with Gamestop, the price MASSIVELY shot up as some GME investors dumped a little play money into it, probably with the intention of using profits to buy more GME. + +If a small fraction of Gamestop investors can do that to Loopring, then why hasn't Gamestop seen similar price movement with almost no one selling and everyone buying constantly and holding? + +Oh wait. Crime, perhaps. + +Every day the bull thesis for GME grows stronger and this is yet another piece of the puzzle. +6-month holiday is coming to an end in the midst of COVID (Bendigo may delay for another 3 months, which leads me to believe other banks will follow suit but still just delay the inevitable). Households on jobseeker and jobkeeper may not be able to afford their mortgages amidst falling property prices and fear selling driving them down further. Love to hear what you guys think! +How is everyone feeling about the rising cost of living? + +For me, I'm concerned. We picked a bad time to refinance and renovate. We are still proceeding with the renovations, but have adjusted our plans for some things to cut costs. We are also on a variable loan. I would have fixed months ago if it wasn't for our Reno's (it took 6 months to get the refinancing argh). I honestly don't know if we will fix our mortgage as it will be October at the earliest we would look at it and I fear the fixed rates won't be worth it. + +Then there's fuel. That's...ouch. compounded by road closures and detours in my area due to major works occurring that doubles my travel to work and uses more fuel. + +Then...there's food. The prices are increasing across the supermarkets and packaging sizes are decreasing. I work for one of the big 2 and I literally see it everyday. + +Bills across the board are increasing. + +I am very worried about what the next 2 years will look like. + +What are you thoughts, concerns and fears for what's to come? Does anyone have any positive incite to add? +Not a surprise to many of us, but still interesting to hear that big institutions are also piling in on bets of impending rate cuts. When Blackrock and JPMorgan etc start taking big short positions it’s worth listening I think. Hope everyone has their unhedged VGS. 6 months ago would’ve been a nice time to also take a position in Aussie bonds. + + +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18/blackrock-is-shorting-aussie-on-bet-rba-will-cut-rates-to-0-5?srnd=premium-asia +Great rates, EU roaming, international minutes, rolling contracts... It's all good news. Roaming in particular is great as I travel for work occasionally. + +But are these providers too good to be true? What's everyone's experience? Why are they so much more competitive than big providers such as O2, Vodafone, etc? +Hi UKPF + +Firstly, thanks for the advice received in the last post. I thought I would make an update here to clarify some debated/unclear points: + +She takes 30 minutes only for lunch. She has confirmed with her employer that the 30 minute lunch break is paid, and so, forms part of the 40 hours given in her contract. Her day runs from 09:00 - 17:00 each day M-F. This means her salary of £17,000 is a reflection of 40 hours per week, not 37.5 as was suggested by some. + +She receives 20 days holiday, excluding 8 days bank holiday. There are no unpaid holiday arrangements. + +My calculation for figures for her to have an informal, polite initial conversation with her employer are as follows: +Current nmw on her contracted, paid hours is (£8.91 x40)x52 = £18,532.80 for minimum wage as of now, +which should increase to: +April 2022 nmw on her hours is (£9.50 x40)x52 = £19,760 for minimum wage + +Please correct me if i've made a huge error here in these calculations ;) + +The company handbook holds no guidance on the topic of paid hours/breaks. Other than reiterating the below points. +Below is a copy of her relevant contract clauses - verbatim: + +4. Pay +Your rate of pay is £17000.00 gross per year +This will be paid monthly in arrears no later than 28th of each month +You are entitled to overtime payment. This will be paid in accordance with the rates stated +within the company handbook +Pay is reviewed on completion of probationary period and 1st August annually thereafter + +5. Hours of work +You are employed to work Full Time +Your normal working hours will be 40 hours per week +You will work on the following days: Monday to Friday +You will normally work between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00 + +6. Holidays +You are entitled to 20 days holiday per year +This excludes public holidays +Your holiday year begins on 1st January +Subject to government guidance concerning Covid 19, unused entitlement may not be carried forward to the next holiday year unless +Holiday entitlement will increase by one day for each year of employment with the company up to a maximum of 25 days. + +I hope this clears this topic up, as I received some relatively negative responses to my attempts to clarify this. Once the initial conversation is done, we'll have an idea of the temperature of the water and take appropriate next steps. + +Please try to avoid sending me mail or making comments on my relationship with my wife, you don't know me or my wife and this isn't r/relationships. +I recommend heading over to the repost of this ([https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/s363mi/who_is_abusing_xrt_a_short_course_again/?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/s363mi/who_is_abusing_xrt_a_short_course_again/?)) if you are coming across it today on January 13th. + +**TLDR** + +From N-CEN filings with the SEC, authorized participants are required to report their activity in ETF creation and redemption. You can find out who is creating and redeeming shares of the ETFs including GME, particularly XRT. + +The firms doing the most creation/redemption of XRT are ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC, BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage, Inc., Citadel Securities LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, HRT Financial LP, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC/JPMC, Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC, Virtu Financial BD LLC. This activity may be on behalf of hedge fund clients as well. + +**TLDR DONE** + +It is well known amongst this community that abusive ETF shorting in XRT (and other ETF's) is happening and affecting the price of GME. For those who would like to examine the documents themselves, they can be found at [https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=0001064642](https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=0001064642) , then searching for N-CEN. The *Annual Report for Registered Investment Companies* can then be examined. Unfortunately, it’s last filing date was on September 10th AND this data was only from up to the end of June last year. + +*There should be another report filed in early March for the end of this year and we should be able to grab a better picture of this then as well.* + +**Important Data** + +The interesting part of this data is that all the authorized participants who create/redeem shares of XRT and the DOLLAR VALUE of both processes are recorded on this N-CEN form. Meaning not only can we examine who is purchasing/redeeming shares of XRT (to take advantage of ETF arbitrage and potentially other strategies), we can look at the dollar values this was done with. As a note, ETF arbitrage is a common strategy used by AP's to make money with ALL ETFs, not just XRT. + +This implies that the numbers submitted are truthful, which we all know, may not be the case. However, it’s the best we’ve got, so let’s summarize. On the N-Cen form, you can find/examine this information by using Control+F to search for XRT. + +**ETF Creation and Redemption** + +While I could write out this process, check out [https://www.ssga.com/library-content/pdfs/etf/au/spdr-au-etf-liquidity-master-the-mechanics-of-etf-trading.pdf](https://www.ssga.com/library-content/pdfs/etf/au/spdr-au-etf-liquidity-master-the-mechanics-of-etf-trading.pdf) from State Street as it provides both good visuals and descriptions of the process in a relatively short read. It's a pdf so might download. + +**Information about XRT** + +XRT’s ETF sponsor is State Street and more information about XRT can be found [https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/funds/spdr-sp-retail-etf-xrt](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/funds/spdr-sp-retail-etf-xrt). According to the prospectus for XRT the portfolio managers are Michael Feehily, Karl Schneider and Ted Janowsky. They all seem to have been associated with XRT for a long time. The prospectus also specifies that XRT will issue “Creation Units” (i.e. ETF shares) in exchange for their designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash. + +As of the last report, XRT has 46 authorized participants and is listed on the NYSE ARCA exchange. It is also noted in the N-CEN that XRT is an “In-Kind ETF”, which means that the shares involved in the redemption process for it are not sold/rebought but transferred between the AP and the Fund. This is confirmed from the N-CEN filings. The vast majority of the AP’s are paying for shares of the ETF (creation units) by using “non-cash assets and other positions exchanged on an in-kind basis” plus a fee. As well as the opposite, when they redeem their ETF shares, they are given securities back (not necessarily the same ones), but pay a fee as well. In-kind transfers exceed 99.99% for XRT and very little cash changes hands. + +When these shares are exchanged it is not like posting collateral, where the shares are held in a different account on the AP’s behalf. It is a simple exchange of securities for ETF shares OR vice versa. Once the exchange happens, the transaction is over. + +**All Authorized Participants Listed for XRT and Value Purchased/Redeemed for Jan-Jun 2021** + +Firm | Value Purchased (millions) | Value Redeemed (millions) +---|---|---- +ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC | 1392 | 746.9 +Barclays Capital Inc. | 96.5 | 95.7 +BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage, Inc. | 529.8 | 706 +Citadel Securities LLC | 381 | 387 +Citigroup Global Markets Inc. | 75.6 | 125.5 +Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC | 43.5 | 16 +Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC | 561.1 | 621.4 +HRT Financial LP | 774 | 516.1 +IBKR Securities Services LLC | 0 | 9 +Interactive Brokers LLC | 9 | 3.2 +Jane Street Capital, LLC | 0 | 4.4 +J.P. Morgan Securities LLC/JPMC | 254.1 | 211.7 +Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp | 652.9 | 611.1 +Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC | 897.7 | 793.2 +Natixis Securities Americas LLC | 13.3 | 49.1 +Nomura Securities International, Inc. | 0 | 19 +RBC Capital Markets, LLC | 4 | 37.9 +SG America Securities, LLC | 140.9 | 132.9 +UBS Securities LLC | 352.7 | 219.8 +Virtu Americas LLC | 64 | 228 +Virtu Financial BD LLC | 773.3 | 1122 +Wells Fargo Securities, LLC | 38.8 | 116.8 + +The following firms (listed below) are Authorized Participants for XRT, but had no Fund Shares Purchased OR Fund Shares Redeemed. **They did NOT participate in the ETF creation/redemption process for XRT for the first six months of 2021.** + +* ABN AMRO Securities (USA) LLC +* BMO Capital Markets Corp. +* BNP Paribas Securities Corp +* BofA Securities, Inc. +* Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. +* CIBC World Markets Corp. +* Commerz Markets LLC +* Cowen Execution Services LLC +* Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited +* Deutche Bank Securities Inc. +* Electronic Transaction Clearing, Inc. +* HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. +* ING Financial Markets LLC +* Jefferies LLC +* J.P. Morgan Securities LLC +* Mizuho Securities USA LLC +* MUFG Securities Americas Inc. +* National Bank of Canada Financial Inc. +* National Financial Services LLC +* Natwest Markets Securities Inc. +* Pershing LLC +* Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated +* TD Prime Services LLC +* U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. + +The groups that had no funds purchased and no fund shares redeemed didn’t participate in ETF Creation/Redemption for XRT. The groups that purchased specific dollar values of XRT brought the securities included in XRT and traded them for ETF shares worth that value. The groups that redeemed specific dollar values of XRT brought the ETF shares back to the fund and exchanged that value for the securities. + +While large amounts of trading could have happened for legitimate reasons (skimming profit through ETF arbitrage – unpacking the ETF and selling the securities OR buying the securities and redeeming them for ETF shares to take advantage of discrepancies), I wanted to create a list of the “big boys” utilizing creation/redemption of the XRT ETF. + +**Groups with over 250 million purchased OR redeemed in the first half of 2021.** + +Firm | Value Purchased (millions) | Value Redeemed (millions) +---|---|---- +ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC | 1392 | 746.9 +BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage, Inc. | 529.8 | 706 +Citadel Securities LLC | 381 | 387 +Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC | 561.1 | 621.4 +HRT Financial LP | 774 | 516.1 +J.P. Morgan Securities LLC/JPMC | 254.1 | 211.7 +Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp | 652.9 | 611.1 +Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC | 897.7 | 793.2 +UBS Securities LLC | 352.7 | 219.8 +Virtu Financial BD LLC | 773.3 | 1122 + +For these big players, the total amount of XRT (securities for ETF shares) purchased here was 6568.6 million (6.5 billion dollars) and the total amount redeemed (ETF shares for securities) was 5935.2 (5.9 billion dollars). + +**Trusting the Authorized Participants?** + +Guess how many violations these “big boy” authorized participants have. + +* ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC – 79 violations +* UBS Securities LLC – 294 violations +* HRT Financial LP – 6 violations +* J.P. Morgan Securities LLC/JPMC – 504 violations +* Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC – 507 violations +* Citadel Securities LLC – 74 violations +* Virtu Financial BD LLC – 17 violations +* Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC – 361 violations +* Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp – 56 violations +* BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage, Inc. – 19 violations + +**Clearly, these firms have very little respect for following the rules and are the firms heavily involved in using creation/redemption for ETF shares of XRT**. The most ridiculous part of this is that XRT has 7.2 million shares outstanding (as of today) but had 22.17 million shares sold short (over 300% short) as of December 15th, 2021. From looking at ORTEX data, XRT short interest has only gotten larger as the year has gone on. + +*I wonder why.* 🤡 + +**GME Shares in XRT** + +XRT has a significant number of different securities and GME makes up <1% of the ETF. This would be a relatively small number of GME shares needed to participate in the ETF creation/redemption processes with the supposed amount of GME shares held in XRT at 6.23 million dollars worth (roughly 45-50k shares at current prices). Since XRT should only have around 50k GME shares in total normally ([https://www.etf.com/XRT#overview](https://www.etf.com/XRT#overview)). But it’s been sold short at 100% so the XRT Fund should have 100k worth of GME shares in it. Well at 200% short, that’s only 150k GME shares needed. At 300%, it’s up to 200k GME shares tied up within the fund and it's short interest. + +**A Hypothetical Situation** + +Since no one in the financial system seems to actually be checking where the shares are being obtained from, let’s examine a situation here. + +XRT has the base number of GME shares in it at the beginning. Firm A has all the individual securities needed to purchase 50000 shares of ETF, including GME (whether they borrowed these, bought them, or got some shiny new rehypothecated ones is unimportant). They trade in their securities to XRT and get ETF shares. They sell or borrow these ETF shares to Firm B, so now Firm B has 50000 shares of ETF. + +Firm B redeems their ETF shares to get Firm A’s recently deposited securities which includes GME. XRT still has the original amount of GME and no new shares of ETF have been created, except Firm B might owe Firm A some ETF shares if it was a short sale and Firm B has securities including GME. + +Still with me? Firm C has all of the securities needed to purchase 50000 shares of ETF, except GME. Then Firm B proceeds to directly sell or borrow the GME shares (obtained from redemption) to Firm C who now has all of the securities needed to purchase 50000 shares of ETF. Since Firm C has got all of the necessary shares in what seems to be a legitimate transaction and can trade them in to get some more ETF shares, which they can then sell/short sell to Firm D. + +Firm D then redeems them with the Fund to get the securities deposited by Firm C. And the cycle repeats with a small number of GME shares, creating short interest in XRT along the way assuming there was a short sale between Firm A and Firm B as well as Firm C and Firm D, with the EXACT SAME GME shares having passed through 4 different firms. + +This process can continue to bounce the necessary GME shares to each company involved. A small fee is paid for the privilege of creating/redeeming shares. These XRT shares can be sold short or borrowed to other market members and eventually need to be delivered. If they aren’t delivered, you end up with FTD’s for the ETF shares. Eventually this leads to XRT being placed on the threshold list like it is now. + +**But surely, the ETF holds the securities as collateral?** + +Lol. The trust you still have if you had that thought. NOPE, they aren't. Short interest for ETF’s can be very high, and the securities exchanged for ETF shares are traded in kind but (according to the N-CEN form), the shares are NOT held as collateral. At the end of the authorized participant section, there is an interesting question – *“Did the Fund (implying XRT) require that an authorized participant post collateral to the Fund or any of its designated service providers in connection with the purchase or redemption of Fund shares during the reporting period?”* Which for XRT is answered NO on the N-CEN form. Maybe they should start… + +The in-kind process exchanges ETF shares for shares of securities and vice versa. Those that do the creation/redemption are not guaranteed the exact same shares they deposited. The short interest in the ETF is not created at the fund level, but happens between the authorized participants. There is no incentive for the ETF Fund to care about short interest, since they still have their shares and anything being purchased or redeemed is still balancing out according to their books. + +The number of GME shares needed to participate in this process is TINY and obtaining further exemptions and extensions for delivering is the goal. Perfect way to juggle a few shares around and make it seem like you are meeting any FTD’s your firm might have caused. And once you’ve met the FTD’s, you’ve bought yourself some more time until the trade fails later again. + +One thing to note is that the prime brokers (and GSIB’s - [https://www.fsb.org/2021/11/2021-list-of-global-systemically-important-banks-g-sibs/](https://www.fsb.org/2021/11/2021-list-of-global-systemically-important-banks-g-sibs/) ) included on this list often loan out their authorized participant privileges to their clients, many of which are hedge funds. So, while the prime brokers may be identified in this list, the numbers could be due to their clients. Not that it really matters, since they would be on the hook if they borrowed the money to their clients and their clients defaulted. + +**As DRS continues and liquidity for even small numbers of GME shares becomes even more scarce, at some point it all goes ka-fuckin-boom**. + +**Unrelated Final Note** + +I also found that Virtu Financial BD LLC and BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage, Inc. are not even registered with the SEC according to FINRA ([https://brokercheck.finra.org/](https://brokercheck.finra.org/)). Both of them haven’t been registered for over a year but yet together did around 1.25 billion dollars purchased and 1.8 billion dollars redeemed for XRT in the first half of 2021? + +**What the hell SEC/Finra....** + +🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 +This is not a question of whether you should or shouldn't, the price is irrelevant for this sub. My question is: those of you who have bought their own plane for personal travel, did you actually use it as much as you think you would or was it just a novelty? + +I was looking into a 6 seater for my growing family since we live in a mildly inconvenient location (1 hr to the nearest big city, 2.5hrs for most destinations). I'm a pilot and I feel like the plane would let us experience much more small family vacations without dreading the drive and getting stuck in traffic. The journey to the destination would be part of the fun. At least, that's the idea. +Assuming that the car itself is paid off, and that its fairly old (2000's). I'd imagine the only costs would be gas, insurance, and maintenance, so how much would they cost per month in total? +Edit: Thank you all for your answers, after reading them I got a good generalization of how much it will cost me. Insurance with likely be much higher for me, as I'm only 16 but whatever + +I’m a Marketing Director for a business located in a large city in the Midwest. The business is family-owned but incredibly successful. It’s a high-end pet care facility, and our prices are easily the highest in our industry (at least locally). I handle all of the in-house marketing for the business (everything but coding the website and paid Google search) plus any graphic design, photography, etc. projects that my coworkers throw at me. Right now, we are working on opening a second location, and while there have been tentative talks about hiring me an assistant, I have yet to get the go-ahead to hire anyone or even post a job listing. I’m overworked, and I’m starting to think I might be underpaid. + +I make $36k/year with a bachelor’s degree. I just graduated in 2018, so I understand that I don’t have years and years of experience, but I literally handle almost all of the marketing for this company. I’m struggling to even convince my bosses that I need a new computer, so I doubt I’d be able to negotiate a salary increase any time soon, but it would be nice to know how much my work is really worth. + +Am I being underpaid? Am I being OVERpaid? I really have no idea how much I should be making. Any and all help is appreciated! + +Edit: I may not have explained myself well enough. The title “marketing director” was given to me by the company, but it’s admittedly misleading. Like I said, I handle ALL of the marketing. I’m a manager, but I have no department of my own. I AM the department haha. “Marketing associate” is probably more accurate. +Hey guys, I'm learning algo-trading and I'm trying to select a good backtesting framework/library. I'm already familiar with python, so I would prefer this to be a python library - but not a hard requirement. + +From the research that I've done, it seems that some of the top libraries are zipline, backtrader and pyalgotrade. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like any of these projects are actively maintained on GitHub anymore. + +Side-note: out of these 3, I like the look of backtrader the best because of it's simplicity. + +Does anyone have some other python backtesting library recommendations? Or perhaps there are active forks of these projects that I don't know about. + +All feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks! + +&#x200B; + +Edit 1: I should clarify that I'm primarily looking to backtest stocks. I would still be interested in libraries that target stock options or cryptos though. +I am interested in doing sentiment analysis of crypto market based on papers like [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.09369.pdf](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.09369.pdf) I need twitter profiles, where they discuss crypto. Technical/fundamental analysis experts like RythmicAnalyst but not only that, also casual discussion, comments everything. Do you know about list like that? +Hey guys, I'm learning algo-trading and I'm trying to select a good backtesting framework/library. I'm already familiar with python, so I would prefer this to be a python library - but not a hard requirement. + +From the research that I've done, it seems that some of the top libraries are zipline, backtrader and pyalgotrade. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like any of these projects are actively maintained on GitHub anymore. + +Side-note: out of these 3, I like the look of backtrader the best because of it's simplicity. + +Does anyone have some other python backtesting library recommendations? Or perhaps there are active forks of these projects that I don't know about. + +All feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks! + +&#x200B; + +Edit 1: I should clarify that I'm primarily looking to backtest stocks. I would still be interested in libraries that target stock options or cryptos though. +Looking for a way to connect Python to Metatrader to allow one to code in python and backtest using Metatraders Backtester without coding in MQL . + +It can be either MT4/5 , it doesn't matter . + +EDIT : + +Send me a direct message if you want to work on developing a solution to this together with me. +I have a signal that indicates when movement is likely in SPY, but it is not directional, which makes it tough to trade on VXX or other volatility instruments that have a directional bias. An Iron Condor (or reverse) works, but doesn't allow me to more continuously rebalance. Any ideas? +A bit of background, + +Currently am a software engineer with a degree in statistics looking to get into algo trading, what would the recommended route of learning be for someone such as myself? +Well, i`m a engeneering student and while i was trading bitcoins i found out that Algo Trading was a thing, and thats why im here. I found it extremely interesting, because it has my favourite things, like statistics, programming, economics, machine learning and, of cour$e, money! + +Anyway, i read a significant amount of posts and it seems to be extremely complicated and although i like it, i cant spend too much time studying it, as i am more compromised with robotics and stuff like that (i know that they both have stat and programming, but they are probably very different, idk) I know the basics of economics, linear algebra, calculus, C, and a bit of Python and Java. + +Well, my question is: can i learn a few things in a couple weeks and develop (or just get from someone) a trading algorithm to something small and specific, like bitcoin? I dont wanna get a server or smth big, could i just run a algo on my computer, learn some code, math and maybe dont lose money? +Hey everyone, + +I would like to know more about your experience of building trading systems using technical and fundamental indicators. I guess, it would benefit everyone. + +Here are some rules: + +1. Do not make a statement just because some random guy says so. Please state what test have YOU performed to back your claim. I have many people claiming it doesn't work without any proof just because they have read from somewhere. +2. Please state the timeframe which you are using. In my experience, TA strategies seems rational only in lower frequency. +3. Don't talk about just one indicator. Every indicator is supposed to work in a particular market regime and not always. You have to apply a combination of them. (again, from my experience). +4. Have you considered position sizing and risk management techniques in your tests? If so, could you please summarize? + +&#x200B; + +Many thanks :) + +EDIT : + +My cconclusion + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/algotrading/comments/alavg1/do\_technical\_analysis\_work/efdmfb6](https://www.reddit.com/r/algotrading/comments/alavg1/do_technical_analysis_work/efdmfb6) +I'm trying to make a trading bot and have a few questions about the architecture of the project. I've taken some programming classes, but this would be my first large scale project. Because of that, I'm not totally understanding how to structure it correctly. If it matters, the project will mainly be in golang, but I may use python for a few things here and there that aren't very time sensitive + +I'm planning on having 5 main "services" running: data gathering (both rest and websocket client), database, logic engine, and trade executer + +What I don't understand is if these "services" should be in a microservices architecture or if every service should be completely decoupled. I was thinking microservices architecture at first, but I've watched a few tutorials on microservices and it doesn't seem like the right structure. It seems like microservices are more for hosting a web server than for a trading bot. Instead, would making every "service" decoupled/distributed and running as its own file with a way for them to "talk" to each other through something like Kafka or a rest/grpc server be the better way to go? + +Thanks for any help, insight, or resources that you may have +Is this true? will a strategy becomes less effective and lost its edge the more people knows about it? + +I've been manually backtesting a very simple strategy with a fixed risk-reward ratio on several major usd pairs, with different times (e.g january-may 2017 august-december 2019 etc). I entered the trades while strictly following the rules that i've set. I marked every possible setups, and entered all trades. Eventhough there are times when I know a certain trade will lose, but I just entered there because of the rules set. + +I also calculated the amount of lots that I should use for every trades according to a certain variable. With this, compounding is achieved. + +At the end of the day, after calculating the trade's statistics, It has proven itself to have an edge and are very profitable in the long run, although the max consecutive loss (11) is higher than the max consecutive wins (6). Knowing this, Im planning to just create an EA and let it run on VPS to see how it will be doing in a 'Real' account. + +I am new to algorithm trading, and im still struggling to understand the basics from youtube and mql4's official documentation. I was thinking of hiring people from upwork/fiverr at first, but Im afraid that it won't work again as it has a possibility of being spread and a lot of people using it by the people(s) im going to employ. I've come to this conclusion after seeing the video from Youtube on an expert advisor tutorial by Mohsen Hassan (channel: bloom). + +So.. is it true? +So this past year I’ve taught myself how to build an NFL betting model using a wide variety of data I scraped using Python and then passing it into various machine learning libraries. I haven’t put too much money into it yet as I am still testing a few things, but my historical testing results have been good. + +On the other side though, I am a CPA and have two undergrad degrees in Accounting and Finance and currently work as a financial analyst. + +So my question to you all is, am I better off focusing my newly learned Python skills on algo trading or sports betting? Does anyone have any experience with both and can vouch for which one is a better use of their time in terms of having a better shot at making passive income? + +Thank you in advance for any advice. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +It just seems to me like both munis and corporate bonds may have unusual risks with the upheaval in the economy. Currently it is papered over by congress and the Fed, but I don't know how long that can or will continue, especially in the case of the solvency of cities. + +Just wondering what investment types you are holding for your first few years of FIRE. +I read posts and comments that always seem to end up being binary. Some talk about the hardships of having a high savings rate, others the joys of having a high savings rate. Some talk about the guilt of having a low savings rate, others the relief of lowering your savings rate. I think that we can fall prey into identifying ourselves as this type of person or that type of person. + +I think using a more neutral analogy is helpful, enter the boat builder. We're all building our boats in this sub. Once your boat can support yourself, you're FI. In the meantime, the only way to stay afloat is to tread water or rent someone else's boat. + +* Some of us have to work in tough conditions. If you're building your boat underwater, well, good luck. Best to deal with one problem at a time. Others may start with all the materials lying right at their feet. +* Some people are more skilled at building boats or have had their parents teach them how. Others have to learn everything on their own. +* Some enjoy the process so don't mind building a bit longer. Others like to build the smallest boat possible and take off. +* Some discover partners to help them build. Others prefer to make their boat first, then see what's out there. +* Some envision a great big yacht that will take them around the world. Others envision the freedom of no longer needing to build. +* Some plan on making improvements to their boat after they've set off on their maiden voyage. Others don't have a choice and are pushed out to sea with what they've got. + +As we all build our boats, we have some good days and some not so good days. We can exert more effort, take a class on boat building, get lucky and inherit a partially built boat, or lose it all to a fire and have to start over again. Through it all, we still continue our work. Fortunately for us, we all discovered that a boat is what we need or want. Others are building sandcastles. + +Edit: Thanks for the gold, stranger. And thanks for all the nice comments, this is why I keep coming back to this sub! +If all options are available (cash, loan, PCP, hire purchase, lease etc), what’s the cheapest way to buy a car over its lifetime? What factors affect this? What else should I consider other than cost? + +Background: We currently own a 2012 Toyota Auris that we plan to run until the cost to repair means it’s no longer worth it. In 9 months (when my wife returns to work from mat leave), we plan to buy a second car. We’d like to buy a compact electric that we can use most of the time, keeping the Auris for longer journeys, when we need the space or when we both need a car. + +Currently undecided about buying new or used (less than 2yo). We’d likely spend somewhere between £15-30k. + +Due to a recent inheritance, we currently have the cash available in a low interest savings account, so we could buy the car with cash. However, I’m trying to decide whether that’s the best approach or whether to invest/save the cash and use an alternative method for financing. + +I’d like to consider all costs of ownership, not just the initial purchase. Thanks! +Hello UKPF, + +I'm searching for advice for my mum who is 10 years from retirement and considering a career change. She works as a teaching assistant for a special needs school and is concerned that she won't physically be able to do the job for another 10 years. Due to cutbacks across the board, she has been struggling financially for some time. She has been looking for semi related jobs that would be easier long term, e.g. working with the elderly. But it seems that you need qualifications for all of these jobs now and her experience doesn't count for anything, even though she is clearly suited to the job. + +I was wondering if anyone had any advice? Or maybe some roles we hadn't considered that require little to no retraining? + +Thank you for your time. + + +EDIT: + +Well this blew up more than I thought it would. Some really great advice in this thread and some really nice words of encouragement. My sincerest thanks goes to all of you for taking the time to write something. Such a great community here! +Institutional adoption of Ethereum driving next leg of bull market in crypto markets. NYDIG, Fidelity, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest all moving in. + +Raoul Pal calls Ethereum "greatest 6-9 month trade in the HISTORY of financial markets." + +ETH for DEFI/NFTs/Staking in face of burn means $10k ETH possible. +The guy literally has no official authority and yet the whole ethereum community looks up to him and listens to his advise + +One blog post or podcast appearance is enough to rally everyone behind him! + +Such a uniting figure. +Hi all, + +I am extremely confused and frustrated currently. My roommate moved out of our apartment last month and so I was searching for someone else to help me pay the rent. I found a match on Facebook, we ironed out some details, they even filled out the application. I received a check in the mail from them for $2599 with the intention that I would take a portion of it for rent and then send the rest back to them for their moving costs using Zelle. I successfully deposited the check and sent them the remaining money in three installments, but today I went to the ATM to get some cash and the machine told me that I had insufficient funds. Confused, knowing that I had money in my account just this morning, I saw my bank account now in the negative. I called my bank's customer service and they said the check was being returned because it was "altered" - not sure what that means. Now I am unable to buy any groceries because my account is in the negative. + +I don't want to jump to conclusions and think that I'm being scammed, because the person who is planning to rent with me even sent me a picture of their ID. That being said, I'm expecting the worst. + +If I really am being scammed, how do I know? What is the process for getting my money back if I am being scammed? Thank you all for your help, cheers. + + +Edit: thank you all for your replies, I'm going to chalk this one up as a loss and start selling some shit to fix this problem. I'm really angry at myself for not noticing this ahead of time, now I will have to move out of my apartment and really reflect on this mistake I made. Hopefully my bank can help me out, I contacted them and Zelle. We will see. Thank you everyone +A key bottleneck to the whole coronavirus testing process is online screening. During the press conference Trump said it was being provided by google with a team of over a thousand engineers getting it working. + +Google/Alphabet now is denying all of this with a clarification after the press conference. Alphabet's subsidiary Verily is just working on screening in a pilot in San Francisco and didn't know at all what the press conference was talking about: + +>We are developing a tool to help triage individuals for Covid-19 testing. Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time. + +Source with more details: + +https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/13/21179118/google-coronavirus-testing-screening-website-drive-thru-covid-19 + +Leave aside the Google/Alphabet distinction that they mention one time in the article (which is nitpicky for clickbait), and look at this: + +>Carolyn Wang, communications lead for Verily, told The Verge that the “triage website” was initially only going to be made available to health care workers instead of the general public. Now that it has been announced the way it was, however, anybody will be able to visit it, she said. But the tool will only be able to direct people to “pilot sites” for testing in the Bay Area, though Wang says Verily hopes to expand it beyond California “over time.” + +That's the website they promoted during the press conference, and "now that it has been announced the way it was" indicates they didn't coordinate with them on the announcement at all. + +https://www.businessinsider.com/google-building-coronavirus-test-website-trump-says-2020-3 +For the past year+ there have been constant attempts at taking out bank accounts, credit cards and mobile phone contracts in my name. I keep getting sent credit & debit cards in my name but with a misspelling. The credit cards are always followed up with a fraud alert letter the next day, so I'm not too concerned about that because I can't really ask them to do much more - I don't think anyway. + +&#x200B; + +However, what's annoying is the mobile phone contracts which I seem to have to contact the companies direct to get them to close/investigate. Also, there are constant hard searches on my Credit Report which weren't from me and obviously the successful attempts are also shown until I can manage to get the individual companies (e.g. Vodafone) + +to remove them for me. This is very frustrating because otherwise my credit rating is very good and I was hoping to apply for a mortgage soon but this may unfortunately stop that. + +&#x200B; + +One of the banks referred me to CIFAS but that didn't seem to do anything other than stop me personally from being able to take out a contract (I was told CIFAS was most likely the reason for being declined), but maybe CIFAS helped stop a lot more attempts than those that got through, I'm not sure there's a way for me to tell. + +&#x200B; + +Is there anything else I can do to stop this or at least help against it? I made Action Fraud aware over a year ago and other times since but heard nothing from them, the police were not interested other than pointing me to Action Fraud and telling me to contact the companies (like Vodafone) direct. + +&#x200B; + +I know it's no one I personally know messing with me because the name is misspelled, I don't share accommodation. It seemed to start around the time of the Ticketmaster security breach but I changed all passwords and use 2FA, I don't even use my bank account details online anymore with the various challenger banks around. + +&#x200B; + +Thank you for you time and any help. +So my mom lives in Indiana, she's gone to the same guy who does her taxes for the past 10 years. She's had no problems with him up until this year, this past tax season he said he "accidentally" put in HIS bank account for direct deposit for HER tax money and that once he gets the money he will send it to her. She informed me about it and told me she thinks he might be scamming her and i agreed i think its very shady. So i told her to contact the IRS to confirm what she was supposed to get and what she is supposed to do. I'm young so i don't really have that much knowledge of what else she is supposed to do in this situation. i just feel bad she might be taken advantage of, or if He's doing this to other people. + +Also Indiana Government just gave out gas stimulus checks for I think $325. which she didn't get but everyone around her got theirs. I think he might've pocketed this money. + +Is that good advice? should she do something else? + +please help!! thank you so much +I just discovered this sub and am so delighted it exists! I'm in the process of exiting employment now and should be retired within a month or so (still negotiating final terms and timetable with employer). However, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to FatFIRE (financially or emotionally), as this is all happening a bit sooner than I'd expected. The timing was suddenly accelerated by recent changes at my employer, so I'm feeling a little unprepared and definitely wishing I'd discovered this group years ago and done more planning. Skimming through here it's clear many of you are much better prepared and have a lot of knowledge I'm excited to absorb. + +My startup was acquired by a large company (one of the FANGs) some time ago and I'm working there with W2 earnings over $500k and RSU equity pushing total comp over $1M in most recent years. My vague plan had been to probably FIRE sometime toward the end of '19 when I'd easily have over $10M banked between liquid investments (75%), unsold RSUs (20%) and 401K (5%). At the moment, I'm \*just\* short of $10M, probably $9.6 or .7-ish. + +I'm embarrassed to admit, I've never been much of a planner nor particularly good with finances. I arrived at my $10M number based on little more than always hearing it was supposed to be "FU money." My only excuse for lack of a better plan is I actually enjoy my work a lot and so haven't really been itching to retire, keeping our timing variable. But with the new year, things are changing unexpectedly at big company and it's clear it's about to get a lot less fun for me. + +I'm near mid-50s and wife is early 40s. She stopped working to stay-at-home when our son was born. He's now in mid-elementary school and we live in S. California but outside a major city, call it roughly upper end of MCOL. We paid off our house after the acquisition and it's worth \~$1.5m, so NW is \~$11.5 with no debt or major expenses on the horizon. We're both in good health and active. Based on family histories, BMI and lifestyle we're likely to need to cover 40-50 yrs. We'd like to leave maybe around $5M to our son which we figure in 40 years won't be enough to FIRE but enough to boost his own efforts. + +Ongoing income needs: we're still working the numbers but first pass looks like we spent around $125-140k last year living comfortably but not extravagantly (no mortgage sure helps). Going forward we'll need to cover health care but haven't priced it yet. Also, since I'll not be working long hours, we'll probably spend more on doing stuff and travel. So, we think our target range should be around $160k/yr for FIRE - up to around $250k for full FatFIRE. Fortunately, we don't have much in the way of fixed costs and neither of us have super expensive tastes or hobbies, making our range scalable. Full FatFIRE for us would largely go to discretionary upgrades like more vacation trips, business class travel, Four Seasons vs. Marriott and eating out more often. + +**Questions** + +1. We'd like to think we're in decent shape but we've only ever put money in - so we're newbies at income and distribution. We've read the 4% thing and are hoping 4% of $9.7M is enough to net $250k post taxes - but have heard California taxes are pretty awful for higher-end FIREees. Are we good, on the edge, or should we be trimming some fat from our FatFIRE dreams? +2. We'll need to reconfigure from the long-term medium-aggressive growth mix of index funds we've been in to something more appropriate for our new FatFIRE life. Also, need to start unloading the 20% still in employer RSUs to diversify. Would appreciate any insights on approaches. Is it time to get a fee-based expert involved? +3. Are there specific things to watch out for when rebalancing the portfolio to avoid triggering tax consequences? Unfortunately, our tax guy isn't very good on investments and our investment guy isn't very helpful on taxes. + +Any other things we should be thinking about from a "we're behind on planning this" triage or first-things-first perspective? This weekend we're feeling a strange combination of giddy excitement and nervous trepidation contemplating the life change in front of us and all the new things we need to learn. +My wife and I live in Toronto, Canada, and we are considering living most of the year in our cottage on an island that for practical purposes (because of the lake freezing) becomes inaccessible for 2 months of the year - Early January and Mid-end March. + +We were considering traveling for 3 months of the year and work remotely from somewhere warmer, but were not sure how people with pets do this. We have a dog and 2 cats, and don't really want to leave the cats behind in boarding for long periods. + +We could potentially travel with the dog however, or leave the dog with friends for short stints maybe, but not sure if there were other / better options? + +Any ideas? +EDIT: Thanks for everyones replies. + +Just to update, I spoke to two separate departments in DWP and HMRC and both of them found no trace of a pension provider for the company in question which confirms my fear that the money was basically stolen from myself and no doubt countless other employees over the years. + +I was then put onto The Pensions Regulator who were alarmed with the information I’d discovered and the evidence I had. The evidence was more than sufficient for TPR to start an official investigation, which they are doing. They then told me to go to the Pensions Ombudsman with my evidence as that’s the only way I could get it back. +Stupid question. Mainly a stock market one. I've dabbled in the stock market and such but this is the odd question. Back in 2002 my father bought shares in Disney for me and in a tech company. Not sure how much or any info on it I just was told don't sell it and I receive shareholders stuff in the mail every few months. He passed suddenly last May, step mom passed soon after him. We are clueless to where to even start. Since its Disney stock every Google search leads you in 10,000 different ways. Who do I go see for help or call? A CPA? Lawyer? Call Disney's front desk lol. Like I said I have no info on it just know my names on it. Where do I start? + + I would like to find out how much I own it could be 1 share or 1000's I dunno. + +The stepmother side of the family kids and stuff fell of the face of the earth after the both passed so they're no help. They took everything or tossed everything and ran as this occurred across the country. So can't even get father's paperwork incase there's any info in that. +So, I get that I'm not a typical facebook customer - I am not on it all the time, I do have a profile and friends but I only visit it occasionally. But maybe someone who is on it more often can explain to me how facebook can sustain such an incredible valuation ($104 billion)? I mean, are ads on facebook really that valuable? If not that, then what? App store? I get that they have millions of users but how do you make money off those people without driving them away? + +Isn't there a delicate balance between providing a non-intrusive place for people to socialize and targeted advertising? What am I missing here? + +Just curious to see what others think... +I'm finishing school in May and I will be starting full-time as an investment banking analyst at a bulge bracket investment bank in NYC this summer. I was an intern last summer and got the full-time offer through the internship. I'm willing to answer questions about what the job was like as an intern, what I will be expecting to be the same/different as a full-time employee (don't expect much different as they treated us like full-time employees), and general advice for getting the job if that is something you think I can help with. In that regard, I will say that I have coached a number of students at my school and they have received offers as well. I won't try and sound high and mighty as this is a tradition for people in my position at my school, helping younger, like-minded students that are a part of a certain organization at my school. +Have a question. There was a lot of short selling during the financial crash of 08. Understandable, people were betting that the market would crash. What I don't understand is that in order to short sell, wouldn't there have to be another counter party willing to "lend" you their stocks (i.e. betting that the market wouldn't crash) in order for you to be able to short sell? Surely no one was doing this during 08? My question essentially is, by what mechanism could you borrow stocks in such a scenario? Thanks + + +So while I do not work in the financial industry it interests me. I constantly see stats about you guys working far above the normal 40 hours a week often into the 100+ realm. My question is what do you do with all those working hours? Are you really more productive working that much than if you worked somewhere in the realm of 70 or so? I know many of you live in large cities like NYC, Chicago, maybe Boston? So are you factoring drive times, which can be atrocious, into the “working” hours calculation? + +Explain the life to me guys, I’d like to hear how you guys live like? Also…. If you work that much when the hell do you spend all that money you supposedly make? + + +A few months ago I somehow stumbled upon crypto and this wonderful community. + + +Ever since the first thing I do when I wake up is read the opinions of random people around the world on Reddit, some I agree with, some I don't - all of it is healthy discussion moving towards the same revolution.  + + +I became so consumed by it I couldn't do my day job anymore so I decided to quit. I hunted after every blockchain company I could find near me.  + + +When I found the one I wanted, the interview process was extremely tough. The people asking me questions were far more intelligent than I will ever be, but when they asked for my opinion on what direction the world was moving I responded with the shit I have learned right here. I challenged them with the opinions and discussion I have read here on a daily basis.  + + +After a while, you figure out whats real through the silent upvoters. Thank you for passing on the incredible knowledge accessible here.  + + +Fake it until you become it + + +Hello, + +As the title states I'm looking for advice on the best way to accept cryptos for pints at the brewery I work at. I am aware of the lightening network but I have no clue about the best way to set this up. + +Any help is much appreciated... let's start the transition to a FIAT free world! + +Update: apologies for the lack of responses. Mans been busy! Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback. Breez app looks hella user-friendly for LN transactions. I've contacted them to ask about the risks. BTCserver looks a good option too, shame they don't seem to have an app. + +Hoping to get it sorted ready to starting accepting crypto when we open in April! Come visit us.. Whitby Brewery +Monzo, Curve, Starling, even those old prepaid cinema card systems - the majority of banks and providers that do something a bit smarter or unusual with debit cards all seem to use Mastercard, not Visa. Is there a reason for this? + +Something like a lower barrier to entry for smaller organisations, better pricing, better tech infrastructure? +To everyone saying to move on from the mod drama. Do a deep dive into renshill and reds past in the original gme sub. Renshill is sus as fuck, has already price anchored previously, and will probably do so again in the future. + +Red just seems like a useful idiot with a powertrip. + +I'm not selling until I'm obscenely rich from X shares. The other XXX shares are going to the pool we can't talk about here because it scares the mods employer. +I'm sure we have all made terrible financial decisions in the past. I am 27 years old so I don't have many. But I figured we could share some stories of how we have messed up and for others to avoid repeating history. I'll start with me, mine was going out of state for college. I ended with over $120k in student loans. I have in the last 4 years paid it down to $60k, but those $1000+ monthly payments are not by any means easy. My fiance and I struggle monthly to pay our bills due to my student loan burden and we can't afford the things we need. I sometimes wish I skipped college all together. My recommendation, make 100% sure you are going to college for the right reasons, for me it was to party. +I’m 34 and have 180k in my 401k and max it out every year. I’d like to have money that is accessible before retirement to spend without getting penalized for withdrawing early. Would it be more beneficial to put an additional 6k in a Roth/IRA or a brokerage/index fund with low fees? +ETH was my first enter into crypto world. I entered when it was being hyped will be going to be $1000. but yeah lol we know how it going. But thanks to that now I learned a lot about crypto world and the opportunities inside. + +always HODL :D +The more i read through the ethereum posts it seems like there is now a real hostility towards bitcoin, a few months back everyone was talking about how each has its own merits and are completely different /rely on each other. Now its all death to bitcoin. What happened? + +Either way I won't be ditching bitcoin as easily as everyone else in here seems to have. +...Meanwhile ETH just grows in adoption and price and is about to hit FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! + +Other projects come and go and Ethereal continues to live on and grows bigger and stronger! +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +For all the apes dealing with choosing between healthy food and cheaper food. You are not alone. + +For all the apes who have become experts at finding things on sale and only buying on sale. You are not alone. + +To those who just got engaged, getting ready to get married or got married with the weight of the financial stress it brings. You are not alone. + +Everyone who has had surprise medical or dental needs that have set you back or just bummed you out. You are not alone. + +To all the ones who have college debt that makes it financially hard to move forward. You are not alone. + +For those who have chosen a work - life balance for a paycut just for your sanity at a pay cut check. You are not alone. + +For all those who have zero choice but to be literal wage slaves because it's the difference between a roof or a street. You are not alone. + +Everyone who cannot afford access to the things that make it easier to stay healthy physically and emotionally. You are not alone. + +To everyone who is a parent, supports their family or has pets and struggles with the added hours with no pay increase. You are not alone. + +For all that cannot afford to have pets, let alone kids or a house. You are not alone. + +And lastly. + +For every ape that buys and holds. Whom Zen is their state of being. And the army of DRS shares. + +You are not alone. +Seems like it seems inevitable that there will be a major shakeup in commercial real estate in the coming months, with all of the impending vacancies due to restaurants/bars/retail stores closing down. I don't expect the commercial RE market to recover for another 12-24+ months. + +What are the opportunities for savvy investors? Any ways to capitalize on the situation if we have cash saved up or significant access to cash? +I found a house in a nice neighborhood that needs rehabbing. I’m looking at $13,000 USD in repairs and $7,000 for the house. Every other house in the neighborhood is an easy 150K-250K. Would I be smart to accept a RTO with 2,000 down and pay the rest in payments at 9% interest. I make decent money and could probably own the home out right with all repairs done within 4 months. Then I would easily just from $13,000 in repairs and the original $7,000 plus interested have a 70-100K home. +A little bit of background about me I turn 19 in 2 weeks I’m in Sales myself. I currently own 1 home that is worth 185,000 that someone sold me so they would not lose it which I received for the pay off of 47,000. I have approx $17,000 in Liquid cash at the moment. Is this a fairly reasonable risk to assume? +Dallas, TX Landlord. + +New Landlord + +Found Highly Rated Property Management Company. + +Did a ton of research and realized that I want to go get a property management company from day one. + +My question is: When I contact them, do I go in with the attitude of a boss telling the property management company of what to do. Telling them all my screening criteria and rules? Or do I let them take the wheel with their standards and screening criteria and forms? + +Do I go to them with a completed lease? Or do I go with the attitude of asking them for advice? + +Since I am new to landlording, they obviously hold the power in knowledge, location, reducing liability much more than I would. +I've been interested in cash flow properties and have been pondering whether its more economical to leave certain properties "as is" or convert them to duplex or triplexes for more income. + +This is highly circumstantial as some properties this can be difficult legally and practically or not feasible at all because of house size or design. Other times it may just be better to rent the house out to a single tenant. + +Here is an example home: + +https://comfree.com/on/essex-windsor-kent-lambton/windsor/home-for-sale/hab-834-janette-d19988088#description + +The main floor would have the inner doors locked for tenant 1, the stairway would have a lockable door installed and the basement can be the last tenant (Which appears reachable from the rear). Separate hydro meters would have to be installed for each unit. + +How difficult is it to legally convert an average house to a duplex? Is the paperwork, inspections, red tape and rezoning difficult to undergo? Is it taxing in both time and money? Is it recommended? What you done it on any of your properties? How did it turn out? +Do you have any tips for working for yourself? + +I quit my cushy job with one of the big four banks and I’d like to work for myself for a bit. When I quit I felt like a huge weight had lifted from my shoulders. + +My biggest concern was figuring out how long my savings would last and I’m actually doing ok. + +It’s the first time ever in my working career that I’m not living pay check to pay check and having a 3 month buffer feels pretty awesome. + +Anyone else here made the plunge from corporate to self employed? +I know it’s unbelievable in todays world but my company matches absolutely nothing to my 401k. My husbands company has a pension and a 401k match. I just want something for myself for “just in case”. +Should I even invest in it or should I just open my own Roth IRA. I make about $55k/year and currently put 10% in the 401k so +I figure if I did go the roth route I would max it out annually. I’m 39 and know I’ll be working until social security kicks in, whenever that is. +Alright fucktards. Some of you paperhanded pussys may take your Nice tendies from BB and GME over the next couple of days. When you all bought your lambos and forgot to pay your taxes, you need a new play to support your new lifestyle - Lets face it, hookers now about inflation and they will raise their prices sooner then the Steel industry! + +Nokia is on the move and you might aswell enjoy the free ride! +If you got in last week you could have been fortunate enough to buy in at the best price ever!!! + +Positions +1000 shares at 4,20 +Been lurking on this sub for a while, relating to all of your stories. Was losing hope, after a year of unemployement and bills adding up. It's been rough, but this sub kept me going. To whomever needs to hear this right now, don't give up! Sometimes you can be the toughest and most resilient individual on the planet, but it's only when you let go of the outcome that true miracles happen. Keep the faith!! :) +We understand the HF shorted GME. They wanted it to go to $0. However that plan is not going to happen. + +Now I understand if they want to prevent the price from rising to $300 and above due to margin call risks. + +But why would they want to keep pushing it down to $120 and below? + +There’s not much benefit there. It’s not getting them any closer to exiting their position. + + +So why not just maintain it flat at $140 or $160 or perpetually near 180? Why keep trying to hammer the price? Is there paperhanding out there that makes it worth doing ? But even then, that’s not getting them closing their short positions +I'm 64 and had a wonderful conversation with a close friend who is 74. I mentioned this sub and shared my understanding of what it means. Two really distinct differences between now and the times we grew up in popped out. I think sharing them here will explain a lot of the prior generation's behaviors. This may be useful when you engage with someone in their twenties that's acting like a hippie (I have special dispensation to use that word). + +First, in the 50s through the 70s, the economic reality was if you showed up to work, you would get to retire. Defined benefit pension plans and social security would take care of you. Factories were always hiring. Questioning your life choices because your work wasn't fulfilling to you never came up. You showed up, got paid, put in your time. + +Second, this time period was the height of the Cold War. We grew up doing drills in school so we would know what to do when the Reds dropped the Bomb. When MIRVs and Hydrogen bombs came online, we pretty much figured out that we should enjoy today because tomorrow may never come, no matter how hard we drilled. That meant enjoy work, even shitty work, wear that shit as a badge of honor, drink and talk shit, enjoy that new car, that new home. Achieve whatever status you could achieve because it only matters until they drop the Bomb. + +Show up, work, and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow may never come. + +So this gives me some questions. + +Do you recognize this "live for today" attitude in some of your friends and coworkers, or older family members? Can you see it being passed down from parents to children, generation to generation? Is there a new cause? + +Can FIRE realistically scale to more than a tiny percentage of the population? We seem to have this very real opportunity available to all that will choose it; is it limited in some way to just a few? + +EDIT: Thanks everyone for your contributions. The blind spot that you've filled in for me is student loan debt. When I attended community college, the only costs were books and a $5 parking permit for the year. When I attended university, out of state tuition was $3000~. Minimum wage was $5~, so 20 hours a week paid for most of tuition plus room and board. There was little need to borrow. + +I'm so sorry about the current student debt industry. I can't think of how I would manage two to three years of full time salary worth of debt if I were in that position, just coming out of school. +# Preface + +This is not financial advice. I'm a Chemical Engineer turned Software Developer turned Life Coach. I know math and I understand the power of data AND assumptions. My objective here is to lay out some assumptions (with the way I understand the market) and see what surfaces. + +Please, by all means, challenge these assumptions, prove them wrong, or find a better way to validate them so we can all move forward with an accurate map. + +# The Data + +**2,041,898,870 Shares** have changed hands SINCE January 29th, 2021. + +I was curious this weekend and wondered what the total volume has been since Jan 29th 2021 (basically every day since the run up in January). A simple Google Sheets formula gave me the answer. + +**=googlefinance("GME","volume", DATE(2021,1,29), TODAY())** + +This formula will give you an array of volumes for each day. Do a simple sum and you'll see that it's over TWO BILLION SHARES! + +&#x200B; + +[Daily Volume\/Closing Price since January Run Up](https://preview.redd.it/p85mj3qa4p771.png?width=3136&format=png&auto=webp&s=020d80d8ccdb4e750df3cdc15f05e1f7de97283f) + +# Assumptions + +Knowing the number of shares that have changed hands since January, my thought was if I could figure out what % of those shares were diamond-handed apes Buying to HODL them to infinity, we could figure out what quantity of shares to add to the \~226% SI from the Robinhood Class Action Lawsuit. + +Here's the assumptions (or categories of what the volume represents to me): + +1. HFT/Short Ladder Attacks count in the volume but don't result in any shares accumulated/held +2. SHF's/MM's are selling naked shorts +3. Apes are buying and HODLing shares +4. A small percentage MUST be accounted for day traders taking advantage of the volatility + +The important realization here is that there are really only 4 possibilities happening with each share being traded so it comes down to making assumptions on the average percentage that each category represents. + +An even more important assumption is that apes have been buying and hodling. I, personally, have had at least 5 people that I know tell me they have purchased more shares since January (most of them did not own any shares prior to January 29th.) So yes, the ownership of apes continually increases as time goes on. Tick tock. + +# Results + +At the end of the day, the only category that truly matters is #3, Apes buying/HODLing. + +I don't pretend to know what percentage makes up the other 3 categories but if any wrinkle-brains out there have an idea or a way to figure that out, it would be super helpful! + +My assumption from my assumptions is that Buying/HODLing represents no greater than 20% of total volume and very likely is much smaller but even at these small percentages, my tits are still JACKED. Again, I would hope to be wrong and I know that I've seen the screenshots from Fidelity/TDAmeritrade where it's 90% buying vs 10% selling each day and the OBV isn't moving, etc... I'm well aware. + +However, my gut, and that is largely what these assumptions are made from, says it's got to be smaller than that. + +Without further ado, here's what I discovered: + +&#x200B; + +|Buy/Hold %|Total Shares Bought/Held Since Jan 29th| +|:-|:-| +|0.5%|10,209,494| +|1.0%|20,418,989| +|2.5%|51,047,472| +|5.0%|102,094,944| +|7.5%|153,142,415| +|10%|204,189,887| +|20%|408,379,774| + + What does this mean? + +Of the 2 Billion shares that have traded hands SINCE Jan 29th, 2021, if 0.5% of that volume was apes buying/Hodling, that means we are now holding an additional 10.2M shares. If that percentage is 20%, we're talking an additional 408M shares... + +Taking into account the \~226% SI from the Robinhood Class Action Lawsuit, assuming 70M shares outstanding is what that is based off of, then 70M X 226% = 158,200,000 Shares. + +Adding the total shares Bought/Held gives us new potential SI%'s: + +&#x200B; + +|Buy/Hold %|New SI%| +|:-|:-| +|0.5%|240.58%| +|1.0%|255.17%| +|2.5%|298.92%| +|5.0%|371.85%| +|7.5%|444.77%| +|10%|517.70%| +|20%|809.40%| + +I gladly welcome challenges to my assumptions or for someone to take this and run with it even further. + +# +Do not purchase items new if they will be used infrequently. If necessary, purchase them used, barrow them from friends, or rent. Examples: bought a toaster new and I used it once every other month. Built a sweet "gaming" computer and hardly ever turn it on because I don't have the time now. Bought an expensive wrench for one time use. Put more thought into your purchases and think about how often whatever you're buying will be used. +Just wanted to update everyone with the latest Medium Blog Post from the OriginTrail team. They are great at keeping everyone updated with everything that is going on. + +I have grown more and more bullish with this project with each thing I have seen. They really have the potential to bind the others together nicely! + +Their team has multiple people active in the telegram chat ready to answer questions at any moment and are taking suggestions and actually implemented them quickly! + +For a team with an actual product, masternodes info coming, a great team, an exciting roadmap... its hard not to see the huge value and potential of this project. I'm personally accumulating over 100k $TRAC to run a master node (the numbers haven't been released yet but I would rather not pay 2-10x for one when the times come) + +What are your thoughts on $TRAC? + +https://medium.com/origintrail/origintrail-report-on-market-development-2017-southeast-asia-and-china-532a7ee2a228 + + - **Official Website:** https://www.origintrail.io + - **Whitepaper:** https://origintrail.io/storage/documents/OriginTrail-White-Paper.pdf + - **Comparison Matrix (VEN, AMB, WTC, etc):** https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUs_dKMWkAEb4F_.jpg + - **CoinMarketCap:** https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/origintrail/#markets + - **Quora "Why is OriginTrail getting so much attention lately?"** https://www.quora.com/Why-is-OriginTrail-getting-so-much-attention-lately + - **Where to Buy?:** I have really enjoyed the MetaMask/IDEX pairing! It is actually pretty awesome! https://idex.market/eth/trac + +A bit of information from the $TRAC team about their ERP Integrations (this is huge for corporate support) https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/396736415259557928/407663663479128074/image.png + +--- + +Editing to provide some information as requested in comments! + + - **Current Market Cap:** Based on 290m circulating we are around 116-125 million and growing very quickly. Still early y'all! + - **Circulating Supply:** 290 million confirmed circulating supply. Team is in process of contacting CMC to resolve it not being listed. +I withdrew from IRA to a standard brokerage account. + +I don't like the Mainstar Trust idea becaise it is the only avenue I have seen for this and I think it is corruptable by the unlimited money that the financial industry has. We've seen crime at every turn in this saga. It's been crazy. I think Mainstar is too much of a risk. + +Can anyone confirm that they can see their IRA shares in Computershare? Or just Mainstar? + +I talked to the polite and helpful rep and asked them what is going to be remaining in my IRA when all GME shares are DRS'd. He said that 100% DRS would never happen if I left shares in my IRA. From the conversation, my implicit takeaway is that my broker doesn't acknowledge naked shorting. + +This blew my mind. +We start to reach new ATHs every week now, BTC found a 3 week long resistance at $60K, and soared back to $68k. ETH is just killing the stage, and are you leaving? This soon? + +Like, fine its your money, but its funny that most of this sub makes fun of people who sold BTC at $100 for 10X, are the same ones that selling BTC for %20. + +If you start to stress out, yes, i recommend taking money too. You clearly are playing with money you cannot afford to loose, which is againt the rule #1 of investing. + +But dont come 3 years after saying that you "couldve" have a fortune! Or wouldn't need to work if you just didnt sold before Bull run started to heat up. + +ETH/BTC to the moon! +Remember when BTC went from $120 to $1,200? looks like we are adding a zero too [$11 going to $110], with the only difference that fundamentals are stronger and thus the growth seems sustainable. Maybe we'll go higher before stabilizing around $110 after a dip... +On May 31st, I posted the following below and it was suggested I start a dedicated thread for discussion: +- - - - - + +Gents, for a trading subreddit, I see very few examples of HOW people trade ETH. In fact, most of the advice is to NOT trade. + + +Backstory: I am fully invested in ETH and have no plans to add to by hodl stash. However, I thought it would be interesting to commit some funds to a trading experiment. I day-traded stocks for about a decade back in the 90’s and 2000’s and have a pretty good basic understanding of TA. That being said, I agree with many that TA does not apply particularly well to the crypto space. However, I have gleaned on to one indicator: RSI (14) (momentum oscillator). Due to the nature of ETH, I will set the following simple rules: + +• Start with $5,000 USD – trading with Gemini (US) +• **RSI Project Buy:** when the 1 hr chart, RSI (14) > 66.67 +• **RSI Project Sell:** when the resultant position experiences a 2-3% price drop depending on market action +• **RSI Project Sell:** when the 1 hr RSI goes below 66.67 + +That’s it. Trading to commence when my wire pops into my account later today. I will post entries and exits over the next 30 days and share overall running results. I have my doubts that this will yield anything higher than holding, but will be a fun exercise. + + +**Note: As of this project induction, price of ETH is $226 (USD/Gemini)* + +Welcome to the Daily Altcoin Discussion thread of /r/EthTrader. + +*** + +The thread guidelines are as follows: + +- All sub rules apply here so please review our **[rules page](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/about/rules/)** to become familiar with them. The rules page is also linked in the announcement bar above. +- This thread is intended as a welcome place for discussion of all non-Ethereum related crypto. + +*** + + Resources and other information: + +* Newcomers who have basic questions about Ethereum can find answers by visiting /r/EthereumNoobies or our Ethereum Education wiki page, [see here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/wiki/education). + +* To view live streaming comments for this thread, [click here](https://reddit-stream.com/comments/auto). Account permissions are required to post comments through Reddit-Stream.com. + +*** + +Enjoy! + +With so many new users, I thought there would be some interesting stories worth sharing about how we found out about ETH. I'll go first. + +I found out about Ethereum in late May, 2016. I was researching how to build a computer, and came across an unreal PC Mod called the Red Harbringer Crossfire Desk. While researching where I could get a copy of this desk, I found the company that made it (Red Harbringer). They also made a pretty cool looking machine for Bitcoin Mining. + +I'd known about bitcoin since 2012, but not in any depth. I'd heard about "mining", and since I had a free hour, I read a bit about it. One of the google results was for Genesis Mining (a contract mining outfit). I thought I'd give it a try. + +On the Genesis page, I saw that bitcoin was an option, but also this thing called "Ethereum", which was a much cooler name. I read a bit about it, bought a small contract, read some more, and then got the ETH fever. + +Unfortunately, my first purchase of anything significant was at $19.80 on Kraken on June 16, 2016. But that's a story for another day... +Yes though I am not that good at buying and selling stocks but I do kind of know what I’m doing + +There is no way anyone could fully predict that Tesla was going to take off like that right? I was just looking at the price over time graph and spikes in the stock and saw it was around the peak of where it usually hits before a downfall and of course a few days after I thought that, the stock started heading down. Now I had made a fair amount of money and I don’t like investing in individual companies so I sold it. Now my buddies are always like how’s Tesla doing and it pisses me off but that’s not the problem really they’re a-holes. + +I guess what I’m asking is that there is no way anyone could predict the Tesla spike right? + +And what do y’all think about shorting the stock? + +And I feel like this is common selling stocks before they take off so I’m not the only one?? +Thought it was appropriate to make a post on this, after seeing this poor guy [u/lusi\_spagetti](https://www.reddit.com/user/lusi_spagetti/) [losing a lot of hard earned money by "investing" on penny stocks](https://www.reddit.com/r/pennystocks/comments/mjwe60/i_dont_even_know_anymore/). + +You may know that, on average, mindlessly throwing cash at the [S&P500 gives you an expected return of 10% a year](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042415/what-average-annual-return-sp-500.asp). Some years it may be 20%, sometimes you may get fucked by a tech bubble or a pandemic, but, overall if you leave your money there for a good 30 years, you'll find your 10k became a 100-150k. It's basically like playing at the casino, but you're lucky enough to be on the right side of the table: you will win and lose on single trades/years, but overall your expected return is positive. Just like playing the roulette, betting always on red, but if it goes on the 0s you still win. + +This is generally due to the S&P500 giving you exposure to the growth of the American economy (often the world economy, as these companies have sales/business worldwide). Hence, as long as tech/education/business improves the economic condition of the US, you can profit from it by just buying an S&P500 ETF, and reliably grow your wealth. + +With penny stocks, the opposite is true: [the average penny stock loses 27% a year, the median 37%](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4210286-lot-of-college-educated-people-are-losing-money-in-penny-stocks). Which basically means that by trading them, you are expected to lose money, in the long run. Makes you reflect on why institutional investor/hedgies don't touch them with a 10ft pole. A key reason is the quality of the companies you are investing in: companies with poor management, no valuable tech, unsustainable financials, etc. One may easily be tricked into thinking that buying penny stocks it's just like buying S&P500/NASDAQ/DOW grade stuff, just at cheaper share price, and hence be exposed to the same growth due to the economy improving. But it's not: on average, you are buying a failing company, and you should expected to lose money from your investment. It's easy to think, with all the crazy gains posted (and much less crazy losses - shy bagholders), you could make a quick buck on pennies, but the reality is the exact opposite. Don't be fooled by the current inflated prices caused by [an avalanche of retail "investors" in the last couple of months](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/business/penny-stocks-trading.html). + +This is of course unless you have an edge. So ask yourself: do you reasonably think you have an advantage over other market players? An edge can be things like: + +\- spectacular DD skills + +\- a trading strategy nobody/very few are adopting + +\- anything leading you to make better-informed decision than other market players + +An edge is not: + +\- "I learned technical analysis from -insert guru name-" ([technical analysis is bs, per EMH - even just weak form](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032615/what-are-differences-between-weak-strong-and-semistrong-versions-efficient-market-hypothesis.asp#:~:text=Though%20the%20efficient%20market%20hypothesis%20theorizes%20the%20market%20is%20generally,technical%20analysis%20can%20aid%20investors), ask yourself why anyone would give away this ultra important edge) + +\- "I bought $WTF and made 1000% in a month" (that's a black swan event - which is contemplated in the EMH) + +\- "I'm an insider for some well promoted P&D schemes" (... well technically it's an edge, and quite a serious one, but other than a positive return you should expect a visit from the SEC) + +So, overall, yes, you can find undervalued opportunities while trading pennies, and make the millions. One may argue that, since there's a lot less DD going on with them, one could develop such fundamental analysis edge more easily. But, on average, you should expect to lose roughly 1/3\~1/4 of your money every year. The more trades you make, the more likely you are to get to this. Also, it's worth noting that the edge you need to develop is more substantial than to generate alpha in big-boys trading, as you first need to overcome the negative 27% average. + +**If there was a penny stock index ETF (P&D500?), I would short it. The expected return would be a mind bending - Warren Buffett beating 27% a year.** + +Happy Easter everyone! + +tl;dr: if you don't have an edge, the reasonable expectation is you'll get fucked +This may be common knowledge to many of us who visit this sub, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to remind people. The normal cost for SiriusXM in my car with online access is $20/mo, but all you need to do is call up, tell them you want to cancel, and they can lower it to $6/mo for a year. I've been doing this for years and just call up a week before the promo ends. + +The trick is they don't start off with this rate, they'll offer you 1-2 other rates first, say $15/mo, then if you decline it's $10/mo, and the last one is $6/mo. Once you're on the promo, it's easy to say "I want to cancel, but I'll renew if you can extend my existing promo", and so far they always have for me. + + +After making a comment on one of the threads, I realized how outdated my observations (“Texas trailer park retirement” and “10/10/4 plan”) were compared to the level of sophistication people are approaching FI now. In my defense, I really did read “Your Money or Your Life” in the early 1990’s and was heavily influenced by its philosophy. Though I did think it’s investment philosophies were way too conservative much to my long term advantage. My only suggestion for this subreddit would be updating the FAQ with a detailed glossary covering the abbreviations. They can be a bit intimidating to a newbie. +EDIT 5: This mainly applies to buy orders, so it forces them to stay on the open market. When selling, it's best to let Fidelity handle the trade for you, so that you get the sell price(keeping in mind to do a limit order, not a market order). The purpose of this is not to spread or appeal to FUD, but to help take ammo away from any shenanigans the SHFs can use against us. + +EDIT 3(Read this first): NYSE limits each trade amount to be blocks of 100 shares ort higher, however I've had a few users inform me that trading through ARCX(NYSE: Arca) and XNMS(NASDAQ) worked for them with orders between 1-10 shares, so I've updated the post accordingly. + +Steps below(click each step for reference pictures): + +1. [Download the Fidelity Active Trader Pro desktop app](https://www.fidelity.com/trading/advanced-trading-tools/active-trader-pro/overview). This app is similar to Webull's desktop app. Only works on PC or Mac. Android users, you're out of luck and sorry iOS users, I don't know, but I assume the same since Fidelity does not list it on their site. +2. Once installed, open the app and login +3. [In the top right, click `Settings` → `Directed Trade`](https://gyazo.com/bc3f853dcc368838ec9d9bf05f1425a8.png) +4. Under `STOCK DEFAULTS`, change the `Default Route` from Default to [ARCX(the Market Indicator Code for the New York Stock Exchange(NYSE): Arca)](https://gyazo.com/f06f64a8b014f29714789ddcbc7bfdb5.png) or to [XNMS(The Market Indicator Code for the Nasdaq)](https://gyazo.com/071a54c6ba9ec8a68532a56de3b49545.png) + +The only stipulation, by my understanding, is that you now need to place all trades on the desktop app in order for them to be manually directed. If you trade through the phone app/website app, then I believe it defaults to Fidelity's Default which could take you through a Dark Pool. + +Also, the desktop app, is customizable, so feel free to lay it out in a manner that you're most comfortable with. [Here's how mine is laid out](https://gyazo.com/92b1e3577d988300573d0edade2ac2de.png) + +As always, please feel free to leave any questions/comments below. This is not financial advice, this is just me showing what I personally did to route my trades manually. you do you, boo. + +EDIT: The reason I suggested NYSE is because Fidelity does not support trading through IEX, so the next best solution is to route direct to another exchange. + +Edit 2: One user reported that trading direct to NYSE required blocks of 100 or larger... I'm unable to confirm as I don't have enough money to drop into GME right now, but if this happens to you please let me know, and maybe try selecting ARCX or XNMS and see if that works. Thanks! + +Edit 4: Looks like trading through ARCX allows Fidelity users to trade both in Pre-Market as well as After-Hours. This is ANOTHER huge advantage to using their desktop app, since the mobile app and website platform limit you to market orders. You're still bound by the +/- 50% rule, but at least you have more time with which to trade! +I feel like I might be able to get a job by applying through LinkedIn and I'm happy to do a hobby ore entrepreneurial work which I turn into a job, but searching for employment for myself is a maze, and feels like a job in itself, more effort than an actual job. + +I feel like people who are sociable or particularly wealthy and have a great relationship with their peers just ask other people to help, but poorer folk clearly don't do that. + +I feel I could probably ask my parents to help look for a job for me, but I feel like asking a relative or wealthy friend myself would just not get taken seriously and a friend from a more ordinary background wouldn't be able to offer anything even if they wanted to. +Our base in Afghanistan has a couple Bazaars where you can purchase local goods. They usually accept $USD or "eagle cash" which is basically a card we can load with money from a checking account. I walked by one merchant today, however, who had a QR code with the bitcoin symbol on his table. I asked him what it was, and well, long story short here I am! I still have to wait a couple days before my bank account is validated so I can transfer, but I plan to do all my local Christmas shopping now with it. I was already going buy a bunch of goods to send back home to family, but now I'm doing it in bitcoin to spread some of the BTC love 7,000mi away. + +I'm still learning, but it's crazy I discovered this here of all places...as a currency it actually fits nicely in this situation and I hope it catches on (a lot of people have run into issues with identity fraud, stolen card info, or other problems while trying to buy things overseas with all the traveling we have to do). + +edit: thank you everyone so much for the unexpected tips, please let me mail you a souvenir or something. I definitely owe you all a picture, I'll ask the guy next time I'm there if it's ok. for now here is a [thank-you pic](http://i.imgur.com/tILdEzQ.jpg) +Been dealing with an eating disorder keeping me fatigued and I haven't been able to get diagnosed yet because I lack insurance, lack an education, and it's tough to working a higher-paid labor job with this. I wrestled from 5 years young to 18 and started fasting to cut weight when I was 14. I didn't understand back then, and haven't seen a doctor even years later because of the incredible cost, knowing I'll have to pay out of pocket for multiple visits or for seeing different specialists. I'm fortunate for this amazing opportunity. And I'm positive I'm not the only ape who is waiting for the squeeze so they can finally get the treatment they need. 💎✋🦍🚀🌕 +Sources: + +[Link to Tweet](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1514564966564651008?s=20&t=yTPdQ4R1evwkZwQmxYlMrw) + +[Link to Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-14/elon-musk-launches-43-billion-hostile-takeover-of-twitter?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter) + +[Link to full SEC 13D](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-14/elon-musk-launches-43-billion-hostile-takeover-of-twitter?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter) + +&#x200B; + +**ELON** MUSK SAYS ON APRIL 13, 2022, DELIVERED A LETTER TO **TWITTER** THAT CONTAINED A NON-BINDING PROPOSAL - SEC FILING. + +**ELON** MUSK - PROPOSED TO ACQUIRE ALL OF **TWITTER** STOCK NOT OWNED BY THE REPORTING PERSON FOR ALL CASH CONSIDERATION VALUING STOCK AT $54.20 PER SHARE. + +&#x200B; + +Do note that he also said: + +ELON MUSK SAYS HE BELIEVES THAT TWITTER SHOULD BE PRIVATE TO GO THROUGH THE CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE + +\*\*\*ELON MUSK, ON TWITTER PROPOSAL, SAYS IF THE OFFER IS NOT ACCEPTED, "I WOULD NEED TO RECONSIDER MY POSITION AS A SHAREHOLDER". + +$TSLA Tesla is down 1%+ pre-market after news of his offer. +My plan is to buy up some rental properties. I will be leveraged, so if there is a recession I will be underwater for a while. I can hold it out as long as I still have tenants paying rent. However, they will get hurt too so I might have to drop rent. Is there data on how rent is affected by recessions and depressions? + +I'm asking here instead of on real estate subreddits because when I ask real estate investors I get a lot of "don't worry about it" type answers. +Is it a buy, hold or sell at these levels and why? Are you expecting any more bad news or should it slowly recover during 2020? Dust off the crystal balls folks ;-) +When I get interested in trading in the US securities market, the very first thing on my mind is that I need to get a brokerage account. But there are hundreds of broker dealers in the market, which one should I choose? To help rookies like me, I gathered some details about fees and some features of the brokers I found. + +**Charles Schwab** + +1. No online commission for listed stocks and ETFs +2. $0.65 per contract for options +3. $2.25 per contract for futures +4. No opening and maintainance fees, no minimum fund requirement +5. Provides automated investing that works just like a robot managed fund of ETFs, no fees required but has a minimum capital requirement of $5K +6. Allows fractional shares but requires a minimum of $5 investment in the stock + +**Fidelity** + +1. No online commission for listed stocks and ETFs +2. $0.65 per contract for options +3. No accounts fees and no minimums to open an account +4. Provides same automated investing services as Charles Schwab, but only $10 minimum required. No fees required for a capital under $25K, 0.35% per year for a capital more than $25K +5. Allows fractional shares + +**E\*trade** + +1. No online commission for listed stocks and ETFs +2. $0.65 per contract for options. Additionally, if you are a frequent trader of options, only $0.50 per contract for customers executed more than 30 trades of stocks, ETFs, and options per quarter +3. $1.5 per futures contract +4. No account fees and no minimum requirements to open an account +5. Automated investing service with minimum $500 capital, charges a 0.3% annual fee +6. No fractional shares + +**Merill Edge** + +1. No online commission for listed stocks and ETFs +2. $0.65 per options contract +3. No account fees and no minimum requirements to open an account +4. Minimum $1,000 required for professionals managed investment, 0.45% annual fees charged. +5. No fractional shares + +**TD Ameritrade** + +1. No online commission for listed stocks and ETFs +2. $0.65 per options contract +3. No annual account fees and no minimum requirements +4. No fractional shares +5. Broad selections of information sources such as research, analysis, commentary, and news available from dozens of providers, many of them are free. + +**Interactive Brokers** + +1. Fees are different for IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro, IBKR Lite is more suitable for beginners or casual traders +2. No online commission for listed stocks and ETFs for IBKR Lite +3. $0.65 per options contract for IBKR Lite +4. No annual account fees and no minimum requirements +5. Wide selections for mutual funds: over 4,000 US no-trasaction-fee mutual funds and over 14,000 offshore no-trasaction-fee mutual funds +6. Allows fractional shares + +&#x200B; + +Almost all the brokers require no commissions to trade stocks and ETFs, they will only come in different if you have other needs like options trading, portfolio management, mutual funds, cryptos, and information sources. Make sure you go to the broker which provides the services you want, otherwise if you change your broker, a trasaction fee might be charged if you trasfer your money from one broker to another broker. +Only my girlfriends knows I do this every morning but even she tells me that it might be a good idea to not bring this up. In fact, I don’t know anyone who knows anything about the stock market and I wouldnt recommend day trading to anyone even if I become successful in it. + +Do you feel the same? or does your circle knows that you are involved in such a “risky business” like my parents would say if they knew. +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/avi0e7rw7rg61.png?width=1640&format=png&auto=webp&s=c282ef0313e88524548ac6034f5d6c8096730ed9 + +# - What is Sugarmade? ($SGMD) + +Share price : **0.0086** \- Under a penny + +Market Cap : **26.69M** + +Outstanding shares : **3.1B** + +Volume : **524,620,095** \- Up 10x + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +**Sugarmade, inc** is involved in two main business areas: + +* The supply of consumable products to the quick-service restaurant sub-sector of the restaurant industry, and as an importer of non-medical personal protection equipment to business and consumers (Watch the edit for more information about this) +* As an investor in the **Budcars** licensed cannabis delivery service brand and as an equity owner in Budcars’ first operating location in Sacramento, California. + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +**Budcars (the reason it's a promising company)** + +* During early 2020, the Company gained a 40% stake in the Budcars brand and in the Sacramento delivery operations by acquiring a 40% stake in Indigo Dye Group (“Indigo”). Under the terms of the agreement with Indigo, Sugarmade acquired an option to purchase an additional 30% interest in Budcars, upon which will provide the Company with a controlling interest. +* MONROVIA, Calif., Nov. 05, 2020 — via InvestorWire – Sugarmade, Inc. (OTCQB:SGMD) today announced that in anticipation of the planned expansion of the BudCars cannabis delivery service into **new territories**, Sugarmade has undertaken an analysis of the efficacy of marketing spending relative to market size and population for the existing BudCars regional delivery footprint. Sugarmade believes this may provide some insight into performance benchmarks and expectations related to the anticipated expansion into the **North San Francisco Bay Area and the Wine Country counties, followed by Los Angeles**. +* BudCars’ current territory serves an area comprised of a total population of 2.6 million residents in Northern California, with 16,252 customers (representing 0.6% of the total population) using BudCars to date in 2020, spending a total of $3.4 million on BudCars’ cannabis deliveries this year, with an average per-customer spend of $213 and an average order size of $129 across over 29,000 separate orders. BudCars has invested more heavily in marketing to residents of Sacramento, where 1.29% of residents have been active as BudCars customers this year, accounting for over half of total BudCars sales. +* BudCars’ expected expansion over the next two months is anticipated to open up a regional footprint that may include as many as 20 million new residents with access to BudCars’ cannabis delivery service. + +Key points : + +* Sugarmade has a **40% stake** in Budcars +* Budcars generated **$2mil** in gross receipts, and more than **60% growth** in net sales for the 3 months period ending in september 30, 2020 +* Budcars is currently avaible in Sacramento but plans on expanding into the **North San Francisco Bay Area and the Wine Country counties and Los Angeles**. +* This expansion would lead to a market **9x** bigger than Sacramento +* Great line of products : edibles, flower, pre-rolls, vapes, tinctures and concentrate from dozens of brands(All delivered right to your door) + +Budcars reviews : + +&#x200B; + +[Weedmaps profile](https://preview.redd.it/le5hgyth2rg61.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=0cf1f21ecde3c18a4cfa21f266263b9d9cc98a96) + +Budcars website : + +&#x200B; + +[Homepage](https://preview.redd.it/my0xay5e2rg61.png?width=1869&format=png&auto=webp&s=491236146f8aabb17ed77aee16a1b4797d6efe03) + +https://preview.redd.it/bve20o1d2rg61.png?width=1839&format=png&auto=webp&s=ec260b8097a62b3d9f4176b9c18c767270acbc15 + +Their website looks clean and actually works really well. Unlike most of the companies posted here + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +**Why is it getting attention now? (Catalyst)** + +During the initial purchase, Jimmy Chan Sugarmade CEO said : + +>*“Sugarmade is in talks with multiple other licensed cannabis processors, delivery services and retailers for similar business combinations, as part of our corporate growth initiative. We plan to take advantage of the many changes in the California marketplace, with Budcars being the first of what we expect to be many other growth-oriented corporate actions”* + +On **February 4**, 2021 he tweeted this : + +https://preview.redd.it/0kgain1g2rg61.png?width=583&format=png&auto=webp&s=ad858010b4551b41ec4cd95ebcdd8af4dcb5f6ea + +Looks like Sugarmade is almost ready to expand their business outside of Sacramento directly to Los Angeles. This would be a catalyst that could lead to a **huge increase (10x or more)** in the stock price. + +\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ + +**Links** : + +Budcars : [https://budcars.com/](https://budcars.com/) + +Sugarmade (news for shareholders) : [https://sugarmade.com/](https://sugarmade.com/) + +Weedmaps profile : [https://weedmaps.com/deliveries/budcars](https://weedmaps.com/deliveries/budcars) + +Carryoutsupplies : [https://www.carryoutsupplies.com/pages/about-us-1](https://www.carryoutsupplies.com/pages/about-us-1) + +Recent SEC 8k filing : [https://sec.report/Document/0001520138-21-000052/](https://sec.report/Document/0001520138-21-000052/) + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +Credit to [u/chrissome1](https://www.reddit.com/user/chrissome1/) for bringing this to my attention + +**Position :** + +\- 500k @ 0.0045 + +Sold @ $0.018 following the release of the offering circular. Might buy again once the dilution stops. + +**Disclaimer:** + +\- This is not financial advice, do your own DD + +&#x200B; + +Edit : + +\- So some people have been talking about the slow delivery time on yelp review/weedmaps, this is worth looking into before investing. Hopefully they are woking on it + +# Important : Sugarmade enters into lease agreement with LMK Capital + +Somebody brought this to my attention + +* Sugarmade entered into a lease agreement with LMK Capital for 5 acres of cropland in Northern California that is zoned for **cannabis cultivation.** +* Sugarmade intends to establish and operate a licensed cannabis production business capable of producing as much as **3.6M grams of high-quality cannabis flower per year** +* [https://seekingalpha.com/news/3618385-sugarmade-enters-lease-agreement-lmk-capital](https://seekingalpha.com/news/3618385-sugarmade-enters-lease-agreement-lmk-capital) + +\- **Recent SEC 8k filed recently ajusted prefered shares** + +[https://sec.report/Document/0001520138-21-000052/](https://sec.report/Document/0001520138-21-000052/) + +**CarryOutSupplies** **(Another business they are involved with)** + +>the leader in paper and plastic take out supplies, is all about having the assurance of quality products, low prices and reliable customer service. Our company started serving the local marketplace in 2004 and expanded our operations in 2007 to serve nationwide demands. We have continued our growth each and every year by maintaining and increasing a loyal clientele. Businesses trust and rely on CarryOutSupplies.com because we offer a wide array of high quality products ranging from custom plastic cold cups to logo-printed food containers. These companies continue to do business with us because we always deliver custom-made products on time and as promised. + +[https://www.carryoutsupplies.com/pages/about-us-1](https://www.carryoutsupplies.com/pages/about-us-1) +Volatility is going down. Markets are up. Everyone is cheering the economy re-opening. The S&P 500's annual performance is gradually catching up to my OTM put selling portfolio, and will likely outperform it unless I decide to take on more risk and sell closer to ATM. + +It's always a good time to continue selling puts for sure. I see the market topping out again. + +Coronavirus is not over. There is a slight risk that cases will rise and might shut down the economy again. (But honestly, given that so many people are breaking social distancing now because of lockdown fatigue, it is likely that people will decide to decide that the risk of contracting the virus is low enough to continue daily life, especially for those who are younger.) Valuations (despite Fed support) are still outstripping vastly reduced earnings. + +Regardless, most of news has been priced in at this point. This is one of those cases where if you see some red on the indices, you will sell your long puts or long VIX calls and realize the gains before they disappear. +I can sell an ITM SNDL put @ 9 strike price and 3/26 expiry for a credit of 760. The current price of SNDL is 1.47. As long as it stays flat or goes up slightly, I can either buy to close later in the week or take assignment and immediately sell for a profit (albeit a potentially small one, depending on price movement).... The only real downside seems to be if it absolutely tanks this week.... Am I missing something or does this seem to be a relatively easy play for a CSP- selling newb? +I realized my comment turned into a bit of a post when I was reading through the chat in this post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/thetagang/comments/o3k5s0/is\_funding\_possible/](https://www.reddit.com/r/thetagang/comments/o3k5s0/is_funding_possible/) and figured it might be better to just write a post. + +Just as a disclaimer, I may be a financial advisor professionally, but I am not YOUR financial advisor and this is not financial advice. + +TLDR at the top: I view selling options as a means to stable income stream as a full time job. so anything that increases my base account balance increases the amount of income I can expect each year and the more future income compound interest will earn me. Below are ways of increasing account balance. + +There are three methods to increase your account balance outside of the market: 1) Increase Income, 2) Decrease Spending, 3) Take on Leverage (Including margin, bank loans, friend loans, etc.) Safest answer is a combination of 1 & 2 and avoiding 3 as much as possible, but 3 can be useful if you are responsible and careful. + +For 1: Gaining more income is the hardest of the 3 but is the most potent. Examples are picking up a second job or take on a gig econ job like uber. More long term investments are getting new skills from school, new certifications in your field that translate to promotions, and spending time expanding your knowledge into new fields that interest you. + +For 2: Look up the FIRE movement for frugality ideas, though take everything with a grain of salt. In summary, anything that reduces your required monthly spending frees up more income that you can put into your compound interest machine. It is less potent than 1 because there is only so much you can cut out of your budget, and a budget that doesn't budget for fun is a worthless budget. + +For 3: Taking on leverage is most of the time just using offered margin from your broker, but you can also use any form of debt. This is the most risky, but also the highest reward if you get it to work in your favor. Highest risk, Highest reward. Below are descriptions of the types of debt that you can use. + +There are three types of debt: Collateralized debt that is secured by an appreciating asset like a house. This type of debt is frequently called "good debt" but that has some unfortunate connotations. This type of debt is the safest of the three as long as you are able to cashflow the monthly payments because the asset you are hoping the value of asset will grow over time and you'll end up having paid less than it is worth including interest paid. Most common assets are houses, but you can also use things that pay a dividend and/or have a stable value like bonds or some dividend funds. If you take out a loan against these assets and then invest into CCs, CSPs, or spreads then you'll be able to earn income that you can then use to roll back into option 1 or pay the monthly payment on your loan. And if your asset pays a higher dividend than the monthly payment then you get to keep any extra. + +Second type of debt is low interest collateralized debt on a depreciating asset. Most common example is a car loan. You can view it as paying interest in exchange for not needing to tie up your cash into an asset that will decrease in value over time. This is more risky because you will end up paying more for the asset than it is worth and it negatively impacts your cash flow, but as long as your return from the invested cash selling options > the interest you pay on the loan then you are good. + +Final type of debt is anything with a high interest rate and/or uncollateralized. I.e. credit card debt. Avoid this in 99% of situations as you will almost never be able to safely pay back the interest and still earn a real return. Hedge funds play with this type all of the time and lose lots of money because of it. + +so in summary, the more of other people's money you can get in the form of wages and the less money you spend on regular costs the more money you can put into your investments and the faster you'll be able to grow your account balance. The faster you grow your account balance and the more time you give it the better off you'll be whenever you retire. +GOAL: I'm interested in building a house with my own hands if the market collapses. What else are you going to do with all that free time? + +What broker/transfer agent / exchange will allow a commoner like myself take delivery of lumber futures? In particular a far OTM PUT strategy repeated over and over until there's a collapse. The premium gained in the meantime would help pay for flatbed trucks and transportation costs. + +&#x200B; + +\*also doesn't have to be lumber, I figure gold and silver would also be good hording resources to have if the market collapses. + +&#x200B; + +**\*\* I'm being serious about this, I'm only thinking about selling a** ***single*** **contract.** + +[https://www.schwab.com/futures/lumber](https://www.schwab.com/futures/lumber) + +\~100K board feet of 2x4's (between 8-20ft) per 1 contract. This about 5 truckloads of lumber. + +The average modern 4,000 sqft house uses about 30K boardfeet. So 1 contract can build a small mansion or a large farm + barn. At the very least, even if it doesn't pay for transportation, I want insurance I'll be able to find lumber when market collapses. + +Also If I plan on using 2x4's as flooring instead of the cheap chipwood they got now n'days, This single contract would make for a very sturdy home. +Long term i am very bullish on PLTR and i have 3 20 Jan 2023 10C LEAPS and 100 PLTR shares. I want to grow this position a lot, closer to 1000-1500 shares, or LEAPS equivalent. + +I got each of those LEAPS for about 1400 each (so my breakeven was ~24) and they go for about 1900 now. I am considering adding more LEAPS and saw that Jan 2024 strike is now available. + +15C Jan 2024 goes for about 1600 and has 1.92USD/2,87% extrinsic value which i think is reasonable. So i am thinking of rolling my existing Jan 2023 10C LEAPS into those, this will also free up ~900USD because of the difference in cost. This will give me an extra year to be right and an extra year of gains, and personally i easily see PLTR being 35+ in early 2024. + +The drawbacks i see are; + +1; I have a good and winning position that i "give up" and start from scratch. + +2; Much higher break even. My previous break even was at about 24$ and those new LEAPS will have a breakeven at 31,5$ due to higher strike and higher extrinsic value. + +3; If PLTR decides to drop after i roll into these new LEAPS i would have to wait for longer to sell PMCC on them due to higher break even (unless i risk and sell them below break even of 31,5) + +4; Selling existing LEAPS meaning i would have to tax the gains at ~33% (i am not in US), ie extra 500$ of tax. + +Anything else that i am missing? Any other pro/cons of moving the position up like this? Or is it simply better to do this closer to expiration of my current LEAPS? Thanks. +I feel like I’ve been spoiled the last few months. Premium has come way down. Gotta adjust back to the normal grind. Going back and checking tickers you sold premium on for a few hundred only be 60 bucks is tough :( +I've got a couple stocks I'd like shares of at a lower price, so I plan to write CSPs instead of using a limit order. Is it better to write long-dated puts and rake in extra premium? I feel like LEAPS are less likely to be executed when they reach the strike price, and I don't want to wait 2 years to buy the stock. I'm also wondering if it's better to write the puts closer to the money and let the premium bring my cost basis down to the price I want to pay. Would that increase my chances of being assigned? + +&#x200B; + +It feels very odd to be worried about NOT getting assigned for once. + +&#x200B; + +Edit: Thanks guys +First, context: I invest in ETFs and plan on adding a couple of automotive stocks like RIVN, F, and Porsche. + +I went in with a lump sum at first and now I'm continuing with a monthly budget. But, damn it, I'm already on -15%. Are the Credit Suisse issues and the rate hikes from around the world going to make the stock market a hole where you throw money and get nothing in exchange? + +Or, is this a temporary situation and we shouldn't care if we're in investing for a time horizon of at least 15 years? + +How are you guys handling all this apparent bad news that's incoming? + +Cheers. +The U.S. Mint just admitted [they can't print enough](https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-precious-coins-demand/us-mint-unable-to-meet-demand-for-gold-silver-bullion-coins-idUSL1N2K82XU) silver and gold coins to meet demand. CNBC has it wrong - this didn't start with WSB. People are losing faith in the dollar and wanna hold fucking metal. + +You don't think there's a shortage? Go try to buy a 1,000 ounce bar of silver. Google it. If you happen to find a dealer who isn't out of stock, you'll be paying an insane premium over the spot price. + +I'm not gonna get into all the silver manipulation conspiracies. Let's stick to Retard Economics 101: if there's a shortage of the good it means the price is too damn low. + +Because of the differential between the physical spot price of silver, and the futures price in the COMEX there's an arbitrage: Anybody with any serious cash today could take silver delivery from the COMEX at $27, and quickly flip it for well over $30. Futures deliveries last year were already at a record: + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/djlle4wb8hh61.png?width=1466&format=png&auto=webp&s=bd198b6fa8db58121a9654f2e46fe668ec342268 + +But the amount of folks standing for March delivery might just break the bank... because there's just not enough Silver to deliver to everyone who wants it. That's why (as another WSB post already detailed) The SLV ETF amended their prospectus to basically say [we can't actually get the silver that we need.](https://twitter.com/BullionStar/status/1360703958029905921) + +If silver futures start creeping up, this thing could completely snowball. Because those industrial consumers of silver - Tesla, Apple, Medical stuff - absolutely cannot afford to have their production lines shut down for a month because of one input, and will pay anything to make sure they get those 1k bars in hand. + +How to make tendies? Look what happened to AG and SILJ a few weeks ago when Silver went up 9%. Those two tickers FLEW. Buy calls on them for July if you're responsible, April if you're a degenerate gambler. + +How to do your part and make sure the squeeze happens? Buy PSLV. That fund is going to actually take delivery of 1,000 ounce bars on your behalf. + +Positions: $PSLV shares, $AG July calls, strike 20, $SILJ August calls strike 25. + +DON'T BUY $SLV + +EDIT: I received a message from a smart dude suggesting that this news actually means that $SLV is vulnerable, and buying it is also a direct way to create tightness in the silver market. Could be. Don't know. Good luck out there. +Long story short, I invested in a couple cryptocurrencies several years ago and have turned under $15k into $3.5 million worth and have finally started pulling some cash out and diversifying to mitigate risk. + +I have two personal questions. + +1. I'm not a normally boastful person, but sometimes it's hard not to want to brag. I carefully selected technologies that had merit, and it paid off big. How can I quiet that feeling and simply be at peace with my situation? + +2. I often want to help my family or friends out. However, I'm scared on the one end of giving gifts to people who aren't financially responsible and might wind up worse off, and on the other end of helping unequally and making people upset (no one in my family is wealthy, but some are dirt poor and others are middle class). My family knows that I'm a millionaire now. What are some good guidelines for situations like this? + + +Talk about your plays today or things you are on the lookout for. This is where you belong if your comment includes a ticker. + +*keep it civil please* +Historically gold has always functioned as a hedge when equity markets went down or inflation went up however I noticed in recent year(s) this is no longer the case. + +Again today there is a stock market sell-off but gold is also down more than 1%. Also with the big correction in feb 2020 gold also went down quite alot. Anybody can explain why this happens? + +And no, this has nothing to do with money flowing from gold into bitcoin. The gold market is still x times bigger than bitcoin and when monday and tuesday the stock market and gold went down, so did bitcoin so that's not the reason. + +One thing I read somewhere is that it might have to do with (leveraged) hedge funds getting more margin calls when equity markets go down and in order to post cash collateral they have to sell other assets like gold. + +Not sure if that makes sense or is even the main reason so why is gold selling off, which is even more surpring since gold has also always functioned as inflation hedge. With investors worrying about inflation lately you would think gold would benifit but even that doesn't seem to be the case. +I can't explain anything with links or proof so call this a shitpost and get that out of the way immediately. My Muffin Top Guts have some splainin' to do here. + +Are we going to look back on this moment as a time where ETH began to diverge from BTC and stand on it's own two feet? + +"The Flippening" ~ /u/hodlor Dec. 8th 2016 + +1. Too Soon to think that over the next year? +2. Hopium Echochamber Overdrive Engaged? +3. Or is this finally be the tipping point we can look back on? + +No way in hell am I interested in panic selling because of China and Bitcoins legacy problems. + +I'm calling this as a potential historic price pivot point for ETH. Especially if we pop back up above $11 and BTC stays down through the next couple of days/weeks. + +I'm curious how many people are now sitting in fiat and thinking of where to go while the likes of OK Casino and Hobo Huobi work their magic with the Chinese government to do whatever they can to control traders/bots/bitcoin. + +Either way....Ethereum will not be coupled to Bitcoin forever. It's just too damn exciting to be mired in Bitcoin drama for much longer. + +On the flip side we also can thank Bitcoin for the rise as well...I'm just tired of Bitcoin and want ETH/Fiat pairs to really show the real story....seems like ETH/Fiat has done pretty good lately. + + +Anyway..>Big Hugs from KC and good luck to traders during this turbulent time. + +For me, Golem looks to be the real winner out of the bunch, still need to do some more research though. + +Singular looks like a great opportunity IF they can actually fulfill their goals. But honestly, I think they are trying to do too much at once. + +Gnosis, I am not sure that the world really wants/cares about this service. But wonder if good money could still be made here... Would like to hear the opinions of some more savvy investors. + +I personally am looking at only spending 300 ETH between 1 or 2 of them, and wondering if I should just go all in on Golem. +Now in the dregs of a months-long bear market, the negatives have come out in force and frequently suggest an investment in Ethereum is somehow a reckless gamble. That word is often used here like a weapon. + +It's not used in the colloqueal sense, like taking a risk (and to be clear, everyone should know an investment in crypto carries risk), they mean an investment in the space is the literal equivalent of putting your money on the craps table and hoping for the best. + +With that sort of dice game, you're paying for a cheap trick, entertainment. The *illusion* that you can make large amounts of money quickly and easily for little outlay. It's like a magic show, a short thrill that's gone almost before it began, which leaves you with nothing tangible save a lighter wallet. + +Eth and blockchains are transformative technologies, not games, not illusions. You don't see serious financial outlets discussing the horses, but you do see them speaking ever more frequently about eth. Fortune 100 (let alone Fortune 500) companies are taking a serious interest. + +All signs point to Ethereum revolutionizing traditional markets and finance *at worst*. At best, Ethereum and similar technologies will underpin the foundation of our digital infrastructure, reshaping the way we interact in fundamental ways. + +And none of that has changed between January and now. Markets undulate, they do. And sometimes it's painful. The only surprising aspect is the quick pivot to absurdly bearish sentiment based on little of genuine substance. + +If you want an investment, Ethereum is your play. + +If you want to gamble, short it. Go ahead. +For me, Golem looks to be the real winner out of the bunch, still need to do some more research though. + +Singular looks like a great opportunity IF they can actually fulfill their goals. But honestly, I think they are trying to do too much at once. + +Gnosis, I am not sure that the world really wants/cares about this service. But wonder if good money could still be made here... Would like to hear the opinions of some more savvy investors. + +I personally am looking at only spending 300 ETH between 1 or 2 of them, and wondering if I should just go all in on Golem. +Hi all, + +I’m 27 and I have a decent job (£32k pa). I have no debits at all. I’ve been saving for a house for the past 10+ years. Unfortunately i’ve only put these in normal saving accounts and premium bonds (which have given some returns) rather than investments, so have got minimal interest over this time. I have put it in the best accounts i could find to maximise it’s potential without putting any of it at risk. + +My current plan is to start looking to buy a house soon, but i’m wondering if this is a good idea what with house prices being so high. + +To give some idea of the funds i’ve managed to save and where they sit: +Premium bonds: £50k, +Lisa: £20k, +Help to buy: £12k, +Normal saving account £20k, + +I’ll be purchasing on my own so that’s the reason I have had to save so much. + +I’m wondering if it would be more savvy to put all of this deposit money into an investment account, and then rent. Is this even a plausible idea? I’ve always been against renting as it’s money that goes into somebody else’s pocket. + +I’m kicking myself i didn’t invest it over the last 10 years! It’s a lot of money (to me) so it would be nice if I could make more from it! + +Any help and advice is appreciated! +Someone at work told me if I overpay my mortgage I should opt for the overpayments to reduce the term of the mortgage Vs just paying off the debt. I've tried to research it but all mortgage calculators just show how overpayments reduce the mortgage length by reducing the debt earlier. + +My understanding is that overpaying to reduce the term somehow takes time off the term, but how? Does £200 equate to two days? How does the amount overpaid reduce the term. + +Also, won't overpaying to reduce the term just increase the monthly payments as my 25 year term is then 24, 23, etc. Won't the overpayments then become a standard part of my monthly fee and I can no longer afford to overpay after that. + +I'm very confused on how overpaying to reduce term works and how it's actually beneficial versus overpaying the total debt value. +I'd like to buy a 2-bed flat in Zone 2 in London for £500/£550k. I realise I don't have a big enough deposit yet vs. my salary. + +What do you recommend I do based on my current finances? + +Salary: £43,000 (with pension payments: 5% +3% employer contribution + +Savings for flat deposit (at 1.5% in Marcus & Cynergy): £120,000 + +Emergency fund in interest current accounts (at 1.5%-5%): £15,000 + +LS100 ISA (£400/mth to LS100): about £12,000 + +Plan A: buy a 2 bed-flat + +Plan B ("hail Mary" option): carry on renting and invest flat deposit into a do-up-and-sell property outside London. + +&#x200B; + +Would love to hear your thoughts! +Hi, + +My dad is a gamberling addict. We've had many issues with this in the past and I've found out he is doing it again. + +What can I do to ban his accounts, bank accounts etc. He has agreed to give me access to ban anything I can. +I have been considering buying GME since late 2020 but I didn’t because I’ve never bought stocks before and I was intimidated. I didn’t really have extra money. I just bought a house. That shit is expensive. But then I had a few extra $$$ up my ass. So I said fuck it. I missed out on Bitcoin in 2010 and I just couldn’t miss out on this. So I now own 1 share through a broker and just bought 1 more through computer share cause I’m Canadian, eh. Like I said I’m poor. But I’m here for it!! Now to smoke my legal weed start getting jacked. +A couple years ago, I was very fortunate that my mom decided she would refinance my student loans under her so I could avoid the high interest rates. I’ve been paying her monthly since then at a 0% interest rate. + +Recently, she’s been moving some money around, and said I could take a pause on paying my loan to her until an indefinite time. Of course I maintained these monthly payments anyway, but put into a HYSA instead, and will give her the accrued lump sum once she asks. + +However, recently have wondered if I should instead invest in low-risk index-funds/stocks like the S&P 500. Would probably have a greater yield than the savings account, and I can keep the interest to reinvest. Would still be a gamble with money that is basically not my own though, so wanted to get some thoughts before moving in that direction. +Ok, so I was a tenant in a place that I had lived in for a year, when the property management company informed me that the owner wanted to sell. I loved where I lived, and the price was right.. But, having had some credit issues as well as being self employed, I could not qualify. I looked into having a friend co-sign, but the paperwork would only go through if the loan was entirely in his name. So that's what we did. I came up with the down payment and covered all expenses, and he put his name on the loan. In order for me to pay the down payment, however, I had to gift him the money first. Since then, I have made all the mortgage and insurance payments, and he has gotten the tax benefits. However, we have not come to an agreement as to what our split will be of the property. Neither of us could have done it without the other. Fortunately, the property has appreciated in value. But we are wondering what other people have done in situations like this. Here are the numbers: put down 26 k on 209 sales price, and value has gone up to approximately 255. What is a fair agreement if we were to sell now, and what is a fair agreement if I live here until mortgage is paid off? +Sorry this will be long! + +My wife and I had bought our house almost 3 years ago. We have gained quite of equity in it as I’m sure many of you guys would expect in this market. In fact, with realtor and other fees taken out, I’ve calculated we’re probably sitting around $100k in cash if we sell our current one. We don’t see this as our forever home and want to move to a nicer area with nicer houses with better school district as we plan to have kids soon. We live in a MCOL city. + +This figure is based on the fact that we just had a “desktop appraisal” by our bank for a HELOC. They put it at around 119k above our current balance. But in a sellers market I think we can probably sell it for even $10-20k more than that. + +The reason for this heloc is because we took out a much higher $15k 12.99% interest loan for home improvement. So we decided to get a HELOC (which was NOT approved at the time of our first loan due to low LTV) at 5% variable to pay back our higher rates one. + +With that said, here are our financial facts. + +My wife and I make about 140k a year pre tax. And bring in about 102k post taxes so about $8500 a month. + +I’m current investing 4% into my 401k at work. My wife is a teacher so her paycheck automatically takes about 15% out to pay towards an STRS account. + +We also contribute heavily into our Roth. So we are putting in 1k into Roth each month to meet that $6000 per person max. + +We also save $1600 additionally in cash every month too for emergencies and also for vacation fund too. + +We have about $440 fun money per person to spend that we get twice a month so $880 a month per person for fun since we have our own hobbies. + +Our total currently monthly is $4700 with all bills included minus the fun money and savings. This figure should theoretically go down with the HELOC since we will be paying less per month assuming we stay in our current home. + +Most importantly, our current mortgage is $1500. + +If we are to buy a new house. We are looking to put 100k down with the money from our equity on a 550k house based on 5.1% rate conventional 30 year loan. That would increase our mortgage to $3000 or double it a month. + +However we would still be able to save the same and invest amount. Even after increasing our utility bills to account for that. ONLY difference is that our fun money drops by half, which I’m okay with. +I make 52k a year per salary before taxes, with opportunity at overtime. My fiancé makes roughly 36k a year. I owe 19k on my vehicle with and I am making 500$ a month payment. Our cell phone bill is 230 a month. After our wedding is over, aka after my savings is gone, im going to restart and try to save for a home. I have a 745 credit score. I do not know what hers is, but not great since her student loan debt is large. I have no student loans. Only debt is my car. I’m curious as to what price range of home would be best. I do not want to be house broke, and I’m capable of doing cosmetic work on homes I.e. paint, flooring, drywall work, etc. Does any one here have an idea of price range we should be looking for, for our starter home??? Thank you and sorry for the long read +TLDR; my gf is in no rush to pay off (70k) of student loans, while she had a promising career starting at around 90k. She has no nest egg or retirement but isn’t concerned no matter what i tell about financial planning and wants her dream car now. How can I convince her this terrible??? + +My(24m) amazing girlfriend (22f) just graduated college in December and is already making a great salary, but like most broke college kids, she has maybe 5k to her name and a shit ton of debt. Despite this she’s fortunate to have a great job, and with our salaries combined, low COL. + +With all of that going for her she’s adamant about buying her dream car (Nissan Armada) now to reward herself for getting through grad school and landing the job. While she can easily afford the monthly payments, I’ve cautioned her she should wait till she can afford a significant down payment and has maxed her ROTH ( which she hasn’t started yet) and some kind of savings. Nothing I say is changing her mind. While I can’t control her or her money, she’s potentially be throwing away so much money that could be going towards her (or our) future. +https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/20/target-tgt-earnings-q3-2019.html + +Target's third-quarter earnings and sales smash analysts' expectations. + +The big-box retailer raises its full-year profit outlook. +Tesla Autopilot 'a distant second' to GM's Super Cruise in hands-free test: Consumer Reports + +DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co's (GM.N) Super Cruise once again edged Tesla's (TSLA.O) Autopilot in an evaluation of 17 vehicles equipped with active driving assistance systems (ADAS) by Consumer Reports, the testing organization said on Wednesday. + +A Tesla Model Y fitted with Autopilot finished "a distant second," the group said, to a Cadillac CT6 equipped with Super Cruise, which GM is rolling out to more than 20 vehicles - including its new Hummer electric pickup truck - over the next three years. + +Safety and insurance researchers have frequently warned of the risks of consumers overestimating ADAS systems' abilities, a misconception increased by some automakers calling their products Autopilot, ProPilot or Co-Pilot. + +In 2018, the Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise scored higher than a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot, in a Consumer Reports test of just four vehicles equipped with ADAS. + +In the latest test, conducted this summer on a track and on public roads, the Cadillac scored 69 points out of a possible 100, while the Tesla scored 57. A Lincoln Corsair equipped with Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Co-Pilot 360 system, finished third with 52. + +The critical difference in the Super Cruise system is a driver-facing infrared camera to make sure he or she is paying attention to the road and is ready to take over manual control when necessary, said Kelly Funkhouser, head of connected and automated vehicle testing at Consumer Reports. + +The group noted that Autopilot can shut off abruptly in some situations, while Super Cruise did a better job of notifying the driver when the system is disengaging. + +In recent European safety testing, a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot placed sixth out of 10 systems, getting high marks for performance and ability to respond to emergencies, but falling short on its ability to maintain a driver’s focus on the road. + +https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-selfdriving-safety-idUSKBN27D1B7 +I know a lot of people in the option game struggle with this. Here is how I handle things, adapt as you feel appropriately. + +The biggest thing to know about exiting a trade is that you should already know when before you ever enter it. Personally, I abide by a percentage on trades unless I had a particular plan in place when entering that particular trade. + +A particular plan would mean knowing the chart and having a price target planned out. + +My percentages for swing trading are out of 1/4 positions at 50%, out of 1/2 at 100% and let the rest run to whatever I'm happy with. If there is significant time left on a contract, I will extend those percentages out, but that is a decision that I always make prior to ever entering it in the first place. The only reason I would change this in the middle of a trade is if bullish or bearish news would drop, then ride the momentum appropriately. + +For anything expiring within the next two weeks, I will retract those percentages down to 1/4 at 30, 1/2 at 50, runners. However! I have a pretty high risk tolerance. So you do what is good for you. + +(Are you seeing a pattern about having a plan?) + +There's a good chance you will be leaving profit on the table, and that's ok. You will never ever ever know the top. The best you can do is be happy with the profit that you get. 100% tendies is nothing to scoff at. Do not change your plan on the fly. Stick with it and sell according to your rules plan for trade. The worst thing is having a trade show big profit but you get greedy and then it turns red all because you got greedy. + +Which leads to the next thing, when to cut your losses. + +This the hardest part, in my opinion. Its the classic gambler's dilemma where we believe that it's gonna turn around any minute now. And we believe that all the way down to that 99% loss. That sucks. So what do we do about that? Simple! You never take more then a 30% loss. Something hits 30% down, I'm out. Could it turn around? Sure. But that money is better off somewhere else. You were wrong. Your entry was bad. It happens. You could hold that and hope that it comes back and let it die, or you could accept that it didn't work and look for another entry or move on to the next thing. Either way, swallow your pride and accept that you were wrong. + +The notable exception that that policy is market dips. If the market is dipping and your trade is negative due to that, having a good fundamental understanding of market moves can give you that diamond hands you need to whether the storm! + +The only time I will ever take a 99% loss is if I go into the trade specifically knowing that this will be a true lotto. + +Hope this helps some of you out! The big takeaway is to have a plan. +Last weekend I posted explaining how VIX was building huge pressure and peeps were gonna get wasted ([https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/f85rkh/volatility\_plays/](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/f85rkh/volatility_plays/)). This week the VIX hit its **highest point in almost 9 YEARS** and whaddya know... this weekend we're treated to a ton of converted gaylords who bought their puts on Friday morning hyping up every possible piece of beer virus noise to feel better about their poor choices in life. The same people who were somehow able to ignore every piece of beer virus news the five days between getting approved on RH to buy a gaytarded $200 MSFT FD and getting completely screwed to a 0$ account balance this week. + +Here's what the chart looks like now: [https://imgur.com/a/DM6kdBD](https://imgur.com/a/DM6kdBD) + +**Guess what. You're about to get screwed again.** That cash withdrawal you made on Friday from your credit card so you could buy a put? Probably already worthless. And before you start whining about market manipulation like you did after the last time you made an "investment" (let me take a wild guess, .069420 of a digital moneys on Dec 17 2017?) here's a history lesson so you can prime your bum bum for more pain. + +Here are all the times in the past 12 years when Vix crossed 30: [https://imgur.com/a/zj9FpwM](https://imgur.com/a/zj9FpwM) + +**Dec 2018** \- Vix peaks at 36 and next day immediate one day 6.6% rally off of the previous days close + +**Feb 5 2018** \- Vix peaks at 38 next day opens lower but rallies 4% from the open in one day + +**Feb 7 2018** \- Vix peaks at 33.5 and rallies 8.5% over the next five days + +**Aug 2015** \- Vix peaks at 41 and rallies 12.3% over the next four days + +**Aug 2011** \- Vix peaks at 49 and next day rallies 5% from open + +**Also Aug 2011** \- Vix peaks at 45.5 and rallies 7.5% over the next 3 days + +**May 2010** \- Vix peaks at 41 and opens with a gap and rallies 5.3% from previous days close + +**Also May 2010** \- Vix peaks at 46.5 and rallies 7% over the next 7 days, but with some shake out candles thrown in. + +**"But what about 2008 you stupid retard?"** Vix peaks at 36.5, market gaps up the next day and rallies 9% in two days. Then the world plunges into chaos. But guess what? Every subsequent peak in Vix is followed by a bear market rally forcing low conviction retards with no collateral to cover their asses. + +Don't say you weren't warned if we have a 4-6% day on Monday. I'm bearish overall for the next 12 months but if you think markets go straight down you're gonna get wrecked. + +**TLDR: Ur puts might be shit I don't even know why I went to the effort of making this post when you're just going to call it retarded.** + + +Posting positions below just gimme a sec. +[Original thread](https://np.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/7oy07j/is_cexio_insolvent_my_experience/) + +So since my last post, cex.io has [promised to give me a reply](https://np.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/7oy07j/is_cexio_insolvent_my_experience/dsfb7hy/), failed to do so, and [threaten to slow down the process for posting about their failure](https://www.facebook.com/CEX.IO/posts/1306904292743771). There is no reason why posting on social media will "slow down the process" unless their social media team is also doing the bank transfer as well. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt in threatening me with delaying my payment if I expose their practices further. + +CEX.io also replied to a wrong ticket of mine (the said ticket issue was already resolved long ago). Long story short, CEX.io has not yet to reply me on my bank transfer of USD 34000+. + +Now since CEX.io refused to talk to me, I have since sent a statutory demand letter by registered post to them pursuant to England and Wales's laws. This is the first step to CEX.io insolvency proceedings. **If you would like to be included in the coming legal suit to recover your monies, you need to send a statutory demand to CEX.io and then contact me with all the details.** + +I have also contacted the UK police and US Financial Crime Enforcement Network, Department of the Treasury. Further I will also be contacting the press (including coindesk, BBC, amongst others) to ensure everyone hears about the errant practices of this company. This is building up to be Mt. Gox 2.0 and I am sure the press will be happy to hear about it. + +u/CEX_IO, ticket 543006, as stipulated in my demand note, the amount is now USD 35,235.36, after accounting for interests of 8% (England and Wales statutory interest rate). + +EDIT: My original thread on /cryptocurrency got deleted. relinked to my same post on /btc + +EDIT2: u/CEX_IO replied claiming I did not provide documents for their compliance team. This is untrue, the only time they asked for additional documents is when I was seeking Verified Plus status (which allows for higher withdrawal). This was a separate matter from my bank transfer. I [attached the entire email thread](https://np.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7qslkb/update_on_my_missing_usd_34000_held_with_cexio/dst58qf/) for transparency. +Lets say you were funded with $4,000,000,000. + +You hired a team of people to finish the project because majority of you who accumulated the funds dont know shit on shit. + +The team doesnt do the best job and jerks eachother off for 8 months. During those 8 months 20 people work. They dont even have the best product or a good one. + +It just works. + +20 people work with $4,000,000,000. They arent doing it for free, do you pay with crypto or cash? None of these devs have any experience in creating anything. No track record...nothing. + +You cant even see the developers on any website. + + +EOS was given all of this money for a project not even started or completely planned out. Yet people still believe they will become the biggest thing in crypto. + +This is what is scary about the space. You have a project like (X, Y, Z) working with governments directly but arent worth shit on shit. + + +What would you do with a $4,000,000,000 funding?. + + + +This is in reference about this [post](https://np.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/ss8ohv/hacker_couldve_printed_unlimited_ether_but_chose/) which is trending pretty hard right now - looking through the comment section I see that a terrible amount of people did NOT read the article and also not noticed the quotation marks around "Ether" - even though the headline is still a misleading in my opinion. + +To make this clear; This bug was not found on layer 1, it was a second layer, called "[Optimism](https://www.optimism.io)". And therefore this could not have been used to print unlimited Ether. + +If something like this happens on a second layer - you can have unlimited Ether on it. But as soon as you try to convert back to layer 1, at some point the locked ETH will be fully drained. If it's not already noticed by then, now everyone will see this layer is broken, and it will simply collapse. Basically all ETH locked on that layer 2 project is possibly lost to the hacker - however no real damage is done to the main chain, at least in terms of blockchain integrity. + +**tl;dr: top post right now is misleading as fuck. There was no bug on the main layer of Ethereum, this only happened on some layer 2 project. Read the articles.** +I'm 25 and I have never been sensible with money. I took advantage of overdrafts whilst in university and I saw them as *my* money rather than the banks. Over the next few years, the debt got worse as I opened multiple credit card accounts as I was desperate and thought they would help me manage. + +Fast forward to last month when I opened up to my boyfriend about my debt and he advised me to sit down and calculate it all, with the interest rates, in order to figure it all out. Once I did that, I was honestly shocked at what some of these APRs mean and I saw exactly how much interest I would be paying overall. + +I had a Lloyds Credit Card and a Lloyds overdraft that was always maxed out and I called them as their daily overdraft fees were just making the situation worse. They were actually really helpful and refunded £100 of the charges and consolidated the debt into a loan of £3000 with an interest rate of 9&#37; and I'm now paying £49.93 towards that a month, which is so much better compared to the payments/interest of the credit card and the overdraft charges. Also, I'm now finally out of my overdraft and can budget better rather than keep digging a bigger hole. + +With regards to my 4 credit cards, they now total just under £8000. I have been paying about £230 per month towards them and I would have paid this off in December 2022 with a total of around £4000 in interest. As of next month, I will be getting paid £110 extra per month so I will put this towards the debt and that means I'll be paying £2000 in interest and I will pay the debt off by **November 2020!!** + +I know it was stupid of me to get into all of this debt and I'm probably talking (?) to thin air but I needed to let it out! Let's hope I stick to this plan!! Here's my [snowball calculator screenshot](https://imgur.com/zxeN4Gf). It's brilliant! +I finished school in Dec 2010. I'm proud to report I just scheduled my loan payoff payment. I want to thank this community and share my experience. You're teaching me all the things about money my family never did. Thank you! + +*Tl;Dr - Student loans add up and then become huge, pay as much as you can and when you get raises don't change your lifestyle!* + +**How I Got All This Debt** + +* Bachelor's in computer engineering from a fancy private school (1998-2002) -> 60K + +I had tons of grants and scholarships, but I also had to take out the max in loans, as well as some extras to cover my parent's portion when their finances tanked. + +* PhD in EE (2004-2010) -> 20K + +My program was funded but I got divorced in my 5th year and took out loans to be a buffer and cover first/last month's rent and funds while I found a job + +*In total I owed ~80K, ~$450/month with rates from 3.25-6.8%* + +**How I Paid it Off** + +* 2002-2004, Salary ~30K, Paid ~$450/month (minimums) + +I did 1 internship in college but mostly focused on research. When I graduated during the DotCom crash half my graduating class couldn't find a job, including me. I did temp work in offices, tutored high school, taught summer camp, etc to pay the bills then went back to grad school. + +I always lived with roommates. I bought a Hyundai and paid it off in 3 years. I minimized eating out and buying anything I didn't need. I did still travel to see family and go to music events for entertainment. I didn't feel completely deprived but was hoping for more security and flexibility in the future. + +* 2004-2010, Salary ~25k stipend during PhD, loans deferred + +* 2011-2012, Salary ~45K, Paid ~$800/month + +Worked as a post-doc on an exciting project with good potential to become a spin-off company + +Still lived with a roommate (then later SO). No major lifestyle changes but a little more wiggle room in the budget. Started buying things of higher quality, but only when I needed them, not just wanted them. + +* 2012- 2013, Salary ~80K (got promoted in the same lab) + ~70K (got married), paid ~$3-5k/month + +I became the project manager of my team and got married. We ramped up the loan payments and started contributing appropriately to retirement. + +We didn't change anything major about our lifestyle. We didn't redecorate. Didn't buy another car. Didn't move into a bigger apartment. Didn't buy anything we didn't actually need. A non-negligible fraction of my clothes still come from used clothing stores because they're cheap and functional! + +We both bus commute so that Hyundai is 10 years old with 40K miles on it. It will last another decade. + +We did give ourselves more wiggle room for entertainment, self-care, and purchasing things we need of higher quality. Spending a few hundred a month on things we didn't need, but enjoyed, still fit in our debt payment goals. + +* Today, after cost of living and merit raises and bonuses we're currently pulling in ~180k together. + +We're starting to save for a house now and have some stock options to give us a head start. Now we're saving that 4-5K a month for the house. + +**Lessons Learned** + +* At 17 the adults in my life said "go to a good school, get a useful degree, and you'll get a job". That's a lie! + +* They said "student loans aren't a big deal! you're getting so much aid!" That's a lie! + +* I should have gotten more internships in college and focused on networking to get that first job. I did a lot of lab research instead which made me a great candidate for the PhD, but not employable in an entry level engineering position. + +* I bought the cheapest new car I could find, but would have been fine financing a 1-2 year old car. I had NO experience in financing cars (my family had never done it) and made a mistake. It was still only a 14K car so not a giant mistake. + +* Don't let your lifestyle inflate with your income, until you're satisfied with your savings rate or debt payment rate. It's hard to go backward. If you get comfortable living on less you can crush your debts! + +**On the Personal Side** + +I have been in debt since I was born. My parents were TERRIBLE with money. I was never homeless but my 'bedroom' was the living room couch for years. We all worked in the family business to help pay family bills as soon as we were useful and I spend many holidays and summers working when my friends were playing. The electricity got turned off several times and I was aware that we were always 2-3 months behind on rent. I have worked VERY hard to create a safer, more secure, and responsible life for myself. Next week is my 34th birthday and I'm currently 4 months pregnant with my first child. This baby will be born into a debt free life. With an e-fund, and retirement, and parents who are doing everything in their power to provide safety and security. I have changed my family's future! (with my husband's help of course) I'll continue learning from this community and improving our financial lives. Thank you! +I've worked at this company part time for the last 5+ years. Recently I noticed that my paychecks were usually between 30 minutes to an hour short of the actual hours that I worked. I don't have copies of the times I clocked in and out, but I used my google maps location history which told me the exact times I arrived and left work. + +I've checked about 6 of my recent paychecks and this was true for all of them. + +It only results in a loss of about $10-$15 each paycheck. But assuming that this has happened for the past 5 years, the total is probably in the range of $600-$900 that I've lost because of this. + +I want to talk to my boss about it, but I want to be prepared beforehand. + +What's my best course of action? + + +Edit: Wow I did not expect this many replies. + +To answer a few common questions: + +I usually work 5-6 hours each shift and don’t take a lunch. When I do take one, it’s unpaid. I take one paid break each shift. + +I know that google maps data isn’t the best evidence, but I typically walk straight into work after I arrive and leave right after I clock out. I don’t park far so maybe the times are off by a few minutes each time. I only work 3 times a week and this does not add up to the time that I am missing each paycheck. + +I’m not sure if they are rounding or not, but I read up on it and my understanding is they are supposed to round in a way that is neutral (+/- $0 average loss) or in a way that benefits me. Since there is a consistent loss of hours, if they are rounding they are only rounding down and not up. + +I’m usually scheduled from 9 to 2, but I typically leave anywhere from 2-3 so my hours worked are usually more than what I am scheduled. + +I am employed in California. + +Edit 2: Some people are mentioning that I should only get paid from 9-2 if that’s what I’m scheduled. It is encouraged for people to stay late at my company and many times I have no choice. It is understood that you will get paid for your time if you stay late. So this would not be the reason for the missing hours. + +Edit 3: I clock in immediately after arriving at work. It maybe takes me 2 minutes to walk to and from my car. After I clock out, I usually leave right away as well. If I take a lunch, I have to clock in and out for that also. + +Regardless, I know that google maps isn’t sufficient evidence and I will manually track my times with pictures for the next month or so and make sure of it before I say anything to management. + +I definitely did not expect this many replies but I appreciate all the information and advice. +Hello folks of UKPF, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster. + +Renting vs buying seems to come up fairly often in this sub, and I'm always interested to hear what other people think. Often people will mention how buying has a lot of costs that you don't think about straight away e.g. maintenance/renovation, solicitor fee, stamp duty etc... + +Therefore, I’ve built a [Rent vs Buy calculator ](https://smartmoneytools.co.uk/rent-vs-buy) that will take into account the various costs of buying a property, and try to calculate how much your rent needs to be in order to come out equal or better off. Truth be told, I was inspired by another rent vs buy calculator, but that one was a bit too US centric for me. + +I hope it will be particularly useful for people who have enough money for a mortgage deposit, but aren’t sure how long they’ll be staying the area or city, so are on the fence about buying a property. + +_Note_: I’ve also deliberately NOT included utilities bills and council tax because it can be applied to both renting and buying, so wasn’t a cost that was mutually exclusive. + +Please let me know if you have any suggestions or find any mistakes/bugs. Thanks! +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-22/california-s-pg-e-roiled-as-regulator-raises-breakup-threat?srnd=premium + +> After years of wildfires linked to power lines, a deadly explosion and accusations of falsified safety records, California utility owner PG&E Corp. is facing a deterioration of trust among state leaders. + +> The California Public Utilities Commission on Friday began a formal process to evaluate whether PG&E’s Pacific Gas and Electric utility should be split into separate electric and gas companies, carved into smaller regional subsidiaries or converted into a publicly owned company. The regulator also will look into less drastic steps, such as whether PG&E needs new board members or management. + +> The step came a day after a key state senator demanded changes to the board and executive suite. + +> “Enough is enough,” said Senator Bill Dodd, a Democrat of Napa, who had been considered friendly to the company after writing legislation that will help it pay for lawsuits arising from last year’s wine country wildfires, many of which were tied to its power lines. “We have to have a safety culture at PG&E.” +Does anyone have any insights into Big 4 banks in the institutional department. What is the career trajectory from a grad onwards? Also, what is the pay progression? The grad scheme is 18 months rotational and then you are placed into a permanent role within a team. + +Apparently you get a pay rise once you finish your grad scheme, does anyone know how much of a pay rise it would be? Is it easy to progress within the bank or do you have to wait for someone to leave to progress into the next role up? What sort of bonus schemes do they have in Insto? Thanks for the insights. +I’ll try mix some observations with anecdote and then hopefully some others will be able to expand on this suspicion with data, if it exists? + +I’m particularly looking at the apartment markets in Wentworth Point, Baulkham hills and Epping. One thing I have noticed is recently a lot of new apartment listings, many which are one ad for multiple apartments. + +A friend of mine lives in a new Apt in Meadowbank and told me he’s the only person who is currently occupying an apartment on his floor. Also basement is basically empty with cars, and this creeps him out. Low cars normally an indicator of high international residence, no? + +RBA is speculating high growth for housing, but this would be a hard feat in over cooked markets. I can see this happening for extremely underpriced markets like rural, regional hubs. Due to covid. And particularly for free standing houses. + +My question is, has anyone got some insight as to what is taking place with all these empty apartments in Sydney? Are oversea investors fleeing? Also, are new builds etc ceasing due to the lack of immigration? +I have an IP that is currently rented to an amazing single mother, who works in retail/hospo and is on the cusp of losing her job. + +If I chose to stop payments on the IP mortgage for 6 months, how does that affect me come tax time? I believe that interest is still charged. Please eli5. This IP is currently negatively geared. + +For context - I am doing ok financially as my job is secure, I just want to stop the mortgage payments so I can lower/cancel the rent my Tennent pays (I want to keep her in the house and she wants to stay, always paid on time for the last 3+ years, never even scratched the paint). +I have to assume it's the same for a lot of you.. + +It doesn't matter how simple it is to use GDAX, my friends refuse to use it, and don't even care how much the fees to use Coinbase are. + +They don't even want to hear the words GDAX. It is the strangest state of ignorance I've ever seen or witnessed. + +I even have friends that will actually use GDAX to watch the market, but continue to use Coinbase to buy and sell. + +Can someone please explain this phenomenon to me? + +Since I'm new to all this, what did I actually just buy? Is it just online currency? Also, I realize subreddits can "drink the kool-aid," so to speak. Was this actually a smart investment? Do you truly see ETH becoming anymore valuable than it is now? +Let's run though this quickly here. Bitcoin (the real Bitcoin) is THE medium of exchange coin alongside Ethereum on all the worlds exchanges. It is a digital currency median for all alt coin pairs. This is why it has ~$1.5 billion in daily volume. This is one of the main things that gives Bitcoin value and also why it's even a candidate to one day be a legit store of value. Coins are not necessarily valued on their volume, but in the case of Bitcoin, it is. It's not a platform, it's literally a digital currency and if the volume isn't there then it's worth nothing as a currency. + +Bitcoin Cash has none of this. It's only linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum. It's not a medium of exchange coin and it's not linked to alt coins. It is worth little on its own merits. Why is the price up? Because of hype, confusion, and trader manipulation. What's going to happen over the following weeks is slowly but surely the volume is going to dry up after the hype and it's going to fall. If it doesn't, it will be the single greatest bubble in the market and heaviest manipulated coin in existence. Bitcoin Cash is nothing other than another altcoin. + +Whether the market acts rationally or not, that's the reality. Bitcoin Cash is not in Bitcoins league. It's just another altcoin and therefore without the payment acceptance network that Bitcoin has or the volume due to a central role on exchanges, it has to compete based on its technology which is nothing to brag about when compared to alternatives like Dash, NEM, or a host of other coins. + +Good luck. +I have been thinking a lot about bitcoin vs ethereum recently. I used to think they were both great with their own use cases. I am 100% in crypto and own approximately the same amount of both, as a proportion of total supply (so ~10x more bitcoin by value). + +But with each day... it seems harder to grasp what the potential for bitcoin might be. It can't even handle the one use case it has properly (currency, due to block size issue). Ethereum can handle the currency side + has so many other amazing things. So many dapps. Swarm even! It's just amazing. + +Like the only reason to not go full eth seems to be problems with pos (maybe bitcoin dapps on rootstock but probably that ship has sailed). + +I know that I'm asking the barber if I need a hair cut here but do any of you think bitcoin has a future? + +I think I will get a less biased response here than any bitcoin subreddit (r/bitcoin in particular really hates ethereum for some reason) +All the negativity surrounding the some recent crowdsales had me thinking, and wanting to make a post reminding the community of potential negative side effects from hastily typed out and potentially impolite reddit comments. + +One of the most needed and anticipated projects, a decentralized exchange, was virtually abandoned by EtherEx after a harsh community response upon announcing a token sale to help fund development and keep the exchange running. + +Keep in mind many Ethereum projects are small teams of people who may not have the resources to commit full time to developing for the community without sufficient compensation. Sometimes money and profit has to be an ugly side of the business but we can't deny it keeps things running. + +Just as Ethereum allows legitimate businesses to use token technology to raise money where it wasn't possible before, unsavory types can come in and scam unsuspecting users as well. We cannot forget it is important for users to do their own due diligence! To this point, I commend some of the comments drawing attention to potential scam ICOs but I implore commenters to refrain from personal attacks and negativity. + +Responses haven't been handled well to questions raised regarding the Hacker Gold ICO and I suspect the ether.camp project will miss out on significant investment because of recent events. The saddest side effect of all the negativity is that potentially worthy projects may not receive investment or contribute to overall development of the Ethereum ecosystem. +Hey guys, I know this is an extremely subjective and polarizing question, and I'm not even sure if these kinds of posts are allowed on this sub... but I'm desperate for an opinion. + +Fourth year college student, making about $800 a month, in about $13,000 in total debt (including student loans, credit cards, even laptop financing) with almost $4,000 in my savings. I have dedicated about $3,000 of those savings to the next four months rent, and I have about $400 in monthly expenses. + +I am willing to invest $500 right now into ETH. I bought 10 ETH about two weeks ago, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm down to ride this out for the long run, I just don't know who else to ask if $500 is a good idea...none of my friends know anything about ETH, and I haven't found any meetup groups at my university to link up with people involved in this game... but at the same time most of the people on this sub are a lot more familiar with crypto than I am. I feel like I'm in a weird middle ground of knowledge about ETH, and I know this is an amateur question, but what should I do? + +Stay conservative, and buy 10 ETH every week for the next month or two? Go all in right now? I just want some advice from more experienced investors what I should do with my portfolio while living on a college budget. + +I discovered Bitcoin back in 2010 but shrugged it off and didn't buy any...I just don't want to miss another killer opportunity. Thanks guys! + +Again, sorry if these types of posts aren't allowed! + +Edit: I just wanted to give all of you a huge "Thank you" real quick. + +So many varying perspectives and pieces of advice, this is a conversation I wouldn't have been able to have without this sub. I love this community, and no matter your opinion on this subject, I cannot express how much I appreciate everybody's insight. + +From a naïve college student to you, Thank you! +We have already seen a future where Ethereum is powering hundreds of other currencies via ERC20 tokens, but unfortunately this has done nothing to prop the price up. + +Is it possible that the entire world's infrastructure can be rebuilt in Ethereum, but that ETH itself is ultimately not valuable as a currency, because it's the language and the architecture that makes it useful- not the scarecty of the token? +firm believer here. Since it’s birth rightfully happened as a consequence of the financial crisis, I don’t get why BTC is still moving like the common market. +I know the whole world is on fire with COVID, wars and governments printing money like there’s no tomorrow. But when I see the stock market crashing I always have the hope that BTC moves independently since it’s a whole different ball game. +I mean everyone who understands Bitcoin (compared to many here I’m still a rookie) wouldn’t be so stupid to gamble or yet short it. I know everyone got their why which would make you sell some. But unlikely during a bear. + +So it would be nice to enlighten me if it’s still a question of adoption or what has to happen for the baby to become an adult. +PS: DCA IS THE WAY +***edited to address somr of thr most common comments i am getting :) + +Clarity - I am in Canada not the USA. I am a female. Late 20's. Small rural community on an island. + +In my early 20's I made many foolish decisions financially. I grew up poor and didn't know anything about money. Now that I am in my later 20's I am paying the price. Literally. +So I started working on ways to save money, make more money, make my life simpler, live within my means, and work towards eliminating a certain portion of my debt and possibly consolidating the rest in a debt counseling program. +But mainly what this post is about are some simple ways to help people get started, or make a difference. +Maybe you have thought of some already, maybe not, but if this helps anyone out even a little, then it is worth my time typing it up! + +In no particular order, these are some steps I have taken since the beginning of 2016. For clarity, I am a Canadian woman. + +~switched to a no-fees bank account, that also pays interest. So I save money, and I make a little extra from the interest. Every dollar counts. +My old bank was charging me $14.95/month for my checking and savings account. No interest paid. Charged for checks, and charged for services such as a Stop Payment. +My new bank (Tangerine) charges $0/month for my checking and savings. They pay a small amount of interest on balances in checking and savings. First book of checks are free. 1 free stop payment a year. +Overall this saves me about $200 a year give or take. And i am not sure what the interest will be but more than 0 so it is good. + +~Called both of my credit card companies and asked for the lowest possible interest rate. Both were able to do so. +Card #1 lowered my interest rate from 19% down to 11%. +Card #2 lowered my interest rate from 19% to 11.9% with a once yearly fee of $60. Just goes to show you it never hurts to ask. Communication is key. ***Most companies would rather help you, or make a payment agreement with you, than pursue your account and send it to collections <---- they will lose money if they do this. + +~Went meatless. Look it's not that hard. It is so much less expensive. Fresh fruit and vegetables are cheaper than meat where I live. Yes I get more than enough protein and I am incredibly healthy and fit. I can make many delicious meals. +You also tend to spend less going out to eat because there aren't as many options. This is a good thing. Good for your health and your wallet. No fast food. No chain restaurants. I REALIZE THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE OK THANK YOU :) but it can help some people. + +~Sell items I don't need or want. 2 Lululemon hoodies. Dirtbike gear that I likely would not use again. Etc. Used the money for sensible things like groceries and my overdue credit card bill. + +~Get a cheaper cell phone plan! Another one of those "at least you can ask" scenarios where your provider may give you a deal if you've been a customer for a long time. If they don't, shop around until you find a good deal. The BEST times of the year to do this are "back to school" (late aug - late sept), or Black Friday (this is usually a whole weekend of deals in store and online), and Christmas. Often $0 phone deals, good plans, extra data especially around back to school. You can also search online for deals. + +~this one may not be for everyone but I needed a bed, and I did a lot of research... ended up buying a hammock and a stand instead of a mattress and frame. OK WAIT. I know it sounds odd but... the whole setup was $250, *edit - i checked my receipts and it was $166.87 CAD. It saved me a lot of money. & my back is fine thank you to the many commenter who were concerned about that. But there are entire countries where a hammock is normal for a bed and they all can still walk and function. I appreciate the concern however. Thank you all. + +~take people up on their offers to help. Really, my friends and family have been great. They often offer help (I don't mean give me money) and I rarely take it. But this year I am trying to change my ways. A friend offered me a few months rent free in his apartment. It's fully furnished except the bedroom I'd be in. I accepted and am eternally grateful. For my birthday my dad offered instead of a tangible gift (I didn't want gifts anyways, and I am trying to cut down on "stuff") that he would pay off the remaining $500 on a student loan I took out in 2007 and had paid down from $10,000 down to $500 in 2016. That loan is now eliminated completely from my monthly bills. This also isn't for everyone. + +~Cancel your gym/yoga/pilates/karate memberships. You can do almost any workout at home using your computer and YouTube. Its free. I'm assuming you have the internet of course, but most do You can also make a one time investment in a dvd or two if you don't want to use up data or you'd rather use a TV and can't hook up your phone or laptop to it. You can fill old milk jugs with water and use them like kettlebells. You can do squats, lunges, jumping jacks, burpees, pushups, yoga, planks, and much more without any equipment at all. Maybe a mat and again that would be a 1 time investment. Sometimes if you can't cancel the agreement you can transfer it to someone else. I have done this in the past using Kijiji. This will save you on average $50/month, or $600/year. IF YOU ARE A GYM LOVER I GET IT OKAY :) You don't have to do this - I hope to re open a member ship when I can. It is a temporary money saving tactic for me. Best of luck on your gainz. + +~Assess your car insurance. I went in to renew my insurance and was able to get it from $140/month to $109/month. I could save even more ($29 finance fee & %2.5 interest) if I purchased the insurance all at once, and didn't pay through monthly installments, but I do not have that much cash set aside unfortunately. ***This reinforces the often pointed out fact in Personal Finance threads that having personal savings is just as important as paying down debt. + +~Get a 2nd part time job. I am working 2 jobs with strange hours right now. So I have applied for 2 jobs in the hopes of getting another (3rd)one to supplement my income. One of the jobs is a part time overnight stock position - not terribly exciting or rewarding BUT it is not forever and it is extra money. The other job is only for 2 months but it pays well, working for the Federal Census (big survey Canada does to discover info about demographics). Fingers crossed. If I get neither of these positions then I will continue to apply for other similar ones and work as much as I can in my original job as well. So I am trying to bring in extra money. + +~change the way you give gifts. I am trying to give people less "stuff"... consume less. So I sometimes make a donation to the SPCA in the name of the gift recipient. Or to a cause close to that person's heart depending on their individual personalities and life experiences. Or I buy some groceries and we make a meal together. Or have an "everyone bring 10 bucks" party and order as much vegetarian take out we can get with the total. (may have to adjust a bit depending on where you live but you get my drift) this is also not for everyone I get that. My circle is ok with this. Not everyone will be in the same boat. + +~make an honest budget. get out your calculator. Make all those columns and lines. Fill in every little thing. All your bills. All your vices. How much do you really spend on groceries? (Hint - look back through 1 month of bank statements, you can do that on any banking app, any mobile website for your bank, any paper bank statement) How much cash? where does it go? Gas stations for fuel? Get areal clear picture. It will help you. Remember, keep 10% minimum of every paycheck aside in a savings account for you - whichever one will give you the highest interest rate while still allowing you access to your funds (and I always have a few rolls of loonies and a few 20's stashed as well just in case) and incorporate that into your budget. + +~consider seeing a non profit debt counselor. They can often help you lower or eliminate your interest and other fees, consolidate your debt into one monthly payment instead of spreading your money between all your debts and trying to just make the minimum payment on everything. *Note - some debts, such as student loans, are not eligible for this service. Please do the appropriate research. + +~stay away from shopping malls and TV. Malls make you want ot spend money. Don't go places where the temptation will be great. TV commercials make you want to spend money. They are designed to do so. You don't need any of that crap. It is not as important as what you are saving and working so hard for. Opening your own business. Taking a program at College. Going on a trip. Being debt free. All of these things are more important than a new shirt or the latest shoes or KFC or the latest cell phone... + +~Walk more. I have a car. But I live within a reasonable walk to a Loblaws Superstore (kind of like Wal Mart for those of you not in Canada) & a pet supply store (for dog food). Save the gas. Save the wear & tear on your car. + +~if you're partnered, do free or very cheap dates. Fly kites somewhere cool. If you don't have a beach you might have a cliff or the roof of a bulding... flat roof... haha. Make a craft. Have a cook-off. Go for a walk where 1 of you is blindfolded and the other one has to guide you over obstacles. Do chin ups on the monkey bars. Go to an open mic night for music and atmosphere. Read aloud on the beach. Go for a drive somewhere to watch the sun set. Write down your goals and then burn them off a candle flame into the wind. You know just think outside of the box. + (I am single and not interested in dating for a while when I'm sorting out my life so idk just suggestions) + +Most of all just don't give up and keep making changes in small ways and you will get there. I was so hopeless a year ago and now I am starting to feel better. Things are starting to look up. I am still in a huge amount of debt but now I have made a dent in it and have a plan to continue doing so. I am able to sleep better at night knowing I am really doing everything I can think of to make my situation better and I am constantly looking for new ways and new ideas. +Like I said not everyone can do all of these things but everyone can do at least 1 or 2 of these things, even right now, today, after reading this, you can do some of these things right away. Don't procrastinate. And keep your chin up. +=) + +edited - clarity + +*huge thank you to everyone who left supportive comments. I have been struggling for a long time and feeling very ashamed for getting so deep in debt. +I apologize for not posting in /r/frugal +I've been in the crypto space for about 4 years now and having experienced the the full market cycle, I want to share some advice for those of you who may be new to the space and open up a dialog for any other experienced players to share their advice as well. + +For the newer folks around here, **build your portfolio's foundation around projects that you believe are solving a real life problems**. I'm not saying you can't save some money for the potential 100x's out there, but back those moonshots up with a foundation of solid projects first. + +Here's why...When the euphoria and excitement of the bull market inevitably comes to end and we find yourself returning to the days of -50%, -75%, -95% from ATHs, you will start to lose faith in those heavy ass bags of shitcoins you've collected. Some of those coins will die, many more will never see their ATHs again. When you watch your portfolio shrivel up like testicles in a cold swimming pool, you'll ask yourself, "What went wrong?" "Was it something I said?" "Will I ever financially recover from this?" You might sell for a huge loss or you may chose to hold those heavy ass bags forever. **But the worst case scenario is that you cut all loses and leave the crypto space only to return to buy at the next ATH**. + +Anyone who's made it through the last few years will tell you, the bear market is the best time for accumulation. You don't get a $5k Bitcoin, $80 ETH, $2 LINK, or $.0001 DOGE in the middle of bull market mania. You get those prices by researching and learning when others have cut their losses and start playing scratch offs instead. Staying focused and remaining confident in your investment decisions will ensure you're still here to pack your bags for dirt cheap and letting everyone else is jump in late to buy your $200k Bitcoin. + +So how do you stay focused and confident in your investments? By finding the real fucking projects out there. + +When things start going down, you want to look at your bags and say "yeah, regardless of the current price, my coins still have a lot more intrinsic value". Maintaining that confidence and excitement in the space and in your projects will keep you involved, researching, and learning about other blockchain projects during the bear market. + +What makes a good project you ask? I don't think there's any one size fits all answer but here's some factors I look for to get you started. + +&#x200B; + +1. **What problem do they claim they are trying to solve?** Does that problem seem like a real problem, or like a problem they invented so they can solve it? Do they actually solve the problem? This on takes a bit of intuition and common sense, trust your gut, be critical, and be impartial. Don't make it something it's not. +2. **Is the token actually needed to solve that problem?** Sometimes a company may be solving a real problem but the coin they created is kind of just a symbolic gesture of this and doesn't actually assist in the solution. The intrinsic value in the token is directly linked to the problem it solves. +3. **Do they have a working product?** I think there are plenty of projects that don't have a product now but will in the future. It doesn't mean they're less valuable, I'm just saying that if a bear market comes and the dev team wallet is down 90%, are they going to stay motivated to deliver on time? That I'm not sure of so I factor that risk into my investment decision. +4. **Is the project still being worked?** Look I get it, not every project is going to be completely fielded and working right this second. Look at the roadmap and see what they have planned. Look for their Github and see if they are actively working it. If you see that's been over 6 months since anyone has worked it, that project might be dead. Join the projects telegram and ask questions about the development. +5. **Do they have meaningful partnerships?** Pretty much every shitcoin out there will have at least a dozen or so partnerships. If you don't know what their "partner" is, look it up to see if it's really any value added. If someone says they patterned with Tesla, look it up to make sure they aren't claiming that Elon tweeting "I like XYZcoin" is a real partnership. +6. **Tokenomics.** This is a broad one so I'll break down some key areas. + +* *Total Supply:* How many coins will ever exist? Does that make sense to you? Does a currency project with an unlimited supply sound like a good idea to you? +* *Circulating Supply:* How many coins are released as of today? If only 10% of coins are distributed so far, I might not be eager to invest because when the new coins are released, they could flood the market and tank the price. I don't always write off a project based on shitty circulating supply, but if the allocation method or incentives don't support it, I'm out. +* *Token Distribution Method & Allocation*: How were the initial tokens distributed. Does it seem fair and trustworthy to you? How do future coins get added and over what time period? +* *Token usage incentives:* Are there incentives for having the coin? Do you get staking reward? Many projects nowadays inject supply to current holders, stakers, liquidity providers etc. This type of incentive may justify a low circulating supply if that's how they plan to distribute the remaining tokens. +* *Marketcap:* Not really a factor in it determining if it's a good project or not but will help you gauge growth potential. + +**Conclusion:** There are dozens of projects out there doing amazing things but there are also hundreds of coins that will ultimately be worthless. If you're starting out with $50, $100, or $1000 now and you're bummed you might not be rich after this bull market ends, please try to take my advice. Having coins that are solving problems and exciting to you will keep you around during the next accumulation phase and then maybe in the next bull market you can cash out and by your lambo. + +But hey, I don't know everything. I welcome those with more experience than me to share their advice for find solid projects as well. + +&#x200B; + +Disclaimer: I chose not to namedrop coins to avoid sounding like a shill or getting up voted or down voted because I did/didn't mention your favorite coin. + +&#x200B; + +**EDIT:** Thank you all for the awards and commentary in the comments. Definitely some good info down there as well, one that I think should be highlighted is the comment by /rndmsecretaccount. + +"It's important to keep reexamining whether your original thesis behind investing in your holdings still holds. One of the worst things to happen is becoming emotionally attached, because it'll cloud your judgement when yellow and red flags start popping along the journey." + +It's good to revisit your original thesis from time to time. If a project is not meeting your expectations anymore, get out. Don't get emotionally attached. +If Bitcoin had lost this much in March 2020, that would have been an epic crash of 84% in just a few hours. + +Bitcoin is unbelievably massive. + +I know all the "grandpa" jokes/memes are flying around, especially in the daily but consider this scenario: + +"Bitcoin can't get me 100x, so that's why I'm buying [insert moonshot coin name]" + +Ok, I get it. + +You want to be in the game. + +The lure of hitting a 100x or 1000x on a coin is sweetly intoxicating because school/work/life sucks. + +So you pick your fledgling coin, you've studied the tokenomics and you decide it's got as good a chance as any to rise up to the top 10. + +Risky? + +Yes. + +To that, I say: + +Well, if you're going to be risky, why not put that risk in Bitcoin? + +If Bitcoin going to $5 million (100x) is a moonshot and coin x doing 100x is a moonshot, ask yourself: + +If you're wrong, what's the worst that could happen? + +**Choose Bitcoin:** +It doesn't 100x. But it's almost certain to hold its value in 5 years time as anyone whose ever hodled BTC for more than 4 years is in profit. + +**Choose Coin x:** +It doesn't 100x. But in 5 years time, it could be a ghost chain, discarded and forgotten, down 90% or more from ATH. + +That's the true beauty of Bitcoin: + +Buy buying it, you have a chance to witness a 100x, and you most definitely won't lose money if you hodl 5 years. + +Smart money is in Bitcoin. + +I hope your long shot moons for you, but I'm betting on Bitcoin blowing past 100x or a 1000x after the 2032 halving. + +Full disclosure: + +My crypto portfolio is nearly 80% Bitcoin. +Bit of hopetimistic discussion for a slow sunday in crypto + +You wake up, portfolio has moond overnight and the worlds your oyster, whats the first thing you do ? + +For me i'd get the mortgage paid off (boring i know) retire, then start looking for a nice chalet in the alps for a holiday home .... and probably one in spain aswell, thats the dream for me (sorry no lambo) then most likely spend a week on amazon going nuts buying anything and everything i see and just watch the parcels turn up till i get move to one of my holiday homes. + +We can dream can't we 😅 +For reference, here's a long-winded post I put up a few months ago: + +https://old.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/9e788m/fedfire_or_how_a_us_foreign_service_officer_can/ + +---- + +Anyway, on to bidness (I say ‘bidness’ cuz I’m from the streets). And yes, this is rambling, but I ain’t got nothing to do right now. + +**Being FIRE in Furlough** + +This seems to be a bit of a no-brainer. If you are pursuing FIRE, you should likely have an emergency fund, right? Well, we do, no problems there. The thing is, many people overlook the fact that, even if you are a FIRE adherent, some are *just* starting out. I mentor people, and I try to push financial responsibility as *part* of the job (FIRE in a bubblegum wrapper, maybe)…and technically, financial responsibility is important to maintaining clearance eligibility, so it’s not a bad idea to stick it. If you’re just starting…a year or two in, you may not have saved up that much, you may be shoveling more into debt, paying for living in the DC region, and having to take on new-ish car debt (because some countries don’t let you bring in vehicles X years or older). My friends in the civil service (non-diplomats) don’t have the exact same problems, but even in the government, a lot of people…they may not all be living paycheck to paycheck, but they can only miss one or so. + +Our efund will let us last about two months before we would have to start raiding personal stock holdings, those stocks would probably let us last out any length of shutdown (assuming this one doesn’t last until 20 Jan, 2020). FIRE was invaluable for letting me go to sleep in this situation. Certain folks may not have declared a *national* emergency, but this furlough has now reached the point of being a financial emergency for many. + +I will say, efund aside, this happening *directly* at the holidays was probably one of the most terrible ways for it to go down. People splurge at the holidays. It may not be sensible, but it’s a fact. Compound that with a missed paycheck (or more), and things get nasty quickly. I’m sympathetic…happy I’m not currently in that situation…but a decade earlier, I sure as heck would’ve been. + +**Just Go Get Work or Barter with Your Landlord** + +Gee, thanks OPM…the administration being tone deaf as usual. Funny thing, *many* federal employees are restricted in their outside employment. You have to get permission from your supervisor, from higher echelons in your office, from HR, from Legal, depending. This is for ethical reasons, security reasons, and proprietary info reasons…plenty of reasons more, I’m sure. Guess what you can’t do when the government is closed? Get government approvals, oddly enough. I’m not allowed to enter a federal building without explicit orders to do so—it is literally against the law right now, just like any other random citizen trying to enter a federal building without permission. Working without permission is *also* against the law. Read into that what you will, but technically, if I check my email for work purposed, I’d be breaking the law. + +So, the recommendation to get additional work applies to some, but certainly not all, otherwise we’d be in violation of regulations, and could be ousted from a government job once we returned. Would a reasonable boss do this, probably not. Would administrators put into place to disrupt or co-opt the mission of certain agencies do that? Well…I wouldn’t put it past the Zinkes or Pruitts of the world to gleefully fire employees after the furlough was over for seeking outside work without approval. Just following regulations, after all. + +The whole barter with your landlord thing…come on. I don’t know a single apartment complex in the area that isn’t run by a real estate corporation. Your ‘landlord’ is a board of directors in Nevada or some other place with low incorporation fees. Individual renters, sure, maybe…but landlords gotta eat, too, and painting or odd jobs don’t buy groceries. + +This also sticks with me because, right now I’m in the DC region, but if I was overseas, I’d be working (most of my colleagues at post are working without pay). Still, can State or other civilian employee do side work to make ends meet overseas? No. We’d literally be stealing their jerbs. No rent, most of time, but there are still bills. + +**This Is Just Hurting Those DC Elites** + +85% of federal employees work and live outside the DC area (to be clear, DC area is DC, Virginia, and Maryland). National parks are, well, nationally found. NASA has a big presence in Florida and Texas. Air Traffic Control and TSA are in *every* state…border patrol, USDA inspectors…not all these people are considered “Essential”…the security apparatus, sure, but you know who is not there? Administrators, processors, plenty of IT folk, and others who actually make sure things run smoothly. + +The way it normally works when a shutdown occurs is that people are pre-identified as essential and non-essential (various agencies have different terms for this). There are also mission critical people (they know from day one they don’t get time off in emergencies or shutdowns or zombie apocalypses). Depending on your organization some people have pay funded from the previous fiscal year, some don’t. It really kind of depends on what bills your funding falls under. I have a friend right now who is currently working under DoD and getting paid. Meanwhile, the guys two offices down from him are working but *not* being paid, and the office further down the hall has been furloughed. It seems like a crapshoot from the outside. + +The kicker with this is, not that much work is getting done. We are in a holding pattern (to use the parlance of overworked and unpaid air traffic controllers). The Federal Government is not really operating right now, rather, *just* enough is operating to make sure nothing incredibly terrible happens. You are less safe now than you were 20+ days ago, and it has nothing to do with the border. + + +**Who Wouldn’t Love a Long Paid Vacation?** + +Here’s a thought experiment. Your employer tells you that you can go on vacation. Great! While you are on vacation, regardless of your vacation days, you will not get paid. Wait! Also, your employer can require you to return to work with no more than 12 hours notice. Uhh… + +Doesn’t sound so good, does it? We now know—two weeks in—that Congress is authorizing backpay. That wasn’t true at first, and I’m not holding my breath that it’s a done deal. I can’t go visit my folks for a long weekend because I don’t know if I’ll be at work on Monday. We’re not allowed to take time off in lieu of furlough, either. I certainly can’t go on a real vacation (sorry, mom and dad, but you’re not exactly Disney World). Even then, traveling takes money, which will be tight for plenty of people. + +Maybe it’s a taste of Early Retirement [insert angels’ choir sound here]? Nope. I am definitely not experiencing a sense of independence, freedom, or lack of financial concern. I’m not sweating my next meal, but I also kind of feel like I’m under house arrest…or maybe just wearing an ankle bracelet with a DC-area range. + +To add insult to injury, *many* organizations are having employees come in for a day here, a day there (in the sense that you are “essential” one day and return to furlough status the next), so that everyone would at least get some money in a paycheck in the event Congress did not authorize backpay. Kudos to our bosses who do this. It’s good foresight, but it definitely makes doing anything but waiting around for a phone call difficult to accomplish. To reiterate, not how most people spend a “vacation”. + +**What About All Those Free Meals and Discounted Cocktails?** + +So, in the DC region, there are places offering “furlough” deals. Some places are giving discounts on food or drink, some places a free meal…and all you have to do is show your ID. This is marketing. I mean, yeah, you can take advantage of it, I guess, but a lot of it is in DC proper, not the ‘burbs where a majority of the employees live. And are you going to try to do that every day? Probably not. And does it apply to your kids or spouse? Most likely not. I’m pretty sure this also isn’t happening much in other states, either…again 85% of the federal workforce is not in DC. + +On top of that…well, there’s the issue that it’s also typically *against* regulations (possibly the law, though don’t quote me on that) to receive benefits based on your federal status. Approvals can be given, and there are exceptions here and there (GEICO, for example, gives a discount to government employees as a standard practice). The idea here is that we’re supposed to *avoid* reciprocity…you give me a discount and maybe I’ll help you out later. Admittedly, the likelihood of my State Department role affecting a pub in Arlington is *pretty* low, but I don’t get to choose which rules I want to follow, and there’s literally no one to consult about that right now. + +**I Don’t Work for the Government. Who Cares?** + +Even when the government is working, there are still disasters, still romaine lettuce that will make you sick, still bad guys doing bad things…all that is, well, not entirely unchecked, but certainly not as well-guarded against. There is no significant food inspection going on right now. You still go to the grocery store, don’t you? Water safety, environmental protection, all that is limited or non-existent. Probably nothing to worry about, but if you were an amoral company looking dump something toxic, when would you do it? No risk, right now. Customs and Border Patrol gets paid pretty poorly, TSA too…now they’re not getting paid at all. This isn’t even to imply their doing their job *less*, but rather, how long can they show up and *not* get paid? + +You do depend on interstate commerce, and travel, and flying, and all other sorts of things. No one should *really* have to make an argument that the federal government provides vital services, but here we are. If a few more TSA folks stop showing up at Atlanta, Chicago, JFK, and maybe LAX, air travel is going to be messed up. That impacts things like Amazon deliveries, too. It’s not just business or vacation travelers that will feel it. + +Following this, I wouldn’t expect Q1 numbers to look great if this continues for another paycheck or so. It’s not just federal employees…it’s contractors, contract services (like cleaning or maintenance), stuff as simple as office supply companies, vending and cafeteria services, all sorts or stuff that are suspended or operating with skeleton crews. How many of these companies can survive weeks without being paid? It ripples out. + +Heck, let’s go a step further…800,000+ federal workers are non-essential, and almost a million more are working but not getting paid. Two million people, so even assuming these employees are terrible with money and aren’t investing *anything*, the government is still investing 1% of their salary into TSP. If everyone is being paid $50,000, that’s about $40,000,000 that didn’t get invested with this past (missed) paycheck. The average salary in the federal government is higher than that, and the average TSP investment is *definitely* more than 1%. When institutional investors (and the TSP most definitely qualifies) *aren’t* buying stock…is that good or bad for the economy…? I forget. + +**Some Personal Notes and Being Reminded of FIRE on Furlough** + +Meh, that’s a lot of doom and gloom. I’ve been at work four days since the holidays. Moral is not good. Maybe a needed to vent. + +Fortunately, right before the holidays, I sold my underwater townhome for mortgage value + $3500. I found a local “We Buy Houses” type company (just a realtor with a bunch of investors backing him up), and they bought the townhome *with* the renters still in place. After owning the place for 12 years…I literally broke even (probably less, since I’m not really accounting for inflation). But hey, I’m not shelling out $200 a month in excess of my renters’ rent anymore. + +A weird thing that happened included my going to a pre-pre-retirement seminar on Monday and Tuesday. This was training I had paid for out of last year’s budget, so I could still go (no refunds). It was a seminar designed for people more than five years from retirement. There was some good stuff, and they talked specifically about FERS, FERS Special, and Foreign Service Retirement. I am still on course to able to really retire at 50, so, yay. + +There was some great stuff on legal and financial planning, particularly regarding springing power of attorney, revocable trusts. The lawyer who spoke for that part made a point of indicating that from 18 years onward, all family members should have springing powers of attorney, and possibly limited powers of attorney. This was particularly important for those of us in foreign service, since we find ourselves in tough situations every once in a while, but just for general financial security in a time when you or a spouse is incapacitated, it’s good to know you can accomplish critical business if needed. + +Revocable trusts were an interesting concept from an estate planning perspective. Those of you who plan to have more than once residence or property in multiple locations may want to look into that to possibly simplify probate / estate planning. It does not work in all situations, but it might for some. + +The financial planner presented a case for having a mortgage in retirement, which I thought was interesting. He made a point to not to use it to overbuy, but rather—and this was particular to people with pensions—it can used to avoid some tax liability. Much of this was dependent on current mortgage rates, but it *could* be tax advantaged if you have a pension to also have a mortgage interest write off. I found it funny, because he specifically called out Dave Ramsey and his “anti-debt at all cost” schtick. I probably won’t have a post-retirement mortgage, but it’s food for thought. + +The Financial Planner also made a great analogy about the market (it hit home for those of us in the DC area): + +Being in the market is like being in traffic. You pick a lane, and you’re going along to your destination. Then your lane starts to slow and you see people to the left and right of zooming past. After some swearing, you pull out into another lane, zip along a few car lengths, and then stop. Now, the rusted-out Ford you were behind for the past ten miles is passing you in your old lane, so you switch back, but there are a few more care between you and the Ford. Waitaminute! I’m losing progress! Better switch lanes again. Rinse and repeat. + +This isn’t to say there aren’t some true fast lanes, but unless you have really good financial GPS, all you’re doing is weaving in and out of the market on a hunch, and losing position along the way. The destination, and progress toward it, are still pretty well-known / predictable factors. + +There wasn’t anything particularly illuminating about the financial planning part of it, (though the fact that these guys charge 0.5 - 1.5% to give advice we talk about here daily is a thought for post-retirement income…though I’m not sure what’s all involved in becoming a Certified Financial Planner). + +He went over opportunities for backdoor Roth contributions, and made a point that Roth isn’t always better depending on where you are in your career, and where you expect to be, tax-wise, in the future. For federal employees, unless you choose to work *after* retirement from the government, it would be hard to have more earned income post retirement. Our pensions are *always* a fraction of our past earnings. Again, not mind-blowing, but Backdoor Roth is often chanted as a mantra here, but everyone is different in their situation. + +He also mentioned this step-by-step guide for the backdoor Roth from Physician on Fire. + +So, the guy knew about FIRE, but never actually mentioned it by name…heh. + +**Some Fed-Specific Stuff** + +For those who are federal employees, a guy from the TSP board talked to us and told us that significant positive changes to withdrawal options are coming, and they are looking at growing fund options in the next 3-7 years. He said there’s usually very little pushback in that area, so don’t do anything drastic (i.e., moving all funds to another brokerage) if you don’t have a better reason than you just want a little more diversity. + +As a final note, the guy from TSP board mentioned three huge mistakes they see all the time: Keeping everything the G Fund—don’t do it unless you’re already retired and the low return meets your needs. Moving everything into the G Fund when the market dips (happens a lot, good ol’ buy high and sell low). And last, having some money in a target date fund (L Funds) *and* in a regular fund (G, F, C, S, I). If you’re going to use an automatic balancing fund, having any of the same funds outside there is silly, and if you want more control, just mimic the allocations of your preferred target fund once a month (or quarterly, or whatever). Creating combinations of target funds (like having 25% in aggressive 2050+ and 75% in the 2020 fund) is fine (though maybe not optimal), since they’re still all automatically rebalancing. + +For those who are FERS-RAE or FERS-FRAE (people who pay more for their pension plan), the poison pill retirement adjustments pushed by zombie-eyed granny starver Paul Ryan (credit to Esquire), we were shown math that indicates you still benefit, obviously, from a full government career (the health care coverage being a primary factor), but the inflection points are about 8 and 12 years for RAE and FRAE. If you quit before then, not a huge loss, if you quit after then, you’re likely cheating yourself financially. I can’t replicate the math here, but I don’t think he was lying. He did point out that if the healthcare situation in US changes for the better (Universal / Medicare for all), many federal employees might find themselves re-evaluating the benefits of their benefits. + +---- + +**tl;dr:** Pimpin’ ain’t easy, but neither is being a federal employee on furlough, that said, sticking to FIRE ideals *really* really helps. Also, please reiterate with people…the furlough is national…it’s not just DC. This affects Americans as a whole. + +This is inspired both by seeing a recent post about starting a business, combined with having recently listed my own business for sale. + +I am an under 40 single guy with no children, writing this as I make my third attempt at getting out of being a small business owner. A piece of advice I had before buying a business was to have an exit strategy. That exit strategy was to have three consecutive good years, then sell. + +Prior to becoming self employed, I went to college for electrical engineering, gained some valuable employment but was annoyed at the lack of future income potential. + +**2006** + +I bought a single struggling location of a franchise from an existing owner for less than the cost of inventory. I was young and determined to put up solid year over year growth, sweat equity, and sell for a solid profit after three years of solid gains. Having never owned a business before I relied heavily on the tools and resources I was provided through the franchise network. 2006 and 2007 went exactly to plan, new ownership, enthusiasm, and following a franchise model led to great growth, then the 2008 crash came along and prevented me from even listing the business for sale. + +**2010** + +Things got back on track and were healthy enough that I finally started to learn a negative of owning a franchise as they wanted me to expand with a second location. At this point I was bringing in roughly $130k / year from a single store, and I was still highly motivated to succeed. I did what I could to continue what was working, and very slowly worked toward deciding on a new city, new shopping center, and new lease. + +**2012** + +My second location opened, and came out of the gate with the highest ever first year gross income for the franchise. Two stores proved to be easier to manage than I expected, and from 2012 to 2016 my income climbed to $300k / year. Many economies of scale helped to make this happen, vendor minimum orders went from slightly stressful to simple. Employee overtime was at a minimum with one person floating between stores, and I had a solid history in the industry to handle any odd situation. + +**2016** + +I opened a third location with high expectations, and an aggressive advertising budget. The first year performed slightly below average for the franchise network, but steadily climbed. I converted from an LLC to an S Corp to reap the full benefits of the tax cuts and jobs act, and by 2019 my income had climbed to $400k / year. I decided to try and sell the three stores. I worked with a business broker and found a qualified buyer. They were approved by the SBA, approved by the franchisor, the business appraisal came in enough to support the sale, and they went through the franchise provided training program successfully. While thinking about getting out of retail, the bank lending funds sent a letter stating that they could no longer provide the loan due to "a change in global market conditions." My ability to time the sale of a business is quite talented, first 2008 financial crisis, then COVID. + +**Today** + +Thankfully as COVID seems to be well understood, my 2019, 2020, and first quarter 2021 books all show consistent growth. I live in Arizona, my business was defined as essential, and thrived with products that consumers needed more than ever while working from home. Recently the three stores went up for sale with an owner's discretionary cash flow of over $580k. + +**So why did I buy a business?** + +I saw an opportunity, low purchase price, minimal risk, excellent upside potential, and what I thought was an easy exit strategy. + +**Pros of a franchise?** + +Training, support, national brand reputation, low barrier to entry for anyone with a down payment and willingness to learn. + +**Cons of a franchise?** + +Royalties, territories, competition, pressure to expand, long franchise contract, limitations on adding sources of income outside the franchise model, drama both between franchisees, and with the franchisor when any disputes occur. Priorities don't always line up, a franchisor earns royalties off of gross sales, while a franchisee is interested in maximizing net profit, these two are only indirectly related. + +**Pros of retail ownership?** + +Income potential, minimal barriers to entry, financial control + +**Cons of retail ownership?** + +It is retail, it's retail, retail hell is a common saying, and inventory holding costs eat into returns. Also I haven't sold yet, the buyer pool for retail franchises seems to be limited even if the price is enticing. + +I'm aware I didn't include a net worth. I never intended to sustain a high income for this long, and my highest annual spending is less than 1% of my net worth at this point. +Hi everyone, + +Europe, 30ish, 1 kid + +I decided to sell my business. It's an online education company, with a revenue of 2-3 M and an ebitda of a little under 1M. + +The question is pretty simple: should I hire a M´&A company to handle the transaction? It's my first time selling a company and the stakes are huge for me. + +I had a first contact with one M&A company. The feeling with them is great. The cost for me would be 5% as a success fee . + +The valuation of the company would be between 6 and 10M. This number is based on the typical ratio for similar companies in Europe, which is between x8 Ebitda and x12. Those numbers are confirmed by the M&A company and by an extract of 300 similar transactions that I got (without them). + +What do you think? Is it a normal price ? Am I better off selling without them? + +Thanks!  + +PS: excuse my bad English, I'm a non-native speaker. +Assuming we’re all on this board, we have some knowledge of index funds, low cost investing, retirement planning, and tax strategies. Given these conditions, does it ever make sense for YOU to hire an FA? + +It’s a trillion dollar industry so if course there’s value, I’m curious though, if the only people that choose to be clients are simply under informed of their investment options, or if there’s a large % that have information and still choose to work with an FA. And would love to find out WHY that is. + +Thank you! + +The one solution I’ve come up with in my head is a fee only advisor, where you can play a flat fee per session. (At retirement, a few years before, etc.) +I have been recently reading James Hughes's "Family Wealth" and also saw [this NY Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/your-money/wealth-100-year-family.html?searchResultPosition=1). They both seemed more geared towards intergenerational wealth in the sense of a shared family business. The whole approach to treating long-term (100+ years) family planning as akin to corporate governance seems a little heavy handed to me. Anyone else out here have any thoughts about formalizing the "la familia" relationship and planning for the long-term success of their families? + +Edit: To bring this question into FatFIRE territory, I would say that most people who achieve FatFIRE will probably have some sort of lasting financial legacy that will have an impact on their long-term relationship with family. I also feel that the ability to devote more time, energy and resources to developing a good and supportive relationship with your family is one of the main things that make FIRE so appealing. That being said, I can also see (and have seen personally) that substantial assets mixed with poor long-term planning can tear a family apart. I am wondering if this community has any good experiences with different approaches to this. +[Hello, r\/Superstonk Jellyfish here! ](https://i.redd.it/k2eixqtt63971.gif) + +I want to continue [trying to tie data](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/od11xo/a_dive_into_lina_khans_first_meeting_as_ftc_chair/) from posts this week together. Specifically, the [jobs report](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ocjp7f/us_department_of_labor_june_update_in_june_2021/) and [census report](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ocj7ko/us_census_bureau_household_pulse_survey_62_of/). + +U.S. Department of Labor June Update: In June 2021, the unemployment rate was 5.9% and added 850,000 jobs to the economy, including 343,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality. The economy is growing faster than at any time in 40 years BUT is still 9 million jobs short of pre-pandemic job levels. + +14.7 million people are still claiming state or federal unemployment benefits, including 11 million people on federal PUA or PEUC benefits. [There are definitely record fraud claims in](https://abc7chicago.com/ides-unemployment-in-illinois-fraud-report/10367159/) these numbers, but it is a LOT of real people too! + +All of this when average hourly earnings for employees on private nonfarm payrolls went up by 10 cents per hour in June, from May to $30.40, after having risen 13 cents in May and 20 cents in April, for a 43 cent per hour increase in three months, or 5.7% annualized. + +https://preview.redd.it/z7z961e693971.png?width=1455&format=png&auto=webp&s=91a2fe87ea1af4f2e92e1060844138325c219a7e + +I think that number is a bit misleading (white-collar higher-paying jobs haven’t shut down like the service industry for example, so this skewed wages upward) BUT there is definitely a push upward on wages in general in the market. + +Lower-paid employees being pulled back into jobs in large numbers, and this should push down average hourly wages (since those working before were more 'highly skilled'/paid? + +The fact that the average is still rising despite the influx of lower-paid workers shows just how much pressure there is on wages at the moment though. Even with republican states ending [expanded pandemic unemployment benefits](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unemployment-benefits-states-end-federal-aid/) altogether in most cases. + +Still, even with the big 850k + jobs report, we're still down 9 million jobs from before the pandemic started--remember [the head of the Minneapolis Fed Neel Kasharki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/oblqlb/us_bureau_of_economic_analysis_bea_announced/h3oilba) says people returning to work will tamper inflation...(this has me working on another inflation post though, so if you like that topic, stay tuned!) + +[credit u\/assman323232](https://preview.redd.it/n8gzi3of79971.jpg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=69f5c4254ba86c826b4eecc399445cddebc02c12) + +Breaking the numbers in the jobs report down further, the leisure and hospitality industry jumped by 343,000 jobs in June, after having added 306,000 jobs in May, since restaurants and hotels are desperately trying to bring on workers. Yet, total employment in the sector was still down by about 2.18 million people, compared to the peak in February 2020, before the pandemic ‘started’. + +[https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/graph\/?g=SJz](https://preview.redd.it/4svave2b93971.png?width=1463&format=png&auto=webp&s=189299a331156b4bb5881d2200d7d3d59ea8d028) + +Employment in manufacturing up 15,000 jobs following 39,000 jobs added in May, amid widespread complaints by manufacturers that they’re having trouble filling orders because they’re having trouble “finding suitable candidates for current vacancies,” [according to the HIS Markit Manufacturing PMI](https://www.markiteconomics.com/Public/Home/PressRelease/0501c114d9194cb889d175b0ba828bf1). + +[https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/MANEMP](https://preview.redd.it/8vxcq4dg93971.png?width=1461&format=png&auto=webp&s=8f0f37594c0cb3294ca281bbdf67d7af733716cc) + +# So it is labor shortages and not just material shortages causing issues. + +# All of this in the backdrop of: + +**• Childcare Disruption: Of adults living in households with children, 9.6% were in homes where children were unable to attend daycare/another childcare arrangement because of the coronavirus pandemic in the last 4 weeks.** + +**• Children’s Telehealth: Of adults living in households with children, 21.3% were in homes where children had an appointment with a doctor, nurse, or other health professional by video or phone in the last 4 weeks.** + +**• Food Assistance from School: Of adults living in households with children enrolled in public/private school, 22.3% were in households where students received food assistance from school in the last 7 days.** + +• Household Telehealth: 23.8% of American adults had an appointment with a doctor, nurse, or other health professional by video or by phone in the last 4 weeks. + +• Planned Trips: 36.2% of adults are planning to take overnight trips or trips to places more than 100 miles away in the next 4 weeks. + +**• Expected Loss in Employment Income: 12.3% of American adults expect someone in their household to experience a loss in employment income in the next 4 weeks.** + +• Telework: 23.7% of adults live in households where at least one adult teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic in the last 7 days. + +**• Food Scarcity: 9.7% of American adults lived in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the previous 7 days.** + +**• Housing Insecurity: 6.2% of adults are not current on their rent or mortgage payment and have slight or no confidence in making their next payment on time.** + +**• Eviction or Foreclosure: Of adults living in households not current on rent or mortgage, 32.9% report eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is somewhat or very likely.** + +**• Difficulty with Household Expenses: 28.3% of adults live in households where it has been somewhat or very difficult to pay usual household expenses in the last 7 days.** + +So really, there is a shortage of people willing to work under the current system of rising but still, shit wages, shit benefits, and shit working conditions, living in constant fear of one's day-to-day security. This is like a quiet strike, just not really organized, ***yet.*** + +# Right now there are over 14.7 million people are still claiming unemployment compensation, including the extra $300 a week from the federal government contemplating life decisions. + +https://preview.redd.it/zhqvl1ps93971.png?width=610&format=png&auto=webp&s=aaad93166bb8554b24bfb088005a9ed3890a4c33 + +In my opinion, this is why the brigading rule has come down HARD, as 'they' are petrified, throwing everything and the kitchen sink, and ultimately Reddit wants to avoid being sued in that fallout? + +But look what the Apes of r/Superstonk have accomplished float-wise with 500,000 members just liking, buying, and holding the stock. + +Let’s say it’s only 10 million sitting at home (because fraud is *that* rampant?) and they all decide to buy two shares at $202.80 for $405.60 (the last bit of discretionary income they have left say, since 3 stimmies were sure enough to cover us all through this, right ???). + +[you can see the 3 stimmy spikes... ](https://preview.redd.it/emc3uax8a3971.png?width=1459&format=png&auto=webp&s=0886880ed03cd8cf03ac9e1f486935e28bdb1c0f) + +That’s a hole that gets 20 million shares deeper and now with something enforcement agencies and politicians fear the most—more voices. Voices that will garner more MSM attention, which will perpetuate more buying… + +**This situation terrifies them. They could laugh at Occupy Wall Street since it was a group composed of idealists and people with little skin in the system, railing at the system from the outside. This is hitting them from within, and by their rules.** + +If luck is when preparation and opportunity meet, there is ‘luck’ in this rhyming moment in history. For preparation, Apes who just like the stock have DD and Zen out the wazzoo—the price goes up, hold, the price goes down, hold, the price goes sideways, hold…. + +This preparation paired with the opportunity of another 5% of the working population discovering, educating themselves on, and potentially buying tickets to the moon? This is 'LUCKY' and is what is different from 08, there is a big percent of the population willing to reevaluate their lives right now. [This is true across the world as well!](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/03/world/asia/china-slackers-tangping.html) + +However, the more Apes join in this 'attack' (yeah, buying and holding is an 'attack on the system'.../snark) the worse this gets for them. + +https://preview.redd.it/mw5s4uyhb3971.jpg?width=274&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5304ea437a16f601697751f9f1cb6a16cbe6d6b3 + +https://preview.redd.it/aup3ru4jb3971.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93b5bef99f91cbe19d7a5e99805bd3fd6fc29c06 + +Last comment /social commentary I would like to make. Yes, the idea of more Apes joining the cause is exciting. But these are the ‘just don’t dance statistics’ too. This just sucks all around and leads to an anxiety-filled environment all around. Hell, even of people who ‘have made it’, [60% of millennials earning more than $100,000 per year are living paycheck to paycheck](https://www.businessinsider.com/high-earning-henry-millennials-six-figure-salaries-feel-broke-2021-6). + +What is even winning in this current system? + +This is leading to [greater alcohol consumption in America](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/america-drinking-alone-problem/619017/). Prohibition is not and never is the answer, but the causes of this anxiety and drive to drink have to be addressed. + +[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xa1L01ZNaY&t=144s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xa1L01ZNaY&t=144s) + +'Like Loki, Maher can be a smarmy worm, but he loves to be right!' I do believe he tries to be an honest broker, please don't hate me if he's not your thing. + +So Apes, on this long holiday weekend, please take care of yourselves and look to the person to the left of you and to the right of you—we are all in this together. + +Have a great rest of the weekend and enjoy the fireworks! + +[BOOM!](https://i.redd.it/yg7orrgrb3971.gif) +This is to all you regards out there spam posting about how “everything is over” and “don’t be a bag holder.” Ryan Cohen revealing he owned a massive stake in BBBY was not the reason for the initial run-up, and it has nothing to do with how many shares are outstanding. + +Obviously his sale will take the stock back down below $15 (where he announced his stake) but what does that have to do with the short interest? Absolutely nothing. Paper hands can’t even sit on their shares for a week, and fall for the first attempt to get them to sell out. + +Those who bought below $15 are still holding. Those waiting for the shorts to exit their positions are still holding. The stock will slowly rise back up after all of this negative attention, and suddenly you’ll be buying back in at $20 like everyone else. Stop buying calls that expire in 2 days expecting massive gains. Buy shares, sit down, shut the fuck up and wait. + +Position: 200 shares @ $10.80, selling covered calls to dumbasses. + + + +Come back to this post in a week and cry about it. + + + +Edit: It hasn’t even been a week. Cry about it. +tl;dr -- My elderly neighbor just offered to sell me his riding mower. I suspect he's broke, and he's been working on his car, in the rain, for the past two days. What's the best way for me to help him out? + +Hi all, + +I'm not sure if this is the best place for this post, but I figure you all will sympathize and perhaps have some advice. I have a neighbor that's in his 60's-70's(?), let's call him Jim. He's a blue-collar dude. Our houses face one another, and generally when the weather is nice we'll both be working in our yards and chit chat. He and his wife are retired; I don't think they have any children or family. They've been ideal neighbors: Jim keeps the yard looking nice, they give us a heads up if they ever see anything suspicious, but they don't make a nuisance out of themselves. + +Just for context, we live in a nice neighborhood, but it's not a *nice* neighborhood, if you get my drift. Our houses are both worth around 80-100K or so. + +Jim obviously doesn't tell me anything about his finances, but I've noticed a couple of things that make me think he and his wife are having money problems. First, I used to get postcards in the mail that said he was delinquent on his property taxes (the mailman mixes up our mail sometimes). Last year, Jim had a heart attack and had to go to the hospital in an ambulance. Then, last summer, it looks like Jim's HVAC went out. Rather than replace it, he had a window unit put into his bedroom. Starting last week, my wife (who works at home) told me that Jim has been in his driveway, in the rain, trying to get his only car working. She said she knows it isn't working because he had to call a taxi to go get groceries. + +So, for the past week, my wife and I have been trying to think of a tactful way to offer Jim our extra car (we are a two car household, but I usually ride my bike to work) for errands, but, to my shame, we didn't really reach a firm conclusion. + +Then, this evening, I was walking my dogs with my wife, and Jim came out to say hello. That's not too odd; his dogs bark whenever I walk mine, so he sort of has an alarm when I'm out and about. He made small talk for a bit, and then he turned to what I think was the reason why he came outside in the first place. + +He asked me if I'd like to purchase his riding lawn mower from him. My lawn is bigger than his, and he said that his push mower is sufficient, so he thought I might like to buy it from him. I asked him how much he's thinking, and he said that he'd take a couple of hundred dollars for it. The catch is that it isn't working right now, but he says he will sell it to me once it is working. + +So, if you're still with me, I think this is really just a fig leaf way to ask me for money so that he can get his car running. I think was nicely done, and I'm not offended or put out or anything like that. I'm happy to help Jim out. But what's the best way to proceed? I would just give him some money, as I'm pretty sure the man isn't blowing it on anything (he really only leaves his house to go to the grocery store and to church). But I think I should also preserve his dignity - should I really wait to give him the money until he has the mower fixed up? That seems a bit absurd, especially if he's going to have to buy parts. Perhaps I should tell him I'll take it and fix it up myself (I'm fairly handy - I suspect I can get it running and resell it to recoup some of my money)? + +In the long run, do you guys have any ideas about how I can help Jim and his wife out without seeming like a busy-body? I'd like to help, but I don't want to get too involved nor do I want to offend Jim. I'm not loaded or anything like that, so I don't have enough money to fix all of Jim's travails, but if there's some kind of service/government program I can put him in touch with, I'd be happy to do so. + +P.S. I think it's fucking evil that you can grow old in this country and still have to struggle like this. + +&#x200B; +Algorand’s first memecoin, Akita Inu ASA has been launched! 100k market cap, less than a week old! Already in the Top 25 coins on Algorand! + +This is a first-mover memecoin on the Algorand chain. Asset id is 384303832. [r/AkitaInuASA/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AkitaInuASA/), white paper coming soon, NFT drops, Airdrops, community NFT collaborations, and more to come! + +1 billion total supply + +350 mil provided to liquidity on [www.tinyman.org](https://www.tinyman.org) (Algorand's first DEX, check it out, super easy to use) + +5% of supply is locked in owner’s wallet for 1 year + +Website up and running - [www.akitainuasa.com](http://www.akitainuasa.com/)! Twitter and Discord up! Subreddit growth from 100 to 500 in the last two days! In process to become a verified asset on Algorand! + +Buy it today on Tinyman, simply swap Algos for Akita. Make sure to search all assets and show unverified assets. + +I think this coin is almost guaranteed to see huge gains given how early we are to it. It only has a 100k marketcap and has only been out for a week. Memecoins have insane growth potential, and Algorand provides 5 second transaction times and fees that are less than 1/20th of a penny per transaction. + +Algo is a sleeping giant and Akita Inu could be the marketing boost it needs to really blow up. Get in now while you're still early!!! Don't miss out on the next SHIBA! Built on a better blockchain, and with a much more limited supply of only 1 billion tokens, currently each token is only worth .0001 cents, the gains potential is huge! + +Akita Inu ASA, asset ID: #384303832, [www.akitainuasa.com](http://www.akitainuasa.com/), [r/AkitaInuASA/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AkitaInuASA/), [twitter.com/AkitaInuASA](https://twitter.com/AkitaInuASA) + +Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Akita Inu, I receive nothing for posting this. This is a legitimate moonshot and not a bot driven post. + + +They said they were going to the bank and now they're going to their first one, a central exchange, LBank, with over $1 Billion in volume a day! + +Plans are to be live there **before** Jan 1! + +The Essential Coin - A UTILITY ECOSYSTEM THAT PROVIDES REWARDS TO LONG TERM INVESTORS! Team is doxxed and KYCed. + +**Details:** + +* Total Supply: 1,000,000,000,000,000 +* Decimals: 18 +* Liquidity Pool: 60% for 2 Years +* Initial Burn: 25% with periodic burn of 10% +* Antiwhale mechanisms + +**Tokenomics - 15% Tax Breakdown:** + +* 5% Reflections +* 4% Add to Liquidity +* 3% Marketing Wallet +* 3% Buy-Back & Burn + +**Contract**: **0x4c48cca6153db911002f965d22fdefcd95f33be9** + +Website: [https://theessentialcoin.org](https://theessentialcoin.org/) + +TG: [https://t.me/the\_essential\_coin](https://t.me/the_essential_coin) + +The Essential Coin was birthed from a collaboration of individuals who were scammed after investing their money into a new "memecoin". After their experience, they decided to take charge of their own future and launch a new cryptocurrency, one that would be a true community coin. + +The driving forces behind The Essential Coin are honest and transparency. The devs personal information was provided to Pinksale. The rest of the team are named and pictured on website. + +Join The Essential Coin as they build their community organically. ESC is not going to the moon or Mars - it's going to the bank! 🏦 +Hey PF, + +I started doing my wife's and my taxes yesterday - this is only our second year filing jointly. I noticed her federal income tax withheld was extremely low, and that's when we realized she must have accidentally claimed 'Exempt' for 2020 when filling out her W4 last year. Her company made everyone update their W4s last year online and claiming exempt is just a simple check box, which she must have accidentally clicked. It coincided with us getting married, combining our bank accounts, and her getting a raise, so neither of us really paid attention to her pay stubs during 2020. + +Anyways, when I entered my W2 info into FreeTaxUSA, it was estimating that we'd get some money back. After I entered her info, it is now estimating we owe $7K. Obviously this was not ideal to see, but luckily we are able to cover that. My question is: After we pay that amount are we good to go? Or should we expect any inquiries or something from the IRS? We are also in the process of closing on a house, so hoping this doesn't slow down our lending or add any complication (we're newer to this stuff, not sure how it affects each other). + +Thanks for any advice! +Step 1.) finish high school or get your G.E.D. I dropped out at 16 (as my sister did, my mom, my grandma and probably her mom). About 2 years of having no goals I had to change and took my sister and myself to take the damn test. + +Step 2.) if you come from low income family most likely community college will be free for you. I maxed out Pell grants and it covered my tuition for the three years. I went for Communication. + +Step 3.) get a serving job that has a bar. I was always a server in college. I worked about 25 hours a week and always made $500 a week. It’s fast money and it’s good physical activity. DO NOT settle for minimum wage paying cashier jobs. Restaurant work is tough but after 6 months it’s kind of fun! And I’ve always worked in corporate restaurants - the promotion to manager is usually pretty sweet. $50k starting and 2 weeks paid vacation. The hours suck but the people you work with are usually solid people and a good time. But it is a viable career option. You can then work your way up to general manager and they break 6 figures. I obviously didn’t do this - I stayed a server through school- but it was definitely a consideration for me. I mention it here as a career option bc many people don’t think of it. + +Step 4.) use your degree or certificate! I transferred to a 4-year university and completed a degree in business (better for job prospects). I highly advised to please choose a relevant and demanded degree. And most importantly be passionate on what you want to do. My sister go a degree in social work and she has had no desire to look for a job for the two years we’ve been out of school. + +Step 5.) Leverage your network. Who do you know? Where do they work? Does the school hold job fairs? Go to it. Does your advisor know of internship opportunities? Talk to them. My gf’s dad worked at a big company and I asked him how I can get into their internship program. + +Step 6.) research and practice interview skills. Really you have to. It helps so much. + +Step 7.) clean up the resume periodically and apply to internship after internship after internship. I only applied for paid internships. I interviewed in total about 8 internship places. My first internship was with my gf’s fathers company (not his division or office but for corporate - he sent me a link to apply) but it took me two years to get that position! The first year they said sorry and even tho I was devastated I gave it my all the next year and got it! My first internship, it was super competitive and they paid $20 an hour. I ended up taking the $65k starting offer with this company. My second internship was minimum wage but it was still amazing. I made it work. + +Note: if you need certain experience volunteering is a good way to get these skills on a resume. I joined an LGBT club in college where I was a PR officer - that looked great on my resume and it was relevant work experience + +Step 7.) review and update the resume again + +Step 8.) keep applying to internships. If you are finished with school or about to graduate apply for full time positions. You may luck out and have an offer from where you interned. + +Step 8.) keep networking. At work and in your personal time. I went to a better position within my company within 1.5 years. + +I get that college is not for everyone but this is how I did it. I’m currently working on my MBA that work pays for. + +The most important takeaways here are the network and the effort. Keep applying. Even when you don’t know if you should apply. Apply. Every interview you go on makes you better for the next one. There were a lot of opportunities I didn’t get but I still very fortunate to the 3 that were life changing for me. + +I hope this helps someone. Keep applying!! If your not good at resume design you can buy nice, outstanding looking resume templates on Etsy! +I've always wanted a job that let's me travel. I've been very jealous of anyone that can work from home as they could live just about anywhere while keeping the same job. + +I work as a personal trainer and avg $40-50k/yr and that's plenty for me since I'm single with no kids. I started swing trading options 7 months ago, and so far profited 15k since starting, but that's including a horrible March where I made several bad trades due to stubbornness and not planning my exits, and ended up losing 15k! If I had planned better, my profits would be 20-30k so far, which is amazing in my view. March was a valuable learning month, so it wasn't a complete waste. + +My goal is to be able to live in a place (as in different countries) for 1-3 months at a time, and day/swing trade. Maybe some private personal training thrown in too. As long as I can maintain about 50k+ a year avg. + +Does anyone do this? Also, how do taxes work with this? + +I hope this is something that's attainable! +I'm curious how people find, research, and assess stock option trading opportunities. I'm still trying out different strategies, and I'm interested to know how other people approach it. Feel free to share as much or as little detail you'd like. + +&#x200B; + +Also, I'm curious of your thoughts on the various brokerage and trading platforms. I have experience with POWER e\*Trade, ToS, as well as RH. They all have the pros and cons, although I think overall POWER e\*Trade and ToS are worthwhile. On the other hand, while commission-free trading is nice, I found RH to be more costly due to inferior order fills. + +&#x200B; + +Anyway, TIA for any advice you may be able to share. +Reading all the posts about Crypto.com hack, I quickly login to my CDC app to check. Sure enough, my funds was down a few thousand dollars as compared to this morning when I last checked them! + +I can feel my heart beat rising, knees getting weak, arms are sweaty. I took a deep breath and thought about my next course of action. They cannot get away with this, it's my hard-earned money and I was furious that they lost my money! I quickly grabbed my laptop to draft a strongly worded email to CDC and to demand compensation. How could such a thing happen! Unacceptable! + +Then I realised its just LRC hitting 1.20.. +**TL/DR**: [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) is a unique and impressive community of individual investors producing ground-breaking research. In this post, I argue that this community can improve its research efforts, public perception, and legitimacy by recognizing the harm caused by low-effort memes, conspiratorial thinking, unrealistic expectations, and the valorization of ignorance. + +**About me**: Hey everyone. I am an individual member of this amazing community, and would like to say my piece. This is my first official post on [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/). I've posted once before using [u/Superstonkbot](https://www.reddit.com/u/Superstonkbot/), which allows low-karma members to post. My [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/oj9kjv/rsuperstonk_is_not_a_karma_feedingground_exercise/) gained 6K upvotes. Today I happened to see I finally meet the karma criteria, so I am excited to finally speak up. + +I've been an [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) member since its founding. I bought my first XXX shares in early January, 2021, and sold XX shares in late January, 2021, to cover my original investment. I did this because I used student loans to buy GME in the first place. Today, I am still an XXX holder, and visit Superstonk hourly. I mostly search by new and rising. That is to say, I am a very active member, and care deeply about this community. I do my best to make informed decisions about what I upvote and downvote. + +The last thing I'll say about myself, is that I professionally research culture and cognition. So, while I cannot make a meaningful contribution to the swath of research produced by [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) members, I *do* believe I can identify detrimental information patterns among [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) members. + +**About** [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/): + +This community is amazing. It represents one of the frontiers of market reform activism. I believe [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) is unique among stock/economy/business subreddits. Unfortunately, it is often grouped in with the others. **In other words, people often don't take this community seriously**. This hinders the community's ability to attract new members, gain the attention of politicians and government officials, and be perceived as a legitimate source of research and information about GameStop and the financial system. + +The sad truth is that [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) *does* resemble other communities, the names of which I cannot specify (automod). Many of us have likely encountered scenarios, on and off of Reddit, where non-members have likened [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) to a cult, a pump and dump, or a community of bag-holders struggling to accept reality. But this community is not that. The research is actually solid. This is real, and its happening. Several financial bodies are struggling to maintain short positions on a company that is undergoing rapid bullish transformation with a group of highly loyal investors that want the company to succeed. Further, it seems likely a stock split issued as a dividend will place an overwhelming amount of stress on these financial bodies. Beyond that, the research produced by this community on topics ranging from problems in market structures to the employment of consulting firms to help bankrupt companies is astounding. + +Nobody has the right to define this community. The community is an amalgamation of individual investors with a simple set of rules. However, as a member of this community, **I want to share my opinion that members of this community ought to take it seriously.** Abandon the elements that signal to non-members that we are no different from the other communities. Take this sub seriously as a place for real peer-reviewed research and a grassroots movement for market reform. And above all, take it seriously as a community dedicated to GameStop. + +I'm not arguing that [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) alter its rules, or that members abandon the use of memes. Rather, I urge members to recognize the consequences of what gets posted on our sub. The sexualized or derogatory GG memes are 4chan nonsense. They are absolutely counter-productive to supporting GameStop and fair-markets. The non-stop posts about 69 or 420 are low effort and make [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) seem no different from the other stock subs. The constant valorization of stupidity is outdated. This community has proven its ability to produce reliable research, and to criticize flaws in research. And endlessly proclaiming the inevitability of GME reaching $100,000,000 per share during the MOASS is probably not the best central thesis for the community. It gives the impression that [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) is centrally a get-rich-quick scheme. + +These elements all hinder the legitimacy of the community's research. Further, they subtract from the sub's foundational property: A shared passion for GameStop, and the pursuit of fair-markets. + +I know [r/Superstonk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/) is divided on this issue. I hope that the comment section can host criticism of my opinion, and a productive conversation about the state of the sub. + +Thank you everyone. As a final word, I'd like to say I believe GameStop is an amazing company with great leadership. And given the unique financial situation, I believe the value of GME will rise in an unprecedented way. Thank you to those who are contributing actual research. +Hi everyone! 27F here. Please excuse my ignorance and my lack of experience, but I am wondering, from your perspective, how much you believe one should personally save for a first-property deposit. I currently have $20,000 in my deposit savings (I know this isn’t a lot, but due to various complex life circumstances I wasn’t able to save as much as I would’ve liked by now - I’m working on it). I work full time. Currently renting with one housemate and have lived in Melbourne all my life. I’d ideally like to purchase something much further out from the CBD - more in the suburbs for affordability and due to it being less busy. Maximum cost of a property or apartment I’m looking at is about $650k. I am currently single and probably won’t be buying with a partner (obviously unless that changes in the future). +How long have you held this belief, and how much have prices increased (or decreased) since you first formed it? Under what conditions will you admit defeat or change your mind? I ask this as an interested and reformed ex-bubble burster who eventually bit the bullet and bought property. +18 months of downward price pressure has not been fun. + +Say what you want that "price is not important" + +I disagree. As an emerging tech a relatively stable or increasing price is super important to attract potential users. For example, all of the new users who signed up for the Circle $5 worth of free bitcoin a month ago now have a balance of $3.80 (assuming it wasn't spent). Their first impression could very well have turned them off permanently. + +Sure, they'll be ups and downs, everyone expects volatility, but a year and a half now of sell pressure with very little upswings. + +Shit's bringing me down. Here's to hoping these well funded start-ups can come up with some innovative ideas. +Stay the course and don't sell your investments in a panic during a bear market! + +That is the advice from experts but does the average person really have the self-discipline to hold on and not sell every equity in a really tough market? I doubt it. + +During the 2007-2009 stock market crash, I was addicted to the Internet and CNBC. The stories on the stock market crash were terrible. They had people convinced that the market would crash to near $0 and me and many of my friends tried to be strong but we sold everything in early 2009, a few months before the bottom. + +I lost a million dollars, in possible gains, keeping my money in short-term bonds vs stock funds when the stock market started to go back up. + +This was real money and I was scared to death. + +How much could it go down before you sell nearly everything? A 50% drop is going to happen, but when? +For the last bull markets to take off we needed a surge of new/returning investors, that means big news in the crypto space for people to hype on and pile on. + +The reality is though, even if tomorrow Vitalik announced a surprise Eth 3.0, with Sharding, Infinite scaling, and hookers, and blackjack too. Or the governments around the world in a surprise move came to some global regulation that were surprisingly reasonable for everyone involved, even then though **crypto is NOT going to pump tomorrow**. + +Sure no one really knows what the market holds, but we are in the middle of a major global recession, Inflation is hitting everyone hard, and governments as usual are slow to react. Layoffs are happening in every sector, including the often untouched tech sector. The hard truth is, no one is running out to buy bitcoin when they aren't sure if they will have to move when their landlord raises rent next month, or if they can afford food after another price increase. Retailers are reporting that we just had the worst Black Friday/Cyber Monday in decades, and that is usually a barometer for how well retail will do for the year given holiday sales make up a significant portion of annual revenue. If some one isn't buying their family x-mas gifts, do you think they are really jumping to buy thousands of bitcoin. + +More than that though, no one really knows what the fallout from FTX, while I hope that sensible heads will prevail, law makers tend to be a bunch of old fucks who listen to the people with the biggest wallet in the room. Next month owning crypto could be like owning a controlled substance, very illegal and very hard to explain on your taxes. +Just another friendly reminder for the new folks. Beware of Bitcoin.com and misleading material designed to trick you into buying BCH. BitcoinCash is just another alt coin but with less honesty and way more protectionism than other projects. BCH is currently dieing and the folks bag holding will say anything to switch places with you. HODL BTC and don’t look back +I was just presenting in a team meeting with software I'm unfamiliar with and when I clicked "share Screen" it just offered a bunch of chrome tabs to choose from. So, I'm clicking one, nothing happens on my screen. Manager goes "we can see your screen" at which point I already clicked the next tab and manager goes "now we can see your GME." I panick and try to switch screens and he says "I hope you moon. I'm still looking at my AMC chart." And I go "I'm glad I'm not the only..................... Weird person..........." Because I couldn't remember the word "ape" while in a panic mode +Hi everyone, bob here. + +So. I'm not usually one to get into sub drama because that's not what I'm all about or what I like to focus my time on - **I like the DD**. That said, it has come to my attention that something fucked up just happened, and I wanted to address this if possible. + +[You know what you have to do.](https://preview.redd.it/7vpgwvpquad81.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e8fc0e41ee49db71d64e2b770a4e7008556afa4) + +Please realize that I and many other apes that contribute to this sub by sharing our data and due diligence are generally doing it out of the kindness of our own hearts. Yes, there is the errant shill post here and there, **but please realize DD writers you know and love(or hate) deserve to be treated with some iota of respect in my humble opinion**. Not badgered and DM spammed to the point they leave the community all together. This is what happened to u/yelyah2, and those of you that participated in being dickheads need to really take a look at yourself and rectify your behavior. You're doing a disservice to the community as a whole, and creating an echo chamber. Because of this abuse, some DD writers were badgered to the point they felt the need to delete their account and stop sharing **their research on the stonk** for the benefit of anyone invested in or wanting to invest in GME. + +# THIS IS THE WRONG APPROACH. + +I know this, because I was met with all kinds of hate when I posted my popcorn 🍿 position flip DD and other 🍿 DDs over in those subs - for the benefit of anyone that wants to take the time to read and digest the data. + +# YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS. Don't do the shills work for them. + +**In the rare occasion you see someone post some DD on GME that doesn't immediately jack your tits and confirm your bias, try these simple steps:** + +1. Take a deep breath +2. Re-read the part that upset you and understand it +3. Respectfully comment on the post and ask the OP why they wrote what they wrote. Bonus points if you point out things they might have missed or got wrong that could turn your frown upside down. + +Any DD writer worth their salt will respond to comments like this, and adjust their thesis according to the data presented. And **every DD writer has been wrong about one thing or another** myself included. This does not mean the DD is wrong, it just means it's an iterative process that is constantly changing. + +**Simple right?** No need to DM spam or be a dickhead. Most apes that post DD here ( and I'd say those that do it regularly) are just trying to share their thoughts for what they are worth. In the end, it's only their opinion and thoughts they are posting, and it's up to you to form your own opinion. + +[DD writers posting non-tit jacking DD](https://preview.redd.it/gu5q0058vad81.png?width=638&format=png&auto=webp&s=b1f8874035fa7eb1e87032967e913563a7597765) + +**This is why I chose to post some counter thesis in my most recent compendium DD**. It's important to at least recognize and be aware of possible alternative outcomes to MOASS. **If you know your enemy, you can get ahead of their moves.** + +TADR: don't be a dickhead. + +**Bonus:** if you follow the his guide, shills will be easier to spot too. + +**Disclaimer:** none of this is financial advice and I DO believe in MOASS as a possibility, but it's not the reason I'm invested in GME. I just like the stock. +Lightning Network (mainnet): [1323] (https://twitter.com/LNstats/status/978255245632528384?s=19) + +Bcash (Bitcoin ABC): [1280] (https://cash.coin.dance/nodes) + +Not to mention most Bcash nodes are hosted on some Chinese cloud. The actually node count is way smaller. +Sorry guys for disappearing. I had family issues. I don't want to talk about it but I'm getting over it. I'll be returning this or next month. + +I'm still holding my 500 MCD position as of [6th update](http://www.reddit.com/r/investing/comments/vg5f0/i_read_how_to_turn_50k_into_500_passive_income/). I've good faith in MCD and I've no plans to sell the stock at loss. + +I didn't write any calls since my last update but I did collect $350 dividend in September. + +Totals by month so far: + +* Month 1: $980 + +* Month 2: $897.5 + +* Month 3: $322.5 + +* Month 4: $72.5 + +* Month 5: $357.5 + +* Month 6: $87.5 + +* Months 7 - 9: $350 (dividend on 500 shares of MCD). + +Grand total: $3,067 ($340 average/month). + +See you guys either this month or the next month, and sorry for disappearing once again. +Sub seems to have been infiltrated way too much cynical Anti-Crypto sentiment these days.. so some positive for balance. + +Good or bad crypto is now as big a part of the mainstream conversation as its ever been. These days it's hard to find someone who hasn't heard of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. + +Its a bit like the birth of the internet.. many just assumed it was only for the youth of society.. wasting their time on it playing games.These days if the WiFi drops out for 5mins people lose their shit. + +When manufacturers dropped physical buttons from cellphones and replaced them with touch screens.. many rubbished the concept and clung on to any phone they with physical buttons they could press.. these days any form of of too many physical buttons seems to unstylish and an annoyance to many. + +Crypto/ blockchain tech is currently in that same transitional phase where it's now the labels tagged to it are now mainstream but many are still cynical and don't fully realise that that it will become a another future technology that wasn't fully understood and underrated that civilisations just won't be able to live without. + +**Edit (as requests for reasoning)** + +The internet and today's centralised apps are powerful but adding blockchain tech can significantly improve latency, scalability, computational power, storage, decentralisation, accountability, transparency, automation, collaboration, governance., integration and efficiency. + +Centralised or decentralised... blockchain technology enhances software and the reason why governments and corporations are all looking to implement it as well as the decentralised projects we are aware of today. + +Appears to be many in the comments section that are skeptical/ disbelieving of crypto and blockchain technology. I'm not really sure what's motivating you to join/ post in a crypto sub in the first place however would suggest now your here you take a closer look at the merits and potential of the tech. Note I'm not shilling any specific project here. I just believe everyone centralised, decentralised, consumer, corporation, governments will ultimately benefit from blockchain in the future. +Get excited about all the dates! Holy crap, it's Monday. Today's the day. Kenny, you'd better do your best to squash Monday. Did you hear about the T -5 cycle? Five days before we rocket a green dildo, we go down. What? We're down today? Holy shit, I can't wait for five days from now. Options are expiring? It's not like that happens every Friday, so gamma Tuesday! + +I love everything about this whole saga. I'm going to get excited about Thursday because Thursday only happens once a week. You're screwed, Ken (if I may be so familiar as to call you Ken). I'm a January Ape. I play Civilization for 'one more turn' after I've won. I'm waiting for the new Elder Scrolls. You can't have the word "unprecedented" without the words 'decent pee,' which I've had after eight beers. The longer you wait, the more it will hurt because every day Apes buy more shares you have to buy. I love this shit. +[Bitcoin Scammers Used Elon Musk's Name To Profit $2M Over Two Months](https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/20/06/16327852/bitcoin-scammers-used-elon-musks-name-to-profit-2m-over-two-months) + +Isn't there a minimum level of competency required when it comes to understanding how cryptocurrency works and how to own it? How can these people be falling for the same kind of scams they use on old grandmas? +Great news for whoever's long on the psilocybin and psychedelics boom. + +[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/some-doctors-therapists-get-health-canada-permission-to-use-magic-mushrooms-1.5834485](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/some-doctors-therapists-get-health-canada-permission-to-use-magic-mushrooms-1.5834485) + +MMED to the moon baby +My family has a trust with close to 7 million in it. It's managed by a mid sized bank at the cost of around ~~$50,000~~ $44,000 a year. Here's the selections posted in 3 images that ~~50K~~ around $44K investment management fees gets you. + +http://imgur.com/g8pg6pF,VtF9XNA,0NmWrGO#0 + +EDIT: Please be advised there are 3 total images posted capturing the entire portfolio. +Everyone saying you to buy Solana now, you are still early just wanna pump there bags + +It's much better to buy SOL if it drops from 150$ to 120$ than fomo in RN + +I see people posting here and on Solana subreddit how much they bought etc and with big investments they gonna be a lot fear and big sell off +when correction will come + + + + +You wanna buy when everyone is crying how much money they lost and calling for end of crypto... +Just wait, spend this time for research or invest in coins which didn't pump so hard and get in SOL after cool off + + +Corrections will always come ;) +I know it sounds like a dumb question but Im trying to understand what to look for or is this just like gambling and choosing whatever. Is it the same as looking at a regular stock? Where do you get this info? Ive subscribed to all these so called pennystock “newsletters” only to be spammed out of my mind with other crap. Watching the Wolf of Wallstreet and all these YouTube videos as a newbie in this arena is just not cutting it either. Lol. Thanks. +Just got off the phone. They said even though I had a cash account, I apparently had a negative balance from Jan because of a fee they imposed over a stock split that happened in Jan. They acknowledge they did not notify me of my negative balance in any way despite it being in the monthly statement. They said many accounts in the negative were being liquidated without permission or notification over the last 24 hrs. I don't check the account too regularly because I use fidelity mainly.. But that happened and I'm heated. So go check your account if you have it +Just a heads. Anyone who has purchased a subscription of any kind of "The Motley Fool" may want to ensure that auto renewal is turned off. I discovered today while looking at my bank statement that those Fools auto renewed my subscription to "Stock Advisor Canada" to the tune of $222.88 without even sending an email reminding me that my account was about to expire and that I would have my subscription automatically renewed. So now I'm dealing with getting my money back. +Greg Maxwell made a [VERY exciting announcement](https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2017-November/015283.html) for some real cutting edge stuff: **a way to get full privacy with transactions in Bitcoin**! + +The great thing about this is, *unlike* ZCash, this new method: + +* Doesn't use untested new cryptography +* Can be high performance (compared to alternatives) +* Doesn't require a trusted setup +* Doesn't break pruning + +There is [a video here](https://youtu.be/LHPYNZ8i1cU?t=1m) that describes confidential transactions in more detail. But the exciting announcement today is **a way to make confidential transactions work with a size overhead only 3 times that of normal transactions**. When combined with the further privacy improvement of CoinJoin or ValueShuffle, **there is virtually no size overhead and no trusted third party or sharing of private data is required!** + +Thank you Greg, Pieter, and other Core team contributors for this excellent work on confidential transactions, coinjoin, and working on the theory and engineering to bring this to Bitcoin! Exciting developments! Thanks also Benedikt Bünz, Jonathan Bootle for your discovery of BulletProofs and Dan Boneh, Andrew Poelstra for your work on this. + +Update: As /u/pwuille pointed out, while the size overhead is 3X (or less per transaction w/ coinjoin), the CPU overhead for verification is still an order of magnitude higher than regular transactions. But we'll know more once they start working on an implementation. +My wife and I had three IVF already (In vitro fertilisation : Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_fertilisation ) due to broken Fallopian tubes. + +We were lucky enough to not pay sooo much for the first three tries since our insurance covered it. But every new try is 100% on us! They won´t pay anymore. + +We tried to save for it since around two years. Two years ago I also invested a bit in Bitcoin. Sold and rebought in bubbles and made a bit of money. + +Which now allows us to pay for the next two or three tries! + +I will never forget when the third try failed and my wife cried in my arms about wanting to be mom. That was the most depressing thing I ever witnessed! + +But now we got at least a chance to try again! + +THANK YOU! And good luck everyone and stay positive! + +If it works, it will literally be a Bitcoin baby. + + +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +As the title says, my job(fortune 500 company) has been WFH since the pandemic with no requirements to be in the office for any certain amount of time. I have noticed that over the past 6months that all my new coworkers live outside of the united states, predominantly from Japan and South Korea, but also some from Canada. I have no idea what these workers are making, but I would guess less than what they are paying us. The job openings aren't even being posted anywhere. + + So far there have been no layoffs, they have only replaced open positions with foreign workers, but there have been whispers among my long term American coworkers that we might be on the chopping block and I know of some already looking around for other options to get ahead of this and others have already left. + + +Should I start exploring my options as well? If so should I make sure to avoid permeant WFH jobs to avoid this going forward? I love this job, I also love the WFH aspect of it though I would go into the office if it meant it would secure my job. +Background: I make very good money, my wife doesn't have to work but she chooses to work. It has been a point of contention she doesn't feel like she contributes enough even though she does so much for our home and children. I have long given up trying to convince her that she doesn't have to work, she wants to work. Her current job pays well enough and has a TON of schedule flexibility that works for young children. She works with people that can open doors for her in the future. + +We will be having a second child soon and the day care costs will be more than her take home salary. After reviewing our budget we continue to have a good monthly surplus after contributing to 401k, a modest contribution to a 529 account and paying off my student loans. + +I think that its reasonable for her to keep working for a few reasons 1) our first child is not going to do well out of daycare, he needs the social interaction 2) my wife is not going to do well out of work 3) If she leaves the workforce for 4-5 years she doesn't have credentials that will easily get her back in. + +Am I being irresponsible supporting her to continue working? I think the opportunity cost of 5 years out of the work force and potential raises for her will probably offset the deficit spending of about for a year or two until she goes back to full time at which point she would go to full time and completely cover the cost of day care again. + +Edit: thank you for the early commentary, it is supportive of many of the reasons I support her continuing to work, including her happiness. Does anyone have any data supporting this decision so I can show it to her? I think the decision makes sense, she's having a hard time coming around on this. +Quick background. Started my business in late 2015 to make at least $3,000 per month so I could still support my monthly expense. My hard work paid off, and by Mid-2017 I made my first MILLION in profit. My bank account was healthy, and life was good financially. By the end of 2018, I had 2nd million in my bank account + +Now (May 2019) my business is not as profitable, and my partner is thinking about early retiring. Due to this reason, I might sell my business to a potential buyer. Usually, this would have upset me, and I would have lost my confidence but Thanks to r/financialindependence. + +When I made my first million, I started looking around to do something with my money (money should make money). That's when I came across FIRE on r/financialindependence. I have invested (lending money) my total of two million, and I get a high-interest rate (APY 6%) $10,000/month into my account. I consider this as another income & my monthly expense is still less than $4,500 + +I don't think I want to retire right now so will help my friends & family achieve their success. Also, work on a few side projects. + +I wanted to Thank everyone for sharing their story & helping the community planning their retirement. +So preface, I'm not a bot and my positions are short on the S&P 500. I think this GME squeeze will cause a liquidity crisis so the market corrects. So GME going up is good for my account. + +I've been on this sub for a few years and its rise in popularity the last few weeks has brought some concerns to me. Namely that this sub has the potential to drive some serious cult like behavior. + +This GME squeeze is an interesting story, it started out as a play to make a metric fuckton of money and has grown into some weird psuedo-social movement, or at least disguised as one. You have people new to trading (As seen by the constant questions asking basic questions about the market) on this emotional trip to steal from Wall Street and give unto themselves. In an era with a lot of uncertainty due to the rona I get it. + +My concerns now is there seems to be a quickly rising culture of if you do not love GME you are a bot/dissenter/evil wrongdoer with the intent to take the ship down. And I agree there has been a lot of not so legitimate people here the culture is slowly turning to join the hivemind or go. I am already seeing people talking about "our next target" as if this is now some group intended to take down wall street from within. + +This sub has made this short squeeze a little guy vs Wall Street thing, and while there is plenty of shady shit going on, people don't seem to understand there are institutions long GME, they want to take Melvins money just as much as you. It's a short vs long battle. +