4 Ways Middle-Class Earners Are Protecting Their Money in Today’s Uncertain Economy

4 Ways Middle-Class Earners Are Protecting Their Money in Today’s Uncertain Economy

Laura Bogart   Sun, November 9, 2025  GOBankingRates

When it comes to the global economy these days, you should expect the unexpected. Stock markets are behaving like roller coasters, prices of everyday goods continue to rise, and the job market remains unpredictable. Middle-class earners are feeling the strain. Protecting their money — and their peace of mind — in such uncertainty is a daunting task. Fortunately, safeguarding their hard-earned savings may be easier than they think.

According to Jayant Mistry, CFA, senior vice president, CFO and treasurer of consumer banking at Synchrony, there are some simple yet effective steps middle-class earners can take to ensure that the ups and downs of the broader economy don’t send their personal finances into a spiral.

He shared some of these tips with GOBankingRates as part of our Top 100 Money Experts series.

Plan for a Rainy Day

While you’d like to believe your life will be nothing but sunshine, rainy days — like a job loss, car troubles, health issues or home repairs — will inevitably roll in. Mistry says middle-class earners can protect themselves from getting wet by setting up an emergency fund.

In addition to saving for major life goals, he encourages people to set aside money that can insulate them from financial surprises.

“I think being financially secure is about planning not just for large events, but also rainy days,” he said. “We all have so much going on in our lives, so having tomorrow or someday funds around allows people to feel more secure and have flexibility when difficult life events occur.”

Set Up a System To Pay Yourself First

Though you might want to dive straight into investments or complex money management strategies, Mistry says you’re better off starting slow and simple. He recommends setting up three different bank accounts: one for required expenses, one for wants (such as a money market account) and one for emergencies (ideally a high-yield savings account).

Once you’ve set up your accounts, Mistry wants you to establish a system that lets you “pay yourself first” — or add to your savings — automatically.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/4-ways-middle-class-earners-162821576.html

4 Tips To Handle Your Finances in an Uncertain Economy

4 Tips To Handle Your Finances in an Uncertain Economy, According to Money Expert Michela Allocca

Chris Ozarowski  Wed, October 9, 2024  GOBankingRates

Michela Allocca is a personal finance creator who shares tips for managing money through her social media pages.  In a recent post on her Instagram @breakyourbudget, she offered viewers four tips to help them handle their finances and prepare for an uncertain economy or even a recession.

Why Recession Prep?

So why prepare for a recession? According to Allocca, in recent years there has been a noticeable rise in financial anxiety among people across the U.S. This isn’t necessarily confined to any particular age group, income bracket or industry — concerns are universal. Record inflation has impacted essential expenses like rent, groceries, gas, insurance and home prices.

Recently, an economic indicator known as the Sahm Rule was triggered, signaling that the country may be on the verge of a recession. The Sahm Rule is used to detect the start of a recession quickly. Developed by economist Claudia Sahm, it focuses on changes in the unemployment rate.

The rule states that if the three-month average of the national unemployment rate rises by 0.5 percentage points or more above its lowest point in the previous 12 months, it signals the beginning of a recession. A recession could mean more layoffs and a tougher and more competitive job market, so preparing as much as you can can be a good idea.

Michela Allocca’s 4 Tips for Recession Prep

1. Take a Financial Snapshot

Allocca suggests starting by getting a firm understanding of your current financial situation. “Review your accounts and get clear on how much you have and where,” she said.

Start by listing all your bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement funds and other assets. Then list all of your debts, such as credit cards, student loans or mortgages. This gives you your net worth — the difference between your assets and liabilities.

Next, assess your cash flow — the amount of money coming in and going out of your accounts each month. List all sources of income, including your salary and any freelance work or side gigs. Then, compare that to your expenses by reviewing bank statements and receipts. You should categorize your spending into essentials like housing, utilities and groceries, and non-essentials like entertainment and dining out.

By auditing your outflow, you can identify areas where you might be overspending. If you find places where you are spending more than you need to, you can cut back and put that money aside for a rainy day.

2. Audit Your Cash Position

Allocca explains that it’s important to decide where you keep your money, especially when the economic situation is more uncertain. She describes this as auditing your cash position. Allocca lists two options for where to keep cash.

One option is a high-yield savings account. Allocca says that this is “a great place for your emergency fund or any other short-term cash savings.” An emergency fund should be one of your top priorities — you’ll need it if you lose your job or have unexpected expenses.

By keeping your emergency fund in a high-yield savings account, you make sure that your savings keep pace with inflation to some extent and that your money remains easily accessible when needed.

Another option is a certificate of deposit. A CD is a savings product where you deposit money for a fixed period in exchange for a guaranteed interest rate. According to Allocca, a CD “is an option if you have additional cash that you know with 100% certainty you will not need for the defined period you select.” CDs typically offer higher interest rates than regular savings accounts, but your money is locked in until the maturity date.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/4-tips-handle-finances-uncertain-140210755.html

4 Secrets of the Truly Wealthy, According to Dave Ramsey

4 Secrets of the Truly Wealthy, According to Dave Ramsey

Caitlyn Moorhead  Wed, November 5, 2025   GOBankingRates

One of Dave Ramsey’s most consistent pieces of financial advice is that wealth-building isn’t necessarily tied to how much money you make, but rather how you manage what you have. Many people assume that earning a higher income automatically leads to wealth, but Ramsey points out that a disciplined approach to spending and saving is far more important.

Truly wealthy people live below their means and when they do spend money, they don’t advertise it. Essentially, saving consistently is more important than the size of your paycheck or what you splurge on. Known for his no-nonsense approach to personal finance, Ramsey has helped millions of people get out of debt and take control of their financial futures. But what separates those who simply earn a good living from the truly wealthy?

According to Ramsey, “When you quit worrying about what people think and you’re actually living life for you and your family — that causes you to make completely different purchases and live a completely different lifestyle.” Here are key principles that truly wealthy people understand and practice consistently.

They Don’t Dress To Impress

The wealthy don’t leave their financial futures to chance. They create a plan, stick to it and regularly review it, which doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for extravagant purchases like designer clothing. Think about some of the billionaires you see in the news — many aren’t dressing like a million bucks even though they have more than a billion bucks.

Ramsey would recommend taking baby steps toward building an emergency fund, paying off debt or investing for retirement well before you spend thousands of dollars on pants or shoes. The truly wealthy know where their money is going each month and it’s not hanging in their closet.

They Don’t Share Their Vacation Pictures

Ramsey is a strong advocate for long-term investing and wealth-building strategies. However, once someone has grown their wealth to be in a place where they are considered rich, they tend not to advertise how much they have or are spending.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/4-secrets-truly-wealthy-according-110551464.html

Elon Musk Warns US Will Face ‘Day Of Reckoning’ For Its Debt With ‘No Way’ To Fix Issue

Elon Musk Warns US Will Face ‘Day Of Reckoning’ For Its Debt With ‘No Way’ To Fix Issue

 How To Shockproof Your Nest Egg

Jing Pan   Wed, November 5, 2025   Moneywise

America’s ballooning debt burden has become impossible to ignore — and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who took a stab at tackling government waste earlier this year, is sounding the alarm again.

On a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Musk outlined what he believes is — and isn’t — possible when it comes to fixing the U.S. national debt crisis.  “You can make it directionally better, but ultimately you can't fully fix the system,” Musk said. “Unless you could go super draconian — like Genghis Khan level on cutting waste and fraud — which you can't really do in an aspirationally democratic country, then there's no way to solve the debt crisis.” (1)

Musk called the debt “insane” — and the numbers support his concern. U.S. federal debt has now surpassed $38 trillion and continues to climb.

But what really set off alarm bells for Musk wasn’t just the total — it was the cost of servicing it.

“The interest payments on the debt exceed our entire military budget … that was one of the wake up calls for me … this is crazy,” he said.

He’s not wrong. Treasury data shows the U.S. government spent $970 billion on net interest in fiscal year-to-date 2025 — more than the $917 billion spent on national defense.

Musk’s conclusion? Spending cuts alone won’t solve it.

“Even if you implement all these savings, you're only delaying the day of reckoning for when America goes bankrupt,” he said. “So I came to the conclusion that the only way to get us out of the debt crisis and to prevent America from going bankrupt is AI and robotics. We need to grow the economy at a rate that allows us to pay off our debt.”

Musk isn’t the only one sounding alarms over America’s debt — or, more specifically, the soaring interest costs tied to it. Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has warned that the U.S. is heading toward a “debt death spiral,” where the government  must borrow simply to pay interest — a vicious cycle that feeds on itself.

But unlike Musk, Dalio doesn’t foresee a formal bankruptcy.

“There won't be a default — the central bank will come in and we'll print the money and buy it,” he said. “And that's where there's the depreciation of money.”

In other words, the government may never technically run out of dollars — but those dollars can lose value fast.

As the hosts of the “Words & Numbers” podcast put it: “Technically speaking, the government can’t go bankrupt because it only promised to hand over a certain number of dollars; it didn’t promise what the value of those dollars would be. (2)

Because the value of the dollars was never specified, the government can print enough to render the dollars nearly worthless. To the rest of us, the effect is the same as the government going bankrupt.”

Many economists share that concern: high debt levels can fuel inflation, eroding the dollar’s purchasing power — something Americans are already experiencing. (3) According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, $100 in 2025 has the same buying power as $12.05 did in 1970. (4)

The good news? Savvy investors have long found ways to protect their wealth — regardless of Washington’s fiscal missteps.

A safe-haven shines again

To shock-proof your investments, Dalio emphasized the value of diversification — and highlighted one time-tested asset in particular.

“People don't have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio,” he said. “When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier.”

Gold is considered a go-to safe haven. It can’t be printed out of thin air like fiat money and because it’s not tied to any single country, currency or economy, investors flock to it during periods of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, driving up its value.

Dalio noted that central banks themselves are “acquiring gold now as a diversifier” — and says it’s “prudent” for individuals to consider allocating “somewhere between 10% or 15%” of their portfolios to the precious metal.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/elon-musk-warns-us-face-124300387.html

Keeping Too Much Cash In Your Bank Account Could Be A Costly Mistake

Keeping Too Much Cash In Your Bank Account Could Be A Costly Mistake

Vishesh Raisinghani   Sun, November 2, 2025   Moneywise

Keeping too much cash in your bank account could be a costly mistake — here’s how to know if you’ve got too much

Cash is king, right?

Well, not always. Sometimes you can have so much cash sitting around in your bank account that it turns into a wealth-devouring demon.  On average, American families had about $62,410 in their checking accounts, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. For most people, that balance is simply higher than it should be.

Here’s why keeping too much cash on hand could be a serious mistake and a significant drag on your financial health.

The inflation tax

As of October 2025, the average national deposit rate on a checking account is just 0.07%, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (1). That’s nowhere near enough interest to offset the rising cost of living.

In September, annual inflation was 3.0%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2). That means the average checking account is earning approximately 43x less than the rate of inflation.

But inflation isn’t the only problem. Idle cash also carries opportunity cost: that's the money you leave on the table when you don’t invest in assets that can generate income or growth.

What to do with cash instead

To fight inflation, consider moving some of your money into short- or medium-term securities with higher yields.

For example, Vanguard’s Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX) offered a 4.08% yield as of September 26 (3). That’s higher than the current inflation rate, which can make it a better option than a checking account to preserve your purchasing power.

If you’re more concerned about opportunity cost, you might look into a low-cost index fund with higher risk – but also, the potential for higher return. Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO) has delivered a compounded annual growth rate of 14.7% since its 2010 debut (4). And although past performance does not guarantee future returns, the point stands: keeping cash idle means missing out on growth potential.

You can easily invest in assets like VOO when you use platforms such as Acorns. When you make a purchase on your credit or debit card, Acorns automatically rounds up the price to the nearest dollar and places the excess — the coins that would wind up in your pocket if you were paying cash — into a smart investment portfolio.

Their smart portfolios give you exposure to assets such as VOO, while ensuring you’re diversified across a number of different investments.

TO READ MORE:  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/keeping-too-much-cash-bank-125500572.html

Terrifying High-Tech Bank Scam Drains Your Life Savings In Seconds

Terrifying High-Tech Bank Scam Drains Your Life Savings In Seconds — and ‘devastated’ victims are sounding the alarm

Asia Grace  Mon, October 27, 2025  NY Post

Noel Phillips can’t believe he was cleaned out so quickly — and easily.

The New York millennial was bled dry earlier this year by a group of scammers who used phone number-spoofing technology — software used to misleadingly alter caller ID information — to empty his bank account, taking all of his life savings, totaling nearly $30,000.

“It’s devastating,” Phillips, 33, a journalist and an NYC transplant from London, exclusively told The Post. “I can still hear the voices of the people who called me, posing as employees of Chase Bank, claiming there had been fraudulent activity on my account.”

“They used fear tactics to basically hypnotize me into handing over all the money I’d worked so hard to earn and save over the last four years,” he added.

Deborah Moss, a 65-year-old caretaker from Northern California, was previously thunderstruck by a similar wave of devastation when an imposter targeted her, draining her Chase account of a shocking $162,000 in 2020.

“I started screaming like you wouldn’t believe,” Moss recently told The Post. “I was, like, ‘Oh, my f—king God.’ I was just hysterical. That was all my money.”

That’s the sinister trickery of business imposter scams, which have been on a steady rise, outpacing romance scams, family and friend scams and tech support scams over the past five years.

The crime now ranks as the No.1 consumer complaint of 2025, per data provided to The Post by the Federal Trade Commission.

As of late June, the FTC, which protects folks from deceptive and unjust business practices, has been inundated with over 516,000 imposter scam complaints — totaling almost $1.7 million in losses.

To get their paws on a target’s money, imposter scammers often call — or email, text or direct message — a victim, pretending to be a representative from a trusted, established company. They typically claim that there’s been some sort of privacy breach or unauthorized dealings on their account.

After spinning a falsified yarn about an alleged faux pas, the wolves in sheep’s clothing create a sense of urgency and panic about the situation, convincing their prey to hastily transfer large sums of money or divulge personal information to avoid any further malfeasance.

But in reality, they’re the bad guys, siphoning cash and info for their own greedy gain.

And imposter scammers don’t limit their villainy to masquerading as reps for financial institutions like Bank of America or TD Bank — just two of the corporations that Upper East Side granny Nina Mortellito, 86, is suing in New York state court, alleging they failed to protect her from a $700,000 con.

In August 2023, she was allegedly targeted via a pop-up window that falsely warned that her bank accounts were about to be hacked, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month.

Over the course of nine months, Mortellito, who suffers from age-related memory issues, was allegedly convinced by fraudsters to make a series of unusual withdrawals, totaling anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, from Merrill Lynch, TD Bank and UBS accounts, according to court papers.

Although the banks were aware she was vulnerable to scammers, they didn’t raise any alarms, the lawsuit charged.

The Post has reached out to Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, TD Bank and UBS for comment.

Robert Georges, Mortellito’s attorney, told The Post he’s inundated with bank imposter fraud cases from victims plagued with “devastation, embarrassment, confusion and upset” following the violation.

“There’s this fear about how they’re going to live without their life savings,” he added. “This is a well-known epidemic in America. All the banks are aware that this is a major problem, but we don’t feel that banks are doing a reasonable job to protect people. We’re bringing these lawsuits to hopefully effect change.”

Mortellito and her lawyer are seeking unspecified damages against the banks, whom they’re suing for negligence, The Post previously reported.

In addition to impersonating bankers in the name of fraud, ne’er-do-wells also commonly pose as customer service staffers for popular retailers, delivery service couriers or utility company workers, just to name a few.

Christopher Brown, a lawyer with the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices, calls the swindles “sophisticated” and credits the prevalence of artificial intelligence with helping fraudsters seem legitimate.

“AI can certainly amplify the scams, making them more believable,” Brown told The Post, noting the multitude of AI-powered spoofing and voice-hijacking tools available to perps. “They’re trying to gain your trust, making you believe they are who they’re claiming to be.”

The Federal Communications Commission reports that US consumers receive approximately 4 billion spoofed calls, including automated robocalls, from money-hungry scammers each month.

To combat the crisis, the FCC recently implemented its STIR/SHAKEN framework. It’s an industry-standard caller ID authentication technology that validates the legitimacy of calls, allowing the phone company of the receiver to verify that a call is, in fact, from the number displayed on the caller ID.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/terrifying-high-tech-bank-scam-192105932.html

Californians Keep Finding Leftover Loot From The Gold Rush

Californians Keep Finding Leftover Loot From The Gold Rush — 1 man even bought a home with his spoils. How to cash in

Jing Pan  Sat, October 25, 2025

It’s been more than 170 years since California’s Gold Rush — but locals are once again finding gold dust, flakes and even nuggets glittering in the state’s rivers.

“Gold’s all around,” said Manny Goza, a prospector sifting through the Bear River, in an interview with FOX40 News. (1) The low water levels during the fall make it easier to reach stretches of the river that are usually inaccessible.

For Goza, a builder by trade, panning for gold has paid off.

“I did it every day. I've been here since 2005, bought a house in 2010 because I could pay my bills off the gold,” he said. “When I’m not contracting, I’m here digging gold.”

With gold prices up more than 50% over the past 12 months, the precious metal is drawing renewed attention from locals looking for opportunity in their own backyard.

Goza said an “amateur” prospector can expect to make around $50 a day, while a more serious one might bring in “anywhere from $100 to $15,000.”

Just like the original gold rush nearly two centuries ago, striking it big often comes down to luck. One prospector recalled a moment when a golden nugget “just rolled out — it was completely round like a baseball and it was half gold.”

Still, the work can be grueling. As another prospector put it, gold “doesn’t jump into the pan.”

And payday is never a sure thing.

“It’s emotional, some days you find $15,000, some days you don’t find anything,” Goza said.

TO READ MORE:  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/californians-keep-finding-leftover-loot-123300020.html

Catfish Scams — How To Spot Red Flags

Catfish Scams — How To Spot Red Flags

Will Kenton  Sun, October 26, 2025   Moneywise

Missouri woman's late-in-life love story turns into a Ramsey Show warning about catfish scams — how to spot red flags

Nicky from Missouri called into the The Ramsey Show with a late-in-life love tale. (1) She, a 68-year-old widow, has met a man, an 81-year-old widower, who wants to marry her. At first it seems like a heart-warming story, but when co-hosts hosts Jade Warshaw and Ken Coleman started asking questions, things went sideways fast.

Nicky started asking if she should mix her finances with her new suitor. She indicated her savings were much larger than his. The co-hosts asked how they met, and she told them that they had met on Facebook in a group for widows and widowers. They bonded when he told her about a woman he had been seeing. He was giving her money, and even though he supposedly has a pension that pays over $100,000 per year, Nicky felt she was taking advantage of him. The relationship apparently ended soon afterward, and Nicky ended up as his new lady.

She then admitted she’d never seen him face to face. In fact, he lives six hours away. Wedding bells turned to alarm bells as Jade and Ken pulled more suspicious details out of her.

When they expressed dismay at the idea that she’d even think about marrying a man sight-unseen, she said “he is too open and honest!”

Coleman laid it all on the table: “Nicky, you have a hook in both sides of your mouth right now, and this needs to stop.”

Without proof to the contrary, he suggested she might be the victim of a catfish or romance scam.

Scams Preying On The Elderly Are Common

Romance scams are a big slice of the fraud problem for older adults. The FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report shows people 60 and over filed 147,127 complaints with reported losses of about $4.8 billion. Confidence and romance fraud alone accounted for 7,632 of those complaints and $389 million in losses.

TO READ MORE:  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/missouri-womans-life-love-story-100000867.html

50 Things To Do Right Now To Save Money

50 Things To Do Right Now To Save Money

J. Arky  Thu, October 23, 2025  GOBankingRates

If there is one thing that is always on our minds, it is how to save money. In the last quarter of 2025, that question looms larger than ever, as inflation threatens to wreak havoc on the average person’s finances and prices continue to skyrocket on everyday purchases.

There are plenty of ways to make sure that you are saving money as the year wraps up and they are pretty simple too. Following just a few could help you roll into the new year with a savings account in the black.

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Here Are Top Things To Do To Save Money In Late 2025.

• Set up an automatic savings plan for your paychecks so a portion of your income goes directly into your savings account.

• Plan a staycation rather than a vacation, that way you get to rest and relax without having to spend money on travel, lodging and restaurants.

• Cancel at least one “fun subscription” that you hardly ever use or have only used once before, making it one less expense you have to worry about.

• Write up a meal plan for each week from now and until New Years Day, then go back and see how much you ended up spending compared to the first three-quarters of the year.

• If there is a minor maintenance job on your car, like an oil change, figure out how to do it yourself and skip paying a mechanic to charge you for the service.

• Check your wardrobe for items that might have holes and learn how to stitch them, giving your clothes a second round of life and avoiding a costly shopping trip.

• Sign up for a library card for access to free books, music, movies and more.

• Try shopping for groceries at a discount store where you can get the same products you would at a name brand supermarket for much less.

• Instead of holiday shopping, try a DIY approach and make simple, festive gifts for everyone on your list.

• Buy a water filter that fits your budget, as well as a reusable water bottle and ditch plastic water bottles for 2025 and beyond.

• For any fun winter outdoor activities like skiing or snowboarding, try renting instead of buying, especially if you only hit the slopes once a year.

• Set up a “blotto” account or in other words, an account that you can put money into and use for whatever you want without having to dip into checking, savings or other accounts.

• Instead of cranking up the thermostat and blasting the heat, wear a heavy sweater or snuggle up under a blanket during cold weather.

TO READ MORE:   https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/50-things-now-save-money-160018034.html

Let’s Take a Quick Pause and Look Back at History

Let’s Take a Quick Pause and Look Back at History

Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black)  October 23, 2025

In light of this week’s roller-coaster gold ride, I thought it would be useful to turn once again back to the lessons of history and revisit what we discussed recently about the 1970s.

Foreign governments and central banks around the world had been becoming increasingly concerned about the US government’s outrageous fiscal deficits as early as the mid-1960s.

PIC

French President Charles de Gaulle sounded the alarm about America’s costly war in Vietnam, combined with historic welfare spending, and he began demanding that the Treasury Department redeem a portion of France’s US dollar holdings for gold.

Decades ago, that was his right because under the post–World War II Bretton Woods system, the US dollar was convertible into gold at a rate of $35 per ounce.

By 1971, foreigners’ demands to exchange their dollars for gold had become so great that Richard Nixon formally ended the convertibility once and for all.

Nixon downplayed any impact, telling Americans on August 15, 1971, “your dollar will be worth just as much tomorrow as it is today.”

The reality is the dollar went on to lose 75% of its value throughout the course of the decade. And if anything, Nixon’s move only encouraged foreigners to dump their dollars at an even more rapid pace.

As a result, the price of gold skyrocketed fivefold as governments and central banks around the world diversified out of the dollar and into gold.

We’ve been seeing this same move over the past couple of years—insatiable foreign and central bank appetite has driven gold prices from $1,800 a couple of years ago to over $4,000 today.

Obviously, over the past few months, there has been a lot of individual investor capital flowing into ETFs, hedge fund speculation, and similar vehicles. But in the long run, gold’s rise has been—and will continue to be—driven by foreign government and central bank diversification out of the dollar.

In 1975, gold hit a temporary peak at around $185 per ounce. After a period of consolidation, in which there was a significant price correction, gold then resumed its ascent, rising all the way to $850.

The point is that regardless of any short-term price correction, the fundamental driver—foreign governments and central banks diversifying out of the US dollar—hadn’t changed.

It took the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 to finally restore credibility in the US government’s finances. Reagan, of course, campaigned on cutting the deficit, sparking a long-term trend which culminated in multiple budget surpluses in the late 1990s.

This renewed confidence in US government finances is what ultimately reversed the trend on gold prices, causing the price to collapse below $300 by the end of the 90s.

I believe we’re in a similar situation today as in 1975.

Gold had a significant correction earlier this week, but the price remained above $4,000.

Perhaps this is the start of a lull period, or even a correction phase as in 1975, but it doesn’t fundamentally change the story right now: foreign governments and central banks are aggressively trying to diversify their US dollar strategic reserves, and gold is one of the only assets that makes sense.

I’m not here to say “buy gold” at $4,000. But based on the trajectory of the US government’s finances, the price of gold should go much higher over the next few years.

I don’t say this because I’m a “gold bug.” I don’t have any irrational fascination with a piece of metal. Rather, my outlook is based on a clear understanding of global central banking and strategic reserve assets, coupled with the obvious deterioration in the US government’s fiscal condition.

But I also understand that after an almost uninterrupted and astonishing rise to nearly $4,400, gold may be due for a correction—similar to what happened in 1975.

The reality is, no one knows for sure. Gold could just as easily rise to $5,000 as drop to $3,500.

I’d point out, however, that there are still a number of high-quality gold, platinum, and silver businesses that are wildly undervalued and extremely profitable—and they will continue to be extremely profitable even if there is a steep decline in gold prices.

For example, one of the companies we featured in our premium investment research service is producing gold at a price of just $1,000 per ounce. This means the price of gold could fall below $3,000, and this company would still be making money hand over fist—and trading at just 5x earnings based on today’s stock price.

Did I mention they pay a handsome dividend?

To me, the long-term case for gold is crystal clear—foreign governments and central banks will continue to by gold unless there is a fundamental change in Congress’s attitude toward the US budget deficit. And I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

The short-term case for gold over the next couple of months is anyone’s guess. It could go higher, it could go lower. And that’s why I think some of these ultra-cheap, highly profitable, well-managed, largely debt-free gold companies are really worth considering.

When the long-term case for gold is so obvious, it’s a sensible strategy to own a business that has so much gold exposure, pays a dividend, and can continue to be extremely profitable—even if there’s a short-term gold correction. 

To your freedom, James Hickman  Co-Founder, Schiff Sovereign LLC

https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/lets-take-a-quick-pause-and-look-back-at-history-153763/?inf_contact_key=706a9940a551999316ba9db994fda20397b2b8bcba9ab28a88f19442e6c88399

Wells Fargo Customer Lost $4,400 Just Hours After Depositing A Check

Wells Fargo Customer Lost $4,400 Just Hours After Depositing A Check — and a legal loophole nearly left her in the lurch

Mike Crisolago  Mon, October 20, 2025

A Houston woman paid a steep price, literally, for a simple bank deposit that she made at her local Wells Fargo branch.

Willie Delane told her local Fox 26 network that on September 15 she deposited a life insurance check totalling $10,000 into her Wells Fargo bank account.

“I've been with Wells Fargo for so long, years and years” she said in the story. This is why, when she received a text roughly nine hours later saying that there was something fishy with a transaction involving her account, she called customer service. (1)

According to Delane, the Wells Fargo rep said that they would freeze her account and cancel her bank card, with a replacement to be issued by mail.

The next morning, however, Delane discovered that her account was $4,400 short — the money was transferred from her savings account to her checking account, and then withdrawn.

She says she didn’t make the “teletransfer” but Wells Fargo claims she did, and at first refused to refund the money. But all's well that ends well — after the news report aired, Delane says she checked her account and Wells Fargo returned the missing funds to her account. (2)

How could a simple text message result in a $4,400 fraud? And how can you prevent it from happening to you?

The Legal Loophole That Could Cost You Thousands

The CalCoast Times reports that, when contacting Wells Fargo about the text message she received, Delane called the customer service number listed in the message. (3) This could be a sticking point in the fraud case due to a law called Regulation E within the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA).

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), (4) Regulation E essentially protects Americans who fall victim to suspected fraud via an electronic transfer of funds from their financial institution. They add that if a case that falls under Regulation E is reported to a financial institution in a timely manner, then the institution must “promptly investigate” and “correct the error within one business day after determining that an error has occurred.”

That said, Consumer Reports (CR) points out that if a customer is “tricked and ends up authorizing money to be sent to scammers,” the banks are often no longer liable for reimbursing them. (5)

And not only that, but National Consumer Law Center senior attorney Carla Sanchez-Adams told CR that “Financial institutions across the board are not reimbursing consumers” in such situations but, rather, “fight(ing) tooth-and-nail to hold the consumer liable.”

CR adds that Wells Fargo faced multiple class-action lawsuits in recent years from victims of fraudulent wire transfers, while customers at other banks are falling prey as well.

The bank, for the record, says it’s investigating this most recent matter, though the Fox 26 story notes that Wells Fargo had previously claimed that Delane “made the transactions and the money will not be returned.”

How to fight back against financial fraud

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported $12.5 billion in consumer fraud losses last year, a number, they said, that’s up 25% from 2023. (6) The fraud ranges from investment to imposter scams, with text messages proving the third most popular means of contact for the con after email and phone calls.

TO READ MORE:  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wells-fargo-customer-loses-4k-220000160.html

What If Gold Crashes To $3,000 Per Ounce?

What If Gold Crashes To $3,000 Per Ounce?

Notes From the Field by James Hickman (Simon Black)  October 16, 2025

A little over a month ago, in early September, after careful analysis and detailed study, my team and I reached an important conclusion. And we started telling our audience almost immediately.

Gold had just crossed $3,500 per ounce, silver had just crossed $40, and many gold and silver mining companies had experienced astonishing gains.

 Of course none of this came as a surprise to our readers. We’ve been saying for the past few years that gold in particular was going to go much higher, specifically because foreign governments and central banks were buying up gold by the metric ton as a way to diversify their strategic reserves away from the US dollar.

 That extra demand from central banks totaling a few hundred billion dollars sent gold prices rocketing higher. And we also said this trend would continue.

 Similarly over the past couple of years, as we were predicting higher gold and silver prices, we also predicted that mining companies would benefit, and generate record revenues and record profits as a result.

At the time those mining companies had been left for dead in financial markets, with share prices so cheap they were practically being given away.

We told our audience over and over again in print and in our podcasts that this wouldn’t last, and that mining companies would surge in value.

And that’s exactly what happened. In fact, many of the companies we featured in our premium investment research are up 3x, 4x, 5x, even 6x this year alone.

 But early last month we realized there was another near term catalyst that would likely send these companies’ share prices even higher. These businesses are all publicly traded, and so they have to report their earnings, usually every quarter.

 Q1 earnings were great. Q2 earnings were fantastic. But we realized that gold and silver had been rising so quickly, that Q3 earnings—which would be reported sometime in October—would just be out of this world.

We did the math and crunched the numbers ourselves, and based on our analysis, even companies that had risen 4 or 5x were still undervalued based on projected Q3 earnings.

And we anticipated that for many of these companies, their share prices would jump after their Q3 earnings were announced.

 The first of those companies reported its earnings earlier this week, and we were absolutely right. Its record profit dazzled investors, and its share price jumped nearly 20% in a day.

It’s also up almost 52% since we made this prediction a month ago.

 We’ve also done the math to see what would happen to these businesses if there were a sudden drop in precious metals prices.

 Well, to give you an example one of the companies we featured in our investment research, which is up more than 5x, would still be incredibly undervalued.

Based on our analysis, even if gold were to drop below $3,000—roughly 30% from here—that company would still be making money hand over fist, and based on its current share price, still trading at around 5.5x earnings.

Oh, and did I mention they pay a substantial dividend?

It’s not that every mining company is in the same boat. There are thousands of companies out there, and many are just terrible businesses with pitiful management and terrible balance sheets.

 But if you’re willing to do the hard work and find the highest quality management, and the most pristine balance sheets, there are still undervalued gems out there.

 This is what we focus on in our premium investment research.

 And we believe that many of them could see similar upside over the next few weeks as they report bonanza Q3 earnings.

To your freedom,  James Hickman   Co-Founder, Schiff Sovereign LLC

https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/what-if-gold-crashes-to-3000-per-ounce-153717/?inf_contact_key=e73c6360b05b8aa64ae174142d3d925745f52772a67910d275469a1ff0808c0a

28 People Who Know A Lottery Winner Share What Actually Happened To Them

28 People Who Know A Lottery Winner Share What Actually Happened To Them

Story by Edvinas Jovaišas

#1©Trevumm

My friends mom won like $100k or so when we were in grade 6. She was a single mom of 2 and they we’re pretty poor. She used it to give her kids a better, more comfortable life. It was little changes like the next winter they had new winter jackets and boots and stuff, not the worn old hand me downs they always had. My friends next birthday she got to have a big party for the whole class, nothing crazy just pizzas and stuff, but she’s never gotten to have that before and she was so happy.

#2©Earguy

I had a patient, a hairdresser who owned her own shop, who won about 6 million. Her winnings were announced in the local newspaper.

She consulted the right professionals, worked a plan to sell her salon, and mapped a way to retire on her winnings without a change in her lifestyle.

But she told me that she had old boyfriends, and even guys that barely knew her in high school, who called her with some variation of, "you know I always loved you..."  She just laughed and blew them off.

#3©Dvaone

I won $250k on a $5 scratch off 8 years ago.it was right before Christmas and i had been fired 2 weeks befor. After taxes we got a check for $167k and some change. Paid off all credit cards, bought the wife a brand new honda accord, bought a small business. Lived off it for the next several years while I grew my business and my wife got her masters. It was life changing!

#4©anon

Mom won a bit and was able to get my siblings and I new clothes and move out so she didn't have to stay in an abusive relationship.

#5©hornblower_83

Friend won 1 million. They paid off their house. Saved for their kids education and basically don’t live paycheque to paycheque anymore. Both of them still work full time.

#6©Kriskao

I won 1500 US dollars. Received like 950 because taxes. Donated it all to an orphanage in my home country because I was doing ok with money. Since then there have been times I needed the money but I don’t regret it.

#7©Mandalasan_612

My sister's ex won around $150 million. Nicest guy, his brother manages the money so he doesn't blow it. Living his best life, money never changed him, because he was already so chill. Dude deserves it after putting up with my sister. Helped out my niece (not his daughter) with

#8©Punkrockid19

My dad

He hit 5 outta 6 numbers in 1989 won like 16 grand. Payed off the family debts spent the rest on a computer and started his own business out of our dining room. Bout to sell it for a couple million this year. One ticket literally changed our lives.

#9©Burnsie312

I won 2000 on a scratch off once! Fixed my missing tooth lol.

#10©CaseyBoogies

My MIL won 33k on a scratch-off, she paid off some debt and got new windows installed on her house. The new windows in an 1890s farmhouse are amazing, don't think I've seen a happier woman!

#11©Kahazzarran

My neighbor won the lottery in his sixties, it was something like 1.2 million in the late 90s. We lived in a trailer park in a rural part of the US, a pretty low cost of living area so the money stretched pretty far.He bought his trailer and land outright with the money and pretty much just spent everyday drinking on his porch and yelling at his goats. IIRC he used a good chunk of what he won to put his son and grandkids through college. Died of liver failure at like 85 or something. Not a terrible way to do it, all said and done.

#12©Blondefarmgirl

Friends of ours won 30 mill. They took a group of us on vacation. Bought a cottage and built a house not much really changed. They are doing great.

#13©pascontent

Neighbor won a few millions, built an old folks home, named it after his mother and she refused to live there.

#14©PigStickerOnStone

I knew a welder who won a 30 million jackpot.

He retired, bought two Ford GTs and spends his time doing yardwork, playing low stakes poker tournaments, and raising his two young kids.

His wife bought a crib from me used for their second child.

TO READ MORE:    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/28-people-who-know-a-lottery-winner-share-what-actually-happened-to-them/ss-AA1OwkF5?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=f84a9d10d49945e2f5b21fda0ad1cd40&ei=43#image=2