Stop! Don't Make These 6 Dumb Mistakes With Your Financial Windfall
Stop! Don't Make These 6 Dumb Mistakes With Your Financial Windfall
By Kentin Waits
Maybe your lottery numbers finally came in. Maybe a favorite aunt remembered you in her will. Heck, maybe one day while you were shootin' at some food, up through the ground came bubblin' crude — oil that is! Texas tea! Whatever the source, you're the lucky beneficiary of a financial windfall. Revel in it and protect your new-found wealth by avoiding these six dumb moves.
1. Act Impulsively
Receiving money unexpectedly is exciting, and it can send even normally down-to-earth folks straight into the stratosphere. In those dizzying weeks and months following a financial windfall, we're really not ourselves, so making big decisions during that time is usually a terrible idea.
Instead of spending or investing immediately, take a time out. Collect yourself. Adjust to your new wealth for six months or a year and just let the cash sit in a money market account or CD. Remember, high emotion and sound decision-making usually don't mix.
2. Buy a New Car
Even if you're paying cash, there are many reasons to avoid buying a new car. Not only is it the most cliché thing you can do with a windfall, but it's also one of the quickest ways to lose roughly 25% on every dollar you spend.
The minute you sign the paperwork and drive off the lot, that new car becomes used. Depreciation takes a quick and silent bite out of your new ride. Let someone else absorb that financial hit; buy a pre-owned late-model car that's still under warranty.
3. Loan Money to Friends and Family
Making loans to friends and family is a sure way to take the wind out of your financial windfall. Loans have a curious way of never getting repaid, and once your bank balance dwindles, hard feelings can set in and slowly erode relationships.
If a loan is unavoidable, find out how to increase your chances of repayment without sacrificing the relationship. Better yet, if someone dear to you truly needs a hand up, simply make a one time cash gift with no repayment expectations.
4. Sink It All in Stocks
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
The Iran War Will End. Expensive Diesel Won’t
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / sovereign Man) October 20, 2026
There’s a college degree that pays about $100,000 right out of school, which is pretty good money for a 22-year old. Within a few years, that pay could easily double.
Yet hardly any young person wants the job.
It’s not dangerous, it’s not dirty, and it doesn’t require superhuman work hours. The only reason young people aren’t interested is because Greta Thunberg told them it wasn’t cool.
GP Q: US Dollar Upgrade or Collapse?
10-20-2026
“Is the dollar dying… or is it about to get a major upgrade?”
MONEY MONEY MONEY
Most people are only watching the old fiat dollar.
They’re completely missing the new system the U.S. is building right now under the GENIUS Act. Here’s the simple version:
Rob Cunningham: If the World Could Choose Only One Blockchain
10-20-2026
On a go forward basis, “all things considered”, based on the comprehensive utility and liquidity needs of the entire world, “if” only one blockchain was allowed to exist, which should it be?
My choice: the XRP Ledger.
Under this hypothetical – one blockchain serving the world’s combined needs for payments, currencies, tokenized assets, exchange and settlement – XRPL offers the strongest fit in my judgment.
The Central Bank Of Iraq Resolves The Issue Of Merchants' Remittances And Confirms The Continuation Of Import Financing In Dollars.
October 20, 2026Last updated: October 20, 2026 The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the continuation of financing imports and providing foreign currency through official banking channels, announcing the completion of fulfilling external transfer requests that were suspended before the adjustment of the dinar exchange rate on October 7, in a step aimed at addressing outstanding issues, protecting the rights of traders and ensuring the smooth flow of foreign trade.
Good Afternoon Dinar Recaps,
GLOBAL ASSET RESET WATCH: DEBT, AI UNCERTAINTY AND ENERGY RISKS RESHAPE SAFE-HAVEN DEMAND
Investors are reassessing where to protect their wealth as geopolitical conflict, rising energy prices, government debt and uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence reshape global markets.
Reset Intelligence: Iraq's Oil Exports Are Back.
By Reset Intelligence | @EXIT_FIAT
Iraq's oil exports are back above 3.4 million barrels a day, close to where they stood before the war.
The same weekend the IMF and Washington both moved toward Baghdad, and the street dollar went the other way.
TNT:
Tishwash: 45 trillion outside the banks... Parliamentary Finance Committee reveals the extent of the crisis of confidence in banks
The head of the parliamentary finance committee, Uday Awad, revealed the existence of a cash mass ranging between 40 and 45 trillion dinars outside the Iraqi banking system, attributing this to the weak confidence of citizens in banks, while stressing the work to find solutions to return these funds to the banking cycle .
Awad said during a televised interview followed by Al-Sa’a Network that “there is a cash mass estimated at about 40 to 45 trillion dinars outside the banking system,” noting that “the lack of confidence in banks has led citizens to keep their money away from them.”
Stern Drew: The BIS Conducted the Most Important Blockchain Experiment of the Year
10-20-2026
The BIS Conducted The Most Important Blockchain Experiment of The Year On a Public Ledger.
The bank for central banks quietly put official data on a public ledger.
Ripple, the crypto firm behind the XRP Ledger blockchain, just became the quiet infrastructure pick for the Bank for International Settlements.
Iraq Absent From Top US Treasury Holders List
2026-10-19 17:56 Shafaq News- Washington Iraq was absent from the list of major foreign holders of US Treasury securities in August 2026, as total foreign holdings rose to $9.3317 trillion from $9.2484 trillion in July, according to US Treasury Department data released on October 16.
Good Morning Dinar Recaps,
GLOBAL DEBT RESET WATCH: U.S. TREASURY FINANCING PLANS FACE GROWING MARKET PRESSURE
Rising borrowing costs, heavy government debt and uncertainty over future bond sales are testing the U.S. Treasury market and raising questions about the cost of financing America's deficits.
GP Q: IMF Discussions on Possible Financing Package for Iraq
10-20-2026
IRAQ
RV etc
MarkZ et al
• No confirmed recipients of asset-backed funds could be found
• Questions (including from James / James K) about whether anyone has received monetary / asset-backed funds
KTFA
Monday Night Video
FRANK26….10-19-26…..THREE ZERO LIFTING FINALIZED
This video is in Frank’s and his team’s opinion only
Frank’s team is Walkingstick, Eddie and Omar in Iraq and guests
Playback Number: 605-313-5163 PIN: 156996#
The Central Bank Told Nina: Removing Zeros Is Not Within Our Authority And Requires A Legal And Legislative Process
Baghdad/ NINA / The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed that the issue of removing zeros from the currency is not within its jurisdiction, but rather requires legislation. The bank's media director, Haider Ghazi, told the Iraqi National News Agency ( NINA 😞 "The issue of removing zeros is not within the bank's authority; it requires legislation, as it is linked to the settlement of debts, legal obligations, and punitive fines under current Iraqi laws.
The FY 2026 Deficit Was $2 Trillion... And No One Cares
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) October 19, 2026
On Friday afternoon the Treasury Department released its final numbers for fiscal year 2026, which just ended on September 30, and the results are pretty much what you’d expect: horrible, appalling, inexcusable.
Treasury reported a total budget deficit of $2 trillion, $220 billion worse than the year before.
GP Q: Iraq Just Moved its First International Cargo on an Iraqi Truck
Iraq Just Moved Its First International Cargo on an Iraqi Truck:
Turkey to UAE
Iraq’s customs authority announced that an Iraqi truck has completed its first international transit shipment — carrying goods from Turkey to the United Arab Emirates across Iraqi territory.
Finance Minister Orders Rafidain Bank To Resume Lending
2026-10-19 Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq’s Finance Minister Falih Al-Sari on Monday instructed state-owned Rafidain Bank to resume lending to public-sector employees, streamline loan applications, and expand financing for private businesses.
Good Afternoon Dinar Recaps,
GLOBAL PAYMENTS RESET WATCH: BIS EXAMINES THE RACE BETWEEN BANKS, FINTECHS AND STABLECOINS
New research from the Bank for International Settlements compares the costs and limitations of competing cross-border payment systems as the global financial industry searches for faster, more affordable ways to move money.
TNT:
Tishwash: Finance Ministry and World Bank discuss banking sector reform and enhancing financial management efficiency in Iraq
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, Abdul Hassan Jamal, discussed with a delegation from the World Bank ways to enhance cooperation in financial policies and develop the financial and banking sectors in Iraq.
The ministry stated in a statement followed by “Iraq Observer” issued on Sunday, October 18, 2026, that the meeting witnessed a discussion of the next steps to expand the dialogue on financial reform and the development of the banking sector, in a way that contributes to raising the efficiency of financial management in the country.
Swisher1776: Incoming RV for Iraq
10-18-2026
INCOMING RV: CBI INTRODUCES ELECTRIC SYSTEM FOR REPLACING DAMAGED CURRENCY
The Central Bank of Iraq has introduced a new electronic system for replacing damaged currency, as part of its efforts to simplify procedures and make it easier for citizens to access this service more quickly and efficiently.
The system allows citizens to submit requests to replace damaged currency electronically via the “Aur” platform, by entering and confirming the required data, and the competent authorities in the Central Bank of Iraq will complete the necessary procedures to complete the replacement process.
The Iraqi Dinar Is The Second Worst-Performing Arab Currency; Dollar Pressures Pose A Difficult Test For Monetary Policy.
October 20, 2026 The Independent - The classification of the Iraqi dinar among the Arab currencies that have declined the most against the US dollar has raised widespread questions about the future of monetary stability in Iraq, and the ability of the Central Bank to contain the increasing pressures on the exchange market, at a time when the economy is facing challenges related to oil revenues, government spending and the heavy reliance on imports.