10 Smart Things To Do Right Now — Instead Of Panicking About The Dow’s Plunge Or Coronavirus

10 Smart Things To Do Right Now — Instead Of Panicking About The Dow’s Plunge Or Coronavirus

Published: March 9, 2020 at 4:46 p.m. ET  By Elisabeth Buchwald

‘Freaking out doesn’t help.’ 10 smart things to do right now — instead of panicking about the Dow’s plunge or coronavirus

Worried about COVID-19 and the plunge in the stock market? There are healthy actions you can take

Instead of throwing yourself into a rabbit-hole of panic and anxiety, here are 10 ways to regain your sense of control. MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto

First off, remember to breathe.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -7.78% and S&P 500 Index SPX, -7.59% plunged Monday, causing trading to be temporarily halted, as traders digested news of a possible oil price war between OPEC and Russia. The news did not come at a good time, which may be an understatement, given how rocky the markets have been in recent weeks on the back of the seemingly unstoppable, silent spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Rather than freaking out about the market’s rollercoaster ride, there are several steps you can take to improve your physical and financial health.

Hyper-ventilating about every rise and dip isn’t time well spent, experts said. Rather than freaking out about the market’s rollercoaster ride or the COVID-19 epidemic, there are several steps you can take to improve your emotional, physical and financial health. The World Health Organization has a set of recommendations for how to deal with stress stemming from the virus.

WHO recommends people limit the amount of time “you and your family spend watching or listening to media coverage that you perceive as upsetting.” It also recommends gathering information about the virus from a credible source like the WHO or a local public health agency. Financial advisers say the same is true for those who are worried about their 401(k) or their investments in their favorite stocks, whether it’s AAPL, -7.90% Google GOOG, -6.38%, Tesla TSLA, -13.57% or Facebook FB, -6.40%.

“Freaking out doesn’t help you stay healthy,” said Catherine Belling, a professor at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, who studies the role of fear and anxiety in health care “It just makes you feel really bad and keeps you from doing the rational things that actually might help you stay healthy.” Instead of throwing yourself into a rabbit-hole of panic and anxiety, here are 10 ways to regain your sense of control.

1. Distract yourself from alarming headlines

If you’re a relatively young, long-term investor, don’t even look at your account balance It is too difficult at this point to predict the market’s levels years into the future, when young investors will be cashing out accounts such as their 401(k)s. Money that people are saving for short-term goals shouldn’t be invested in the market.

So instead of obsessively checking account balances, working out or socializing with friends can be more beneficial, she said Exercise has even been linked to financial health; a 2016 study from the American Heart Association found that individuals who exercised moderately paid about $2,500 less in annual health care expenses related to heart disease than those who did not exercise

Better yet: Do a job you can earn money for, like babysitting, dog walking or signing up for an app like TaskRabbit Extra money can go toward debt or savings. Just don’t distract yourself through “retail therapy”: Anxiety is linked to making financially risky decisions And shopping to relieve stress and anxiety can leave you in a worse financial state than before.

2. Take time to evaluate your budget

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/freaking-out-doesnt-help-10-smart-things-to-do-right-now-instead-of-panicking-about-the-dows-plunge-or-coronavirus-2020-03-09?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo

Money – We Need To Talk About It

Money – We Need To Talk About It

December 4, 2019 By Machinist

Let’s talk about money.

There are few things that people avoid talking about more than money, yet we probably spend most of our time in pursuit of money.  We could all benefit from a better understanding of it, but sadly, we are mostly left to find our own way with money. We rarely even have the chance to learn from other’s experience, so we are bound to repeat the same mistakes.

I get it; there are some good reasons not to talk about money.  We think that letting people know how much money we have or how much we earn will complicate our relationships and interactions. 

Strangely, even though we don’t want people to know our financial situation, most people spend a lot of time and effort trying to appear as though they have more money than they actually do.

 I’m not sure how this deception makes interactions any more comfortable.  Maybe people inflate their perceived financial status in an effort to avoid having to interact with people of their own income level.

Silence On Money Causes Problems

Because people are so unfamiliar with money topics, just living normal lives inevitably leads them into financial conflict which they are unprepared to resolve.  The inability to identify and avoid financial snares and navigate out of mistakes causes crisis situations for many individuals and for society in general.  For example:

The Student Loan Crisis

Most kids receive almost no instruction about money at school or home.  They enter college with a poor understanding of its costs.  They are ignorant of the burden a student loan will be – possibly delaying the major milestones of adult life for decades. 

Most kids choose their college based on factors of prestige or fun but may not consider which institution will provide the best value for their money or the best employment opportunities upon graduation. 

Most entering freshman have not chosen a major, so they spend valuable time and money “exploring their options” before buckling down.  They often realize that their initial school choice was a poor one, so they decide to transfer.  All of this leads to more years spent in college and greater expenses. 

In addition, many kids aren’t even aware of options other than college.  For all of these reasons and more our educational system is failing students and the student loan situation has reached crisis level.

Money and Divorce

Because most people participate so rarely in discussions about money during their youth, they don’t develop the skills to talk about money – let alone use it effectively.  It should come as no surprise then, that when people join their finances with a partner, they struggle to communicate about money differences.  Is it any wonder that money is a leading cause of divorce?

The Retirement Crisis

It used to be that people were forced by reality to plan for how they would support themselves in old age or in case of disability.  They may have built a farm or business, acquired rental property, or just had plenty of kids.  These long-term planning skills were lost after a generation or two where everyone had an employer-provided pension and government-provided social safety net.  Now that employer-provided pensions have mostly disappeared, we have a crisis of under-prepared retirees and unsustainable social security system.

We Should All Make Money A More Open Topic

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://perpetualmoneymachine.org/money-we-need-to-talk/

Americans More Worried About Running Out Of Money Than Dying

Americans More Worried About Running Out Of Money Than Dying

Conventional retirement plans Retirement Consideration Top 10 Countries In Terms Of Retirement Worry

By: Jacob Wolinsky Mar 6, 2020

Did you know that 58% of people worry about running out of money in retirement – compared to only 20% who are worried about dying! For April, Stress Awareness Month, financial security expert Pamela Yellen, a two-time New York Times best-selling author, discusses:

People With Savings In Conventional Retirement Plans Are Worried

When it comes to Americans’ top worries, 72% report feeling stressed about money, and nearly 22% say they experience extreme stress about their finances, according to the American Psychological Association. Financial stress is closely linked to health issues including anxiety, depression, insomnia and more, Pamela notes.

One big reason is inadequate retirement savings. And people who have their retirement savings in 401(k), IRA, and other conventional retirement plans face the constant worry their money will evaporate in the event of another stock market crash.

“Life is stressful enough on its own,” Pamela says in her new book, "Rescue Your Retirement: Five Wealth-Killing Traps of 401(k)s, IRAs and Roth Plans - and How to Avoid Them.” “Do we really need to add the stress of worrying about what might happen to the money we’ve worked so hard to earn?”

Three Steps For a Stress-Free Retirement

Build a healthy, liquid Rainy Day Fund - "Without a sizeable liquid rainy day fund, you may be forced into selling or liquidating your nest egg assets prematurely - the investments you planned on keeping over the long haul," Pamela says. "When this happens, the timing is often terrible. You're at the mercy of current market conditions and forced to sell at the worst possible time.”

Make sure a large portion of your retirement savings is in assets that are secure, guaranteed, and liquid. These savings should give you control over your future, rather than being subject to the whims of the government or markets.

Know the value of your retirement account(s). “While conventional retirement plans such as IRAs and 401(k)s offer no guarantees, there are strategies that allow people to know the minimum guaranteed value of their savings on the day they retire, and at any point along the way.”

“The answer to this question will determine whether you live out your golden years in financial security, or face the constant stress and worry of trying make ends meet,” Pamela says.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.valuewalk.com/2020/03/conventional-retirement-plans/

Decades-Old Investment Wisdom From Albert Einstein

Decades-Old Investment Wisdom From Albert Einstein

Notes From The Field By Simon Black 

March 3, 2020 Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

Albert Einstein is rumored to have said that “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”

These days interest rates are near zero. The average savings account currently pays .09% interest per year, according to the FDIC.

So over the course of a decade, saving $100 with compound interest would give you a grand total of $109.37.

But at the same time, the opposite force is working against us. Inflation currently stands around 2.5%. And that compounds too.

What $100 can buy now will cost $102.50 next year. After ten years, assuming inflation stays the same, it will cost $128.

So just by saving $100 for ten years, you’ve lost $18.63 of real value.

That’s why these days, you have to invest to make money. Luckily stocks, real estate and pretty much every asset class is close to all time highs right now.

But last week's “coronavirus drop” is a good reminder that it’s not going to last forever.

If you have substantial unrealized capital gains, and you’re looking for an exit strategy, there is one available right now. It allows you to compound your current gains for almost six years before paying capital gains tax.

I’m talking about Opportunity Zones. These were created by Trump’s tax reform law to reward investors who fund projects in distressed areas.

One of the major benefits of investing in an Opportunity Zone is the chance to compound your gains BEFORE you pay taxes on them.

For instance, if you bought $100,000 worth of stocks that are now worth $200,000 you have $100,000 worth of capital gains. At current tax rates, you could owe as much as $23,800.

But by investing those $100,000 of gains in an Opportunity Zone, you can defer paying those taxes until 2026. That means the $23,800 that would have gone to taxes instead grows from the new investment.

Let’s say that the new investment increases in value by 10% each year. When the time comes to pay the capital gains taxes on the original investment, you will have earned an EXTRA $18,363 just from deferring taxes.

In addition, after holding the Opportunity Zone investment for several years, you’ll finally pay tax on your original capital gain, but at a discounted rate. (Technically they call this a ‘step-up in basis’, so instead of being taxed on $100,000 you are taxed on a gain of $90,000.)

This can save you even more money.

But there is yet another major tax benefit of Opportunity Zones.

If you keep your funds in the Opportunity Zone for ten years, you’ll NEVER pay tax on the capital gains from your Opportunity Zone investment.

So to continue our example, say that after ten years, your $100,000 Opportunity Zone investment has compounded into $259,374-- a total capital gain of $159,374. Your total capital gains tax bill will be ZERO.

Remember, ALL capital gains are eliminated on Opportunity Zone investments held for at least 10 years. So if you invest in the next Facebook and turn $100,000 into $100 million you still owe ZERO capital gains taxes on that $99,900,000 gain.

But like most good things, this won’t last forever.

And some of the benefits have already expired.

For instance, you could have had a 15% step-up in basis on your original capital gains (i.e. only paid tax on $85,000 instead of $100,000).

But you had to hold the Opportunity Zone investment for seven years. And with the deadline to pay the original capital gains set at the end of 2026, it is too late to hold the investment for seven years.

But you can still get the discount of 10% by holding for five years, as long as you get into an Opportunity Zone by the end of 2021.

It’s worth looking into. And a good place to start is our new in-depth article: Opportunity Zones: Ultimate Guide and My Personal Experience.

To your freedom & prosperity, Simon Black, Founder, SovereignMan.com

 https://www.sovereignman.com/international-diversification-strategies/decades-old-investment-wisdom-from-albert-einstein-27401/

The Curse of a High Income

The Curse of a High Income

February 20, 2020 By Machinist

The Income Curse

Regardless of income level, the vast majority of people spend very nearly everything they earn, if not more.  Most people know that living paycheck-to-paycheck is a problem.  What they may not realize is that the higher their income, the bigger this problem actually is.  Common sense tells us that more income is always better, but that’s not always true.  If you have a high income and are spending it all, then you might be in serious trouble with limited options.

Consider the following scenario and think about who is financially more secure?  Who is wealthier?

Introducing Bob and Bill

Bob earns a salary of $50k per year.  He owns his 10-year-old Toyota Camry outright, makes the mortgage payment on his comfortable home, and is still able to save $5k each year in his 401(k) account.

Bill earns $250k per year and leases a new Land Rover every two years.  He lives in a very nice house with a pool and a beautifully landscaped yard.  Bill is also saving $5k per year toward retirement.

Bob and Bill both consider themselves responsible personal financiers.  Neither one has any credit card debt and both are careful to keep some money saved for unexpected expenses.  In fact, Bob has $10k in the bank, and Bill has $20k.

o, who is doing better financially?  Obviously, Bill’s and Bob’s kids know who is richer.  It’s not even close.  They all prefer to play over at Bill’s house.  Bob’s kids complain about having to mow the lawn, and whine about why they can’t have somebody take care of it like Bill does.

Everyone knows Bill is richer than Bob, but everyone is wrong, as they are about to find out.

What Lies Beneath

By all outward appearances, Bill is absolutely prospering, keeping his expenses in check, and even securing his future, but the car, the pool, the house and the fancy life are obscuring a ticking financial time bomb which explodes with surprising devastation as recession hits causing both Bob and Bill to lose their jobs.

Bob is disappointed to lose his income, but he figures that if he cuts the cable and his cell phone and all restaurant meals, he can cover his mortgage, utilities, and groceries for four months.  While he’s looking for a new job, he takes on some odd jobs around town.  In this way he is able to make his savings last for 6 months.

Bill is also bummed about losing his job, but within days he has started to panic.  He realizes that his $20k savings will last little more than a month at his current burn rate.  Even after cancelling his kids camps and sports and the bouncy house for Billy’s birthday party, he’ll be flat broke within two months.

Luckily the gardener lets bill out of his contract without a penalty, but now Bill has to figure out how to maintain his yard all by himself.  Things don’t go as well with the Land Rover dealership.  They let him return the car, because that’s easier than sending out the repo man next month, but they also charge Bill $10k for early lease termination.  Bill decides to just let that go to collections for now, because he has a bigger problem.  He kind of needs a car to look for a job, but he also needs to hold onto as much of his cash as he can.  Maybe Bob will let him borrow the Camry.

So, who was really wealthier?  Who was financially more secure?

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://perpetualmoneymachine.org/curse-of-a-high-income/

7 Common Money Conflicts in Marriage and How to Solve Them

7 Common Money Conflicts in Marriage and How to Solve Them

By Eileen Ambrose, Senior Editor

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance

 You and your spouse probably have different approaches to finances, but you can still live financially happy ever after.

 The McClanahans had to step up their communication and teamwork to overcome their debt problems.

 Aja and Kelvin McClanahan got married in 2004 knowing that each brought debt to the union. But they didn’t talk numbers before the wedding, and when they added it all up later, the Chicago newlyweds had a shock: Together they owed $60,000, most of it in the form of student loans.

 Then, when the couple had a child within the first year of marriage and Aja wanted to stay home with their newborn, she launched her own business—a translation agency—using credit cards to finance start-up costs. The idea didn’t pan out, and she wound up with another $20,000 in debt.

The couple later added $10,000 to their credit card balances and borrowed $30,000 to buy an SUV. “That was a bumpy start to our marriage,” says Aja, now a freelance writer who blogs about money issues.

Aja says it took years for her and Kelvin, a letter carrier, to chop away at the debt because they didn’t always agree about what to do with their money. But eventually, getting out of debt became their top priority, and by 2013 they were debt-free. (So many people asked the couple how they did it that Aja launched her blog not long afterward.)

The McClanahans discovered another benefit of working through their debt: Retiring their loans governed so many conversations, such as whether to go shopping or take a vacation, Aja says, that “it forced us to have those conversations every day. It did not develop into a perfect system, but it helped with our teamwork.”

Managing money is complicated and fraught with emotion, so it’s natural that conflicts will erupt. To find solutions, communication and teamwork are key. If more couples have regular conversations about money issues before and after walking down the aisle, more marriages may last, says Jamie Slaughter, a certified financial planner in Colorado Springs.

If you are married—or thinking about getting hitched—see whether you are at odds on any of these money issues. It will go a long way toward improving your relationship.

 1. Different Money Styles

Opposites attract, and that’s especially true when it comes to dealing with money. Even if both partners start off their relationship with similar ways of handling money, over time they will become opposites, says Olivia Mellan, author of Money Harmony.

For instance, if two spenders marry, eventually one will become a saver relative to the other, she says. “Otherwise, they end up bankrupt in four minutes.”

 Mellan, a therapist for 42 years, has identified six categories of money opposites: The spender and the saver or hoarder. The money avoider and the money worrier. The risk taker and the risk avoider. The money merger (who wants to combine all the finances) and the money separatist.

The planner (who digs into the nitty-gritty details) and the dreamer (who has a grand vision but no idea how to get there). The partner who thinks money is corrupting and the money amasser who believes that the person who dies with the most money wins.

Opposite styles often lead to friction, which is why money is consistently one of the top two causes of marital conflict, Mellan says. Spouses need to learn to empathize with each other by walking in the other person’s shoes.

 She recommends an exercise in which each spouse adopts the other’s money style for at least six weeks. So the spender, say, would save money while the hoarder would open the purse strings. This will move them closer to each other’s style—or at least give each a better understanding of the other’s viewpoint.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/saving/T065-C000-S002-common-money-conflicts-in-marriage-how-to-solve.html

Quiet Wealth: An Asset Protection Strategy

Quiet Wealth: An Asset Protection Strategy

Time is Money:  An Asset Protection Strategy

Diversified Investments

I’ve never worn a watch. I flatter myself that’s because of a high school Latin teacher/lacrosse coach named Thurber who, when asked why he didn’t, responded that “a man who wears a watch worries too much about time.”

That quote has always stuck with me. Its philosophical brevity is almost Hellenic.

My real reason for going watch-less is simpler, however. I have a hard enough time keeping track of my keys, wallet, eyeglasses and anything else I need during my daily journey to worry about a watch as well.

In fact, I’m pretty sure the only watch I ever owned was one that had belonged to my grandfather, that my Dad gave me when I was about 5 — what was he thinking? — that I promptly dropped and broke.

My relationship with timepieces, in other words, is Thurberesque in another way entirely.

But there are people for whom watches are an asset protection strategy

Last week in Lausanne, Switzerland, auction house Phillips sold 164 watches by makers such as Rolex, Patek Phillippe, Longines and Piaget. All were from the 20th century, the oldest from the ‘20s, but many made as recently as the 1990s.

The sale prices impressed me for two reasons. First, who knew that someone would deem a simple wristwatch to be worth almost $5 million? Apparently someone does. A 1927 Patek Philippe Stainless Steel Model 130 fetched that much. There were several $1 million-plus items as well, and dozens made it into six figures.

The second thing that struck me about the auction results was that in almost every case, the sale price significantly exceeded the pre-auction estimate, sometimes significantly.

The lucky seller of the 1927 Patek Philippe doubled his or her hoped-for gains, whilst the prior owner of a 1969 Piaget Montre-Manchette 9850 in 18-carat yellow gold got five times what Phillips thought he or she would.

I’m no expert on watches, but clearly, there’s more to these things than telling the time.

The values reflected in the Phillips auction derive from a combination of outstanding craftsmanship, rarity, and an artistic je ne sais quoi that watch aficionados must surely understand.

The 1931 Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle in silver, to the right, is clearly a gorgeous example of human creativity.

Quiet Wealth: An Asset Protection Strategy

My colleagues and I often refer to items like these watches as “quiet wealth” — an asset protection strategy quite unlike conventional stocks, bonds, metals and other financial instruments.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.valuewalk.com/2015/05/quiet-wealth/

Negative Interest Rates In The US Are Virtually Guaranteed Now

Negative Interest Rates In The US Are Virtually Guaranteed Now

Notes From The Field By Simon Black 

March 4, 2020 Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

On October 19, 1987, the US stock market suffered the worst crash in its more than 200 year history, dropping more than 23% in a matter of hours.

It wasn’t just in the United States, either. More than 20 major stock markets around the world, from London to Hong Kong to Australia, fell by similar amounts.

And economists estimate that stocks worldwide lost roughly $1.7 trillion of value (approximately 10% of global GDP at the time) during the October 1987 crash.

The next morning on October 20th, the Federal Reserve announced that they would do whatever it takes to support the economy.

And ten days later they cut interest rates by 0.5%.

Yesterday the Federal Reserve did the same thing. Stock markets worldwide have been jittery lately due to Corona Virus fears, so the Federal Reserve stepped in and cut interest rates by 0.5%.

Honestly there are so many things that are remarkable about this—

First, the Fed already has a regularly scheduled meeting coming up in two weeks on March 17th. But apparently they thought the situation was so severe that they held an emergency meeting yesterday and hastily voted to cut interest rates by 0.5%.

Just think about what that means: 30+ years ago, the Fed cut rates by half a percent after, literally, the worst day in the history of the stock market.

Today’s stock market turmoil is nowhere near as bad as it was in 1987. Sure, the market is down around 10% over the past two weeks. But where is the law that says the stock market isn’t allowed to fall? Capitalism is all about risk and reward. There are supposed to be periods of decline.

But to the Fed, a 10% correction is catastrophic… SOOOOO catastrophic, in fact, that they couldn’t even wait two more weeks for their regularly scheduled meeting. They had to take immediate action to prop up the stock market.

Ironically, this interest rate cut caused investors to panic even more. After the Fed made its announcement, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted another 800 points.

It’s as if the entire market collectively thought, “Holy cow, if the Fed is taking EMERGENCY action, things must be even worse than we thought.” So the rate cut had the opposite effect as intended.

The Fed also managed to confuse the hell out of everyone… which is something they’ve been doing a lot of lately.

Last year, for example, even when they insisted that the US economy was booming and the unemployment rate was at a record low, they still cut rates by 0.75%... which is typically something they would only do when there’s economic weakness.

And then, yesterday at 10am, the Fed announced that “the fundamentals of the US economy remain strong. . .” But just an hour later they changed their tune and said, “risks to the US outlook have changed materially.”

Go figure, the market tanked even more.

Perhaps most comical is that the entire episode was forgotten by this morning… and the only story that seems to be driving the market is the resurrection of Joe Biden.

So the Fed basically blew a 0.50% rate cut and has absolutely nothing to show for it.

Here’s why that matters—

In the crash of 1987 when the Fed cut interest rates, its benchmark rate was 7.25%. So a half-percent cut was not especially significant.

In 2000 when the US economy entered recession (and the stock market started to fall from its peak), the Fed’s benchmark rate was 6.5%. So they had plenty of room to cut rates.

In 2007 when the US economy entered recession yet again (and the stock market started to fall from its peak), the Fed’s benchmark rate was 5.25%-- still plenty of room to cut rates.

But as of yesterday morning, the Fed’s benchmark interest was just 1.75%. So a 0.5% cut is pretty huge. Do the math-- they cut interest rates by nearly a third, down to 1.25%.

This gives them VERY little room to cut rates further when the US economy enters recession, virtually guaranteeing that interest rates in the Land of the Free will go negative.

Remember that, in a typical recession, the Fed cuts interest rates by an average of 5%.

Rates right now are only 1.25%... so we could easily see rates at MINUS 3 to 4%.

Just imagine paying money to deposit your savings at the bank (Wells Fargo will have so much fun), or being paid to borrow money…

That is now a very likely possibility in the most advanced economy in the world.

I probably don’t have to tell you this, but negative interest rates will almost certainly be very positive for gold prices, and gold-related investments.

More on that soon… because this emotional roller coaster is far from over.

To your freedom & prosperity, Simon Black, Founder, SovereignMan.com

https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/negative-interest-rates-in-the-us-are-virtually-guaranteed-now-27405/

Banknotes May Be Spreading Coronavirus

Banknotes May Be Spreading Coronavirus

Yahoo Finance UK  Kalila Sangster  March 3, 2020

World Health Organization Warns

Banks in China began disinfecting and isolating used banknotes last month as part of efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised people to use contactless technology instead of cash as banknotes may be spreading coronavirus.

The infectious COVID-19 virus could be carried on the surface of banknotes for several days, the WHO warned on Monday night.

To stop the spread of the disease, people should use contactless payments where possible and wash their hands after handling cash, a WHO spokesman said.

The Bank of England also recognised that banknotes “can carry bacteria or viruses” and encouraged frequent hand washing.

Read more: Bank of England will take ‘all necessary steps’ on coronavirus

Last month banks in China and Korea began disinfecting and isolating used banknotes as part of efforts to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

Ultraviolet light or high temperature is being used to disinfect and sterilise banknotes, before the cash is sealed and stored for up to 14 days before being recirculated, China’s central bank said at a press conference.

A Bank of England source said there were no plans to do the same in the UK.

A Bank of England spokesman told the Telegraph: “Like any other surface that large numbers of people come into contact with, notes can carry bacteria or viruses.

“However, the risk posed by handling a polymer note is no greater than touching any other common surface, such as handrails, doorknobs or credit cards.”

Coronavirus can be spread through contaminated objects as well as droplets and direct contact with infected patients, the WHO said.

“We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses,” a spokesman told the Telegraph.

“We would advise people to wash their hands after handling banknotes, and avoid touching their face.

“When possible it would also be advisable to use contactless payments to reduce the risk of transmission.”

It is not yet known how long the coronavirus can survive outside the human body.

It has been suggested that human coronaviruses can remain infectious on contaminated objects for as long as nine days at room temperature in an analysis of 22 earlier studies of similar viruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) published online this month in the Journal of Hospital Infection..

However, common disinfectants can swiftly remove them, and they may also be destroyed by high temperatures, the authors wrote. It is not yet clear whether the new coronavirus also behaves in this way.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/who-world-health-organisation-coronavirus-banknotes-warning-111019361.html

Probate 101: What You Should Know

Probate 101: What You Should Know About Probate (or Avoiding Probate)

By Jessica Sillers — Sep 3, 2019

 When you’re grieving, a complicated legal and financial process is the last thing you want to deal with. But often, that’s exactly what happens when families go through the probate process after losing a loved one.

Understanding the probate process can help keep you from getting caught by surprise.

Who takes charge of a will after someone dies? What happens if someone dies without a will? Is there any way to avoid a lengthy probate process and pile of legal paperwork?

We’ll break it down for you.

What Is Probate?

Probate is the legal process of administering a person’s estate after their death. If you have a last will and testament, probate will involve proving that your will is legally valid, executing your instructions and paying applicable taxes.

Having a clearly written will is one way to make the probate process easier on your loved ones. After all, your will doesn’t only specify who should inherit what. It also designates who you’d like to take care of your kids if both parents were to pass away, plus the executor who should fulfill the instructions in your will.

If you die without a will, the probate court will rely on your state’s intestate law to figure out how to distribute the person’s stuff. (You know how Prince’s heirs had trouble inheriting his assets because he didn’t have a will? Yeah, like that.)

Terms to Know

Legal proceedings often involve terminology that can be overwhelming when you’re already dealing with a lot. A few useful probate terms to know:

Decedent: The deceased person whose estate is going through probate.

Executor or personal representative: The person in charge of carrying out the instructions in the will.

Administrator: A court-appointed executor, if someone dies without leaving a will.

Intestate: A case where someone dies without a will.

Intestacy: State laws determining how to distribute such estates.

Letters testamentary: A document from a probate court authorizing the executor to start carrying out the will.

Notice of probate and notice to creditors: Notices that the executor has to submit, in writing, to the heirs (“interested parties”) and creditors.

Small estate affidavit, summary probate and/or summary administration: Documents or processes that can allow you to skip or shorten certain aspects of probate (i.e. distribute property without a lengthy court process). Estates below a certain value (depending on your state) are eligible for this.

Step-by-Step Guide to Navigating Probate Court

Your probate experience will be determined by your own state laws, but here’s how the process generally goes.

Step 1: Open Probate

An executor can’t jump right in and start passing along family heirlooms and inheritances. The first step is filing a petition with the probate court to open the process and “prove” the will. Until that happens, they’re not allowed to distribute or discard any property. (Though they often can take steps to protect the property, like clearing leaves and debris out of the roof gutters to prevent water damage—but check with an attorney to make sure.) The probate court’s role here is to verify that the will is legally valid.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

1.  https://meetfabric.com/blog/probate-101-what-you-should-know-about-probate-or-avoiding-probate

The Biggest Truth In Personal Finance

The Biggest Truth In Personal Finance

By J.D. Roth February 18 2020

For the past six weeks, I've been hard at work writing my “introduction to financial independence and early retirement” project for Audible and The Great Courses. It's been challenging — and fun — to rework my past material for a new audience in a new format.

Naturally, I'm emphasizing two important points in this project: profit and purpose.

I believe strongly that you need a clear personal mission statement in order to find success with money (and life).

I also believe that the most important number on your path to financial freedom is your personal profit, the difference between your income and your spending. (Most people refer to this number as saving rate. I prefer the term “personal profit” because it's, well, sexier.)

That last point is important.

Too many people want magic bullets. They want quick and easy ways to get out of debt and build wealth. They believe (or hope) that there's some sort of secret they can uncover, that somehow they've missed. Well, there aren't any secrets. Money mastery is a combination of psychology and math. And the math part is so simple a third-grader could understand it. Wealth is the accumulation of what you earn minus what you spend.

There are only two sides to this wealth equation — earning and spending — but a disproportionate amount of financial advice focuses on the one factor, on spending, and that's too bad. Sure, frugality is an important part of personal finance. And if you're in a tight spot and/or have a high income and still struggle, then cutting expenses is an excellent choice. But the reality is, you won't get rich — slowly or otherwise — by pinching pennies alone.

The Biggest Lie in Personal Finance

Recently at his excellent blog, Of Dollars and Data, Nick Maggiulli wrote about the biggest lie in personal finance. What is that lie? He writes:

While there are lots of people who are in financial trouble because of their own actions, there are also lots of people with good financial habits who just don’t have sufficient income to improve their finances.

That’s why the biggest lie in personal finance is that you can be rich if you just cut your spending. And the financial media feeds this lie by telling you to stop spending $5 a day on coffee so that you can become a millionaire.

With charts and graphs and data, Maggiuli demonstrates that the problem facing people with low incomes isn't their spending — it's their earning. If you're living at the poverty line — currently $26,200 per year for an American family of four — you're not going to escape through thrift. Thrift is an emergency measure, a stopgap. It's a bandage on a major wound.

Here's the bottom line:

If you're poor and hope to be not poor, your attention should be focused on increasing income, not on cutting costs. Your expenses are likely already very low.

If you have an average household income — currently $63,179 according to the U.S. Census Bureau — your path to building wealth will probably include both frugality and income enhancement.

If you have a high income but still struggle to make ends meet, your attention should absolutely turn to cutting costs. You need to rein in your lifestyle. But you won't accomplish this with frugality; you'll do this by optimizing the big stuff.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.getrichslowly.org/the-biggest-truth-in-personal-finance/#more-238978