I’m Rooting For Gold To Go To Zero. Too Bad It Won’t

I’m Rooting For Gold To Go To Zero. Too Bad It Won’t

Notes From the Field By Simon Black  August 15, 2023

By the time Wang Mang seized the imperial throne of China’s Han dynasty in the year 9 AD, he had already been a long-standing politician and government bureaucrat with decades of experience.

Not that Wang’s experience was especially helpful to the people of China.

As a seasoned politician, Wang’s biggest skills were setting up his opponents, cheating his way to the throne, and coming up with terrible ideas to destroy prosperity.

China’s Han dynasty had once been the pinnacle of civilization, most likely even surpassing the grandeur and wealth of the Roman Republic and ancient Greece. But Wang was one of the key figures who helped tear it down.

As emperor he was a total disaster. Wang had a thing for social and economic justice… so he imposed a bunch of idiotic land reforms to reduce inequality and form a more egalitarian society.

Instead of the ‘justice’ that he had envisioned, agricultural production plummeted and a lot of people went hungry.

Failing to see his error in judgment, Wang Mang doubled down by nationalizing entire industries, which only stifled investment and entrepreneurship.

Soon the Chinese economy was in the dumps. Prices soared. So the Emperor then (naturally) hatched the genius idea of imposing severe price controls… resulting in even more shortages and economic hardship.

He then tried to fix the shortages by taking over the labor market and essentially try to control what everyone did and where they worked.

But Emperor Wang wasn’t quite finished with his crusade for justice. He tried to pay for his mistakes by severely debasing the currency… which caused even more inflation and social unrest.

Wang Mang’s story is one of how complete and total incompetence results in disastrous consequences for an entire nation. History has witnessed countless other examples… and we’re seeing it play out again in our own time.

Today’s incompetent leadership is just as bad as Wang Mang; as I spelled out in yesterday’s missive, the US government has lost all ability to live within its means. They have spent trillions of dollars on their perverted ‘justice’ programs and environmental crusades.

Spending has gotten so bad that a $2 trillion yearly deficit is NOTHING anymore. Yet the continued accumulation of these deficits has created a gargantuan national debt.

As I mentioned yesterday, MOST of US national debt will mature over the next several years. Since the Treasury Department clearly does not have the money to pay back $25+ trillion in debt, their only option will be to issue NEW debt to pay off the old debt.

The problem, of course, is that the new debt comes with MUCH higher interest rates… and I explained that simply paying interest on the debt could exceed $2 trillion within the next five years.

On top of that, mandatory entitlement spending like Social Security and Medicare will hit $3 trillion. This means that just paying for Social Security/Medicare, and interest on the debt, could exceed 100% of tax revenue.

This scenario is potentially just five years away. At that point, it will be almost impossible for investors to have confidence in US government bonds.

US government bonds have long been considered the safest asset in the world. But if the Treasury Department has to blow $2 trillion just to pay interest, investors will quickly start looking for other safe havens. And one of those will be gold.

Think about it: there’s (currently) $32+ trillion in total US government bonds. This is MUCH larger than the gold market. So if even a small fraction of that US debt were to flow into gold instead, the gold price would go through the roof.

But there’s another scenario to consider, which frankly I think is more likely: the Fed steps in to save the US government.

One of the key reasons why the US government is in trouble (aside from their horrific spending habits) is that interest rates are so much higher than they used to be.

So the Fed can help the government out by slashing interest rates back down to 0%, which will make it affordable for the US government to finance its debt.

But this would come at a consequence; if the Fed slashes rates back down to zero, this would almost certainly result in another nasty bout of inflation… which would also mean higher gold prices.

So either scenario is bullish for gold.

Of course these two scenarios don’t even scratch the surface of all the political, financial, and economic problems in the US.

For example, there are still major risks lurking in the US banking system, including the fact that the Federal Reserve itself is hopelessly insolvent.

Social Security has less than a decade until it needs a bailout to the tune of tens of trillions of dollars.

And there’s also the likely possibility of the US dollar losing its dominance as the global reserve currency, likely this decade.

Gold should perform extremely well in any of these scenarios.

So in what scenario does gold NOT do well?

Well, gold does poorly in the “everything is just fine” scenario.

The war ends. Sensible politicians reign in spending. China plays nice and stops threatening to invade Taiwan. Economic growth goes through the roof. Inflation falls due to high levels of productivity and relative peace. Global trade booms.

As I’ve written before, this scenario is completely achievable, presuming competent leaders were in charge. And I’m really rooting for it.

In this scenario, gold would become a pointless relic… but I would happily welcome that outcome because everything else would be fantastic.

Unfortunately that scenario is unlikely… because the world is being run by a bunch of morons like Wang Mang.

If you feel like the trend in the world is more stupidity, more war, more socialism, more bad leadership, then you really ought to consider owning gold. In my view, a $5,000+ gold price is a pretty conservative estimate of where things go from here.

To your freedom,    Simon Black, Founder  Sovereign Man

https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/im-rooting-for-gold-to-go-to-zero-too-bad-it-wont-148054/

3 Ways to Pass Down a Home

3 Ways to Pass Down a Home

April 9, 2023  Estate Planning

The pros and cons of different methods for leaving a home to your heirs.

When it comes to estate planning, a family home can be among the most valuable—and complicated—assets to pass down.

"It's perfectly natural to want to see a cherished home stay within the family," says George Pennock, director of tax, trust, and estate at Schwab Wealth Advisory, Inc. "But you need to think about not only your own needs and wishes but also those of your heirs."

For example, your child may love the family home and all the memories that go with it, but do they actually want to live there? If you have multiple heirs, is it realistic for them to co-own the property, or will such an arrangement create conflict?

You also need to consider the role the house will play in your later years. "Do you plan to stay in the home, or is it possible you may need or want to move at some point?" George asks. "All of this factors into how—and whether—you transfer the property to your kids."

With that in mind, here are three ways to pass along a home to your heirs—both during and after your lifetime.

1. Sell it

If you're looking to move or put your home's equity to use elsewhere, selling the home to a child or other heir could be a good option. Doing so removes the property from your taxable estate and establishes a new cost basis—meaning the capital gains on any future sale will be calculated using the value of the home on the date of the transfer rather than your original purchase price.

Although you might be tempted to sell the home at a low price, be careful not to go below its fair market value. Otherwise, the difference between the sale price and the market value could be subject to gift taxes.

2. Gift it

As generous as it is to gift a home to an heir during your lifetime, it could have negative tax repercussions. That's because such a gift counts toward your lifetime gift tax exemption.

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

https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/3-ways-to-pass-down-home?cid=29090689|6316021|187962617|356606035

If You’re Not Thinking About Real Assets, You’re Going To Get Left Behind

If You’re Not Thinking About Real Assets, You’re Going To Get Left Behind

Notes From the Field  By Simon Black   August 14, 2023

“Scary” is the word that the Wall Street Journal used this weekend to describe the looming financial crisis in the US.  They said bluntly, “Washington has laid the seeds of a crisis that Wall Street can no longer ignore.”

I’ve been writing about this for 14 years; back then, it was highly controversial... almost conspiratorial... to suggest that the US government was in deep financial trouble. Today it’s front page news in the most prominent financial publication in the world.

To give you an idea of the problem, we can once again look at the government’s own data:

According to the Treasury Department’s most recent report from July 31, they’ve taken in $3.69 trillion in tax revenue so far this fiscal year.

Yet they’ve spent nearly $1.8 trillion on Social Security and Medicare, $726 billion paying interest on the debt, almost $900 billion on the military and veterans benefits.

In short, there’s only $284 billion left over for everything else in government. National parks. Homeland Security. The light bill at the White House. And $284 billion doesn’t go very far anymore.

Bear in mind that these people have spent (rather ominously) $666 billion so far this fiscal year just on “income security” alone, which is basically welfare and food stamps.

That’s why the budget deficit is already $1.6 trillion; by the time the fiscal year ends in September, it will probably be around $2 trillion... which is a complete train wreck by any standard.

Even worse is that this isn’t a one-off bad year. A $2 trillion deficit is actually a pretty good year for these people.

Before COVID, at the close of the 2019 Fiscal Year, the US national debt was $22.7 trillion. Today it’s nearly 50% greater, at $32.7 trillion. And it grows leaps and bounds every year.

The scariest part of the problem is that most of the US national debt was accumulated over the past 10-15 years (and especially the last 3-4 years) when interest rates were historically low.

That’s why the average interest rate on US government bonds back in, say, August of 2021, was just 1.45%. Rates were super low back then, and the government could borrow for almost nothing.

Today it’s a different story. All of the new debt that the Treasury Department borrows today carries much higher rates, upwards of 5%.

And this is an enormous problem for the US government: MOST of the current national debt will mature over the next five years.

But since Uncle Sam doesn’t have $32 trillion lying around, they won’t be able to pay that money back. Instead, they’ll refinance the debt by issuing new bonds to pay back the old bonds. Frankly it’s a bit of a Ponzi scheme.

But the new debt they issue won’t be at the ultra-low rates of the past. The government will have to pay whatever the current interest rates are— perhaps 5% or more.

And if the average interest rate on US government debt rises to 5% over the next few years, then they would have to spend a whopping $2 trillion just to pay interest each year.

On top of that, the annual bill for Social Security and Medicare would reach roughly $3 trillion.

Think about it— JUST paying interest, plus Social Security and Medicare, would exceed ALL federal tax revenue.

The US government will find itself in a position where they’ll need to borrow money and go deeper into debt just to fund the military, let alone everything else the government does.

Again, I’ve been writing about this for 14 years, so this analysis and conclusion is nothing new for long time readers.

But this looming fiscal crisis is very quickly becoming a mainstream issue. This means you’ll start seeing it more in the news... which will compel politicians to say something.

Their knee jerk reaction will be to raise taxes... which conforms to the rising popularity of socialism. For some reason there are still growing numbers of people who foolishly believe that high taxes and government spending create prosperity.

The other thing that is almost inevitable is that the Federal Reserve will start slashing interest rates again. No Fed Chairman wants to be held responsible for bankrupting the federal government. The only way to push this crisis further down the road is by returning to historically low rates.

So we can probably expect a reduction in interest rates, simply to bail out the federal government. And this would most likely lead to sustained, higher inflation.

In theory this is all fixable. America still has time to solve its gargantuan challenges. But time is rapidly running out.

And it’s for this reason why I’ve written for so long about having a Plan B... because, based on the government’s current trajectory, they’re just making things worse.

One key element of a Plan B in my opinion is considering real assets.

A real asset is a valuable resource that requires hard work, talent and ingenuity to produce, and cannot be conjured out of thin air by politicians or central bankers.

Real assets are scarce. They have universal value. And they are productive, or can at least be put to productive use.

Gold is an obvious example. It takes a lot of effort to produce an ounce of gold, and gold can be put to productive use. Most of all, central banks cannot conjure it out of thin air like they can print trillions of dollars.

This is the case with most commodities as well.

However some commodities are far more valuable and in-demand than others. Agriculture and energy, for example, are the most important resources in the world and will always be in demand.

Productive technology is also an important real asset; anything that makes the world better, faster, and cheaper has value (which is a key distinction from ‘consumer technology’, which just involves swiping and scrolling and wasting time).

Real assets are important because, historically and logically, they tend to perform extremely well in a fiscal crisis. People start looking for safe havens— and the best safe havens in a crisis are quality, valuable, scarce resources.

The time to be thinking about this is now; even though the fiscal crisis is completely obvious, most people are ignoring it... and hence ignoring real assets.

For now this is a huge benefit to investors, because many real assets (including many commodities, commodity-based businesses, productive technology) have never been cheaper.

So there are a number of bargains out there that could protect your wealth down the road in the event that America’s fiscal crisis continues to unfold.

To your freedom,   Simon Black, Founder   Sovereign Man

https://www.sovereignman.com/investing/if-youre-not-thinking-about-real-assets-youre-going-to-get-left-behind-148040/

The Worst Thing To Do After Coming Into A Ton Of Money

The Worst Thing To Do After Coming Into A Ton Of Money: Buy A New House, Says An Advisor To The Ultrawealthy

Alicia Adamczyk  Mon, August 14, 2023

Those lucky enough to benefit from the Great Wealth Transfer or another windfall, heed this financial advisor’s advice: Think twice (or five times) before buying that dream vacation home. You may come to regret it.

That’s according to Paul Karger, cofounder and managing partner of wealth advisory firm TwinFocus, which manages over $7 billion for ultrahigh-net-worth families. Karger advises all of his clients—who range from centimillionaires to billionaires—to wait six months to a year before making any big purchases when they come into sudden wealth. Give your emotions time to even out.

But the advice is applicable to anyone who receives an inheritance, is retiring, or, say, wins the Mega Millions’ record $1.58 billion jackpot. Though it can be tempting to go on a spending spree, any large purchase like a home needs to be thought through—even if you think you can easily afford it. There are plenty of unknown costs; they’re called money pits for a reason.

“I’ve seen clients purchase large homes in faraway locations that they ultimately realize they will not use frequently and end up being a major ongoing financial burden that took several years to sell,” Karger tells Fortune.

It may sound like a nice problem to have, but Karger is serious, and mostly referring to second or third homes. There isn’t as big a market for these pieces of real estate as there is for primary residences, especially since the pandemic, and they can be extremely expensive—and illiquid. That can lead to trouble down the line, especially if you’re not prudent with the rest of your wealth. Though you may be able to afford to buy the home, there are plenty of monthly or annual upkeep costs that need to be accounted for ahead of time.

Of course, homes aren’t the only possible bad investments out there.

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

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worst-thing-coming-ton-money-155429933.html

What To Know If You Deposit More Than $10K Into Your Checking Account

What To Know If You Deposit More Than $10K Into Your Checking Account

Angela Mae   Mon, August 14, 2023

If you plan to deposit $10,000 or more into your checking account, there are a few things you should consider first. By law, banks have to report deposits that exceed a certain amount.

Not only that, but many bank accounts come with maximum deposit restrictions. You may also be subject to certain fees when making such a large deposit. If you frequently make large deposits, you should also watch out for any potential scams or fraudulent activity. But even if this is a one-time thing, it’s still important to know about these factors and how they might affect you.

Banks Must Report Large Deposits

“According to the Bank Secrecy Act, banks are required to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) for any cash deposits over $10,000,” said Lyle Solomon, principal attorney at Oak View Law Group. CTRs typically include the name of the individual, their account number, Social Security number and taxpayer identification number — all of which are verified and recorded by the bank.

Banks must file CTRs to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Some banks will do this manually, while others will automate the process.

“The creation of a CTR does not mean that your account will be frozen, nor that the Men in Black will be visiting your home,” said Herman (Tommy) Thompson Jr., CFP, ChSNC, ChFC certified financial planner at Innovative Financial Group. For banks, it’s considered standard procedure and isn’t a cause for concern if the deposit is legitimate.

These procedures exist to help prevent money laundering, counterfeit deposits and similar financial crimes from occurring. By requiring banks to report deposits of $10,000 or more, the government can more easily keep track of monetary transactions. As long as your deposits are legitimate, you won’t have anything to worry about.

Structuring Is Illegal

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

https://news.yahoo.com/finance/news/know-deposit-more-10k-checking-130016900.html

What the $2.04 Billion Lottery Winner Did With Their Lump Sum Payout

What the $2.04 Billion Lottery Winner Did With Their Lump Sum Payout

Sean Fisher, AI Editor   Mon, August 14, 2023 

For most, winning the lottery is a distant dream. But for Edwin Castro, it became a reality when he struck gold with a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in November 2022, the largest in history.

Choosing a one-time lump-sum payment, Castro received an astonishing $997.6 million, just short of a billion. Here’s a look at how he has used his unexpected fortune.

High-End Real Estate Ventures

Shortly after his massive win, Castro treated himself to two opulent homes in California. He first bought a breathtaking $25.5 million mansion in Hollywood Hills in March 2023, three months after he claimed his lottery prize. According to several reports, the estate boasts an impressive 13,500-square-feet of luxury, with features like five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a game room, a wine cellar, a movie theater, a bar, a fitness studio, and a spa.

In addition to its rich interior, the Hollywood Hills home offers the epitome of outdoor luxury, with an infinity pool, a fireplace, and seven-car garage, all encased by glass walls that provide a panoramic view of the Los Angeles cityscape.

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

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2-04-billion-lottery-winner-120009921.html

6 Unusual Expenses Worth Paying Off Before You Retire

6 Unusual Expenses Worth Paying Off Before You Retire

Vance Cariaga   August 12, 2023

You can expect to experience many changes in retirement, and one of the biggest has to do with your finances. Unless you decide to keep earning money on the side, you'll be living on a fixed monthly income that doesn't include the normal work raises, bonuses or opportunities to increase your income by switching jobs.

This shift puts a premium on reducing your expenses in retirement to give yourself plenty of financial breathing room. According to an analysis from Fidelity Investments, you can expect to spend between 55% and 80% of your yearly work income throughout your retirement. About 15% of your post-retirement living expenses will go to healthcare costs alone.

One thing you will want to do is pay off as many debts as you can, including mortgages, car loans, student loans, medical bills and credit cards. Entering retirement free of debt can solve a lot of financial problems down the road.

You should also pay off other expenses that could potentially tie you down financially in retirement -- including expenses you've built up that don't fall under the normal financial umbrella.

Keep reading to learn about six unusual expenses that are worth paying off before you retire.

Personal Bank Loans

Personal loans provide lines of credit that can be used for everything from home renovations and medical bills to weddings, but they don't come cheap. The average overall interest rate for personal loans (as of Aug. 8, 2023) is a sky-high 21.4%, Business Insider reported. The average low rate is 10.17%, while the average high rate is 31.91%. Given these rates, paying off personal loans before retiring is one of the best financial moves you can make.

Family Loans

Borrowing money from family members has become more commonplace in recent years due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation and soaring home and mortgage costs. 

If you have a family loan, you probably pay much less interest than you would with a commercial loan -- though you have to pay some interest in order for it to be considered a loan instead of a gift. Paying off a family loan before you retire serves two purposes. 

First, it lowers your overall debt load. Second, it will probably ease your personal relationship because the financial element is no longer involved.

Divorce Fees

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

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/retirement-savings-6-unusual-expenses-130055142.html

What to Do If You Get Rejected for a Loan

What to Do If You Get Rejected for a Loan

Rachel Christian, CEPF®  Senior Writer  AUGUST 2, 2023

Some of the links in this post are from our sponsors. We provide you with accurate, reliable information. Learn more about how we make money and select our advertising partners. So, you’ve applied for a loan, and unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.  Well, you’re not alone.

In June 2023, the overall rejection rate for credit applicants increased to nearly 22% — its highest point since June 2018 — according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The increase affected people in different age groups and was highest among people with credit scores below 680, the report found.

So what happens when you get rejected for a loan? We’ll explain what it takes to get a loan, why lenders might slam the door on your application and most importantly, how you can improve your odds and even snag a loan with bad credit.

Requirements for a Loan

You’re eager to get a loan, but do you know what lenders look for? Let’s start with the basics.

Whether you’re looking to a buy a house or get a personal loan, you typically need to meet these requirements:

Good Credit Score: Lenders use your credit score to assess your risk as a borrower. A good credit score usually falls in the 670 to 739 range. The higher your score, the better your chances of approval.

Steady income: Lenders need to see that you have a stable income to repay the loan, such as a regular job or self-employment income.

Low Debt-To-Income Ratio: This is the proportion of your monthly debt payments compared to your monthly income. A lower debt-to-income ratio signals better financial health. Lenders usually look for a DTI of 40% or less.

Positive Credit History: A solid credit history shows lenders you’ve managed credit accounts responsibly in the past.

Collateral: With a secured loan, an asset (like a car or home) acts as collateral to help offset the risk. This can be an option if you have bad credit or want a lower interest rate.

Is this your first time applying for a loan? Check out our explainer on how loans work.

6 Reasons Why You Might Get Denied for a Loan

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

https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/debt/denied-for-a-loan/

Are You Rich? Then You Should Probably Have This

Are You Rich? Then You Should Probably Have This

Ben Geier  Thu, August 10, 2023

Trusts are useful financial tools, often used for the purpose of planning an estate. A trust is essentially a legal framework into which ownership of assets can be placed. These assets can include financial products like stocks and bonds, or it can include real physical property, like land, jewelry or vehicles. There are a number of reasons one might use a trust, including, but certainly not limited to, estate planning scenarios. If you think you might need a trust or you want help setting one up, consider working with a financial advisor.

How Property Trusts Work

Technically speaking, there isn’t a specific type of trust known as a “property trust.” Any trust can be filled with a myriad assets, including property and real estate. If you hear reference to a property trust, it's more than likely either a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust. Both of these can be seeded with property, along with other assets like investments, family memorabilia and cash.

A revocable trust is one where you have the ability to add property and take it out throughout your lifetime. For instance, if you store a home in a revocable trust, you can remove it from the trust. At a later date, you can then return it to direct ownership if that makes it easier to sell. You can also remove personal effects, such as a family heirloom, if you want to pass it on to another family member. A revocable trust can also be abolished if it's no longer necessary.

An irrevocable trust, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like - a trust that cannot be abolished and cannot have property removed from it. Irrevocable trusts are best used to shelter property that the current owner is not going to sell or otherwise need out of the trust.

If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Who Needs a Property Trust?

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

https://news.yahoo.com/finance/news/property-trust-needs-one-153536214.html

7 Tips to Save You When You Feel Like Shopping

7 Tips to Save You When You Feel Like Shopping

By Karen Trefzger

Fall is around the corner, and if you’re anything like me, that can make you feel like shopping.  New clothes, new home décor, those pretty autumn-themed dishes, cute earrings, a fragranced candle – you name it, we may just feel we need something new to celebrate the change of seasons.

But every time we follow this need-to-shop impulse, we may be adding to our clutter.  We may be adding to debt (or at least reducing what we can save or give).  We may be giving in to our desire for more, more, more (and doesn’t that look like a simple case of greed?).

I know it’s fun to get something new.  At first, it feels amazing.  You tell your friends, maybe even post pictures on social media.  But very quickly, that new thing becomes background noise, and then you need the next purchase to feel the excitement all over again.  You never find satisfaction.

Instead, let’s think of ways to renew our appreciation for what we own and take advantage of all that’s available to us.

7 options to control needless spending

1.  Get outside.

We were created to live on this earth, and its perfect design already takes into account our desire for both variety and stability.  Each season has its gifts – all new and yet familiar.

So get outside and enjoy the roadside wildflowers (they won’t last long). Relish summer’s variety of sunny skies and thunderstorms, fresh cool mornings and long warm evenings. Look for birds building nests and babies loudly demanding to be fed. Can you drive to the country and visit a farm stand for the freshest produce?

Go on a walk, a bike ride, a hike, or a picnic today.

2.  Swap belongings.

This might be an old trick you use with your children’s toys:  box up some of the things they don’t play with as often and store them for a few months.  Then when you bring them out again, it feels like everyone got a bunch of new toys!

Guess what – this works with adults too.  You know how when you put up the Christmas decorations your house feels new and noticeable, even if the decorations are the same ones you’ve been using for years?  Get that same feeling by swapping framed photos, wall art, lamps, throw pillows, and other small decorative items.  You can even swap chairs, side tables, and other small pieces of furniture.  Move things from the living room to your bedroom to the dining room to the guest room, entry hall, or home office.

As you do this, you can handle and dust everything, and make sure it’s something you really love and want to keep.  Then you can enjoy noticing your same belongings in different surroundings and different groupings.  It’s a way to keep everything fresh and in the spotlight, because you got out of a rut and shook things up a bit.

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

https://nosidebar.com/7-tips-to-save-you-when-you-feel-like-shopping/

The Relative Value of Money

The Relative Value of Money

Financial Panther - Last Updated on April 17, 2023

There’s a concept that I’ve been thinking about over the past couple of years, especially as I’ve made this transition from a full-time, professional, real job, to a quasi-fake job as a blogger and gig economy worker. It has to do with a concept you could call the relative value of money.

When I think about what that means, it’s basically the idea that money you earn from one activity might be worth more to you personally compared to the money you earn from another activity. In fact, it might be worth so much more to you that you’ll opt to spend your days earning money in that manner even if it means you’re making less money from an objective standpoint. This concept has really come into clearer focus to me over the past few years and I think it helps explain why I’ve made a lot of the work decisions I’ve made.

One of the weird things I’ve done consistently over the past few years is doing pretty low-level side hustles using sharing economy and gig economy apps. From an objective standpoint, it really didn’t make much sense for me to do all of this stuff. At the peak of my lawyer career, I was making $300 or more per day from my salary, obviously more than enough to live very comfortably. And yet, even though I made all of this money, I still chose to spend my spare hours doing silly things like delivering food to people on my bike and selling stuff I found in the trash.

The common criticism I’d get was that doing this stuff was a waste of my time. The better use of my time would be to focus on my job and continue to progress in my legal career. Eventually, I could try to become a partner somewhere or just do something to continue to increase my salary, or at least to increase my prestige.

In truth, that’s probably what I should have done, at least if we’re looking at pure numbers. I could obviously make much more money as a lawyer than I could from all of the stupid things I was doing. But the few bucks I made doing my random gig stuff felt so much more valuable and rewarding to me compared to any dollar I earned from my regular paycheck.

The thing I’ve learned to value more and more is control over my life. I suspect that’s something a lot of people on the path to financial independence value too. The money I made from my day job, however, was the exact opposite of control over my life. I had to be at the office at a certain time, do things that other people told me to do, and basically, plan my life around my job. It made me feel trapped.

A dollar might have the same objective value no matter how you choose to earn it. But how you personally value that dollar is another matter. I think that’s worth thinking about.

Thinking About The Relative Value Of Money

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

https://financialpanther.com/the-relative-value-of-money/