Getting The Gift Giving Right - Old Soul Etiquette 12-20-23

Getting The Gift Giving Right Old Soul Etiquette 12-20-23

Is It Good Manners To Ask Someone What They Want For Christmas

By   Patricia Shannon Updated on November 6, 2023

Do you freeze when someone asks you what you want for Christmas? Let us walk you through the best way to answer. Gift giving is a tricky business. Whether you’re the giver or the receiver, there’s a whole list of dos and don’ts that can be applied to nearly every situation. Thankfully, any awkwardness can quickly be thwarted if armed with the etiquette know-how to see you through.

That even applies to the question that strikes more fa-la-la-la fear in the hearts of holiday revelers than running out of spiked eggnog on Christmas Eve: “What do you want for Christmas?” It’s a loaded question, no matter which way you look at it.

Getting The Gift Giving Right

“It’s the holiday season, and most everyone wants to do their best when it comes to gift giving,” says etiquette expert Erika Preval of Charm Etiquette. “Even Santa requests a list to be certain he gets it right.” Preval says graciousness and appreciation is the most important factor when receiving a gift, even if it’s one that you pointed the giver toward in the first place.

Regardless of the path that leads to the gift you are given, thought and care went into the process and the proper thanks should be given—which we all know requires a thank-you note, even if you passed along plenty of thank yous in person. 

So what if you’re the one who is presently perplexed on the best gift to give those on your holiday shopping list? Mariah Grumet, Old Soul Etiquette founder and instructor, says it’s perfectly acceptable to ask as long as you do it correctly.

“It ensures you are spending your money on something your friend or family member will truly enjoy or utilize,” she says. “It also shows them that you care enough to get them something they want, rather than getting them anything just to check a name off of a list.” 

For those who prefer to sleuth out the perfect gift themselves, Grumet assures that’s acceptable too. “In the end, the gesture and message that you thought of them this holiday season are what truly matters.” 

 How Should You Respond if Someone Asks What You Want for Christmas?

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

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Why This Boring, 5,000 Year Old Metal Could Become the Next Hot Commodity

Why This Boring, 5,000 Year Old Metal Could Become the Next Hot Commodity

Notes From the Field By Simon Black December 14, 2023

Over four thousand years ago in the early 2200s BC, the most dominant superpower in the world was the Akkadian Empire.  The Akkadian Empire had conquered all of ancient Mesopotamia and brought the neighboring kingdoms under its control.

And the Emperor at the time, a man named Rimush, wanted to demonstrate to the world just how wealthy and powerful his Akkadian Empire truly was.

So he commissioned a statue to be built— a statue of himself, obviously. And he had it made from the most valuable substance in the world.  But Rimush’s monument wasn’t made of gold. Or even silver.

Thousands of years ago, the most valuable resource in the world was actually tin... as in tin foil.

This was a period in history known as the Bronze Age, a point where ancient civilizations had grasped a basic knowledge of metallurgy.

Rather than use stone tools, people discovered that they could smelt copper with tin, and the resulting metal— bronze— was a very sturdy fit for tools, weapons, and building material.

Copper was incredibly abundant, and many copper mines existed in the ancient world. But tin was scarce, especially among proto-European and near-East civilizations.

Miners had to travel a very long way— to the mountains of Afghanistan, or across the British Isles, to find tin. And its scarcity made it extremely valuable.

Tin mines became critical assets. Tin trade routes became strategic resources worth fighting over. In fact it’s possible that the legendary Trojan War may have actually been fought over the tin trade.

So you can understand why it was such a tremendous show of wealth when Emperor Rimush chose to make a statue of himself out of tin.

Human civilization obviously progressed beyond the Bronze Age and eventually learned how to forge iron and steel, so tin became almost forgotten.

Yet surprisingly tin is still quite a critical metal today. In fact its most important use is in solder on electronic circuit boards. Literally every circuit, whether in an iPhone or standard kitchen toaster, contains tin; tin is effectively the glue that binds electron pathways and circuit components together. 

But we’re talking very small amounts; every single iPhone, for example, contains just a couple grams of tin— which costs only a few pennies.

Think about that – in order to sell a $1000+ product, Apple requires a few pennies worth of tin. This makes tin extremely important… yet very cheap relative to its importance.

It also means that tin prices could skyrocket 5x, and Apple probably wouldn’t even notice.

Yet for tin producers, a 5x increase in prices would have them ROLLING in profits.

And this is what’s so interesting about tin. It’s not sexy. It’s a mostly forgotten metal. And as a result, there are only a handful of companies in the world that mine it.

Yet with so many more electronics being produced... much of this as a result of the AI revolution... tin supply is actually starting to dwindle.

Back during the Cold War in the 1950s, the US government actually stockpiled tin in an attempt to corner the market and prevent the Soviets from making advanced electronics.

The US didn’t really need all that tin at the time... so for the past several decades, the electronics industry has been slowly drawing down that stockpile.

Tin production also slowed down; after all, why bother with the expense of mining tin when the US government was selling off its stockpiles?

But now the stockpiles are almost gone. And yet tin production is still down... while demand (because of the booming electronics industry) is soaring.

All these conditions create a strong likelihood that tin prices could rise dramatically.

In fact a study conducted by MIT showed that tin was the metal most likely to be impacted by the advent of new generation technologies such as robotics, electric vehicles and AI.

It’s crazy to think about that a forgotten metal that hasn’t been ‘important’ for literally thousands of years since the end of the Bronze Age could stand to benefit the most from the AI boom.

And again, there are only a handful of tin suppliers in the world who mine the stuff. So they could really make a killing.

We recently sent some research to our premium members, for example, about a tin producer that already generates solid profits based on where tin prices are right now. They also pay a great dividend, and could even turn a profit if tin prices were to plummet.

But if tin prices soar, this company (which also has a great balance sheet) could see a dramatic rise in its profitability and value.

I write a lot about the importance of owning real assets, i.e the most important resources that the world truly needs, and the companies that produce them. Food. Energy. Productive technology. And, yes, certain metals like tin that play a prominent role in a coming boom.

Uranium is another great example— I’ve been talking about the importance of nuclear energy and uranium scarcity for quite some time, and saying that eventually the supply/demand imbalance will send uranium prices soaring.

That has now happened. Uranium prices are up more than 50% this year, and at their highest levels since 2008.

I think the same thing could happen to boring old tin, as it once again becomes an incredibly important resource.

Simon Black, Founder   Sovereign Man

https://www.sovereignman.com/blog/

Another Central Banker Admits The Truth About The US Dollar

Another Central Banker Admits The Truth About The US Dollar

Notes From the Field By Simon Black  November 28, 2023 

On March 20, 1602, after a few years of painstaking negotiations, a deal was struck amid the cobblestone streets and legendary waterways of Amsterdam that changed the world of finance forever.

The Dutch Republic (as it was known back then) was already a major economic power in the early 1600s; Dutch merchants boasted enormous fleets of thousands of ships and lucrative trading posts around the world. Money was pouring in to the economy.

But at the same time, competition was fierce. England, Spain, Portugal, etc. all wanted in on the vast wealth that Dutch merchants were minting from the spice trade.

So in an effort to fend off international competition, Dutch traders unified their operations; merchants in Amsterdam merged in 1601. And, the following March, the remainder of the country’s prominent merchants joined.

They called their new venture the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC); it is known to history as the Dutch East India Company.

What made VOC so innovative is that investors could buy shares in the company, and hence enjoy a piece of the profits proportionate to the number of shares they owned.

But on top of that, they also launched a stock exchange… creating a secondary market where investors could buy or sell shares of VOC.

This was game changing.

These innovations by themselves were not new; other ‘joint-stock’ companies had been formed in the past. And other rudimentary financial exchanges had already been in existence.

But the Dutch put the two together, combining a major business enterprise with a formalized stock exchange. It had never been done before… and the idea marked the beginning of the country’s economic dominance, known as the Dutch Golden Age.

Naturally, as the Dutch Republic became Europe’s most powerful economy, its currency-- a gold coin known as the guilder-- became the unofficial reserve currency around the world.

From Eastern Europe to Japan, Indonesia, and parts of India, traders often exchanged goods and services for Dutch guilders because they had confidence that the coins would be universally accepted.

And the guilder’s status as a de facto reserve currency lasted for centuries.

But history is very clear that no empire, and no reserve currency, lasts forever.

Eventually the dominance of the Dutch republic was displaced by the British Empire, and the guilder by the British pound. Britain, in turn, was eventually displaced by the United States and the US dollar.

But only someone willfully ignorant of history would believe that America’s and the dollar’s dominance will last forever.

And this should hardly be a controversial assertion anymore.

Politicians within US government have routinely demonstrated an outrageous level of pettiness, incompetence, and the inability to solve even the most basic problems.

They have absolutely no control over abhorrent deficit spending. They go into debt to pay people to NOT work. They ignore downgrades of their sovereign credit rating. And they actually cheer themselves when the deficit is “only” $2 trillion.

America’s central bankers, meanwhile, conjured trillions of dollars out of thin air without any clue of the repercussions. They failed to predict inflation. They failed to diagnose it. They failed to do anything about it.

And when they finally did take action, they failed to anticipate any negative consequences of raising interest rates so quickly.

Literally two days before Silicon Valley Bank went bust earlier this year, the Chairman of the Fed told Congress that “nothing about the data suggests we’ve tightened [raised interest rates] too much.”

These people are clueless. And everyone has noticed.

Confidence in the dollar is waning, and foreigners are starting to diversify to other assets. Data from the IMF showed that the US dollar’s share of foreign exchange reserves had fallen to a multi-decade low.

Similarly, foreigners’ appetite to own US government bonds is dropping rapidly. A decade ago, foreigners happily owned 43% of all US government bonds. Today foreigners’ share is 30%, and falling.

These trends show very clearly that the dollar is simply not as dominant as it used to be.

In a recent interview, Aerdt Houben, a senior official at the Dutch central bank, said the quiet part out loud, and explained that the Netherlands was already preparing for a world in which gold (and NOT the US dollar) is the primary global reserve currency.

“The beauty of gold is that it’s stable in value, it retains its value. That's one of the reasons why central banks hold gold... Gold is like solidified confidence for the central bank... If we ever unexpectedly have to create a new currency or a systemic risk arises, the public can have confidence in [the Dutch central bank] because whatever money we issue, we can back it with the same value in gold.”

The Dutch understand this concept very well; after all, they once held the world’s #1 reserve currency position… and then lost it. So they know the same thing will happen to the dollar. It’s inevitable.

I agree entirely with this view and have written about it extensively: I believe there is a very high likelihood that the dollar loses its reserve dominance within the next 10-years, and probably sooner.

The Congressional Budget Office has already forecast (rather optimistically) that interest on the debt, plus mandatory entitlements like Social Security, will consume 100% of US federal tax revenue by 2031.

This means that everything else, including the military, will have to be financed by debt.

Two years later in 2033, Social Security’s primary trust fund will run out of money, according to the program’s annual trustee report.

These are not conspiracy theories; rather, these are the government’s own forecasts. And I believe that either event could trigger a reset of the global financial system in which the US loses its dominance over the rest of the world.

Personally I don’t think that anyone trusts China enough to anoint its yuan as the new global reserve currency.

But gold is an asset that has a 5,000+ year history of trust and confidence.

And if gold does become the global reserve once again, you can likely bet that gold prices will go to the moon.

Simon Black, Founder  Sovereign Man

https://www.sovereignman.com/international-diversification-strategies/another-central-banker-admits-the-truth-about-the-us-dollar-148479/

New Relationships Bring Butterflies, Excitement And … Talks Of Splitting Costs?

New Relationships Bring Butterflies, Excitement And … Talks Of Splitting Costs?

‘As confused as a goat on AstroTurf’: This retiree is annoyed his new spouse won't help pay for property taxes, maintenance and insurance — on a home she doesn't own. Who's right?

Sabina Wex  Mon, November 27, 2023

Or at least that’s been the case for one New York Times reader. A recently married retiree wrote into the paper’s advice column, “Social Q’s,” for guidance on how to convince his wife to split the costs of maintaining his home, which they both live in. While he’s already paid off the mortgage and only his name is on the deed, he’s “as confused as a goat on AstroTurf” as to why she’s not contributing to the annual property tax and insurance bills.

To be clear, the wife does pay half her share for other things, like food and the utilities bill.

“Your wife doesn’t sound like a cheapskate,” responded “Social Q’s” columnist, Philip Galanes. “There are as many ways to allocate costs in a relationship as there are couples; there is no right way.”

But how do you figure out which of those ways works best for you? Here are three things to consider when discussing how to split costs with your partner.

Percentage splitting

According to the latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 689,308 divorces in 2021. An earlier study from the National Library of Medicine showed that 36.7% of respondents stated financial issues as a reason for their divorce. With so many marriages failing due to financial matters, it's clearly an area of stress in many relationships.

Galanes asks the letter writer an important question: Does his wife even have the money to cover half of these costs?

That’s a key question all couples should discuss when looking at combining households. And if the answer is “no,” can one afford to pick up the slack? For instance, half of Gen Z and millennial couples living together don’t split their rent or mortgage payments equally, according to a 2023 Thrive Financial survey. Cathy Curtis, a financial adviser, told CNBC this set up allows for “greater equity” amongst couples, when they may have hugely different salaries.

A 50/50 split may not make sense for you and your partner. The best way to figure out how to split expenses equitably between you two is to sit down with a financial adviser and talk it out. An impartial third party can help make these tough conversations less awkward if you find money talks difficult.

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

https://news.yahoo.com/finance/news/confused-goat-astroturf-retiree-wants-110000905.html

Provoking Points to Ponder on Life and Growing Older

Provoking Points to Ponder on Life and Growing Older

Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.  My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

6 Things To Do If You’re Barely Scraping By Financially

6 Things To Do If You’re Barely Scraping By Financially

MAKE MONEY  -  MONEY GOALS  Last updated Nov. 3, 2023 | By FinanceBuzz Editors

You’ve got just enough money in your bank account to last until Friday … but then Monday rolls around, and you’re in the same situation. Again.

Food. Bills. Rent. Gas. They dry up every bit of your take-home pay.

But it doesn’t have to be this hard. With a few smart moves, you could supplement your income — without doing much extra “work,” or even getting a side job!

Here’s what to do:

1. Pay no interest on balance transfers until August 2025

Imagine getting 21 months with an intro 0% APR on balance transfers. Sounds great — right? You could dramatically change your financial picture with this industry-leading low-interest card - the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card(Rates and fees).

If you want to kick high-interest credit card debt to the curb, this is one of the leading get-out-of-debt cards available. Transfer your high interest debt to this card with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months. Your payments can go directly to paying down your balance without incurring a pile of additional charges. That could save you hundreds of dollars in interest!

It doesn't just stop with balance transfers, though. Cardholders also get a generous intro APR of 0% for 12 months on purchases. After the intro period for purchases and balance transfers, the APR is 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable).

The best part? There's no annual fee.

2. Stop overpaying when you shop online

Shopping online has its perks. It's super convenient, but it can be time consuming to find the best deals. Instead of hunting for coupon codes (that don't always work!) and opening tons of browser tabs comparing prices, you can try Capital One Shopping.

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

8 Ways People Become Poor While Earning a High-End Salary

8 Ways People Become Poor While Earning a High-End Salary

Angela Mae   Sun, November 12, 2023 at 3:00

The average annual salary in the United States is $56,220 across all occupations. So, when we think of a high-end salary, it’s significantly above that. In fact, many people consider a high-end salary to be anything in excess of six figures — that is, the $100,000 range or higher.

But even high-earners aren’t always in a good position financially. According to a LendingClub report, nearly half of people earning $100,000 a year still struggle to make ends meet. Rather than building wealth, a lot of these individuals are actually living paycheck to paycheck.

This might seem strange when you consider the numbers on their own, but the truth is that it’s very possible to become poor even when living on a higher salary. Poor money management, excessive spending, limited savings or investments, and a lack of financial preparedness can all keep even the highest earners strapped for cash.

If you’re wondering just how it is that people with a high-end salary become poor, here are some of the most common ways.

Overreliance on Credit Cards

Diana Howard, financial analyst at CouponBirds, suggested that an overreliance on credit cards is one of the main money habits that keeps high earners poor.

“Even [when] making a lot of money (like over $100,000), high earners may still end up losing it all and facing the same money management pitfalls as average earners. In some cases, it can even become easier,” she said.

“People with high incomes rely heavily on credit cards,” continued Howard. “A Quicken survey reveals that 46% of individuals with higher income depend more on their credit cards, compared to the middle-income groups (40%) and lower-income groups (39%). It’s pretty normal to have credit card debt, but once the balance is broken, rich people can sink deeper in the mud.”

Succumbing to Lifestyle Creep

Lifestyle creep is what happens when you start spending more money as your income increase. Sometimes, this increase in spending is disproportionate to earnings — and not in a good way.

 “Lifestyle creep is real. That’s when you start adding more expensive features to your lifestyle over time. Before you know it, you’re overspending,” said Todd Stearn, founder and CEO of The Money Manual. “For example, many of us started with one streaming service but then we added another and another and before long, it’s a serious monthly expense. The same can happen with fancy restaurant dinners, nights out, travel, and more. Then, once you get accustomed to this lifestyle it can feel challenging to go back to living simpler.”

Not Making Tax-Efficient Money Moves

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

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-ways-people-become-poor-170027930.html

8 Genius Things Poor People Know About Money That Rich People Don’t

8 Genius Things Poor People Know About Money That Rich People Don’t

Cindy Lamothe Mon, November 13, 2023

People with less means know a thing or two about stretching a dollar — something the rich may not fully understand. “Poor people are experts at finding ways to make the most out of their limited income,” said Ricardo Pina, personal finance expert and founder of The Modest Wallet. “They have learned to live frugally and make smart financial decisions in order to survive.”

 “For instance, they know how and where to shop for the best deals, how to negotiate prices and how to find substitutes for expensive products,” he added. “All of these skills help them to stretch their budget and make ends meet without getting into debt.”

Although affluent individuals may possess greater financial security, those with fewer resources demonstrate valuable lessons in frugality and financial discipline through their resilience and practical money management skills. Below are some other genius things they know that others can learn a thing or two from.

Saving for a Rainy Day

According to Pina, poor people are aware of the importance of having savings for unexpected expenses.

“They know that life can be unpredictable, and having some money set aside for emergencies can prevent them from falling further into poverty.” He noted that this is something that rich people may overlook, as they have the financial means to handle unforeseen circumstances. “Poor people understand the value of even a small amount of savings and make it a priority to save whatever they can.”

Suze Orman: This Is the First Bill You Need To Pay Each Month

Living Within Your Means

“Another thing that poor people know about money is how to live within their means,” Pina explained, noting they are often accustomed to living with limited resources and have learned how to make the most out of what they have. “This includes cutting unnecessary expenses, prioritizing needs over wants and finding creative solutions to everyday problems.”

On the other hand, he noted that rich people may not have developed these skills, as they’re used to having an abundance of resources at their disposal.

The Power of Community and Support

“Poor people also understand the importance of community and how it can help them financially,” Pina continued. “They know how to rely on each other for support, whether it’s through sharing resources or providing a helping hand in times of need.”

He said this sense of community and support can greatly benefit their financial situation and provide them with opportunities that they may not have had otherwise.

Getting By With Little or No Money

There’s an upside to not having much, said Thomas Franklin, finance expert and CEO of BitInvestor, as it teaches you to cope and manage. “Those who’ve always had plenty may never grasp these survival techniques.”

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

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/8-genius-things-poor-people-180008729.html

Response To America’s Latest Downgrade Really Proves The Point

Response To America’s Latest Downgrade Really Proves The Point

Notes From the Field By Simon Black  November 13, 2023

On the evening of June 18, 1815, in the Belgian hamlet of Mont-Saint-Jean, nearly 70,000 troops under the command of the Duke of Wellington, alongside 50,000 allied Prussian soldiers, fought against the French forces of Napoleon Bonaparte in the historic Battle of Waterloo.

Waterloo was a bloody affair, with heavy casualties on both sides. But the Anglo-Prussian alliance won the fight, and Napoleon was forced to abdicate his throne just a few days later.

The Napoleonic Wars-- more than 12 years of constant conflict-- were over, and Europe was finally at peace.

Now, legend has it that famed banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild was present at Waterloo and witnessed the battle himself. He then braved a massive storm over the English Channel to reach London as quickly as possible where he bought up all the government bonds before news of the victory had reached Britain.

In another version of the story, Rothschild was in London during the battle. But his private intelligence network quickly passed the news of Napoleon’s defeat, giving Rothschild the opportunity to buy up British government bonds on the cheap before anyone else heard the news.

And in yet another version of the story-- personally endorsed in 1940 by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels-- Rothschild bribed a French general to deliberately lose the battle so that he could make a fortune on British government bonds.

None of these stories is remotely true. In fact, most people don’t realize that Rothschild almost lost his fortune because of Waterloo… and that he personally played a vital role that helped Britain win the war.

Rothschild was essentially given a secret mission in January 1814 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who commissioned Rothschild to smuggle gold to British generals in Europe.

Britain didn’t have the gold; fighting against Napoleon for so long was extremely expensive and had drained the British treasury. So, government had to issue tons of debt to pay for the conflict.

Rothschild’s job was to turn those government bonds-- which were just pieces of paper-- into real money, i.e., gold, that British generals could use to pay and feed their troops.

This was an enormous challenge; Rothschild not only had to procure vast sums of gold, but he had to transport it all through French blockades and checkpoints.

Fortunately for Britain, Rothschild was incredibly good at his job. And both the Duke of Wellington as well as one of the most senior officials at the British Treasury praised him for his skill and discretion.

But Rothschild did make one huge mistake: he assumed the war would drag on for years.

And in anticipation of the British government having to go deeper into debt to pay for it all, Rothschild used all his profits to buy more gold that he could then send to the troops.

By the summer of 1815, Rothschild was sitting on a mountain of gold.

But then came Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo… and Rothschild knew instantly that the price of gold would plummet because of the peace. He also knew the losses he would suffer would potentially wipe out his entire fortune.

So, Rothschild made a risky bet and used his gold to buy up British government bonds, which were still quite cheap. He believed that, with Napoleon defeated, Britain’s economy would grow dramatically, and the bonds would increase in value.

He was right. And over the next two years, Rothschild realized a 40% return on the bonds, minting him a profit of roughly $1 billion in today’s money.

What’s interesting about this story is that, on July 20, 1815, the evening edition of the London Courier newspaper reported that Rothschild had made “great purchases” of British government bonds.

While Rothschild didn’t formally intend to ‘rate’ the quality of the bonds, news of Rothschild’s investment was received as almost an endorsement... or even a recommendation.

People thought that if someone as sophisticated as Rothschild saw value in the bonds, then they must be worth buying.

Rothschild had essentially put his gold seal of approval on Britain’s national debt. And his analysis proved to be true.

More than two centuries later, this business of analyzing and rating a sovereign government’s bonds has grown into a highly formalized industry. And it’s primarily controlled by three companies: S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch.

Similar to Rothschild’s unintentional endorsement back in 1815, these agencies formally grade the creditworthiness of governments, with the highest rating generally being ‘AAA’.

The United States government has long enjoyed this pristine AAA rating. Until, that is, S&P downgraded the federal government’s credit rating on August 5, 2011.

Back then, S&P said they were “pessimistic” that Congress would be able to “stabilize the government’s debt dynamics anytime soon”. And the agency projected the government’s debt burden would reach an unbelievable $20.1 trillion by 2021.

(It turns out that S&P was wildly optimistic; US government debt reached $20.1 trillion on September 8, 2017, more than four years ahead of their forecast.)

The Treasury Department was furious about the downgrade. And according to the Chairman of S&P’s parent company, then-Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner called to make threats against the company, claiming that he had just spoken to President Obama about the downgrade.

And to absolutely no one’s surprise, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against S&P shortly after, alleging that the company engaged in fraud. (The case dragged on for years until S&P finally settled for a $1 billion fine.)

That was enough to scare the entire ratings industry into submission. No matter how high the debt burden became, how incompetent the Congress, how outrageous the budget, how ridiculous the legislation… the rating agencies refused to downgrade the US government.

Until this year.

A few months ago, Fitch made the first move and downgraded the United States; in their report, Fitch cited the government’s inability to solve problems and compromise, such as waiting until the last minute to fix the debt ceiling fiasco earlier this year.

(The Biden administration responded with genuine confusion, calling Fitch’s downgrade “strange” and “bizarre”.)

Now comes Moody’s, the last of the big three credit rating agencies, which on Friday downgraded the US outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’.

Moody’s cited obvious risks like rising interest rates and the explosion in the national debt, which have “increased pre-existing pressure on US debt affordability.”

In other words, the US government won’t be able to afford to make payments on the national debt for much longer.

I’ve written about this before: the government’s own projections show that interest payments on the national debt, plus mandatory spending like Social Security, will consume 100% of tax revenue by 2031.

Then Social Security’s primary trust fund will run out of money two years later. It’s an enormous problem.

But it’s not just the fiscal mess. Moody’s also cited “continued political polarization” that prevents the government from tackling any of America’s big problems.

Ironically, almost as if to prove Moody’s point about political polarization, the White House blamed the downgrade on “Congressional Republican extremism and dysfunction”.

Unbelievable. These people really can’t solve problems. They can’t even acknowledge problems. They only know how to fight and argue and create more problems.

Almost fifteen years ago when I started this publication and making predictions about America’s fiscal ruin, my comments were considered extremely controversial.

Today this view is officially mainstream; all three major rating agencies cite these clear and obvious risks. They’re finally stating what everyone already knows to be true.

I’ve written before that, technically, America’s enormous fiscal challenges are still fixable. But there’s only a very narrow window of opportunity remaining to do so.

(I’ll walk you through the math of how this could happen in a future letter.)

Sadly, it’s pretty clear that the people in charge don’t seem to care in the slightest. They’re not moving in the direction of solutions… rather they’re creating more problems.

And this is really why it’s so important to have a Plan B-- to acknowledge obvious risks and take sensible steps to reduce their impact on your family.

There are countless permutations and no one-size-fits-all solution; a Plan B might include diversifying your finances, having another place to go, owning real assets, having a second passport, taking legal steps to reduce your taxes, protecting your assets, and more.

Having a Plan B doesn’t make you unpatriotic. It doesn’t make you a pessimist. And it doesn’t make you a conspiracy theorist.

It means you are a rational, independent-minded person who takes obvious risks seriously; essentially, it’s what we hope our politicians would be.

To your freedom,  Simon Black, Founder  Sovereign Man

https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/bidens-response-to-americas-latest-downgrade-really-proves-the-point-148438/

Jaspreet Singh: Have at Least 3 Different Bank Accounts — Here’s Why

Jaspreet Singh:  Have at Least 3 Different Bank Accounts — Here’s Why

Dawn Allcot  Fri, November 10, 2023

Most people, even if they are just starting out in their financial life, understand they should have two bank accounts: one checking and one savings. But YouTube personality and finance expert Jaspreet Singh recommends three.

In a short YouTube video, Singh detailed the way you can break out of the cycle of spending to make other people rich and get started on your own path to wealth by dividing your money the way the rich do.

“They don’t just keep all their cash in one bank account,” he said. “They have designated money for spending. They have designated money to be invested. And they have designated money to be saved for an emergency. They know what every dollar they earn is going to do.”

He recommended getting started by tracking your money; simply make a list of all your income, expenses and any money you’ve had left over to save, invest, or give to charity in recent months.

“In business, we say if you don’t track it, you can’t optimize it. It’s the same in personal finance,” Singh explained in the 13-minute video.

Three Accounts

Once you know how much you make, earn and save, you can start making your money work for you. First, Singh said, open three bank accounts. Most banks should let you have three accounts free of charge. If yours doesn’t, you should find a financial institution that will, even if you have to establish direct deposit to get fee-free banking.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jaspreet-singh-least-3-different-170544527.html

Gold Vs. Silver: Which Is Better Right Now?

Gold Vs. Silver: Which Is Better Right Now?

Notes From the Field By Simon Black  November 8, 2023

Almost two decades ago, I walked into a coin shop in Florida to buy my very first piece of silver. I was in my mid-20s at the time and just starting to teach myself about financial history, the national debt, and central banking.  It was early in my education. But I had already determined that owning precious metals would be a good idea as a hedge against future uncertainty and rapidly increasing government debt. But I didn’t have much money at the time. So silver-- at just a few dollars per ounce-- was well within my budget.

The clerk behind the counter probably noticed my military haircut and seized the opportunity to make a joke at my expense.

“Well, we’re mostly out…” he said, grinning, “but I can offer you a dime bag.”

I assumed this was a marijuana reference and explained to the guy that I had a top-secret security clearance and didn’t go in for that sort of thing.

But he laughed and explained that he was actually referring to a bag that was literally filled with dimes.

I still didn’t get it.

But the clerk was kind enough to teach me that, prior to 1965, dimes in the United States were minted with a silver content of 90% (with the other 10% being copper). He then pulled out a sandwich bag full of dimes, weighed it, and showed me how to calculate the silver content based on the bag’s weight.

A one-pound bag, for example, contains 200 pre-1965 dimes, each with about 2 grams of silver content. That’s a bit more than 13 troy ounces of silver per one-pound ‘dime bag’.

I held onto that bag for several years, until 2011 when silver prices went through the roof. And I ended up going back to the very same dealer to trade the dime bag for a little bit of gold.

(I’ll explain why I did that in a moment-- it had to do with the gold/silver ratio.)

Precious metals in general have been excellent investments over the past twenty years. But I believe there’s a strong case to be made that gold and silver prices could go much, much higher from here.

Gold’s rise will be fundamentally driven by rapidly deteriorating US government finances. And I’ve written about this extensively.

The US national debt is now $33.7 trillion; the debt is so large that the Treasury Department spent nearly $900 BILLION on interest payments in the last fiscal year (FY23), which ended about six weeks ago.

That number alone-- $900 billion in interest payments-- is astonishing.

But even more astonishing is that FY23’s interest bill was 22% MORE than the previous fiscal year, and 56% more than the interest bill from the year before that!

Think about that: a 56% increase in interest expense in just two years?

One reason, obviously, is out of control spending. I mean… these people always find an excuse to overspend by trillions of dollars. First it was COVID. Then it was inflation. Then it was Ukraine. Now the Treasury Secretary insists that America can “certainly” afford to fund two wars at the same time.

All of these expenditures result in insane increases to the national debt, which drives up annual interest expenses.

The second issue is the rapid increase in interest rates.

Two years ago the government could borrow (and refinance) at practically 0%. Today they have to pay around 5%.

Now, remember that almost the entire US public debt will have to be refinanced over the next few years.

So if rates remain at 5%, and the debt keeps rising, this means that the annual interest bill could reach $2 trillion over the next few years.

Don’t take my word for it. The Congressional Budget Office’s most recent forecast show that annual interest payments, plus mandatory entitlement spending (i.e. Social Security and Medicare) will consume over 100% of federal tax revenue… by 2031.

Then Social Security’s primary trust fund will run out of money two years later, in 2033.

The consequences of this mess mean that, most likely, the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates and start printing trillions of dollars again in order to bail out the government.

And this will most likely result in inflation… as well as a severe loss of confidence in the US dollar around the world.

The dollar has been THE dominant reserve currency since the end of World War II. But history tells us that reserve currencies CAN and DO change. This time is not different.

So it’s very likely that the dollar could lose its dominant reserve status... and be replaced by a universally accepted asset like gold.

Gold is already an informal reserve asset; it’s why central banks and sovereign governments around the world stockpile it by the metric ton. So it wouldn’t be much of a paradigm shift for gold to become THE formal reserve asset.

In this scenario, gold would likely skyrocket to $10,000 or more.

Then there’s silver… which also has upside potential for the same reasons as gold. Silver is a precious metal too and tends to perform well in an inflationary environment.

And should gold become a formal reserve asset, silver prices will likely soar as well.

But I explained on Monday that there are other forces to drive silver higher. Greta Thunberg and John Kerry are among them.

Climate fanatics who insist on transitioning to 100% clean energy like solar completely miss the fact that producing near infinite solar panels will require unfathomable quantities of key minerals… including silver.

Because silver is an essential ingredient in the production of solar panels, these climate fanatics are creating massive, artificial demand that could drive silver prices much, much higher.

And this takes me back to the gold/silver ratio.

There’s a strong case to be made that both gold and silver could achieve significantly higher prices in the future. And each metal has its merits-- it’s not really a competition.

But at the moment, silver is priced more attractively.

Traditionally, the price of gold relative to the price of silver has been about 50:1 to 60:1; but this gold/silver ratio often fluctuates. When I traded my silver for gold back in 2011, the ratio was less than 40… meaning that gold was cheap relative to silver.

In the early days of COVID back in March and April 2020, the ratio shot up to 120:1, meaning that silver was very cheap relative to gold.

(We also published an alert to our premium members back then about how to capitalize on silver’s cheapness and nearly double their money in a matter of months.)

Right now the gold/silver ratio is hovering just below 90. That’s fairly high… suggesting that silver is pretty cheap relative to gold.

So, while there are strong cases to buy either one, at the moment, silver has a more attractive entry price. It’s worth considering.

To your freedom,  Simon Black, Founder  Sovereign Man

https://www.sovereignman.com/international-diversification-strategies/gold-vs-silver-which-is-better-right-now-148430/