Aiming for Less

Aiming for Less

Richard Quinn  |  Jan 5, 2024 Humble Dollar

WHAT DOES IT MEAN to “live within your means”? To answer the question, we first need to define “means.”

If your gross income is $60,000, that income isn’t your means. For starters, you need to subtract income and payroll taxes. To live within your means, you need to spend no more than your net income—income after taxes and other withholdings.

I’ll go further and suggest that your true means are your income net of monthly savings for retirement and financial emergencies. Some people do even better. They live below their means, meaning they save extra—denying themselves spending that many others happily embrace.

Living below your means isn’t about deprivation or sacrificing all enjoyment. Rather, it’s about making a conscious decision to prioritize financial security. If you’re already saving enough to meet long-term and short-term goals, living far below your means strikes me as unnecessary, even punitive. I’m not a fan of super-frugality.

Living prudently is about managing your finances responsibly and making choices that align with your income. The key words here are “align with your income.” Living within your means is easier as your income rises, and yet many higher-income folks fail to do so.

Where you live is a factor, too. I live in the third highest income-tax state, one that also has the nation’s highest property taxes. The average property tax in our town is $17,206, and our bill is $13,600. One result: Our monthly fixed costs are $4,193.

These expenses include property taxes, homeowners’ association fees, and all insurance and utility bills. They don’t include the cost of groceries, gasoline, clothing, personal care services, gifts, eating out or car maintenance. It also doesn’t include any expenses related to our vacation home.

While some say they live comfortably in retirement on $50,000 a year, it costs us much more. We live comfortably, not luxuriously, but where we live makes a big difference in what it takes to do that. In other words, how much a person spends isn’t, by itself, an accurate indicator of frugality or prudent spending. Still, we manage to live below our means. One sign: We’re retired, and yet we still save each month.

Living within your means is easy. Let me rephrase that: It should be easy, but for many people, it isn’t. They falter in the face of all the pressure and encouragement to spend.

Some people will say that tracking your income and expenses is essential. Typical advice includes creating a budget to identify areas where you can cut back. I disagree. I contend the real problem isn’t a lack of knowledge about spending. Rather, it’s a lack of discipline, an inability to stay focused on financial goals and a propensity to rationalize spending.

My advice is to avoid impulse purchases. Don’t succumb to the temptation to buy things you don’t need or can’t afford. Give yourself time to think before making purchases.

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

https://humbledollar.com/2024/01/aiming-for-less/

Outsmarting Pickpockets and Thieves

Outsmarting Pickpockets and Thieves

By Rick Steves 

A money belt tucked underneath your clothes keeps your essentials on you as securely and thoughtlessly as your underweaCrowded transit lines that cover tourist sights are happy hunting grounds for pickpockets — stay in physical contact with your bags.

While Europe has little violent crime, it does have its share of petty purse snatching, pickpocketing, phone grabbing, and general ripping off of tourists — especially in places where tourists gather. Thieves target vacationers — not because they're mean, but because they're smart. Travelers have all the good stuff in their bags and wallets. Loaded down with valuables, jetlagged, and bumbling around in a strange new environment, we stick out like jeweled thumbs. If I were a European street thief, I'd specialize in Americans — my card would say "Yanks R Us."

If you're not constantly on guard, you'll have something stolen. One summer, four out of five of my traveling companions lost cameras in one way or another. (Don't look at me.) But in more than 4,800 days of travel, I've been pickpocketed only once (on the Paris Métro, on a rare day I didn't wear my money belt) and mugged a single time (in a part of London where only fools and thieves tread).

My various rental cars have been broken into a total of six times (broken locks, shattered windows, lots of nonessential stuff taken), and one car was hot-wired (and abandoned a few blocks away after the thief found nothing to take). Not one of my hotel rooms has ever been rifled through, and I simply don't let thoughts of petty crime — or the rare instance of it — spoil the fun of being abroad.

Many tourists get indignant when pickpocketed or ripped off. If it happens to you, it's best to get over it quickly. You're rich and thieves aren't. You let your guard down and they grabbed your camera. It ruins your day and you have to buy a new one, while they sell it for a week's wages on their scale. It's wise to keep a material loss in perspective.

There probably aren't more thieves in Europe than in the US. We just notice them more because they target tourists. But remember, nearly all crimes suffered by tourists are nonviolent and avoidable. Be aware of the possible pitfalls of traveling, but relax and have fun. Limit your vulnerability rather than your travels.

If you exercise adequate discretion, stay aware of your belongings, and avoid putting yourself into risky situations (such as unlit, deserted areas at night), your travels should be about as dangerous as hometown grocery shopping. Don't travel fearfully — travel carefully.

Here's some advice given to me by a thief who won the lotto.

Be prepared. Before you go, take steps to minimize your loss in case of theft. Make copies of key documents, and store them online. Consider getting theft insurance for expensive electronics. Leave your fancy bling at home. Luxurious luggage lures thieves. The thief chooses the most impressive suitcase in the pile — never mine.

Mobile payment technology reduces the need to handle your cards or cash; if you have a payment app such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal on your phone, become familiar with it before your trip.

If your phone disappears, you're out not just the cost of the device — but also the photos and personal data stored on it. It's smart to take extra precautions before your trip: Make sure you've got a "find my phone"-type app, back up your data, and enable password protection. While traveling, use the Wi-Fi at your hotel to back up your phone and its photos each night. If you don't know how to sync your stuff to the cloud, learn before your trip.

Wear a money belt. A money belt is a small, zippered fabric pouch on an elastic strap that fastens around your waist. I almost never travel without one — it's where I put anything I really, really don't want to lose.

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

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/theft-scams/outsmarting-pickpockets

The 5 Levels of Wealth and How To Get There

The 5 Levels of Wealth and How To Get There

January 27, 2024 By Sheiresa McRae Ngo, AI Editor

If building wealth is one of your goals this year, you’re not alone. Roughly 48% of Americans are making financial resolutions for 2024 according to a study by Allianz Life Insurance Company. This is up from 43% last year.

Certified financial planners Brian Preston and Bo Hanson, hosts of The Money Guy Show, discussed how to reach the five levels of wealth. Here’s what they revealed about each wealth level and how to get there. 

Level 1: Stability

of their show, Hanson and Preston explain that financial stability signifies the ability to pay your bills without living paycheck to paycheck. This level is not solely about income, as even high earners can struggle to achieve stability. It’s about adopting a mindset of deferred gratification and discipline in spending.

Key aspects of stability include eliminating bad debts, following a budget, and understanding the importance of saving. To assess if you’re at this stage, check if you are not relying on services like “buy now, pay later,” have an emergency fund, and are not carrying a credit card balance.

Level 2: Strategy

Moving up the wealth pyramid, the next stage is strategy. Here, you’re no longer just surviving; you’re beginning to make your money work for you. This level involves controlling your paycheck rather than letting it control you. It’s about having a financial plan and executing it, not just dreaming.

Investing for Everyone

Strategy is also about educating yourself financially and avoiding the trap of chasing the latest investment fads. To transition to this stage, focus on increasing your income, managing major expenses wisely, and ensuring your spending aligns with your financial goals.

Level 3: Security

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

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/financial-planning/the-5-levels-of-wealth-and-how-to-get-there/?utm_term=related_link_1&utm_campaign=1261535&utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_content=2&utm_medium=rss

8 Ways You Can Go From Broke to Rich in 2024

8 Ways You Can Go From Broke to Rich in 2024

Cindy Lamothe   Thu, February 15, 2024

Trying to get to a place of financial stability when you’re broke can feel like an uphill battle. But according to experts, you shouldn’t give up hope. With the right mindset and strategies, you can dig yourself out of financial struggle and significantly grow your wealth this year.

Here are some ways you can get ahead in 2024.

Identify Your Limitations

“In my experience as a finance expert, I have gathered that there are two major reasons individuals are broke and living paycheck to paycheck,” said Mafe Aclado, general manager of Coupon Snake.

“It is either they are not earning enough, or are like so many others who bring home a pretty decent income, but neglect to budget their expenses,” she explained.

“Without first identifying why you are broke and why you always blow through your earnings before the next paycheck arrives, it would be next to impossible to make any significant strides in your finances, much less go from broke to rich in 2024.”

She said finding out what aspect of your finances, or spending habits is limiting and hindering your financial growth, is the first step toward going from broke to rich this year.

That said, she noted that one way to tremendously improve your finances this year is to become dedicated and ready to put in the hard work that is required.

“You would just have to realize and be ready to make the necessary changes both in your spending and saving habits,” she added. “You would also have to be realistic and adopt a growth mentality because your money mindset is crucial to how much financial success you are able to achieve within one year.”

Start Investing Wisely

“I would say one of the best, and perhaps only, ways to go from broke to rich in a single year would be through making lucky picks when it comes to investments,” said David Kemmerer, CEO of CoinLedger.

“I have seen some of these types of results from crypto investments, but these do tend to be riskier and you should never be investing money you can’t afford to lose,” he noted.

“However, if you’re looking to accrue wealth and improve your financial situation through passive income, I would highly recommend investments as one way to grow your money and escape the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle in 2024.”

Ethan Keller, president of Dominion, also recommended you start investing as soon as possible to take advantage of the compounding growth.

“In order to reduce the amount of risk you are exposed to, you should diversify your portfolio and investigate low-cost investment options such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds.”

Live Frugally

“Make the decision to live a frugal lifestyle and fight the urge to spend more than you can afford,” Keller said.

By living below your means, he said you’ll be able to save and invest more money, which ultimately speeds up the process of reaching your goal of becoming financially successful.

Begin Networking

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

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/wealth/ways-you-can-go-from-broke-to-rich-this-year/?utm_term=incontent_link_8&utm_campaign=1261535&utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_content=14&utm_medium=rss

Who Are You After Financial Independence? Thursday 2-15-24

Who Are You After Financial Independence? Thursday 2-15-24

Financial Independence, FIRE, Money and Life   By   Vicki Robin 

Your Identity Closet: What shall you wear now that you are free? 

In high school all three sororities asked me to join – three different flavors of girls to giggle and gossip with. I must have joined one because my actual memory isn’t of joining. It’s of dropping out in protest to some clique cruelty. When offered options A, B or C – I chose D. Life went on. I didn’t make a habit of rebellion. 

 In fact, I developed quite a High School resume of clubs, groups and honors. Yet I’d learned that you can step outside any box you want to – and survive. 

By my mid-20’s I’d built a serious smoking habit. Serious because I’d picked up a disaffected Galoise smoker identity when I lived in Europe, translated that to Pall Malls in the United States and was burning through a pack a day. It made me feel intellectual and complex. 

One day, at a beach house I’d rented, I smoked a cigarette, quashed it in the sand and headed off for a run along the water. I was soon wheezing and gasping for breath, came back and dropped down on the blanket where I’d left my pack of cigarettes. I looked at it squarely. 

In a short few minutes I saw the cost of smoking, decided I needed to stop and then spontaneously a voice said, I can’t quit smoking but I can become a non-smoker. And that was that. In the 50 years since I’ve visited a few cigarettes for old time sake but have not become a smoker again. 

The Diagnosis 

Fast forward many decades of choosing many roads less traveled. I’m 58 and my doctor has just told me I have cancer. Actually he told me I had an apple core lesion in my colon, which sounded harmless, so he had to emphasize that what he meant was I had cancer. I would need surgery. Still nonplussed I said, “While you’re in there, can you do some liposuction.” 

People with a diagnosis of cancer know what comes next. You start to become an expert in a topic you never wanted to deal with. I read all the literature. About treatments and options and odds. 

For me another logical next step was to call a friend and medical intuitive as I know cancer has meanings, not just symptoms. I told him the diagnosis. He went silent for several minutes, scanning my body at a distance, then said, “You don’t have cancer.” 

I explained that I certainly did and he explained that his inner eye saw no signature of cancer anywhere in my body. I had A cancer, but I did not have cancer. 

This distinction, that I had not taken on the mantle of cancer but simply had a cancer that my otherwise vigorous body could deal with, liberated me to choose freely how I would go through this challenge. 

Frugality Was How I Lived, Not Who I Was 

My next stop was a coach friend who offered to listen to me talk about this cancer to find a vigorous place in my mind as well. I talked – and he listened – for hours. I realized that I had become trapped in an identity that was constraining me but I felt obliged to keep. 

 As the main spokesperson for Your Money or Your Life – and as a warrior trying to address over consumption one reader at a time – I’d assumed an identity of happy frugality. Don’t get me wrong. I was happily frugal for years, but it was how I lived, not who I was. 

When I became one of the guiding lights of the simplicity movement in the 1990s, though, I kept myself pegged at a level of expenses and a set of possessions and a repetitive story to reach our target: millions of people influenced, tons of unnecessary consumption prevented. 

I had a further dilemma. I’d become a role model. “Vicki Robin” meant something to a lot of people. If I changed, they’d lose a point on their compass. 

It was clear. I needed to quit being the me others thought I was in order to free myself to address this cancer. I mentally made a plaster cast of me, the Vicki others presumed I was, and then slit open the belly to let my soul free. I saw 3 Rastafarians with dreads wearing green tights dance out of that opening! 

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

https://yourmoneyoryourlife.com/after-financial-independence/

7 Smart Steps For Managing Sudden Wealth

7 Smart Steps For Managing Sudden Wealth

SmartAsset Team   Tue, February 13, 2024

A substantial boost in your personal wealth can happen overnight. You can win the lottery, inherit an estate or profit from a business sale. Many people aren’t prepared for a sudden windfall, making it difficult to know which steps can protect that money and grow it long-term to last a lifetime. If this sounds like you, you may want to talk to a financial advisor. But here are seven steps to manage sudden wealth.

1. Create Long-Term Goals

Long-term financial goals provide a clear roadmap for managing sudden wealth by offering guidance and focus. When individuals come into a significant amount of money, there may be a temptation to make impulsive decisions or engage in extravagant spending. Establishing long-term financial goals helps to channel this windfall into a structured plan, ensuring that the wealth is used strategically and in alignment with broader financial objectives.

Sudden wealth can also bring increased financial risks, including investment pitfalls, tax implications and potential scams. In this sense, long-term financial goals can act as a risk mitigation strategy by promoting a diversified and balanced approach to wealth management. And in doing so, you could adopt a cautious and well-researched approach, safeguarding your newfound wealth from unnecessary risks.

Finally, long-term financial goals can also help you preserve wealth. By focusing on the bigger picture, you can prioritize building a lasting financial foundation. This can involve strategies such as investing in a diversified portfolio, creating an emergency fund and planning for retirement.

2. Find Professional Help

Hiring a financial advisor or wealth management expert can provide you with essential knowledge and experience that is necessary to effectively manage sudden wealth. Professionals are well-versed in various financial strategies, investment opportunities and risk management techniques. Therefore, they can help you create a personalized and comprehensive financial plan for your specific needs, objectives and risk tolerance.

There are different types of professionals who can assist in managing sudden wealth, including financial advisors, tax specialists and estate planning attorneys.

Financial advisors play an important role in planning your financial future by devising prudent investment and spending strategies that can align with your specific needs. Tax specialists, on the other hand, will help you make tax-efficient decisions and potentially avoid significant tax burdens.

3. Create a Realistic Spending Plan

Creating a spending plan can help make your sudden wealth last.

A spending plan can help you outline anticipated income and expenses. By gaining a clear understanding of your finances, you can position yourself to budget and control expenses, prevent overspending and avoid impulsive purchases that can easily eat into your sudden wealth.

One common spending plan to consider is the 50/30/20 budget rule. This strategy allocates 50% of income to necessities, 30% to discretionary expenses and 20% to savings and investments.

4. Build an Investment Plan

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/7-smart-steps-managing-sudden-154648038.html

6 Things Not to Do When Selecting a Financial Advisor

6 Things Not to Do When Selecting a Financial Advisor

Helping people make smart financial decisions

Hiring a financial advisor is one of those pivotal life decisions - a fork in the road that can dictate the path of your financial future for decades to come.

A study from Northwestern Mutual of the attitudes and behaviors of American adults toward money found that 71% of them felt their financial planning needed improvement, while only 29% work with a financial advisor.1

Research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.2

The value of working with a financial advisor varies by person and advisors are legally prohibited from promising returns, but research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.2

While hiring a financial advisor can help you maximize your retirement nest-egg, there are some potential pitfalls you should be aware of before you choose who to hire.

Chart

Assuming 5% annualized growth of $500k portfolio vs 8% annualized growth of advisor managed portfolio over 25 years.

The hypothetical study discussed above assumes a 5% net return and a 3% net annual value add for professional financial advice to performance based on the Vanguard Whitepaper “Putting a Value on your Value, Quantifying Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha”.

Please carefully review the methodologies employed in the Vanguard Whitepaper. To receive a copy of the whitepaper, please contact compliance@smartasset.com. The value of professional investment advice is only an illustrative estimate and varies with each unique client’s individual circumstances and portfolio composition. Carefully consider your investment objectives, risk factors, and perform your own due diligence before choosing an investment adviser.

1. Don’t Hire a Non-Fiduciary Financial Advisor

A fiduciary financial advisor is held to a strict fiduciary standard. That commitment is a powerful one -- one that means that they must always act in the best interest of their clients, avoid conflicts of interest and dislcose any potential conflicts of interest and to provide all relevant facts to their clients.

If you’re currently heeding the advice of a non-fiduciary advisor, use our free tool to find a fiduciary who operates with your future in mind.

2. Don’t Simply Hire the First Financial Advisor You Find

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

https://articles.smartadvisormatch.com/what-not-to-do-hiring-advisor/index.html?utm_source=taboola&utm_campaign=tab__falc_content_whatnottodohiring_desktop_max_conversions_0224&utm_term=yahoo-news&utm_content=3901469817

Good Reason For a Plan B

Good Reason For a Plan B  SB

This Story From The 3rd Century Will Sound Quite Familiar To You

January 29, 2024  James Hickman / Simon Black

[Important Reminder: In case you missed our announcement from January 24, Sovereign Man has merged with Peter Schiff's media group. We are now called Schiff Sovereign, and our founder (Simon Black) has dropped the pen name and is now writing under his real name, James Hickman.]

When Publius Licinus Valerianus (known as Valerian) became Roman emperor in September of 253 AD, people across the empire must have breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally,” many Roman citizens probably thought, “There’s an adult in the room.”

The Roman Empire at that point was in the midst of its infamous ‘Crisis of the Third Century’. The Empire was recovering from a nasty pandemic known as the Antonine Plague. Inflation was soaring. Conflict with their enemies-- especially in the Middle East-- was intensifying. Social tensions were growing. Crime was rising. Trade was declining. The economy was on the ropes. Taxes were going up.

 And there had been far too many years of political instability in the Empire prior to Valerian’s ascension.

But Valerian was a guy with decades of experience. He was a longtime Senator, plus he had previously held one of the top positions in Rome’s executive branch. So, people naturally thought he would be the solid leader that Rome needed.

Unfortunately, Valerian turned out to be a complete disaster.

Valerian continued bankrupting the Roman treasury and running sky-high deficits. He zealously demanded ideological conformity and persecuted anyone (most notably Christians) who expressed philosophical or intellectual dissent.

He promoted his son-- a moronic, free-spending playboy-- to a position of high power.

And perhaps most importantly, Valerian was completely incompetent when it came to Rome’s border, and the empire became overrun by barbarians during his rule.

By 260 AD, after seven years of Valerian’s destructive reign, Romans were fed up… especially those who lived near the border.

Fortunately, the emperor traveled East to personally supervise Rome’s war against Persia (modern day Iran), a rising power that had grown more belligerent.

So, with Valerian distracted in Iran, a Roman military officer who was in command of the empire’s key border on the Rhine River decided to take matters into his own hands.

The commander’s name was Postumus. And in 260, he fought back against the barbarian invaders who had been coming across the border for years. In fact Postumus delivered such a decisive blow that the barbarians wouldn’t dare try crossing the Rhine for another ten years.

Finally, someone had taken real action against the migrant threat after years of the Emperor doing nothing. Citizens in the border provinces (modern day France and western Germany) were thrilled.

So thrilled, in fact, that they declared independence from Rome and made Postumus their leader.

Valerian was powerless to stop it. Literally. At that point he had been captured by the Persians and spent the rest of his life in captivity. True story.

***************************

Obviously, this historical tale probably rings familiar to many readers. Not that we wish for Joe Biden to end up in an Iranian prison like Valerian did. But clearly the guy has a lot to answer for.

Yesterday Iran attacked a US military installation in Jordan, killing three and wounding dozens more American service members. And it’s not a one-time thing. Iran has attacked US military targets over 150 times in the past few months alone.

But the guy with decades of experience has hardly done a thing in response. The fact is that no one on the planet is intimidated by Joe Biden, who is rightfully perceived as a weak, inspired idiot with unimaginably bizarre priorities.

America’s border catastrophe is a perfect example; it’s clear the federal government isn’t doing its job to keep illegals out.

It’s also clear that the surge in migrants at the southern border has caused, at a minimum, massive financial strain in many US cities.

The federal government knows there’s a problem. Yet they do nothing about it. And they waste resources to try to prevent the State of Texas from doing anything about it.

Again-- unimaginably bizarre priorities.

It’s not just the US, either. The United Kingdom has been overrun by hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine supporters, many of whom chant for “Jihad” and “Hamas” and advocate for Sharia law in the UK.

But the government’s priority seems to be making sure the ‘mostly peaceful’ Islamists aren’t offended by angry Brits who are shocked at what their country has become.

In Canada, police in Quebec have advised residents to NOT post camera footage of thieves stealing packages from their front porches… because we have to respect the criminals’ privacy.

Another city in Ontario allowed a 50-year-old man (who identifies as a 15-year old girl) to compete in a girl’s swim meet, with concerned parents shielding their daughters in the locker room.

These developments aren’t accidents. They don’t just spontaneously occur.

They are the deliberate result of the inspired idiots in charge who think their nation’s priority should be criminals’ privacy. Or the well-being of illegal migrants. Or 50-year men who think they’re teenage girls. Or not offending angry Islamists.

*****************************

YOU are NOT their priority. And you never will be.

They view you as nothing more than a financial dairy cow to be milked in order to pay for their idiotic ideas. And if you question them, you get labeled as “anti-science” or “xenophobic” or some such nonsense.

I spend a lot of time writing about the economic consequences of this ‘Rule by Inspired Idiots’ (which is the dominant political system in the West, whether it’s Joe Biden or Justin Trudeau).

And the economic consequences are-a-plenty.

In the US alone, the BASELINE government forecast over the next 10-years is an additional $20 trillion in NEW debt; and I’ve written that this will likely lead to major inflation, loss of reserve status for the dollar, and other major catastrophes.

But the social consequences of Inspired Idiots are equally great and cannot be ignored.

This is why it’s critical to understand that a Plan B is more than just protecting one’s savings and investments.

It’s about taking completely rational steps to reduce social and safety risks as well.

I’m not a pessimistic person. Quite the contrary, I’m wildly optimistic about the future and opportunities to come.

But I also recognize that Rule by Inspired Idiots presents vast and growing social risks that could become much worse over the next several years.

We’ll talk about some ideas for how to get started soon.

James Hickman / Simon Black / Sovereign Man

Founder, Schiff Sovereign LLC

https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/this-story-from-the-3rd-century-will-sound-quite-familiar-to-you-150032/

What Happens If My Bank Account Becomes Dormant?

What Happens If My Bank Account Becomes Dormant?

Rebecca Lake, CEPF® Mon, January 29, 2024

Using multiple bank accounts can be a good way to separate funds for different financial goals. However, if you forget about one of those accounts it could end up falling dormant. A dormant bank account is an account that registers no financial activity for an extended period of time. The amount of time that it takes for a bank account to be considered dormant can depend on the bank.

Dormant Bank Account Definition

A dormant bank account is a bank account that has no financial activity occurring for an extended time period. Generally, a bank account may be ruled dormant if there are no new:

Deposits  **  Credit transactions  **  Debit transactions  **  ACH transfers in or out of the account

ATM withdrawals  **  Debit card purchases  **  Automated transactions, such as preauthorized bill payments

In other words, leaving a bank account dormant means that it’s sitting and doing nothing. A dormant savings account may continue to earn interest on the existing balance, but there are no new deposits being made.

What kind of bank accounts can become dormant? Generally, any deposit account could fall into dormancy. That includes checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and certificate of deposit (CD) accounts. Safe deposit boxes aren’t necessarily excluded either, as your bank may consider your account dormant if your rental fees go unpaid for an extended period.

Why Do Bank Accounts Become Dormant?

There are lots of reasons why a bank account may become dormant. Here are a few scenarios that can result in a dormant account:

To Read more go to the original article here:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/long-does-bank-account-become-130028748.html

How To Protect Yourself From The Venmo, Zelle And Cash App Scam

How To Protect Yourself From The Venmo, Zelle And Cash App Scam

Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report  Sat, January 27, 2024

Imagine walking down the sidewalk and being confronted at gunpoint by a crook.

Open the payment app on your phone and transfer out your hard-earned cash, or take a bullet in the head. That’s one phone cash ripoff scenario of many playing out in real-life America.

Other cash app crimes are happening due to the vulnerability of an unlocked iPhone without the new Stolen Device Protection turned on in iOS. These are examples of how mobile payment apps can put your money and your life at risk.

Do you use mobile payment apps like Venmo, Zelle or Cash App to send and receive money? If so, you're not alone. These peer-to-peer payment services now handle an estimated $1 trillion in payments. And with that much money involved, there are also now a lot of fraud and scams going on, according to Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney. He says these apps are exposing many people to scammers and thieves and are costing them a lot of their hard-earned cash.                                 

In response, Bragg has written letters to the companies that own these apps, demanding they improve their security and protect their users from scams and thefts. His specific request is that they impose limits on transactions, require secondary verification of up to a day and better monitor unusual activity. He says he is requesting meetings with the companies to discuss these issues.

Bragg’s letters describe how these financial apps enable criminals to access unlocked devices and exploit them for financial gain and identity theft, saying,

"These crimes involve an unauthorized user gaining access to unlocked devices and then draining bank accounts of significant sums of money, making purchases with mobile financial applications, and using financial information from the applications to open new accounts.

"Offenders also take over the phone's security by changing passwords, recovery accounts, and application settings. The ease with which offenders can collect five- and even six-figure windfalls in a matter of minutes is incentivizing a large number of individuals to commit these crimes, which are creating serious financial, and in some cases physical, harm to our residents."

MANHATTAN DA ALVIN BRAGG CALLS FOR CASH APPS TO CRACK DOWN ON FRAUDSTERS

The companies that own these apps have responded to Bragg’s comments and said that they are doing their best to provide a safe and reliable service to their customers. We reached out to all three companies. Here are their responses to us.

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

https://news.yahoo.com/protect-yourself-venmo-zelle-cash-110036793.html

Who Are You After Financial Independence?

Who Are You After Financial Independence?

Post From Your Money Or Your Life

Financial Independence, FIRE, Money and Life   By   Vicki Robin 

 Your Identity Closet: What shall you wear now that you are free? 

In high school all three sororities asked me to join – three different flavors of girls to giggle and gossip with. I must have joined one because my actual memory isn’t of joining. It’s of dropping out in protest to some clique cruelty. When offered options A, B or C – I chose D. Life went on. I didn’t make a habit of rebellion. 

 In fact, I developed quite a High School resume of clubs, groups and honors. Yet I’d learned that you can step outside any box you want to – and survive. 

By my mid-20’s I’d built a serious smoking habit. Serious because I’d picked up a disaffected Galoise smoker identity when I lived in Europe, translated that to Pall Malls in the United States and was burning through a pack a day. It made me feel intellectual and complex. 

One day, at a beach house I’d rented, I smoked a cigarette, quashed it in the sand and headed off for a run along the water. I was soon wheezing and gasping for breath, came back and dropped down on the blanket where I’d left my pack of cigarettes. I looked at it squarely. 

In a short few minutes I saw the cost of smoking, decided I needed to stop and then spontaneously a voice said, I can’t quit smoking but I can become a non-smoker. And that was that. In the 50 years since I’ve visited a few cigarettes for old time sake but have not become a smoker again. 

The Diagnosis 

Fast forward many decades of choosing many roads less traveled. I’m 58 and my doctor has just told me I have cancer. Actually he told me I had an apple core lesion in my colon, which sounded harmless, so he had to emphasize that what he meant was I had cancer. I would need surgery. Still nonplussed I said, “While you’re in there, can you do some liposuction.” 

People with a diagnosis of cancer know what comes next. You start to become an expert in a topic you never wanted to deal with. I read all the literature. About treatments and options and odds. 

For me another logical next step was to call a friend and medical intuitive as I know cancer has meanings, not just symptoms. I told him the diagnosis. He went silent for several minutes, scanning my body at a distance, then said, “You don’t have cancer.” 

I explained that I certainly did and he explained that his inner eye saw no signature of cancer anywhere in my body. I had A cancer, but I did not have cancer. 

This distinction, that I had not taken on the mantle of cancer but simply had a cancer that my otherwise vigorous body could deal with, liberated me to choose freely how I would go through this challenge. 

Frugality Was How I Lived, Not Who I Was 

My next stop was a coach friend who offered to listen to me talk about this cancer to find a vigorous place in my mind as well. I talked – and he listened – for hours. I realized that I had become trapped in an identity that was constraining me but I felt obliged to keep. 

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