Game of Loans: 10 Money Lessons from Game of Thrones

Game of Loans: 10 Money Lessons from Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones.

Love it or hate it, this popular HBO series contains a wealth (pun intended) of very important social and economic lessons that we’d all do well to pay attention to.

Just like in the real world, the rise and fall of the different Houses vying for the throne is intertwined with money. In fact, Game of Thrones is somewhat unique in just how important the financial planning of the characters is to the various plot-lines.

So, just how real is this fantasy?

Here are 10 money lessons from Game of Thrones and their real-life implication to your finances.

1. Winter is Coming

“Winter is coming,” the motto of House Stark.

While the meaning behind this dark foreboding is of vigilance and preparation for the harsh winters of the north, we would do well to apply this same principle to money.

The seasons of Westeros are unpredictable in their duration, the summer season at the beginning of the series having lasted 10 years. With such a long summer, it was predicted that the coming winter would last as long or longer.

You’d better have quite the stores piled up if you hope to survive a 10-year winter in the north.

Just as the members of House Stark preach preparation for the coming winter, you would be wise to prepare yourself for a financial winter by paying off debt and building up savings.

Like the winters of Westeros, you never know when a financial pitfall will hit, or for how long it will last. Having a healthy store of savings, as well as little liabilities, will prepare you to survive even the longest of financial winters.

Everyone hopes for long summers and mild, short winters, but it’s much better to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

No matter how careful you are, an unforeseen event will eventually impact your finances.

Winter is coming, prepare for what’s ahead.  

2. A Lannister Always Pays His Debts

The unofficial motto of House Lannister.

While this line often took on a more sinister meaning in the series, the underlying principle remained the same.

The House of Lannister was well-known for paying their debts, both monetarily and otherwise, which allowed them more leeway in continually borrowing, buying, or coercing whatever they wanted throughout the series. Whether it was money, men, favors, or protection, the promise of a Lannister was always good enough to strike a deal (that and their rumored stores of gold).

Simply put, the Lannister’s were running with a credit score of 850 at the Iron Bank.

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

https://www.moneysavedmoneyearned.com/game-of-loans-10-money-lessons-from-game-of-thrones/

The Seven Deadly Sins of Personal Finance

The Seven Deadly Sins of Personal Finance

By J.D. Roth updated 23 September 2019

I've been reading and writing about personal finance for more than thirteen years. In that time, I've consumed a lot of books about money. Lately, I've found that it's fun to revisit old favorites.

Recently, for instance, I've been re-reading Brett Wilder's The Quiet Millionaire [my review]. It's different than most personal finance books. It's targeted at those who are farther along their financial journeys rather than at those just starting out. Still, there are bits and pieces in The Quiet Millionaire that are applicable to everyone.

Ten years ago, I wrote that I particularly like Wilder's list of the seven enemies to financial success (which is my phrase, not his). I still like them. He writes:

If you want to become and stay the quiet millionaire, you must plan and manage your financial way of life…You must be proactive in order to obtain the financial life you want. By doing this, you will overcome the seven major obstacles to financial success.

Wilder is saying that we know there are certain common barriers to wealth. These obstacles arise for everyone. Because of this, it's possible to plan in advance to cope with them. First, however, we have to be able to name these enemies so that we can prepare the proper weapons to fight them.

The Seven Enemies of Financial Success

According to Wilder, the seven enemies of financial success are:

Lack of discipline.  Without discipline, it's difficult to build wealth. In fact, it's impossible to get rich — slowly or otherwise — if you spend more than you earn. The math just doesn't work. Wilder also warns against compulsive spending, and he urges readers to track where their money is going.

Materialism.  Stuff will not enrich your life. It's so very easy to find yourself “keeping up with the Joneses”, succumbing to lifestyle inflation. But materialism breeds discontent. Instead, Wilder says, focus on intellectual and spiritual pursuits to obtain fulfillment.

Debt.  Not all debt is bad, of course. A reasonable mortgage on a sensible home is fine. But consumer debt — or a bad mortgage on a big house — is an enemy to financial success. In fact, bad debt may be the biggest enemy to financial success.

Taxes.  It's our responsibility to pay the taxes we owe, but we're under no obligation to pay more than that. “It is not unpatriotic to reduce paying your taxes,” Wilder writes. We should instead actively work to keep our tax burden as low as possible.

Inflation.  Inflation is wealth's silent enemy. It will not destroy you all at once. But it's always there, nibbling at the corners of your life, consuming a little cash every year. It's impossible to keep inflation completely at bay, but you can learn to mitigate its effects.

Investment mistakes.  Poorly structured investment portfolios can be a killer. This enemy is fought through education, through an understanding of diversification and asset allocation, by taking the emotion out of investing.

Emergencies.  The final enemy to financial success is the unexpected: unemployment, death, illness, and legal complications. Without a plan for emergencies, you leave yourself at the mercy of the fickle fates. Carry adequate insurance and maintain an emergency fund!

I've fought all of these enemies at one time or another. I still fight some from time to time. I feel like I have a good handle on investment mistakes and saving for emergencies, but my tax bill this year was onerous due to my own poor planning. And, of course, I've always struggled with discipline.

The Seven Deadly Sins (and the Last Four Things) by Hieronymus Bosch

The Seven Deadly Sins of Personal Finance

Wilder's seven enemies to financial success always reminds me of Catholicism's traditional list of seven deadly sins. This catalog of transgressions has a long, complicated (and interesting) history. Today, the seven deadly sins are considered to be:

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

https://www.getrichslowly.org/?s=The+Seven+Deadly+Sins+Of+Personal+Finance

Mental and Emotional Preparedness for Wealth

Mental and Emotional Preparedness for Wealth

Emailed to Recaps

Mental and Emotional Preparedness for Money

Prosperity Consciousness Vs Poverty Consciousness

By Wisewarrior   (AKA Classroom for Investing 101 and 201)

Being financially responsible is a habit, and unfortunately one we are not taught in school, or by most parents. And habits are hard to break. So if you have been living paycheck to paycheck most of your life and you suddenly have some or a lot of money, it is unlikely your spending/saving investing habits will change without some dedicated work on yourself.

I mean an honest assessment of your attitudes toward money, spending, possessions, and of course yourself. This event will change you….and I hope for the better.

There’s a lot of excellent info in Dinar Land of do this or do that with your money, but not much on do this with yourself, your mind, your emotions, your heart. So I want to help out in that arena. How am I qualified? Years ago before I took trainings for the stock market I used to have a holistic/spiritual counseling practice.

 I am quite overqualified, with many certifications in many techniques of counseling and guidance, visualization, NLP, hypnotherapy, and healing. I have helped a lot of people make huge long-standing changes, and I am an ordained minister.

If we have several months to wait til we invest, this may be the perfect opportunity for you to read up on the following ideas.

If I gave you a hundred dollar bill, what would you do? Jump up and down and say OOOOH what can I buy? I’m gonna spend it all now! Use it to pay a bill, save it, or invest it? Give it away?

You need to know which kind of person you are. If you are an emotional spender, you will most likely spend all your money and stay broke the rest of your life.

 If you’ve always been broke, this will create a pressure valve and an explosion.  Self discipline is paramount. If you are continually struggling to pay your bills you are likely to continue that way of living even if you have what looks like a wealthy lifestyle.

Assets are things that hold or improve their value over time.

A car that you drive day to day is not an asset (unless it has been signed by Freeway Bill.) A collectible car is an asset. We hope one day again soon a house will be an asset….

And your mind/heart is an asset. It is meant to improve over time! Your mind can create bliss or suffering. It’s up to you.

I suggest you invest heavily in your greatest asset; your mind.

You must look at the foundation for money thoughts that came from your parents…for example if your dad was rich…but your mom had a poverty mentality and she married him to be taken care of; you got mixed messages.

 And if your father was a mean nasty selfish wealthy guy, you may perceive people with money as mean, so you won’t want to have money because you don’t want to be mean and a bad person. How did money cycle through your family?

Did your money earner have a cyclical cash flow? Rich for a few months, broke for a few months…There are so many messages about money: power is money, “filthy rich,” spiritual people are more honorable if they are poor”…too rich for my blood” it goes on and on.

We all have unconscious attitudes toward money that will dictate what we do with money. And sometimes crazy though it seems, the unconscious urge is to get rid of your money, for example if you received a lot of “you are a failure” messages, it is quite likely that you will lose all of your money to stay consistent with being a failure.

 Unfortunately these unconscious thought habits remain even after your parents die, and if you don’t re program yourself, you will repeat whatever unconscious garbage is hanging around from very early learning.

People in the field of prosperity consciousness agree that wealth actually is a spiritual endeavor. Now we all know wars have been started over religious/spiritual beliefs, so let’s not start a war here.

 I believe that different people of different faiths share the same basic beliefs, but just use different words. I can’t remember if it was Ram Das or the Dali Lama who said we are simply drawing from the same ocean but using different cups.

 Society is a collection of many different people, and we get along when we are tolerant and open minded and respectful of others views.

What we are really talking about is The Law of Attraction……you get what you think/believe. And this applies not only to money, but to happiness, health, relationships….everything, really.

Christians use the phrase “you reap what you sow.” People who have more eastern spiritual views or even “New Agey people” or people into Quantum Physics use phrases like money is like a vibration that responds to your thoughts and beliefs.

 Same thing, you reap what you sow said differently. Footforward talks of this very same thing! He says it is your words….and it certainly is….based on your beliefs and thoughts.

So if words have power, be sure you have the kind of power you WANT! In other words, you may need to clean up your unconscious “stuff” so that you are coming from a place of self love, positivity, balance, trust…. Instead of fear, hate, anger, judgment….Because the Law Of Attraction works both ways.

 For example, if you are a young woman who thinks all men are terrible, guess what? You will get terrible men in your life for as long as you hold that belief. So if you are thinking wow I don’t think I can handle all of this money, then guess what? You won’t be able to handle it.

Here is a list of must read books (some have audio along with it) that I highly recommend for you to start/deepen you on your path of being a positive attractor of good. These are the books that took me from severe poverty consciousness to prosperity consciousness.

Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker. Excellent at helping you unearth those nasty unconscious thoughts and patterns learned in childhood.

The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder. This is a very Christian book. If you are not Christian, or had a bad religious upbringing experience, omit the words you have difficulty with and substitute universe, divine authority, greater power…

The Force….whatever works for you, but please read it.

Money is My Friend by Phil Laut. Excellent combination of emotional/spiritual and practical.

Money and the Law Of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks. This may be a tad New Agey for some, but don’t let that keep you from reading/listening to it. Great CD to play in your car as you drive around!

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. A more mainstream presentation of the principles. Plus you can pop it open and read any page when you need a pick me up.

Think And Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. A classic!

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki

Deepak Chopra has an old audio Creating Affluence that is wonderful.

Pray/meditate with these ideas and watch your inner and outer results change for the better.

If you are really stuck with some negative programming, consider going to a therapist that works at the unconscious level; visualization, Nero Linguistic Programming or spiritual hypnotherapy Rapid Eye Desensitization (EMDR is excellent for trauma).

After all, the negative programming was received at the unconscious level, so in my opinion, it must be addressed at the unconscious level.

You can go to talk therapy until you are blue in the face and understand why you do what you do, but still repeat the same mistakes. Also therapies that deal with the unconscious mind directly work much faster.

Peace and Love out to all, and may you all be blessed with unending abundance.

Wisewarrior

Congress Gives America A Special Christmas Present: Higher Taxes

Congress Gives America A Special Christmas Present: Higher Taxes

Notes From The Field By Simon Black

December 26, 2019  Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

You’ve got to hand it to these people-- Congress really knows how to bring out the holiday cheer.

They have some sort of pathological need to pass the most absurd legislation at the VERY END OF THE YEAR giving people very little time to react.

Two years ago, for example, they passed comprehensive tax reform in late December 2017… and the new tax code went into effect only a few days later.

Taxpayers had no time to even understand the new law, let alone plan around it.

That’s the funny thing about taxes-- people plan their entire lives around the tax code.

They set up special structures, invest in particular assets, and go through all sorts of legal and accounting work, to make sure they’re following the tax code while they take care of their families.

And then, poof, Congress changes the rules overnight.

Well they just did it again.

A few days ago they passed a 643-page spending bill. And, buried deep within that legislation are provisions that were originally part of the SECURE Act.

I told you about this a few months ago-- the SECURE Act was intended to ‘help’ Americans save for retirement. And there are certain sections which are great.

For example, they removed the age limit for contributing to an IRA. It used to be that you could no longer contribute to your retirement after the age of 70 ½.

That limit has been lifted… which should prove useful for many people.

They also increased the age for Required Minimum Distributions to age 72, up from age 70 ½. So you have an additional 18-months before you’ll be required to start taking distributions from your retirement account.

On the other hand, they also passed new rules which are really bad for inherited IRAs.

Under the old laws, your IRA could be bequeathed to your heirs when you pass away. And while your heirs were required to take distributions from your IRA over time, they had the option of stretching out those distributions over the course of their entire lives.

This was a really great way to give your heirs a tax-efficient safety net.

If they suddenly needed a lump some of money, for example, to buy a new house, pay for university, or offset a major medical expense, they could tap into the IRA that they inherited from you.

But if they didn’t need the money, they only had to take a small distribution each year, and keep the tax consequences to a minimum.

Those rules have now been torn up.

Under the new rules, almost all inherited IRAs must be fully distributed within 10-years, whether your heirs need the money or not. And that’s going to trigger significant tax consequences for them.

Again, in fairness there are plenty of provisions in this law that many people will find helpful. And other provisions that people will find terrible.

But that’s not really the point. It’s not about whether the law is good or bad. The issue is that Congress doesn’t give people any time to react.

Responsible people plan around their taxes… especially when it comes to retirement and estate planning. People have to plan literally DECADES in advance and think through generational impacts.

So it’s a pretty nasty surprise when Congress tears up the rules at the very end of the year. They’re basically saying, “Unless you die by Tuesday at midnight, everything you’ve planned over the last several decades won’t work anymore. Merry Christmas.”

This highlights a very important reminder: these people can and will change the rules at any time, with no warning whatsoever. And they couldn’t care less how their changes impact you.

Now, all that said, I’m always an optimist-- where there’s a will, there’s a way. And there are definitely ways to dull the negative consequences of this new law.

We can explore these in more detail another time. But to give you an example, transferring your IRA to a special type of trust called a charitable remainder unitrust could still ensure that your heirs receive lifelong favorable tax treatment on an inherited IRA.

To your freedom & prosperity, Simon Black Founder,

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

  https://www.sovereignman.com/tax/congress-gives-america-a-special-christmas-present-higher-taxes-26996/

Bank Secrets Revealed and Debunked

Bank Secrets Revealed and Debunked

A Bank Teller Reveals Secrets and Debunks Banking Myths

Katherine Muniz  Updated: Aug 30 2019 Editorial Disclosure

Bank secrets revealed and debunked by an unnamed bank teller at a major bank on bank practices, teller capabilit..

Bank Tellers

We all know what a visit to a bank branch will bring. Average consumers have no clue what goes on behind the glass windows of their bank's local branch.

We talked to one bank teller from a major bank and he debunked some myths, as well as shared a couple secrets of his own.

Does it really take three days for checks to clear and post to your account?

No -- It all depends on a person's credibility and the type of check it is. For instance, payroll checks usually clear right away, and so do checks deposited by customers with an ample amount of cash in their account. Sometimes a portion of the check clears right away, and the rest clears in the next few days.

The teller we spoke with said he has no knowledge of how the percentage is determined, as it is set by a system.

Debit Card Loss And Theft Are Not As Well-Protected As Credit Card Theft

True. Some banks will cover all the fraud-ability charges, such as Bank of America. However, typically the protection is less than that of a credit card, so if you're concerned, contact your bank and inquire about all the loss and theft protection coverages available to you.

The Only Bank Staff That Can Work At The Teller Window Are Tellers

False -- It all depends on the bank and their protocol. For instance, at this particular teller's bank, assistant managers have to work at the window but that doesn't mean they always do if they're feeling lax... particularly at his branch. Another example is at Chase, where bankers are cross-trained as tellers.

The Bank Is Allowed To Pull Money From Your Deposit If You Owe Overdraft Loans Or Fees.

True.

Calling A Representative Or Going In Person To Your Branch To Resolve A Problem Will Be Better Than Filling Out Forms Online

True -- Representatives are empowered to forgive fees at their disclosure, given the situation and judgment merits it.

Fees Are Always Negotiable

False -- You cannot work the system. Our source says that fee forgiveness happens to a certain extent, however, a customer with a track record of abusing their fee-waiving privileges gets blacklisted. They may waive fees the first couple of times, but after that you're on your own.

"Tellers Have A Quota Of New Accounts They Must Get Customers To Open"

False -- It all depends which bank you go to. For instance, two big banks are more stern with this policy, and tellers who fail to meet those quotas have those notes marked on their records. However, the tellers do get a small referral fee each time a customer opens an account through their recommendation.

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

https://www.mybanktracker.com/banking/faq/bank-teller-reveals-secrets-138688

Do You Have A Money Mind​?

Do You Have A Money Mind​?

By THE INVESTOR

 During this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Warren Buffett discussed the importance of his eventual successor as CEO having ‘a money mind’:

 “People have to have a money mind. They can be very smart but make very unintelligent money decisions; their wiring works that way…

 A money mind will know what needs to be done.”

 Though I was in attendance, the importance of this commentary didn’t register right away. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realised it’s a great mental model for evaluating your financial skill set, as well as those of others such as fund managers and financial advisors.

​We all know otherwise well-educated people who make dumb money decisions. That person might even be you from time to time, and I’m certainly in that camp.

 Indeed, in a moment I’ll share why even financially-savvy people may not always be in the right ‘money mind’ state.

 Putting your mind under the microscope

So, what is a money mind and why should it matter to you?

A money mind should:

 1. Understand opportunity costs

 Put simply, opportunity costs measure the gains you’ve forgone to make another choice.

 Let’s say you choose to attend one university over another. Since you can’t attend both simultaneously, your opportunity cost is what you would have benefited by attending the other school.

 As investors, we face opportunity cost decisions all the time, whether we recognize them or not. Cash or shares? Bonds or property? Company XYZ or the FTSE 100?

 A money mind will acknowledge his or her objectives and time horizon, and balance those with current market opportunities.

 For an investor with a 30-year time horizon, for example, the potential opportunity cost of holding cash is rather high when considering that the stock market’s returns over rolling 30-year periods have been consistently positive.

​2. Have high emotional intelligence

Warren Buffett also famously quipped that:

“Success in investing doesn’t correlate with I.Q… Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.”

There are four critical aspects of emotional intelligence, according to Travis Bradberry and Jean Graves in their book Emotional Intelligence 2.0.

These four aspects are: Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

As investors of our money or someone else’s capital, we must be able to recognize our biases (self-awareness), be able to act at times against those biases (self-management), understand the emotions of other investors (social awareness), and balance our emotional state with theirs (relationship management).

 These requirements are a tall order, especially when we’re facing outside stressors in our personal lives.

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

http://monevator.com/do-you-have-a-money-mind/

The Tangled Relationship Between Wealth & Money

The Tangled Relationship Between Wealth & Money

By John Michael Greer

And why we're focusing on the wrong economic 'fixes'

One of the most dangerous mistakes possible to make in trying to understand the shape of the economic future is to think of the fundamental concepts of economics as simple and uncontroversial.  They aren’t.

In economics, as in all other fields, the fundamentals are where disguised ideologies and unexamined presuppositions are most likely to hide out, precisely because nobody questions them.

The first has been the rate at which new technologies have been developed to produce goods and services using energy derived from fossil fuels.

​The Industrial Revolution didn’t get started in the first place until inventors and entrepreneurs found ways to put the first generation of steam engines to work making goods and providing services.

At every step along the road from that tentative beginning to today’s extravagantly fueled high-tech societies, the rate of economic growth has been largely a function of the rate at which new inventions have appeared and linked up with the business models that were needed to integrate them into the productive economy. 

In this and future essays here at Peak Prosperity, I will explore a number of things that seem, at first glance, very obvious and basic.  I hope you’ll bear with me, as there are lessons of crucial and deeply practical importance to anyone facing the challenging years ahead.

This is, above all, true of the first thing I want to talk about: the tangled relationship between wealth and money.

Our co-host here, Chris Martenson, likes to remind us all that money is not wealth, but a claim on wealth.  He’s quite right, and it’s important to understand why.

Money is a system of abstract tokens that complex societies use to manage the distribution of goods and services, and that’s all it is.

Money can consist of lumps of precious metal, pieces of paper decorated with the faces of dead politicians, digits in computer memory, or any number of other things, up to and including the sheer make-believe that underlies derivatives and the like.

Important differences separate these various forms of money, depending on the ease or lack of same with which they can be manufactured, but everything that counts as money has one thing in common – it has only one of the two kinds of economic value.

The Two Kinds of Value

Economists call those use value and exchange value.

You already know about them, even if you don’t know the names.  Odds are, in fact, that you learned about them back in elementary school the first time that one of your classmates offered to trade you something for the cookies in your lunchbox.  You then had to choose between trading the cookies for whatever your classmate offered and eating them yourself.

The first of those choices treated the cookies primarily as a bearer of exchange value; the second treated them primarily as a bearer of use value.

All forms of real wealth – that is, all nonfinancial goods and services – have use value as well as exchange value.  They can be exchanged for other goods and services, financial or otherwise, but they also provide some direct benefit to the person who is able to obtain them.

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

https://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/80556/tangled-relationship-wealth-money

Understanding Contract Rates

Understanding Contract Rates. Why, How, When and Your Safety.

Post From TNT By MacJedi

The Question was asked: Do you know where I could find more information about what a contract rate is and how to negotiate with contract rates? Thanks!

I will give you the run down on that in the short version.   The US, China and Iraq have worked together to form kind of an alliance which deals with oil futures. 

This means that instead of Iraq having to foot the bill for all the money that will be exchanged, they will get the US and China to payout the money for the revalued currency as China seems to have most of the money in the world and the US just creates money out of thin air anyway. 

So how are all the people going to get paid when the big fat bill comes in for this high value payout for currency that used to be next to worthless?  Here is where the contract rates come into play...

China is willing to payout on exchanges done through their holding company...  So let's just say for simplicity sake that they would have to payout a total of 10 billion in revalued monetary funds to people bringing in the Iraqi Dinar.  This is done through funds already held by China.

So you, the exchanger get the healthy sum of digital money in your bank account from exchanging your foreign currency...  China paid that to you in exchange for the foreign currency you gave to them.

Now it is China's turn to make a profit on this transaction.  China now holds credits, let's call them units...  One unit for every single Dinar you exchanged to them.  These units will have a value at each intersection of the journey of the transaction until it reaches it's final destination.

First the near worthless currency was acquired at an International money auction more than likely from a US currency dealer.  That dealer in turn sold it to a customer which was more than likely you and other similar people.  At that moment, the dealer made a profit by selling high and buying low.

You now hold the currency in HOPES that it will be announced Internationally that it's value has increased and it is now tradable for a considerable higher rate than you paid.

This is the moment you can make some decisions.  Do I run to the bank and exchange this currency for the International announced value? or do I secure an 800 phone number and attempt to make a contract rate deal?

So first understand what a contract rate deal is.

Here it is in simple terms:

Iraq has lots of oil, China and the US would like lots of oil...  Here is the simple version of what will take place.  The US and China want to get as much foreign currency units as they can get because this deal has offered China and the US upwards of $50 in oil credits per unit for every Dinar presented for exchange credit.

China does not care how much they spend per unit within reason but more so they care about how many oil credits they can collect.

If for every unit, China and the US can secure near $50 worth of oil, they win BIG!  If Iraq does not have to foot the bill for the exchange money and instead all they have to do is provide oil to cover the bill and this can be done over a period of 60 years as this is what is considered oil futures, they will win big also.

When attempting to secure a higher rate than that which will be announced Internationally, your intent will be to connect with those who are offering a higher rate than the International rate.

This will be done through channels which are trained and informed as to the details in bringing you this higher rate.  800 numbers are said to be your connection to such extra ordinary situations.

 Some exchangers will be lucky enough to already know trained wealth managers able to accommodate such transactions.

The basic idea to contract rates is that there is a bit of a competition between China and the US as to how many units can be collected and used towards oil futures.  Over time we observed as China and the US offered more and more to exchangers to gain a loyal exchanger.

At one point the contract rates were said to have gotten as high as near $40 per unit, still leaving the offering countries a $10 per unit profit.

WIth the advent of early exchangers and the political need to limit the amount an exchanger can receive, that contract rate has made dramatic drops in value.  It is hoped that there will still actually be a contract rate left by the time this becomes an International announcement...  So we continue to hope.

The downside of taking the contract rate offered through the private exchange is your loyalty and silence through a signed Non Disclosure Agreement.

The penalties of breaking such an agreement and letting the proverbial "Cat Out Of The Bag" could result in criminal charges and an erasure of any funds received through this exchange event.  Only the secret keepers need apply.

800 numbers are still said to be made available for a contract rate negotiation upon the International announcement of the currency revaluations.  Those numbers will become public in a way determined by the designers of this coming event.

It has also been rumored that the Vietnam Dong may somehow be involved in a similar contract rate.

There is a possibility that he contract rate may have a very short shelf life after the announcement and even possible that by the time this actually does happen that the set pool for contract rates may be close to being exhausted, leaving only the International rates as the only choice for negotiations.

How to negotiate for contract rates if the opportunity does present itself.

Firstly... remember to look the part, act the part of a responsible money handler...  Be respectful.

Secondly...  Ask to see contract rates on bank screens and request the highest possible.

Thirdly...  Be wise and offer a close knit partnership with your exchange officer in making the most of the funds for future gains.

Last but not least.  Hold out at least 50% of your exchange proceeds as you still do not know how your government officials will seek to extract as much as possible through taxation.

Remember, money is an agreed upon value which translates into mass public acceptance...  Money's value comes from human perception which at any one point can change... 

Therefore don't forget the ways in which value can be converted into solid tangible assets which hopefully can stand the test of time better that perceptions can.

DAZ Comments:  IMO IT WILL BE UNLIKELY THAT ANYONE WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW A CONTRACT RATE PRIOR TO FORMALLY AGREEING UNDER CONTRACT TO NOT DISCLOSE THAT INFORMATION

AND EVEN IF THE CONTRACT RATE OPTION IS NOT CHOSEN THE NDA WOULD THEN HAVE TO REMAIN IN EFFECT AS AGREED.

THE PURPOSE OF THE NDA IS TO PROTECT THAT RATE AND TERMS INFORMATION...SO TO VIEW IT WITHOUT THAT PROTECTION IS UNLIKELY

SO PLUG THAT INTO YOUR THINKING  -  DAZ

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Suze Orman Says These Are The Biggest Money No-Nos

Suze Orman Says These Are The Biggest Money No-Nos
MoneyWise        Esther Trattner   

From the Recaps Archives originally posted on August 6, 2019

Suze Orman Says These Are The Biggest Money No-Nos

Best-selling author, TV host and personal finance guru Suze Orman has been inspiring Americans for decades to make better money moves and avoid serious financial mistakes.

She'll be the first to tell you that what you don't do with your money may be even more important than what you do with it.

Here are 22 major money don’ts — straight from the expert.

 Don't be too quick to buy a home

Invest your extra money to buy your dream home -- when you're ready

Homeownership is part of the American dream — but buying one before you're able can lead to financial disaster.

"Sometimes it makes sense to own a home," Orman tells CNBC.com. "And sometimes, depending on where you live, it makes sense to simply rent."

That's particularly true if you're in an expensive city. Instead of pouring a lot of money into property, Orman says why not invest in the stock market? That way, you can grow your savings — maybe into a down payment on that home of your dreams.

You're new to investing? You might try an automated investment service, which will automatically adjust your portfolio to protect you from market turbulence.

2. Don't lease a car

Financing a car or buying a used car is better than leasing 
In Suze Orman's words, you should "you should never, ever ever ever, lease a car."

If you lease, you'll sink your money into several years' worth of car payments and be empty-handed when the lease term is done.

Financing is a better option, but Orman says if it will take longer than three years to pay off the car, then it’s out of your price range. (You certainly don't want to consider one of today's seven-year car loans.)
 
Buying a used car is another way to go. Models that are just a few years old will have great safety specifications and the same audio-visual tech as a new car, at a fraction of the price.

3. Don't co-sign a loan

When a friend or family member in need asks you to co-sign a loan, Orman says the only correct response is to turn them down.

As she puts it: "Don’t be afraid to say 'no to others and say 'yes' to yourself."

When you co-sign a loan, you become legally responsible for paying back the money. Life is unpredictable, and if anything happens to prevent the borrower from repaying the loan, you’ll be on the hook to make the payments.

Plus, if the borrower is so much as late on a few payments, your credit score can take a hit.

4. Don't take Social Security too soon

Our favorite financial guru advises Americans to avoid early retirement for a very good reason: It's worth it to delay taking Social Security until age 70.

"Every year you wait between your normal retirement age and 70, Social Security will add a guaranteed 8% to your eventual monthly payout," she writes, in AARP The Magazine.

She says delaying Social Security until you reach 70 will give you a monthly benefit more than 75% percent higher than what you'll get if you start at 62.

"Living well into your 80s and beyond is no longer some rare event," Orman says — and you want to make sure your resources will last as long as you do. 5. Don't sell stocks when markets are bad

When stocks are hurtling lower, investors tend to drop investments fast. This is a bad idea, says Orman.

Instead of dumping stock, she advises that you just keep investing the same amount of money each month, regardless of what the market is doing. Using this strategy, a bad month for the market becomes a good month to invest.

"I wish for 2008 again," she tells Yahoo Finance, referring to the year of the big market meltdown. "That’s when the fortune was made. That’s when you could buy stocks for pennies on the dollar."

If you train yourself to hold on tight through market dips, you’ll continue to build a solid portfolio with long-term earning potential.

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

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/suze-orman-says-biggest-money-142928266.html

​What is Financial Literacy?

​What is Financial Literacy?

Posted in Dinar Recaps Archives on 7/27/2019

What is Financial Literacy?
By JJ

Do you feel like you are financially literate?

Do you know what financial literacy is?

If not, that’s okay.

The goal of this post is to help you to understand what financial literacy is and why you should care about it.

Let’s break it down.

Let’s start with the word literacy. When someone is ‘literate’ it means they have the knowledge and skills that are necessary to read and write.

When someone is ‘financially literate’ it means they have the knowledge and skills that are necessary to make well informed decisions about their personal finances.

A Definition Of Financial Literacy

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and it’s International Network on Financial Education (INFE) define financial literacy as:

“A combination of awareness, knowledge, skill, attitude and behaviour necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial wellbeing.”

People who are financially literate are able to effectively do things such as:
Make a budget
Save money (for a car, house, retirement etc.)
Pay off (or avoid) student loans
Use a credit card
Achieve financial stability
Etc….

People who lack financial literacy often find themselves in the following situations:
Unable to make a budget
Unable to save money
Unable to pay off their student loans
Drowning in credit card debt
Living pay check to pay check
Etc….

You get the picture.

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

http://thefinancialgraduate.com/what-is-financial-literacy/

​3 Pieces of Financial Advice for Beginners By JJ

​3 Pieces of Financial Advice for Beginners
By JJ      

I have always been good with my money.

I’m not trying to brag, it’s just the truth.

While some people get a high off of shopping, I get my kicks watching my investment accounts grow.

I’ve always had an interest in personal finance however, it’s only been over the last year and a half that I have completely buried myself in financial books, podcasts and blog posts trying to absorb as much financial advice as possible.

Last year I had my first child, my little boy!

While parenting is a 24/7 job the first 6 months mainly involve holding a baby, changing a baby and feeding a baby. There is a lot of mental downtime.

This gives you hours to listen to podcasts of your choice. I will say, reading a book or anything that involves physical holding something, in addition to your baby, is a bit more challenging. Audio learning all the way.
 
Anyways, I want to thank my maternity leave for giving me the opportunity, and the time, to really dig into the topic of personal finance and educate myself.

Like I said, I thought I was good with money. I thought I was doing all of the right things. I started saving early, I started investing in mutual funds early with my parents financial advisor.

When there was the odd conversation about money with my friends I felt like I had it more together then they did because I had a fancy financial advisor. I thought I was super on tops of things because I met with him, in person, annually.

Oh, so naive!

Financial literacy is so important

You don't know what you don't know 

Financial literacy is empowering.

If you instantly want to feel better about your financial situation then I suggest you educate yourself on the topic.

No, a financial education will not change your bank account balance or reduce your debt burden overnight but, it can act as a starting point.

You need to understand what you are doing before you can do it. You need to know what a budget is and the steps for creating one before you can start budgeting.

 To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
3 Pieces of Financial Advice for Beginners - The Financial Graduate