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. 

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

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

"Strategy to Retain Wealth" by Quantum Warrior

"Strategy to Retain Wealth" by Quantum Warrior

 Emailed to Recaps   11/19/2013  From Archives

 (Dinar Recaps Note: This post is for informational purposes only.  It is not legal, tax or investment advice.  Dinar Recaps advises that everyone do their own due diligence and seek local Professional tax, legal and/or investment advisers.)

Strategy to Retain Wealth by Quantum Warrior

The "recipe" below is my personal one- if it does not suit you, don't do it. If you don't like the ideas, fair enough, we all have that right, but please don't complain to Recaps or me, just read something else. The usual disclaimers apply- do your own due diligence, every situation is different.

Like all of you, I am not wealthy now (except possibly spguru :-) ). However, I have spent considerable time working on my strategy to retain the wealth, there are lots of comments in many posts (including my earlier one) about not behaving like a lottery winner. What does that mean? Simply spending like the money will never run out. It will.

To retain my wealth, I plan to do the following- your figure out your own plan, but these ideas are presented in case they will help clarify the thinking process for those who need the help.

There are some simple rules:

Work on yourself FIRST, then work on your money

Personal Crash Course in the Value of Money

Generate Cash flow from Capital (i.e. Protect Your Capital)

Do NOT ever get into debt, for any reason

When to buy the toys

Legacy - Meaning & Fulfilment

As you'll see you can't really do one of these without the others. But the effort it takes to follow this "recipe" is far less than the pain and consequences of losing all that wealth after having waited for so long, when many others have given up already.

Work on yourself FIRST

(Just to avoid the obvious comments- do your exchange first, especially if there is a 30 day window, then start here, OK? :-) )

The obvious question here is "Why?" Well the answer is simple, "Who's going to manage your wealth then?" If you seriously think some Financial Planner has more interest in your long term financial health than you, think again. Or just simply give them all your money and save yourself the future heartache.

No disrespect intended there are many good financial planners out there, but it really is your wealth, so you ought to be more aware than anyone else, for them it is a job, for you it is your future.

Wealth Magnifies Who We Are: If you are a kind considerate person now, chances are you still will be when you have more money than you've ever had. Unless you have some hidden aspects of your character that will come out and sabotage you. Which they will. How much you work on you will determine how much self-sabotage you engage in.

Having lived in the US (the country most infected by this problem in my experience), there is a "disease" if I can put that way, I've observed and not just from when I lived there, but from comments in many posts in Dinarland over the years.

The disease: The Happiness Pill = Either take a pill to solve the problem or hire someone to do it for you. To put this somewhat graphically, no one can go to the toilet for you. Only you can do what you've got to do.

There are no short cuts, no free lunches. If you want the benefits of your wealth, you're going to have to change something about your beliefs or what has happened to you with money in the past will only happen again. Only bigger, with more zeros.

You are capable of solving and learning all these things, else you would not be here with this potential wealth in your hands. It is time to believe in you.

You can't buy a pill to fix the issues you may have, you can't hire an expert to fix you. Only you can empower you. It is no one else's responsibility but your own. This applies to your health and your wealth. Your beliefs create your reality. 100% of the time. You may disagree, but this is like gravity, it is still there, even if you disagree with it.

It has been shown again, and again, that most illnesses start with emotional upsets that eventually become physical. Medication by and large only suppresses symptoms, it rarely cures. Doctors are great if you've broken your leg or something like that. Modern medicine is now beginning to recognise many illnesses (back pain, stomach issues, etc.) are "psychosomatic" in origin.

In other words, based on our belief system. Change that and the physical symptoms disappear. Please, do your own research on this one. Don't take my word for it.

Long term medical care is not the strong point of western medicine. Look at the "Food Matters" video and form your own opinion. Again, I am not disrespecting doctors, they do an amazing job with what they know. They key is there is more to us than medicine understands. Emotional health is vital to physical and mental well-being, that will never come out of a bottle.

Correct diet and exercise can fix almost anything, food for thought as it were. After all, you want to be healthy to enjoy your wealth right?

If you think this is just hokum, how many people have posted they have become ill, or even people have died over the stress of waiting for the RV to solve their problems? Stress is directly linked to hugely suppressing our immune system, which then means areas where we are physically weak are more at risk.

Managing your emotions, health and mental state will be an essential component in managing your future wealth. If you make clear decisions, make sure you manage risks well, then you'll be more than comfortable, if you are unsure of yourself, you'll end up with even more stress after the RV than you were before because you don't know how to handle the wealth properly and with the fear of losing it all.

This means looking within and being ruthlessly honest about your strengths and weaknesses, and allowing for them in your plans. Some people have a weakness for fame, others for sex, others for drink or drugs, others for the good opinion of others, others for greed. You get the picture. Clear the obsessions or the obsessions will clear you out.

Sadly for many, religion today is infected with the idea that "money is the root of all evil". Not just Christianity, but Buddhism & Hinduism have his issue, to name a few.

There is nothing wrong with money. It is neutral- it only reflects the nature of the person using it.

This is the most important step and probably the hardest. I could list loads of resources on this topic, but it makes more sense for you to do that work on your own, since what works for me, may not work for you. Also, if you take this point seriously, you'll do something, if not, you won't. Your action or inaction on this point will simply reflect your beliefs back to you about where you're at in terms of introspection, or looking within.

For the record, with due respect to psychologists, I am absolutely 100% not suggesting you get a shrink. My personal experience is most psychologists are at least as screwed up as their patients, not all but many. The other problem, again, in my opinion and no disrespect intended, is psychology has way too many theories and attempts to shoehorn all human experience into one or another theory.

We are all much, much bigger than just our minds, emotions or our bodies. There are lots of good psychologists out there doing great work, but there is a lot of noise out there too, finding the right one, is kind of like being a princess kissing frogs to see if one turns into a prince.

If you are really stuck, the SEDONA process works very well. it is astonishingly simple:

Feel whatever the emotion is you want to deal with (this includes resistance, blockages, negative and positive emotions). Feel it as strongly as you can

Ask yourself "Could I release this? - The only answer is Yes or No, either is fine, just be honest with yourself

Next, ask "Would I release this?" Again, only answer Yes or No. If in doubt, the answer is always a No.

Lastly, ask "When would I release this?" Again, be honest.

Repeat until the feeling is released, this may take a number of "loops"

If you find resistance, release the resistance using the same process

If the resistance is another emotion, release that with the same process

As you can see, the process is controlled 100% by you, and you can tell when it works, since you will feel lighter and more at ease. Clear ALL the emotion, even only a small "amount" is left. A good clue you've let go of it is if you sigh deeply. The body, mind and emotions are deeply connected.

Just remember some emotions run deeper and are more tangled than others, so may require much more spadework.

The two most important emotional attitudes to consciously develop are forgiveness and gratitude. This especially includes forgiving yourself. If something bad happens to you, ask: "What can I learn from this?" or "What buried assumptions do I have that attracted this to me?"

If you still have an emotional blockage, come back and work through it again. The process is simple, no said it would be easy. But then the things worth doing are never easy.

This is not an instant "magic pill", it will take work, in some cases a lot of work, to clear emotional blockages. It took however many years you've been alive to get the way you are now, it is natural and normal to take a little time to clear this up. The effort is worth it, you'll feel better much faster as you clear the habit of feeling the way you currently do. Because it is just a habit, and habits can be changed.

This is really all you need- we are already in our true nature, amazing, we just deeply, passionately believe we are not. You and only you are in 100% responsible for your life, no one else, not God, not your mother in law, not your boss, YOU. God set up the rules for you to win at this game, but you must play the game to win.

That is scary at first, until you realize that with that responsibility comes control, you can change what you like. This means YOU are in full control of your life. Sure, things may happen that you don't like, but they are reflections of you back to you, of you. Change your patterns, change your world. Sometimes stuff just happens and it's not about us at all, "Suck it up, Princess" and deal with it in an emotionally healthy way.

Personal Crash Course in Managing the Value of Money

Set aside 10% of your capital (after allowing for taxes)- and then spend it as completely stupidly and recklessly as you can. 10% may be quite a lot of money. By doing this, it will clear the "addiction" of spending like a lottery winner, and hopefully you'll see how fast 10% of your wealth can disappear.

Especially, if you are the quiet, careful type, do this- there may well be a suppressed spendaholic in there. If you are a spendaholic, then this may cause you to sober up a bit.

I once read that Anthony Robbins cured someone of smoking in half an hour, by getting him to smoke 20 packets of cigarettes in that time. Same idea but without the cigarettes.

Generate Cash flow from Capital (i.e. Protect Your Capital)

After you have cleared all (and I mean all your debts, credit cards, money from friends, etc) the next rule is: Never Spend the Capital- only use it to buy assets that generate cash flow. Your homework is to figure out which assets are right for you.

If you are going to start a business, you'd better really be prepared to know what you're doing and a successful business is almost never about the product, it is an important ingredient but not the most important.

Work ON the business NOT in the business. My preferred approach is to buy into existing, viable businesses for long term cash flow growth. There are other assets you can buy into, but the ones that really make money with lower risk are almost never sold by financial planners, in my opinion. You do your own due diligence.

For financial products, e.g. stocks and shares, again, clear, unemotional thought and a system that you follow 100% of the time (that is proven to work) are key. There are great buys out there, but you need to clear your mind, manage your emotions and find a winning strategy.

To be good at this, you'll need to learn to read a balance sheet. You'll also need to get your emotions, opinions and other biases out of the way. Your goals an and certainly should include the spiritual dimension, but the application of those goals should be clear sighted and meeting your objective of generating cash flow, cleanly, legally and ethically.

Do NOT Ever Get into Debt for ANY Reason

This is really simple: If you can't afford it, don't buy it, save until you can. We've all suffered at the hands of the banks. They are in business for them, not us. Just because you have more money, doesn't mean you can't lose it.

As a safety net, to avoid ever being back where you are now, don't borrow money period. Make sure your cash flow "engine" can at least get you financially free, even if not rich. By staying out of debt, you never put at risk your cash flow assets, which you would otherwise use as collateral for loans.

By avoiding the temptation of "free" money (it's never free, always got strings attached), you avoid the risk of losing your assets that support your cash flow. After all, there many people in Dinarland who were doing really well 10 years ago and are now really struggling. The world changes unpredictably. Debt is a great way to lose it all real fast.

When to buy the Toys

Well, you've probably picked up by now, that my suggestion is "never". The thing about the toys is we want to buy the "lifestyle" not the toy as such. So rent them when you need them, based on your on-going cash flow. If you absolutely must have one, than have a business that supports owning them by the profit from it's cash flow, the operating costs of owning the asset.

Toys follow a well known progression:

More Toys - the usual suspects: cars, planes, boats, men, women, parties etc.

Bigger Toys -  bigger versions of what you already have

Better Toys - e.g. owning a sports team

The problem is toys do not fill the void we are trying to fill. What fills that void, is meaning and fulfilment See Legacy below.

Also, if you really must own the toy, see Rule #1 - Work on Yourself FIRST. Why must you own it? Is it show off? To say "I've arrived?" What is your motivation? As long as you are clear about what your motivation is and why want to do it, and you are willing to accept the consequences of that choice, then go ahead, Enjoy!

Remember, very few boats, planes or fancy cars actually appreciate in value over time. See rule #3 - Protect your Capital

By all means use the cash flow you generate from your capital to get the lifestyle you want, just in my view, spending your RV capital to get it, is the slippery road to losing it.

Yes, generating the cash flow will take time. Allow for that in your planning. Include in your thinking that inflation is usually double what the official figures are- so your cash flow must grow by that, plus some extra to keep money in motion.

Money stored in banks dies. Money needs motion to grow. Our job is to be smart, caring gardeners, who will continue to harvest abundance for decades to come.

Legacy - Meaning & Fulfilment

Do you remember your great-grand parents names? Chances are not. Maybe not even all your grand-parents either. Why? Whilst they may have been great people, they did not leave a legacy.

Contrast that with George Washington, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Confucius and many more besides. We still speak their names hundreds or even thousands of years after their death. Why? Because they inspired ideas and change that outlasted their lifetimes and still affect us today.

They did not do thinking "In 2013 kids in schools will know my name! Yay!" they did it because they passionately believed in something that helped either a section of humanity, or humanity as a whole to grow and see itself in a new, better light.

Religions come and go, civilizations come and go, but the magic, the best of us, the human race, endures. If we commit ourselves to do the best we can, without expecting anything in return, for all the life on our planet, in whatever form we can, then we create a legacy that is worth having.

Conclusion

As you can see, all the points are connected. Each one supports and strengthens the others. But the first one, is the crucial starting point.

Hopefully you will find something useful in here, to help you grow and keep your wealth, have a fantastic lifestyle (you deserve it), one based on sustainable wealth, not greed that will allow you to give the best of you to helping others grow into the best they can be.

Bravo’s Andy Cohen Reveals Red Flags He Missed As Scammers Duped Him, Stole His Money

 Bravo’s Andy Cohen Reveals Red Flags He Missed As Scammers Duped Him, Stole His Money

Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press  Tue, January 16, 2024

One can hear about a long list of too-trusting Grandmas, job-hunters hit by scams, widows hurt when looking for love, and so many others who sadly lost big money to crafty cyber predators. But then, maybe, it really resonates when a pop culture celebrity who rang in the New Year with millions watching CNN talks about seeing money vanish from his own bank account.

Lots. Of. Money.

Andy Cohen, the high-energy, buzz-generating executive producer of the "Real Housewives" franchise and co-host with Anderson Cooper of CNN's New Year's Eve live coverage from Time's Square, has gone public with how he lost his debit card one day, received what claimed to be email from his bank's fraud department another day and then shockingly discovered shortly afterward that cyber crooks made off with his money using three wire transfers out two of his bank accounts.

"When money is wired, it's out the door and gone," Cohen told me via email.

"Typically," he told me, "banks will not return money if you've given someone access to your account and then the transfers have been completed."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD9gt1VJ2kM

Scammers pretend to be all sorts of people, including bankers

Cohen told his story of how he became a victim of a sophisticated, bank-related imposter fraud on his podcast, "Daddy Diaries" and later on the "Today" show. It's a scam that has hurt plenty of consumers — and will no doubt hit more unless tighter protections are put in place and consumers stop responding to emails, texts and phone calls that appear to be legitimate but aren't.

The potential dollars lost to these types of scams are far greater than money that can be lost when scammers demand that someone go out and buy gift cards to handle a problem, which is still an ongoing scam.

In 2022, consumers reported losing nearly $8.8 billion to all sorts of fraud, up 30% from 2021, according to data released in February 2023 by the Federal Trade Commission. Investment scams ranked No. 1 but imposter scams came in second place with losses of $2.6 billion reported, up from $2.4 billion in 2021.

Based on fraud reports associated with various types of payment methods, consumers reported losing $311 million via wire transfer in 2022 and $1.587 billion via bank transfer or payment. By contrast, money reported lost to scammers through gift cards was $228 million.

A year ago, I wrote about how scammers pretend to be from your bank to drain your savings by impersonating the so-called fraud department from banks and credit unions.

While consumers must take steps to protect themselves, the level of ongoing fraud indicates a deeper, much broader problem with what I'd call cracks in the financial services system that crooks can readily hack. Clearly, much more work needs to be done to stop bad actors, too.

The scam that Andy Cohen encountered even appears to have added a new layer — where somehow the bad guy enables call forwarding to prevent the victim from even getting a phone call from their bank, according to Teresa Murray, who directs the Consumer Watchdog office for U.S. PIRG, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Some bank-related scams, Murray said, have evolved to the point where criminals start out by already having some information about a victim, including their name, phone number and where they bank. You could end up dealing with legitimate phone calls and phony texts, which direct you to authorize activity when you think you're trying to stop fraud.

We're wired to act fast, and crooks know it

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

https://news.yahoo.com/finance/news/bravo-andy-cohen-reveals-red-154920579.html

10 Ways You Can Lose All of Your Wealth in Less Than Five Years

10 Ways You Can Lose All of Your Wealth in Less Than Five Years

Sean Bryant   Mon, Dec 11, 2023

One of the greatest fears for many people is to suddenly find themselves stripped of their wealth through mismanagement or bad investments. Unfortunately, this fear can become a reality in a matter of years if you don’t take steps to protect your finances.

In this article, we will explore 10 ways that can lead to the loss of your wealth within five years and offer suggestions on how to be smart with your money and avoid such financial circumstances.

Spending More Than You Can Afford

Living beyond your means is a classic path to financial ruin. A lavish lifestyle can quickly deplete even substantial fortunes. Even wealthy people need to understand the difference between wants and needs. Creating a budget or at least understanding your financial situation is important in ensuring you don’t spend more than you can afford.

Making Risky Investments

Most people with wealth have investment portfolios. However, knowing how to invest is essential. Market volatility, economic downturns and unforeseen events can lead to substantial losses, wiping out entire portfolios quickly. If you are not an experienced investor, consider working with a company or individual to help manage your investments. Just do your research when choosing an investment advisor.

“People often get lured by the promise of high returns in speculative ventures like volatile stocks, cryptocurrencies or trendy business ventures without adequate understanding,” said Jake Claver, CEO of Syndicately. “When these investments don’t pan out as expected, significant losses can occur. For instance, investing heavily in a single stock without diversifying can lead to substantial losses if that stock underperforms. The recent cryptocurrency crashes serve as a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can change with risky investments.”

Unwise Real Estate Ventures

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-ways-lose-wealth-less-130043557.html

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Ways You Can Lose All of Your Wealth in Less Than Five Years 

Get Ready To Spend Two Years In Prison

Get Ready To Spend Two Years In Prison

Notes From the Field By Simon Black  January 2, 2024

If you happen to be a small business owner in the Land of the Free, you are looking at potentially two years in prison if you don’t comply with a new law that just took effect yesterday.

It started nearly five years ago, in the spring of 2019.

Back then, a member of Congress from the state of New York-- a career politician with five decades of experience named Carolyn Maloney-- introduced a new bill to the House of Representatives called the Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA.

At first her bill didn’t go anywhere.

But the following summer, during the peak Covid insanity of 2020, the CTA was jammed into the nearly 1,500-page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), i.e. the military budget that Congress is required to pass each year.

The NDAA (and hence the CTA along with it) were passed on January 1, 2021. And now, three years later, the CTA has formally taken effect.

Now, the whole premise behind the Corporate Transparency Act is the classic boogeyman premise that evil criminals and terrorists use US corporations and LLCs to conduct their illicit activities, so therefore the government wants more rules, regulations, and reporting for US companies.

This is the same simple-minded hysteria that we always hear about how criminals and terrorists use BTC, therefore it should be tightly regulated by hapless government bureaucrats.

Obviously, it’s true that criminals can and do use it -- or US business entities like Delaware LLCs-- to commit their crimes.

Criminals also use iPhones, Facebook, Gmail, Dell laptops, JP Morgan Chase bank accounts, Ford F-150 pickup trucks, Amazon gift cards, and Verizon Wireless to commit their crimes.

But in this case, in the infinite wisdom of Congress, it’s business entities that are being singled out for additional scrutiny.

So, because criminals sometimes use US business entities to launder money, every law-abiding US citizen with a completely legitimate business now must jump through all sorts of hoops and reporting requirements.

And if you fail to report, you’re looking at two years in prison.

There are so many things about this that are completely stupid.

First off, the United States legal code already has dozens of anti-money laundering laws and regulations on the books. Seriously, dozens.

Yet clearly if Congress saw the need to pass a NEW anti-money laundering law (the CTA), then it stands to reason that those existing laws are ineffective… and hence should be repealed.

But that’s not how the government operates. They don’t strike off ineffective laws. They just keep piling more laws and rules on top of the old ones, creating a mountain of regulation for small businesses to navigate.

And I’m saying “small business” on purpose because that’s who is specifically targeted by the CTA.

Large, publicly traded companies are specifically exempt from reporting under the CTA. So are hedge funds, banks, and other large financial entities. Curiously, tax-exempt charities are also exempt.

So the Corporate Transparency Act deliberately goes after the little guy. Goldman Sachs, Black Lives Matter, and Facebook/Meta are exempt. Bob’s Hot Dog Stand is not.

And this is where it gets really ridiculous. One of the big requirements of the CTA is that small business owners must file a new report to the federal government each year to disclose the company’s shareholders.

But current federal law already requires LLCs to provide this information to the IRS each year. So, the CTA has essentially created a double-burden to send the exact same information-- but in a different format-- to multiple agencies within the Treasury Department.

You can’t make this stuff up.

And exactly what agency does Bob’s Hot Dog Stand have to report to? It’s called FinCEN, which stands for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Think about the message they’re sending here; it’s as if owning a business in the United States of America is now some sort of f*ck!ng crime that needs to be reported.

For its part, FinCEN issued nearly ONE HUNDRED PAGES of  regulations about how to comply with the CTA. Yes, I’m serious. The Corporate Transparency Act itself was ‘only’ about 20 pages. FinCEN’s rules are five times as long.

And, once again, failure to comply carries steep monetary and criminal penalties, including up to two years in prison.

Even this penalty is idiotic. Think about it-- is some guy who launders money for some criminal gang or drug cartel really going to be deterred by the prospect of a two-year prison sentence? Probably not.

It’s far more likely that some completely innocent small business owner has his/her life turned upside down for non-compliance… because, as they always say, “ignorance of the law is not an excuse.”

Look, no one is arguing that criminals don’t often rely on US-registered businesses to conduct illegal activities.

The point is-- what is the priority here?

The United States government is in an extremely precarious financial condition; calendar year 2023 saw the national debt increase by a whopping $2.5 trillion, totaling roughly $34 trillion as of today.

The debt is so large that annual gross interest payments are about to reach $1 trillion, which takes up a huge chunk of federal tax revenue. And this interest expense keeps growing at an alarming rate.

Forecasts from both the White House and the Congressional Budget Office show that, by 2031, interest expense, along with mandatory entitlement spending like Social Security, will consume the entirety of federal tax revenue.

Everything else we think of as the US federal government-- from military spending to non-existent border security-- will have to be funded by more debt… which just makes the problem worse.

That fiscal cliff is just seven years away. Then, two years later in 2033, Social Security’s primary trust fund will run out of money and require a multi-trillion-dollar bailout.

The ONLY way out of this mess is to have an economic renaissance in the United States which prioritizes productivity and growth.

It’s simple math; if real (i.e. inflation-adjusted) GDP grows by 3% instead of 2%, all of these problems will melt away over time. The federal government will be swimming in tax revenue, Social Security will be properly funded, and the US could re-assert itself as the global economic leader.

The solution is straightforward, and the US private sector has the capability to do it.

But then the government passes bonehead legislation like this that makes it more difficult, more cumbersome to own a business in America.

Hunter Biden will likely never see the inside of a prison cell. But if you’re one of the millions of small business owners that are critical to US economic growth, you’re now officially at risk if you do not comply.

Simon Black, Founder   Sovereign Man

PS.: If you own a business, the first report isn’t due until the end of this year. Premium members-- we’ll soon be releasing a comprehensive guide about how/when/where to report to help make it as easy as possible for you. Stay tuned.   https://www.sovereignman.com/blog/

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