Bizarrely, Gold Is The Opposite Of The Bitcoin Effect Right Now

Bizarrely, Gold Is The Opposite Of The Bitcoin Effect Right Now

Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black)  April 28, 2025

You’ve probably heard the story.

As the legend goes, on a late-summer morning in 1929, Joseph Kennedy — patriarch of the famous Kennedy family — was headed into his office in downtown New York City. As he sat for a quick shoe shine, the young boy buffing his shoes, barely a teenager, eagerly offered him stock tips.

 Kennedy listened politely, but inside, he felt a jolt of alarm.

Supposedly he rushed to his office, dumped his entire stock portfolio, and moved heavily into cash. And just weeks later the stock market collapsed.

 There’s a good chance this story isn’t true; I’ve often heard it told with Sir John Templeton in place of Joe Kennedy... and when urban legends can’t even get their protagonists straight, that’s usually a sign of fiction.

 Curiously, however, a similar thing actually happened to me.

It was March 2009— six months after the Global Financial Crisis kicked off that wiped 50% off the S&P 500.

 I was living in Punta del Este, Uruguay at the time and was coincidentally getting my shoes shined before heading to the airport for a trip to Asia.

 The shoe shiner, an elderly Uruguayan man, asked me what I did for a living. I mentioned something about finance, at which point he cautioned me to avoid the stock market.

 At that point the S&P was at its crisis-era low... and would go on to nearly 10x over the next 16 years.

 Another story that is true is from August 1979: Businessweek magazine famously declared "The Death of Equities," capturing the widespread view that stocks (which had suffered in the 1970s) would continue to languish.

Yet the stock market was just about to unleash a multi-decade bull run.

 In April 2019, the same Businessweek ran a cover asking, "Is Inflation Dead?", again capturing the popular idea that there would never be inflation again. That turned out to be 100% incorrect.

Then there was the famous Bitcoin craze in November 2017: families across America spent their Thanksgiving holidays opening up Coinbase accounts and bidding up the price of Bitcoin to its (then) all-time high. Crypto subsequently entered a multi-year bear market...

Anytime I see popular bandwagons, I become nervous. And I’m starting to see some signs of that with gold.

 One glaring signal is that Costco— which sells gold to its customers— sold out its most recent inventory of American Eagle Gold Coins in less than four days. Gold demand is surging among retail investors.

Dealers are reporting crazy volume. The media is talking about gold daily now, whereas in the past they used to go weeks or months without a mention of gold.

 The Wall Street Journal even ran an article this past weekend entitled “How to buy gold”.

 Big investment bank analysts who, heretofore had ignored gold or been extremely bearish, are suddenly its biggest champions. Even the notorious Goldman Sachs is now projecting nearly $4,000 gold this year.

 And only a handful of analysts are bearish.

Look, we’ve been talking about gold for years... and in particular since 2023 when it became obvious that there were long-term catalysts.

It’s pretty easy to understand: central banks around the world are trading in their US dollars for gold, simply because they don’t have confidence that the dollar will last as the global reserve currency.

 And central banks don’t have a lot of options; there are only so many non-dollar asset classes that can absorb hundreds of billions of dollars worth of capital flows. Gold is one of the most convenient.

I’ve explained before that, because of these capital flow trends and catalysts, we could easily see $5,000 or even $10,000 gold over the coming years.

 But at the same time, the trend line for the gold price has been incredibly steep ever since its low in 2022. And, again, there are now signs that a retail gold mania may be forming.

I’m not saying that gold is too expensive or that it’s time to sell. These short-term market trends are extremely difficult to predict, and I tend to ignore them.

 Instead, I focus on the long-term big picture. And that’s a lot easier to see: the US fiscal situation is in major decline. The government is doing very little about it. And the rest of the world is already diversifying away from the dollar.

All of these trends are good for gold.

 Who knows what investors will do over the next few months? But over the next five years, you can make a very strong case that central banks will continue to buy gold and send the price higher.

 At the same time, I recognize that it’s difficult for some people to buy an asset when it’s at/near its all-time high... especially when it may suffer a short-term correction.

This is why we’ve been writing about an alternative to gold; because, while gold is near its all-time high, many gold companies are still undervalued relative to gold itself.

 I’m talking about really solid, profitable gold miners trading at less than TWO times forward earnings. It’s ridiculous.

 In a way it’s the opposite of the crypto phenomenon with Microstrategy (MSTR)— the company which primarily owns and holds Bitcoin.

 Microstrategy (technically now called “Strategy”) owns 553,555 Bitcoin worth $52 billion. That’s pretty much their biggest (and nearly only) asset.

 Yet the MSTR’s market cap is $92 billion.

 In other words, the Bitcoin-related company is worth nearly double the amount of Bitcoin it holds. This makes no sense.

 With gold, it’s the opposite. Gold is near its all-time highs... but the gold-related companies are cheap and undervalued.

 Some investors are starting to notice— for example, multiple precious metals companies we have published in our investment research service have risen by 40-60%.

 One has more than doubled in price... yet is still trading at a forward multiple of just 2x.

 So, gold is bizarrely the opposite of the Bitcoin effect with Microstrategy: gold is at a record high, but gold companies are cheap. I’ll say it again— this is not going to last.

To your freedom,  James Hickman   Co-Founder, Schiff Sovereign LLC

 https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/bizarrely-gold-is-the-opposite-of-the-bitcoin-effect-right-now-152700/?inf_contact_key=d4ae7d46f485af16ae3e89540a8231548dcae2ba3297e07f93219ba341147496

I Grew Up Rich: 6 Money Lessons I Learned After I Lost It All

I Grew Up Rich: 6 Money Lessons I Learned After I Lost It All

G. Brian Davis  Sat, June 29, 2024

An oft-cited statistic states that 70% of wealthy families lose their riches by the second generation, and 90% lose them by the third.

Why? Because the first generation earns it, the second generation spends it and the third finds itself back at square one.

It turns out that earning money and shepherding money long term require two different skill sets. All too often, no one in any of those three generations learns how to protect and grow wealth long term.

“I grew up in a wealthy family where my grandfather was the chairman of the largest textile processing mill in our city,” explained Muhammad Ali, sales director at George Digital. “Our business, established in the 1950s, was a significant player in the industry from 1970 to 2001 … However, our fortunes drastically changed, and by 2012, my father’s income dwindled to just $300 a month.

“In 2013, amidst our financial crisis, I developed an interest in programming. Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford a laptop, and we had to live with my grandparents, along with my father’s brothers and their families. This challenging period taught me several invaluable lessons about money and resilience.

“Eventually, I was the first person among my grandfather’s children and grandchildren to get a chance to study in the U.S.

“Here are some key money lessons I learned after losing it all.”

Diversify Your Income Streams

“Our family focused solely on the textile business, and when it failed, we had no backup.

“In 2015, I came across Russell Brunson’s book ‘DotCom Secrets,’ which sparked my interest in an online business. By September 2016, Adam C. Miller introduced me to the world of digital marketing. Despite the lack of resources and guidance, I persevered, slowly learning about digital PR … I also delved into local SEO (search engine optimization) and e-commerce business models.

“After our family’s textile business shut down, there was no one to restart the hosiery textile business. However, years later, I decided to reignite this passion to continue my family legacy and started Molani Enterprises, a textile sourcing and trading company. Alongside my ventures in PR and e-commerce, reviving the textile business was a way to honor my family’s history and rebuild our presence in the industry.”

Maintain a Financial Cushion

Everyone needs an emergency fund. Whether you keep two months’ or two years’ worth of living expenses in it depends on how stable your income and expenses are, but you need that cash cushion to carry you through the inevitable nasty surprises that life throws at you.

“Always keep cash savings to cover basic living expenses and emergencies. This reserve should not be touched for business investments. This lesson was crucial for me, as I witnessed bad financial decisions during our business downfall, where more money was sunk into a failing enterprise.”

Seize Opportunities

They say that when an opportunity knocks at your door, it does so dressed up like work.

To Read More:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/grew-rich-6-money-lessons-210008891.html

The 7 Worst Things You Can Do If You Owe the IRS

The 7 Worst Things You Can Do If You Owe the IRS

December 6, 2023   By  Jennifer Taylor  GoBankingRates

You’re in debt to Uncle Sam. This probably isn’t a great feeling, but you have to face it.

Maybe you have the money to pay your tax bill or perhaps you don’t. If not, you have many options, so don’t take any of the following.

Using a Credit Card To Pay Your Taxes

Charging IRS debt to your credit card might be easy in the short term, but doing so can be a costly choice.

“The IRS interest rate changes quarterly, but it’s hovered around 8% in recent years,” said Brad Paladini, tax attorney and owner of Paladini Law, a tax law firm. “Credit card interest is usually around 22%, meaning that if a taxpayer uses a credit card to pay their taxes, they are paying almost three times as much in interest than if they paid the IRS directly.”

Failing To Stay in Compliance With the IRS

“The IRS is usually very willing to arrange a resolution for past-due tax debt, whether it be an installment agreement, an offer in compromise or hardship status,” Paladini said. “But the IRS requires that the taxpayer remain ‘current’ with the taxes.”

Going forward, he said this means you’ll need to file all returns on time and pay all future taxes on time.

“If the taxpayer fails to do so, she’ll default whatever arrangement was made with the IRS,” he said.

Ignoring the Problem Until It’s Too Late

“Taxpayers will know there’s an outstanding tax debt, but will ‘bury their head in the sand’ and ignore it,” Paladini said. “Eventually, the IRS will wipe out their bank accounts or garnish their wages to recoup their money.”

If it comes to this, he said it will be much harder to try and resolve than if you had proactively reached out to the IRS to settle it.

Not Understanding Your Options

If you owe money to the IRS, Paladini said, you have six payment options, including an installment agreement, offer in compromise, currently non-collectible status, penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief and bankruptcy.

“Each of these options has separate requirements,” he said. “Trying to navigate that path on your own can be extremely difficult.”

If you need help navigating what’s best for your unique situation, he said you should reach out to a tax professional.

Failing To File

“When you owe and you do not file by the tax deadline, then you will be penalized for failing to file, unless you file an extension,” said Kathy Alfaro, owner and tax strategist at Alfa Tax Service. “If you fail to file by the extension deadline, then you will pay a failure to file penalty.”

She emphasized the importance of knowing the rules.

“When you owe and you do not pay by the tax deadline, then you will be penalized for failing to pay,” she said. “There is no extension for this penalty. This is why filing an extension with a payment will help.”

To Read More: https://www.gobankingrates.com/taxes/tax-laws/worst-things-you-can-do-if-you-owe-irs/?utm_term=related_link_1&utm_campaign=1267849&utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_content=2&utm_medium=rss

How Crooks Convinced Her To Put $17,500 Into A Bitcoin ATM To 'Secure' Her Money

How Crooks Convinced Her To Put $17,500 Into A Bitcoin ATM To 'Secure' Her Money

Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press  Mon, April 21, 2025  USA TODAY

Stacy Hazinski received one of those annoying text messages that claimed she was about to be charged $114.02 for something she didn't buy. So she called the number, supposedly for her Apple Pay account, to make sure that she didn't get stuck with the bill.

She got stuck talking to scammers.

One simple phone call set off a scheme that ultimately enabled someone to steal her entire income tax refund and drain her savings account at a local credit union.

Filing her taxes early in the year essentially meant little, she told me at her Michigan condo, because now she has nothing to show for it.

She's out $17,500 in all.

Scammers convince you to take cash to a bitcoin ATM

Her story highlights one huge red flag that consumers must watch out for these days — how scammers are convincing you to take cash to a crypto ATM at the local party store, gas station or grocery.

Con artists deceive people with backstories on how they can protect their money or avoid trouble by depositing money in a cryptocurrency ATM.

How to protect yourself: Scam losses worldwide this year are $1 trillion

The crooks — who might pretend to be from Apple, Google, an Internet service provider or even law enforcement — do their research and know where these ATMs are in your neighborhood. They'll tell you to withdraw cash from the bank and give you directions to one of these crypto ATMs.

The crooks even go so far as to call bitcoin ATMS “safety lockers," according to regulators.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a consumer alert April 8 to warn residents about scammers using bitcoin ATMs to defraud consumers.

“Because money sent through bitcoin ATMs is nearly impossible to recover and these machines lack oversight and regulation, they have become an attractive option for criminals engaged in fraud and money laundering,” Nessel said in a statement.

Millions of dollars lost in scams at crypto ATMs

Consumers lost $66 million to crypto ATM fraud in the first six months of 2024, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The actual number is likely much higher as such types of fraud often go unreported, according to the FTC. The FTC said the losses involving these ATMs increased dramatically from $12 million in 2020 to $114 million for all of 2023.

People 60 and over were more than three times as likely as younger adults to report a loss using a bitcoin ATM in the first half of 2024, according to FTC data.

Once the money is deposited into bitcoin, experts warn, it is transferred quickly, making it often impossible to track. Your bank is unlikely to reimburse you because you withdrew the money on your own.

The con artists had her running scared to the ATM

Hazinski, 51, heard slew of scary stories on Feb. 28 — starting with a guy named John from Apple and switching over to a guy named Eric who claimed to be from her credit union — on how scammers were in the process of getting their hands on her federal income tax refund, as well as the rest of her savings.

As part of the scam, she was told by the guy who claimed to be an employee at the credit union that she would need to transfer her cash into a "security" account to protect her savings from someone who was about to send her money into an account at www.poker.com.

What? Why was her money going to cover some online poker tournament? She got terribly nervous, especially since her savings was limited after she had been out of work for a few months.

"And I said, 'I don't gamble,' " Hazinski recalls.

She said she wasn't using her refund to play poker — and she wasn't about to let someone else use her money, either.

"It was so stressful," Hazinski said.

Scammers stayed on the phone to tell her what to do next

TO READ MORE:   https://www.yahoo.com/news/crooks-convinced-her-put-17-212854190.html

What An NBA All-Star Learned After Going From Millions To Bankruptcy

'The money came so fast': What An NBA All-Star Learned After Going From Millions To Bankruptcy

Sara BelcherPodcast Writer   Mon, April 21, 2025  Yahoo Finance

As a three-time NBA All-Star and former NBA Champion, Antoine Walker is one of the best basketball players of the 1990s and early 2000s. But his early success came with some difficult financial lessons.

Walker was signed to the Boston Celtics at just 19 years old. Throughout his 13-year athletic career, it's estimated he earned as much as $108 million — a large portion of which came from a six-year $71 million contract he signed at just 21.

"The money came so fast without the education," Walker told Ross Mac on the Financial Freestyle podcast (see video above or listen below).

Walker partly attributes his lack of financial education to the decisions that ultimately led him to file for bankruptcy in 2010.

Though he became debt-free just three years later, the former professional athlete now talks openly about his financial mistakes and offers advice for others to learn from them.

"I think it's my job to kind of use the things that I did wrong and just help [others] out," Walker said, addressing the challenges of newly minted professional athletes and those who come into wealth quickly.

"I know the things that they want to do," he said. "I know the things that they're buying. I know the things that they're overlooking. ... I try to put that back in their face and understand that this basketball career or any sports career is going to be short-lived, and you got a whole life to live after your career is over with."

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/the-money-came-so-fast-what-an-nba-all-star-learned-after-going-from-millions-to-bankruptcy-215432482.html

How to Find Your Money ‘Why’

How to Find Your Money ‘Why’

By Katherine Fusco March 9, 2022

There are lots of reasons to spend money, some good, some bad, most compelling. Of course, this is by design.  Not spending money, though… that’s a trickier thing. The reasons not to spend—or to save, if you’d like to put it more positively—are often vague, rooted in a fuzzy sense of what one should do.

When people are tired or temptations are especially aggressive (hello, holiday season!), the vague thought: I should pay off my debt, crumbles in the face of beautiful store displays or delicious scents wafting from strategically open bakery doors.

More than this, advertising often appeals to our sense of self, frequently tying products to concepts or feelings that we truly believe in. How many bath bombs have been purchased on credit cards in the name of self-care? How many unused vitamins and supplements under the name of wellness?

Pink things for breast cancer awareness? Maybe an embarrassment of water bottles and reusable bags under the name of environmentalism, even though the environmental thing would be shopping less overall? Against all these compelling, ego-supporting reasons to shop, the vague adulting calls to save more and spend less don’t stand a chance.

Just as advertisers know to tap into your sense of self through fairly specific identity appeals—Are you a dog-loving hiker? Here’s a four-wheel-drive station wagon—you can also meet your own financial needs by developing your own money mantra, or “why.”

The importance of considering our feelings and values when it comes to money has gained traction in the field of economics. As the journal Applied Economics reports, “individualized cultural values measures do indeed explain part of the financial behavior of households.” Becoming more concretely aware of cultural, familial and personal values might thus be an important key to better personal finance.

Here are a few techniques to use for getting in touch with your money “why”:

1. Tap into your core values.

What’s most important to you? Unlike with the next two exercises, you’re allowed to be a bit vague here. You might find yourself naming things like “beauty,” “health,” “community,” “family” or even something grander, like “justice.” Faced with spending decisions, you might ask yourself whether a purchase supports your core values. Now, sometimes the answer is an obvious “no.

” This new lip-gloss/headset/hamburger does not contribute to social justice. But sometimes advertisers will attempt to target your core values in sneaky ways. For example, a fuel-efficient car seems like a truly environmental choice; however, it’s not as environmental as simply not buying something.

In her book Loaded, behavioral economist Sarah Newcomb writes about these values in terms of “needs” and explains that the infamous “latte factor” can in fact be scratching the need for “social connection.” If you enjoy visiting your local coffee shop.

If this is the case, then simply saying, “I’m cutting the coffee” isn’t going to work, because the latte was never just about the caffeine hit to begin with; it was about the bond with the other regulars at the coffee shop. As you spend time reflecting on your values, start listing low-cost and free ways of sustaining them.

For example, if you feel advertisements for green juice are exploiting your value of “good health,” turn to your list of other habits and consider a vigorous workout or make a water-drinking chart for yourself in your notebook. You may still get the “hit” of supporting what you value without the hit to your wallet.

2. Do the priority exercise.

Prioritization can be a painful practice because it involves choosing one option above all others. Not wanting to make such choices can be part of how we end up in consumer debt.

TO READ MORE : https://www.success.com/how-to-find-your-money-why/

15 Folks Who Lost Everything Are Revealing What Actually Happened And It Shows How Broken Our System Really Is

15 Folks Who Lost Everything Are Revealing What Actually Happened

 And It Shows How Broken Our System Really Is 

Aaron Ant  Sun, April 20, 2025  BuzzFeed

Money isn't a measure of character, but society acts like it is. And that couldn't be further from the truth. It's important to hear that at a time when financial anxieties are at an all-time high.

Jobs are vanishing, the stock market is fluctuating, medical bills are piling up, and government budget cuts are putting Social Security and other public services at risk. For some, the economic situation we're currently facing mirrors previous recessions.

Bankruptcy and financial loss aren't personal failures in any capacity. More often than not, it's a case of someone in a system that's already working against them.

Last week, I asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to open up about experiencing bankruptcy or losing it all, and these submissions shared some honest insight into how they handled or are currently handling debt and stress.

Note: Some submissions have been edited and condensed for clarity. Some responses are from this Reddit thread. 

1."So, I was a stay-at-home mom at the time, because my old job hadn’t paid enough to cover daycare. My ex-husband made enough for us to live on, but nothing more, really. My parents helped put him through grad school. Then he committed crimes and was fired (of course), and I was unemployed with two kids and no daycare openings.

I scrambled to find a job and a place to live, and am eternally grateful for my parents’ support. That said, my job paid about a quarter of what his did, so there was no choice. I’m a little more than halfway through."

"That’s the backstory, but here’s the truth: it’s MORTIFYING. The bank I’d been using since I was 15 closed my account unceremoniously. Didn’t matter that I hadn’t had any loans through them that were discharged. Just cut me off and mailed me a check weeks later. I can’t get a cellphone plan or any reasonable insurance, I had to pay cash for a car, and thank heavens, my parents were willing to have their names on my utilities because the WATER company refused to give me an account.

Before this, I’d never missed payments or fallen behind, and had good credit. It was so good that most of the debt was in my name, which probably worked out great for my crap bag ex. So that’s it, I pay for someone else’s mistakes every day. And if it weren’t for my parents, it would have been catastrophically worse."   —shannonmiz

2."I'm a bankruptcy paralegal, and honestly, people think it will be so much worse, but it's a fairly simple process. Even the 341 meeting of creditors isn't that bad. Bankruptcy forms are free online, and if you want to file, my biggest advice is to fill out forms A/B (personal property), I (income), and J (expenses) because a lot of the holdup is just trying to get that info. So many people will call crying after their discharge, thanking us because they feel the weight off their chest."   —monikap6

3."American here. My husband and I filed after I got sick and couldn’t work for two years, racking up medical debt without the income to pay it, and using credit cards to buy groceries and basic needs. We had to move back in with my family because we couldn’t afford rent. We filed a Chapter 13, which meant we still owed a large portion of the money, but a fraction of the total. We've just paid it off after five years of payments."

"We’re wiser about our budget now, we’ve completed credit counseling, and our income has now increased to where we rent and our only debt is student loans. We’ll have to get secured credit cards and build credit back up slowly. It’s a long process, but I’m so thankful we did it. The payments were tough, but manageable, and we now have a sense of accomplishment, as well as a sense of how to build a nest in savings that can be there if one of us is out of work due to illness. It sucked, but I’m forever thankful."   —carak4a8cd43e8 

4."21 years ago, I'd just had a child. He turned 1, my spouse came home, and decided he wanted a divorce! I didn’t even know we were having issues! I mean, we just had a kid! I was always a happy-go-lucky type! Came out of nowhere! Discovered we were $100,000 in debt!"

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/americans-doom-buying-coffee-olive-224100006.html 

7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Savings

7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Savings

Protect your money by taking these seven steps.

Kat Tretina   Updated Tue, April 15, 2025  Yahoo Personal Finance

2025 has been off to a rocky start. Consumer confidence has plummeted thanks to persistent inflation, market volatility, and other challenges created by the new administration's aggressive tariff policies. Now, we can add recession concerns to the list.

According to the latest CNBC CFO Council quarterly survey, 60% of CFOs expect a recession in the second half of the year, while another 15% say a recession will hit in 2026. In early April, global investment bank Goldman Sachs also raised its estimate of the likelihood of a U.S. recession from 35% to 45%.

Although the country is not in a recession yet, there's a good chance it could be in the next few months. Taking some steps now can help you recession-proof your savings and protect your finances.

What Is A Recession?

A recession is a term that inspires fear in politicians, economists, and business owners, but what does it really mean? Although precise definitions vary, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) — a private, nonprofit organization that analyzes economic conditions — defines a recession as a period of significant economic decline that lasts for several months.

The NBER looks for several factors to determine if a recession has occurred, such as higher unemployment rates, home prices and sales, stock market declines, and wages.

Recessions are a natural and unavoidable part of the economic cycle. In fact, there have been over a dozen recessions since World War II. The most recent recession was in the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic affected the country.

In general, recessions occur every few years, and they typically last for about 10 months.

7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Savings

During a recession, you may experience the following issues:

• Savings interest rates may decline: To stimulate the economy and encourage spending, the Federal Reserve will often slash rates. As a result, loans will become less expensive, but the rates on deposit accounts — such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) — will also decline. That means any money you have saved will grow at a much slower pace.

• Earnings may stagnate: During a recession, unemployment levels are up, and workers' wages tend to stagnate, so you may not qualify for a raise. Many businesses also initiate layoffs.

• Lenders may tighten their standards: During a recession, lenders often institute stricter lending requirements for borrowers, making it more difficult to qualify for new credit or loans.

To minimize the impact of a recession on your financial well-being, follow these steps:

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/personal-finance/banking/article/recession-proof-savings-181158511.html

Government Impersonation Scams On The Rise

Government Impersonation Scams On The Rise

This California man lost everything when phone scammers pretended to be US Marshals. Here's what they said

Christy Bieber Fri, April 18, 2025  Moneywise

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has Southern Californians on the alert for a new strain of phone scams that cost one Ojai resident his life savings.

Someone claiming to be a law enforcement agent with the United States Marshals Service called him and told him to send all his money to an out-of-state location.

As KTLA 5 reports, after the Ojai man complied with the instructions, he met with local police and discovered he’d been conned.

The Sheriff’s Office issued a release warning people to be wary of this and other scams involving government impersonation.

Government Impersonation Scams On The Rise

Their warning is relevant nationwide, as a growing number of con artists impersonating government agents are scamming Americans out of their hard-earning savings.

Last year, the U.S. Marshals Service warned of a spike in similar scams in Cincinnati, as reported on the local station WLWT 5.

Of course, government impersonation scams aren’t limited to phone calls.

In 2023, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICC) reported a spike of more than 60% in online government impersonation scams that robbed 14,190 people — the majority of them older adults — of more than $390 million in savings.

What Can You Do If You're Scammed?

If you’re the victim of an impersonation scam (whether it’s someone posing as a federal agent, IT professional or a bank rep) you can try to get your money back.

But it’s important to act fast.

The Federal Trade Commision advises that you immediately attempt to stop payment or reverse the financial transaction.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-man-lost-everything-phone-203000550.html

5 Biggest Financial Regrets of Older Americans — And How You Can Avoid Them

5 Biggest Financial Regrets of Older Americans — And How You Can Avoid Them

David Nadelle  Fri, April 18, 2025  GOBankingRates

As one continues down the road of life, it’s a journey filled with unique experiences, challenges and opportunities for growth, shaping who you are and what you become. Enjoying the adventure isn’t without its difficulties, however, and many can’t help but regret the things they didn’t do along the way.

Regrets might be inevitable, but you can’t let them consume you. It’s always best to get a head start and avoid things you feel could come back to haunt you when you’re older. But even if you’re already “up there” in age, it’s never too late to practice sound financial strategies.

Business Insider asked over 1,000 Americans between the ages of 48 and 90 their views on retirement regrets, and their insights shed light on how challenging retirement and planning for it can be. People retire at different ages and for different reasons, but here’s what Business Insider and others had to say about five common financial retirement regrets, starting with under-saving for their retirement years.

Not Having Enough Retirement Savings

Not surprisingly, not having enough money to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle in retirement was the biggest regret most retirees have, according to not only Business Insider but the 2022 working paper “Financial Regret at Older Ages and Longevity Awareness,” published by Abigail Hurwitz (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Olivia S. Mitchell (University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School).

Not saving more was the biggest regret for 52% of Hurwitz’s and Mitchell’s survey respondents.

Saving early and consistently through your working years is the smartest course of action, but it’s really never too late to get started learning and earning. If you’re retired, you can try to play the market and up the risk in your investment portfolio, but it might be a better idea to adjust your spending and find ways to increase your income.

Taking Social Security Benefits Early

Assuming it still exists when the time comes for you to retire, Social Security is one of the steadiest income streams and inflation hedges you can have later in life. However, unless you have serious financial or health difficulties or expect to live a shorter life, starting Social Security early decreases the amount of benefits you’ll get over your lifetime.

According to Transamerica’s 24th annual retirement survey, the median age at which retirees began receiving benefits is 63, and nearly three in ten retirees began receiving benefits at age 62, the earliest age available, resulting in a significantly reduced payment. Only 4% of retirees waited until age 70 to receive benefits.

If you’re nearing the age where you can start claiming Social Security, holding off until you’re 70 should be a goal you take very seriously.

Not Pursuing Education More

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/5-biggest-financial-regrets-older-110325306.html

Robert Kiyosaki’s Top 4 Tips To Save Retirees From Financial Disaster

Robert Kiyosaki’s Top 4 Tips To Save Retirees From Financial Disaster

Jennifer Taylor  Thu, April 17, 2025   GOBankingRates

We all know that retirement involves a major financial shift in a person’s life. If you’re planning to leave the workforce in the near future, Robert Kiyosaki — founder of the famous “Rich Dad” franchise — has plenty of advice that might differ from the traditional guidance you’ve been given.

Going into retirement fully informed by money experts like him can help you avoid financial disaster. Here are four of Kiyosaki’s top tips to help you enjoy a financially sound retirement.

Don’t Expect Your 401(k) To Last

Generally speaking, if you worked hard to put money aside in your 401(k) throughout your career, you may assume it will last through retirement. However, Kiyosaki is adamant that this isn’t the case.

In a September 2024 post on X, he shared a story about having dinner with a baby boomer friend who said many of his peers are coming out of retirement because inflation has depleted much of their 401(k).

“Printing fake money causes assets such as gold, silver, and Bitcoin to rise in price,” he posted. “Printing fake money also causes food, fuel and fun to go up in price too.”

He said printing money might make the Feds richer, but it causes the poor and middle class to lose money.

“That’s why boomers are coming out of retirement,” he posted. “Their nest is filled with fake assets and fake money.”

Kiyosaki has long been a vocal critic of 401(k) plans.

On his “Rich Dad” website, he has covered the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, which took place around the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act. He noted that defined benefit plans provided employees with a set amount of income, but in the post-ERISA shift, the responsibility for retirement income has fallen on employees.

This, he noted, has left people with no financial education in charge of investing their retirement funds. While they can work with a financial planner, he indicated this might not necessarily be in their best interest.

Consider Alternative Investments

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/robert-kiyosaki-top-4-tips-220017518.html