At a Gas Station on a Cold Christmas Eve............

A NEW CHRISTMAS STORY . . .This story is better than any greeting card.

The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been
anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to
him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate.

He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last
hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless
man stepped through.

Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his
customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank
you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see you're busy,
I'll just go."

"Not without something hot in your belly." George said.

He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger.
"It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew ... Made it myself. When you're
done, there's coffee and it's fresh."

Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me,
be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy.
Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you
help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with
child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block
looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead.

"You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away.

"But Mister, please help ..." The door of the office closed behind George
as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old
truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the
garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was
waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever
looked at, but she runs real good."

George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into
the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the
truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ." George
thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos
was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he
got something in his belly," George thought.

George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It
cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the
truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do.
Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the the block hadn't
cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can
fix this," he said to himself. So he put a new one on.

"Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the
snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn't
going to drive the car anyway.

As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a
police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left
shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me."

George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had
received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention.
"Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been
there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct
tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said,
trying to make the policeman feel at ease.

"Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for
his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the
policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance."

The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there
talk box out in your car." He went out only to find that a bullet had gone
into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.

He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. "Thanks," said the
officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the
area."

George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the
Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check
for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya.
Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your
gonna be right as rain."

George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked.

"None for me," said the officer.

"Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no
donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time.

The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun.
"Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was
shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this
before.

"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.

"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon
away. Somebody else might get hurt."

The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now
give me the cash!"

The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to
the cop, "we got one too many in here now."

He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you
need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that
pea shooter away."

George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man,
reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released
his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good
at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he
went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last
week."

George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now
and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we
can."

He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from
the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup
of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in
here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort
this thing out."

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I shot
you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer."

"Shut up and drink your coffee " the cop said.

George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an
ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn.
"Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer.

"Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?"

"GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the
other cop asked as he approached the young man.

Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just
dropped his gun and ran."

George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.
"That guy work here?" the wounded cop continued.

"Yep," George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."

The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man
leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?"

Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks
for everything."

"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve
some of your problems."

George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a
ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha
would mind. She said it would come in handy some day."

The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw.
"I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you."

"And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories.
That's all I need."

George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared
next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's
something for that little man of yours."

The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old
man had handed him earlier.

"And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that
too," George said. "Now git home to your family."

The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in
the morning for work, if that job offer is still good."

"Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you
come from? I thought you left?"

"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say
you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?"

"Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother
was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin'
cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and
besides I was gettin' a little chubby."

The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the
holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold
and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great
doctor.

The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by
terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and
not take any for himself. "That is the spirit of the season and you keep it
as good as any man."

George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know
all this?" asked the old man.

"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when
your days are done you will be with Martha again."

The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have
to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."

George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the
stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill
the room.

"You see, George ... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas."

George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus"

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS!

"Christmas 1881" Posted by Mot at TNT

Mot: Christmas 1881

Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their
means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were
genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him
that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve, 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the
world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy
me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas. We did the chores early that
night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we
could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the
fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling
sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read
Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and
went outside.

I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the
chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in
self-pity.
 
Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in
his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out
tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for
Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason
that I could see.

We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of
anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I
knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them
to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat,
and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave
the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what.
 
Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the
work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going
to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We
never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was
already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him.
The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy.
 
When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of
the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high
sideboards," he said. "Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a
bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever
it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.
 
After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came
out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down
from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing?

Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?" "You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or
so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure,
I'd been by, but so what?   Yeah," I said, "Why?"
 
"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in
the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt." That
was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for
another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I
began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it.
 
Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house
and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and
told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying
a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in
his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked. Shoes, they're out of
shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he
was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy
too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."
 
We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to
think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards.
Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was
still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split
before we could use it.

We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that,
but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and
candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer
neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.
 
We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as
quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door.
We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?"
"Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt... could we come in for a bit?"
 
Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped
around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting
in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat
at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.
 
"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of
flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had
the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out, one pair
at a time.

There was a pair for her and one for each of the children -
sturdy shoes, the best... shoes that would last. I watched her carefully.
She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her
eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she
wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.
 
"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said,
"Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size
and heat this place up."
 
I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had
a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears
in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around
the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her
cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.

My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my
soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had
made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of
these people.
 
I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids
started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen
looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long
time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the
Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send
one of his angels to spare us."
 
In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up
in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but
after Widow Jensen mentioned it, I could see that it was probably true. I
was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started
remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many
others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.
 
Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed
when they all fit, and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then
I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord, that the Lord would make
sure he got the right sizes.
 
Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to
leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. ... They
clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their
Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.
 
At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to
invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey
will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if
he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about
eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here,
hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest... my two
brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.
 
Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to
say, may the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't
even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said,
"Matt, I want you to know something. Your Ma and me have been tucking a
little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for
you, but we didn't have quite enough.

Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your Ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a
little candy for those children. I hope you understand."
 
I understood alright... and my eyes became wet with tears again. I
understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Now the rifle
seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He
had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her
three children.
 
For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a
block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I
felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a
rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.
 
Don't be too busy today... share this inspiring message. Merry Christmas
and God bless you!

Happy Thanksgiving from Dinar Recaps

All of us at Dinar Recaps wishes all our readers a Happy Thanksgiving. Stay safe and healthy.

Note: we will not be doing a 10pm ET email Newsletter today, Thursday.

Our 6pm Newsletter will likely be sent around 7pm (ET).

Please check our BLOG PAGE throughout the day for any new posts.

The 3 Phases of Making a Major Life Change

The 3 Phases of Making a Major Life Change

by Herminia Ibarra   August 06, 2021

Summary.   The lockdown that we’ve all just lived through created a period during which a lot of people had the opportunity to reflect on plans for a career change. But reflection alone doesn’t get people very far. Those who are mostly likely to act during this kind of period are those who actively engage in a three-part cycle of transition — one that consists of separation, liminality and reintegration. The author explains how to make the most of each of these stages to effect real change.

Many of us believe that unexpected events or shocks create fertile conditions for major life and career changes by sparking us to reflect about our desires and priorities. That holds true for the coronavirus pandemic. A bit over a year ago, when I asked people in an online poll to tell me how the pandemic had affected their plans for career change, 49% chose this response: “It has given me downtime to rest and/or think.”

That’s a good start. But if there is one thing I have learned from decades of studying successful career change, it’s that thinking on its own is far from sufficient. We rarely think our way into a new way of acting. Rather, we act our way into new ways of thinking — and being.

Yes, events that disrupt our habitual routines have the potential to catalyze real change. They give us a chance to experiment with new activities and to create and renew connections. Even in the seemingly “unproductive” time we spend away from our everyday work lives, we conduct important inner business — asking the big existential questions, remembering what makes us happy, shoring up the strength to make difficult choices, consolidating our sense of self, and more.

Enough has happened during this past year to make many of us keenly aware of what we no longer want. But the problem is this: More appealing, feasible alternatives have yet to materialize. So we’re stuck in limbo between old and new. And now, with most Covid restrictions at last falling away and a return to the office imminent, we confront a real danger: getting sucked back into our former jobs and ways of working.

How can those of us who want to make a career transition avoid that? How can we make progress toward our goals by building on what we’ve learned this past year?

Research on the transformative potential of a catalyzing event like the coronavirus pandemic suggests that we are more likely to make lasting change when we actively engage in a three-part cycle of transition — one that gets us to focus on separation, liminality, and reintegration. Let’s consider each of those parts of the cycle in detail.

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

https://hbr.org/2021/08/the-3-phases-of-making-a-major-life-change

Other People’s Mistakes

Other People’s Mistakes

Aug 5, 2021 by Morgan Housel

George Carlin once joked how easy it is to spot stupid people. “Carry a little pad and pencil around with you. You’ll wind up with 30 or 40 names by the end of the day. It doesn’t take long to spot one of them, does it? Takes about eight seconds.”   Like most comedy it’s funny because it’s true.

But Daniel Kahneman mentions a more important truth in his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow: “It is easier to recognize other people’s mistakes than our own.”  I would add my own theory: It’s easier to blame other people’s mistakes on stupidity and greed than our own.  That’s because when you make a mistake, I judge it solely based on what I see. It’s quick and easy.

But when I make a mistake there’s a long and persuasive monologue in my head that justifies bad decisions and adds important context other people don’t see.  Everyone’s like that. It’s normal.

But it’s a problem, because it makes it easy to underestimate your own flaws and become too cynical about others’.

I try to stop myself whenever my explanation for other people’s behavior – financial or otherwise – is “well, they’re not very smart.” Or greedy. Or immoral. Yeah, sometimes it’s true. But probably less than we assume. More often there’s something else going on that you’re not seeing that makes the behavior more understandable, even if it’s still wrong.

A few things make it that way.

1. When judging others’ poor behavior it’s easy to underestimate your own susceptibility to the power of incentives.

The worst behavior resides in industries with the most extreme incentives. Finance, where scams are everywhere. High-end art, where counterfeits proliferate.

But it’s important to ask: Are immoral people attracted to industries where there are big rewards for bad behavior? Or do big rewards for bad behavior cause good people to slide into immorality, justifying their decisions along the way?  I think so often it’s the latter.

It helps explain things like the 2008 financial crisis. Was it caused by greedy bankers? Maybe here and there. But the huge majority of it was good, honest people who wanted to do the right thing but whose definition of “the right thing” is instantly warped when they’re paid $8 million a year to sell subprime bonds.

Incentives are almost like a drug in their ability to cloud your judgment in a way you would have found unthinkable beforehand. They can get good people to justify all kinds of things.

That doesn’t excuse bad behavior. But it’s hard to know what you’d be willing to do until you’re exposed to an extreme incentive, and that blindness makes it easy to criticize other people’s mistakes when you yourself may have been just as tempted if you were in their shoes.

2. It’s hard to tell the difference between boldness and recklessness, greed and ambition, contrarian and wrong.

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

https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/mistakes/

Hanging By A Thread

Hanging By A Thread

Aug 11, 2021 by Morgan Housel

Abig lesson from history is how chance encounters lead to both magic and mayhem in ways that would have been impossible to predict. No matter what the world looks like today, and what seems obvious today, everything can change tomorrow because of some tiny accident no one’s thinking about.

Let me show you three times history hung by a thread.

Giuseppe Zangara was tiny, barely five feet tall. He stood on a chair outside a Miami political rally in 1933 because that was the only way he could aim his gun across the crowd.

Zangara fired five shots. One of them hit Chicago mayor Anton Cermak, who was shaking hands with Zagara’s intended target. Cermak died. The target – Franklin Roosevelt – was sworn in as president two weeks later.

Within months of inauguration Roosevelt transformed the U.S. economy through the New Deal. John Nance Garner – who would have become president had Zangara hit his target – opposed most of the New Deal’s deficit spending. He almost certainly wouldn’t have enacted the same policies, some of which still shape today’s economy.

Captain William Turner invited his niece, actress Mercedes Desmore, to tour his massive ocean liner before it sailed from New York To Liverpool.

The ship’s crew, eager to leave on time, removed the gangway for departure while Desmore was still onboard. She was stuck on a ship about to begin a seven-day voyage. Her furious uncle made the crew re-dock the ship so she could get off.

The redocking delayed the ship’s departure. No one could have known that six days later the delay would mean that Turner’s ship – the Lusitania – would sail into the path of a German submarine at the very moment its periscope could finally see through the day’s diminishing fog.

The Lusitania was hit with a torpedo, killing 1,200 passengers and becoming the most important trigger to rally U.S. public support for entering World War I.

Had it sailed through the Celtic Sea half an hour earlier – had Desmore’s tour not caused a delay – the Lusitania would have been cloaked in heavy fog. The ship likely would have avoided attack. A country may have avoided a war that became the seed event for the rest of the 20th century.

Robert E. Lee had one last shot to escape Ulysses Grant’s troops and regroup to gain the upper hand in the Civil War. His plan was bold but totally plausible. All he needed was food for his hungry troops.

An order was put in to have rations delivered to a Virginia supply depot for Lee’s men. But there was a communication error in Richmond, and the wagons delivered boxes of ammunition but not a morsel of food.

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

https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/thread/

National Financial Awareness Day – August 14, 2021

National Financial Awareness Day – August 14, 2021

How much would you like to bet that most people don’t know August 14 is National Financial Awareness Day?

It’s more important than you think. And plus, what’s more fun than financial independence? First off, think about that great feeling you get when you don’t have the looming specter of debt hanging over you.  Also, sound financial decisions can really make a difference down the road.

Remember, retirement is a time to take all those vacations you couldn’t when you were working the daily grind. Because money is important to our overall peace of mind, Financial Awareness Day is a great time to review where you are now and where you’re going financially.  Don’t let bad financial decisions ruin the best years of your life!

When Is National Financial Awareness Day 2021?

Start saving, investing, and building up that nest egg on National Financial Awareness Day on August 14.

History Of National Financial Awareness Day

Do you lavishly spend money like they did in “The Great Gatsby”? Are you saving for retirement but uncertain where every penny is going? Do you live from paycheck to paycheck? Whatever your financial situation may be, it is time to look at the big picture and commit to becoming more aware of your spending. Most of us like to wait until our birthday or the new year to plan our finances but today is a great time to start. August 14 is National Financial Awareness Day and a good reminder to take investing and saving seriously to build financial stability and prepare for the future.

The origins of the holiday are unknown but the aim of it is to develop and instill good financial practices that will solidify a person’s current financial status and serve them through retirement. Investing will make money do the work for us, which will result in less time spent working and leave more time for us to enjoy our lives.

David Ravetch, a senior accounting lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, says, “We live in a world of financial illiteracy.” What he means is that most of us do not possess the knowledge and skills that are necessary to make informed and effective financial decisions with our existing financial resources.

It seems overwhelming, but everyone has the capacity to learn sound financial principles and save up. Just making small changes to our daily habits can reap great financial benefits. Finances can be quite straightforward once we distinguish our wants from our needs and take inventory of our spending. Joining an investment or money management club or consulting a financial advisor is encouraged, and books and blogs on personal finance are promoted.

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

https://nationaltoday.com/national-financial-awareness-day/

National Financial Awareness Day – August 14, 2021

National Financial Awareness Day – August 14, 2021

How much would you like to bet that most people don’t know August 14 is National Financial Awareness Day?

It’s more important than you think. And plus, what’s more fun than financial independence? First off, think about that great feeling you get when you don’t have the looming specter of debt hanging over you.  Also, sound financial decisions can really make a difference down the road.

Remember, retirement is a time to take all those vacations you couldn’t when you were working the daily grind. Because money is important to our overall peace of mind, Financial Awareness Day is a great time to review where you are now and where you’re going financially.  Don’t let bad financial decisions ruin the best years of your life!

When Is National Financial Awareness Day 2021?

Start saving, investing, and building up that nest egg on National Financial Awareness Day on August 14.

History Of National Financial Awareness Day

Do you lavishly spend money like they did in “The Great Gatsby”? Are you saving for retirement but uncertain where every penny is going? Do you live from paycheck to paycheck? Whatever your financial situation may be, it is time to look at the big picture and commit to becoming more aware of your spending. Most of us like to wait until our birthday or the new year to plan our finances but today is a great time to start. August 14 is National Financial Awareness Day and a good reminder to take investing and saving seriously to build financial stability and prepare for the future.

The origins of the holiday are unknown but the aim of it is to develop and instill good financial practices that will solidify a person’s current financial status and serve them through retirement. Investing will make money do the work for us, which will result in less time spent working and leave more time for us to enjoy our lives.

David Ravetch, a senior accounting lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, says, “We live in a world of financial illiteracy.” What he means is that most of us do not possess the knowledge and skills that are necessary to make informed and effective financial decisions with our existing financial resources.

It seems overwhelming, but everyone has the capacity to learn sound financial principles and save up. Just making small changes to our daily habits can reap great financial benefits. Finances can be quite straightforward once we distinguish our wants from our needs and take inventory of our spending. Joining an investment or money management club or consulting a financial advisor is encouraged, and books and blogs on personal finance are promoted.

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

https://nationaltoday.com/national-financial-awareness-day/

The Biggest Ponzi Schemes in Modern History

The Biggest Ponzi Schemes in Modern History

Published July 19, 2021 By  Marcus Lu  Graphics/Design:  Bhabna Banerjee

Some things simply sound too good to be true, but when money is involved, our judgement can become clouded.  This is often the case with Ponzi schemes, a type of financial fraud that lures investors by promising abnormally high returns. Money brought in by new members is used to pay the scheme’s founders, as well as its earlier investors.   The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, an Italian who became infamous in the 1920s for claiming he could double his clients’ money within 90 days. Since then, numerous Ponzi schemes have been orchestrated around the globe.

To help you learn more about these sophisticated crimes, this infographic examines some of the biggest Ponzi schemes in modern history.

Ponzi Schemes in the 20th Century

The 1990s saw a number of large Ponzi schemes worth upwards of $500 million.

Country              Date Ended        Name of Scheme and Founder    Value (USD)

Belgium              1991      Moneytron, Jean-Pierre Van Rossem          $860M

Romania            1994      Caritas, Ioan Stoica                                    $1B - $5B

Russia                 1994      MMM, Sergei Mavrodi                                     $10B

U.S.                      1997      Great Ministries International, Geral Payne        $500M

In many cases, these schemes thrived by taking advantage of the unsuspecting public who often lacked any knowledge of investing. Caritas, for example, was a Ponzi scheme based in Romania that marketed itself as a “self-help game” for the poor.

The scheme was initially very successful, tricking millions of people into making deposits by offering the chance to earn an 800% return after three months. This was not sustainable, and Caritas was eventually unable to distribute further winnings.

Caritas operated for only two years, but its “success” was undeniable. In 1993, it was estimated that a third of the country’s money was circulating through the scheme.

Ponzi Schemes in the 21st Century

The American public has fallen victim to numerous multi-billion dollar Ponzi schemes since the beginning of the 21st century.

Country              Date Ended         Name of Scheme and Founder    Value (USD)

U.S.        2003      Mutual Benefits Company, Joel Steinger               $1B

U.S.        2003      Petters Group Worldwide, Tom Petters                  $4B

U.S.       2008      Madoff Investment Scandal, Bernie Madoff           $65B

U.S.        2012      Stanford Financial Group, Allen Stanford              $7B

Many of these schemes have made major headlines, but much less is said about the thousands of everyday Americans that were left in financial ruin.

For victims of the Madoff Investment Scandal, receiving any form of compensation has been a drawn-out process. In 2018, 10 years after the scheme was uncovered, a court-appointed trustee managed to recover $13 billion by liquidating Madoff’s firm and personal assets.

As NPR reported, investors may recover up to 60 to 70 percent of their initial investment only. For victims who had to delay retirement or drastically alter their lifestyles, this compensation likely provides little solace.

Do the Crime, Pay the Time

Running a Ponzi scheme is likely to land you in jail for a long time, at least in the U.S.

In 2009, for example, 71-year-old Bernie Madoff pled guilty to 11 federal felonies and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. That’s 135 years longer than the average U.S. murder conviction.

Outside of the U.S., it’s a much different story. Weaker regulation and enforcement, particularly in developing countries, means a number of schemes are ongoing today.

Sergei Mavrodi, known for running the Russian Ponzi scheme MMM, started a new organization named MMM Global after being released from prison in 2011. Although he died in March 2018, his self-described “social financial network” has established a base in several Southeast Asian and African countries.

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

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/biggest-ponzi-schemes-in-modern-history/

A Little Common Sense From An Old Cowboy

TNT:

Mot:  A LITTLE COMMON SENSE FROM AN OLD COWBOY . .

By Don Cox. A LITTLE COMMON SENSE FROM AN OLD COWBOY . . .

 Don't pick a fight with an Old Man, cause you may get what's comin' to ya!

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered . . . not yelled.

Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life . . . Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

Don ‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around . . .

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

What It Means To Live a Truly Rich Life and How To Achieve It

What It Means To Live a Truly Rich Life and How To Achieve It

Jaime Catmull  July 1, 2021

Being “rich” means different things to different people — and it doesn’t always have to do with money. In fact, a 2018 GOBankingRates survey found that nearly half of Americans — 49% — defined being rich in a way that had nothing to do with financial wealth.

According to the survey, 30% of Americans believe that being rich means living a happy life no matter how much money you earn, and 19% define wealth as having meaningful My personal definition of living a rich life has changed and evolved over time. Now, I can’t help but think how important it is for me to know that if I lost my job tomorrow that I could still pay my bills, and to have the financial freedom to breathe.

I haven’t always had that. When I was younger, I was irresponsible with my money. Though exotic trips, expensive clothes and fancy restaurants were fun, the bills and debt they left me with were not. I thought “living richer” was all about throwing caution to the wind and not worrying if I could afford something or not. Thinking and living like that only led to extreme financial hardship, stress and unhappiness. It wasn’t until I stopped trying to look and act “rich” and comparing myself to others that I found what “Live Richer” truly means relationships with friends and family.

“Live Richer” to me is no longer searching for happiness in physical things. Instead, it’s finding it where I’m at, and ultimately within myself. It’s about putting money away for rainy days instead of worrying about your next Instagram post or having the right outfit, car or home. Saving money and budgeting isn’t always fun or sexy, but the sense of peace and worth that comes from having a savings account and a retirement plan is priceless.

Having struggles with money and not being able to buy everything I thought I wanted helped me develop my character, and be more aware and compassionate toward others and their money struggles. That’s why the “Live Richer” series and Your Money Champion column are so important to me.

Through helping people with their hardest money questions and sharing expert advice, I’ve learned that with the right planning and a little bit of discipline, it’s possible to earn more, save more and live well in every phase of life — and during the month of July, GOBankingRates will be teaching you how to do just that.

To kick off our month of living richer, I spoke to some very influential, successful people about how they define living a “rich life” — here’s what they had to say.

Barbara Corcoran: Real Estate Mogul and Business Expert

“By most people’s standards, my parents were poor. But they were never depleted, weak or needy, and cared for all 10 of us with an abundance of love. They just didn’t value money. Today people say I’m rich — flush with cash, as they say, a lucky son of a gun. But I don’t put much value on it. My real worth is the time I spend with the people I love, measured by the enduring affection my family and friends have for me over a lifetime.”

Deepak Chopra, MD: Founder of Chopra Global and The Chopra Foundation

“To live richer is to follow the inner path to wealth and abundance.”

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

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/financial-planning/31-days-living-richer-what-it-means-to-live-truly-rich-life/?utm_campaign=1109626&utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_content=21&utm_medium=rss