I rented (not through choice) for over 20 years and finally managed to get on the property ladder (UK) 5 years ago. Renting meant zero security and I had to move every 2-3 years or less due to rent hikes and flats being sold underneath me. So yes I have a mortgage I'll be paying off for the next 23 years but how on earth is renting better than trying to own your own place which is also an asset that could help fund retirement?
Yeah he really missed the point about mortgages. They’re the #1 wealth builder for the middle class. Tax incentives, financial security, and the fact that the debt can’t be margin called is all enough to outweigh the “debt is bad” slogan. Just don’t borrow too much, mortgages are great.
In my UK city,VAN DWELLING is a huge thing now,and far from poor destitutes,it's ex uni people,who have chosen the vagrant life as they are ideologically opposed to EVER paying back their student loan. Freeloading bastards,ha ha ha.
I disagree with the notion that people shouldn’t donate to charities because charities are terrible. Some charities? Yes, sure. There are always bad actors who have started charities as tax shelters. But there are more that publish their administrative budgets in all transparency. Where social safety nets are minimal or non existent they provide essential support. I’d reframe this to “do your research before donating”
I support LEPRA. This is a very good open and clear charity they do masses of food stuff including providing helpful things like special shoes for people who have to live with the damage of leprosy even after cured. Sadly even today when leprosy can be cured right away a lot of people hide that theyve got it until it's serious due to the REAL danger of social stigma. Women can be driven from their homes and children by THEIR HUSBAND or if he's kind,sent to live in a hut nearby and fed scraps. It's true,now,today.
Tim, the 2% inflation figure comes from the Consumer Price Index or its equivalent in other countries. It's based on 80,000+ items in the US with different weights. Shelter has more weight than, say, Coca-Cola. But if you don't buy a new property every year, the CPI has nothing to do with you. This is why everyone's inflation is different. And I doubt it's 2% for anyone.
P.S. I lost my childhood friend after lending him $300. Never seen him since 20 years ago.
Couldn’t say less but for one thing Bitcoin is not scares it is actually infinitely down scalable : you can divide it endlessly… its a fiat related thing so watch your Mining 😎
100%. Bitcoin can be divided down to eight decimal places, allowing for very small transactions, often referred to as microtransactions.
Blow their mind some more by telling them how 9ne Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million smaller units called Satoshis (sats). This means that 1 Bitcoin is equal to 100,000,000 Satoshis.
Then when you start talking about it censorship-resistant qualities, and how it is verifiable and scarce, these blown minds start to finally awaken.
In most countries, we truly do a disservice to children (heck, and adults) by not educating them on money management. But then I think, who would educate them? As your article stated, 'most' people aren't educated on it themselves. First, I think we need to take away the stigma that is money and what it (can) represent. It's a means to an end. A tool. Not our identity or what our morals are built around.
In my youth I think the assumption was that money skills would be learnt at home,from parents and relatives. Tough if none of your rellies has financial skills! To clarify my case. Both my parents had reacted against THE acquisitive drive in THEIR families which in turn was driven by their experience of the no social welfare early 1900s,by going the other way. So my Mum and Dad in a weird way were like 1960s hippies without actually being so. They took a perverse pride in NOT keeping up with the Joneses and reacted with contempt to every new car in our street,every new sofa,every new white goods delivered for that kitchen. It was the 1960s and my parents were about as counter cultural as you could get! Compounded by my Dads sincere and genuine belief that MONEY was invented by SATAN and that HE runs the World Money system - but I think my Dad got that last bit right!
Tim, you hit important points and part of the reason I started my Substack….Conventional personal finance advice based on rules of thumb is constantly rehashed, and rarely correct. For me, it is all about the best living standard.
Tim, this is one of the best articles I have read in ages. You nailed every point. The rules have completely changed, if there ever were any. I’d call them traditional expectations. One bullet I would elaborate on us be your own personnel officer and school teach us what we need to make money, but teach us nothing on how to grow your money. This was a fantastic post.
Money is gold and silver. Everything else is ‘currency’ because the big difference between the two is a store of value. Fiat currency is not a store of value but gold and silver (true money) are
🎗️ The core thing to remember here, should be this:
MONEY has an attribute called Store of Value. Notwithstanding, Scarcity, too (i.e., it shouldn't be easy to replicate).
CURRENCY is only something that you use to pay for goods and services.
Currency (dollar, yen, pound, etc.) and money WERE the same, when currency was backed by gold. When currencies stopped being backed by gold, they lost their legit monetary properties.
Yet, we're still conditioned to think that we're actually working for Money. But it IS Currency, in the form of digital 1's & O's, hitting your bank account. Think about that three times, when you get your next W2 pay or 1099 commission check.
Unless you're comparing it to other currencies, Dollar (fiat) "cash" (Currency) is, in many ways, trash… The Petrodollar is nearing its death.
And, while the $ is the world's reserve Currency, unless the Powers That Be find ways to protect its purchasing power and stop its currency debasement, then, well, what can I say, you're not getting ahead 'saving in it!'
There’s an ETF for almost everything, whether it’s a stock, a commodity (like currencies or pork bellies or gold or bitcoin futures) or even “inverse equity” - like a best against a specific company, like Tesla inverse equity ETF - an ETF that shorts Tesla.
Sure - you can invest in bitcoin futures via an ETF. That doesn’t mean bitcoin eligible for trading on an exchange directly -in fact, that kinda defeats the whole purpose of bitcoin.
It helps to know what you are investing in before you invest, gives you a better chance of making money on your investment.
Honest question - where are you doing deep research on stocks? For years I worked in a field where I legally could not buy individual stocks and am now finally (yay!) able to
I got rich slow, paid off my house and thank God I have my little 401k that was up 25% this year. The wife and I have over $1 million in 401k and zero debt and we’re under 50. I am happy with my little stable job and I can raise my four kids and drive our paid for Honda minivan and be happy. I wouldn’t subscribe to much of anything in this article. I like my little, paid off house and I am grateful that guys like Dave Ramsey out there giving real money advice.
pretty much agree with the content. This is a motivation for me to start side hustle which I am already being process of equipped to upskill. Thanks for highlighting money part since bad debt and good debt exist and we need to study and make informed decisions about the money. One of the good decisions that i took is to stick to 5 year old fixed interest rate for my current mortgage. One of the bad decision is to rely on credit cards and paying a lot of interest rate and lot of lessons learned for sure
When Tim talks money, I listen. I agree with all points so maybe I’m biased but my favourite point is the charity. Someone finally has the guts to call them on the fact that donations might not make it to where it needs to go.
PS thanks for the article on liquidity cycles and elections 📈
I rented (not through choice) for over 20 years and finally managed to get on the property ladder (UK) 5 years ago. Renting meant zero security and I had to move every 2-3 years or less due to rent hikes and flats being sold underneath me. So yes I have a mortgage I'll be paying off for the next 23 years but how on earth is renting better than trying to own your own place which is also an asset that could help fund retirement?
I tend to agree.. owning my home, gives me stability. Something I'm personally willing to pay for..
Yeah he really missed the point about mortgages. They’re the #1 wealth builder for the middle class. Tax incentives, financial security, and the fact that the debt can’t be margin called is all enough to outweigh the “debt is bad” slogan. Just don’t borrow too much, mortgages are great.
In my UK city,VAN DWELLING is a huge thing now,and far from poor destitutes,it's ex uni people,who have chosen the vagrant life as they are ideologically opposed to EVER paying back their student loan. Freeloading bastards,ha ha ha.
I disagree with the notion that people shouldn’t donate to charities because charities are terrible. Some charities? Yes, sure. There are always bad actors who have started charities as tax shelters. But there are more that publish their administrative budgets in all transparency. Where social safety nets are minimal or non existent they provide essential support. I’d reframe this to “do your research before donating”
even the ones who are transparent have CEO's making 7 figure salaries from the "Charity" so I wouldn't trust a singe one of them
I support LEPRA. This is a very good open and clear charity they do masses of food stuff including providing helpful things like special shoes for people who have to live with the damage of leprosy even after cured. Sadly even today when leprosy can be cured right away a lot of people hide that theyve got it until it's serious due to the REAL danger of social stigma. Women can be driven from their homes and children by THEIR HUSBAND or if he's kind,sent to live in a hut nearby and fed scraps. It's true,now,today.
"good" not food.
The micro skills is my favorite. Stack them up to become unstoppable
Tim, the 2% inflation figure comes from the Consumer Price Index or its equivalent in other countries. It's based on 80,000+ items in the US with different weights. Shelter has more weight than, say, Coca-Cola. But if you don't buy a new property every year, the CPI has nothing to do with you. This is why everyone's inflation is different. And I doubt it's 2% for anyone.
P.S. I lost my childhood friend after lending him $300. Never seen him since 20 years ago.
P.S.S. Bitcoin to the Moon!
Couldn’t say less but for one thing Bitcoin is not scares it is actually infinitely down scalable : you can divide it endlessly… its a fiat related thing so watch your Mining 😎
Some people don’t know they don’t need $90k to start investing in Bitcoin. It blows their minds when you say they can buy one Satoshi.
100%. Bitcoin can be divided down to eight decimal places, allowing for very small transactions, often referred to as microtransactions.
Blow their mind some more by telling them how 9ne Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million smaller units called Satoshis (sats). This means that 1 Bitcoin is equal to 100,000,000 Satoshis.
Then when you start talking about it censorship-resistant qualities, and how it is verifiable and scarce, these blown minds start to finally awaken.
hahaha Barry, it's not that bad they haven't awakened yet - we can buy more until the Bitcoin price soars again.
In most countries, we truly do a disservice to children (heck, and adults) by not educating them on money management. But then I think, who would educate them? As your article stated, 'most' people aren't educated on it themselves. First, I think we need to take away the stigma that is money and what it (can) represent. It's a means to an end. A tool. Not our identity or what our morals are built around.
In my youth I think the assumption was that money skills would be learnt at home,from parents and relatives. Tough if none of your rellies has financial skills! To clarify my case. Both my parents had reacted against THE acquisitive drive in THEIR families which in turn was driven by their experience of the no social welfare early 1900s,by going the other way. So my Mum and Dad in a weird way were like 1960s hippies without actually being so. They took a perverse pride in NOT keeping up with the Joneses and reacted with contempt to every new car in our street,every new sofa,every new white goods delivered for that kitchen. It was the 1960s and my parents were about as counter cultural as you could get! Compounded by my Dads sincere and genuine belief that MONEY was invented by SATAN and that HE runs the World Money system - but I think my Dad got that last bit right!
As usual, this was eye-opening, Timbo.
Insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results
Tim, you hit important points and part of the reason I started my Substack….Conventional personal finance advice based on rules of thumb is constantly rehashed, and rarely correct. For me, it is all about the best living standard.
Tim, this is one of the best articles I have read in ages. You nailed every point. The rules have completely changed, if there ever were any. I’d call them traditional expectations. One bullet I would elaborate on us be your own personnel officer and school teach us what we need to make money, but teach us nothing on how to grow your money. This was a fantastic post.
Money is gold and silver. Everything else is ‘currency’ because the big difference between the two is a store of value. Fiat currency is not a store of value but gold and silver (true money) are
🎗️ The core thing to remember here, should be this:
MONEY has an attribute called Store of Value. Notwithstanding, Scarcity, too (i.e., it shouldn't be easy to replicate).
CURRENCY is only something that you use to pay for goods and services.
Currency (dollar, yen, pound, etc.) and money WERE the same, when currency was backed by gold. When currencies stopped being backed by gold, they lost their legit monetary properties.
Yet, we're still conditioned to think that we're actually working for Money. But it IS Currency, in the form of digital 1's & O's, hitting your bank account. Think about that three times, when you get your next W2 pay or 1099 commission check.
Unless you're comparing it to other currencies, Dollar (fiat) "cash" (Currency) is, in many ways, trash… The Petrodollar is nearing its death.
And, while the $ is the world's reserve Currency, unless the Powers That Be find ways to protect its purchasing power and stop its currency debasement, then, well, what can I say, you're not getting ahead 'saving in it!'
“In fact, in 2024, Wall Street officially embraced it and allowed it to be traded on the New York stock exchange.”
Nope. Bitcoin is NOT traded on the NYSE. It’s not a stock.
no bitcoin itself is not a stock but they have ETF options in bitcoin that are traded on the stock market
There’s an ETF for almost everything, whether it’s a stock, a commodity (like currencies or pork bellies or gold or bitcoin futures) or even “inverse equity” - like a best against a specific company, like Tesla inverse equity ETF - an ETF that shorts Tesla.
Sure - you can invest in bitcoin futures via an ETF. That doesn’t mean bitcoin eligible for trading on an exchange directly -in fact, that kinda defeats the whole purpose of bitcoin.
It helps to know what you are investing in before you invest, gives you a better chance of making money on your investment.
“Poverty an artificial creation!
Eradication of poverty is an Obligation, not a charity.” Prof. M. Yunus
Invented charity should be branded as a disgrace to society!
Honest question - where are you doing deep research on stocks? For years I worked in a field where I legally could not buy individual stocks and am now finally (yay!) able to
But I feel so unconfident!!
I got rich slow, paid off my house and thank God I have my little 401k that was up 25% this year. The wife and I have over $1 million in 401k and zero debt and we’re under 50. I am happy with my little stable job and I can raise my four kids and drive our paid for Honda minivan and be happy. I wouldn’t subscribe to much of anything in this article. I like my little, paid off house and I am grateful that guys like Dave Ramsey out there giving real money advice.
pretty much agree with the content. This is a motivation for me to start side hustle which I am already being process of equipped to upskill. Thanks for highlighting money part since bad debt and good debt exist and we need to study and make informed decisions about the money. One of the good decisions that i took is to stick to 5 year old fixed interest rate for my current mortgage. One of the bad decision is to rely on credit cards and paying a lot of interest rate and lot of lessons learned for sure
Love it, can‘t think of any of the general ideas I disagree with and I‘m an old git with enough experience to judge
When Tim talks money, I listen. I agree with all points so maybe I’m biased but my favourite point is the charity. Someone finally has the guts to call them on the fact that donations might not make it to where it needs to go.
PS thanks for the article on liquidity cycles and elections 📈