Banks in Ireland have frozen my accounts for no good reason (+ similar for friends in the UK) and you have to prove you did nothing wrong instead of them having to prove you did something wrong. and make a song and dance about reporting them to the ombudsman before they act.
They don't just hand you back your money and close your account. they seize it and you have to prove why they should give it back to you. Which is insane when you think about it!
I've had times where primary bank accounts have been frozen without any warning. When I call them up they say we're were going to send a notice in the mail about it, meanwhile, I had no access to money to buy food etc. And I would likely only have found out after a week if I hadn't noticed.
I got it resolved but it is naive to think that the person with the control over the software that says whether you have money or not isn't the person in control.
There are countless errors of balances on ATMs + software errors not depositing wages on time
Countless news stories of governments seizing assets as suspected proceeds of crime. hell if you walk into an airport with over 10k cash in the EU you have to have some documentation about how that isn't the proceeds or going to be used for the purposes of crime. Even when it is perfectly legit, which is mad. It's not up to them to prove you are a criminal, they just take your monies unless they believe your story.
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/cash-controls_en
The counterpoint to this is crypto may not be stable enough to live off unless you are lucky enough to catch a moon. If you convert fiat to alts or bitcoin and lose your keys you are fucked, if you lose your bank card there is a safety net or if someone robs your bank account you can often get the money back. If someone takes you bitcoin, it's gone. and stable coins not backed by anything aren't safe enough to ensure a consistent wealth if you wanted to budget for the future based on not putting cash under your mattress of holding cash in a bank.
Like if someone has 10k or 100k and wants to take it out of a bank and put it in crypto is it possible to reasonably expect to maintain that value over time? (without trusting a stable coin that is likely printing money like a central bank with no control).
And even if you catch a moon if you don't realise the gains in fiat, the moon will come crashing down at least to a certain degree.
I think banks, and governments, feel they can do as they please and the little people like me have to accept it. It's a growing trend where our money isn't our money.
The problem with all our money being in the banks, and accessed by ATM's or credit cards is they can turn them on and off...I doubt the situation is going to get much better.
Thanks for your post and supporting the posting initiative. It is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the reply!
I agree 100%. They can turn off the access to the cash if too many people wanted cash all at once. Most banks have withdrawal limits per day and things like that in the terms to restrict people from having their money. I mean it makes sense from their point of view so they don't need to physically have tonnes of cash on premises but still it's less freedom for the common person.
I think it's crazy for us to be charged fees as well, they store and earn off out assets and charge fees for the privilege. Or some banks waive fees if your balance is above X amount all the time but charge the poorer folk money if the balance drops below. From a fairness point of view helping the worst off stay badly off!
Honestly, on the loan rates and credit card rates, banks should easily be able to profit with charging current account (chequing account) fees.
I don't like the banks. Sure, I have some money in there, but most is in metals, silver and gold, and a little crypto. The metals make me feel a little safer as I can access it immediately. A few phone calls and it's cash in hand.
Most people don't know what's going on with their money and figure it's safe in the bank. It is not.
The seek to control us, as with governments and media so the trillionaire's make more, and the billionaire's become trillionaire's on our backs. COVID is good for business too.
These days a little person (like me) is better off not planning ahead, investing, as the hand-out society rewards that more than planning ahead financially. Still, I'm a slow learner and I plan ahead for my financial security, whilst paying taxes for those who don't. I must be dumb.
I agree money in the bank isn't safe. It would take me time to get used to having precious metals around. If you have it at home and your place gets burglarized you may as well have had cash under a mattress if the thief's know how to open the safe.
And if some company is holding the metals it's likely safer but not in your control. How do you balance those sort of thoughts?
And yeah I fully agree CoVid-19 has been a shining star for Amazon and some companies in medicine, especially emergency medicine.
I disagree with handouts but take what if anything is available from the government because I'm already paying enough as income, sales tax and other taxes. Planning ahead could add many healthy years to your life. Relying on the government to fix all emergencies or other unexpected events is not a good strategy lol but I know I don't need to tell you that!
Planning ahead is so important, as is planning around the storage of metals at home...Both are under control.
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