Is It Possible To Feel Secure Economically Right Now Without Taking Bold Steps To Create A Vastly Different Financial Blueprint For And Yours?
In my estimation, our economic future has never looked so bleak, or at the very least, let's call the outlook turbulent.
The invoice for the global economic shutdown will make for traumatic fiscal reading when it lands on our collective doormat, marked 'DUE'. Central banks around the world are printing fiat currency like a caveman mesmerized by his magical new printer.
Remember those pictures we have all seen being beamed out of failed states and after catastrophic collapses of economic systems, you know the ones, they show people with wheelbarrows full of worthless bank notes, unable to buy a loaf of bread.
I dunno about you, but my school didn't have 'The horrifying truth about hyper-inflation' or 'The ineptitude of governments' on the syllabus. Did yours? I feel that we little people, We 'fiscal Philistines', were deemed too unsophisticated, to understand such grown up topics.
If we had, we may have been able to see through the annual or biannual speeches given by our Chancellors, Fiscal Chiefs or economic think-tanks. If we had, we may have understand the 'real reason' the banksters were given humongous bailouts from the very same politicians who, in their 'other jobs', were the board members and major investors of many of the corporations that would have come off pretty badly, if the 'too big to fail' had been allowed to fail.
Is it just me who views people in my own economic class as 'too small to matter', when I hear the phrase about global corporations and massive chains of stores and banks as 'too big to fail'. I wonder what Charles Darwin would have thought of that phrase had he been around today and spent a portion of his time as an economic analyst. I wonder if he would have taken one look at the over-bloated banksters and oligarchs and coined the phrase
Survival of the fattest...
I have another surreal image that springs to mind when I think of those at the top of the financial house of cards system, who think they have a divine right to lobby those in power to get the best deal for their cronies, who think democracy is just another contractual loophole to be exploited...
The image I have is of one of those inflatable slides that they deploy at the steps of an aeroplane when there's a crash landing or a malfunction whilst still on the ground. I reckon they have one of those inflatable slides out of the back door of Goldman Sachs that dumps the lucky passenger straight in to a position of power in a global seat of government... It bears thinking about, right?
Global economics and Government fiscal policy seems to me to be mostly 'smoke and mirrors' full of buzzwords and vagaries curated, sanitised and sugar coated by the spin doctors who are paid fortunes (of tax payers money) to make a brainectomy sound like an appealing course of treatment, that will aid your little thinking problem.
The way I see it, is that if we were a little more educated in the school system about financial principles, economic laws and we could comprehend the convoluted jargon that goes along with it, we would be able to see behind the curtain and understand exactly what our leaders and the establishment figures were doing and that would be a very unpalatable idea for them indeed, that would simply never do.
If that scenario ever came to pass, we would realise with absolute clarity that they left a spendaholic in charge of the national purse, a feckless puppet in charge of a country, the Wizard is a fraud and can do nothing to get us back to Oz and the Emperor is quite categorically wearing approximately zero clothes
In short we would realise that the lunatics are running the asylum.
At the very least what I see when I look at global fiduciary figureheads is errant fools who are rife with incompetence, at worst it is something far, far more sinister and corrupt.
Now in some ways the fact I am writing this post on a blog that is firmly positioned on a blockchain and clearly centred in an ecosphere that is rooted in a crypto economic system means I am preaching to the choir, however that does not absolve every last one of us from our absolute duty to start asking awkward questions of those holding the purse-strings. Taking a lyric from one of my favourite songs: Collapse by Rise Against,
Neutrality means that you don't really care 'cos the struggle goes on even when your not there, blind and unaware...
It is awesome that we have been exposed to the crypto ethos, that we understand how a decentralised, incorruptible economic system works as a store of value and a hedge against inflation or the death-knell of hyper inflation or as much, much more as we move forward.
But that does not mean we give up on everybody else. The system must ALWAYS be accountable to us - NOT the other way around!
If you are unaware of the recent events of Reddit and Gamestop Vs Wall Street, go and google the story, it is exactly the sort of piece of the puzzle that will become a brick in our shared economic history, best to learn about such things as they are happening than read them in years to come and only then realize how much the system was shaken, right to it's Wall Street foundations...
This has had huge ramifications for small retail investors like myself, one particular investing app that I use has temporarily raised it's minimum share spend amount from a mere £1 to a not so mere £100.
It sounds like the message that is being sent is, until the serfs and commoners learn to behave, we shall bar them all from a seat at our big, important table. There are more nuanced factors at play than that, but that is how I choose to interpret the situation.
The pension crisis, the health care crisis, the ongoing fallout years after subprime, the massive overspending by governments around the world and on and on and on... All of this was precarious already... Then came Covid...
In light of this pressing and urgent situation, we must all take steps to make ourselves more financially viable.
I believe that each and everyone of us is a sovereign individual, despite the establishment trying to strip us of this essential, inherently earned, designation. As such it is our duty to give ourselves and our loved ones the greatest protection from economic catastrophe that we can, in each and every way we can.
What is your financial plan to weather the oncoming storm? Do you have one?
If only people understood compound interest from a young age, huge debts would be avoided, great sums would be amassed by informed, enlightened global citizens who understood and could calculate what they were getting in to.
If the oh-so-important topic of delayed gratification was taught and truly understood, people would truly understand that not eating the whole cake today ensures they could have much more cake in the longrun. This concept is usually discussed with a focus on discipline, lack and loss, who the hell wants to save for a rainy day? If it's gonna be wet and miserable, then there will be nowhere to go and spend our savings, right, try visiting the beach in a storm and see how much fun it is.
If people were educated in the ways of living a good life today, whilst investing for a better tomorrow, they would be more inclined to make the 'perceived' sacrifices necessary to become financially free down the road.
Did you leave school understanding how credit cards, bank accounts and mortgages worked? Nope, me neither, we were too busy working out how to calculate the circumference of a Pidgeon whilst learning how primitive man applied leeches to some dude with evil spirits trapped in his head!
The vast majority of us were victims of a system that cared only about turning out a new batch of worker drones to man the low paid jobs in manufacturing or the service industry. We were short changed by the establishment that believes there are only so many seats at the big table.
But we don't need to stay there, trapped in ignorance, there is a world of education and resources available to us in the digital age, information for transformation has never been so readily available. We simply need to choose to become more...
I am going to be offering some ideas for starting out on the road to financial freedom in the coming days, even if you are starting from nothing, or less than nothing. We live in remarkable times when a person can be exponentially rewarded for learning to do things a little different from how his or her parents did them.
I challenge you to be different, be remarkable, be eccentric because going along with the herd and acting like everyone else will bring the same results that everyone else has.
Most of all, I challenge you to START, take action, read a book, maybe listen to an audiobook or find an expert on YouTube and begin to learn a different way to live, work, handle money and maybe develop a new perspective of exactly what you are capable of.
Do not accept that you must be washed up and broken on the financial rocks of your country on the whim of your leaders, you are far better than that, your potential is infinite.
I would LOVE to hear your ideas for a way to shore up your financial life in light of the incredibly challenging times ahead.
I genuinely hope that you and yours are well and about to embark on your greatest ever spell of the journey we call life. May health, wealth, happiness and all of the very best life has to offer be abundant for you and may 2021 prove to be a breakout year for you in all that you would wish for yourselves. Most of all I hope you are surrounded at all turns by love, joy, friendship and happiness.
Thank YOU for taking the time to read my post and if you're one of those amazing people who like to hit the comments section... Then I doubly thank YOU!
Either way I want you to know that you are appreciated!
Keep taking the time to connect with each-other both here and in the so-called real world and try and look after each-other, because as you already know...
I am a proud member of the recently formed #TeamUK I love the global community immensely, but it is nice to have a home-team banner to add to my posts. The banner was made by the inimitable RoastMaster General himself @c0ff33a If you are an active UK member and would like to be added to the teamUK community on Discord, just let me know 😎
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This was a great read!
It ain't easy trying to convince others of the benefits of a decentralized economic system, but I think it's inevitable that more and more people will embrace it as inflation picks up pace and crypto prices attract more attention.
!ENGAGE 30
ENGAGEtokens.Thanks ever so much for stopping by and for the kind words.
Yeah you are right, I don't think such a unique and revolutionary concept was ever going to be accepted mainstream anywhere near as quick as many hoped, but the last year or so I have heard so, so many stories coming to the fore about massive players in the traditional business world conducting surveys and such in to crypto and blockchain tech relevance to their industries.
Fast forward to figures like Elon, right now and I believe we will see many follow his lead if only for a hedge against inflation, I suspect we will see a significant move toward adoption due to this. In no way would I imagine mass adoption is waiting in the wings but we have crept along the roadmap considerably I think.
BTC in particular, will see a word of mouth boost from ordinary people sharing their stories with their peers too I think, which again helps toward being credible in the eyes of the mainstream.
Hi @stevenwood,
Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content.
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Bring it on bro 😎
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Oh Nathan I fear I will be miles behind the pace you have set for the rest of us, but I have a massive yearning right now to help others believe in themselves and realise there really is another way, a better way.
The more people realise they are wholly capable of developing themselves and that there are other ways to start gradually building a stream or two of income aside from their job, the stranglehold of the establishment will begin to loosen.
The one glaringly obvious realisation I hope people take away from the last year is that they must take on a greater responsibility for their own lives rather than being washed along on the tide of someone else's decisions.
That could actually begin with Hive for many, making a simple decision to become serious in their time here, for others small, regular, simple investments may be the easiest way.
Great to cross paths with you again man, I have missed the blockchain and writing and my friends here massively. Be well my friend 😁
Likewise bro :)
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The system is broken and there is a high probability that the landing will be harder than ever. Who shall pay for the idiots running the show? We of course. The is an idea of a great economic reset, which is just pure robbing as they want to rip of us of all of our assets.
Also the big players will accept crypto, the thing is if this big guys are willing to pay us in crypto? I'm just hodling!
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Yes. I fear the great reset will be of the kind we have seen many times in the past. It will have many names and many faces, but will likely be the next great redistribution of wealth.
Those at the bottom will face increased costs and taxes whilst enjoying less stability of income, pay-freezes and redundancy, this will lead to repossession of homes, property and businesses which those at the top will then buy from the banks for pennies on the pound/Dollar/ Euro...
Then the next cycle of the big game will begin again, credit will be freely available, people will be encouraged to spend to boost the economic expansion and the rich will set aside a portion of their wealth and quietly bide their time as the good times lure people in, all over again.
Hopefully this time a handfull of us have the answers, or at least the beginnings of the answer...
We can learn from this and be patient enough to act only when the opportunity strikes, like the ones on top. That would be good for us.
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While reading this, I realised that I should probably be working out my savings and money in weeks rather than months.
Like.. if I saved some money each month I only see my balance grow once month, save each week and it grows 4 time a month. All the same but looks better. xD
I think I'm going to move to saving for things rather than using creditcards. I could buy a lot of things that I want right now but more debt.. ugh... While I can juggle the debt on my creditcards transferring balances every couple of years for 0% interest, still costing me money in the long run cause transfer fees.
debt free would be nice, most of my income goes to servicing debt to clear it reasonably quickly. I think that's what I'll do.
My witness node - Stream on Vimm.tv
Yeah man, you are thinking about it... That's actually the biggest step any of us need to take because without that step absolutely NOTHING happens.
Not so long ago, M'lady and I had 25k+ in consumer debt, I made a game out of clearing it... Seriously it worked for me because it suited my mindset, each person may choose a plan that suits who they are. You and I have met, I am sure it was immediately apparent I did not have a corporate job earning me 50-100k per year haha.
Whilst in a job that was only a little over minimum wage , I sought ways to trim (or sometimes slash) existing costs and ongoing bills. I found ways of eating for less without feeling deprived. I found leisure activities that did not cost a lot, I never wanted my family to suffer or feel like there was no fun to be had.
I took to eBay to make a little extra and declutter too, I worked extra hours and I ploughed any excess in to the highest interest debt and we began to dig our way out... We NEVER ever looked for a credit card or loan EVER since then, my rule was always if we ain't got the money for it, we obviously can't afford it lol.
I quite literally became a BOSS at saving and cashing in coins lol, I always knew how many 20p's I needed to be able to finish a bag off to get it to the bank.
I remember one year, when we had not managed a holiday at all for a few years, we went to Blackpool all from the proceeds of bags of loose change I had kept, counted and hidden till they built up lol.
Get a book, list it all and which debt you're attacking first Bro and write some strategies down to give you ideas and go do it Ben.
I used to regularly calculate our net wealth lol, I knew it was gonna start with a minus figure but I just wanted to see the calculations showing that number as a lower one haha.
We both (me 'n her lol) obtained a credit builder credit card ((8 billion % apr!!!)) 2 years back, it was simply to spend in order to build our credit score so that if we ever desperately needed credit we would get the best deals, we spend a little each month on our cards and pay the full entire, complete, total, 100% balance each and every month they have not received 1p in interest from us lol.
You really do love to write, I love the eloquence in this and I fully understand where your heart is here - when times get tough you have have to knuckle down and face the challenge - that might be taking a long hard look at your finances coming in and out and working out what you really need to spend on and saving where you can - or working bloody long hard 15 hour days to keep your business running (I'm not salty, honestly)
The shocking debacle that has been the UK's Coronavirus response will still be playing out long after I pass away, and even my children. Furlough that has been widely abused, the taxes increase to recover that debt alone will go on further then any of us will live to see. Mass unemployment from bankrupt Hospitality business, forced lockdown might have saved a few lives, but the number of lives ruined by it is exponential - how are they going to handle the masses of homeless caused by people entering the housing ladder with an expected income that suddenly stopped.
I think we discussed at the Hive UK meet up how I had seen long standing customers, and friends of 20+ years shut down and give up business because of the continued lockdowns - it makes me sad to think all the work they have done has gone to waste, and how our city centre high streets continue to fall into a derelict ruin.
As a business I have been very lucky, we were very well placed to ride the digital wave as people shifted to ordering online because they were told to not go outside - it's been hard work, a massive increase in effort for less reward - but sometimes you have to face the struggle face on to survive.
I hope you are all doing well up North, once we get out of this lockdown I'd love to pop up and have another chat over a tasty beverage or two.
Not all salty... ahem!
Yup the debt will be a multi generational one of that we wholeheartedly agree. Your point about the high-street is a particularly important one because the dereliction was already taking hold up and down the country long before Covid was ever imagined, the fallout is nothing short of heart-breaking and catastrophic to see.
I feel massively for those who worked long hours in jobs, saved, planned, invested time and money, took the leap of faith to start businesses and got them cashflow positive and past the danger zone to have all of that progress wiped out by bad management/governance of the business sector by inept politicians who don't have any clue about business save for creaming taxes off the industriousness and entrepreneurial spirit of others.
But as you stated, sometimes taking an inventory of where you are at in life is the first step to shielding yourself against a system that was never really set up to protect you in the first place. I am incredibly happy you were well placed to make it through this farcical situation, albeit with a Herculean effort at times and I believe I recall you being the only active staff member there at times long in to the night!
It's fair to say, I think, that you assessed what it was going to take early on and met the cost boldly. Kudos to you my friend!
My lady is recovering from the
new plagueCovid, right now and we are optimistic and grateful that we have remained relatively unscathed by the situation on the whole due to being deemed as essential workers early on.That sounds absolutely fantastic and that gives me great reason to look forward and remain optimistic. I absolutely loved my time in Halifax and after a couple of years of joking about popping through for coffee with c0ff33a, the reality was vastly better than I had imagined. In a year that was on the whole pretty devoid of highlights, that was one that rescued the year somewhat. 😎
My best wishes to you and your family, I hope you all get over the COVID one way or another and come out non the worse. It’s not unusual for me to be the only one grafting, between snow days and staff personal issues there have been many days this year even I have been the only one keeping the orders shipping and ensuring the customers paying for a next day service get that whatever.
I really hope it’s going to be a long, hot lockdown free summer lol
For about the last 7 years I have made moves against the advice of my Financial Advisor.
Time to get a new Financial Advisor.
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This is a subject I discuss with friends a lot when the subject of financial advisors and similar industry professionals comes up. It should be the norm for people to judge someone offering such advice only after seeing their income statement and portfolio/pension plan and perhaps the fine details of their debt.
For the same reason, I would never trust a morbidly obese Doctor to give me dietary advice or fitness tips.
I hope you go from strength to strength and although I am sure I am preaching to the pulpit here, there is a lot to be said for your own gut reaction & research, many people defer all thought to a professional because he or she achieved a certain qualification 25 years ago.
Thanks so much for stopping by 😎