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cefj0f | Foreign purchases of American homes plunge 36% as Chinese buyers flee the market | >**The dollar volume of homes purchased by foreigners from April 2018 through March 2019 dropped 36% from the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors.**
[https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/foreign-purchases-of-american-homes-plunge-36percent-as-chinese-buyers-flee.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/foreign-purchases-of-american-homes-plunge-36percent-as-chinese-buyers-flee.html) | 20.944232 | 0.429387 | investing | Anyone try to buy a home in or around Boston in the last few years? I have.
Here is what happened to us many times:
1. We see a house we like. Let's say it's $1.2mm. That's great, we can put down a 20-30% down payment.
2. We email realtor saying we're ready to make an offer.
3. Realtor emails us back, says "Bad news. Someone from China bought it despite having never seen it in person. Oh and she paid 100% cash. 10% over asking price. Oh and she waived inspections. Sorry!"
So this new development is fine by me.
Edit: A few years ago, Vancouver created a foreign buyer's tax to combat this - [https://globalnews.ca/news/3636579/vancouver-foreign-homebuyers-tax-one-year-anniversary/](https://globalnews.ca/news/3636579/vancouver-foreign-homebuyers-tax-one-year-anniversary/) | 0.425804 | 0.855191 |
m9m87k | Did anyone quit their job in order to have more time available during market hours? | If so, what was the portfolio size that made that OK for you?
I am thinking about doing it with a portfolio of about a quarter mil and average net premiums of about 3500/m from CCs on top of market gains of about 6500/m.
Potential to add maybe another 100k if the market tanked to buy the mega dip between a HELOC and my spouse's portfolio which I don't currently manage and which is currently S&P and forget.
I would probably volunteer at a charity just to keep getting out of the house, as long as they were fine with the idea that I get to set that charity stuff aside and trade as needed to pay myself so they don't have to pay me.
Dual income household, so a bad month wouldn't be a disaster.
Upside, I get to feel like I am giving back to society rather than trading time for dollars.
\- Edit - Thanks for the silver. Thanks for the multiple instances of Hugz also. | 5.98493 | 0.258781 | thetagang | Be really careful with this. IV is high right now, and if the market settles down long run you will not be able to collect nearly as much premium on a regular basis.
You are assuming a lot about future performance of your portfolio and your trading system in the future. If your account gets blown up, what then? | 0.596154 | 0.854935 |
llb1qn | Why does no one seem to think the housing market will crash? | From what I've read house prices being high and rapidly increasing is a good sign they may crash. I've read this in property investment guides and online about timing the cycle. Everywhere I look seems to assume that property prices will continue to rise well into the 2040s!
Now I've read the average baby boomer will die in 2034, which will create a buyers market but no analysts from property firms or banks seem to agree. My sneaking suspicion is that they are wealthy and benefit from increasing house prices and wouldn't want anyone to know the party has to end eventually. | 12.080845 | 0.820639 | AskEconomics | The first point is that it's spectacularly hard to time bubbles. I haven't heard anyone say that prices will rise monotonically, and I would be skeptical of anyone who says they can predict year over year changes for the next twenty years. I certainly can't. There are also semantic questions of what exactly a "crash" is (are dropping prices a crash? is it determined by foreclosures?).
Still, limiting ourselves to the near term (maybe the next five years), we can look at various reasons for why home prices are going up and ask ourselves if we think that these reasons could be signs of an impending crash.
On the demand side, one of the largest reasons for why some many people want homes now is that interest rates are at historic lows. It is considerably [cheaper to get a 30 year fixed rate mortgage than it ever has been](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US). This will push up the price of homes because it means that more people are able to afford them. Importantly, [foreclosures are also at record lows](https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/foreclosures-fell-to-record-low-in-2020/) (with the very important caveat that while they are especially low currently because the [Federal Government has issued a freeze on foreclosures for homes with federally backed mortgages](https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_21_009)). There will likely be an uptick on foreclosures when the moratorium lifts, as the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that [more homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments](https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103273/housing-finance-at-a-glance-a-monthly-chartbook-november-2020_0.pdf) (pg 24). However, compared to the Great Recession, which saw historic levels of foreclosures on the backs of predatory loans, the low interest rates do not seem to be inviting people to take out loans they truly cannot afford.
On the supply side, the number of homes we are building has not kept pace with the increased demand for homes. The stock of available housing, which peaked in 2011 [has hit a historic low](https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103273/housing-finance-at-a-glance-a-monthly-chartbook-november-2020_0.pdf) (pg 20). This has been [exacerbated by the pandemic](https://www.businessinsider.com/us-underbuilding-housing-over-the-past-decade-2020-9), which caused many construction firms to cease production during the otherwise peak summer months. [Housing construction has been trending up in the last decade](https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/housing-starts); it just hasn't kept pace with demand.
It's possible that these trends will reverse. Interest rates could go up and the relative housing supply could increase. Both of these would push down prices. Still, something like the Great Recession where a substantial number of homeowners are unable to make their payments seems unlikely. The rise in foreclosures was driven by predatory loans where repayment relied on the promise of refinancing based on increased equity. I don't see evidence that this is happening. Maybe housing prices will fall (or at least stop increasing faster than inflation) in the next 10 years -- I don't know -- but I would not predict the housing market to collapse in the next few years. | 0.034211 | 0.854849 |
9nhbhu | Quick warning to any single women looking to cut costs by getting a roommate. | Ask for women only.
I initially had my ad open for everyone because I didn't want to narrow the window too much. As long as you're a professional around my age and aren't a sleazeball, I didn't mind.
It only took about two days for the messages from thirsty men asking if I would be open to living with them rent free in exchange for sex. Which was always phrased as "help around the house/cleaning" or "companionship". I ignored most, but one guy called me directly.
Now someone did ask me if "a blowjob a week was really that bad in exchange for free rent". From a pragmatic standpoint, no. From a "personal morals, safety, and mental health" standpoint, YES.
Don't EVER feel like under the table prostitution is your only option. Do NOT let someone coerce you into doing it no matter how much you need the money. If sex work is something you want to do, that's perfectly fine. Just...don't start through these guys.
And even if it started out as a BJ a week, these guys will never stop asking for more. And no one needs their life controlled by the sexual whims of some dickhead who thinks he's entitled to your body in exchange for a roof over your head.
I'm sorry it got a bit ranty towards the end there, but that was a disgusting couple of days and I'm now working on getting a part time job instead of a roommate. Would rather have some extra expenses than have to deal with so many creeps. | 19.192352 | 0.56602 | povertyfinance | God, back when I had to have roommates to get by I would search ads and see shit like that all the time. I can't imagine what kind of thought goes into making an offer like that.
Trying to prey off of desperation is pretty fucking despicable. | 0.28869 | 0.854709 |
6h5oqz | [ETH Daily Discussion] - 14/Jun/2017 | Welcome to the ETH Daily Discussion thread of /r/EthTrader.
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| 23.603029 | 0.725959 | ethtrader | A few days ago I posted about potentially selling off ~85% of my ETH for a down payment on a house.
Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it. But with the price increase in the last couple days, I'm close to only having to sell 50% instead!
I think I'm going to move the amount of ETH I'll need into GDAX, then open an order to sell for that price and wait. If I do this, I'll have liquidated twice my original investment, and I'll have a house for my own while still being able to put some money in ETH each month!
Now I just have to figure out what the next steps are for putting the offer in :) | 0.12835 | 0.854309 |
o7lvtq | How Michael Burry figured out the 2007 crash, simple (own repost from Burryology) | I have been reading the book: The oil factor by Stephen Leeb written in 2004. He talks about the inverse relation between (rapid) increase in oil prices, lowering supply and high demand, but he takes a detour. The dotcom bubble dropped sp500 -40%, nasdaq -80%, 16trillion USD wealth went to 7 trillion. The fed lowered rates to 0.75%, boosted borrowing and home prices served as a healthy collateral, which can only go up right? US was highly in debt before the bust, but after… oh with low rates causing booms in home prices, more debt. In this 2004 books he says, if home prices would fall it would be taking down the banking system (1:6 leverage at that time so 18% default was needed to make the banks insolvent, we know later the leverage was 1:20 so 5% default was enough). What would cause home prices to fall? Policies to curb inflation, aaaand when did the fed start to raise rates? Yes, early 2007. No more cheap refinancing causing defaults (subprime etc), and booooom.
Amazing book btw on oil, I would recommend it :) thought I would share my joy of finding this out, maybe Burry read this book also in 2004? | 6.167786 | 0.41626 | ValueInvesting | Michael Burry was 2 years too early buying credit default swaps, and had to close 70% of his original short because of how much Scion Capital was bleeding on that position. He froze his client's ability to withdraw funds to avoid the firm collapsing. To this day, he talks about how his confidence in the position turned a lot of people off, and you can see he regrets how overconfident he was. In the end, there were people who made millions thanks to him who were still very angry about it. Just to give you perspective | 0.4375 | 0.85376 |
t0m79o | Why is America so hesitant to cut Russia off from the SWIFT banking system? | The only reason I can think of is that cutting Russia off from the SWIFT network would push some countries to adopt a blockchain-based monetary system, which in turn would reduce their reliance on a US-centric international monetary system.
Is this the main fear? Is it the ONLY fear? | 8.45157 | 0.58231 | AskEconomics | Russia has its own Swift alternative SPFS that it could impose on say the BRICs type countries as a condition for buying its oil. In short cutting off Russia from Swift would mean making cutting anyone else from Swift less powerful in future as there would then be a good alternative. | 0.271053 | 0.853362 |
7dmm3p | Bank of America just imposed a new $60 annual fee on their previously free personal savings account. | Today I noticed a $5 fee was deducted from my savings account. I called and was informed this is required, unless I met certain minimum balances, etc.
I cancelled my savings account, which I've had for over 30 years.
Link below for more info.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/account-fees/
Edit: new fee, customer service agent confirmed to me on the phone that it just started today. She's had many people call in to complain/cancel. | 61.629016 | 0.514381 | personalfinance | LOL. Why does anyone ever bank with these guys? I don't like any of the big national banks, but BOA is especially ridiculous. Like when they charged a fee to speak with a teller. I mean what the heck?
| 0.338641 | 0.853021 |
ll68pc | The SEC Just posted the new numbers for Failure to Deliver. Guess What, GME is failing to deliver every day. | Hey 'Tards,
The New Failure to deliver data is JUST OUT from the SEC. Here is a simple pivot table. It's still failing to deliver EVERY DAY. I'm sure people will analyze this better than me. But I wanted to get this out to everyone ASAP.
Edit: Failure to deliver is how many shares were not accounted for at the end of the day. GME has been failing to deliver in some capacity for weeks now. This data is posted by the SEC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It is only posted every two weeks, for the previous two weeks. But this is the most recent data that everyone has been waiting on.
From the SEC regarding this data
>"The figure is not a daily amount of fails, but a combined figure that includes both new fails on the reporting day as well as existing fails. In other words, these numbers reflect aggregate fails as of a specific point in time, and may have little or no relationship to yesterday's aggregate fails."
​
SEC FOIA Site: [https://www.sec.gov/data/foiadocsfailsdatahtm](https://www.sec.gov/data/foiadocsfailsdatahtm)
Data File: [https://www.sec.gov/files/data/fails-deliver-data/cnsfails202101b.zip](https://www.sec.gov/files/data/fails-deliver-data/cnsfails202101b.zip)
​
GME had 2 million shares failed to deliver one day totaling 300 million $
https://preview.redd.it/o2xfxx2gyuh61.png?width=581&format=png&auto=webp&s=67d839f263c89c56f782a52803b11c9e5f4c9c8b
EDIT: Because so many people are bringing up XRT. Which contains a lot of GME. Here is XRT. Hmmm. Notice anything interesting about Jan29th between these two??
https://preview.redd.it/kmbry5xzgvh61.png?width=620&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ea1c495f4287932b0c6f9b172a04a03f58d147b
​
​
There is also AMC... AMC is still failing to deliver EVERY DAY. This continues the trend for both of these stocks not being delivered every day. AMC had 27 million... yes million shares failed to deliver.
​
https://preview.redd.it/gqgboikxyuh61.png?width=619&format=png&auto=webp&s=2a12b0466767e0eba40dd93ba0a28cc322db1d32
​
I'd like to ask everyone to do what they can. I am not recommending buying any of these stocks. But there is for sure, something still going on. We need to try and get this data daily. Contact your reps, etc.
​
There are links to information about Failed to deliver.[https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-50103.htm](https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-50103.htm)
Is GME considered a Threshold Security? ✅
>In order to be deemed a threshold security, and thus subject to the restrictions of Rule 203(b)(3), a security must exceed the specified fail level for a period of five consecutive settlement days. Similarly, in order to be removed from the list of threshold securities, a security must not exceed the specified level of fails for a period of five consecutive settlement days.
Does the Firm have to close out the positions? ✅
>As adopted, Rule 203(b)(3) requires any participant of a registered clearing agency ("participant")[80](https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-50103.htm#P210_72014) to take action on all failures to deliver that exist in such securities ten days after the normal settlement date, *i.e.*, 13 consecutive settlement days.[81](https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-50103.htm#P211_72496)Specifically, the participant is required to close out the fail to deliver position by purchasing securities of like kind and quantity.Rule 203(b)(3) is intended to address potential abuses that may occur with large, extended fails to deliver.[89](https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-50103.htm#P221_79239) We believe that the five-day requirement will facilitate the identification of securities with extended fails.
​
Edit: I wrote a quick post about this last report. I'll copy some stuff here. AS requested, here are some data snippets for "normal" stocks. note the number of failed to deliver is way lower.
[Alcoa](https://preview.redd.it/iv7pzbh92vh61.png?width=333&format=png&auto=webp&s=9b724af7998ca1bc1b4dd5db3299b45358eac540)
​
[MSFT. Some outstanding shares and a few spikes, but not hundreds of thousands or millions every day. ](https://preview.redd.it/0ricfjkd2vh61.png?width=246&format=png&auto=webp&s=22b6638b1ff5fee09e9434b5d151389624ed7aeb)
​
Edit: Adding some historical counts for GME below. I'm too lazy to combine the data right now, pulling from an older post of mine.
​
https://preview.redd.it/9o10fkj2wvh61.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=17134e3775fba124959db68eb25cda803504d63e
https://preview.redd.it/c0i6ixztvvh61.png?width=605&format=png&auto=webp&s=02ab76207deea9f208f54532a75b28761858e106
​
​
Edit: I have a super super small position in GME, like 3 shares. I have been on WSB since like 2014. Trust me. I am NOT a bag-holding whiner. I take my losses like a fucking champ. (MSFT 240C, USO, PRPL, SLV in 2020, etc) I am also NOT promoting any sort of holding, buying, or selling any of your positions. | 20.216681 | 0.221874 | wallstreetbets | GME has been on the failed to deliver list since early December if I remember. Someone posted about it in early January about how it has been in the list for 6 consecutive weeks. Turns out nobody in the SEC cares or enforces it | 0.63093 | 0.852804 |
94tkwy | 4New’s kwatt tekonomics | KWATT Token currently is an ERC20, Ethereum based smart contract. Upon completion of the blockchain development, the token will be swapped to the KWATT Coin that will interact with our blockchain.
The total coin offering is for three hundred million coins (300,000,000).
Our first plant will launch with a capacity of generating 10 megawatts of power every hour. Upon seasoning the plant operations, our infrastructure will be able to increase output capacity to 40 megawatts per hour. 1 megawatt is equivalent to 1000 kilowatts. 1000 kilowatts powers approximately 650 households for one day. Peak or off-peak usage of the power at different times of the day can cause this average to deviate.
The maximum annual output capacity of the plant is 346 million kilowatts per year. Due to maintenance and general down time for repairs to the plant, expected annual output capacity is estimated at 300 million kilowatts per year realistically.
Each KWATT Coin embodies an annual supply of 1 kilowatt of electricity within it.
A typical Waste to Energy plant depreciates to its salvage value over 50 years. Regular maintenance and upkeep will allow us to extend life beyond that.
This means holder of KWATT Coin will be able to apply their energy to one of two places each year for the next 50 years. They can either sell their energy to the UK National Grid or they can choose to apply it towards 4NEW’s cryptocurrency mining farm.
The price of 1 kilowatt for electricity is a very stable metric. Over the past 50 years, the global average retail price is approximately $0.15 USD per kilowatt, inflation adjusted.
4NEW will never authorize any additional coins issuance over and above the three hundred millions coins being launched in this initial coin offering. Therefore, any future growth in 4NEW plant sites will always rely on the supply of the coins being issued in this offering.
Each year management will apply 35% of its net profits towards a reinvestment strategy to enable future development of plants. This will ensure longevity and scalability to 4NEW over a sustained period of time.4NEW Insiders and Founders will be restricted from selling any coins until January 1st, 2019.
Any KWATT Coins not sold in the offering will be burned. For the avoidance of doubt, all burned coins will release the supply of the energy that was embodied within the coin, allowing that unencumbered energy to be freely sold to the UK national grid or applied towards the mining farm at management’s discretion.
At the start of each year, KWATT Coin holders will be able to choose a desired application of their energy the coin holder owns as represented by the total amount of KWATT Coins in their control at the time of this election.
Therefore, if the coin holders desire to sell their energy to the UK national grid then the respective option can be selected. Alternatively, if the coin holder were to select the mining farm then the energy will be applied to the mining farm. Any decisions not made within the allotted time frame at the start of each year, will leave the management the right to determine the allocation of the energy at its discretion. | 0.273176 | 0.074866 | crypto_currency | Organic waste continues to be processed into biogas and the remnants of its management can be used as biofertilizer for agriculture that has good quality. This diagram will continue to spin so it can be the best solution in renewable energy. | 0.777778 | 0.852644 |
9brkcd | DATAEUM AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY | Blockchain based and using smart contracts technology Dataeum relies on a solid technological solution that enables transparency and reliability for data collection.
Dataeum’s platform is based on technology layers to ensure efficiency, security and flexibility from the data collection to its availability on the marketplace.
BigchainDB is used as a storage solution for the collected data. Its immutability ensures a transparent process of data verification and update. The data validation triggers the collectors’ remuneration using a Smart Contract on the Ethereum blockchain. IPFS is used for any image linked to the visual element of the collection.
This real-time process ensures a high scalability of the system. It guarantees the collectors’ reward transparency, and ensures a real-time interaction for the token holders within the marketplace. | 0.273176 | 0.074866 | crypto_currency | Dataeum is a blockchain-based platform which uses crowdsourcing to enable the collection of 100% of all global physical data (such as stores, gas stations, traffic signs) anywhere in the world, with 100% accuracy. It does this through a mobile app and by using a distributed workforce of “collectors” who are incentivized in XDT tokens to submit physical data. | 0.777778 | 0.852644 |
9brkcd | DATAEUM AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY | Blockchain based and using smart contracts technology Dataeum relies on a solid technological solution that enables transparency and reliability for data collection.
Dataeum’s platform is based on technology layers to ensure efficiency, security and flexibility from the data collection to its availability on the marketplace.
BigchainDB is used as a storage solution for the collected data. Its immutability ensures a transparent process of data verification and update. The data validation triggers the collectors’ remuneration using a Smart Contract on the Ethereum blockchain. IPFS is used for any image linked to the visual element of the collection.
This real-time process ensures a high scalability of the system. It guarantees the collectors’ reward transparency, and ensures a real-time interaction for the token holders within the marketplace. | 0.273176 | 0.074866 | crypto_currency | Dataeum Token Distribution;
◉ 50% of the XDT Tokens will be issued and for sale during the TGE.
◉ 30% of the XDT Tokens will be put in reserve in order to finance the collectors and boost future services.
◉ 20% of the XDT Tokens will be redistributed among the different partners, team members, advisors and bounty program. | 0.777778 | 0.852644 |
zjsj4s | The Millionaire Trend |
Hey everyone.
Do you guys see a trend these days? Everyone wants to start a business, retire early, earn a boatload of money, and be "financially independent".
I see YouTubers selling courses around these topics, making money by teaching how to make money. Sounds pretty scammy to me lol. These gurus are the only people who are actually becoming "millionaires" out of selling these courses.
From all of this, what I understand and realize is that it is better to "serve" the trend than to "follow" the trend.
There's a famous saying - "In a gold rush, sell shovels."
Anyway, what do y'all think?
[ ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/comments/zjo1sl/the_millionaire_trend/) | 4.698155 | 0.42268 | Money | “I got rich because I bought a class on YouTube.”
-nobody ever
These scams aren’t new though. Before the internet, late-night TV had commercials for get rich quick schemes. And before that, they were in magazine ads. Everyone wants to find a shortcut that doesn’t exist. | 0.428571 | 0.851252 |
qf9tud | If you have to ask you can’t afford it | Now that I have finally gotten to a point in life where I’ve made it I wanted to get this off my chest because it’s an expression that did more damage than good and continues to annoy me.
This expression gets thrown around like gospel every time someone asks a question about affordability, whether a car, a boat or a house or what have you.
The reality is that I have always asked what things cost because I like to be informed. When I bought my first house I knew I could afford it. I still wanted to know what my expenses would be, so I asked the sellers to provide utilities bills and the insurance premium etc. to get a true sense for the cost. When I bought an expensive sports car I asked around on forums about the cost of maintenance, ownership, insurance and so on, and every single time I got answers that seemed written to discourage a purchase, including the “if you have to ask you can’t afford it”.
Now, some 12 years later in life I can look back at all this with more knowledge. The knowledge that people consistently give crappy answers to questions pertaining to affordability. I was told I shouldn’t buy the house because I was asking about costs associated with keeping it maintained. I was told an exotic car was out of my reach because I was asking these questions.
Now I know for a fact that this expression is a bunch of BS. Fuck you guys who spew this crap. I still ask about the cost of things no matter how much money I have. It’s ALWAYS relevant when buying something fairly expensive. There’s a lot of jealousy and people like to tell other people that they can’t afford something because it makes the experience more unique to themselves and they don’t want to acknowledge that there may be more people than they think out there who can have nice things. Some idiots quote $5M NW to buy a $100K car. If you listen to knuckleheads like this you could die before you ever realize your dreams.
So as a word of encouragement for those of you who are young and working your way up... the next time you hear this, ignore it and do your own research. Determine your own affordability based on accurate data. Chances are you can afford it just fine. | 8.617163 | 0.528272 | fatFIRE | That statement is a form of shaming language. Some people say this to hide true agendas like interests or other hidden financial terms on these forms. Wealthy people don't have to blink twice, but that goes to those born into wealth. A person who grew into it will be thrifty. So when they say that, just say, "I worked for this golden spoon in my mouth. I wasn't born with it." Let's see what they say after that. | 0.322174 | 0.850446 |
b0ku1b | According to the Federal Reserve, the average net worth for Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 is $1,066,000, however, the median net worth is $224,000. Under the age of 35 was an average of $76,200 and a median of $11,100. The average is skewed by a small percentage of affluent Americans. | https://turbo.intuit.com/blog/real-money-talk/net-worth-by-age-704/
I honestly thought that the medians would be higher. But it seems that people have much less than I thought. How will all these people retire on just ~200k or less?
Edit: if you guys are interested in seeing where you stand, there are calculators like this one
https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator-united-states/
**you "only" need 110k in the 25-29 bracket to be in the 90th percentile!**
Edit2: also, choose your major wisely
https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/college-labor-market_compare-majors.html
Remember to be compassionate...! | 34.944709 | 0.71351 | investing | Yuppies tend to significantly overestimate the material well-being of their countrymen because the vast majority of the people they associate with are people like them. Like Bay Area software engineers with bachelor’s degrees who think 25-year-olds making $300k is totally normal and not a freak historical anomaly. That’s not a statement of judgment, I mean I’m an accountant so I’m a yuppie, too. It’s just an observation.
The non-yuppies will retire mostly on SS. You’ve heard of seniors who are on a fixed income? They don’t mean bonds, they mean social security. | 0.136148 | 0.849658 |
ntryon | Hey /r/Superstonk - Please be careful with the Charles Payne situation | **First off my intention is not to offend anyone. As with NBC before it, I know Fox also has a lot of loyal followers. My intention is not to aggravate anyone, just to warn them and make sure they're prepared.**
I love what Charles Payne has been saying/doing so far and it's awesome that Wes is getting some much-needed air time to (hopefully) discuss Short Selling, but everyone needs to be ultra careful with this.
This might trigger some people but I'm sorry because it needs to be said again: **MSM is not your friend. None of them. Not now, not ever**. And Fox is quite literally the most mainstream of all the media even if they like to pretend they aren't.
Additionally, Charles Payne is an actor. At the end of the day, he'll do what Rupert Murdoch wants. I don't think many people here would argue that Rupert Murdoch is a good person. I won't get into the finer details of it to avoid breaking rule 5, but let me make a quick connection for you:
1. Rupert Murdoch owns News Corp
2. News Corp owns Dow Jones & Company
3. Dow Jones & Company owns **Marketwatch, Barron's and Wallstreet Journal -** Three of the most corrupt, dogshit publications in history.
Have you been reading the 900 Marketwatch articles that have been trying to push people out of GME? Yea, that's Murdoch. Don't think for a second that he isn't pissed about the GME situation.
Also, and I hate to mention this because it might be touchy, but Fox News employs the absolute scummiest psychological techniques known to man and I've gotten to see how nasty some of them are firsthand. As soon as they gain your trust they will poison the everliving fuck out of your brain in different ways than CNBC does. These channels are all scummy, but they use different techniques based on their audiences. You can't fool the Fox demographic in the same way that you can fool the CNBC demographic and vica versa.
**These. Guys. Are. Not. Your. Friends.**
When Charles Payne gains your trust, he's going to turn around and stab you in the back, because he isn't the one controlling his actions. What Murdoch says, goes. And when he does flip on you then it's going to put you at risk of paperhanding, particularly the newer apes that don't have the conviction and background information that we do. And even if they decide to 'side' with us and give us a voice, they're going to betray that newfound trust and drag you further in to screw you elsewhere.
Again, my intention isn't to ridicule anyone's choice in media. Hell, I used to watch and trust CNBC so I certainly can't talk. Just please be careful and do not trust ANYONE inside the yacht club. They're just here to make money.
​
That being said, good luck in your interview Wes! Hopefully you can use this opportunity in a positive way. | 7.708183 | 0.2516 | Superstonk | I know Apes are sick of hearing this but its the honest truth. You can't go wrong with Buy, Hold, Vote. No matter what they say no matter who says it just Buy Hold Vote. In a few days one of those will no longer matter and it will make life even easier for us. | 0.597279 | 0.848879 |
pnxxby | Old guys who beat the market - how did you do it? | This is a question for the older guys, like 30 years + investing, who beat the s and p 500 long-term average (9% I think, depending on when you start counting).
How did you do it? Was it loads of work, or just self control? On my side is my nature of being the opposite of trigger happy. I will sit on a decision for months and usually do nothing unless the draw/reasoning stays incredible for months. I don't feel any pressures and I'm constantly watching for my biases.
What I don't have going for me is time. I've done some good reading on investing and know more than the basics, but now I don't have time for more than 1-2h a week (MAX). I am cringingly aware of how much I don't know. To compare one company with 7 others, means knowing them all, and also knowing the industry they're in. Across 5-6 industries, it's just a mountain of work.
Secondly, identifying a truly unshakable competitive advantage is actually very difficult. Most of the Dow Jones companies have been booted over the index's lifetime. Companies do not last forever, and big guys flop too, even when they were kings. So my current strategy is to stay within the safest, obvious blue chips, and to only buy when there is obscene value. I don't like predicting the future, and identifying a moat is begging for stretched assumptions. Nike will NOT be around forever. Neither will Walmart. Titans fall. How many juggarnauts are still here from 1900? Almost none. With a severe margin of error you can correct for that, somewhat, but I put no stock (lol) in expecting competitive advantages to hold.
So - what was your strategy? Did you go growth as well? Did you focus on cheap dividend stocks?
Thanks! | 1.92912 | 0.152846 | ValueInvesting | Been investing close to three decades. The only strategy I have is to buy in white-knuckled when there is blood in the streets. These chances only come about once a decade (2000/2001, 2009, sort of 2020). Put your entire paycheck in if you can afford it and have the job security. You know these moments because they’re the scariest to invest and you don’t know if it will look like a 1987 (good) or a 1929 (bad).
I don’t have alpha for stock picking but I still try to some extent, most of my money is in Vanguard ETFs because I don’t trust myself. I’ve only beaten the market by maybe a percentage point annually over the long run and that is from going in big time when the world is on fire. Easier said than done.
Sorry, not an inspiring case of alpha, but may be more realistic. | 0.695833 | 0.848679 |
o5bwzc | California to Pay off all Past Due Rent Accrued During COVID, Giving Renters Clean Slate | California is paying off residents' past due rent that was accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving renters a clean slate, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced recently.
https://www.newsweek.com/california-pay-off-all-past-due-rent-accrued-during-covid-giving-renters-clean-slate-1602556 | 8.426987 | 0.262391 | realestateinvesting | Renters who have been scraping their bank accounts and working extra jobs to pay rent feel stupid right now. Not a very fair decision. I get it this is Christmas for landlords who had written off last years rent, but I think “lower to middle class people who work and make things happen against the odds” should be the #1 most protected group. They’re being thrown in the garbage with this “stimulus” structure. | 0.585859 | 0.848249 |
nfgk3e | Buffett on Stop Losses | It “has always struck me as like having a house that you like, and you’re living in, and, you know, it’s worth $100,000 and you tell your broker, ‘You know, if anybody ever comes along and offers $90 \[thousand\], you want to sell it,’” Buffett joked to the audience at the 1994 meeting. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.” | 6.141622 | 0.414634 | ValueInvesting | It’s because Buffett is buying houses (long term investing, tangible value, good comps, scrap value) and y’all are out here day trading some of the most speculative asset classes and businesses.
We know how much a house is worth and that there will be demand for houses in the future - we do not know how much dogecoin is worth... if you’re YOLOing your life savings on meme stonks, keep your stop losses. | 0.433333 | 0.847967 |
reen32 | Welcome to the vampire economy | Original: [https://survivingtomorrow.org/why-do-so-many-famous-companies-lose-billions-every-year-3aa648ddc9d6](https://survivingtomorrow.org/why-do-so-many-famous-companies-lose-billions-every-year-3aa648ddc9d6)
**(NOT MY OPINIONS)**
\-------------
Uber reported a [$1.1 billion](https://www.verdict.co.uk/uber-q3-results-2020/) net loss in Q3 2020.Pinterest burned [$208 million](https://investor.pinterestinc.com/press-releases/press-releases-details/2021/Pinterest-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2020-Results/default.aspx) in Q4.[Snapchat lost $944 million in 2020](https://www.statista.com/statistics/668190/snapchat-annual-net-income-loss/).
Don’t blame the pandemic. These companies have been losing money for years.
It’s the same for Blue Apron, Casper, Lime, Dropbox, Lyft, Peloton, Slack, Wayfair, WeWork, Deliveroo, SoundCloud, Ocado, Zillow — pretty much every company you know that was started in the past decade or so — all of them went public for billions despite losing vast amounts of money.
According to [one IPO specialist](https://www.vox.com/2019/3/6/18249997/lyft-uber-ipo-public-profit), “In 2018, 81% of U.S. companies were unprofitable in the year leading up to their public offerings.”
The real question is: *How the heck do these companies still exist?*
**Financialization:**
*“We used to build things in this country, now we just stick our hands in another guy’s pocket.”* — Frank Zbotka, The Wire
All of these companies are based on somewhat cool ideas and have good-looking brands, but they’re not groundbreaking patentable innovations that won’t eventually face brutal competition. Plus, their underlying business model is fundamentally unsustainable.
**Yesterday’s biggest companies used to own assets and create goods and services. Today’s biggest companies own almost no assets and produce neither goods nor services, but instead act as middlemen who take an irrationally large cut for their minor role in the process.**
* Uber and Lyft don’t own cars or drive people around.
* Facebook/IG/Snap don’t create content for its users to enjoy.
* Amazon doesn’t produce most of the products in its store.
* Airbnb doesn’t own houses or host travelers.
So how did these companies come to dominate their industries?
**One word: Financialization.**
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos was the first person to really perfect this insidious art, and these famous “tech” companies are just the latest to capitalize on the lethal gambit. The process is simple:
* Find a way to “disrupt” an industry of *real* producers. (IE book publishers, taxi drivers, content creators, house hosts, etc.)
* Create an attractive site/app and charge a fat fee as the broker.
* Build a huge amount of media hype to attract colossal amounts of debt and private equity across several rounds of funding.
* Rather than paying a dividend to shareholders, use their original investment and their annual profits to strengthen your team and strangle your competition. Make sure the story of your rapid expansion overshadows your mounting losses.
* Once you’ve destroyed the competition and have finally started to turn a meager profit, use the money to swallow up-and-coming competitors and coerce democracy to extract advantages that small companies can’t get.
If this sounds like a giant, anti-meritocratic unethical fraud, it’s because it is.
**A new paradigm:**
In previous generations, such a dismal record of profit loss would make companies like these worthless, with investors avoiding them at all costs. In today’s fairy tale/nightmare of destructive financialization — paired with huge amounts of hype and publicity — they are seen as a brilliant and important investments, with stock speculators assigning them an initial public market “value” in the billions.
**The old business valuation paradigm**: a company’s stock price was based on saleable tangible assets, plus net profits in the form of dividends, plus projected growth over a reasonable multiple.
**The new business valuation paradigm**: a company’s stock price is based on pure media hype and the hope of a future global monopoly.
It’s vital to understand that companies aren’t selling products and services anymore… *their real product is their stock price*.
**It’s all about “story-telling”**
Seth Godin says that all marketers are liars — and today’s big tech CEOs are the ultimate marketers.
They’re so good at storytelling and myth-making that they’ve managed to convince a generation of young, mostly Robinhood-based gamblers to boost their stock prices to the moon.
The [price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price-earningsratio.asp) is considered the benchmark number for comparing one company’s stock price to another. The ratio is based on the current stock price divided by the trailing 12-month earnings per share. If a stock price is $10/share, and the P/E ratio is 10, it means that company is earning $1 per share. If you buy a $10 share with a P/E of 20, it’ll roughly take you 20 years to break even.
Warren Buffett likes to buy stocks with a P/E of around 12. The S&P 500’s long-term median P/E ratio is around [15](https://www.multpl.com/s-p-500-pe-ratio).
Guest what the S&P 500’s *current* P/E ratio is?
[**More than double the century-long average.**](https://www.multpl.com/s-p-500-pe-ratio) Despite the pandemic and a looming joblessness crisis.
It’s even worse for the famous financilized fantasy-factory stocks:
* Netflix’s P/E is typically 50+.
* Amazon’s is pushing 70.
* Tesla’s P/E ratio is currently over [300](https://www.google.com/finance/quote/TSLA:NASDAQ). (That’s [$0.50 worth of earnings for every $300 invested](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/tsla/earnings). Would you buy a business with an ROI of 0.0015%? Would you acquire a company that will take 600+ years to break even?)
Snap, Pinterest, Uber, and Airbnb don’t even have a P/E ratio *because you have to have some actual profits to measure against*.
**Welcome to the Vampire Economy!**
I’m sick of “disruptors.” Companies like Uber and Snap and Airbnb and Tesla are little more than [story stocks](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/storystock.asp). It took them a good idea and a metric ton of debt and private equity to strangled their competition. It made a few people very rich, and the wider society much poorer.
These aren’t contributing companies — they’re **predatory** corporations.
As someone wise once said:
*The thing that gets me is that Uber and Lyft have never made a profit, yet they’ve decimated the taxi industry and have destroyed the livelihoods of many while paying sub-minimum wages to their own drivers. All while using infrastructure they don’t pay for, and changing labor laws (in CA) intended to help the people who work for them by paying millions of $ for calculated propaganda that could have gone to helping the people that work for them! These types of vampiric, exploitative, extraction dependent business models aren’t long-term sustainable in reality and need to be eliminated because they do real damage to the world we all live in without returning any value to anyone but their shareholders. It’s disgusting and evil.*
Should society and the market really reward them for that? Or is it time to really question how we define contributing “value” to society?
Do we need to stop letting them write off profits?Do we need to start [aggressively taxing them globally](https://medium.com/surviving-tomorrow/its-time-to-actually-tax-amazon-facebook-and-google-5191fa9afad3)?Do we need to [protect workers from the gig economy](https://bettermarketing.pub/uber-and-lyft-won-the-battle-but-they-will-lose-the-war-7d5cc7ab8113)?Do we need to ban financialization?Do we need to shatter monopolies?
The startups of tomorrow must grow businesses with sound economic foundations, on long-term sustainable models, with care for workers, competitors, customers, investors, democracy, and the planet. Instead of being big and famous, they need to be *truly great*. | 6.141622 | 0.414634 | ValueInvesting | While ~~you~~ OP presents a very interesting point, it’s deeply flawed.
As an example, Amazon makes a ton of money from its technology. AWS runs a third of all cloud services in the world. That’s a real product. So is its online store. Calling Amazon a middleman is disingenuous.
All the companies ~~you’ve~~ OP has listed produce incredibly valuable products,namely platforms and software. Just because you can’t touch them, doesn’t mean they are useless.
Visa, Microsoft, PayPal, Netflix all own only a portion or none of the “assets” they process. But they help the world go round facilitating payments, business, entertainment. Those things have intrinsic value and it’s reflected in their stock prices. | 0.433333 | 0.847967 |
x2e3qd | I'm Ryan Avent, and I cover the global economy for The Economist. Ask me about economics, journalism, or anything else! | Hi, I'm Ryan Avent, the trade and international economics editor for The Economist, where I've been covering various economics beats since 2007. My recent work has focused on challenges facing emerging markets; see this recent piece on debt woes across developing economies and the risk of a lost decade: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/07/20/the-53-fragile-emerging-economies
But I write about lots of other stuff as well. I have a Substack newsletter, where I try to tackle big-picture social, economic and political questions: https://ryanavent.substack.com/
I also wrote a book about technology and the future of work, which was published in 2016: https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Humans-Status-Twenty-first-Century/dp/1250075807
And I'm in the process of writing another, which will argue that cultural norms and values matter a lot in shaping political and economic outcomes, and that economists should take them more seriously.
Anyway, here's my proof: https://twitter.com/ryanavent/status/1562455541628432385
And I'm happy to take whatever questions you have about economics, The Economist, or anything else! | 11.369956 | 0.773956 | AskEconomics | There is a common view among non-economists that inflation has been caused by excessive amounts of money printing over the last 2-10 (depending on who you ask) years. Many laypeople have claimed for a long time that money printing would cause hyperinflation and now it appears that the predicted levels of inflation have manifested.
Is this view correct, or is this a case of people being right for the wrong reasons?
Thanks! | 0.073684 | 0.84764 |
nja32c | Is there any realistic scenario where the cost of homes can come down again? | I was fortunate enough to buy a home before the real estate market went bonkers.
I look at how crappy trying to get a home is for normal people right now and I really feel for them.
I'm not very knowledgeable in economics, but I just don't understand how prices could ever go back down to rational levels.
The way my uneducated and ignorant mind sees it, the Canadian housing market is almost like what gold used to be to currency, because mortgages have been subject to stress testing and stricter rules like that. With stock markets plunging up and down constantly real estate seems like a safe place to put wealth for it to grow.
Can anyone explain how it's ever going to be possible for young people to get a home in the future without some kind of government intervention into the equation, like council homes in Scotland?
I just don't see how the 4 bedroom 90s house that's now selling for 627k in my area goes back down to 450k ?
What could cause that to happen, and if it did drop down like that again wouldn't that mean we were all in big trouble in other areas?
EDIT
There have been a lot of great discussions and back and forth in this thread, with a lot more respect and empathy for each other than you normally see online.
Whatever happens with real estate in Canada and the struggles that will come, just reading how understanding and open people are to each other about this makes me feel better. I learned a lot from everyone's answers and I appreciate everyone who contributed to making me less dumb today. | 8.133961 | 0.301403 | CanadianInvestor | The government could restrict home purchases to residents, increase interest rates, increase property tax, and implement a vacant home tax. It would come down to making homes not a profitable investment. The problem is too much crashes the housing market, many people would have a mortgage greater than the value of the house, and the GDP would sink.
They could also try to increase supply. Subsidize home builders to build higher and bigger condos, and more of them. Affordable rental units.
Add onto that Canada being a growing country and it’s not certain any of that would work. | 0.546012 | 0.847416 |
9brtct | DATAEUM MILESTONES | Q4 2018
Application release and back office consolidation
Q1 2019
Blockchain integration throughout the platform
Q2 2019
Integration of XDT tokens throughout the application
Q4 2019
Marketplace deployment and its interface
Q1 2020
Integration of an exchange platform within the system
Q2 2020
Collection optimization
Extension to the collection of all physical data
Q3 2020
Enhancement of the marketplace
Full automatization of the marketplace data licensing
Q4 2020
Member to member interaction functionality
Q1 2021
Merchants interactions solution
Artificial int
johnbosco aghaonu, \[28.06.18 17:49\]
elligence
Q2 2021
Extension of the marketplace to future solutions
Q3 2021
App enhancement to additional functionalities | 0.20425 | 0.069519 | crypto_currency | According to their statement, Dataeum’s mission is to put humans — more accurate than any machine or algorithm — at the center of data generation. The Dataeum team estimates that poor quality data cost US corporations alone over USD 3.1 trillion in losses each year, including accuracy of less than 10 percent for Google Maps pin locations. The company estimates that over 80 percent of online listings contain inconsistent or inaccurate physical data. Dataeum aim to solve this problem by granting companies access to data collected by individuals in an agreement where collectors are awarded proportionally based on the real-world information they’ve collected. | 0.777778 | 0.847296 |
laog55 | Mark Cuban AMA at 9:30 AM CST, Tuesday 2/1/2021 | Mark Cuban will be joining us to do an AMA. During this period, new accounts will be allowed to comment and post questions for Mark to answer. We will be using a Q&A sort. Q&A sort shows all threads Cuban replies to, so low quality comments are highly unlikely to be seen. Please Behave.
UPDATE: Shit is 2/2/2021 not 2/1/2021. | 16.929417 | 0.186019 | wallstreetbets | Above all, we need to ask him his thoughts on share counterfeiting in the context of Failure to Delivery, how GME can make it to 13+ Consecutive days on the SEC threshold list, and what this means for an estimated 100%+ ownership between institutional and WSB
Edit: I’m buying the dip, holding, and asking questions later. This isn’t over. The math doesn’t add up. Something terribly wrong is going on. | 0.661164 | 0.847183 |
un8yn7 | I don't believe any fatFIRE poster who isn't verified | It seems like a large number of "I fatFIRE'ed, what do?" posts are made by kids. Honestly, we shouldn't upvote people who can't take 5 minutes to get verified and build at least *a little bit* of trust with the community. Some of the posts are just so ridiculous, it's impossible to believe. (The, "I'm 9-figure FIRE", posts.) Otherwise, we're just becoming a fantasy indulgence sub | 3.431605 | 0.228717 | fatFIRE | I would never get myself verified on here, who cares whether you believe me or not
I’m not here for the “I just sold my company for x million, what do I do now” posts anyway. I just ignore them because it’s all been asked already
Some of the posts and questions and discussions are really interesting, and I reckon I am usually able to decipher whether the person is lying or not, with it without a verification.
As if I’m gonna send a bank statement to some random internet person for a tag next to my name hahah | 0.618261 | 0.846978 |
neb4d7 | I just paid $1M in taxes... | Had a breakout year in our business last year. This is the most exciting and depressing milestone I feel like celebrating and crying all at the same time lol...
Does everyone pay extreme amounts like this and just not talk about it? Or am I doing something wrong here lol | 4.597393 | 0.296061 | fatFIRE | Yes and it sucks. On the other hand it's a good reminder how well you're doing. I also like to believe that I'm helping society somehow and those of us who make more have a larger responsibility to contribute more. | 0.549565 | 0.845626 |
xpb06j | India has spent more than $80 billion this year to save the rupee | India’s foreign currency reserves are depleting fast.
Looking to protect the rupee from falling sharply, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has deployed $82.8 billion (6.59 lakh crore rupees) from its forex reserves in 2022 so far. In September alone, it sold $10 billion. The central bank intervened heavily in August as well, traders said.
India’s forex reserves stood at $550.8 billion as of Sept. 09, compared with an all-time high of $642.4 billion last year.
[Source](https://qz.com/the-rupee-cost-india-80-billion-of-fx-reserves-in-2022-1849556567) | 5.661764 | 0.370103 | IndiaInvestments | India has been accumulating foreign reserves for a long time since early 2010s (your source even has a chart on it.) Also, the ATH of $642.4B was hit on March 2022, not last year. Your source article also mentions that RBI will move away from intervening if this continues, they're not idiots. Posts like this are very bad since they do not provide any broader context for data and instead just selectively choose what to show. The entire global economy is kind of in a crisis mode right now, but that doesn't mean we will have to deal with a situation like Sri Lanka. | 0.475294 | 0.845397 |
9zgiv6 | What is EntrepreneurShop (ESO) Project? |
What is ESO Project?
ESO introduces the most advanced applications made on top of artificial intelligence technology and blockchain technology, this concept connects the futuristic professionalism with the current blockchain network approach, can be an excellent starting point for the future growth of financial transactions if integrated with mechanism of machine learning. While existing solutions offer to solve just one problem at a time, our team is up to build a secure, useful, & easy-to-use product based on private blockchain. It will include easy cryptocurrency payments integration, and even a digital arbitration system
With the incorporation of Blockchain and NFC technology that creates secure, fast transaction with data that is not easily hacked maintain fast and efficient transactions.
| 0.893506 | 0.122995 | crypto_currency | **ESO** will also open an opening door for the future progress and development of financial transaction from transaction Integrated with machine learning mechanisms and NFC (Near-Field Communication) which currently not applied in the financial transaction field. | 0.722222 | 0.845217 |
a1ueuu | BUYING.com PLATFORM |
Buying.com is the first e-commerce protocol that allows consumers to buy directly from manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. It’s the next generation of Decentralized E-Commerce Platform that harnesses the power of distributed ledger technology along with innovations in Bulk Pricing, Real-time Logistics, E-Commerce and Cryptocurrency. Our Prime Protocol feature, WeBuy*, will hit MOQ levels of retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, or liquidators to offer the best possible pricing on products. Each individual will receive the best pricing by combining their purchasing power with other people interested in buying the same products.
| 0.893506 | 0.122995 | crypto_currency | Buying.com is a regulatory compliant company registered in the United States of America. Buying is already fully operational with many people working full time for their network. They also have many partner companies owned by existing team members which are already shipping products. | 0.722222 | 0.845217 |
9zgiv6 | What is EntrepreneurShop (ESO) Project? |
What is ESO Project?
ESO introduces the most advanced applications made on top of artificial intelligence technology and blockchain technology, this concept connects the futuristic professionalism with the current blockchain network approach, can be an excellent starting point for the future growth of financial transactions if integrated with mechanism of machine learning. While existing solutions offer to solve just one problem at a time, our team is up to build a secure, useful, & easy-to-use product based on private blockchain. It will include easy cryptocurrency payments integration, and even a digital arbitration system
With the incorporation of Blockchain and NFC technology that creates secure, fast transaction with data that is not easily hacked maintain fast and efficient transactions.
| 0.893506 | 0.122995 | crypto_currency | ESO payments are e-money or cryptocurrency payment features that can be used to makevarious types of payments such as payment of electricity, PDAMs, health insurance, onlineshopping. Not only that, but users can also buy credit,
ckets, etc. | 0.722222 | 0.845217 |
9x0amy | EntrepreneurShop Preliminary Information | Transacons are currently using a system that is le behind. Or can be said to be oldfashioned and have not adapted to the latest methods that have developed, or maybe even some refused to accept these developments, and we are here to establish a new system that integrated with Blockchain with the aim of introducing and disseminang transacon technology which is beer and easier to use by various groups.
In connecon with this, a transacon must fulfil several condions such as efficiency, effecveness now. Developers have made various efforts but sll cannot complete and achieve all market or consumer desires, primarily due to conflict with the law in some jurisdicons.
With these various problems, ESO is also present to develop a system that is expected to solve these problems. The ESO will also open an opening door for the future progress and development of financial transacons from transacon technology integrated with machine learning mechanisms and NFC (Near-Field Communicaon) which currently not applied in the financial transacon field.
Through the ESO plaorm, you can make transacons like tap and cash as currently implemented with more advanced development where security, convenience and transacon speed are a priority
[https://e-so.co/](https://e-so.co/)
​ | 0.893506 | 0.122995 | crypto_currency | **ESO** is also playing a leading role in helping EMS provider organizations across the nation successfully transition to **NEMSIS** Version 3 and new state standards for electronic patient care reporting. | 0.722222 | 0.845217 |
w4kfwj | 'Big Short' Investor Michael Burry Says Nancy Pelosi's Chip Stock Buy Should Be Illegal | “Big Short” fame investor Michael Burry said U.S. House Of Representatives Speaker **Nancy Pelosi** “made a bundle” on semiconductor stocks she recently purchased because she knew a key bill would make it through the Senate.
https://preview.redd.it/d5eockv91yc91.png?width=658&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f00a037cd1ebf54a6bd6f8e250a4bdda685479a
What Happened: Burry made his comments on Twitter on Wednesday. He said tagging the Democrat politician, “So Speaker Pelosi made a bundle on semiconductor stocks bought recently. Should be illegal.”
Burry also shared a news report on the Senate passing a bipartisan bill, which would subsidize domestic semiconductor production with a $52 billion support.
Source: [https://www.benzinga.com/news/22/07/28145000/big-short-fame-investor-michael-burry-says-nancy-pelosis-semiconductor-stock-buy-shouldnt-be-legal](https://www.benzinga.com/news/22/07/28145000/big-short-fame-investor-michael-burry-says-nancy-pelosis-semiconductor-stock-buy-shouldnt-be-legal)
The Big Short’s Michael Burry says members of congress should be banned from trading single stocks. He quoted the recent purchase of 20,000 NVIDIA (NVDA) shares by Paul Pelosi before Nancy Pelosi supported the CHIPS Plus bill, a $52 billion semiconductor bill.
Do you agree? | 31.274759 | 0.839836 | StockMarket | Weren’t the buys for chip companies that will receive no benefit from the bill? I get the blind outrage on Reddit, I wouldn’t expect anything else, but the bill in question would help the competitors of NVDA which is one of the stocks her husband bought, right?…
NVDA doesn’t make or buy chips made in the US… they compete against the companies that do…
Also, wasn’t it pretty common knowledge for a while now that this bill had wide bipartisan support? | 0.004052 | 0.843888 |
mfms35 | Covid, Brexit and now the Suez channel blocked, seriously why is the stock market still going up? | And don't say it's because of the fed, it can't be just the fed.
Edit: Thank you for everyone who took their time to answer my question, I will carefully read all the answers and study everything that has been said. :)
Edit 2: Wow, number 1 on the sub! :D | 6.056996 | 0.425061 | AskEconomics | The stock market is not the economy. The stock market consists disproportionately of medium and large companies. Different companies also depend on different markets, countries and supply chains.
So Brexit might not matter much for a business that does not operate in Britain - they can workaround the problems. The Suez channel blocking is bad for supply chains, but the relative ability of different companies to supply is hurt almost equally. On top of this, the Suez channel situation is temporary and will be over in two weeks at most (if the ships rerout around South Africa).
The value of a stock depends on the perceived ability of a company to be profitable long term.
Covid hurt small businesses disproportionately, and the end is in sight. Brexit caused some slowdown on the markets I think, but it also offers new opportunities and doesn’t actually matter much for many companies worldwide. The channel, again, is a temporary issue. Even the loss of the entire ship’s cargo wouldn’t matter much, since all companies would miss out on only a single shipment (they’d still have products in store and get new products soon). | 0.418421 | 0.843482 |
wsa9mq | N26 closed my account and filed money laundering case against me | Now i have to spend money for lawyer to defend my own money.
my N26 account got blocked and terminated immediately without prior notice. Full message at the end. I had my account for 6 years happily and everything was going well. I assumed, they are international Bank for international transfers. Moreover i received criminal police investigating appointment suddenly.
I have taken lawyer. It seems even insurance will not pay in such cases.
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Your N26 Team | 4.090291 | 0.151163 | eupersonalfinance | KYC/AML just sucks so much these days. Any criminal enterprise can get away with billions in fraud but my wife’s 30 Euro PayPal payment to a guy in Germany who was selling a children’s toy was triggering a Money Laundry alert. I’m not joking- that’s what happened to her. This is pathetic. | 0.692073 | 0.843236 |
oxz8kg | Bank of America Is Short GME And Is Positioned For A Potential Bankruptcy (semi debunked post from last night) | ​
https://preview.redd.it/y2z6f02p0df71.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2b789b14af01d3f751becbfbcfc1d13728ada54
Hello again my ape friends. So wow, did not expect yesterday's post to get as much attention. I apologize for the reposting as the original argument was debunked. I have added some facts, some new relevant information and what I originally posted for transparency, I want to remind everyone it is important to continuously fact-check each other to make sure our information is accurate to maintain the credibility of this subreddit! Not financial advice, and I am not a financial advisor.
**Thesis**: **~~Bank of America (BAC) has begun their resolution plan for if they require bankruptcy~~** **Bank of America is short GME and is positioned for if they need to proceed with a bankruptcy resolution; being a shareholder of BAC during such an event would cause larger than normal losses.**
**What we already know:**
1. **BofA is the Prime Broker for the hedge funds with the worst positions and will be responsible for closing said positions if they cannot close** (96% of clearing for Citadel, and 1 of 2 PB for Susquehanna)
2. **BofA has/had a significant Put position to potentially reset FTDs** (17 Million via Fintel)
3. **No Bank or Hedgefund has/had more GME containing ETFs than BofA**. (70+ Million shares, These can be used for shorting)
4. **BofA's head of client equity solutions left to join Citadel after the Jan squeeze**.
5. **\~20% of BofA's locations have not reopened since last March**
6. **BofA issued a $15 billion dollar bond in April to raise cash**
**What is new:**
https://preview.redd.it/zyimovemicf71.png?width=521&format=png&auto=webp&s=fe6eedb11df323c789e452cb1b7034a471bcbf70
On August 2nd, BofA released [this prospectus](https://investor.bankofamerica.com/regulatory-and-other-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001193125-21-232682/0001193125-21-232682.pdf). Under this submission with the SEC, they have the right to raise up to $123 Billion dollars worth of debt, warrants, contracts, and different stock. If you think that this is a big number it's because it is. (Their market cap is currently 320 Billion, 38% of their value)
Now the timing of this is not by accident. On July 1st over 300 changes were implemented to the Title 12 US Code on Banking including the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR). The rule is intended to support lending to households & businesses during normal and adverse economic conditions. It is also complementary to the LCR (Liquidity Coverage Ratio) rules, which focus on short-term liquidity risks. On July 16th, each member of the FDIC was required to open their books and submit a filing of their NSFR on their liquidity, if they are short on the regulatory guidelines, and a plan of action to rectify any such shortcoming.
>§249.110 NSFR shortfall: Supervisory framework.
>
>(a) *Notification requirements.* A Board-regulated institution must notify the Board no later than 10 business days, or such other period as the Board may otherwise require by written notice, following the date that any event has occurred that would cause or has caused the Board-regulated institution's net stable funding ratio to be less than 1.0 as required under §249.100.
>
>(b) *Liquidity Plan.* (1) A Board-regulated institution must within 10 business days, or such other period as the Board may otherwise require by written notice, provide to the Board a plan for achieving a net stable funding ratio equal to or greater than 1.0 as required under §249.100 if:
>
>(i) The Board-regulated institution has or should have provided notice, pursuant to §249.110(a), that the Board-regulated institution's net stable funding ratio is, or will become, less than 1.0 as required under §249.100;
>
>(ii) The Board-regulated institution's reports or disclosures to the Board indicate that the Board-regulated institution's net stable funding ratio is less than 1.0 as required under §249.100; or
>
>(iii) The Board notifies the Board-regulated institution in writing that a plan is required and provides a reason for requiring such a plan.
>
>(2) The plan must include, as applicable:
>
>(i) An assessment of the Board-regulated institution's liquidity profile;
>
>(ii) The actions the Board-regulated institution has taken and will take to achieve a net stable funding ratio equal to or greater than 1.0 as required under §249.100, including:
>
>(A) A plan for adjusting the Board-regulated institution's liquidity profile;
>
>(B) A plan for remediating any operational or management issues that contributed to noncompliance with subpart K of this part; and
>
>(iii) An estimated time frame for achieving full compliance with §249.100.
>
>(3) The Board-regulated institution must report to the Board at least monthly, or such other frequency as required by the Board, on progress to achieve full compliance with §249.100.
>
>(c) *Supervisory and enforcement actions.* The Board may, at its discretion, take additional supervisory or enforcement actions to address noncompliance with the minimum net stable funding ratio and other requirements of subparts K through N of this part (see also §249.2(c)).
Now banks don't behave like this for no reason, and it was very eerie the lack of any coverage of something of this magnitude (anyone remember the negative coverage that GME & the theater company got when they raised cash). I believe Bank of America stating it wishes to raise $123 Billion isn't something it wants to do. More likely than not they are being forced to raise that amount to adhere to compliance with these new rules and to maintain enough liquidity for short-term risk.
​
**Evidence from their last Q-10**
[page 51 of 10-Q released July 30th](https://preview.redd.it/s30s5ko77df71.png?width=1151&format=png&auto=webp&s=4aa9c09f13eca9cc5f71848c72a95d1be01bc950)
In their latest [quarterly report](https://investor.bankofamerica.com/regulatory-and-other-filings/quarterly-reports/content/0000070858-21-000084/0000070858-21-000084.pdf), the net change in their trading and derivative assets/liabilities shows that in the first 6 months of 2021 that they are a net loss of over $58 Billion in cash compared to the prior year. This may not be all due to meme stocks but given the other evidence, I believe there is a significant portion.
**(EDIT thanks** [**u/dg\_713**](https://www.reddit.com/u/dg_713/)**) It would appear that I have an error in my accounting! So just because its a large negative # does not technically mean it is a loss due to indirect accounting. You can see his counter DD in the link below. I'll be the first to admit accounting isn't in my wheelhouse!**
[**https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/oycn59/re\_bank\_of\_americas\_potenial\_bankruptcy\_the\_58/**](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/oycn59/re_bank_of_americas_potenial_bankruptcy_the_58/)**)**
​
[page 81 of 10-Q released July 30th](https://preview.redd.it/n7li2dcvadf71.png?width=1123&format=png&auto=webp&s=83173032aafd91ca48b1c6c8b998e13f990b3c45)
As you can see in their securities sold under agreement to repurchase that the amount of securities that were sold and have not been purchased back greater than 90 days has ballooned over last year (almost doubled). One could argue that these might be the "Meme stocks" that have grown significantly in value, to which BofA has been sitting on these paper losses. This would also line up with our timeline of Q1 shorting. Currently, over $44 billion in shares need to be repurchased to which are older than 90 days.
​
**My debunked argument from yesterday post for transparency** (still has valuable information)
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regulations are in place globally that require large financial institutions or their regulators to develop resolution plans, also known as “living wills.” In the U.S., these plans are required by Title I of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and are intended to reduce the economic impacts of a large financial institution’s failure on the economy and avert widespread destabilization of the global financial system. As part of their risk management, the FDIC requires each bank to maintain contingency plans describing resolution strategy under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the event of material financial distress or failure. (Link below is BAC's plan)
[https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/reform/resplans/plans/boa-165-2107.pdf](https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/reform/resplans/plans/boa-165-2107.pdf)
**Bank of America's FDIC Bankruptcy Contingency Plan**
As per their contingency plans, their filings states that as part of their strategy they are to consolidate their subsidiaries under a single umbrella outside of the Bank of America parent. Under this procedure, it is possible to file for bankruptcy for just Bank of America (BAC) rather than each branch of their business.
https://preview.redd.it/sq0ocxcsgcf71.png?width=840&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e81d6cde63aa64123b508d99ba7bfa8f4307df7
Under their contingency guidelines, the organization would create a new "point of entry" called "NewCo" which would support their subsidiaries, while the parent BAC undergoes bankruptcy proceedings.
https://preview.redd.it/p3dbyvbvgcf71.png?width=825&format=png&auto=webp&s=257b1c74057a91cb26ccbaaed9af908020af856d
Under this structure, BAC would send its Cash and Assets to a new holding company (above titled NB holdings).
**The Smoking Gun/New Evidence (Debunked) (Edit for clarity:** This was the portion that was debunked. Originally I thought this was the first prospectus to mention they have entered into the holding agreement. As it turns out its been in a few now\*\*)\*\*
Now what I found in the prospectus that was filed yesterday... (link below)
[https://investor.bankofamerica.com/regulatory-and-other-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001193125-21-232682/0001193125-21-232682.pdf](https://investor.bankofamerica.com/regulatory-and-other-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001193125-21-232682/0001193125-21-232682.pdf)
​
[Now I originally posted this earlier believing that this was new verbiage but I was debunked. The verbiage that they have entered an agreement with a separate holding company has been on their prospectus's for a while now. ](https://preview.redd.it/7cmui3vrudf71.png?width=1018&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9f1633111275d41cdf54440076e392878893641)
What we can take away is they are already structured according to their contingency plan for if they need to resolve a bankruptcy to their parent company. What we also learned is that if you are a shareholder of BofA their current plan would have you taking significantly larger losses than if they did a traditional bankruptcy.
**Conclusion:**
* In BofA's bankruptcy plan it states that prior to engaging in bankruptcy that they would transfer their assets, and cash into a new holdings company as per its contingency plan. As per their outline, they have already moved to the planned holdings company.
* BofA may have been forced by regulators to significantly increase their liquidity as part of their short-term risk mitigation.
* BofA has shown that it is sitting on a debt of $44 Billion of securities that are older than 90 days. This timeline fits with the price action of GME and other meme stocks in quarter 1.
* In the event of a financial crisis, their current resolution plan states that holding BAC stock may result in more damages to the shareholder than if they did a traditional bankruptcy.
​
As I stated before I reserve the right to be wrong, and just wish to constructively contribute to this community.
Cheers!
​
​
**Additional info/prior DDs:** If you would like I have been on the Bank of America train for several months now for their role in the Gamestop Saga. If you would like to check out my previous DD's that go over that connection please check out.
[The Complete Bank of America Gamestop DD](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/nsioql/the_complete_bank_of_america_gamestop_dd/)
and
[The Bank of America and Gamestop DD update. Swimming in Puts, ETFs, and the new NSFR rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/onrzz9/the_bank_of_america_and_gamestop_dd_update/) | 8.235706 | 0.26819 | Superstonk | Thank you for reuploading after fixing the error. Gotta love the integrity here of not only being open to being wrong on something, but going back and fixing it so that more apes can learn peer-reviewed hypotheses. | 0.57495 | 0.84314 |
b0ku1b | According to the Federal Reserve, the average net worth for Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 is $1,066,000, however, the median net worth is $224,000. Under the age of 35 was an average of $76,200 and a median of $11,100. The average is skewed by a small percentage of affluent Americans. | https://turbo.intuit.com/blog/real-money-talk/net-worth-by-age-704/
I honestly thought that the medians would be higher. But it seems that people have much less than I thought. How will all these people retire on just ~200k or less?
Edit: if you guys are interested in seeing where you stand, there are calculators like this one
https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator-united-states/
**you "only" need 110k in the 25-29 bracket to be in the 90th percentile!**
Edit2: also, choose your major wisely
https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/college-labor-market_compare-majors.html
Remember to be compassionate...! | 34.944709 | 0.71351 | investing | A while back Barron's (I think, been a couple years ago) published a study across a wider swath of the retiree population, everyone age 65+, and they found median net worth to be something like $100,000.
Keep in mind that's including home equity, so yeah, the answer to how they survive is Social Security. Significant portions of elderly Americans have literally nothing else beyond that income. | 0.129569 | 0.843079 |
zoaq7o | $2.2M dividend portfolio need some extra eyes | As the title says, all individual stocks. As of now, we don't withdraw any and drips them all. We're looking to get to $120k dividend per year. We have $60k cash in roll over IRA ready to deploy. The $920k cash we don't want to touch as we may make a big purchase later. If we don't want ETFs, what individual stocks you'd add to boost to the target we want? Other info if it matters, age 50, total NW: $4.2M. No major debt. Have 3 young kids (16, 12, 9).
https://imgur.com/a/IdPkl5i
edit: sorry new here, just saw a rate my port thread. I will remove it if asked.
edit2: wow I didn't expect I'd get so many responses, you guys are awesome! I felt so dumb not knowing so many things but I'll keep learning, thanks again! | 4.771503 | 0.229697 | dividends | $120k per year from $2.2 million means you need to average a 5.45% annual yield, There are lots of ways to do that.
If you prefer individual stocks you could go through this list of Dividend Kings https://www.financecharts.com/screener/dividend-kings
and Dividend Aristocrats https://www.financecharts.com/screener/dividend-aristocrats
and come up with a mix of stocks that produce the desired yield.
Or, you could go with a mix of ETFs like r/dividends darlings SCHD (3.14% annual yield) and JEPI (10.62% annual yield) to produce the desired dividends. Or a mix of SCHD, JEPI, Dividend Kings, and Dividend Aristocrats. Lots of possibilities. No need to take much risk with a relatively modest yield requirement.
EDIT: One last thing. Consider moving to a state with no income tax. https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0210/7-states-with-no-income-tax.aspx
Your investment income would be taxed by the feds only. Some states have high income tax rates https://fairtax.org/articles/9-states-with-the-highest-income-tax-rates
With that amount of investment income, moving to a no income tax state could save you thousands of dollars *per year*. | 0.612844 | 0.842541 |
n2dxt3 | Curious to hear economists' breakdown of Einstein's "Why Socialism?" | There's this [article](https://monthlyreview.org/2009/05/01/why-socialism/) by Einstein blatantly endorsing socialism.
I'd like to clarify that I have no dog in this fight, and I think Einstein being Einstein deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Now I read the article. It has some interesting points. Though it seems very idealistic in some cases.
Most discussions I've encountered about this article online and on reddit talk about whether Einstein's qualified to talk about this along with the typical socialism/capitalism circlejerks.
None are actually addressing the points being made in the article.
So I'm curious to hear what economists have to say about the things written there. | 4.747463 | 0.339066 | AskEconomics | You should keep in mind that Einstein, while an excellent physicist, is about as educated in economics as your average Joe, and not instantly credible in the field of economics because he's good at physics. Same goes for an economist regarding physics. If an economist wrote a paper on general relativity with a bit more than average research (that probably isn't correct to begin with), would you take him seriously? Probably not.
In the article, he seems to be essentially saying that economics is not a real science by comparing it to astronomy, which isn't a very good argument. The field of economics does have a set methodology they use to conduct research. See Econ methodology FAQ in the sidebar of this sub.
He then appears to make the ethical argument for socialism, which, while completely ok, is outside the scope of economics.
Overall this article isn't much different from any other. It ignores basic economic concepts and instead makes an ethical case, which an economist can't really respond to. | 0.502632 | 0.841698 |
7iyej5 | Bitcoin exposes the massive economic illiteracy of financial journalism; arm yourselves with knowledge. | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque laoreet mauris et pretium bibendum. Cras id enim vitae ipsum molestie pretium vitae a lorem. Nam non lacus consectetur, dictum mauris non, pretium erat. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Vestibulum in risus id libero auctor varius eu a mi. Donec commodo sapien nunc, a eleifend ex pellentesque convallis. Phasellus eleifend sapien vitae neque egestas, in tempus augue aliquam. Vestibulum venenatis porta sem, quis porta mi suscipit vel. Vestibulum tempor bibendum placerat. Nam consequat nunc quis magna auctor hendrerit. Nulla sagittis eget massa vel consequat. Aenean lacinia metus eget magna porta facilisis.
Maecenas velit lorem, molestie tempus dignissim a, euismod sit amet eros. Phasellus viverra interdum eros, eget tristique felis imperdiet vitae. Donec a diam a diam tempus sodales. Integer dolor massa, dapibus nec iaculis sed, tincidunt vitae metus. Morbi commodo dui euismod ligula venenatis euismod. Sed condimentum sollicitudin enim in vulputate. Sed vestibulum dolor metus, a pharetra mi cursus ut.
Nulla purus leo, malesuada ut ligula nec, sagittis dignissim nunc. Vivamus purus tellus, commodo non efficitur eget, lobortis nec magna. Nullam nec lorem accumsan, malesuada odio ac, rhoncus libero. Vivamus vestibulum sed mi eu pellentesque. Fusce magna enim, dapibus a maximus sit amet, maximus eu tortor. Maecenas efficitur purus quis felis viverra mollis. Sed placerat nec libero sit amet varius.
In nunc nibh, venenatis id ultrices sed, molestie eget diam. Donec posuere faucibus suscipit. Sed tortor lacus, ultricies eget suscipit in, scelerisque in massa. Etiam aliquam leo at efficitur semper. Maecenas augue magna, porttitor in quam eu, laoreet interdum ipsum. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi quis lectus et est rutrum malesuada ut ut leo. Donec diam erat, facilisis in sem nec, lobortis venenatis ex. Proin fermentum convallis purus, vel rhoncus nisl sagittis et. Duis non ex et ipsum semper laoreet. Praesent at laoreet tortor, nec molestie dui.
Praesent egestas nec ipsum et tristique. Fusce non mi et felis pharetra sagittis. Mauris efficitur mollis feugiat. Suspendisse vitae tincidunt arcu. Proin nunc lectus, accumsan eu sem sit amet, hendrerit efficitur nibh. Suspendisse sem orci, dapibus id pulvinar ultricies, pulvinar vitae est. Mauris scelerisque urna vel erat scelerisque porttitor. Donec porttitor neque massa, a faucibus nisi tempus ac. | 20.596021 | 0.127473 | Bitcoin | While it's true that a currency needn't _necessarily_ be "backed" by something to be an effective means of exchange, virtually everything else you've said is false, or obvious pandering to the prevailing socioeconomic attitudes prevalent in this sub.
First, let's dispel the notion that US dollars aren't backed by anything. US Dollars have an important quality that makes them useful to an individual, regardless of whether other individuals want them: they can be used to pay down US citizens' tax obligations. This is no trivial thing. Read about Chartalism for more information.
>A currency, the manifestation of money, is valuable when it does a good job of transferring the aforementioned data by being:
1) easy to use and understand by everyone
2) tamperproof such that it resists corruption of the original signal
3) neglegible in overhead costs
You're listing this out like it's out of a textbook or something, but it's just 3 random points you picked out of the air that are heavily influenced by the current subject matter of Bitcoin. The average economist, when asked about money, is not going to mention that it should be "easy to understand by everyone", tamperproof, or low in transaction overhead. They're going to talk about the usual trifecta:
1) A medium of exchange
2) A store of value
3) A standard of value
Hilariously, even though you've arbitrarily chosen the metric we're using to measure the worth of a currency, Bitcoin still utterly fails to meet all 6 of these points. Let's go through them, starting with yours:
1. Easy to use and understand by everyone - Why would you even set yourself up for this? "What is Bitcoin" "how does Bitcoin work" "How do I get a bitcoin" These are some of the most asked questions on the internet because nobody can grok Bitcoin on the first try, and even when they do, it's not clear to them how they can "buy in".
2. Tamperproof such that it resists corruption of the original signal - While at first bluff this is true, tamperproof is really just one element of a larger desire that malicious third parties can't change the debt record in their favor. From a purely technical standpoint Bitcoin should be resistant to this, but in practice, the number of coins lost to negligent storage, Wallet exploits, etc. puts this point squarely against BTC. I am much, MUCH less concerned that my US bank account will disappear due to some technical trapdoor, or compromised because somebody hacked into the computer systems at my credit union.
3. Negligible in overhead costs - Bitcoin is ludicrously expensive to transact in, and circumventing this via, e.g. the Lightning network, necessarily involves tradeoffs against other technical qualities that you will doubtless be counting for Bitcoin elsewhere.
4. Medium of exchange - worthless. Nobody wants to buy pizzas with Bitcoin, because it is by and large considered some kind of investment. I love the irony that people don't want to spend their bitcoin to buy things because they're convinced that it's so incredibly useful to buy things - so much so that it will one day net them millions of... dollars? No wait, not that!
5. It is completely untrustworthy as a store of value - putting money into Bitcoin is not safe. This entire sub has "invest responsibly" posts slathered all over it because even the most foolhardy zealots realize that that saying you should save your life's earnings in Bitcoin is a terrible idea. If I had $20 in a bank account in 2008, when I took it out today, it would only be worth 87% of what it was then. Inflation does hurt you over long periods of time, but this was a smooth, monotonic decay. It's the kind of value you can quite literally bank on decades in advance. Bitcoin has no such assurances. The value of your life savings denominated in Bitcoin changes significantly every day.
6. A standard of value - The fact that people's biggest concern is how many dollars one can buy with their Bitcoin tells you everything you need to know. Nobody denominates values in Bitcoin - it would be completely useless. If I told you this car was worth 1 BTC, that means two different things on Monday vs. Friday. If I tell you it's worth $15000, you understand.
>It protects signal integrity to a degree that no other currency type can.
This is meaningless.
>This is why cryptocurrency is so valuable, and why it will continue to soar
Oh, you mean soar up and down like a tech stock after an IPO? Making it completely untrustworthy as a store of value, and unusable as a medium of exchange? Regardless, even if it _was_ monotonically rising in value (it's not, not even close), why would this be a good thing? If you want to live in a world where all goods and services are completely denominated in Bitcoin, it doesn't matter what Bitcoin is "worth" in US dollars at any point in that cycle. The measure of Bitcoin's usefulness starts and ends with what types of things can be bought with it. It doesn't matter if a pair of shoes costs 1 BTC or .0000001 BTC if, all other things being equal, your salary and pension and taxes are measured in BTC. It's just a scale-factor. If you think the value of Bitcoin, denominated in US dollars, soaring into the stratosphere is a good thing, then you've patently revealed your true motivation, which is for the in-crowd to get rich. This is deliciously ironic given:
>they betray their ignorance, their illiteracy and their complete blindness to the revolution that's happening right under their feet and which will, in time, bring down the corrupt power structures of our world to create a freer, fairer society for all of us.
And so we see what you'd really like to see happen: destroy the riches of the current superwealthy and replace them with a different group that you like more - Bitcoin early adopters.
Bitcoin is a fascinating development, and it blazed an important first trail in the modernization of money and commerce, but from a technical standpoint it is totally inadequate to serve as the currency of the internet, or the currency of the world. Transaction fees, energy usage due to mining, validation waits, Wallet protection, and exchange with existing monetary infrastructure - all of these things are lacking in fundamental, unfixable ways. The world needs something that has a lot in common with Bitcoin, but it also needs to have a lot of things that are quite different. Sitting around and telling each other that the establishment just "Doesn't get us, man" is fucking delusional. There are people that don't understand cryptocurrency, but this is not the only or even the main reason that Bitcoin falls into criticism. It is being criticized because it has real, legitimate, unsustainable, deal-breaker problems. When you write this kind of BS that 'the establishment is just trying to protect the status quo', you sound like a lunatic conspiracy theorist who things that GM knows how to make cars run on water but won't tell us because of the oil cartel. It just doesn't make any fucking sense. If Bitcoin was a digital pantheon of economic exchange that was going to usher in the modern era of banking, then you know who would be all over that shit? BANKS. It's not a cabal of evil capitalists trying to crush the revolution. It's a few uninformed people, and a bunch of people who have genuine grievances based on their understanding of monetary policy and finance. Maybe in some cases they're too stuck in their old ways of thinking, but anybody assuming that finance and banking professionals have no wisdom to impart here is gravely mistaken.
The shorthand for all of this is to ask yourself: if you could wake up tomorrow to a world that had replaced all existing monetary infrastructure, would you REALLY want to? Millions of truck drivers with unsecured wallets, policeman's pensions sitting on the blockchain, Starbucks waiting 5 minutes to confirm that your $5 coffee (+ $5 settlement fee) can be handed over? 3 transactions per second for the entire world? | 0.713797 | 0.84127 |
piar0i | Why I gave up on active stock picking and sold every individual stock I own | I have a full time non-investment job like a lot of you. Post Covid, I had some extra time due to the lack of commute and I decided to study up on all terminology and background required to to pick stock. I even read Benjamin Graham's book cover to cover diligently !
I read and watched a bunch of videos and was very familiar will all the terms in stock picking. I started religiously filtering stocks on Screener eventually. Carefully reading through annual reports and quarterly results. It was actually pretty exciting. Researched the background and experience of the leadership of the companies I was interested in as well.
After 2-3 months of solid studying, I eventually bought a few stocks and started tracking news about them regularly. I also followed discussions about these companies in forums and twitter so see if I had missed some important info.
After further 2-3 months of doing this, I eventually got busy in some office project and just couldn't give much time to this. Weeks went by when I didn't open Screener to see BSE filings simply because I was tired after work.
Eventually I just lost track of what was going on with the companies. I opened Screener eventually and there was such a backlog of reading material that it was just too much for me to go through.
The point is, apart from some lucky time spells, it just takes too much time and energy to track your stocks and see results, filings, news etc. Even if you just track 15 stocks, you will have a LOT of data to go through on a regular basis. It's not sustainable for most of us unless this is your full time job as well.
I recently sold all my stocks in Zerodha(I was up 45% btw) and put that money in Nifty 50 index fund and have never felt more relaxed with my investment choice. Nothing really to track apart from an occasional check of how Nifty is doing. It's 10000x more convenient. Phew ! | 8.823484 | 0.560825 | IndiaInvestments | Same story as you. People don't realise the best returns you will get is from investing in your own career. Bet on yourself and stop wasting a huge chunk of time on stocks. You have MF managers paid huge amounts to do exactly that. Use that time to sharpen your skills related to your full time job, remain at the top of your game. Put money in well performing funds and do a quarterly review. | 0.28 | 0.840825 |
w4kfwj | 'Big Short' Investor Michael Burry Says Nancy Pelosi's Chip Stock Buy Should Be Illegal | “Big Short” fame investor Michael Burry said U.S. House Of Representatives Speaker **Nancy Pelosi** “made a bundle” on semiconductor stocks she recently purchased because she knew a key bill would make it through the Senate.
https://preview.redd.it/d5eockv91yc91.png?width=658&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f00a037cd1ebf54a6bd6f8e250a4bdda685479a
What Happened: Burry made his comments on Twitter on Wednesday. He said tagging the Democrat politician, “So Speaker Pelosi made a bundle on semiconductor stocks bought recently. Should be illegal.”
Burry also shared a news report on the Senate passing a bipartisan bill, which would subsidize domestic semiconductor production with a $52 billion support.
Source: [https://www.benzinga.com/news/22/07/28145000/big-short-fame-investor-michael-burry-says-nancy-pelosis-semiconductor-stock-buy-shouldnt-be-legal](https://www.benzinga.com/news/22/07/28145000/big-short-fame-investor-michael-burry-says-nancy-pelosis-semiconductor-stock-buy-shouldnt-be-legal)
The Big Short’s Michael Burry says members of congress should be banned from trading single stocks. He quoted the recent purchase of 20,000 NVIDIA (NVDA) shares by Paul Pelosi before Nancy Pelosi supported the CHIPS Plus bill, a $52 billion semiconductor bill.
Do you agree? | 31.274759 | 0.839836 | StockMarket | While some of Pelosi 's stock purchase timing did raise eyebrows off the top of most people 's head, the semiconductor purchase could have been made with info available to everyone. What isn't available to the masses is whether or not we are approaching a market bottom or are looking at a further 10 to 20% drop. Pelosi has the ability to take the loss as well as wait it out. As far as paying them more, no. When they retire, they get to keep their unspent war chest, as well as cushy book deals, speaker circuit, and highly paid positions in private sector because of their connections, not their knowledge. Constitutionally, they were supposed to represent their constituents, not be the .0001%. | 0.0009 | 0.840736 |
lw1zgd | Roaring Kitty, CFA | Has anyone else watched Roaring Kitty's YouTube channel? Aside from the GME events, which I agree with his analysis when GME was a $4 stock, the quality of his content is really top-notch in my opinion. He goes through his process in detail and it is clearly heavily rooted in value investing.
Not trying to stir the pot on anything related to WSB, GME or any other stock for that matter. Just wanting to shine the light on great content that I think we could all benefit from.
Anyone who has seen his content agree?
[Roaring Kitty - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/RoaringKitty/featured) | 11.58386 | 0.752846 | ValueInvesting | Smart dude, that being said, I got a bit frustrated watching his videos. It's not exactly a lecture or structured process he's walking through, more of him just thinking out loud and having beer at the end of a day. | 0.0875 | 0.840346 |
leq2kt | A new milestone! 100k net worth | I am now officially among the 6 figure club (provided there isn't a pullback this week) . 50-50 growth and dividend. With an average monthly dividend of 368.68$ and growing. Hoping to reach 128k by end of year and $400 monthly average. Made possible through aggressively saving on 40-50k a year since 2017.
I can't tell friends or family because they hate hearing "rich people" issues/achievements so here I am telling you guys instead. | 16.983678 | 0.775758 | dividends | On the verge of $50,000 in my IRA!!! I wish I could save 40k a year. I only make 30k/yr
But I have 6 positions as of now and I only put in $6,000 a year (limit for IRA's).. Just chuggin along. I try to tell my family but it does feel like I'm rubbing it in their face or something. | 0.06422 | 0.839978 |
a1x5wu | Uptherium – Crypto apps hub, rising community, an easier way to earn! |
PRESENTATION
It is no current story that cryptocurrency is a digital currency which was brought into existence through the use of advanced encryption techniques known as cryptography and powered by Blockchain technology.
While this revolution is gaining wide acceptance, Imagine, accessing a crypto hub of apps that meet your everyday crypto needs! It’s never been easier, to use crypto in your daily life with a variety of apps all through one ecosystem. For instance, apps that even if you’re a newbie help you trade the market like a pro, apps that make it easy to spend crypto you’ve earned at some of your favorite online stores like Amazon, eBay, Etsy even pay for your morning cup of coffee.
But before we go any further, please check out this video presentation to get even more acquainted
Now that I have your attention, let’s get right to it.
| 0.824581 | 0.117647 | crypto_currency | Since each yearning undertaking needs a sturdy establishment. The team are beginning with 5 key crypto administrations that illuminate five of the huge challenges– a dependable method to get noteworthy news, a ground-breaking crypto exchanging center point, very own token swap trade, a simple method to pay with crypto, and UPZ token to control reasonable exchanges. | 0.722222 | 0.839869 |
a1x5wu | Uptherium – Crypto apps hub, rising community, an easier way to earn! |
PRESENTATION
It is no current story that cryptocurrency is a digital currency which was brought into existence through the use of advanced encryption techniques known as cryptography and powered by Blockchain technology.
While this revolution is gaining wide acceptance, Imagine, accessing a crypto hub of apps that meet your everyday crypto needs! It’s never been easier, to use crypto in your daily life with a variety of apps all through one ecosystem. For instance, apps that even if you’re a newbie help you trade the market like a pro, apps that make it easy to spend crypto you’ve earned at some of your favorite online stores like Amazon, eBay, Etsy even pay for your morning cup of coffee.
But before we go any further, please check out this video presentation to get even more acquainted
Now that I have your attention, let’s get right to it.
| 0.824581 | 0.117647 | crypto_currency | Whether you need apps for news insights and opinions, learning to trade the markets like a pro or using your crypto to make everyday purchases even as little as a cup of coffee, the Upthinity app hub offers it and rewards you from it all. | 0.722222 | 0.839869 |
lhhvuo | Killing pump and dumps targeting /r/ASX_bets for fun and shitposts | It has come to the mods attention that an organized pumping event was planned for this subreddit starting with a cordinated an attack in the Monday Daily thread. This knowledge was obtained via various means, including the use of people (yes, plural) who have slightly more mental and ethical capacity than others telling the mods when things shifted from perfectly reasonable discussion of future rockets to plotting. At this point, things have not appeared to have reached the point of a pump on this stonk, but one has been planned.
​
The quiet buying has apparently occurred this week, the pump was planned for next week, the dump would likely have been the week afterwards. For everyone not involved in this, remember. You were the people they were planning on making hold the bags. This wasn't a rise, this was a planned transfer of wealth.
​
The guilty parties have been identified, they will be given a ban of varying lengths. The ban length was tempered by ringleaders admitting to their plans and outing the others (It is better to admit your mistakes, we understand that you made poor judgement). We will find others soon enough, the best way to avoid a longer ban is to confess. People ask about the line between discussion, hysteria, self delusions, pumping and a pump and dump. Actively agreeing to quietly buy, then raid a place to make those on the outside of the group increase it's price, then selling out to make the outsiders hold bags is the line. We have not waited until everyone was all in before nuking this. The phrase "I wonder if we should let their money burn." was raised. But mummy and daddy are being nice. This time.
​
A temporary block has been placed on that ticker. If you post it, your comment will be deleted. if innocent parties miss a rocket next week, that is an unfortunate outcome. Please direct your ire at the people who were trying to fuck you.
​
Note: This makes no comment on whether the Stonk in question is a legit future rocket or a dog. It might be the next VUL, it might be the next EM1. If I knew that, I wouldn't be hanging around here all day. The temporary block on that ticker is based on a simple premise "If it needed you guys to pump it, was it really a rocket?" Good stuff will rise on it's own, it doesn't need organizational effort. A real honest attempt at DD is still DD. But coordinated attacks are not DD.
​
Going forward, we would actually be happy if people outed pump and dump schemes. We are their victims. Some stonks rocket into orbit, some are merely thrown by pumper catapults, ready to fall back to earth. There is no one doing 140% shorting in Australia. But if you want something to get your pitchforks over, maybe try this.
​
TLDR. Moe, we know you're behind this. SO KNOCK IT OFF.
​
If this post feels a bit cold to you, remember. People loudly yelling are easily identified. People about to snap with massive rage are not.
​
I am the Lord of Ruin.
Post script Edit: Bans have been applied. We expect not all the guilty have been caught. Evidence of guilt is requested if anyone has it. For this and all future events. This was fairly exhausting to the mod team, we suggest thinking things through before doing in future. Though posting evidence of any Pumping inside or outside /r/ASX_bets is very welcome. Let's kill this stuff.
Additional Note: The lead guilty party in question has since claimed they are an idiot who had no idea how the stock market worked and claims that they believed that the late stage of an artificial pump is a period of permanently high prices. Presumably this period also included infinite supplies of rainbows and bunnies. We have also considered the idea that they are developmentally delayed which we can not discount. We request all people learn that artificial jumps can not be sustained unless demand is permanently raised and that all buyers learn what a market cap is. | 13.132138 | 0.62449 | ASX_Bets | I am so so so happy about this. I assume this was Rickle and his new group he was putting together. Thank you for everything you do to maintain this sub. Must feel like holding back a rising tide.
Edit - I’m really surprised you’re only giving temporary bans. This shit should come with an instant permanent ban, a report to the reddit admins and a report to ASIC. Zero tolerance. | 0.215017 | 0.839507 |
7qvjuv | possibly the worst thing about this crash... | All the shit I have to hear in the office.
The god damn "i-told-ya-so" from John. "I have no idea how stocks or anything like that work but i know bullshit when i see it. I can't believe people were dumb enough to buy fake money."
Yea ok mate, if i need a status update on that box of donuts in the break room, you're my go-to guy. other than that? shut up and go back to being shit at your job.
Then you've got Becky, flapping her useless mouth in the background who "knew" bitcoin was a scam when her boyfriend's Sister's cousin told her that the "bitcoin inventor guy" posted on his website that he was selling all his bitcoin.
"Money can't just be numbers on screens, that's not how money works. it has to be something you can hold as well! With all this net neutrality stuff going on you'd be crazy to invest in money that they can just shut down with the flick of a switch!"
Becky, last week i heard you ask the IT guy if you needed two mice plugged in to your computer if you want to use two screens at once and now you have a working knowledge of both the monetary system, crypto currencies AND the internet?! that's very impressive.
I have no idea why this is annoying me so much, I just found the need to rant while waiting for a meeting to start.
Edit: people seem to have come to some weird conclusions that i've been doing nothing but come to work and try sell crypto to the entire office. the "i told ya so" isn't directed at me or anyone in particular, it's just general chatter around the office. i'm not printing out weekly bitcoin news letters to put on peoples desks or waiting by their car at night to ask why they haven't bought BTC.
Try not to jump to conclusions based on a semi-satirical piece of information.
Don't be a John or a Becky
the salty no-coiner input here is the best part. shout out to /r/all and probably /r/buttcoin | 47.150648 | 0.290751 | Bitcoin | Ok, as one of the shit-eating office I-told-ya-so'ers I feel like its worth sharing an alternative perspective. I have no stake in Bitcoin, and don't feel strongly about it one way or another. Frankly, I don't know jack shit about the technology, and don't pretend to. What I DO have an opinion about are all the buyers who are equally clueless and took a position in Bitcoin acting like they were the next goddamn Warren Buffet. People who have ZERO understanding of the technology or how valuation works and for weeks were gloating about their so-called returns. I think the sense of schadenfreude you are witnessing is largely a reaction to those types of individuals. They are basically just as clueless as your Becky, but pretended to be know-it-alls when things were moving in the opposite direction. | 0.547972 | 0.838723 |
lck7nt | Here are the answers to all your questions | - We don’t care if you’re coming from wsb or anywhere else. Nobody cares. Stop making a big deal out if it.
- Stop posting what you learned from the GME shitstorm. They’re all common sense. Go to r/gme_meltdown for that shit.
- Stop posting 80% returns in the last 3 months and title it “Thetagainz”. We all know you either yolo OTM calls or sell put credit spreads that could have blown up your account in 1 bad trade. Ask yourself this: how many consecutive bad trades of max loss that your strategy can hold up? If the answer is anything less than 20 then stfu.
- If you didn’t want to sell the stocks, don’t sell covered call. Stop asking.
- No, there isn’t a way to save your $400 GME calls.
- Weekly or 30-45 dte is totally up to you. There’s no magic formula.
- No we don’t know how much capital you need to consistently make $2k gainz a month. Just do the math yourself.
- No 10% weekly return is not realistic. Yes, you’ll try it anyways. Go ahead, nobody gives a shit.
- No we don’t think we’re any better or worse than wsb. We’re all here to make money, whatever ways fit us. If you thetagang by selling MARA ITM CSPs with 5x leverage, do you.
- There is not a particular brokerage that’s made for Thetagang. You can do that shit with any brokerage. | 19.377663 | 0.806452 | thetagang | Does the IV of call options decrease as an underlying begins to tank, or does it increase , or is there no way of knowing? My understanding is that demand for the call drives up it's trade price as well as it's IV. | 0.032051 | 0.838503 |
wqg0aj | Saving for a wedding, 20k | I make 504 every week. (470 at the beginning of every month due to union dues) 223 car payment and 196 insurance and 70 for concert ticket payments. I have until December to have as much money in my savings for my wedding. Any advice? Around 400 I'd need to save to have the most by Dec?
EDIT: ITS 10K. Not 20k. | 0.436679 | 0.082474 | Money | Fancy weddings are a goddamn scam perpetrated upon young adults barely starting their lives by placing unrealistic and deeply unaffordable expectations on them.
The only way they make any sense is as a vanity project by some of the parents. Speaking of, have you considered hitting up relatives to "sponsor" part or all of the wedding costs? | 0.755102 | 0.837576 |
gj9sou | Why don’t more women trade? | This is coming from the wife of someone who trades for a living. He has asked me a few times why I think so few women trade and I don’t have an answer for him. I don’t understand any of it. I would love to hear from other women why they do or don’t trade. | 1.61496 | 0.056842 | Trading | According to the variability hypothesis, men and women meet the same average values on a vast majority of psychological traits, but the distribution for men is wider. When there’s a greater number of outlier men for traits such as the willingness to take large risks, those outlier men will congregate in those fields that reward the extreme outer standard deviations of that trait. This doesn’t mean “men are better than women at trading,” it means that due to their wide distribution of relevant traits, a greater number of men are predisposed to taking on trading REGARDLESS of their skill level. | 0.780488 | 0.83733 |
88unax | If you’re ripped off by Comcast (or any internet company), Wells Fargo (or any bank/student lender), or Aetna (or any health insurance company), here’s how to get your money back. | Update 3: $3332 returned!
Update 2: Holy moly! $2361 returned to redditors so far! If you reached out for help, don’t forget to share your update here!
Update 1: WOW! Thanks for your votes and gold and sweet notes. Adding more resources below and an ask to share this post with people who might need it.
—
All of these companies are regulated — a government agency is paid by your taxes to make sure you’re not ripped off. These companies also rip you off in small amounts in part because they assume you won’t do anything about it. When you complain about it to the government agency that regulates them, they not only fix your problem but if enough people complain, they’ll fix the whole system, which helps other people.
The types of problems could be billing (they overcharge you), service (you’re not getting what you’re paying for), unfair and deceptive practices (you were tricked) or more. All of these complaint systems work in 2 weeks or less and it’s awesome. It’s sort of crazy more people don’t know about them.
Internet: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=38824
Banks/student loans/credit reports/debt collectors etc: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
Health insurance: Google “[state where you live] health insurance complaint” and select the government agency that will let you file a consumer complaint. It’s usually an insurance commissioner. Here’s the form for Texas for example: http://www.tdi.texas.gov/consumer/complfrm.html#four
Cable: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=33794
Cell phone: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=39744
Other company (home security system, eBay, Amazon, contractors): google “[your state] attorney general consumer complaint.”
Your landlord (won’t return your deposit, won’t fix the heat etc): google “[your city] tenant advocate.” They typically have excellent, free advice.
Kind of everything falling apart (out of money, need housing help, low cost/free health or mental services etc): Call 211 (works in many us cities but not all). It’s like an artisanal version of this post — they will personally help you find all the local services.
If you’re not sure where to complain, share your issue in the comments and I’ll help you find the right spot! | 82.797038 | 0.690797 | personalfinance | If you landlord tries to evict you without notice, or they try to keep your security deposit for some BS reason tell them you'll file a complaint with your state's office of attorney general.
Once they tried to keep my deposit because the hallway was dirty and they had to paint it. I've been living there for 3 years. Told them I'm filling a complaint with the AG and that from now on all communication will be in writing. 15 minutes later I get a phone call from the office letting me know they decided to return my security deposit... | 0.145826 | 0.836622 |
jwesme | How to see if a bank is risky for placing your deposits? [A guide from a banker] | Although Lakshmi Vilas Bank is being sold to and recapitalised by a well to do Bank (DBS Bank), you do not want to be their depositor now for the inconvenience it causes.
This is a basic guide to avoid such situations. Read on!
​
**Number 1. Check your Bank’s capital adequacy ratio**
Suppose a bank raised a deposit of ₹100. They are supposed to set aside ₹10 and lend the remaining ₹90. If the banks owners contribute ₹5, then their CAR would be (10+5)/90 = 16.66%
This is a gross simplification but you get the idea. A Healthy number is to be above 12%.
LVB’s CAR was at 0.17% as on 30th June 2020!!
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**Number 2: Check their gross NPA(GNPA) & net NPA (NNPA) ratio**
Coming back to our example, if a bank lent ₹90 rupees and ₹9 went sour, then they have a GNPA of (9/90) = 10%. A good bank should be below this and below 5% is considered to be very safe (in the Indian context)
LVB had a GNPA of 25.40% as on 30th June 2020!
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This bank had more red flags than the communist party.
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In our example, if a bank set aside ₹3 from their profits as a provision (meaning they will use this money to set good their losses from their NPAs) then their NNPA is (9-3)/90= 6.67%. A good bank would have it under 3%. (Ideal ratios are subject to change depending on the current state of the economy)
LVB had a NNPA of 9.64% on 30/06/2020.
​
**Number 3. Check your bank’s quarterly numbers trend**
Is your bank making profits or losses? Is their revenue increasing ? If they are making losses continuously, then they will be unable to repay the depositors.
LVB’s share price touched a peak of ₹187.19 on 14/07/2017. Now it is at ₹12.45. One of the major reasons for that is their continuing losses due to High NPAs.
Contrast it with HDFC (or SBI/ICICI/Kotak etc) which is creating shareholder value year on year. Both the income and profits of these are increasing year on year.
It is well and good to note this because share price is nothing but people’s perception. As long as people perceive a bank is good, your money is safe even if the bank is actually having troubles. Once people get afraid and start to withdraw their money, trouble starts.
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**Number 4. See if your bank is in the RBI’s Prompt corrective action(PCA) framework list**
If you find it too much to follow all this, RBI does most of the work for you. RBI places banks who are weak on the first three parameters in a watchlist called PCA. You can simply google “\[your bank name\] PCA” under the news section of google to find out if your bank is on the list.
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**Number 5. How would I a banker, choose my bank?**
I’d have at the very least, two accounts.
1) A well to do Private Bank &
2) well capitalised public bank.
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During a crisis like demonetisation, it was the public banks that worked the most to distribute fresh cash as RBI would have prioritised them first (I was in SBI then and witnessed this first hand). My first choice for a PSB will be SBI since it’s tagged as systemically important and also it is the biggest PSB by market cap and meets all other parameters mentioned above.
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I’d also have a private bank in order to get faster service, thereby enjoying the best of both worlds. I’d pick the nearest branch from the likes of HDFC, ICICI, Kotak or Axis (I chose ICICI since I work at ICICI now, not much of a choice actually but it still is the nearest to my house anyway )
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If I were to become a HNI one day, I’d open a third bank account( in order to reduce concentration risk) with another well to do private bank and my choice would be HDFC Bank today.
By market cap, HDFC is the leader followed by Kotak and ICICI among private banks.
For public sector, it is SBI followed by PNB and IDBI.
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Note: Some banks are tagged systemically important or too big to fail. Basically it means RBI will bail them out if they ever screw up. I have not put this as my criteria because my first priority is to ensure I have uninterrupted access to my money. I don’t want to wait a couple of weeks and then get my money back like they did for YES Bank.
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This list is by no means comprehensive. I’m planning to write a more comprehensive one for my blog later on but it contains the most important ones in my opinion.
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Edit: formatting
Edit 2: Wrote this on my mobile so added some more formatting.
What about IDFC first? check out u/sansays & u/mosalahpavbhaji07's comments below which pretty much echoes my views.
Edit 3: YES Bank was under moratorium for 2 weeks, not months. Changed it. | 10.566703 | 0.665979 | IndiaInvestments | I am an IDFC First Bank customer and checked the parameters mentioned by OP. I did the research so you don't have to!
1. Capital Adequacy is at 14.73 (Greater than 12 is good)
2. Gross NPA at 1.62 (Less than 5 is good)
Net NPA is at 0.43
3. Share price has grown from 25.70 on June 30 to 29.95 on September 30 (16.5% increase)
4. Bank is not in the list of RBI PCA
All the params are in green, so it's a safe bank for at least the next quarter.
All the above mentioned things take approximately 15 minutes every 3 months to assess. It's good to check it every 3 months as things can't tank to the basement. If you feel uncomfortable, shifting to SBI would be a better option! | 0.170588 | 0.836568 |
l216iu | Rant mode: I cannot believe the number of podcasts about real estate investing. It makes it feel super bubbly. And frankly, I'm kind of embarrassed to label myself a real estate investor despite 20+ years in the game because it feels so cheesy. | Basically the title. I mostly listen to politics and money podcasts. I do listen to bigger pockets occasionally (or I used to back when it was a little less self sucky sucky) but I don't really browse that often. I clicked through suggested and I am blown away at what felt like 50 real estate podcasts. I mean.....It isn't that complex to justify 1000 hours of content a week.
Lots of the podcasts kind of feel like the podcast is the business rather than the real estate. I know so many people interested in buying rentals, flipping etc. It is almost like bitcoin where they are hopping in just so they don't miss out.
I like real estate. I think it is a good path to wealth creation. But it is mostly boring. Dealing with tenant squabbles, deciding what grade of LVP is best, trying to find matching trim is like 80% of the game over the long run. Do you have any idea how long I've spent trying to locate the right color grey to re-paint a unit? That doesn't need a 90 minute podcast. Finding deals is sort of exciting for spreadsheet nerds. But contracts, financing, refinancing....boring. Buy a property that cash flows, wait like 30 years while making $150 a month and maybe refinance occasionally to take a bigger chunk out.
​
And if you haven't been in the market through at least one downturn- I don't need your advice. Your experience isn't valuable enough to broadcast. I realize you made 28% appreciation in 2019 and your cash on cash was 456%. But until you have watched it all go negative and had 5 years of gains get wiped out in an instant....don't tell me how much leverage I should have.
​
Oh you have 4 units so you think you can start a class about how to become more like you? piss off.
You successfully flipped a house in a market that goes up 2% a month? you could probably have literally done nothing other than hold for a few magic months and made money too. You didn't discover the secret RE rosetta stone. You bought into a hugely rising market where everyone feels like a genius.
You made a 10K assignment fee off of an old lady you charmed? super sustainable business model Mr Buffett. You should start a TV show too.
​
I don't know what my point is. I just hate that what was a very legitimate business is so snake infested now. I don't call myself a real estate investor now. I just tell people I'm a landlord- which makes them not want to talk about it further.
​
Rant off. | 25.933264 | 0.787172 | realestateinvesting | Can u provide some background on how you got started? I’m curious what real estate investing was like before podcasts and all this guru crap.
I just started learning about investing last year though bigger pockets and purchased my first home. Throughout the process I felt like I was on the verge of being taken advantage or part of an scam but it all worked out! | 0.04826 | 0.835432 |
9ygwj4 | Government Network : Decentralized Sovereign Identity Management | Building the network, gaining mindshare into the space, engaging hundreds of millions of participants, is a practical journey of many steps and a long-term plan.The Government network works towards near-term achievements to bring significant traction and real-world use cases to the platform. The initial focus will be on several verticals which can, along with economic drivers, mature into billion-dollar industries in their own right within a reasonable time frame; examples being our:
* Identity Management Hub
* Escrow and arbitration services
* Voting, polling and petition services
To realise the above, the Government Network will actively partner with governments, corporations and communities, building applications serving their immediate needs in exchange for expansion and potential trade agreements. | 0.755655 | 0.112299 | crypto_currency | The Government Network operates on two tokens. A platform token is called an NTN token. A stable coin traded on the Government Network's internal exchange. It is used to facilitate trading and transactions on the network. The token is confirmed by the provision in the amount of 85% of its cash value in the amount of $ 1 per token. The GOV token released during the Crowdsale is used in the management of some of the units that will function in the ecosystem. Token GOV has a mechanism Assembly which changes their token NTN the growth of the platform. Each GOV token will be replaced with 100 NTN tokens. | 0.722222 | 0.834522 |
a92816 | What is Upthinity? |
Imagine having access to a crypto application center that meets your daily crypto needs! Using crypto with a variety of applications within a single ecosystem has never been easier in your everyday life. For example, even if you're a beginner, the apps that help market the market like a pro, applications that facilitate the encrypted spend you get at some of your favorite online stores such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, morning cup of coffee.
Applications that help you stay inside, provide early access to new projects that are powerful before launch and much more. Well, this is Upthinity, the personal super ecosystem of crypto applications to help you be guided by our community and supported by the blockchain | 0.755655 | 0.112299 | crypto_currency | **Upthinity** Apps that help you become an insider, granting you early access to new projects that show strong pre-launch potential and so much more. Well, that’s what **Upthinity** is, your personal super ecosystem of crypto apps powered by blockchain and steered by our community to help you stay ahead. | 0.722222 | 0.834522 |
a92816 | What is Upthinity? |
Imagine having access to a crypto application center that meets your daily crypto needs! Using crypto with a variety of applications within a single ecosystem has never been easier in your everyday life. For example, even if you're a beginner, the apps that help market the market like a pro, applications that facilitate the encrypted spend you get at some of your favorite online stores such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, morning cup of coffee.
Applications that help you stay inside, provide early access to new projects that are powerful before launch and much more. Well, this is Upthinity, the personal super ecosystem of crypto applications to help you be guided by our community and supported by the blockchain | 0.755655 | 0.112299 | crypto_currency | Upthinity you can earn UPZ by using the Uptherium network for the day to day activities and transactions you do already. Every year, we give back a percentage of revenue we earn from app transactions, we distribute it in UPZ to our community members, this is through, our “Raid the Reserve” initiative. | 0.722222 | 0.834522 |
9ygwj4 | Government Network : Decentralized Sovereign Identity Management | Building the network, gaining mindshare into the space, engaging hundreds of millions of participants, is a practical journey of many steps and a long-term plan.The Government network works towards near-term achievements to bring significant traction and real-world use cases to the platform. The initial focus will be on several verticals which can, along with economic drivers, mature into billion-dollar industries in their own right within a reasonable time frame; examples being our:
* Identity Management Hub
* Escrow and arbitration services
* Voting, polling and petition services
To realise the above, the Government Network will actively partner with governments, corporations and communities, building applications serving their immediate needs in exchange for expansion and potential trade agreements. | 0.755655 | 0.112299 | crypto_currency | The Government Network proposes a sharing economy model, based on decentralized applications. The nation focuses on developing a trusted environment amongst market actors through elaborate identity management as the foundation of its economy. | 0.722222 | 0.834522 |
9ygwj4 | Government Network : Decentralized Sovereign Identity Management | Building the network, gaining mindshare into the space, engaging hundreds of millions of participants, is a practical journey of many steps and a long-term plan.The Government network works towards near-term achievements to bring significant traction and real-world use cases to the platform. The initial focus will be on several verticals which can, along with economic drivers, mature into billion-dollar industries in their own right within a reasonable time frame; examples being our:
* Identity Management Hub
* Escrow and arbitration services
* Voting, polling and petition services
To realise the above, the Government Network will actively partner with governments, corporations and communities, building applications serving their immediate needs in exchange for expansion and potential trade agreements. | 0.755655 | 0.112299 | crypto_currency | These transactions can either take place using the ecosystems native NTN token or other currencies including fiat using a solution developed by the Government Network, in which scenario the user would pay a transaction fee to the Government Network.. | 0.722222 | 0.834522 |
a3o87k | Javvy is a universal wallet that unifies access to cryptocurrency exchanges into a single, comprehensive application. | Javvy is the full integration of a universal wallet connected to numerous exchanges presently available to the cryptocurrency market. It eliminates the need for multiple accounts and applications while taking advantage of their respective benefits.
Javvy brings confidence and clarity to the user as cryptocurrencies approach mass adoption.
* A Universal Wallet
* Built-in Decentralized Exchange
* Quick & Easy Registration
* Superior User Experience
* User-friendly Security Focus
* Numerous Advanced Features | 0.755655 | 0.112299 | crypto_currency | The Javvy is a universal wallet with a built-in decentralised exchange. Security is a priority on their Windows, Android, and iOS app based platforms. When you are offline, so is your Javvy wallet. Crypto wallets should not be web-based, and should NEVER hold your private keys. | 0.722222 | 0.834522 |
lb1jk5 | Our darkest hour... | This truly may be wallstreetbets’ darkest hour. We don’t really know how long the hedges could keep up the restrictions. But what we do know is that all we can do is hold, and I know we’ll do exactly that.
We really pushed the corrupt funds to the breaking point and made them show their true colors. I believe this is just the beginning of a huge shift away from the firms and towards the average-Joe.
I’ve never been more proud to call myself a retard. Remember during this dark time, if you ever feel like it’s hopeless, there are a bunch of retards around the world just like you and just like me standing right beside you holding this stock, because we like the fucking stock. | 17.417075 | 0.191338 | wallstreetbets | I don't know guys. I saw my position drop to -56% you know what it did? - It broke me. It broke me in a way that I don't care if it goes to -99.9%
Fuck 'em!
Holding.
Edit:Thank you all for the upvotes and comments!
My brain is smooth and my hands are diamonds! - That's the mantra for this week. | 0.642919 | 0.834257 |
o2zfhj | I need to be honest. | I’m an exhausted Ape. I’ve been holding XXX since early January.
Dates come and go.
Hype rushes and falls.
The truth has gotten uglier and uglier.
My conviction has grown stronger and stronger.
But I’m tired.
I’m so fucking tired.
Tired of feeling afraid to admit this to you all. Because I know that THEY want us to feel broken. Bored. And tired.
But I think in our weakness we grow stronger.
When one Ape says to another… “hang tight… I’ve been there too… I’ve got you.”
Both Sam and Frodo were EXHAUSTED walking to Mordor.
But in Sam’s exhaustion he was still able to support his brother Ape.
I feel like Frodo.
And I’m looking for a Sam.
Edit: holy fuuuuck. It’s not even been 10 minutes and I’m more inspired by you all than I possibly could have imagined. I’ll be there for you all when you need it too. Trust me. FUCK-ING LOVE YOU ALL
Edit 2: I’m nearly crying at the outpouring of support and love. I’m out to dinner with my family and choosing to tune out of the market for now. But I promise I will respond to each and every one of you before the end of the weekend. I love this community with all my heart.
Edit 3: I’m speechless. Absolutely speechless. Went out to dinner with my wife and our baby and I come back to more comments and awards then my retarded ape brain can even count. I absolutely adore every single one of you. More than you know. Many of you are commenting things such as “take a break for awhile” and you’re 1000% correct to be advising that. Another shrewd of apes here are chiming in that this post of mine strikes a chord in your heart as well. That you are also just feeling burned out a bit and that it has been helpful to have a fellow ape just admit that “this hasn’t been easy”. I see you and I just want everyone to know I’m not fucking leaving. And I know none of you are either. In general - I wear my emotions on my sleeve. Everything is a feeling to me. That has its pros and definitely it’s cons. But to watch the markets and GME be manipulated like this has been taxing to watch (no pun intended). I have spent half a year encouraging you apes, hurting with you apes, watching your kids being born, sobbing with you as your puppy’s have passed away…. We have all been through so much together even OUTSIDE of GME. And we are strong because of it all. But I believe firmly that we must embrace the good emotions as well as the hard emotions. For some- that compartmentalization of emotions and logic is easier than it is for others, like myself.
Finally- another shrewd of apes have asked me “why is it so hard to hold?” It’s because this community has grown beyond me. Initially- it was just a way for me to make some extra money. Now I am here holding for and alongside all my brother and sister apes. And I’ve brought more apes who are close friends of mine into this thread in the past two months. I’ve put on a strong face for everyone at all times- even on the days of pure nonsensical fuckery- where nothing makes sense. But I needed for a moment- to remind you all that it’s okay to show your feelings. To say you’re tired. To ask for support.
I will be responding to as many of you as I can. But for now I want to tell you all that I will be spending this week focusing on my beautiful family- and making sure this ape brain stays healthy- because I will continue to hold and fight with you all daily so I need to keep my brain strong and vigilant.
Until this rocket smashes into the sun… apes together strong.
Much love you all. | 4.175957 | 0.140511 | Superstonk | You know what keeps me going? Seeing that video of Kenny boy saying he'll keep going one more day to survive. Well if that arsehole will hang on one more day to try and keep me from my money, then I'll keep going one more day to bankrupt the twat.
Edit: Thank you for the awards, everyone. | 0.693237 | 0.833748 |
a3pppx | Would you tell a friend that you inherited a large amount of money and are now financially independent? | My brother and I watched an elderly wealthy Aunt become very sick a week before she died. She told us on her deathbed that we would get fifty percent of her assets. (The other 50% went to charity.) While we were sorry to see her suffer and would miss her, we were philosophical because she was 96 years old.
She died shortly after our visit and we both inherited well over two million dollars. After the estate was settled we got a check that would change our lives. My brother and I were in our mid-50s at the time.
Both of us decided to retire from our unsuccessful careers. Combined with our existing retirement savings, we now had enough money to have a higher standard of living than we ever had while working full time. (4% annual withdrawal from a balanced portfolio.)
After we stopped working, many of our friends, neighbors, and relatives asked how we would survive financially without a job. Both of us decided to be honest with people and tell them we had inherited a significant amount of money.
Though, instead of being gracious about it, many of the people got angry. They acted like we were opportunists to gain lots of money from a relative who was not even in our immediate family. (We were the only living relatives of our Aunt.)
After they got angry with us for telling them we inherited money, some of them asked for a loan or even a gift.
What a disaster. If you inherited money from a relative and quit your job, what would you tell friends and family if they asked you how you are going to pay your bills? If a close friend told you they have inherited a large amount of money would you think it was tacky to tell you that? | 9.271997 | 0.200436 | financialindependence | When I retire, I'll tell people I manage budgets for high net worth clients. And I'm simply way too busy to take on anyone new.
I'll leave out the part where I only have one client... And the one client is me. | 0.631278 | 0.831714 |
krjbnl | A beginner's guide to investing in the bond market (and debt mutual funds). | 2020 has been a wild ride for investors in the financial markets. All over the world, stock markets crashed in March, central banks started to *print money* (out of thin air) at [an unprecedented rate](https://www.cityam.com/almost-a-fifth-of-all-us-dollars-were-created-this-year/) and the markets bounced back to new all-time-highs even though the global economy haven't fully recovered from the pandemic. A lot of investors have been reminded about the importance of managing the risk & protecting the downside of the investment portfolio.
As a follow-up to my earlier post about [stock market investing](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaInvestments/comments/k7v0dg/a_beginners_guide_to_investing_in_the_stock/), let's look at how investing in bonds can benefit investors. Compared to stocks, bonds are a low-risk *stable* investment. Holding bonds in an investment portfolio reduces the risk & volatility of the overall portfolio, while ensuring decent returns for the investor.
## What is a bond ?
Most of us are familiar with a traditional Fixed Deposit. To create an FD offline, we'll go to a bank and give our money to them for a specific period of time at a specific interest. They give us a ['receipt'](https://raghbirsinghcollegeofeducation.com/images/bankfd/PNB%20-%20Confirmation%20slip.jpg) as a representation of the FD. The receipt will have the FD owner's name, principal, interest rate and maturity date. We can't transfer the FD to someone else.
During the duration of the FD, we don't care about how & where the bank uses our money. We merely want the money to be kept safe, and we want to continue receiving/accumulating interest. Once the FD duration is over, we go to the bank to return the receipt and they'll give us the money along with the interest. As long as the bank stays afloat, it's a risk-free way of earning returns on our money. Essentially, we have lent our money to the bank, and the bank repays the money at a later date with some interest.
This is the simplified version of how a bond works.
A bond is a *fixed-income* debt instrument that represents a loan given by the investor to the borrower (a.k.a bond issuer). In the case of an FD, the borrower is the bank and we are the investor. Bonds are known as fixed-income instruments because they provide a fixed 'income' to the investor via the regular interest payments. Unlike FDs, bonds are actively [traded in the secondary market.](https://www1.nseindia.com/products/content/debt/wdm/ndm.htm)
Bonds come in all shapes and sizes, and it can be tough for a new investor to choose the fixed-income investment that's suitable for their needs. To understand things better, let's look at the basic attributes of a bond.
##Bond Attributes
1. **Face Value** : Also known as Par Value. It's the price of the bond when it's first issued. It is also the amount of money the bondholder will get once the bond matures.
2. **Coupon Rate** : It's the interest paid by the bond. It's represented as a percentage of the bond's face value. For most bonds, the coupon payments are paid once or twice a year.
3. **Term to Maturity** : Simply known as Maturity, it's the lifetime/tenure of the bond. The time period after which investors will be paid back the money.
The above attributes are constant/fixed for most bonds. Apart from these, there are other dynamic attributes :
1. **Price :** This is the market value of the bond after it has been issued. Since all bonds are [marked-to-market](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marktomarket.asp), the bond's price will fluctuate in relation to the price of other bonds. When a bond is freshly issued, the price will be equal to the face value. But, soon after, the price will vary depending on market conditions
2. **Credit rating :** This indicates the bond issuer's ability to repay the debt. The credit rating of a bond can change during the lifetime of a bond. A bond's credit rating is often used as a measure of how much risk an investor takes by investing in such bonds.
3. **Yield-to-maturity (YTM)** : YTM is the expected return an investor can get by holding a bond till maturity. It depends on the current market price & the remaining years till maturity. YTM is considered as the XIRR of the bond, since it considers the 'time value' of the future coupon payments.
4. **Modified Duration** : It is a measure of how much the bond prices can change when the interest rates change in the market. For example, if the modified duration of bond is 5, it means that the bond's price can increase/decrease by ~5% when the interest rate changes by 1%. Long-term bonds have higher Modified Duration, because they're more sensitive to interest rate changes.
5. **Macaulay Duration** : Simply known as Duration, it's a measure of how long it takes for an investor to earn back the money they invested. (ie) It's the duration needed for investors to be paid back the bond's price. Duration shouldn't be confused with Maturity, although both are measures in years.
## Bond categories
On a broader level, there are two categories of bonds :
###Government bonds
These are bonds issued by the government - Central govt, state govt or municipal govt. Government entities issue bonds to raise money from the public for various purposes. Bonds issued by the government are virtually risk-free since they have a **Sovereign Guarantee** (ie) The government always repays its debt. Government bonds have a maturity of a few weeks to a few decades. Treasury Bills are short-term bonds issued by the Central Government with maturity of 3 months, 6 months or 12 months. G-Sec (also called as 'dated G-Sec') are long-term bonds issued by Central & State Governments with maturity of several years.
Although government bonds are risk-free for a domestic investor, it's not the same for foreign investors. Each country is assigned a [sovereign credit rating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_credit_rating#Standard_&_Poor's) based on the country's economic stability. [India's international credit rating](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/indias-credit-rating-cut-puts-it-one-step-away-from-junk/articleshow/76151725.cms) is BBB- . International bond investors use the country's sovereign credit rating to assess the risk of investing in the government bonds of a particular country.
In the domestic bond market, government bonds are the most actively traded & they have high liquidity (ie) A government bond can be easily sold at a fair price, whenever we want. Moreover, financial institutions like banks are required to hold a certain percent of their assets in short-term government bonds. So, it's guaranteed that there'll be a lot of buyers & sellers of govt bonds. If there's a mismatch between the supply and demand in the govt bond market, RBI will buy/sell government bonds (via [Open Market Operations](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/openmarketoperations.asp)) to restore the balance of liquidity in the bond market.
If we look at the list of [Outstanding Government Securities](https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Content/PDFs/OS_GS_L2014.PDF), we can see that bonds issued at different times have different interest rates. The interest rate of government bonds depend on the economic conditions & the demand/supply in the bond market. When there's high demand, the govt can afford to issue bonds at lower interest rates. Conversely, when the govt needs to raise money quickly, they'll have to issue bonds with high interest rates to lure investors.
### Corporate bonds
Any bond issued by a non-government entity comes under this broad category. More specifically, any bond without a sovereign guarantee can be considered as corporate bonds. The issuer can be a PSU, private bank, private corporation. The different types of corporate debt include Commercial Paper, Certificate of Deposit, Secured/Unsecured Debentures etc.
Corporate bonds' interest rates depend on the issuing corporate entity and the economic condition. Each corporation is assigned a Credit Rating to indicate its 'credit-worthiness' (ie) Its ability to pay back the debt. The credit rating of an organisation and its bonds can change based on the corporate's finances, its total debt and its future economic prospects. Credit rating upgrades & downgrades are a very common occurrence in the bond market.
The credit rating for the issuer is given by several rating agencies like Standard and Poor's, Moody's, Fitch. The S&P credit ratings for long-term bonds, in the order of highest rating to lowest rating, are AAA, AA+, AA, AA-, A+, A, A-,BBB+, BBB, BBB-,BB+, BB, BB-, B+, B, B-, CCC+, CCC, CCC-, CC, C, D. The bonds with credit rating AAA to BBB- are termed as **investment grade** bonds. All companies strive to become investment-grade so that more investors will buy their bonds.
Naturally, well-established & financially-stable companies tend to have a higher credit rating than emerging companies. Since the repaying capacity of emerging companies is questionable, they have to issue bonds with a higher interest rate to entice investors into buying the bonds.
## Types of bonds
The most common type of bond is called a **Straight Bond**. The list of attributes (in the 'Bond Attributes' section) applies to Straight bonds. However, there are some special types of bonds in which the attributes vary.
1. **Floating-Rate Bond** : The coupon/interest rate of these bonds varies on a regular basis. The interest rate is usually tied to a short-term interest rate benchmark. When the benchmark rate changes as a result of economic conditions, the interest rates of these bonds are also changed.
2. **Zero Coupon Bond** : These bonds have no coupon payments. Instead, the bonds are sold at a price that's discounted from the face value. For example, if the face value of the bond is ₹100, the bonds are sold to investors at ₹95. The 'returns' from the bond is the difference between face value and discounted price (ie) ₹5. Short-term bonds, like Treasury Bills, tend to be zero-coupon bonds.
3. **Callable Bond** : Some bonds have a 'callable' option. (ie) The bond issuer can call back the bond before it reaches maturity & give back the money to the investor. Generally, the bond issuer uses the call option to buy back the bond if the current interest rate in the market is lower than the bond's interest rate. 'Callability' is one of the extra attributes that a bond can have.
4. **Convertible Bond** : Companies sometimes issue these special bonds that can be converted to stocks of that company. These bonds offer dual benefits to the investor - If the company's stock performs well, the investor can convert the bond to stocks & reap the benefits of the stock's growth. If the stock performs badly, the investor can still earn a fixed return by keeping the bonds. Investor's downside is protected, while letting them benefit from the company's potential upside.
5. **Perpetual Bond** : These bonds have no maturity date. Investors receive coupon payments [forever](https://news.yale.edu/2015/09/22/living-artifact-dutch-golden-age-yale-s-367-year-old-water-bond-still-pays-interest) (unless they sell the bond in the secondary market or the bond issuer buys back the bond). Since there's no maturity, perpetual bonds are often compared to dividend stocks. However, perpetual bonds are more risky than normal bonds. The bond issuer can choose not to make the coupon payments. Also, the bonds can easily be 'written down' if the bond issuer is in severe financial trouble. (Eg: [Yes Bank](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/invest/yes-bank-crisis-risks-of-investing-in-perpetual-bonds/articleshow/74548419.cms), [Lakshmi Vilas Bank](https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/rbi-writes-down-lvb-tier-2-bonds-what-are-these-bonds-and-why-have-investors-been-caught-unawares/article33193293.ece))
6. **Inflation-Indexed Bond** : A special type of bond where the face value and coupon payments vary depending on the inflation. These bonds serve as a 'hedge agains inflation' by preserving the value of the bond by indexing it with respect of inflation. In US, it's known as Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS). [In India, the bonds aren't as popular](https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=91). Although it seems like a great investment, the inflation-adjusted price of the bond is taxed. So, it can diminish the investor's returns.
7. **Sovereign Gold Bond** : A unique bond issued by the RBI (on behalf of the Government) where the face value is pegged to the price of gold. Investors choose how many 'grams of gold' they want to buy, which will determine the face value of the bond. The returns fluctuate based on the movement of gold price. The bond maturity is 8 years. The coupon rate is 2.5% and the coupon payment is done twice a year. From the investor's perspective, it's a risky-free way to 'invest' in gold. From the government's perspective, it's a way to reduce the demand for imports of physical gold.
##Debt mutual funds
Retail investor can buy bonds directly through portals like [NSE goBID](https://www.nseindiaipo.com/eipodc/rest/login), [The Fixed Income](https://www.thefixedincome.com/), [Golden PI](https://goldenpi.com/), [Zerodha Coin](https://coin.zerodha.com/bonds/invest), [Fincues](https://fincues.com/bonds). However, investors would benefit by investing in debt mutual funds instead of buying bonds directly.
Debt mutual funds invest in bonds of all varieties and all durations. There are several types of debt mutual funds, and each of them can be used for specific purposes. Investing in debt mutual funds has two key benefits :
1. **Diversification** : Instead of putting our capital in a single bond, we'll be investing our capital in a diversified portfolio of bonds. So, the risk of loss is significantly reduced. Sometimes, the face value of some bonds can be large enough that the average investor couldn't afford it. Examples : [#1](https://i.imgur.com/uzxusYd.png) , [#2](https://i.imgur.com/4rjCntg.png), [#3](https://i.imgur.com/psVHhMU.png). If investors want exposure to such high-yield bonds, investing in debt mutual funds might be the only way.
2. **Taxation** : When we buy a bond directly, we'll get regular coupon payments. Those payments will be taxed as per the investor's income slab, which'll diminish the overall return from the investment. In a debt mutual fund, the coupon payments are reinvested (in Growth plan). So, investors are taxed only when we redeem from the fund. For young investors, buying bonds directly is disadvantageous from a taxation standpoint. They won't need the coupon payments as a source of income, since they'll most likely have a job that provides regular income.
##Types of Debt mutual funds
Debt mutual funds are classified based on two different criteria : The maturity/duration of the bonds and the type of bonds.
A debt fund's Macauley Duration will be slightly lower than (or equal to) the fund's Average Maturity - The weighted average of the time taken for all the bonds in the portfolio to mature. So, a fund's Macauley Duration can be seen as a *rough estimate* of the time taken for all the bonds to mature.
#####Categories based on bond maturity and Macaulay duration
Fund type | Bond maturity & duration
---|---
[Overnight fund](https://www.prudentadvisors.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/debt-mf-1.png) | Invest in bonds with maturity of 1 day
Liquid fund | Invest in bonds with maturity of upto 91 days
Ulta Short Term fund | Invest in short-term bonds so that the portfolio's Macauley Duration is 3-6 months
Low Duration funds | Invest in short-term bonds so that the portfolio's Macauley Duration is 6-12 months
[Money Market fund](https://www.prudentadvisors.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/debt-mf-categorization-2.png) | Invest in bonds with maturity of upto 1 year
Short Duration fund | Invest in short-term bonds so that the portfolio's Macauley Duration is 1-3 years
Medium Duration fund | Invest in medium-term bonds so that the portfolio's Macauley Duration is 3-4 years (Can buy shorter-term bonds during averse market conditions)
Medium to Long Duration fund | Invest in medium-term bonds so that the portfolio's Macauley Duration is 4-7 years (Can buy shorter-term bonds during averse market conditions)
[Long Duration fund](https://www.prudentadvisors.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/debt-mf-category-3.png) | Invest in long-term bonds so that the portfolio's Macauley Duration is more than 7 years
Dynamic bond fund | Invests in bonds of all durations
#####Categories based on bond type
Fund type | Bond type
---|---
Corporate bond fund | Atleast 80% of portfolio is high-quality (credit rating of AA+ and above) bonds from corporations
Credit risk fund | Atleast 65% of portfolio is low-quality (credit rating of AA and below) bonds
[Banking & PSU fund](https://www.prudentadvisors.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/debt-mf-categorization-4.png) | Atleast 80% of the portfolio is bonds issued by banks, PSUs, public financial institutions
Gilt fund | Atleast 80% of portfolio is government bonds of all maturities.
Gilt fund - 10 year Constant Maturity | Atleast 80% of portfolio is government bonds, and the portfolio's Macauley Duration is 10 years
Floating rate fund | Atleast 65% of the portfolio is floating-rate bonds.
FMP fund | Closed-ended fund with a fixed maturity period.
## Risks of Debt mutual funds
With so many types of debt mutual funds, it can be overwhelming for an investor to choose the right debt fund for their requirement. It's important to consider the risks (and not the returns) while choosing a debt fund. Here are the different risks that investors face in debt mutual funds :
###Credit Risk
This is the biggest risk in debt mutual funds (and bonds), and it can cause a permanent loss of capital. Credit risk occurs when the 'creditworthiness' of the bond issuer is in question & the bond issuer is unable to repay the interest (or principal) to the bond holder. When it happens, the bond's credit rating will be downgraded to D (for default), and the bond holder suffers a loss. When a bond issuer is unable to repay the debt, it's called as a **credit event**.
In debt mutual funds, credit event has happened time and time again. Any fund that holds non-government bonds is subject to credit risk. **Even liquid funds are not safe from credit risk**. [Ballarpur bond default](https://www.capitalmind.in/2017/02/ballarpur-downgraded-to-default-and-taurus-debt-funds-get-whacked/) has caused Taurus Liquid fund's NAV to fall by 7.22% in one day. Investors who used liquid funds as an 'alternative to Savings Account' would have been shocked when the reality set in.
Over the years, bond defaults have spooked debt fund investors [many times](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/10-companies-default-on-bond-interest-payments/articleshow/56699160.cms) - [IL&FS bond default](https://www.livemint.com/Companies/YlDSvn0mgNngEEJPl9EcPJ/ILFS-Financial-Services-declares-fresh-defaults-of-395-cro.html), [DHFL bond default](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/debt-mutual-funds-navs-halve-as-dhfl-defaults-on-bonds-payment/articleshow/69668367.cms) causing debt fund NAVs to [fall upto 9%](https://www.personalfn.com/dwl/do-you-own-these-debt-schemes-with-exposure-to-dhfl), [Jindal Steel bond default](https://www.capitalmind.in/2016/03/jindal-steel-and-power-downgraded-to-default-a-39000-cr-debt-problem-as-franklin-mf-takes-25-haircut/), [Essel bond default](https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/mutual-funds-withhold-roll-over-fmps-with-exposure-to-zee-group-1554904025102.html) in [Kotak AMC's FMP funds](https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/mutual-funds/fmp-crisis-kotak-mutual-fund-writes-to-investors-to-assuage-fears-3813651.html)(2018) & [Franklin debt funds](https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/franklin-templeton-faces-default-on-essel-infra-bonds-debt-schemes-ncds/story/404748.html)(2020). Note that [even PSUs bonds have credit risk](https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/centre-defaults-on-psu-bond-obligation-105021801045_1.html). Even if the PSUs are owned & operated by the government, [PSUs don't have a Sovereign credit rating](https://www.livemint.com/news/india/icra-downgrades-bmtc-to-default-after-delays-in-debt-servicing-1568701450022.html).
When there's a default, the bond's market price plummets and effectively becomes zero. So, investors' capital will be lost because the money invested in those bonds can never be recovered. Even if there's no default, investors can face a mild loss when a [bond's rating is downgraded](https://freefincal.com/these-71-mutual-funds-were-hit-by-bond-rating-downgrades-in-sep-2019/). The credit rating downgrade causes the bond's price to fall, which causes the debt fund NAVs to fall.
**How to mitigate credit risk :** Avoid funds with low AUM. If the fund has a huge AUM (several thousands of crores), it will have a massive & well-diversified portfolio. Even if there's a bond default, the investor will be affected to a lesser extent. Also, avoid funds that exclusively invest in low-quality bonds. Always look at the fund's portfolio and scheme mandate before investing. If a fund gives better returns than all of its peers, that fund will most likely invest in risky bonds. If you want to avoid credit risk altogether, invest only in gilt funds. But, gilts have their own risks !
###Interest rate risk
If investors choose gilt funds to avoid credit risk, they'll have to deal with this risk. Interest rate risk arises because of the change in interest rates in the bond market, which will adversely affect the prices of long-term bonds.
Let's say the government issues a 10-year bond with 5% coupon/interest rate. Debt mutual funds will buy these bonds and hold it in their portfolio. Next year, the govt issues 10-year bonds with 6% interest rate. Now, the newer bonds (with 6% interest) will be preferred by everyone because they offer higher returns. The price of the older bonds (with 5% interest) will fall (because they're less valuable now), which will cause [the debt fund NAV to gradually fall.](http://www.onemint.com/2013/articles/steep-fall-in-debt-fund-navs-reasons-behind-tuesdays-bloodbath/)
Note that this fall is often temporarily and it won't result in a significant loss of capital. Eventually, the NAV will recover, but the recovery depends on the debt fund's modified duration. Interest rate risks affect long-term bonds the most. The longer the average maturity of the debt fund, the more sensitive it is to interest rate changes. So, Gilt funds & Constant Maturity Gilt finds have the most risk.
Conversely, if the newly issued bonds have lower interest rates, the older bonds will be more valuable and so the debt fund's NAV will rise rapidly.
To witness interest rate risk in action, observe the historical NAV of an Ultra-Short-Term debt fund (or Liquid fund) and compare it with the historical NAV of a Gilt fund. While the former will have a smoothly increasing NAV, the latter will have a more volatile and irregular NAV. As a result, it's possible for Gilt funds to give negative returns for [a particular time period (like 2009)](https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/YnXC0dzqyou3epfTzU9rMO/Are-gilt-funds-losing-their-shine.html).
Whenever there's a sudden change in the interest rates, bond prices are affected which causes debt fund NAVs to [plummet](https://www.livemint.com/Money/JDYw9dZKhcktqoJTYedSDO/Debt-funds-plunge-as-RBI-squeezes-market.html) or [soar](https://www.business-standard.com/article/pf/gilt-fund-returns-soar-as-yields-soften-115012101102_1.html). **Even liquid funds are not safe from interest rate risk.** When RBI suddenly increased the interest rate in 2013, [liquid funds 'fell'](https://www.capitalmind.in/2013/07/liquid-funds-navs-fall-for-the-first-time-in-5-years/). Although they'll recover in a few weeks, investors will be at a loss if they redeem the money before the NAV recovers.
**How to mitigate interest rate risk :** Invest in debt funds with lower Modified Duration (like UST funds, Short Term funds). Those funds will have lower NAV fluctuation because of interest rate changes. To completely avoid interest rate risk, invest in Overnight funds.
###Liquidity Risk
Liquidity is the ability to easily buy/sell an asset at a fair price in the market. Liquidity risk arises in debt funds when the bonds of the fund can't be sold. Or, they'd have to be sold at a lower price. If there's a mismatch in the demand & supply (more supply & less demand), the bonds have to be sold at a discount because there are less buyers.
Bonds with low credit ratings can't be sold easily, if at all. No investor would be willing to buy the bond at market price, so selling such a bond would result in a loss. Government bonds have the highest liquidity in the bond market because they're risk-free.
[Liquidity risk is the reason for the closure of Franklin debt funds](https://blog.investyadnya.in/franklin-mutual-fund-closed-6-debt-funds/). The funds had significant exposure to low-rated bonds. When the pandemic started, a lot of investors started to redeem. So, the fund manager has to sell the bonds to give back the money to investors. But, those bonds aren't meant to be sold because they're low-rated bonds. No one will buy it at a fair price. If the fund managers sells the bonds at a lower price, the NAV will fall and other investors will be affected.
In an effort to prevent such liquidity problems, [debt funds are mandated (from Feb 2021) to hold atleast 10% of their portfolio in liquid assets like cash, cash equivalent, money market instruments, treasury bills and short-term government securities](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/debt-mfs-must-invest-10-in-liquid-assets-says-sebi/articleshow/79091311.cms). Even if the mandate is enforced, the funds can face liquidity problems if there are mass redemptions.
###Reinvestment Risk
When compared to the other three risks, reinvestment risk is moderate. There is no loss of capital, but there'll be a reduction in returns. Reinvestment risk refers to the risk an investor faces when the capital is reinvested in lower-yielding bonds, which results in overall lower returns for the investor.
Reinvestment risk can be observed in PPF. As the [PPF interest rates gradually start to fall](https://i0.wp.com/stableinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PPF-Rate-History-2020-2021.png), the investor's returns would also fall because the interest rate of a particular year determines the investor's return. If someone opened a PPF account in 1995, they'd have witnessed interest rates go from 12% to 8% in 2010.
The risk is also easily observed in Liquid fund returns throughout the years. Considering [HDFC Liquid Fund](https://www.valueresearchonline.com/funds/16167/hdfc-liquid-fund-direct-plan#fund-performance) as an example, the returns for the fund went from 9% in 2014 to 7% in 2016 to 6% in 2017 to 4% in 2020. The gradual decline in returns is a result of the gradual decline in the yield of Treasury Bills. Anyone who invested in liquid funds by thinking of it as an 'alternate to Fixed Deposit' would have been disappointed.
## Which debt fund(s) should an investor choose ?
The availability of so many types of debt funds can make it tough for investors to choose the proper fund. While choosing a fund, there's one important point to keep in mind : "**Never choose a debt fund only based on returns. Always choose a debt fund based on the investment horizon**". [Being hungry for high returns & investing in random funds](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaInvestments/comments/bwyxno/debt_fund_30_down/eq2dyqx/) (without understanding the risks) is the worst thing a debt fund investor can do. Debt funds are not a 'simple alternative to Fixed deposit' because the risk profile of Debt Funds and Fixed Deposit are completely different. Debt funds ought to be used for adding stability to our overall investment portfolio, not to get 'high returns at low risk'. [Investing](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/analysis/mutual-fund-investors-dump-equities-and-buy-gilts-in-january-2013/articleshow/18444130.cms) & [redeeming](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/mf-news/gilt-funds-see-outflows-of-rs-498-crore-in-may/articleshow/20556527.cms) in funds randomly, in the quest for high returns, is also futile.
**Choosing a fund based on investment time horizon :** Decide on how many years you're going to invest the money. Divide the time horizon (in years) by 3 or 5, and you'll get a number. Select debt funds whose Average Maturity is (approximately) equal to that number. That's the simplest to do it.
If you don't know the investment horizon, stick to Overnight funds or Liquid funds (Arbitrage funds *can* be considered for short durations, because they have better taxation. Be aware of the risks, though). When parking money for a handful of months, don't expect great returns. [Keeping the money safe is more important than maximising returns.](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaInvestments/comments/fyyrzl/which_debt_fund_to_choose/fn2ku7t/)
To park money indefinitely (as a part of the Emergency Fund), choose [quality Liquid funds](https://www.paytmmoney.com/mutual-funds/insta-redemption-funds). Liquidity is the most important aspect for an emergency fund. [Keeping emergency fund in random debt funds](https://www.valueresearchonline.com/stories/48353/where-can-i-park-my-emergency-fund/) can be problematic if we don't have immediate access to our money.
Other things to consider while choosing debt funds :
1. Check out the fund's scheme document before investing. Ensure that the fund doesn't have the leeway to invest in risky bonds.
2. Funds with larger AUMs (thousand crores or more) are preferable. Large AUM allows the fund to diversify better. Generally, it's better to invest in debt funds of big AMCs like HDFC, ICICI, SBI, Axis, ABSL.
3. Avoid funds that invest in risky bonds. **Debt funds are not the place to take high risks.** Even when equity mutual funds crash, it usually happens over a series of days/weeks. [Debt mutual funds can crash overnight](https://www.moneylife.in/article/dhfl-crisis-debt-scheme-loses-50-percentage-in-a-single-day/57355.html).
4. Check the fund's portfolio every month/fortnight. [AMCs are mandated to disclosure the portfolio to investors on a fortnightly basis](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/analysis/fortnight-portfolio-disclosure-by-debt-mfs-to-bring-transparency-experts/articleshow/77139654.cms). The portfolio will be provided in an Excel file, which will be easy to review.
5. Don't select debt funds (or any mutual funds) simply based on Star ratings or recommendations from investment portals. Do enough research by yourself.
Check out [this older ELI5 article about selecting debt funds](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaInvestments/comments/50izzv/how_to_select_debt_funds_eli5_series/) & [Debt Mutual Fund Categories Explained](https://freefincal.com/debt-mutual-fund-categories-explained/) for more info. | 12.104837 | 0.758763 | IndiaInvestments | One particular gem. among the many in the article
> Decide on how many years you're going to invest the money. Divide the time horizon (in years) by 3 or 5, and you'll get a number. Select debt funds whose Average Maturity is (approximately) equal to that number. That's the simplest to do it.
This is so important. You get so much of lazy advice that asks you to match the duration with the horizon. That is so hare-brained. Your suggestion is so much better. | 0.072941 | 0.831704 |
iuu7bu | Almost went bankrupt building my first house. sharing the lessons learnt | I'm in a philosophical and reflective mood.
I've recently concluded a 3+ year legal battle against my builder (2 x house builds) and the VIC building insurer. And whilst I'm pleased with a $350k payout, I must say I'm absolutely horrified for the average person or family should they find themselves in a similar situation. With a bit of luck, a high income job, no lifestyle expenses or kids etc, I only just managed to not go under/bankrupt. And so I thought I'd share with you guys my experience in building my first house in my 20's.
For background, I work in finance, make good money, and I am educated. I started building 2 x houses in 2016 and part way through construction the builder ran out of money, didn't renew his builders license (building illegally at this point), let his site insurance lapse (in breach of contract), generally just lied about everything, and essentially committed fraud. I ended up engaging lawyers because the relationship with builder wasn't salvageable, and I ultimately terminated the construction contract with the builder and subsequently attempted to make an insurance claim in 2017 (insurance in VIC is mandatory for construction jobs $16k+, to enable an home owner to claim should a builder die/bankrupt/insolvent). Insurance denied my claim and I was left holding the bag for 2 x incomplete houses, and hemorrhaging cash on $1m debt from original mortgage + the construction debt. Vic Building Authority (VBA) and every other government agency could not have cared less, provided no assistance to me or the situation, even though the builder warranty insurance is actually via the VIC government.
Things got really bad once I terminated the contact, I had sub contractors making death threats to me and breaking in to the properties because they hadn't been paid by the builder and they wanted me to pay them. I even had to sleep on the floor of the houses with no water/electricity/toilet. I had to take these measures because the properties were uninsured for a period of time because nobody wanted to insure incomplete houses. However I did eventually find an Insurer after a few weeks of research, and I could eventually return back to sleeping in a proper bed.
Soon after i ended up engaging another builder to complete the houses, and I had to cash fund all the cost over runs... because it always costs more to get a 2nd builder to take on the risk of a partly build property. It cost me $100k+ in legals, building inspectors and additional construction costs in order to complete. And I had to cash fund all of this whilst servicing a $1m+ loan. Brutal!
I did eventually finish the construction of the houses with the 2nd builder, some 18 months behind original schedule and after spending an additional $100k+. And so, with good legal advice, I then went to work taking the original builder to VCAT, and won a multi 6 figure judgement against the builder. The builder obviously didn't pay and thus defaulted, which then represented a trigger for the building warranty insurance policy. And so again, with good legal advice, i made an insurance claim in 2019. And after a year of stuffing around with lawyers, VCAT submissions against the insurer, and time wasting by the insurer, I obtained a $350k payout in late 2020. Some 3 years after my first attempt at a insurance claim!
The unfortunate reality is that with 2 x uninsured properties and a dodgy builder, I was ultimately exposed to potential personal bankruptcy. Fortunately I'm young, high income job, no kids/expenses, so I just managed to crawl my way out with alot of stress and pure grit. But I'm absolutely terrified that if I was the average Joe or family, there would have been no chance to find a lazy $100k laying around in a bank account, nor the ability to service a mortgage + rent + lawyers etc. Families would be destroyed in such circumstances.
This sort of stuff just shouldn't happen. And so I share the above story, and my lessons below, with you all.
Lessons learnt:
- There are dodgy and shonky people in every industry, including construction. Watch out! And do your due diligence on the builder.
- Don't let yourself get bullied by builders and sub contractors. I'm young and 6 foot 2 inches and 90kg and used to fight at amateur level, and I even felt exposed when confronted with death threats and break ins and sub contractors demanding money. FYI - police didn't care about the death threats.
- the residential construction industry, for the average Joe/family building a house, is disgraceful and full of risk. There are more protections in place for a $20 toaster than for building your biggest financial asset, a house. If I didn't have a bunch of cash I would have had to wait 3+ years for the successful insurance claim to then have been able to start completing the houses. How is that even remotely fair?
- Make sure you have a 20% contingency allowance when building a house. If it goes bad you'll be up for minimum $30k in legals, $10k in inspections/reports, and $10's of thousands in cost over runs to complete with a new builder.
- building warranty insurance is a joke and won't save you unless you have lots of $$$ to fight for it. Don't rely upon it. It took me 3 years and lawyers to make a successful claim. The insurer even engaged their own external legal counsel to represent them and fight me.
- once you sign a construction contract, you hand over control of the site to the builder. If the builder doesn't have insurance, and let's say there is a fire, you only have recourse via sueing the builder. Most builders have $0 in their companies. Make sure the builder has site insurance (this is separate to Building warranty insurance).
- insurance in VIC caps out at $300k per property. And also has a 20% payout cap on cost over runs. Eg. If your original build is $500k and builder goes belly up, you can only claim $100k in additional costs to complete the house. You can separately make a claim for any defects in addition to this (with an overall hard cap of $300k for the policy).
- when your back is against the wall. Fight hard for what is right and what you deserve. I'm horrified with my insurance claim experience. Most people would give up vs fighting for 3 years and spending 10's of thousands in legal fees.
- learn from your experiences in life, including the bad ones, and get back on the horse all the more wiser and with your eyes open.
- have sympathy for people. I know sub contractors who worked on the job who lost tens of thousands of dollars due to the builder going belly up, some of their businesses failed and marriages broke down. I feel horrible for these guys and their losses.
- be humble and share your experiences and learnings with others
Peace! And hope everyone stays safe | 27.7243 | 0.814154 | AusFinance | Lots of respect for you OP, this sounds like a tough & unfair fight and I'm glad to hear you came out on top. Curious what kind of community support you found while going through this, e.g. facebook groups where people had gone through similar experiences, or non-profits set up to bring together & advocate on your behalf? | 0.017539 | 0.831692 |
7fdj2r | Would You Like to See Reddit Accept ETH as a Means to Pay for Gold? | More payment transactions per day than any other decentralized cryptocurrency: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DPReEWQWAAALENm.jpg:large
One can complete 1 million unique transactions for under $1.
Massive developer driven ecosystem (stackoverflow, github etc.) & subreddit activity.
$45 Billion highly liquid market cap.
Where's the disconnect here?
Paging u/spez | 25.620544 | 0.787245 | ethtrader | Your post reached **top five in /r/all/rising**. The post was thus [x-posted](/r/Masub/comments/7fdpfu/would_you_like_to_see_reddit_accept_eth_as_a/) to /r/masub.
It had 47 points ^(in 40 minutes) when the x-post was made. | 0.043724 | 0.830968 |
lgd6sf | What is your favourite Canadian Penny Stock? Describe it in 2 sentences or less | Use this as an opportunity to introduce people to your favourite ticker that they may have never come across otherwise! Maybe find a hidden gem or two.. **ALWAYS DO YOUR OWN DD!!**
**Keep the main comments to this format:**
“$#### - Describe the company, blah blah blah. 🚀”
**Rules:**
Main comments must be 2 sentences or less in the format above.
No crazy text walls in replies (extensive DD, copy paste press releases, etc.)
No links in main comment. Links in replies allowed ONLY if it answers a question.
**Low karma/new accounts:**
Comments will be moderated but this is a good chance to join the discussion and earn karma to get past auto mod restrictions!
Ask questions, chat & have fun! None of this is financial advice. | 3.859123 | 0.276873 | Canadapennystocks | BEE.V - Bee Vector Technologies. Has been slow moving the past while but the business is brilliant and has potential to be a disruptor. Recently received EPA approval and the green light to operate in California. I'm all in and waiting for a pop. 🚀 | 0.553846 | 0.830719 |
skm9u1 | how can i make 5 dollars right now within like 10 minutes | i’m broke
edit : i am not trying to get anyone to give me money, i was looking to see if there were ways to get money online or anything like that, that is all!!!! | 3.66507 | 0.340206 | Money | Go to goodwill/salvation army/any other thrift store. Go to the items section (electronics, appliances, decorations) fuck the books and clothes. You’ll be looking at shelves of what mostly looks like garbage. Open the eBay app on your phone and start looking up some of the decent looking items (receivers, printers, speakers, bread machines, toasters, etc). I guarantee that you will find something within 10 minutes that you can sell on eBay for a lot more than what you will pay at goodwill. Do it.
Also, I see you’re a chick and I know this thought might’ve crossed your mind & you probably decided it’s not a good idea.... BUT.... onlyfans. Reddit. Snapchat. You can make money without ever getting out of ur bed. Even if ur not attractive. Dudes are two things: horny & stupid. Capitalize on that. I’m willing to bet you can find someone in an hour or less that will swing you $20-30 for feet pics or some weird shit like that. Ya. | 0.489796 | 0.830002 |
89ubgp | I have $20.41 in savings | And I am so proud of myself!! I've never had this much in savings before.
Two months ago I was homeless with a young baby. One month ago I signed a lease to an apartment and started working. Now I have all of my bills covered for this month *and* next, and I even have some money in a savings account!!
If you're going through a hardship, remember the bad times are just times that are bad. | 23.978545 | 0.705448 | povertyfinance | Oh man, and I thought the $46 I have was nothing to talk about.
I mean I've had more in the past, but this is the first time I'm actually not going to touch it and I'm adding about $5 every few days. We should start a group where we check in often and report where we're at. And if we dipped into it, tell the others what happened or why we did it. | 0.124002 | 0.82945 |
n5me5g | THE MOTHER OF ALL WEDGES: AN ENDGAME DD. Technical and Fundamental Analysis with Warden. Where we are now, where we are headed. When might the MOASS begin? | Hey everyone! It's Warden. I'm taking a brief moment to write a chart analysis post because **I feel that we are nearing a critical junction point**. The volume today has been extremely low, currently sitting at around 1.7 million, and I feel that a lot of people are sensing that something big is coming. I've emptied the rest of my bank account into the dip today to buy more tickets to the moon.
There's a lot of questions people are wondering at this point.
When do we squeeze?
What happens at the Apex of a wedge?
Are there any important catalysts coming up?
These are all questions that have answers, and I will try my best to address these. My thesis for this post, is that **as the stock breaks out of the wedge, if it chooses to follow the uptrend, it becomes increasingly expensive and impossible for shorts to bring this down any further. We may possibly climb to a point of no return for the shorts.** Let's examine why by starting with understanding what a wedge is.
**The wedges I will reference in this post are symmetric wedges.**
# Why wedges form, and what they mean fundamentally: the long and short theses
**We are indeed nearing the Apex of the Mother Of All Wedges (MOAW)**; this is the ultimate hedgie wedgie. I wanted to provide a fundamental explanation for why this wedge has formed and what it means for the stock.
Let's examine the simple uptrend. This is when the price forms higher lows, and higher highs.
https://preview.redd.it/0ow58qcozbx61.png?width=1228&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f501695cd83669a2a1decb3c2c00d9287e8941e
And we also know what a downtrend is. Lower highs and lower lows.
https://preview.redd.it/9jo273vuzbx61.png?width=1256&format=png&auto=webp&s=bc6d22c85c97b4436e3231220cc3aa7fac974b1e
And uptrend is called the **frontside**, and the downtrend is called the **backside.** The thesis of people trading the frontside, is that they think it will go up. For short sellers, they trade the backside, because they think it will go down.
Now if you get a really volatile stock, you might end up with a combination of the two theses, with two parties doing different strategies. This is why a wedge forms. Both theses are valid, and so both parties continuously trade in this wedge pattern.
https://preview.redd.it/e7jvt1kd0cx61.png?width=1242&format=png&auto=webp&s=603621ecb51b5732735bc30ec339843c6ddb210c
The short side thesis and strategy looks like this:
https://preview.redd.it/onotnpjr2cx61.png?width=1164&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb41c92ad2a6006143e750b21f17154e66829214
Imagine the opposite for longs. They buy at the dips, and the sell at the peaks.
Thus, combining these two theses, we can conclude that:
When the stock moves up, that's **buying plus covering.**
When the stock moves down, that's **selling plus shorting.**
Simultaneously, Longs and Shorts are both making money because they both have valid theses. One thinks the price will go down, and the other thinks it goes up.
# Why the short thesis is invalid. Understanding OBV, the Spread, and FINRA's own short volume data
**However there is a big problem with the short thesis for GameStop.**
The short thesis is actually invalid.
https://preview.redd.it/7ze2foyz1cx61.png?width=2062&format=png&auto=webp&s=10549bec5dce5197da52ab5204f6fa54d30aafa4
Notice how throughout the entire duration of this triangle, OBV is flat. On Balance Volume info: [https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/onbalancevolume.asp](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/onbalancevolume.asp)
​
Take a look at a normal stock like Palantir. When a short thesis is valid, the price breaks out to the downside after the Apex. Palantir in the below picture, was a short side success. **Notice how OBV falls during a short side success.**
[PLTR](https://preview.redd.it/s5d0jawj4cx61.png?width=2067&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b2ca4791a1926035b777a5bdb783853333482ac)
Or Activision. In this case, **OBV goes up when the longs win.**
[ATVI](https://preview.redd.it/vf7mgxbz3cx61.png?width=2061&format=png&auto=webp&s=b7ad83288ae0ff764c1127ace082cb58edfb8d31)
**I challenge you to find a stock that doesn't follow these rules on a macro level timescale.**
OBV increases, if there is more volume during uptrends than volume during downtrends. That means there is greater buying interest. Vice versa.
When there is an imbalance of buyers and sellers, at the Apex of the triangle, there will be a "breakout". **This is because, at the apex, one of the two trends breaks. Either the upside or the downside trend is violated, forcing one of the parties to flip their thesis.** So if we go to the upside, the short sellers would flip to long side either by buying stock, or finally covering their shares.
So what about a flat OBV?
[GME](https://preview.redd.it/0cidbb045cx61.png?width=2061&format=png&auto=webp&s=f79cf98e9860e4b76b95632c0d12fbb8cae66c1b)
I believe it means that throughout the duration of the wedge starting 2/24, nobody was f\*king selling. It was almost exclusively shorts short selling combined by less covering than shorting and retail buying in.
In a way, it's actually an illusion that they are tanking the price. In reality, the real price is whatever the uptrend line is. So here, I think the "real price" is around 155 dollars. **We've actually been climbing up at the macro level.** I think this has to do with the spread.
If you look at the Level 2 order book, you see the highest bid is 160.6, and the lowest ask is 160.74.
https://preview.redd.it/2xhnfm2x5cx61.png?width=458&format=png&auto=webp&s=b364e3142324dea832e79c86cc386d38247c961c
The goal of short selling is to tank the price. So you typically sell on the Bid. When you want to cover your shares, you want to ideally also buy on the Bid, because buying on the Ask is more expensive. However the issue is that liquidity is low, so if you have a deadline to cover FTDs, you need to buy on the Ask a lot. You actually end up losing money and the amount you lose is roughly equal to the average spread multiplied by how many shares you shorted. **The only way to profit from short selling, is if people sell more than they buy after you short.** Trading is a Zero Sum game, so the goal of short attacks is to paper hand people.
The problem is we see consistent higher buy:sell ratio, meaning that more people are buying than selling. **Thus** **you probably can't make money if you short millions of shares, because eventually when you cover:**
**A) You lose money from the Spread**
**B) The price is already increasing from an excess of buyers.**
Furthermore, what's even worse, is that the daily short volume percent is greater than 50% on average.
u/dinghino crunched FINRA's own short volume numbers and concluded that the majority of daily volume was short selling. Here's his tool for grabbing historical data: [https://github.com/dinghino/stocks-historical-data](https://github.com/dinghino/stocks-historical-data)
https://preview.redd.it/f9ofzm1x7cx61.png?width=2098&format=png&auto=webp&s=1370117bc4f55b069038b4c670422e01e3175ff1
Keep in mind FINRA both underreports short volume, and total volume. So the data we have is limited in reliability. There is a probability that short volume might be <50%. I have not been able to find other data sources that can confirm or reject this analysis.
Okay, so first, we realize that they cannot really profit from shorting at the downtrend, and second despite this fact, they are shorting more than half the daily volume.
Ouch.
Now let's tie in the last two pieces of the puzzle. So how can there be a flat OBV if there are an excess of buyers? I believe it's because the Bid has been hit so much more than the Ask from the short sellers that it has caused the price to be artificially lower than normal. Thus, there's an increased number of days that the stock ends in the red, decreasing OBV.
**I believe that the OBV is actually trending upwards. It's an illusion that it's flat.** The Bid has been hit from selling more than buying has hit the Ask. Therefore the net direction is down. The excess of retail buyers balances this out and causes the OBV to end up going flat.
**We are not losing this fight. We are in fact holding strong and buying.**
Furthermore, from the updated institutional data for Q1 present so far in Bloomberg, we see a couple institutions "derisking" and others actually buying more shares. Some institutions appear to be out, but a lot more are actually in. **Institutions are HOLDING so far, and perhaps actually buying.**
https://preview.redd.it/bmfd4vj2acx61.png?width=2554&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf57f6fb1fea6df4fdecdf5e1d86713be9270091
Keep in mind that this is a **TINY SUBSET** of all the **Q1 13F updates that will be filed before 5/17**. **I will be closely watching everyday to see what the majority of institutions are doing.**
I believe 5/17 will be a very important deadline for us to find the new data.
So great, everyone is holding thus far, shorts keep shorting, and the spread and buyers are killing them. Lol.
# After the Apex, shorts will drown.
After the Apex, the downtrend breaks. Shorts will be forced to create a new downtrend.
https://preview.redd.it/iyennh85bcx61.png?width=1943&format=png&auto=webp&s=d111a1b72b0add2ac7e8e72785c5e804bdc8f8db
If they haven't given up, they'll likely react with a large short attack in an attempt to establish a downtrend.
https://preview.redd.it/jl7wfta3dcx61.png?width=2225&format=png&auto=webp&s=a5d246531d1792e7a1580605d918f91f864c66b2
However, given that GME is hard to borrow, they can only short a limited amount of shares. And because people won't sell, the shorts will be stuck trying to short into an uptrend due to the excess of buyers. **This is the short staircase, the establishment of a new uptrend slightly below the Apex that will slowly choke the shorts to death.** Every time they try to bring it back down, they have to eventually cover on the Ask. Couple that with the buying pressure, their short attacks get weaker and weaker each time as this uptrend slaughters their P&L.
Take Tesla as a historical example.
A short staircase choked the shorts. They were like "oh fuck, I'm screwed, better cover".
https://preview.redd.it/6s4ec3fvccx61.png?width=2062&format=png&auto=webp&s=570438c7eebe40fe5ec82ad578b1570031f78b5b
&#x200B;
Seriously. I see no fucking way out for the shorts. To create a downtrend, you need a continuous supply of shares to short. Or you need people to sell. **Both options are out of the question.**
**The catalyst might actually be the chart itself. Not so much a fundamental change in the company. But a fundamental change like a new CEO can certainly light the fuse.**
# Summary/TLDR
Wedges form because Longs and Shorts both see a profitable strategy.
Shorts are not able to profit because of the Spread and the excess of buyers. OBV is flat because everyone is buying and holding.
The price might drop after the Apex, but an uptrend will form that will smother the shorts. Eventually they will panic cover.
Bloomberg shows recent institutions are buying and holding on average.
**After the Apex, the short thesis of being profitable from shorting becomes invalid (if not already).**
**5/17 is an important date. It reveals the poker hand of the Longs as 13F Q1 filings are due by then. If they are still holding, then shorts are DOOMED.**
The price isn't actually decreasing from these short attacks. **It's actually steadily increasing. The drops are an illusion.**
&#x200B;
Thank's for reading. I'm as bullish as ever on this stock.
\-Warden | 17.020319 | 0.544467 | Superstonk | Just a reminder from someone who considers everyone here his best friends:
Please make sure that you are taking care of yourselves throughout all of this and if necessary, use this time to make the preparations to do so. This is going to be very emotionally intensive and you may become fatigued by how long this will last.
By now, you should have read the exit strategy DD. You should know that the plan is to hold until everyone has lifechanging money (even the X shareholders) and then sell on the way down. We don’t know exactly what will happen during the squeeze, but we need to plan for the worst now so that we are prepared.. Reddit might go down. You might be left alone without this community. Memorize your exit strategy, and remember the plan of this community.
Make sure you eat healthy, get enough sleep, and get some sunlight/Vitamin D and some exercise to calm your nerves if you are able. Write those things down. Schedule them out if you have to, just like you should write down your exit strategy. Right now, practice some deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness if you think it will help. It’s important to do everything you can to make sure you’re prepared.
I’m hodling for you. You’re hodling for me. I’m watching out for you. Watch out for me too. We’re all here for the same goal, and we’re all here to take care of each other too. We got this. You got this. I love you all.
Apes together strong. | 0.283393 | 0.827861 |
ntt6be | Lets talk Gamestop, why all the hate? | I'd really like to have a discussion here about GME. Everytime it seems I see anyone suggest it as a viable investment, it gets downvoted to oblivion. I hear some of the same arguments against its volatility but exposure to volatility is ok in a balanced portfolio, you dont need to be strictly ETF's. Know your limit, play within it, when it comes to speculative investments.
Another argument is that its a dead business, that is far from the fact imo. It was on a downward path and would have gone the way of blockbuster but at this point, I see it as more of a Netflix. It is a debt free company, great new management team, proven to care about investors and care about the quality of service that customers receive.
The fact it's been labelled a "meme" stock is insulting at this point, it's not a "meme" company with a bunch of "meme" employees. It's a company transitioning from its antiquated business model into a hopefully ecommerce powerhouse with at this point a global brand. The craze around this stock has made GME more of a household name then it has ever been.
I'd love to have a good constructive discussion about it and see what exactly it is that makes some people so bearish on this and maybe we can take it a little more seriously then the label it's been given by CNBC and other MSM. | 11.437111 | 0.419158 | CanadianInvestor | IMHO there is no reason why we can’t discuss it...
I perfectly understand why people don’t like it (fundamentals/ maybe old outdated model)... but I also understand why they do (Hedgefunds have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar, and are in an almost indefensible position, and the fact that there is hope for the future in the form of a new Leadership and direction.)
If you look at a number of tech stocks (including darlings such as Tesla), they also have stupid valuations...
So yeah... we should be able to discuss it... | 0.408589 | 0.827747 |
lxzwnf | [Serious] This Subreddit has such recency bias that goldfish look like they have photographic memory. | In light of all of the "should I sell posts" I have to speak up a bit.
2 weeks ago you look at any rate my portfolio post and nearly everyone is recommending every high-risk ETF you could name. ARKK, ARKG, ARKW, ARKQ, ICLN, YOLO, MOON, TAN, LIT, I can keep going. And these were all recommended knowing damn well that a correction was due. And nearly unanimously every person would say something along the lines of "Buy and don't sell", "Cathie Wood could sell me on immortality at this point", "There'll be a correction I'm sure, but don't sell."
Now the second a "correction appears to happen" you all panic. The market will bounce back, bottom line. It's like people forgot about the horrible drop when the pandemic happened. Now looking back, everyone wishes they bought more stock around then.
Go ahead and sell, it not my portfolio and I don't lose sleep over your decisions. But let me double-check how far this correction has been so far.
Yep.. checking ... the S&P is down to where we were all the way back to... exactly one month ago. Yep.
The NASDAQ100 is down to ... 3 months ago. Incredible.
ARKK is down slightly where it was in January 1... 2 months ago.
But disregard all of that. Maybe the moral of the story is that Reddit shouldn't be defining your portfolio because no one knows what they're doing. The swarm of ARK followers has sort of disappeared. I haven't seen a single renewable energies ETF post that sounds like they're keeping it. Don't just "hear what's good" and then buy it and then the second "you hear what's bad", sell it.
Jack Bogle said it best. There's nothing wrong with the ETF (with regards to TIFs), as long as you don't trade it.
&#x200B;
Second bottom line.
100 VT or VTI/VXUS. Never worry about this shit again. Do some flash cards and build that memory back up. | 19.635443 | 0.689295 | ETFs | People should be investing into their favorite tech stocks and thematic ETFs now, while the market is down. Unless of course, you actually don't believe in the holdings over the next few years... If you do, why are you selling ARKK and ICLN today? And were buying near an ATH?
If you were saying that ARKK and ARKG are great investments for the next five - ten years, it's a perfect time to get your average cost down.
I think this is just a perfect example of retail investors following the hype and buying high, selling low.
I mean "you" in general, not OP. OP is 100 spot on about the recency bias. Which is pretty much the opposite of how investing should work. | 0.138122 | 0.827417 |
n0r2r8 | U.S. population barely grows; annual housing construction is 1.5 million. So how did we end up in a housing shortage? Is the market distorted by tax code? | Our population has barely grown, and we continue to add new homes. Yet housing prices are up nearly everywhere. I might expect this in San Francisco. But Cleveland? Pittsburgh? I know individuals with 50 to 75 homes they rent. Is that business model radically distorting the market? Most people I know with “typical” jobs are in the $10-12/h range, not enough to pay a $2,000/month rent. So, where is this heading? | 7.890341 | 0.545455 | AskEconomics | A housing shortage implies there are not enough houses where people need them, not that there aren’t enough houses as a raw count.
I can build a million houses and offer free rent, but it means nothing to the people of NYC if I build them in rural Wyoming. And asking people to move as a solution to address housing isn’t feasible.
I’m also not going to lower my rent if I’m a landlord just because I know there’s an extra supply of housing. Tenants are a pain and my apartment feels unique to *me* – the location, the quality, my attentiveness to detail, the schools – I have every reason under the moon to think my rent is fair and will wait before I can’t find anyone before lowering the rent. That doesn’t make maintenance cheaper, taxes lower, or tenants less annoying. | 0.281579 | 0.827033 |
lck7nt | Here are the answers to all your questions | - We don’t care if you’re coming from wsb or anywhere else. Nobody cares. Stop making a big deal out if it.
- Stop posting what you learned from the GME shitstorm. They’re all common sense. Go to r/gme_meltdown for that shit.
- Stop posting 80% returns in the last 3 months and title it “Thetagainz”. We all know you either yolo OTM calls or sell put credit spreads that could have blown up your account in 1 bad trade. Ask yourself this: how many consecutive bad trades of max loss that your strategy can hold up? If the answer is anything less than 20 then stfu.
- If you didn’t want to sell the stocks, don’t sell covered call. Stop asking.
- No, there isn’t a way to save your $400 GME calls.
- Weekly or 30-45 dte is totally up to you. There’s no magic formula.
- No we don’t know how much capital you need to consistently make $2k gainz a month. Just do the math yourself.
- No 10% weekly return is not realistic. Yes, you’ll try it anyways. Go ahead, nobody gives a shit.
- No we don’t think we’re any better or worse than wsb. We’re all here to make money, whatever ways fit us. If you thetagang by selling MARA ITM CSPs with 5x leverage, do you.
- There is not a particular brokerage that’s made for Thetagang. You can do that shit with any brokerage. | 19.377663 | 0.806452 | thetagang | Fully agree with your thoughts. As somebody who found Thetagang through WSB, but never bought into the Yoloing because my risk tolerance just isn't there, you sum it up well. WSB taught me a lot about how options work as lottos, while theta is showing me that selling lottos carries less risk (depending on your approach) and more consistent returns.
Simple path that works for me - If I like the stock and am good with holding in lots of 100 shares, I consider the CSP. If I think it's got some room to run, but am ok selling at "x" price, I'll buy the 100 shares and sell a covered call. I don't do this with stocks I'm aiming to hold for long term. While collecting premium is nice, watching it grow for several years is also great - assuming you picked a winner.
Max profit with shares on a covered call is a huge win... Regardless of how "painful" it may feel. | 0.020513 | 0.826964 |
lq2ac9 | Why do some people have an issue with Fiat money? | I've heard a lot of people say that we need to go back to gold-backed currency because fiat money "has no real value and is just backed by men with guns".
But gold has no "real value" either! You can't eat or drink it, and it can't really be used in any useful way. How would switching to the gold standard be any less arbitrary? What advantages would it bring and why would it be better than fiat? | 6.244072 | 0.437346 | AskEconomics | [No serious economist](https://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/gold-standard/) actually wants to go back to the gold standard. It's really just a minority of fringe people (that often aren't even economists) who argue for this.
[Barry Eichengreen has a good article](https://nationalinterest.org/article/critique-pure-gold-5741) on the gold standard and the various arguments. | 0.389474 | 0.82682 |
owfs82 | If you make a decent income, it becomes all about lifestyle creep. | I spent my career at FAANG (I'm FIRE now) in the Seattle area. I viewed my position as a winning lottery ticket. Anyone at a higher leadership level at a FAANG makes such an insane salary (by a comparison to any normal income) that FI is clearly possible. Since every one of my peers should have made $300k annually or often much more, you would expect that they're all working because they love the work, not because they still need the money.
Even with these high salaries, the majority of my co-workers spent a significant percentage of their income. They would talk about anxiously waiting for a stock vesting to pay off some bills. They'd talk about how their car payment (on their Tesla, or fancy BMW) was almost done, which was a relief because it was hard to make ends meet.
I remember talking to someone who was certainly making 7 figures a year, and had been for years. They said they needed probably another 10+ years to be able to retire, if they could cut down on their expenses. With complete seriousness they said that their third vacation home was probably too expensive, and they needed to really figure out a family budget.
In the end, if you make a "decent" income, it is 100% about lifestyle creep. It's not necessarily about living like a college student (e.g. leanfire). Lifestyle creep's impact surprises people. It's not always about a third vacation home. Sometimes it's about the slightly more expensive car, and the slightly more expensive vacation, and the slightly nicer clothes. Next thing you know, you've received lovely 5% a year raises, with 6% a year expense increases. That's digging a hole, not improving your situation.
Anyway, my main point is that income is necessary up to a certain point to be able to achieve FIRE, but the majority of people above that line shoot themselves in the foot all on their own :) | 24.922007 | 0.52705 | financialindependence | There was a post I think on twitter or something a while back about how a family making $200k a year could be/feel poor or be living paycheck to paycheck, presumably to draw up sympathy. They outlined a budget that was like 2 abroad vacations a year, private schools and new clothes every month among other things. Turns out, if you spend all your money, you won't have any left.
Edit: I misremembered some things. For example, they were making $500k.🙃
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/budget-breakdown-of-a-couple-that-makes-500000-a-year-but-cant-save.html | 0.299398 | 0.826448 |
lmcktr | FatFIRE is for suckers, I decided to FILE - Live Early. | Back in my 30's I was similar to so many people who post here. I was a computer programmer making good money from my salary, stock grants, bonuses, investments, and the booming housing market. If I had stuck with it a few more years I could have retired early.
People who haven't experienced it will never understand. "Just stick with it," they'll say, "How bad can it be?"
If you've been in a job you hate, or are right now, you know that sometimes the money simply isn't worth it. I was bringing my work stress home with me. I wasn't a happy person and that wasn't fair to my wife or young kids. So I quit.
I could have taken some time off, decompressed, then found another job to continue my FIRE journey. Nope, instead I bought a coffee farm in Hawaii. I wasn't at my FIRE number yet and after purchasing the farm I was even further away but I don't regret my decision. In fact, I'd say it was the best decision I've ever made.
Farming isn't easy. If you think any idiot can be a farmer, you're wrong. Computer programming was easy, farming is not. Still, it was totally worth it. Of course I might be biased because growing coffee in Hawaii is different than growing corn in Minnesota.
Now I'm in my 50's, the kids are grown, and I'm selling the farms. I don't have enough money to retire so I'll have to get a job. That's kind of scary. It's been decades since I had to look for a job.
Some might think I made a huge mistake. I was close to permanent retirement but I blew it. Instead of retiring early I have spent my entire life working and now I need to keep working. "Fail!" they might say.
I look at it different. Which is better, enjoying life while you're young or waiting until you're old? I quit a job I hated and created one I enjoyed. Whenever I wanted to go surfing, sailing, play computer games, take a nap, or hang out with my family and friends, all I had to do was ask the boss. Since I am the boss I always said yes.
Maybe some people like the hustle of Silicon Valley, personally I have enjoyed the quiet life on a Kona coffee farm. I'm not trying to convince anyone to give up their journey to FatFIRE land. If I had stuck with it for a few more years, I might be very comfortably retired now. Or I might be a divorced alcoholic with no stories to tell.
I have touched lava, swam with dolphins and sharks, chased a pet goat out of my living room, wrestled a wild boar, been sunburned on my private parts, been lost in the jungle, and every day I drink ridiculously expensive gourmet coffee that I grew myself.
If I'm working at age 65, will I still think I made the right decision? | 10.376844 | 0.629924 | fatFIRE | > I have touched lava, swam with dolphins and sharks, chased a pet goat out of my living room, wrestled a wild boar, been sunburned on my private parts, been lost in the jungle, and every day I drink ridiculously expensive gourmet coffee that I grew myself.
This is beautiful. Hats off to you. | 0.196087 | 0.826011 |
mlzc1u | Goldman bought £75m of shares in Deliveroo to lift price on debut. The purchase equates to nearly a quarter of the value of shares traded in Deliveroo during its first two days as a public company. | Goldman bought £75m of shares in Deliveroo to lift price on debut. The purchase equates to nearly a quarter of the value of shares traded in Deliveroo during its first two days as a public company.
> Purchase equates to nearly quarter of value of shares traded in Deliveroo during first two days as public company.
> The share purchase by the bank, when taken together with the “overallotment” option, would mean the bank would have recorded a profit from the food delivery group’s declining share price, the report said, adding that most of these profits would be given to Deliveroo as part of an undisclosed agreement.
> Deliveroo did not immediately return a Reuters request for comment, while Goldman declined to comment.
https://www.ft.com/content/bf75f260-33d8-42ea-85c3-6482aa1fb2ff
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-deliveroo-ipo-goldman-idUSKBN2BT2JL
___
The elephant in the room no one wants to talk about.
Illegal labour.
___
Deliveroo and Uber were told of illegal workers months ago
> Uber Eats and Deliveroo were warned that their delivery couriers were renting out their jobs to unvetted illegal immigrants as long ago as last summer.
> The companies allow couriers to appoint “substitutes” who are supposed to be legitimate workers. Whistleblowers told The Sunday Times that illegal residents, **including people who have entered the UK concealed in lorries**, were paying up to £100 a week to deliver food without undergoing any checks.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/deliveroo-and-uber-were-told-of-illegal-workers-months-ago-85wtn2b20
Deliveroo IPO: as criticism grows over workers’ rights, is the loss-making app really worth £7.6bn?
> **Deliveroo has never made a profit despite low rates of pay, taking a cut of up to 30 per cent of the price that restaurants charge**, and enjoying a huge boost in sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/deliveroo-ipo-share-price-workers-rights-b1824584.html
Deliveroo: Investor warns of workers' rights issues at firm
> Aviva Investors, which manages £365bn of assets, said it would not invest as Deliveroo's riders did not get the minimum wage, sick leave and holiday pay.
> David Cumming, chief investment officer at Aviva, told the BBC's Today Programme investors were taking social responsibilities "a lot more seriously".
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56510493
More big investors shun Deliveroo over workers' rights
> Aberdeen Standard, Aviva Investors, BMO Global, CCLA, LGIM and M&G said they were put off by factors including the working conditions of its riders and lack of investor power.
> Deliveroo said it had seen "significant demand" for stock with interest rising.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56515498
___
Deliveroo Sinks 31% in Setback to London Effort to Lure IPOs
> The company and its banks also sought a premium valuation for the stock. At the offering price, Deliveroo fetched 6.4 times last year’s revenue, versus a multiple of 5.8 for Just Eat. At the middle of the original price range, the stock would have been valued at 19 times gross profit versus less than 7 times for its Dutch rival, said Alberto Tocchio, a portfolio manager at Kairos Partners.
> Deliveroo and investors sold 384.6 million shares at the offer price, equal to a 21% stake. The company raised 1 billion pounds, while shareholders including Amazon.com Inc. and Shu, the founder, sold the remaining 500 million pounds of stock.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-31/deliveroo-ipo-raises-2-1-billion-in-biggest-u-k-deal-this-year
___
Disaster strikes as Deliveroo becomes ‘worst IPO in London’s history’
> That was not an option for Deliveroo, which lost £224m last year in a highly competitive market and warned regulators a year ago that it had come close to bankruptcy.
> **Deliveroo’s advisers, who collected £49m in fees** from the company and several million more from Deliveroo’s selling shareholders, unnerved some buyers by **refusing to identify the three “anchor investors” who they said were supporting the IPO**.
> The roadshow ran into further trouble over the **dual-class shares that gave Will Shu, chief executive, outsized voting rights**, but which meant Deliveroo would not debut into the FTSE 100 index, depriving it of investment from passive tracker funds, and which triggered outrage from a several large British fund managers.
https://www.ft.com/content/bdf6ac6b-46b5-4f7a-90db-291d7fd2898d
___
Deliveroo IPO slump burns 70,000 retail investors
> Deliveroo let its customers and the general public invest through a platform called PrimaryBid. **Around 70,000 individuals put £50m into the company.**
https://news.yahoo.com/deliveroo-stock-share-price-london-initial-public-offering-ipo-amazon-retail-investors-primary-bid-140032615.html | 5.976277 | 0.233962 | UKInvesting | Is it just me, but are there growing numbers of restaurants who seek to bypass the delivery firms altogether?
I've been getting more restaurant leaflets through my letterbox.
One restaurant said they'd deliver for about £1 within a 5 mile radius. It seems they are able to run a far more efficient operation by cutting out the middleman.
We ordered from it the other day, and it was about 30/40 percent cheaper than anything on JustEat, and v tasty.
Furthermore, it seems these companies like JustEat, Deliveroo, etc are **massively inefficient.** The riders don't get much, the firm takes a big cut but doesn't make a profit, and the restaurant gets paid less per meal.
I can't quite get why it seems to just be a lose-lose proposition all round?
Say what you like about Uber, but at least the actual passengers get cheap rides. | 0.591954 | 0.825916 |
7xukby | My credit union offered me an appointment with a financial advisor after depositing an inheritance check. When she called I asked if she was a fiduciary. She said yes. When I showed up I found out she's actually a broker but "considers herself" a fiduciary. This is some bullshit, right? | I'm extremely annoyed. I feel that I've been subjected to a bait-and-switch. When she called to set up an appointment, I said "Before we do that, are you a fiduciary?" She said yes. I said "Great, I'd love to set up an appointment!" When I got there I saw a plaque on her desk saying she was a broker. I read online that a broker is NOT the same as a fiduciary. I asked her about it and she said, "Let me explain to you what a fiduciary is... blah blah blah... so I consider myself a fiduciary."
She thinks that I, 30, should invest my inheritance in a deferred annuity for retirement. I have ~60k earmarked for retirement and the rest of the inheritance earmarked for current emergency fund and paying off current bills.
| 30.467698 | 0.254679 | personalfinance | Run away. In fact, you may want to run straight to your state's insurance board and tell them this "advisor" misrepresented herself as a fiduciary and attempted to sell you a product that was not in your financial best interest.
Have you read through the [/r/personalfinance wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/) articles on [Basic Money Questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics) and [Windfalls](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall) yet? These should answer many of your questions, but if you have any remaining feel free to ask more. | 0.57028 | 0.824959 |
pga7ry | Do western countries like UK, USA, etc. depend on the 'exploitation' of China, India and other third world countries to stay rich and prosperous? | Note: I apologize if the following hurts the sentiments of western people, who I understand forms the majority of this sub.
I am from India and here, people from both sides of the political spectrum say that western countries have only become rich with high GDP per capita and amazing infrastructure thanks to us third world countries. I am not an Economist so they told me that essentially western countries use the fact that we people from third world countries would do anything for very less money and therefore they earn a lot of profit from us. Most of the 'dirty' work like manufacturing is done in China because if western countries would have had to do it all by themselves the prices of products would skyrocket. That is why, they say, major MNCs come to our countries so that they can exploit us by making us do their jobs for less money and much less labour laws (so more exploitation I guess.) One of the common sentiments is that UK is now rich only because of how they historically exploited Indians (and other colonies as well) and the entire Europe and America is rich in modern times because they distributed this profit among themselves.
Are the above true? Also, is it essential for first world countries to keep exploiting third world countries in order to 'stay' rich? | 5.608013 | 0.395577 | AskEconomics | Nope.
For example, back in 1970, when the USA was already one of the richest countries on the planet by GDP per capita, US imports were only [5.2% of US GDP](https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS?end=2019&locations=US&start=1970&view=chart).
As for the UK, trade wasn't that important at the start of the Industrial Revolution. In 2014, Clark, O'Rourke and Taylor published a paper estimating that the the welfare impact of cutting off all trade, including not just colonies but also with countries like France (which you can literally see from places on the eastern coast of the UK) would be only 3-4% of national income, rising to 25-30% in the 1850s. (Note that this excludes the benefit of trade in ideas and new species such as potatoes.)
Secondly, as observed by Adam Smith, back in *The Wealth of Nations*, it is better to have richer trading partners than poorer, but colonisation was inherently a destructive process. Smith distinguished carefully between the benefits of the discovery of the Americas and the harms of European colonisation, noting that many of the gains of the actual coloniers came at the expense not just of their victims but also higher prices and lower supply of colonial products in the 'home' countries.
Consistent with this, the evidence is that, through the 19th century and up until the 1990s, rich countries traded more with other rich countries.
See for example https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports-from-western-europe-to-other-regions?country=~Western+Europe
Or https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/merchandise-exports-by-continent?country=~USA
And much of the rise in trade between the West and poor countries in recent decades is driven by the rise in trade with China, where Chinese incomes have grown rapidly.
This admittedly is talking about direct trade in goods and services, places like India and China have made major contributions to the international pool of scientific, technological and mathematical knowledge.
**Source**
Clark, O'Rourke and Taylor, 2014, *The growing dependence of Britain on trade during the industrial revolution*, Scandinavian Economic History Review (working paper publicly accessible at ~~https://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/materials/papers/13258/clark-et-al-new-world.pdf~~ NEW LINK:
https://pseudoerasmus.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/clark-orourke-taylor-the-growing-dependence-of-britain-on-trade-during-the-industrial-revolution.pdf). | 0.428947 | 0.824525 |
9w3rec | Sovren Platform | SVRN, which is its own token, has been assigned to be used for voting on projects that are listed on the platform. Thus, it will be valued as it will be able to use its own token more. In addition, the Company will be able to exchange all major crypto currencies such as BTC, ETH, and other major currencies, such as Euro, Dollar and Sterling, without any commissions, and transfer them to the stock exchanges. Payments can also be made in cash, debit cards or cash, so cold and warm wallets can be used together. | 0.617804 | 0.101604 | crypto_currency | Sovren is a company that creates a unique trading in securities. This is Sovren project, to which you should pay close attention, this ICO project shows active growth and great opportunities await it in the future. | 0.722222 | 0.823827 |
9xeufz | Swachhcoin Proposed Solution |
It is not a hidden fact that the global waste management problem we face cannot be tackled by a handful of people or organisations. The willingness and contribution of the mass is the key in successfully achieving our objective. The best way to encourage people to properly manage their wastes will be to incentivize them monetarily for proper waste disposal and raise their awareness about the issue. This is the core of the solution Swachhcoin offers. Also, it is a scientifically proven fact that the amount of high-economic-value outputs that can be obtained from the accumulated wastes is tremendously reduced due to various types of waste being intermixed, thus degrading the unique property/individuality of the same. Swachhcoin will implement waste segregation at source in SWBIN to eliminate this problem. The traditionally running waste management industries have poor infrastructure and the archaic technologies available to them greatly limits their operational abilities. Swachhcoin will eliminate this problem and take the technological abilities of the company to the state of the art level, thus increasing their profits significantly. The additional revenue obtained from deploying technologies such as AI, Big Data, IoT and Blockchain will increase their efficiencies and profitability, thus the additional capital invested in upgradation will be justified over a certain period of time. The cost of these additional investment will also be covered from ways that are currently absent in this sector such as revenue obtained from advertisement (on SWBIN). With the help of extensive research and development, a complete business plan, including break even point, will be made available by Swachhcoin to the adopting industries thus breaking the barrier of technology adoption.
| 0.617804 | 0.101604 | crypto_currency | Swachhcoin will be collecting waste through its specially created SWBins, which are specialized waste disposal units that will be placed on various locations for easy accessibility to its users. This will work towards effective waste collection from households, which usually generate food and material waste on a daily basis. | 0.722222 | 0.823827 |
9w3rec | Sovren Platform | SVRN, which is its own token, has been assigned to be used for voting on projects that are listed on the platform. Thus, it will be valued as it will be able to use its own token more. In addition, the Company will be able to exchange all major crypto currencies such as BTC, ETH, and other major currencies, such as Euro, Dollar and Sterling, without any commissions, and transfer them to the stock exchanges. Payments can also be made in cash, debit cards or cash, so cold and warm wallets can be used together. | 0.617804 | 0.101604 | crypto_currency | Sovren bringing a new breath to the wallet process, which will add significant value in an environment where competition is intense, token has great prospects. On the official site, you can learn more | 0.722222 | 0.823827 |
7nhrsp | Warning: AT&T applying "customer loyalty speed upgrades" without customer consent | So over the holiday I received an email with an order confirmation from AT&T (my ISP, and the only one available in my area) and it had a new bill amount (about $5/month higher).
I haven't ordered anything so the first thing I thought was maybe someone got a hold of my account number or personal info and changed it. I immediately logged in to check out my plan and make sure everything was in order. I had a notification that showed that [AT&T had "upgraded my internet speed at no extra charge"](https://imgur.com/LrUUetX)
Obviously I was annoyed by this, so I dug a little deeper to figure out why the bill had changed. I then found this alert showing that the "promotional discount" for this so-called ["customer loyalty speed upgrade"](https://imgur.com/PtYazt6) would expire in a month and my bill would go up $20 more per month.
I then looked at my bill and found that they had [upgraded my plan to the highest speed and most expensive plan they have without my consent](https://imgur.com/ThJwB7J), under the guise of "customer loyalty", and applied a $20/month promotional rate for 1 month to make it look like my plan hadn't changed and the new bill was probably just some random $5 fee added on like most ISPs occasionally do.
I immediately called and spoke to a rep named Jorge who stated that it was a mistake, that the change was applied automatically and it wasn't supposed to be applied to my account, but after telling him if it was automatic it needed to be addressed immediately because it was probably affecting other people, he confessed that AT&T was aware of it and that they had received many calls about it. I don't for one second believe this was accidental. I believe they are doing it on purpose and hoping that many people won't notice.
Make sure you watch your bills, because if this happened to me it is almost certainly happening to others. I'm not sure what should be done about it (if anything) and I don't personally care at this point because the issue is resolved for me, but I do feel like AT&T should be outed for this shady behavior and that someone should be held responsible, so I wanted to post to show everyone what happened. If this is the wrong place to post, please suggest a better sub. This was just the closest thing I could think of that applied and it could be shared/crossposted from here.
**Edit:** since there were a couple questions about my last login, the 2015 date is inaccurate. I usually log in from my phone but did it via my computer this time so I could make the post easier w/ images etc. Not sure why it's showing 2015 as my last login as I'm pretty sure I didn't even have AT&T then lol ... anyway, [here's the email I received, dated 12/30/17, so this is definitely a current thing](https://i.imgur.com/I7W1VpU.png)
**Edit 2:** Since this is getting a good amount of attention, if this happens to you here's what I did: You should immediately pause your autopay if you have it so the bill doesn't get paid (note that I got this email 12/30/17, two days before the bill was due on 1/1/18, so they definitely tried to sneak it by me). Then call them and they should credit your current bill back to your normal rate, you should pay that month's bill manually, then let autopay resume. As others have noted in the comments ALWAYS WATCH YOUR BILL CLOSELY!
**Edit 3:** Fixed some formatting stuff
**Edit 4:** Holy moly this thread has picked up some steam! Thanks anonymous Reddit friend for popping my golden cherry!
**One last edit:** from a PM I received...the sender wanted to remain anonymous but I thought this was great info:
>I work in big telcom. What you experienced is called a “slam sale” in the industry. It’s when a salesman places an order for you, without ever receiving your approval for the order. The salesman gets credit for the sale, meets quota or receives a big bonus.
>Oddly enough, this is not a very common tactic today. It was popular until 10 years ago, and it’s almost unheard of today. I wasn’t aware that AT&T was experiencing Slam Sales today.
>You can protect your account from Slam Sales. All the major telco providers will offer authentication-secure account protection. Call AT&T, ask for billing, and tell the rep that you want to password-protect your account from unauthorized sales. You can setup either a password or a PIN that must be entered to make any account changes.
>Sorry this happened to you.
And another PM:
>I also work for a major telco as well(name is somewhat synonymous with dicks), the account PIN/Password is visible to us when we do verification and would not stop someone from putting sales on random accounts. Pretty much every ISP and cable company uses outdated billing software from the 80's that's a glorified AS400 mainframe running with a 90's era gui overlay. Scroll about halfway down in [this](http://www.makotek.net/intranet/Forms/ICOMS%20Technician%20Guide.pdf) pdf for some screenshots.
| 91.653319 | 0.764606 | personalfinance | Whoa! Comcast has done the same thing to me! I got an email saying my speed had been upgraded from 75 mbps to 100 for free and when I checked my bill I see that they've applied a $15.00 promotional rate.... that will no doubt kick in soon.
https://imgur.com/a/i3spi | 0.058869 | 0.823475 |
ifjh95 | How is Byjus able to generate a revenue of $72m in a country where majority of its population is middle class, and of course a fair share below the poverty line. | I can’t imagine having such a hugely successful market in India where a lot of parents struggle to even pay for school. Yes I know that the indian middle class now has more of a disposable income now, but curious as this is a niche market and they were only founded in 2011. | 6.841 | 0.441237 | IndiaInvestments | Lemme tell you why? A real instance of their sales.
I called byjus saying show me a demo of ias courses. So they came home ,they called me before and said if we come and show then you have to buy. I just told that time,ok come.
When they come i kept saying no, Because its so many books and courses i think i could not cope with . I realized that there. And then i said no. They said me ,we told from first you have to buy. I told them that i was a salaried employee with salary. Then they told yes you will be at that position only ,they said literally you cannot do anything in life. You cannot do because you cannot take a decision,they said you have to buy,we wont leave. I said no i wont , do whatever you want to. They keep shouting ,like you are an idiot , you cannot do anything in life.
I denied , but hearing so much anyone will say ok ,give me your courses and go. | 0.381176 | 0.822414 |
ytukl5 | Separation with no savings | Hi all,
My wife is applying for a separation and we will need to meet with someone to discuss division of assets and childcare. We have two children ages 5 and 8. I am on a good income ($130,000pa) and my wife is on under $30,000pa. We have always shared everything, but still find ourselves living week to week. We have a home with a mortgage, the deposit of which drained our finances. I never foresaw this being an issue, as I never imagined this situation.
At this stage we are living in the same home and continuing care of our children. We share a bank account with about $6,000 in savings. A $300,000 debt from our home and limited investments. I drive a banger of a car to and from work, and my wife drives our Kluger, valued at about $25,000.
Any tips on managing the separation? Neither of us want to leave our family home. | 3.14002 | 0.099077 | AusFinance | I was exactly in your situation. We decided to stay separated by live in the same house, just different rooms, Luckily we had a guest room. I had a good superannuation balance, her - none. We agreed to not bring any dates home, and when we wanted to start a new relationship, that person would move out. We lived amicably for 5 further years, both dating, but not finding anyone special. When the time came to move out, I basically gave her the house - it had $300,00 equity with a $110,00 mortgage. I figured she was about to re-enter the workforce with only a high school education, no super, whereas I had a good-paying job with decent super. I also paid $250 a week towards the boys expenses until they got a job. I didn't want her living on struggle street age 55 still scraping the mortgage together. She now owns her house outright, makes a good average wage and is very happy, kids are happy - I re-married and moved in with my new wife. We are still good friends and talk once a week about the boys, and how each other is getting on. I recommend divorcing that way 100%. Be kind to each other. | 0.722105 | 0.821182 |
cmqrwo | Be careful what you say in public | My wife and I were at Panera eating breakfast and we noticed a lady be hind us talking on the phone very loudly. We couldn’t help over hearing her talk about a bill not being paid. We were a little annoyed but not a big deal because it was a public restaurant. We were not trying to listen but were shocked when she announced that she was about to read her card number. She then gave the card’s expiration date, security code, and her zip code. We clearly heard and if we were planning on stealing it she gave us plenty of notice to get a pen.
Don’t read your personal information in public like this. You never know who is listening and who is writing stuff down. | 49.597088 | 0.414105 | personalfinance | I heard a woman loudly read out her phone number to someone she was on the phone to (landline?) while on a train. When that call finished she got another call straight away. Most of the carriage had that "oh great, here we go again" look. When she answered, a guy on his phone nearby loudly said "You shouldn't give out your personal info so clearly in public like that" and hung up. He seemed to make an impression.
Edit: Thanks for silver | 0.406859 | 0.820964 |
p1378f | How do billionaires borrow against assets to avoid taxes? | We all know that billionaires don't have billions of dollars laying around in banks, but instead they have billions of dollars worth of assets. So an argument on Reddit that I see quite frequently is that billionaires avoid paying taxes, even when they need money, by simply borrowing against their assets.
The issue is that to pay off these loans, they would either need to earn dividends (which are taxed) or to sell assets (again, taxed) to pay off these loans.
Often, the response is that the billionaires simply don't pay off the debt and die with it, or they roll the debt into new debt. Here's an article depicting this argument if I'm not being clear enough: https://www.businessinsider.com/american-billionaires-tax-avoidance-income-wealth-borrow-money-propublica-2021-6
I've looked around online trying to find out how exactly this works and all I can find are articles like the one provided.
So TLDR: my question is how does borrowing against assets actually avoid paying tax? Surely it has to be paid back eventually. Why would banks lend hundreds of millions to billionaires knowing they'll just defer payment until they die? What advantage does the bank gain by doing that? Or are there any other mechanisms at work? | 6.431148 | 0.449631 | AskEconomics | "Buy, Borrow, Die" seems to be the term popularized to describe the strategy you are referencing. The basic idea is to exploit the step-up in basis that occurs upon death. The steps are (broadly)
1) Buy: (or create by starting a successful business) an asset and have it appreciate. Say you spend $10 on a stock and it is now worth $20. You have $10 in capital gains.
2) Borrow: instead of selling $10 of stock and paying capital gains tax on $10, pledge $10 of stock as collateral for a loan of $10 that you can go spend as you see fit.
3) Die: keep holding the stock and the loan until you die. Your heir can sell the stock for $20 with no capital gains due to step-up basis rules, pay off your $10 loan, and have $10 leftover in cash (the original value of the stock.
You have spent $10 on a stock, used $10 of the gains to buy stuff with, and passed the original $10 to your descendant. Congratulations! You successfully avoided paying capital gains on the $10 of appreciation on your stock.
In this case, the bank is willing to lend because 1) the loan is fully collateralized and low-risk and 2) they can charge a small annual interest rate and make money. The borrower is willing to borrow because (assuming they are old enough), paying a small annual interest rate is dramatically cheap than paying capital gains tax.
You can google around with the phrase. I've yet to find any actual evidence that the rich use this particular loophole or any tax lawyers recommending it. Not saying that they don't, just that it only became well-known after the ProPublica piece referenced in the link you posted was published and so far speculation about the extent of its use is just that, speculation.
EDIT: Since a lot of people are asking, remember that the estate tax is (broadly speaking) levied on *net* assets. Passing the $20 of stock and $10 of loan to your heir is taxed the same as passing $10 to your heir, and so the capital gains that were "borrowed" don't get hit by the estate tax either. | 0.371053 | 0.820684 |
llb1qn | Why does no one seem to think the housing market will crash? | From what I've read house prices being high and rapidly increasing is a good sign they may crash. I've read this in property investment guides and online about timing the cycle. Everywhere I look seems to assume that property prices will continue to rise well into the 2040s!
Now I've read the average baby boomer will die in 2034, which will create a buyers market but no analysts from property firms or banks seem to agree. My sneaking suspicion is that they are wealthy and benefit from increasing house prices and wouldn't want anyone to know the party has to end eventually. | 12.080845 | 0.820639 | AskEconomics | The housing market is extremely difficult to project. If you look back you can find someone claiming a crash every year. Eventually someone is right, but even then it’s often times regional. Now dipping further you need to look at inflation. We have been through several significant inflationary periods in the past 100 years. The Fed, President, and Congress all have very aggressive stances toward pushing the economy forward. Even Republicans. The question isn’t, “are we creating inflation?” It’s, “Should we spend 1, 2, or 3 trillion?”
Eventually all of that excess cash infusion will make its way to main street and prices everywhere will rise. When prices rise wages rise. When wages rise there is more spending and a growth cycle continues. Don’t get caught thinking it’s 2008 when it’s more like 1968. | 0 | 0.820639 |
u2j9r8 | I need to make 5k in 14 months | Hey guys! My name is illbus and I'm 15 rn. My school is planning a trip to Tokyo, Japan in ~14 months, and I don't think my family can afford to pay for it. I'm willing to do anything (legal) to make the money myself since (a.) I really hate burdening others with my problems, and (b.) My mother is more likely to say yes if I'm able to get the money myself. If I could, I would get a job, but there's not a ton of places to work as a 15 y/o in a prominently older city.
I'm good at photo retouching, but no one wants to hire a 15 y/o with no experience. I've also worked with scanlation teams (people who voluntarily translate Japanese manga to other languages) as a proofreader. Currently, I have almost 80$ saved, which is less than 1% of the amount I need.
If possible, I'd also like to help others be able to go since I like helping people, so if you have any advice about that, please let me know.
I really appreciate anyone who answers and tries to help. | 3.277663 | 0.309278 | Money | If you are serious, consider this:
14 months are about 60 weeks. Subtract 4 weeks for "holidays" and you are left with 56. If you can work for 15 hours a week ("just" 3 hrs a day between MO and FR), you'll have 840 hours of work to offer. 5,000 / 840 = about 6 of whatever per hour (you did not specify whether that's US Dollars, Swiss Francs or Chinese Yuan).
So, go to each shop in your neighborhood and ask whether they are willing to give you work for 6 XY/hour, ideally 5 days a week, but 1 day a week is better than nothing, you then just need multiple jobs.
Jobs could include refilling shelves, cleaning, washing cars...
If you do not want to do such "lowly jobs", you are not serious enough ;) | 0.510204 | 0.819482 |
prvs43 | Petition to change this sub to VTI or VT | I'm sure that most people who joined this sub seek out the knowledge on the world of 3,000+ etfs. Yes, there are etfs that invest in thematic to women ceo's to water to leveraged. I don't know about you guys but all I really learned on this sub is either you go VTI and VXUS or you are a sore loser. People will put you down if your fund doesn't start with V. They said in the long run, you don't really beat the market. Or maybe you do. If you are that naive and boring investor, I get it but it doesn't mean you have to shoot down when someone put their money in any other ETFs. For people who are new to ETFs and want to learn, this sub is full of boring assholes for sure. That being said, if you are offended, I'm talking about you. And about "chasing past performances." That's too. Yes. You. | 13.920913 | 0.493473 | ETFs | When I first joined here, I thought there would be discussions on new or interesting etfs, like ultra-specific sectors, environmentally conscious stuff, etc. Every fucking post here is "rate my portfolio" with boring indexes. I don't really understand the point of this sub to be honest. | 0.325967 | 0.819439 |
xojnnx | Thoughts on UK economy under Truss? | Hello,
American here. Astounded at how much the pound dropped vs USD after Liz Truss’ and Kwasi Kwarteng’s speeches on tax cuts and breaks.
Imo multinationals listed in London should perform better on paper because of the decreased tax burden and oversees sales (in USD) should bolster balance sheets, however I’m curious what others thing! | 4.058609 | 0.164151 | UKInvesting | I was born in 1972 and in my 50th year it's ironic we have a very similar setup to back then.
While we might get a consumer led mini-boom, it will be massively overshadowed by the looming financial catastrophe.
I don't see how they can support the pound now. If they raise rates they crash the housing market & consumer confidence, and if they cut/do nothing they'll crash the pound even further.
Sure we have plenty of world class companies but many assemble goods/raw materials bought in from abroad (paid for in dollars) and global demographics are not favouring exporters (regardless of what country they're in).
I guess where things are different to the 70's is that labour shortages should persist so we'll probably not see such high unemployment. Inflation is likely to prove very sticky though. I went shopping today and while fruit and vegetables are still affordable things that used to be dirt cheap (like cheese sauce) are only for the super rich now!
In the medium to long term we're one of the very few countries where renewable energy works (i.e. we have an abundance of water and wind) and going forward can probably out-compete German manufacturing now they'll never again have affordable energy.
It's a shame because things are actually not to bad in the UK now but the politicians are in the process of wrecking it all. | 0.655172 | 0.819323 |
skhjlm | Life's 'secret' weapon. What's yours? | I think this could be an interesting subject for this sub. What is your one 'secret' weapon that you believe gives you an advantage in life?
Mine is an early morning run while listening to an educational podcast/show. 30-60 minutes in the morning where I kill two birds with one stone; fitness and education. I feel like I am cheating life while doing it.
I'm keen to hear from you all. Best of luck out there!
EDIT:
A few folks have asked what my favourite podcasts/shows are. I like to listen to all sorts of subjects, but right now they are; Invest Like the Best, Sam Harris - Making Sense, The Economist - Checks & Balance and Freakonomics Radio. | 6.082124 | 0.38183 | fatFIRE | Remembering that life is a beautiful gift and that someday I will die. When holding a crying baby at 3am covered in vomit, I remind myself: someday, you would give anything for 5 more minutes of this.
Puts small stresses in perspective. | 0.437391 | 0.819221 |
9t7vfb | What is Pigzbe? |
Pigzbe is a decentralised application that allows people to create their own enclosed, autonomous financial networks and to exchange money within them. Decentralisation means that no central authority is needed for operation. Anybody can participate and the degree of decentralisation increases as the number of independent participants grows. The complexity of linking existing banking systems causes delays and inefficiencies which increase costs to a level that limits practical minimum transaction sizes.
By employing distributed ledger technology, we circumvent the current convoluted, centralised global payment infrastructure, creating efficient and trustless networks. The back-end code that powers the DApp runs autonomously on the decentralised network, rather than on centralised networks such as cloud hosting. The DApp builds on the core technology through Smart Contracts and User Interfaces in order to provide some utility.
| 0.548878 | 0.096257 | crypto_currency | Pigzbe uses the blockchain to make money transfers within families borderless, safe, and instant. By unlocking the potential of globalised families as micro-financing networks, Pigzbe teaches children about money in the 21st century. | 0.722222 | 0.818479 |
a58gty | Poseidon Foundation: CARBON CREDIT MARKETS - What is a Carbon Credit? | One carbon credit is what you get when an emis- sions reductions project avoids the release of one metric ton of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. These carbon credits can then for example be used to off the emissions resulting from running a business, which is why they are also called carbon off There are many types of carbon credits, as for example from renewable energy projects or from forest conservation. At Poseidon, we feel that forest conservation proj- ects not only generate the currently most environ- mentally and socially sound carbon credits.
On average, endangered forests around the world are being cut down at a rate of 2% per year. The tree type, density and average age in that area allows the calculation of the carbon diox-ide that has already been sequestered in them. Would these trees be cut down and burned, this amount of carbon dioxide would be released back into the atmosphere.
Therefore, conserving the forest will result in the yearly emissions reduction equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide these trees have already absorbed throughout their lifecycle. The various certifi standards for carbon credits are more complex than this example, and they depend on project methodology and location, though the above is a good illustration of the general process.
What makes land-based carbon credits so power- ful is that they provide a host of additional benefi In the example we have given, even though the calculation is only for a small percentage of the area, of course the entire forest is conserved. This in turn protects the biodiversity that lives in these precious ecosystems as well as local com- munities, some of which have never even been in touch with the outside world. The value of these carbon credits is vast, and we decided to focus on forest conservation for these reasons.
https://i.redd.it/ffiqex1rgo321.jpg
# Carbon Credits used by Poseidon
For the foreseeable future, we will only buy carbon credits that are land-based and that are independently certifi to both the Verifi Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCB).
The projects we support also earn Gold level of distinction for various aspects of CCB such as adaptation, biodiversity, and community engagement. Not only are both these standards internationally supported and recognized for their high quality, the VCS and CCB standards also have robust measures in place to address leakage, which means ensuring that deforestation is not simply intensifi elsewhere, and permanence, which means demonstrating lasting climate benefi Blue carbon, carbon credits that support the conservation of coastal areas, provide a wonderful alternative to forest conservation and are of course part of our roadmap. Coastal ecosystems like mangroves are incredibly valuable and provide a powerful storage for carbon emissions, and as such need to be protected as well. We will add these carbon credits to our portfolio once we feel their certifi standards are mature enough and we are able to eff support sustainable development projects for coastal ecosystems in the same ethical way that we support the conservation of forests.
https://i.redd.it/7ehppzdugo321.jpg
[https://poseidon.eco/](https://poseidon.eco/) | 0.548878 | 0.096257 | crypto_currency | Poseidon is balance to bring into reality the greatest change in the manner in which carbon credits are utilized through retail incorporations. In this platform, there are a few carbon designs on the planet and it very well may be risky to know whether a particular carbon credit will give the coveted atmosphere activity. | 0.722222 | 0.818479 |
9az9da | Dataeum - How did you shift towards blockchain technology? | We made a shift towards blockchain when we realized that this technology could solve all the problems regarding transparency,traceability and immutability of the data provided. After, there was a lot of iterations to find the best way of doing it and we’ve been helped a lot by tech teams and our advisors. | 0.548878 | 0.096257 | crypto_currency | Dataeum aims to disrupt the existing paradigm, by creating the first blockchain-based platform which uses crowdsourcing to enable the collection of 100% of all global physical data (such as stores, gas stations, traffic signs, etc) anywhere in the world, with 100% accuracy.It does this through a mobile app and by using a distributed workforce of “collectors” who are incentivised in XDT tokens. | 0.722222 | 0.818479 |
a58gty | Poseidon Foundation: CARBON CREDIT MARKETS - What is a Carbon Credit? | One carbon credit is what you get when an emis- sions reductions project avoids the release of one metric ton of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. These carbon credits can then for example be used to off the emissions resulting from running a business, which is why they are also called carbon off There are many types of carbon credits, as for example from renewable energy projects or from forest conservation. At Poseidon, we feel that forest conservation proj- ects not only generate the currently most environ- mentally and socially sound carbon credits.
On average, endangered forests around the world are being cut down at a rate of 2% per year. The tree type, density and average age in that area allows the calculation of the carbon diox-ide that has already been sequestered in them. Would these trees be cut down and burned, this amount of carbon dioxide would be released back into the atmosphere.
Therefore, conserving the forest will result in the yearly emissions reduction equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide these trees have already absorbed throughout their lifecycle. The various certifi standards for carbon credits are more complex than this example, and they depend on project methodology and location, though the above is a good illustration of the general process.
What makes land-based carbon credits so power- ful is that they provide a host of additional benefi In the example we have given, even though the calculation is only for a small percentage of the area, of course the entire forest is conserved. This in turn protects the biodiversity that lives in these precious ecosystems as well as local com- munities, some of which have never even been in touch with the outside world. The value of these carbon credits is vast, and we decided to focus on forest conservation for these reasons.
https://i.redd.it/ffiqex1rgo321.jpg
# Carbon Credits used by Poseidon
For the foreseeable future, we will only buy carbon credits that are land-based and that are independently certifi to both the Verifi Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCB).
The projects we support also earn Gold level of distinction for various aspects of CCB such as adaptation, biodiversity, and community engagement. Not only are both these standards internationally supported and recognized for their high quality, the VCS and CCB standards also have robust measures in place to address leakage, which means ensuring that deforestation is not simply intensifi elsewhere, and permanence, which means demonstrating lasting climate benefi Blue carbon, carbon credits that support the conservation of coastal areas, provide a wonderful alternative to forest conservation and are of course part of our roadmap. Coastal ecosystems like mangroves are incredibly valuable and provide a powerful storage for carbon emissions, and as such need to be protected as well. We will add these carbon credits to our portfolio once we feel their certifi standards are mature enough and we are able to eff support sustainable development projects for coastal ecosystems in the same ethical way that we support the conservation of forests.
https://i.redd.it/7ehppzdugo321.jpg
[https://poseidon.eco/](https://poseidon.eco/) | 0.548878 | 0.096257 | crypto_currency | **Poseidon** platform will be offering a carbon credits that do not exist like that. the carbon credit was created by using emission reduction project and this process involves establishing a project that is validated by accredited organizations and verification parties. | 0.722222 | 0.818479 |
a58gty | Poseidon Foundation: CARBON CREDIT MARKETS - What is a Carbon Credit? | One carbon credit is what you get when an emis- sions reductions project avoids the release of one metric ton of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. These carbon credits can then for example be used to off the emissions resulting from running a business, which is why they are also called carbon off There are many types of carbon credits, as for example from renewable energy projects or from forest conservation. At Poseidon, we feel that forest conservation proj- ects not only generate the currently most environ- mentally and socially sound carbon credits.
On average, endangered forests around the world are being cut down at a rate of 2% per year. The tree type, density and average age in that area allows the calculation of the carbon diox-ide that has already been sequestered in them. Would these trees be cut down and burned, this amount of carbon dioxide would be released back into the atmosphere.
Therefore, conserving the forest will result in the yearly emissions reduction equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide these trees have already absorbed throughout their lifecycle. The various certifi standards for carbon credits are more complex than this example, and they depend on project methodology and location, though the above is a good illustration of the general process.
What makes land-based carbon credits so power- ful is that they provide a host of additional benefi In the example we have given, even though the calculation is only for a small percentage of the area, of course the entire forest is conserved. This in turn protects the biodiversity that lives in these precious ecosystems as well as local com- munities, some of which have never even been in touch with the outside world. The value of these carbon credits is vast, and we decided to focus on forest conservation for these reasons.
https://i.redd.it/ffiqex1rgo321.jpg
# Carbon Credits used by Poseidon
For the foreseeable future, we will only buy carbon credits that are land-based and that are independently certifi to both the Verifi Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCB).
The projects we support also earn Gold level of distinction for various aspects of CCB such as adaptation, biodiversity, and community engagement. Not only are both these standards internationally supported and recognized for their high quality, the VCS and CCB standards also have robust measures in place to address leakage, which means ensuring that deforestation is not simply intensifi elsewhere, and permanence, which means demonstrating lasting climate benefi Blue carbon, carbon credits that support the conservation of coastal areas, provide a wonderful alternative to forest conservation and are of course part of our roadmap. Coastal ecosystems like mangroves are incredibly valuable and provide a powerful storage for carbon emissions, and as such need to be protected as well. We will add these carbon credits to our portfolio once we feel their certifi standards are mature enough and we are able to eff support sustainable development projects for coastal ecosystems in the same ethical way that we support the conservation of forests.
https://i.redd.it/7ehppzdugo321.jpg
[https://poseidon.eco/](https://poseidon.eco/) | 0.548878 | 0.096257 | crypto_currency | I often get asked why I started Poseidon and the answer is one word: purpose. I worked almost two decades in investment banking and I never found true fulfilment. Not even close. I enjoyed the work and the fact that it allowed me to live in 14 countries was definitely in itself very satisfying. But I never felt a deeper meaning to my life. I felt empty. | 0.722222 | 0.818479 |
wpqv1i | Are we living in the world’s largest Ponzi scheme? | In the sense that every time the debt of governments gets passed on to the next, who borrow even more and this cycle continues. Won’t this cycle collapse sometime?
* I am using a different meaning for Ponzi btw than the original one. | 5.346107 | 0.378378 | AskEconomics | That's not what a Ponzi scheme is.
Anyway. Government spending (ideally) grows the economy and because of that it can more or less finance itself.
https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2018/11/how-expensive-is-it-to-service-the-national-debt/ | 0.439474 | 0.817852 |
l98hd2 | The Nokia conversation. | So who is actually buying Nokia? Who many of those who see this post believe it can moon like GME? I bought 100 shares but I’m just curious to how many people are still trying to make this bread. Please upvote and comment. Genuinely curious | 18.585393 | 0.453765 | StocksAndTrading | Nothing is going to moon like GME. GME is a once in a lifetime situation and nothing is going to touch it for a long time.
BB is actually a pretty solid buy since their cybersecurity and software (especially for EVs) is pretty great. It's a decent long play.
NOK \*might\* be the next AMC because neither is shorted as much as GME and neither has anything new going on. Personally, I think it was being pumped as a distraction.
Edit: My mistake, NOK has contracts with NASA and a lot of exposure. Still not the next GME by a long shot but probably an okay long play. Still not feeling confident about the pumping. Bots and new accounts were pumping it so hard that subs had to restrict posting (just look at the comment thread on this post). | 0.363636 | 0.817402 |
mwvkey | Are landlords "bad"? | Apologies if this question is badly phrased, as I'm not sure the best way to ask this. I'll try to explain. **(EDIT: I've realized that the way I wrote this post, you could argue that this is more of a philosophical/ideological question than an economic one. Perhaps rather than arguing whether landlords are "good" or "bad," the question should be why they exist, what need or specific use case they address, and/or what would happen in a world in which landlords either did not exist or were not legal.)**
Some leftists, including [anarchist YouTuber Thought Slime](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2EWQ4v9wbA), argue that landlords — or at least the practice of buying housing and charging people for access to it — is immoral. The idea is that housing is a fundamental human need (I happen to agree with this), and all landlords are doing is buying places for people to live and charging people a monthly fee to live there. Also, landlords often do not add any value to the property they are renting out, so the only way they're profiting from it is by owning it and charging people to live there. Because landlords are passively profiting from a product/service that is practically needed to live, and because renters often have no choice but to rent if they want housing, the landlords are, according to the argument, exploiting this necessity. The moral thing to do, then, would be to seize these properties from the landlords and allocate them to people based on need.
To be honest, I don't know how to respond to this argument. It seems pretty logically solid to me. But to my knowledge, economists aren't opposed to renting or landlords. Thought Slime's opinion on economists, ["most economists are parasites that believe whatever neoliberal bullshit the Chicago school tells them to"](https://youtu.be/TBOxrHdTKE0?t=1803), indicates to me that he doesn't care about their views on this issue, but I do.
**Is renting/landlord-ism "bad" or "immoral"? Why can't renters pay the same monthly fee just to buy the property outright? Are there practical benefits to landlords existing, and do these outweigh the drawbacks?**
It's worth noting that the second link in this post is TS's rebuttal to another YouTuber who argues against his idea that landlords are bad. In this second video, TS makes clear that he believes landlords are just a symptom of the larger problem of capitalism, the profit motive, and private ownership. I think further asking economists to justify capitalism, the profit motive, and private ownership would unnecessarily widen the scope of my question and devolve into ideological infighting. That said, I personally do not believe profit and private ownership are inherently bad or immoral, so I'm more concerned with how these apply to housing/renting specifically. **Is it immoral for someone to profit purely from owning housing and charging for access to it, rather than from constructing and selling it outright?** | 4.971955 | 0.353808 | AskEconomics | There are many costs and risks associated with home ownership that people may prefer not to take on. These include risk associated with the price of the house going down, maintenance costs, and costs of buying/selling the house. Depending on the circumstances, renting rather than owning can be a great deal.
Say somebody had the option of choosing for the same exact unit whether to buy it, or have a landlord buy it and rent it from the landlord.
If the person buys the place they have to pay a down payment, real estate broker fees, legal fees, inspection costs, etc. up front. Then if the home price goes down, they stand to lose a significant amount of money. If they decide to move after a year, they have to pay realtors, lawyers, taxes, etc. again. If there's an issue with the house they have to be prepared to fix it themselves no matter the cost. And if they are unable to pay their mortgage, foreclosure is a much more burdensome process than eviction.
Alternatively with the rent situation, the renter can move in immediately after only paying a relatively small security deposit that's refundable. If the price of the house goes down, their rent remains the same. If they want to leave after a year, they can do so for no additional cost besides the moving truck. If something is wrong with the house, the landlord has to fix it. If something is seriously wrong with the house, they can break the lease and move for no additional cost.
The rent will be higher than the mortgage cost, but that comes with all the benefits listed above.
For many people, the rent scenario is actually preferred, but in order to rent they need a landlord to take on the ownership costs and risks. That is the service that a landlord provides and the value they add. | 0.463158 | 0.816966 |