Last night whilst talking with a friend, we were discussing what would happen if we lost our jobs. As both of us are foreign, it is a little bit different for us, as we are not quite as employable as Finns, though as he speaks the language, he is more employable that I am. However, he also earns a fair amount and he is concerned that there would be nothing else available in that range for him. I have much the same concern, even though at a lower amount.
However, it all depends on current needs, and while at the moment the needs are high, I could potentially reduce needs a lot if for instance, I was able to lower the cost of living. Of course, the major costs for us as a family are our debts, our mortgage. If we didn't have a mortgage, we would be in a far better position, like most people who have a mortgage.
Currently, we have a collar on our interest rate for another eight years or so, and that has kept our repayments manageable, even though interest rates have increased globally, but we are hoping to pay it off before it ends. This means over doubling our repayments each month, which isn't likely given the current economy, but adding in a bit extra to chip away at it and hope for something more of a lump sum down the road, is.
A lump sum.
Pretty much, the only place a lump sum amount is going to come from is from the lottery or from crypto - and we don't play the lottery. So, for us, crypto is the opportunity.
In the past bull, it would have been wiser to take out enough to pay off the mortgage and then we would have had far less stress at these times and, I wouldn't be as concerned about job loss. However, since I didn't do this, I can really only look toward the next bull market and consider what that means for me and most importantly, for my family.
I have a fair amount of HIVE that I have earned and bought over the years, but I also have other crypto investments here and there, holding a little bit of BTC and some random ALTs, as well as Splinterlands holdings in the form of cards and SPS. In the advent of a bull market, a rising tide lifts all ships and my hope is that each of the assets I hold goes high enough to reach a point that I can skim off some gains from each.
This way, I will lower my exposure to the bull and inevitable bear to follow, reduce daily real life debts by clearing mortgage (or reducing a lot) and be able to breathe a little easier in terms of my employment status. I plan on always working, but since the stroke, I am more sensitive to the need for security for my family, since I am constantly aware of my mortality.
Since the stroke, there is a continual voice in my head reminding me of my failures and shortcomings. Even when I dream.
We could all die at any minute, but for me at least, the thought isn't allowed to leave my awareness for some reason. However, because of this, I want to try my best to ensure that if that happens, my wife and daughter are able to cope financially, so that they for a time at least, don't need to worry about how to pay the bills, while they rearrange their life.
This is selfish of me, because I feel better having tried for them, than dying and having failed them. However, I also would prefer it that however painful my death might be for them, they remember me, not the struggle they faced after I passed because they lost the income I provide.
I assume many other people feel similarly.
However, this puts me in a tough place, because ultimately, I want to be more in crypto and increasingly less in fiat than I am. However, I also understand that it is a process that isn't going to happen over night, where crypto becomes the dominant economy. It is going to take time and part of that means to invest more than money, but also invest time and skills into building the economy. However, to do that requires not needing to invest time and skills into the fiat economy as much, which is what the current jobs are doing, in order to pay the bills.
To build a robust crypto economy, it is going to take the development of industries to build the infrastructure and business models that incorporate blockchain into them. This happens in degrees, but in time the use cases grow and the potential of the shadow economy are so strong, more mainstream adoption takes place, pulling in more mainstream business.
For instance, I believe that within the next ten years, the company I work for now will be incorporating blockchain into their product offering for customers, but they aren't even looking in that direction yet. In time, my role there might be vastly different than it is from today, doing more of what I want to be doing, which is building bridges between the traditional economy and the Web 3 economy to marry them together, increasing transparency and slowly decentralizing wealth and power globally.
This is participation.
I am very confident in the future of crypto and HIVE, even though there is going to be a lot of FUD around them for years to come, because ultimately, it is inevitable. The traditional economy is just not sustainable and no matter how they try to salvage it, the centralization of power will continually tear it apart, which is also inevitable and has been proven for thousands of years throughout our history of economics. No centralized power survives.
And we are seeing how fragile the economy is after those centralized powers have mismanaged it time and time again, with increasing frequency, as they grab for their wealth and more control. It is because of this that people have to be concerned for their jobs, because even when there is a need for the work to be done, the economy just can't support it, whilst some sectors are enjoying astronomical wealth growth.
As I see it, the current economy is about increasing centralized wealth, but the decentralized economy is about improving daily lives. While governments worry about GDP which is becoming increasingly irrelevant as an indicator of citizen wellbeing, crypto is looking at distribution of wealth and building mechanisms for more people to work to earn and, most importantly, own. The traditional economy is attempting to get us all to become forever renters, leaving ownership to the centralized few. The alternative economy is attempting to get us to take ownership and there responsibility for our existence.
There is a lot of work to be done, but how much of the early work is going to be paid as well as it is in the traditional economy? People still have bills to pay, loans to service and families to feed, so unless there is a catastrophic event, climbing the mountain is going to be done in a billion baby steps, not a fell swoop.
At least for the early adopters.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Posted Using LeoFinance Alpha
There is the lump sum and lottery mindset for so many people, I wonder if that’s an intentional or accidental product of the time we live in, where there’s always a focus on betting and gambling instead of building and progress. Similar to your mortgage, where you can’t pay it off with a big chunk instead adding to it a few extra dollars a month chips away at the overall loan and greatly reduces the interest you’ll be paying on it long term.
I’m glad that we can build the alternative economy because we sorely need that. There’s always been ways people have done this, throughout history but a lot of people forget or don’t know that. Where there’s a will there’s a way! The centralized entities want people to feel helpless and powerless but we have much more power as a group than they will admit, because if we know that then we are less controllable.
Perhaps from the gambling companies intentional, but it feeds into our "big score" mindset, which might be natural. We seem to want it all as easy as possible.
I assume that all of what we have today, has been from people wanting to do something different. Remember that every political party got into the game to change things, to break tradition, then they become the tradition themselves, just as bad as those they replaced, if not worse.
We definitely can do better and perhaps we are at the technological level that it is possible at scale.
Counting down the days until I can leave NYC and bring down the overhead of day-to-day life. Happy to continue to build my crypto stack of goodies on Hive, BTC, ETH.
This is the way. Wishing you a lumpy sum!
No lumpy bed, no lumpy custard, no lumpy gravy, no lumpy pillow --- but a lumpy sum would be great!
The lumpier the better! 🤑🤑
People always needs to pay some essential bills and people will make do somehow. The job pays off that off and if your wages go does, then you just have to drop down those basic living costs. It's a tough thing to do with but it looks like you have some emergency funds in case things go wrong so I think you will be fine.
The challenge for many is the living without that income. Everyone seems to want to do it without a job, but planning that for the long term and actually living it, is very hard.
I've been thinking a lot about the next bull as well and trying to figure out how I want to handle it. I have already started to set some soft targets so that I can "skim" some gains off as you say. For example if "X" token hits $.25 I will sell off 40K of them and move those gains into something stable. The other thing that really gets me thinking is what were to happen to my crypto if something happened to me. My wife's cousin would likely be able to help her, but left on her own, she wouldn't be able to manage a hardware wallet. I'm guessing your brother would help your wife if she didn't have the knowledge herself, but I think a lot of people don't have that person and they don't have a plan. I'm trying to keep better records so it isn't such a burden for my wife if misfortune did occur.
I should start writing down my targets and then sticking to them.
What you have described is an issue. I am confident that my brother will help out and if needs be, he can ask some people on the European side of things to help also. It is definitely still a worry though - as I want them taken care of.
For sure! I'd hate to think of all the u tapped potential if she weren't able to access it. Even if it just means liquidating everything. I've often thought I should keep better record of all my holdings across all Blockchains.
Or you can start your own business and hopefully succeed and then no more worries. I to am an immigrant to Canada. But i've been here for 30+ years and not a lick of english. I was self employed in Canada after my second year living here and my english was still broken but i knew more words than when I got here lol. I go to where every portuguese man goes to once they arrive to Canada, straight to construction site, only difference is I learned a trade and went on my own business with that trade. I enjoy working for myself way more better than me work for someone else. In my books I am #1, and in my employers books I could never get #1 because employee numbers are 4 digits at least. I built new homes, and skyscrapers.
I have my own small business too. But it is hard to keep it going after covid.
I sometimes ask this question myself. I think I would try to live off HIVE :)
It would be nice to be able to, but it would have to be significantly higher for me, and stay that way. 5-10 dollar HIVE would be okay! ;)
You would be a millionare :)
I think I would survive that ;)
I hope you get the chance to pay off your mortgage with crypto, because as far as I can tell, fiat debts are the worst financial instruments one can have at the moment. Pay off that mortgage! Once that is done, you'll have excess monies to reinvest right where you want your money to be, in non-fiat investments.
Property ownership may become a thing of the past. I hope not! I own a lot of property!
This is what I am hoping. That way, the mortgage money goes straight into investments instead. I don't think property ownership is ever going to be a bad thing. I am also considering that if the bull is bullish enough, to get a rental property.
My son's account will have 4000 HIVE tomorrow. He will go to school for 9 more years. God forbid that good capital accumulated there. I often talk to him about business and finance. He likes it when his Hive account grows at a good rate.
Doing nothing else, that will be about 15000 HIVE in 9 years. If Hive is sitting around 10 at that point, it is not a bad graduation present.
I do think there will be opportunities like you say with your company using a blockchain as it is going to happen they just don't know it yet. That is why I have been scooping up Vet and some other targeted crypto for this very reason due to forced use cases by the EU.
We will see online earnings outpace the real world in the not so distant future and then the stresses will be laid to rest.
I am hoping so - as long as it is from the online earnings going up, rather than real world going down :)
Both centralized, few are aware of decentralized, my feeling both will be around for some time to come, familiarizing with both is a healthy outlook.
Paying off debt in the fastest manner possible gives one a feeling of well being, not having to stress over large debt like a mortgage, easier said than done!
Employment; each individual has to keep a finger on the pulse with change, possibly learn new to continue enjoying the lifestyle they have become accustomed to.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 65/75) Liquid rewards.
I think this is getting more challenging, as the job evolution cycle is shorter now. It is hard to keep up with skills that require time to get and impossible if they are in some areas we are incapable of.
New challenges with technology change may alter working conditions to a certain degree. Basic knowledge will still be required irrespective, perception of cycles shortening is an illusion, or a manner in enriching the rich placing more workload into shorter work days. Always attempt to plan a secondary back up.
Was just thinking about something similar, about how much of finance is just rent-seeking. Whether in Hollywood like with Marvel or PE firms buying up hospitals and single family homes. Don't seeing it being sustainable a few more generations down.
It is all rent seeking and the worst of it, is where it is supporting what is known to harm us. If the highest ROI was on what made us better, the world would be a better place.
I wonder once the fuel is gone and the middle east accepts the crypto more than any other FIAT. That would be pretty interesting scenario as the world is being forced to accept things they were not exposed to. So things are going to get ugly for sure. But change is inevitable as they say.
They will get bombed even more. Remember what happened to Ghaddafi when he tried to use gold instead of US dollars for oil.
he who borrows money becomes the lender' slave
Not really if you can pay it back. For example what I do. Not giving financial advise. I borrow money from banks and then I invest it on stock/ETF that pay me dividends and I use dividends to pay off what I borrow. Right now interest rate is to expensive and I do not have any outstanding to pay back. And all of it goes into my TFSA. I max it out every year, and all funds go into the market, and I collect growth and divis. I try my best to earn the same way the banks earn off of us when we leave our cash in chequing accounts.
This is a dangerous game to play and I know many who have been caught out doing this.
THere is a time and a place for it - unfortunately.
Doing job and still working out for crypto is really hectic sometimes. Sometimes i want to quit my job too but that's ok , i think we all face this kind of situation where we want to do a lot of stuff at the same time.
I will work for as long as possible. I don't want to not work, I just want to be able to do a bit different work than I do :)
Hmmm right.
But you made the start na... you would end up with something to do with crypto eventually, in future for sure!!!
If we lost our job, it makes our living worst. Today everyone wants to get higher posts and upgrade their living standard. On the other hand unemployment is also goes on increasing.
Our living standard is directly related to our jobs.
I don't worry too much about my standard of living now, I want more so that I can invest more. :D
Just like what I think is that, along with a partial reliability on the fiat and income streams coming from job should be allocated for family and their development growth infrastructure.
Holding a fair amount of crypto outside Hive, games as Splinterlands tokens and Btc can have full impact over the status of assets we grow, they really change the outlook.
And yet we just cant predict about the future of mortality, and when an important member passes away,the whole unit suffers badly. Thats universal.
The fastest way to build holdings in crypto, is to have a job that pays enough in fiat and to consistently buy in.
It is universal, yet I think most people don't really think that much about it, because it is uncomfortable. If I die, I will be gone, but it isn't okay for my family to suffer, just because I am not here to see it.
A quick reference to Asimov's Foundation... A thinking dude sees the inevitable collapse of the galactic Empire in the little things. The loss of (sufficient quantity of people with) knowledge about how to maintain current level of technology, for example.
And that dude strives to build a foundation that could... lesson the period of the coming dark ages. Not prevent the coming of the dark ages, for it is inevitable. And the dark period could take... lifetimes. Let's hope in our case the scales are all much smaller.
hmmm... despite your traditional job, you got a foot on crypto, that's great man!!
You will find something suitable eventually, now that you know what your heart wants...
You should teach your daughter and wife to explore something in crypto and earn some ... else atleast get knowledge and share it... hopefully it would pay...
i get you man, crypto is very hard... because its still not solidly paying , its like investment and regulations are harsh in some places.
Even in bull run, I may not proft because there 31% tax here for instance.
But passion is crypto... this drives me mad at times... and I really want money for crypto stuff I write.
shrugs... take care of your health... keep your skills intact and upskill and do some crypto stuff...
But I see the bear market is not over for the bulls to come it ould take 2-3 years... so don't expect bull rewards now... hold solid cryptos and not coins you not sure of their fundamentals...
Your better off than many whose lives runed due to over exposure on crypto like terra-luna, putting coins on celsius, or FTX etc... be careful... and enjoy learning crypto , engaging even little tiny bit...
the way things are going I feel I won't make much money with crypto, maybe one I leave the world, crypto will go parabolic and it won't enrich me... for you however, you have good crypto and after your time, in the long term when value goes parabolic your daughter will benefit.
Anyway...
It might be 2-3 years til the blow off top, but I think it will be shorter for some significant movement for the markets.