John Campea: Seven money principles he lives by

 

[VIDEO] The movie guy who often likes to talk about genre films - comic books, sci-fi, etc. - delves into a different topic which is managing your money. He's right about a lot of these principles.

Of course that said, don't take financial advice from anyone you don't feel comfortable with. Also your money situation is YOUR money situation. Everyone has their own situation.

Regardless live below your means, if you can't pay in cash you can't afford it, avoid debt at all costs. Those are the easy takeaways.

'Dumb Money'

In writing this review of sorts I won't even attempt to explain the financial terms that are used in this film.

  This film was first released in Sept 2023 and finally had a chance to see it last weekend. It attempts to tell the story of Keith Gill who through his social media following was able to persuade them to buy stock in Game Stop because he liked the stock.

And then Keith Gill finds himself going up against Wall Street firms who had been "short-selling stock". I got a kick out of Nick Offerman playing Citadel CEO Ken Griffin as I had no idea he had been part of this story.

Ken Griffin you might know placed his own bet on an Illinois mayor to become the Republican nominee for Governor. That man floundered and Griffin before the 2022 GOP primary announced that he was moving Citadel out of Chicago and to Florida citing high crime.

Either way Gill's social media following aggressively starts buying the Game Stop stock and helps to drive up the price of those shares and causes these investment firms such as Gabe Plotkin's Melvin Capital to lose money. So the gambit of "short-selling" was not working as as we learn near the end of the film is that now investment firms have to pay attention to social media to see which stocks "dumb money" or consumer investors are buying.

Gill hasn't posted to his YouTube channel since 2021 and not too long after he had testified in front of a Congressional Committee. And I get that he lost his job as a result of the publicity surround this situation, I only wonder what he's up to these days and if he's still got his shares of Game Stop.

Also if you can't relate to Gabe Plotkin or Griffin you can relate to some of his Gill's followers. Two college students who are all in on Game Stop one of whom suffered some form of financial setbacks from her parents. Then an actual worker at Game Stop who is all in on shares and doesn't appear that happy with his job. And then a single mother who's a nurse at a hospital.

Another part of this is RobinHood which as a result of their own role in this scandal their IPO didn't start off as well as they had hope. The founders of RobinHood were no longer billionaires. One thing I do remember from back then - two years ago - is that they stopped purchase of Game Stop shares. What I didn't know is that Griffin was involved with this.

Back when this actually happened perhaps one a new administration took over in Washington I was a bit fascinated by this story and heard the news. At the same time I was too late once it became a story.

I also heard that there were dumb money buying shares of AMC Theatres in 2021 which would've been game for me because I'd like that stock.

This movie isn't quite up there with The Big Short, however, when it comes to movies explaining financial news stories this is a worthwhile watch if you go to the theater and certainly if you can find it on streaming in the near future. 

Here's a trailer [VIDEO]

The Reddit revolt against Wall Street #Meme

 Meme's are allowed here, I don't think I have limits on the subjects of meme's here. Especially those that sort of make a statement about real life as illustrated here. Don't understand, read this post over at "the blog".

For the record, Trading Places starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, and Jamie Lee Curtis is one my favorite all time movies. The funniest scenes took place on Amtrak's Metroliner train. :P 

Side hustles during a #Pandemic

[VIDEO] Only recently during the course of the history of this blog had I ever tried to monetize this place. I never would've imagined that Google Ads would be placed here and probably would've come in handy during those rare times when this blog received some traffic from a variety of sources. I always considered this place a hobby something to be enjoyed for free, but then again it's something that if one chooses is worth making some money off of.

I've been following Timothy J. Ward for a while especially with another one of his YouTube channels the Frugal Travel Guru. Going somewhere shouldn't cost you a lot of money and just think when I started following that channel he went from talking about tips as far as riding the Greyhound Bus to taking little trips overseas. There are some valuable lessons with that.

Due to unforeseen circumstances of the past two months I'm taking a look at one of his vids from last year declaring this year 2020 as the year of the side hustle. Of course what I have to admit in a time of a great economic downturn perhaps it's hard for many to think of a side hustle. However, as so many have lost their jobs due to this pandemic I wonder how many have turned to another way of earning income.

And no I don't mean OnlyFans, I do mean that many of us have a talent that we haven't utilized that's worth making a small income at least until the economic world stabilized. I'm lucky to still be working right now in this downturn, however, now is the time to figure out for myself other ways to make money. Perhaps that means doing what I've always done since my undergrad years which is creating content people enjoy online.

Besides, perhaps you won't be able to earn a fortune however a lot of eyeballs are on the internet right now with so many people stuck at home with all these shelter in place orders.

If you're reading this blog let me know what your sidehustle is...

Building a $58 Million NYC Apartment

[VIDEO] Amazing, simply amazing. Casey Neistat visits an under construction penthouse high above NYC. You can be above it all for a whopping $58 million, and that's money I can only dream about!

If I could even make that much, my mind can't wrap itself around the idea of buildings so tall. I could never envision going all the way up in the former Sears Tower or even the former Hancock Building. Ironically when I was younger and not so adverse to heights I was at the top of the Washington Monument.

All the same, if I could afford that penthouse Neistat visits I'll just spend some of that fortune on a smaller residence closer to the ground. However, real estate especially of this expensive type can be fascinating.

Now that I think about it #bitcoin

 What is the current price of bitcoin? This is something I hadn't thought about at all for quite a while. At one point someone needed more than $1K to buy one bitcoin. Actually probably a lot more than that!

Well today I need over $6K for one bitcoin! And still have to remember that it's not the most secure investment one could make, but I heard so much about it. It's worth making small forays into this cryptocurrency. Still I've rather put my hands on a precious metal.

Business Insider: How pure gold is refined

[VIDEO] Must be nice to have enough money to not only buy gold, but to also make them into any shape you choose. Especially as I can only dream about bars or coins. BTW, I wonder what is the current price of gold per ounce?

And funny thing, I was somewhat interested in bitcoin and yet I've lost interest quick. So many things to invest your money in, what does one choose. Better to invest in precious metals than something that can be as non-secure as cryptocurrency.

Business Insider: 21 simple ways to earn passive income

One of those 21 ways is something that I'm doing here which is using Google Ads, and of course I should see which one of the other ways works for me. I'd have to see about writing a book, doing a YouTube tutorial or even using referral links.

Business Insider: 50 things to stop wasting your money on

I have to do my own research on this but I hear that with Trump's tax reform you can no longer claim a credit on student loans. I suppose this will be seen with this year's taxes.

Otherwise there are at least 49 other things to stop wasting your money on!

Internet side hustles

Last month I wrote a post about whether or not it's time for a tipjar. As indicated in that post here on this blog years & years ago I had written about the need to utilize a PayPal account - most popular method back in 2005 - to raise money for a series of needs. Now the idea of using a blog to make extra income has taken a turn.

From DuplicateMySuccess.com a post that offers 7 legitimate ways to earn money from blogging. Become a book publisher, develop software, sell resources, ship physical products, promote products, offer skills courses, or offer a challenge. In other words one could always turn their blogs or social media channels into side hustles.

As noted over at The Sixth Ward I have Google ads on that blog. It hasn't made me enough money for me to consider doing it entirely full-time however with a job and the blog with ads it's one way to made some side income amongst others.

As far as DuplicateMySuccess.com those are some good ideas just wonder what it takes to fulfill even one of those ventures. Just got to find one that works for me the best.

How much money have you saved?

Posted this earlier today and shared the wrong ig post from CNBC. My apologies, didn't catch onto this sooner.

I've been doing much better saving money over the last four years and hopefully I'll look much better over the next four years. At least you couldn't coun't me in the 35% with less than $1k in savings or the 34% who has ZERO.

It takes some discipline to put some money away at least every pay period. Then scrimp and scrape as you spend money. Though as far as spending I'm still learning. A never ending process.

Funny thing, I used to complain about how my mother didn't want to spend money on things. Now I've acquired some of those habits.

69% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. What's more, 34% have no savings at all. If your bank account balance is looking sad, you're not alone.

A post shared by CNBC (@cnbc) on Apr 11, 2017 at 6:18pm PDT

Several income streams

I'm thinking more and more about many ways of earning income. These past two years, there has been a lot of luck in finding good jobs.

For example for the first time in life as of last year I work full-time and with benefits. It took some time to get there, but it's often a matter of luck or being in the right place at the right time. Of course as with life expect some unexpected circumstances at work.

Also I consider some goals for the new year and I want to always improve financially. Save money, find ways to make more money aside from working a job, keep an eye on my 401k account. There's always something that I can do to move ahead.

At least there's this article as a base for learning, perhaps as we all go forward in 2017 there are other articles to look for on personal finance.

The Big Short

[VIDEO] The clip above shows Dr. Burry being confronted by one of his investors for going against the mortgage market. An example of what you would see in The Big Short.

I saw this film recently at River East and it's a serious movie about the mortgage crisis. A number of individuals in this movie portrayed by actors Christian Bale, Steve Carell, and Ryan Gosling had the foresight to bet against the subprime mortgage market.

There are some hilarious aspects of the movie to explain the mumbo jumbo explained during the course of the movie. Many of us likely won't understand the Wall Street language as far as this mortgages it needs to be put in layman's terms.

Either way we do get the message about how these mortgages have made many of these players wealthy and how far down it went until some of the players on Wall Street began to suffer for their mistakes. Bad terms for these loans and not only the people who took up these loans suffer, also those who either invested in this market or who sold these loans.

As we saw in the movie and in real life about 2008-09 two investment houses eventually closed up shop because of this collapse. Lehman Bros. and Bear Stearns essentially no longer exist.

Now I only wish I had the ability of Dr. Michael Burry who owned his own fund and although not trained or educated in finance knew enough to dig and found a reason to bet against the subprime mortgages. People thought he was nuts but in time figured out he was right and got their rewards to.

What $20 gets you from 1998 to 2012...

I found this graphic at the FB page Culture of Black Chicago. It basically illustrates what a $20 bill could get you as far as groceries. As it turns out from 1998 to 2012 increasingly you get less groceries for $20. Perhaps you might get 5 items for that amount by 2012.

This comment probably explains what is going on in the ensuing 12 years:

it's only gonna get worse if folks don't wise up and get involved in a business that's gonna greatly increase their income. Nobody is holding the FED accountable for this mess. Anytime you continue to print money and flood our economy with paper that's not backed by anything real, you cause inflation. gas & food prices rise.

Now this causes me to do research on economic issues. In the circles I converse with online they complain a lot about inflation and fiat currencies. They wish for a return to the gold standard.

I wish there were some stats that accompanied this illustration.

Ward Room: What $750,000 Can Buy

$750,000 is the amount of money former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. took from his campaign funds. A crime that he recently pleaded guilty for with his wife former Alderman Sandi Jackson who also pleaded guilty for filing a false income tax return in federal court last week.

This Ward Room posting by Ed McClelland discusses what Jackson could've done with all that money for his constituents. Starting off mentioning free breakfasts struck a nerve because Jackson had robocalls in the past advertising free turkeys at an event he hosted. With the cash he was spending on personal items he probably could have spent them on food for the neediest constituents.

Still I have to admit what a sad end to a potential dynasty. And all it all started when he got caught up in the scandal involving Rod Blagojevich. Last year I attended a fundraiser held in Hyde Park - President Obama's neighborhood - by Sandi Jackson ward organization although no funds came from me for her it was nice to be at a venue for a fancy restaurant.

In any event there was a lot of press there. Mrs. Jackson was being interviewed by a local news anchor and there were news vans outside of this particular establishment. You would've thought she would've been in office for years to come and as it turns out she didn't have long before her career as Alderman was over. Not only that, the feds would have their eye on her as well.

Very sad.

Capitalism, Part 2

Recently I watched this legendary movie entitled Wall Street. Story of a young stock broker who in the beginning of this film was struggling but got hooked up with the right connection and suddenly was rising high. It came at a cost however when he finds himself getting arrested for insider trading right after he pulled a fast one on his connection.

The message of this movie was regarding greed or at least the 1980s version of greedy excess. Charlie Sheen played Bud the young stock broker and Gordon was played by Michael Douglass who was Bud's connection into the higher echelons of the financial world. Bud had it all, but he decided to pull a fast one on Gordon when he found out what Gordon attempted to do!

A friend shared the film with me to show how it goes in corporate America. I really laughed when Bud was arrested in his office, the man who gave him the office went from "I knew you were something special" to "I always knew you were trouble". Turned his back on him just like that!

I don't necessarily look down on greed, but certainly we would look at a personally differently if they did whatever they could to get more. We could be talking about money and we could be talking about food. It could be anything that is very necessary.

My friend and I have talked about how today's titans take care of themselves and then forget about the people who toil under them. The titans may live in expensive pieces of real estate while the people under them may never get that luxury. Then the question comes up - How much is enough?

Everyone has an answer. We could talk about wealth and say you don't need two or more houses. We could also say you don't need all that money. The question is who are we to decide who has enough. The ones who are asking the questions about having enough wealth has very little themselves.

I could aspire to be a Mitt Romney although I have no idea if I'll ever get there. My aspirations isn't necessary regarding wealth, but certainly regarding attaining the middle-class lifestyle that I grew up in. To be comfortable enough to not be force to scrimp and save ever dime I earn. It seems easier said than done, I'm sure but it is what it is.

While it seems as if the past election was about the economy, the past election was about a rich man running for president. It wasn't Romney's time for that reason especially in an environment where we're asking the question about how much is enough. Obama had ads up about the rich paying their "fair share" of taxes and there are people out there who have buttons stating "tax the rich".

BTW, since I mentioned Wall Street there was a sequel release in 2010 called Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. An interesting update and certainly mentions today's young people's issues with regards to their debts. It could have been an update that addresses the real estate bubble but it doesn't appear to do that although it does touch upon some of the themes of the original.

It makes me wonder if there is a film today that could show the times we live in. One film comes to mind entitled The Company Men. People getting laid off so that the executives in the higher eschelons can think more about themselves than those under them. Surely there are other examples than that.

Still while I may continue to have faith in this system we call capitalism, sometimes we do have to take note of its various downsides.

Silver!

I have an interest and have a lot to learn about buying silver. It's an easy investment to make, but it's something that one must do their homework on. Besides my concern when it comes to buying this precious metal is whether or not one finds themselves buying a fake from an unscrupulous seller.

Another concern I have is getting the best deal in purchasing silver. I don't make enough money as it is anyway and that means making my money count on such investments. Is it important to own silver and pay more than necessary to own such a precious metal.

In looking up any advice on this subject the main suggestion anyone has on buying this precious metal is to shop around for the best deals. As stated earlier do some homework! That's my current plan so far and just as everyone else hopefully I can find the best deals for me!

BTW, I got to get a handle on silver as a hedge against inflation. Besides the economy isn't doing so great right now and items do cost money. Still it's great to know that money is held up in something and the longer you hold that silver hopefully the more value it had when it's time to have to exchange it for cash money.

So should states be able to create their own gold & silver based currencies?

An old friend talked about this frequently since he's a proponent of using primarily precious metals as currency and not merely fiat currency. It looks like some states are considering his advice at least. This article is from February 2012 but might as well share it on this Sunday:

Worried that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. dollar are on the brink of collapse, lawmakers from 13 states, including Minnesota, Tennessee, Iowa, South Carolina and Georgia, are seeking approval from their state governments to either issue their own alternative currency or explore it as an option. Just three years ago, only three states had similar proposals in place.

"In the event of hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System ... the State's governmental finances and private economy will be thrown into chaos," said North Carolina Republican Representative Glen Bradley in a currency bill he introduced last year.

Unlike individual communities, which are allowed to create their own currency -- as long as it is easily distinguishable from U.S. dollars -- the Constitution bans states from printing their own paper money or issuing their own currency. But it allows the states to make "gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts."

To the state legislators who are proposing state-issued currencies, that means gold and silver are fair game, said Edwin Vieira, an alternative currency proponent and attorney specializing in Constitutional law. And since gold has grown exponentially more valuable, while the U.S. dollar continues to lose ground, the notion has become increasingly appealing to state lawmakers, he said.

If it happens in Illinois, my friend may not like the fact that Illinois could use on their precious metal based currency Abraham Lincoln. He's not a fan although I'm sure there are other state figures that my state could put onto such currency. Although granted I'm not sure this state would adopt their own currency.

Here's the section of the constitution which concerned money in this nation. Article 1, Section 8 among the powers of the United States Congress: "To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures"

AJC: With foreclosure looming Morris Brown College on the brink

Morris Brown College has been chronicled here on this blog in the past. It looks like their struggles are getting much much worse!

For more than a decade, Morris Brown College has clung to life as it struggled academically and financially in the face of growing debt and dwindling support.

Now, one of the country's oldest black colleges, which at times boasted an enrollment of more than 3,000 student, is now down to about 50, and all but dead.

Morris Brown is facing foreclosure next month, after investors called $13 million worth of bonds tied to the college. An auction of assets, including the administration building, is scheduled for Sept. 4.

"This is heartbreaking and not only a sad day in the life of Morris Brown, but in black academia," said former Atlanta City Councilman Derrick Boazman, a 1990 graduate of Morris Brown. "The school is needed now more than ever."

The school is planning to have a prayer vigil on Saturday, where they will 0ffer a plan to move the school forward.

While not going into specifics, Benjamin Harrison, a spokesman for the 6th District African Methodist Episcopal Church, which oversees the school, said officials will talk about reorganizing and restructuring as well as finances.

Calls to Morris Brown President Stanley J. Pritchett were not returned Wednesday, but Harrison acknowledged that while efforts are being made to find money to settle the debt the going is tough.

"There is the need to raise millions of dollars to counteract that deficit," Harrison said. "But if that money is not raised, the school is in jeopardy."

Here's hoping Morris Brown gets their funds to stave off foreclosure!

Some student loans to become more expensive despite deal

Washington Post has the story about student loans:

College students are facing a roughly $20 billion increase in the cost of their federal loans, despite a much-heralded deal in Washington to contain the expense of higher education.

Starting Sunday, students hoping to earn the graduate degrees that have become mandatory for many white-collar jobs will become responsible for paying the interest on their federal loans while they are in school and immediately after they graduate. That means they’ll have to pay an extra $18 billion out of pocket over the next decade.

Meanwhile, the government will no longer cover the interest on undergraduate loans during the six months after students finish school. That’s expected to cost them more than $2 billion.

These changes have received little attention as lawmakers instead focus on preventing a spike in interest rates on federal student loans. They are the fallout of earlier political battles and compromises over broader issues such as the federal budget and the national debt ceiling. And they are forcing students such as Clarise McCants to make tough choices about how to pursue academic goals without jeopardizing financial security.

At least for college I hope that students going to school in the near future are much smarter about how to pay for it. Save some money at the very least!