An Everyday Influence

 Credit Scores What is a credit score?      A credit score is a measurement of how likely you are to pay back any type of loan. A good credit score tells lenders that you are responsible with your finances and will most likely be able to pay them back for borrowing money. Similarly a bad credit score tells lenders that you are not trustworthy with your money, and lending money to you would be a risky venture. Lenders view us as potential investments or liabilities similar to how you or I would speculate on certain stocks, bonds or ETFs. As with all finances, the common mantra, "high risk, high reward" and "low risk, low reward" hold true, even to lenders. Lenders charge higher loan rates (known as "APR" or Annual Percentage Rate") to individuals who are at a higher risk for being unable to pay back a loan. You can think of this policy as the cost of doing business, and the cost of risking their money on an unsure bet. Inversely, lenders will reward pe...

 The Savings Cascade     Before making any risky financial plays, you must first build a firm foundation. A healthy saving and retirement fund allows you greater compliance in making riskier financial decisions since your overall exposure to risk will be much lower. The Savings Cascade is both a litmus test and a template to help you understand when and if you are ready to try your hand at nontraditional investments and possibly (though hopefully not) trading. High Liquidity Funds 1. Checking Account     Your checking account should be the backbone of your day-to-day financial life. It should contain 1-2 months of necessary expenses but should not exceed more than 4 months of necessary expenses.  There should be just enough money to pay the bills on time, but not so much that you're losing out purchasing power and investment opportunities in order to pad an already ample supply of readily available cash. If you're currently living paycheck to paycheck there...

5 Basics for Financial Freedom A Caveat:      I am no financial expert; I do not have a degree in finance, nor do I have a CFA. For legal reasons everything mentioned down below is the ramblings of a guy with a modest investment portfolio, a small list of alternative investments and a modest Roth IRA. If you are in dire financial straits, seek professional help, don't listen to the ramblings of random men on the internet. Money Made Simple     Many real financial experts will tell you that simplicity is key when delving into personal finance. Everything you need to know about money, should be easily summed up onto a notecard. With that in mind, I thought it a prudent action to list out the simple things I have learned in my own journey through personal  finance and explain the rationale behind it. Rule One: The Budget is the Backbone of Personal Finance.     Before stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, gold, silver, crypto, real estate, and...

 Crypto Makes Men Into Victims     There is a phenomenon YouTube channel called "Coffeezilla" dedicated to the uncovering of financial scams. The owner and sole proprietor of the channel makes his living by exposing fraud and interviewing the victims of these scams, in the hopes that we can learn how to better protect our wealth. From all of the scams that Coffeezilla has exposed, I have noticed that the great majority of the victims of these financial scams are young men. This begs the following questions: Why do men keep falling for crypto scams? Why is Crypto a terrible investment? How can we better protect our assets from fraud? Misguided Masculinity A Metaphysical Failing     Many men fall for these crypto scams because they have been fed the lies of modernity. Traditionally, the mark of a man was rooted in both the physical component of his wealth and ability, and the metaphysical component of his values, character and temperament. With the corruption of p...