#and while calculating my spending it's like. i could supposedly save so much money but where is that money going

[mishkakagehishka]

That post-online-shopping clarity hit so hard i downloaded a budgeting app

[insomniaccreates]

Frostbite Ch. 1

Read it on AO3 here 

Chapter Word Count: 1.5k

Important Tags: Vigilante Fuyumi, Fuyumi Todoroki centric, References to past child abuse, Enji is not trying to be better in this fic, Endeavor’s terrible parenting, LOV plays a prominent role, Timeline Transcendent but mostly during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, Hawks plays a prominent role, Natsuo plays a prominent role

Summary: Fuyumi wants nothing more than her family's safety. Its all she's ever wanted since she was a child, for her mom and brothers to be able to live freely and happily. There was a time, when she was very young, about 12 or 13 where she thought that somehow the whole family could find a way to live in peace. That they could all be a normal, happy family again, but after Touya's death she realized the truth. That could never happen. And she knew who was to blame. Ever since then she's been working and scheming to right the wrongs that have been done to her loved ones, and even helping others along the way. However, when walking the fine line of what is and isn't legal lands her in deep trouble she is faced with painful reminders of the past and must challenge her own morality. 

Chapter 1: Capture

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” a raspy voice taunted as a man with long, unkempt, pale blue hair and the driest skin Fuyumi had ever seen on a living person walked into the room.

“You must be Shigaraki,” she greeted in reply, a mockery of her usual polite tone painting her voice as she sneered at the notorious villain.

The man just humphed before looking down at the captive woman, “And what’s your name?”

Fuyumi leveled a cool, steady gaze at her captor, “I go by Frostbite,” her tone was level and calm, but left no room for debate, a tone very similar to the one she often used on her students.

“I don’t care about code names, I want to know your real name,” Shigiraki pouted. If the man didn’t have the ability to disintegrate her with a single touch it would have been amusing how much like her students he was.

So instead of laughing she instead raised an eyebrow and shot him an unimpressed glare, “Too bad, I’ll tell you my real name if and when it becomes relevant,” she knew it was risky taunting him while in arms reach, but she knew showing weakness was worse. Power-hungry maniacs tended to have more respect for those who refused to back down in her experience.

“I think it is relevant, I need to know who was trying to overthrow a faction of my army!” Shigaraki persisted, beginning to anxiously claw at his neck.

Fuyumi frowned, “Well, you’ve got the wrong person, anyhow, if that’s what you want,” she protested, “I wasn’t trying to overthrow anything. At least not anything to do with you or those Liberation nuts. I was just looking for something,” she explained calmly, if a little indignantly. Honestly, if they seriously grabbed her for a fucking misunderstanding she was going to scream.

“Really? Then why come so far out of your usual territory? Why go blatantly rampaging around asking about us and the drugs Overhaul developed? You weren’t really subtle, girl,” he hissed, shoving his prematurely wrinkled face in hers.

She resisted the urge to freeze him where he stood in frustration before responding in a calm, placating tone, “I am looking for the quirk-erasure drugs that Overhaul supposedly developed but that has nothing to do with you other than you being a lead to getting them. This is something I’ve been working on for years, long before the League of Villains was formed,” she explained.

“Oh? But those drugs are pretty new. The permanent version has only been around for a matter of months,” he grabbed her throat keeping one finger raised, threat clear even as his voice tapered off.

“I know, those are a new addition to my plan, but it doesn’t change that my target has nothing to do with you. I’m not even after a villain at all, I’m after a pro hero. So there’s no reason to get upset, right now we’re on the same side,” she clarified quickly, anxiety spiking from the rough, clammy hand wrapped around her throat.

Shigaraki paused, lifting his hand from her throat before smirking at her, “We’re on the same side? The Queen of Vigilantes is going villain? Now that’s interesting,” he chuckled and Fuyumi could feel her stomach churn violently, “You aren’t just saying that to save your head, are you?” His taunting tone only caused her stomach to sour further, but she resisted the urge to flinch. Any sign of fear would only be used against her and make her response seem less genuine.

“I never said I was going villain, but I’m also not just saying that to keep my head. I’m really after a pro-hero and right now we are on the same side. We have similar goals. You want to destroy hero society, right? Well, I don’t entirely disagree with that. It at least needs massive reform,” she took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions before explaining, “Heroes are untouchable. Get a high enough ranking and you can get away with unspeakable cruelty no matter how well known that cruelty is… other heroes, the police, and the public will all rally behind the hero while his victims are silenced into submission… I just want to hold them responsible for their actions, starting with the biggest bastard of them all,” her voice trembled slightly in her anger so she took a steadying breath before continuing, “I guess you could say I align with Stain, even if I don’t agree with all of his judgment calls. Most of your members are followers of Stain, right?” She asked, meeting his crimson eyes.

He smirked, “I still don’t understand why Stain was such a big deal, but yes, most of my more trusted members at least were Stain fanboys… Are you looking to join us or something?” He asked, sizing her up.

“I’m looking for my freedom,” she shot back, struggling in the heavy chains strapping her down to the chair she was sat in for emphasis, before swallowing her pride and hesitantly adding, “and possibly some assistance. I really need those drugs, and judging by how defensive over them you are and the fact you guys attacked Overhaul immediately after his arrest, my lead on you was right. I just need one dose, you can keep the rest,” she tried to read the crimson glare giving her a calculating look but couldn’t decipher his thought process.

After a few moments that felt like hours, he finally spoke, “I’ll think about it. I’ll be back to talk it out further…” started to walk towards the door, before turning back to the captured vigilante, “I’ll make sure none of the Liberation freaks bother you so try to spend this alone time thinking about how you’d be willing to pay for that bullet,” his tone was taunting and menacing but he was honestly the least of Fuyumi’s worries.

She had no qualms spending her father’s vast fortune on his own downfall, she planned on destroying him anyway so money wasn’t really an issue. No, she was much more concerned with being stuck here for who knows how long. Not only was it going to be problematic if she didn’t show up at home before morning or, god-forbid, miss work, her costume included contacts to make her grey eyes appear blue (a pale, frosty shade much lighter than her family’s usual turquoise) and make her usual glasses unnecessary, so if she fell asleep or if it took to long for her to get out of here she was risking permanent injury without them laying another hand on her. She’d just have to try and stay awake, she supposed not much she could do about it with her hands encased in a metal cage. Still, being left alone in a dark room for an undisclosed amount of time was something that made her skin crawl, too many unpleasant childhood memories reflected this scenario just a little too closely. At least it didn’t automatically set off panic attacks anymore. Clearly therapy had been doing something. If only she could get Natsu and Shoto to go too.

Speaking of Natsuo, she was now very glad she had denied his request to tag along on her hunt for the quirk erasure drug. Ever since he’d found out about her life as a vigilante last year he had been trying to get more and more involved. She tried to keep him away from it, but now he’s known amongst the underground as Blizzard, her impulsive, short tempered sidekick. Not that she lets him join her on her patrols or missions often. His impulsive, hot-headed nature paired with his stubbornness made her extremely nervous for his well being. He had a tendency to run into unnecessary fights and where she was careful to disguise herself with a wig, contacts, and contour, Natsuo only opted for a ski mask, despite Fuyumi repeatedly explaining why that was a bad idea. She doubted he understood how high the stakes were, that they weren’t just risking death, but if their real identities were to be discovered or if they were to be arrested that they could lose their jobs, Natsuo could be kicked out of school and they’d both be thrown in jail, leaving Shoto to deal with their father alone again. They weren’t like most other vigilantes. They both had a lot to lose. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he got himself hurt or destroyed his life due to something she let him do. Something she introduced him to. She just prayed that she got out before he realized she was missing. She knew he’d probably try to look for her, he may even try to drag Shoto into it if he was worried enough, and that was the last thing that needed to happen.

Hopefully, though, she’d be able to put all of this behind her. Hopefully, once she was done with Endeavor their family could settle back down, no longer having to live in constant tension and fear. Hopefully, she’d soon be able to retire from being a vigilante and just enjoy being a teacher and spend time with her loved ones. She just had to get those drugs and get back home. That’s all. She could do that.

[imaginejamesandsirius]

More Slytherin Sirius please? I was reading your last Slytherin Sirius fic, and suddenly I had this thought: Sirius saying, "since when did we start dating? Last time I checked, we’re barely even friends," and James answering, "when was the last time you checked?” and making Sirius realize they've actually been doing things couple do because of course what else could these two do? Please and thank you!

"-and I mean," James was saying, "we've been dating for long enough that you'd think the novelty would have worn off, y'know?" 

"We're dating?" Sirius asked, not really looking up from where he was doing his homework. James was supposedly doing the same, but so far all he'd managed was unpacking his books, parchment, quills, and ink; he's spent the rest of the time complaining about his various housemates. "Since when? No offense Jamie, but the last time I checked, we're barely even friends." 

"Yeah, and when was the last time you checked?" James asked in return, not overly bothered by Sirius's question. 

"It's been a while since I had to think about it since it's so obvious." 

"Uh-huh. That's why we, as complete and total not-friends, are doing our homework together in the library." 

Sirius started to nod, but he stopped and glared when it was clear that James wasn't agreeing with him. He expected-- read: hoped-- that James would stop there, but he kept giving examples. 

"It's also why we walk to our classes together." 

"We have the same classes," Sirius grumbled. Them having the same classes had been a calculated attempt to optimize the time they could annoy each other. 

"Yeah, that's why we hold hands and sometimes duck into empty corridors to snog. It totally explains why we go on dates every single Friday and sometimes have inter-House parties just so there's an excuse for us to get drunk and hang off each other when we're in public. It also explains why you got me chocolates for my birthday and kept sending me letters last summer." 

"You... wrote me first," he muttered petulantly. "We're rivals, that's all." 

James rolled his eyes, but it was completely fond instead of annoyed. That alone should've been enough for Sirius to realise he was wrong, but he kind of didn't want to give in now. Sure he'd been dating someone for over a year and not noticed, but he couldn't just admit that without James getting to tease him over it for the rest of their lives. That was hardly the first Sirius had thought of their relationship as lasting years into the future, but this was the first time he'd realised what it meant. Merlin, he really was an idiot. But he wasn't going to tell James that much. He had his image to think about, after all. "We're dating, Sirius, just admit it." The way James said it was nonjudgmental, but Sirius already had it in his head that he wasn't going to give in. 

"Nope. Nothing to admit because we aren't." 

James chuckled, expression more fond than ever. "Okay. Whatever helps you through the day, I suppose." 

"As much fun as this was," Sirius said drolly, "I have to go spend time with my actual friends. Maybe you'll be able to get that essay for McGonagall done without me distracting you." Sirius shoved everything haphazardly into his bag and ran away. 

He didn't have friends. James knew that. Which meant that now he had to go bother Regulus for a couple hours. James would probably guess that, but this whole thing was a matter of perception anyways. As long as Sirius didn't admit that that's what he was doing, it was fine. This was about saving face and- and... pretty much nothing else. Whatever. 

Unsurprisingly, Regulus was not happy to see him. Surprisingly, when he was trying to get rid of him so that he could focus on his coursework, he said, "Can't you go bother your boyfriend instead of me?" 

Regulus had never called James his boyfriend before. He knew that for a fact, because otherwise he would've been having this entire crisis earlier. Also because if Regulus had told him, then he wouldn't be trying to pretend like they weren't to James's face right now. "Since when is he my boyfriend?" 

"Isn't he?" Regulus asked, forehead scrunched as he looked over his book at him. "I thought I'd seen you holding hands last week." 

Last week... right, when Sirius had done it as part of joke, but it had felt nice so he didn't let go as soon as he might have under normal circumstances. "You did." 

"Then why are you asking me about when you got together? Which, I can't believe you didn't tell me. Not telling me when you started shagging is perfectly fine because I don't want to hear about that, but dating? I'm your only friend, and you didn't tell me. No wonder you're so grumpy all the time; you never gossip." 

"You're not my only friend," Sirius lied. "You're just my best friend." And they gossiped together plenty. Most of it was family drama but still. 

Regulus, who knew perfectly well that he was his brother's only friend, scoffed. "Right. Why don't you go bother some of your lesser friends so that your best friend doesn't fail his classes?" 

"You're not going to fail anything, you dramatic little bugger." 

"Go away," he said, hunching down so that all Sirius could see over the top of his book were a few strands of black hair. 

Since Sirius didn't actually want him to have issues in his classes, he left, but not without ruffling Regulus's hair to piss him off. If Reg wasn't going to support him in this, then he should double down. Get James something really nice to say that he acknowledged they were together and he liked it. 

*

"So not that I'm complaining," James started out, his words carefully chosen and his tone measured, "but is there a purpose to the entire garden that is now taking up my dormitory? Or the three necklaces? Or the twenty different boxes of chocolates?" 

Sirius blinked. "Too much?" he guessed. 

"A tad." 

"Hmph." Sirius had only meant to get him like, two of those things, but he didn't want to get him the wrong gift. At first, he bought James yellow tulips because he'd heard James saw they were pretty before. Then he'd added on red roses because James was a romantic, and red roses equaled romance. Then he'd seen blue hyacinths and added them on, and with three different colors and none of them being certain, it had felt safer to do a full rainbow or varieties. 

After all that confusion, he'd felt like he had to get him something else since none of the bouquets were guaranteed to be his favourite. The first necklace he'd chosen was red and gold, but it occurred to him that he didn't know if that was James's actual colour preference or if it was because he was in Gryffindor. Sirius added on a silver band in case he didn't like gold, then he did a necklace all in black because fuck it, if he didn't know what James would like, he was at least going to get him something that Sirius would like to see on him. 

He was pretty sure that there weren't twenty boxes of chocolates. It should've been more like a dozen. Because he didn't know if James would like the flowers or any of the necklaces, but everyone liked chocolates. Unfortunately, he had no idea what James's favourite was for that either, so he'd snuck out to Honeydukes to place an order. Browsing the shelves did him no good, so he'd shoved a handful of galleons at the person behind the counter and asked for them to send as many to James's room as that money would buy, preferably in a variety of their most popular products. 

"It's not a bad thing," James tried, but Sirius just glared at him. James cracked a smile, sitting down next to him. "What happened to denying that we're dating? I thought that was pretty entertaining for the whole minute that it lasted." 

"Yeah, well when Regulus thought we were dating too, I figured I should give you something to let you know that I like that I'm dating you." 

"One bouquet would've done that." 

"I didn't know which kind were your favourites," he muttered petulantly. 

"I like all flowers," he said immediately. "Anything they sell at a florist, I will like." 

"Hmph," Sirius said again. "Which necklace did you like?" 

"All of them." 

Sirius had to wrestle down the urge to hit him with a Stinging Hex. "Which one did you like best?" 

"Does it matter?" 

"Yes." 

James leaned over and kissed his cheek, then coaxed him into a real kiss. "I love them all. Fair warning, I'm sharing the chocolates with my dorm mates so they don't riot." 

"Fine." 

"Aw, do you not like me sharing your gifts?" 

He didn't much care one way or the other, so he kissed James again. "Shut it." 

Clearly, James took that as a yes to his question, because he grinned. "Aw, sweetheart, it's like-" 

"Shut it," he said again, and this time he made the kiss long enough that James would have to put his brain back together if he wanted to tease him. 

[panipahr]

Hide the High Heart

(cw: violence, abuse, trauma. sexual assault is alluded to, but not directly depicted.)

To her surprise, Linawren realized that she quite likes the Beehive.

She’s not insensible to the charms of the performers themselves, of course. Bonded citizens like her are hardly their intended audience, of course-- everything that happens in the Beehive (much like everything that happens in Eulmore in general) is for the benefit of well-heeled free citizens. But gourmet cooking is more filling than meol whether or not it’s leftovers from some decadent feast for ladies and gentlemen of quality. So when Shai-Hann comes into the Beehive with Linawren on his arm-- to enjoy refined conversation, show her off to his friends, to be seen in public with a beautiful woman ornamenting his table-- Linawren is still going to take the opportunity to listen to the music, enjoy an atmosphere carefully cultivated to feel a thousand malms away from all the world’s horrors, and admire the dancers.

Especially to admire the dancers, if she’s being honest with herself.

But she also just appreciates the sort of fellowship that seemed to exist between the Honeybees. She wasn’t a Honeybee herself, obviously, but she was in more or less the same line of work, and couldn’t help but envy the sort of solidarity they enjoyed, and the way that gave them just a little bit of control over their own destinies, made them a little less at the mercy of a single patron’s whims (only a little less, granted; this was still Eulmore, after all). They looked out for one another-- and Linawren fancied that they looked after her, too, whenever she happened to be around. She spent less time worrying about Shai-Hann or one of his shitty friends taking liberties with her. She could feel confident she wouldn’t be given the truly demeaning things that might be asked of her at more private engagements.

Tonight, the Beehive is quiet. It’s late enough that most of the guests have already filtered out. Someone is lazily playing a piano, more just to set a certain tone than perform a recognizable piece of music. Linawren’s reciting a poem for Shai-Hann and a couple of his friends-- Harald, a hume, a childhood friend of Hann’s who’s grown up to be every bit as coldhearted and spoiled as Hann himself and a lanky elf she didn’t recognize but whose name, apparently, was Godwyn. All three men are watching her intently, rapt with attention.

The poem in question-- Ode to the Night Sky-- is supposedly a relic of whatever far-flung land-- long since devoured by the Light-- Linawren’s distant ancestors came from before they arrived in Voeburt. Actually, though, it’s her own composition. Free citizens like feeling that they’re in on a secret, though, so Linawren puts as much effort into the tales of where her tales come from as she does into the tales themselves. All she really knows about her supposed homeland comes from her own fading memories of her mother and father, and all they had to work with was second-hand accounts of their grandparents’ childhood memories: A song or two. A few basic dance-steps. A scattering of contextless words of a language irretrievably lost. But when Hann became her patron, he was under the impression that he now possessed the world’s sole practitioner of an exotic cultural tradition scoured from the world by the Flood of Light. Linawren wasn’t about to disabuse him of this notion-- selling him that fantasy was part of what kept her from being sent back into a shack in Gatetown with nothing to look forward to but just enough meol to starve more slowly.

Anyway, she likes writing. She was particularly proud of Ode to the Night Sky-- trying to vividly evoke a world she’d never seen for herself was a fascinating challenge. When she closed her eyes, though, she could practically see it-- a wide and wild void, openness itself, decorated with a thousand thousand pinpricks of light, cradling the pale circle of the moon. Writing was transportive-- a chance to project herself into a time or a place better than the one she lived in, even if in the end she had to attribute her work to some long-dead and mostly fictitious ancestor.

When she finally finishes, the whole table fell silent for a few moments. Godwyn is moved to tears-- Linawren isn’t sure if he was actually that affected by her words, or if he just sees some advantage in appearing to be of sufficiently sensitive temperament to be so moved by poetry, but she doesn’t particularly care-- either possibility meant she’s earning her keep. Harald, as usual, is just trying to look down her top, but at least he’s not actually talking to her. Hann affects cool nonchalance, as if to say this is the sort of artistry I take for granted, but he has enough of an air of smugness for Linawren to know he was pleased.

Hann breaks the silence. “Beautiful as always, my treasure.”

She takes a bow, pointedly ignoring how carefully Harald’s eyes track her movement. She smiles warmly at the men. Learning how to smile the right way is a skill every bit as important to Linawren as singing, dancing, or writing. Free citizens can spot a fake smile that doesn’t reach one’s eyes from malms away, and they feel insulted by it-- they want you to be genuinely grateful to be in their presence. So she smiles-- encouragingly to Godwyn, coquettishly to Harald, knowingly to Hann.

“So!” Godwyn says, “Shall we call it a night, gentlemen?”

Harald groans. “Do we have to? Waiting for your eyes to adjust once you go out into the light after spending so long in here is quite disagreeable, and frankly I’d rather put it off as long as possible.”

“Not like we’ve got anywhere to be,” Hann says, laughing, “Why don’t we prolong the night’s festivities with a bit of friendly wagering, eh? Hide the High Heart, maybe?”

Linawren doesn’t actually look longingly at the bar-- her smile never falters-- but she does so in spirit. She’s going to be stuck here for hours, probably. Whenever Hann gambles, he expects Linawren to perform-- to distract his opponents enough to keep them off-balance enough for Hann to get the upper hand, but not so much they realize that’s what she’s doing.

So while Hann pulls out a deck of cards and shuffles it, Linawren does a few stretches. When he deals the first hand, she begins to dance, an enticing twirl of flowing silks and lean muscles.

***

It is hours later-- if the sun could still be discerned through the thick soup of light blotting out the sky, Linawren supposes it would have long since risen.

It has been a disastrous night for Shai-Hann. Maybe it’s because Godwyn is an unfamiliar opponent-- Hann hadn’t taken his measure yet, hadn’t learned his tells. Maybe it’s because Harald is sick of being cleaned out every time the cards come out. Or maybe it was just plain bad luck. Whatever the reason, though, the mystel gentlemen has been hemorrhaging money in hand after hand. He quickly burns through the sack of gil he’d set aside for gambling, followed by the rest of the gil he’d brought along, and then anything else of value he had on his person— his lucky Voeburtite goldpiece. An electrum pocket-watch. The elven rapier he always wore at his hip.

Godwyn keeps his head above water and calls it quits after he’d turned a tidy profit-- he didn’t want to stay this late anyway, so he had no reason not to just take his windfall of gil and go. Harald, though, smells blood. He’s amassed a veritable treasury of Hann’s possessions on his table, coins and jewelry and golden bric-a-brac glittering in the lamplight. The two gamblers are locked in a death struggle-- the more Hann loses, the more urgently he tries to win it all back, the more recklessly he bets. Harald extracts the deed to Hann’s private airship berth, then the airship itself, then a series of promissory notes for increasingly astronomical sums.

“You should probably just cut your losses at this point, Hann,” Harald says, watching intently as Hann signs yet another check and slides it across the card table.

“One more hand,” Hann says, insistent.

“What, so you can write me some more bloody I.O.U.s?” Harald scoffs, “Past a certain point, gil’s just a number in a ledger somewhere. I don’t really feel the need to stake any of this on the possibility of that number getting a bit higher. At this point, I feel like some sort of… mercy rule, or what have you, ought to be invoked. To save you from yourself.”

Linawren is still performing half-heartedly, but she can tell neither man is paying much attention to her at this point. She gives her patron an appraising look; she can practically see the gears turning in his head as he works out what he could still bet that a.) wouldn’t run the risk of actually putting a dent in his obscene wealth compared with the vast majority of people in Norvrandt, but more importantly, b.) actually entice Harald into playing another hand.

To Linawren’s surprise, Hann meets her gaze. The look in his eyes is cold and calculating, even by Shai-Hann standards. He then directs that baleful gaze towards Harald, but Harald barely seems to notice-- his own attention seems to be fixed firmly on Linawren’s ass.

“I’ll bet Linawren,” Hann says, finally.

Linawren stops dancing mid-step. Through a superhuman effort, she manages to keep her face arranged into a pleasant expression-- she’s a professional, after all-- but she’s still visibly stunned.

“What?” Harald says, laughing.

“I know you’ve taken a liking to her ever since I took her on,” Hann says, “So if you stake the pot, I’ll stake her. I win, I get my things back. You win, I sign over the papers and she’s your bonded citizen.”

“Deal!” Harald says brightly, not hesitating a bit.

“Are… are you sure about this, Hann?” Linawren murmurs into Hann’s ear.

“Shut up,” he hisses, sweat beading on his forehead, “You’re distracting me.”

Harald winks at her.

As Hann deals the cards, Linawren can feel a cold, dead weight settling in the pit of her stomach. By the time Hann and Harald are ready to flip their last card, she’s standing stock-still, her heart is pounding. She felt as if all her scales were about to just vibrate off her body.

Hann flips first. It’s the ten of hearts-- a fairly respectable draw, all-in-all. Hearts trump the other suits in Hide the High Heart, so unless Harald has a hearts face card, the hand goes to Hann.

So of course Harald flips over the Lord of Hearts.

Like most decks of cards designed and printed in Eulmore, the Lord of Hearts is rendered in the image of the city’s honored leader, patron of patrons, Vauthry. Whatever bonded illustrator drew this tried so hard to flatter Vauthry with their likeness that it barely resembled the man himself-- he was an avenging angel with flowing golden locks, flanked by docile sin eaters in the form of semi-nude women with alabaster skin and golden blindfolds. With one hand, he’s dispensing a cornucopia of meol to the huddled masses of Kholusia. In the other, he’s plunging a spear of pure light into an allegorical figure representing the forces of darkness who would destroy the concord between man and sin eater which made all of Eulmore’s wonders possible. But the angel was still recognizable as Vauthry because it had the same insufferably smug air about him.

Linawren stares at the table. Vauthry’s awful smug fucking face stares back at her.

“Well,” Harald says, leaning back in his chair, “Suppose that’s that, then.”

Hann sulkily begins to gather up the scattered cards. “That’s that,” he says.

Linawren takes a stumbling step backwards, eyes casting about the Beehive, looking for-- help? Sympathy? Anything, really. But no one present-- not even the Honeybees-- deigns to even meet her eye.

“I’ll need to dig out her papers to make it official,” Hann says, “The Bureau of Registration will pitch a fit otherwise.”

“Fair,” says Harald, magnanimous in victory, “Remember that time I forgot to let them know I’d turfed out-- what’s his name, that fellow who did those little engravings of seascapes-- and within a day half the guard was out looking for him in case he was lurking in the bowels of the Understory, a rebel or an assassin or whatever. I can pick her up tomorrow morning, if you’d like?”

“All right,” Hann mumbles.

“One last night with her, eh?” Harald says, “Since you’ve been such a good sport about this.”

“Wow,” says Hann, unimpressed, “Thanks.”

***

Shai-Hann’s suite, perched atop the loftiest heights the Canopy has to offer, was decorated with the same gaudy abandon everything else in Eulmore was. Every table, every chair, every embroidered cushion and silk bedsheet, every porcelain plate and silver fork was a concrete manifestation of the blood, sweat, and tears of the bonded citizens upon whose backs Eulmore was built.

Hann was sitting at his desk (built by a bonded carpenter), dipping an ornate fountain pen (forged by a bonded silversmith) into a dainty-looking bottle of ink (made by a bonded glassblower) as he looked over the pile of forms and papers (filled out by a squadron of bonded clerks) which constituted the legal existence of Linawren, dancer, singer, and poet, bonded citizen of Eulmore.

He notices that Linawren is standing behind him, fidgeting apprehensively. He rises from his seat, turning to face her. The dazzling light pouring in from the window behind him throws his features into sharp relief-- the tufts of hair on his ears, his bright silver eyes, his classically handsome face. His tail swished this way and that in agitation.

“You know I wish I didn’t have to do this, my treasure,” he says, sadly.

“You don’t, though--” Linawren says. She hates how much she sounds as if she’s pleading, but she hates the idea of being sent into Harald’s household more. “Can’t you just-- you know-- call off the bet? I don’t think bets made at the Beehive at four in the morning whilst extraordinarily inebriated are legally enforceable--”

“If word gets around I don’t pay my debts, no gambling table this side of the Sea of Light’ll have me. So, as much as I really do value your company, as much as I’ve genuinely treasured our time together, I can’t back out of a bet just because I really want to.”

“If you value me so much,” Linawren says, trying her hardest to keep any anger from seeping into her voice, “why did you bet me in a hand of Hide the High Heart?”

Hann shrugs. “Ah, my treasure… you can’t gamble without gambling,” he says, as if this explains everything.

“Harald is clearly a boor,” Linawren says, changing tack, “Do you really think he’d appreciate me like you do? You’re a man of culture, of refinement, an appreciator of literature and the arts. His interests are considerably more… base. I--”

Hann stiffens. “Watch your tone. Whatever my opinion of the man, he’s a gentleman of quality and a free citizen of good standing. Someone like you has no right to refer to him like that.”

Linawren takes a step towards her patron, hands balled into fists so tightly that the fingernails digging into her palms draw blood.

“Remember that your presence in this city is a privilege which has been graciously extended to you by the free citizenry,” says Hann, fangs bared, his tone venomous. Behind him, the pitiless sky continued to blaze with light. “In return, your responsibility is to do whatever is required of you without question. Or would you like to go back to Gatetown?”

Linawren freezes in place. She feels her immediate surroundings slough away; Hann’s voice is nothing but a murmur of white noise. She’s somewhere else entirely. She feels the sharp terror of eaters swooping down from the sky, the grinding pain of constant hunger no meager ration of meol could banish. She sees her mother, hears her last words as she pressed a dagger into her daughter’s trembling hands. She feels the weight of decades with nothing to hope for but this bearing down on her. She--

The world snaps back into focus-- an opulent study, a bay window with a splendid prospect of Kholusia’s white cliffs, a stack of papers authorizing a man to trade her away like a bird in a gilded cage, and the man about to do it. “If Harald wants you to lick his boots, you should do it and feel grateful for the opportunity to earn your keep. If he asks you to lick something else, you—”

Linawren shoulder-checks him into the window. She’s stronger than she looks, with a dancer’s speed and a dancer’s grace.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he says, flailing as Linawren presses him against the glass, “Let go of me, you crazy bitch—”

The window shatters. Its fine glass and slim panes were built to look pretty, not stand up to sustained force; it had been a century since a storm last marred Kholusia’s brilliant sky.

Hann, desperate now, grabs hold of Linawren. He kicks and screams. He sinks his teeth into Linawren’s bared shoulder. She knees him in the groin and suddenly his hands have nowhere to gain purchase but empty air.

The highest levels of the Canopy to the choppy seas below is a long, long way to fall; a sharp cry fades into silence, punctuated by a quiet splash.

Linawren stares out the broken window, aghast. Her eyes are wide and she’s shaking like a leaf. The pale blue speck that used to be Shai-Hann, free citizen of Eulmore is caught in the riptide and swept out to sea.

Linawren exhales sharply. She sinks onto the ground; she realizes too late that she’s kneeling in the broken glass littering the parquet floor, but by this point the pain barely registers.

I just killed someone, she thinks.

I just killed my patron, she thinks.

She scrambles towards the window on all fours, leans over the edge, and throws up.

***

Darkness.

A dark room-- impossibly dark-- lit only by a paper lantern. A drahn woman sits-- no, kneels-- at a low desk. She’s writing something with a brush in an elegant, vertical script Linawren can’t read. The woman turns towards the lamp and her features are illuminated by a soft, warm light. She has Linawren’s face.

Brightness-- not the choking light of the skies Linawren knows, but a wide blue expanse punctuated by fluffy white clouds. The landscape below is endless rolling green steppes, continuing as far as the eye can see. Endless-- receding into the horizon, with no great wall of Nothing constricting it. She sees the drahn woman again, her red silk robe billowing in the wind, wielding a thin, curved blade. The expression on her face is impossibly confident. Across from her stands another drahn. She has dark skin, close-cropped white hair, black scales and horns, an improbably large greatsword in her hands.The women move towards one another, swords flashing in the sunlight. They look to be fighting a duel, but both thoroughly enjoying themselves. Eventually, the other woman knocks Linawren’s twin to the ground, and gently-- tenderly, almost-- places her boot on her face. They both burst out laughing.

A steel cell in a steel fortress. The woman who looks like Linawren is sitting cross-legged in one corner. Her expression is blank, but her eyes defiant. The door flies open. The corpse of a soldier in black armor clatters onto the metal floor. The woman with the pale hair strides into the corridor, her sword slick with blood. The woman in the cell grins ear to ear.

An impossibly huge city. The stars above echoed by a constellation of lights below. Linawren-- or whoever she is-- is standing on a high, arched bridge in a garden. The duel’s victor approaches, a swaddled infant in her arms. They both look a little older, now.

They’re standing on the deck of a ship. Linawren’s holding the child, this time. She now has a long, thin scar cutting through the scales on the side of her face and neck. Her companion is next to her, a hand on Linawren’s shoulder. The familiar silhouette of the spires of Eulmore looms over the horizon, but they’re somehow more austere-looking, more severe. The decks on the lower levels are bustling-- even from this distance, dozens of ships seem to be coming and going. Soldiers in red uniforms are crowding around the side of the ship, excited for their first glimpse of home in months--

The color red. The color blue. The color black. The color gold.

***

Linawren opens her eyes, groggy and disoriented. She looks up at Shai-Hann’s antique clock-- she’s lost an hour or so, somehow. The shining sky framed by broken panes and shattered glass betrays no sign of time passing.

For the first time since she was ushered out of Gatetown and into Eulmore, she doesn’t know what her life will look like a month from now.

Or a week from now.

A day, an hour.

But what she does know is that if she sticks around here, the question of what happens in the rest of her life will be moot.

Unsteadily, she gets to her feet and slips out the door.

[hello-benmoller]

Harith the crypto criminal

Harith Motoshiromizu stole my fathers, my friends, and my own Bitcoins and fled to Japan to evade police. New victims are giving him money in another, more elaborate cryptocurrency scam called “Bitex” and “XBX” ICO. It is time somebody stops him, before more people get hurt. Here you will read one story, but there are others.

Harith Motoshiromizu, also knows as “Nick”, or “Nicky”, or “Harith Al-Ricabi was born in Irak. He is also a Japanese citizen with passport number TZ1236921. He is believed to have a previous criminal record in Japan. By his own admission in a conversation, convicted of violence towards a Japanese female.

Amount of bitcoins/money stolen:

In my case it is 14,3 Bitcoins worth of 13.500 USD per Bitcoin, calculated as the average price at the date January 31st, 2018, when he stole it. Roughly 200.000 USD total, not included interest. There are at least 5 more victims that we know of, and 80 Bitcoins stolen at the same value, around 1.000.000 USD (conservative estimate).

Scamming status:

Currently he is in Japan, Fukuoka, evading Thai police. Harith Motoshiromizu is still trying to scam people through a cryptocurrency “venture” incorporated in Thailand, Singapore and possibly elsewhere, under the umbrella “Bitex” and an ICO “XBX”, et cetera.

In Fukuoka Mr. Motoshiromizu has frequently been observed inside the nightclubs, spending his victims money. He has also been traveling around incorporating in Singapore, luring new victims investors in on his investments schemes. As of now he has managed to get an “XBX” token into the DAX exchange. An impressive feat. His ability to lure people in should not be underestimated.

Read more about the Bitex scam here.

Scamming methods

His numerous scamming devices has gone from managing a trading fund called Matryx Crypto, cryptocurrency exchange Bitex / EZBitex, and now some sort of crypto banking, and crypto card in combination with a card reader bought from China with his logo on. The main scamming strategy now seems to be the XBX ICO and getting people to buy tokens.

Harith Motoshiromizu loves being center of attention. Most likely he has a narcissistic and/or sociopathic personality disorder. He is glib, and can be very charming if he wants to. He has little or no formal education. He has previously tried running a nightclub in Fukuoka called “Victoria”, and selling electric cigarettes. All his business ventures has failed so far. Scamming he does however have a talent for, leaving an unknown number of victims in his wake.

My encounter with Harith Motoshiromizu

I met Harith Motoshiromizu through a french man named Nicholas Louis Laurent Berthoz sometime early in 2017. Nicholas also calls himself “Nikky Skorzeni” on Facebook, and “Nico,” or “Niky Nine”. Nicholas was looking to exchange some bitcoins to fiat currency, and therefore set up a meeting with Harith, who supposedly could help with this. I had met Nicholas only 6 months earlier, and thought him to be a friend.

It later turns out that Nicholas would help Harith Motoshiromizu steal from me and my father, using different strategies, by corroborating Hariths initial lies, so that it was difficult to make a police arrest before Harith could flee from Thailand, by physical and verbal threats, a physical assault at one time, and trying to wear me down psychologically.

After Harith helped Nicholas exchange bitcoins to fiat currency (or so Iwas told), a friendship gradually formed between us, driven by Hariths willingness to “help” Nicholas with a passive income, by letting him manage his bitcoins through arbitraging, and paying a fixed profit from this every month. I was also lured into this scheme. Nicholas has no technical education or training (other than in the gym) but seemed knowledgeable about crypto, and if he believed in Harith, so could I.

I did not have any bitcoins or other cryptocurrency, but I had some money, and my father had some of his pension saved up, and I thought it would be a good idea to invest this. I could make my father some money as well. This was around June, 2017 .

Nicholas supposedly invested a much larger amount of 15 Bitcoins. I was in the process of talking with my father, and he was obviously skeptical. I started therefore with buying 2 bitcoins, by transferring money from my bank account, to Hariths Japanese Bank account, and then again later more money he would buy another 5 bitcoins for me. Finally I would buy another 6,5 bitcoins through Harith, which he would hold, trade and arbitrage with, and pay me monthly profits from. And so he did, for some months.

Harith Motoshiromizu received most payments via bank transfer in fiat currency to his Japanese Bank account The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, LTD. Fukouka Central Branch, Account number (571)-4825336. All this is documented, and also with signed contracts with Harith.

Big scamming plans

In addition to his trading and arbitrage scam under the name of Matryx, Harith had other big plans in the cryptocurrency business. One was to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in December, 2017 (EZ Bitex). Nicholas was eager to have a part in this exchange, and told me he had invested 30.000 USD of his money in return for 2,5%.

Harith did not spend money to develop the exchange. It never came.

Nicholas claimed he already had some assets from a big value increase in invested cryptocurrency previously. I did not have money to invest in any exchange, and also thought it was too risky. I was however interested in investing in more bitcoins, as there was a value increase. I said to Harith that I have a condo that I could partially mortgage, and buy some more bitcoins with him, bringing up the total to 14.3 bitcoins. This was the last 6,5 bitcoins I bought from Harith, as mentioned above.

After Harith heard the value of my condo, he suggested I mortgaged it substantially, and in return, also invest in the cryptocurrency exchange he was launching. I said I could not. It was too risky. I wanted to invest in bitcoins. So Harith proposed another deal, which would be a better deal that Nicholas got. If I continuously reinvested the added bitcoins I purchased (6,5) until the value of the 6,5 BTC (plus reinvestments) reached 150.000 USD, I would also get a 2,5% stake in the exchange immediately. This way I would keep and own the bitcoins I invested in. Also, Harith would get more capital to trade with, and make his own profit off. Also, when the total amount reached 150.000 USD after a few years, I could settle the 30.000 USD, and keep the rest. In hindsight, his mania and eagerness in parting me from my money, was a massive red flag.

I mortgaged my condo, and transferred the money to the accused Japanese bank account. He bought the bitcoins for me. But he never presented me with any contract for the arrangement of the part of the exchange, or any real contract for the purchasing of bitcoins for me. However, I received monthly statements from the accused showing both the amount of bitcoins of mine that he holds, and the profit performance yield. I was unhappy having him hold my Bitcoins without a simple temporary contact simply confirming the transfer of fiat money and the bitcoin purchase, and the accused holding these bitcoins.

From red flags to full blown psychopathy

During this time, I noticed several serious red flags in Hariths behavior. He would hire fake staff to make his company look bigger in front of possible investors coming by the office. He would also lash out in rage, which was extremely uncomfortable, as it was showing a side of him that was unstable and unpredicable. His personality had changed from being your best friend, to a manipulative and reckless person. At this time he was already holding a lot of my assets, and this caused a significant strain.

Harith Motoshiromizu was also increasingly late with paying out the monthly trading profits, and arbitrage profits to me and also other friends of mine that had we had invested with him. The delays also made for an uncomfortable situation. It seemed like he was not even sure what had been invested where.

PS: Harith calls himself “Nicky” on Line chat.

From December 2017, things started to deteriorate rapidly. I had been helping Harith more than full time without any pay or other compensation, other than a promise that we would all be “rich soon”. It seemed unrealistic, but at this time, he had all the leverage, holding my capital and my old fathers saved pension.

While he was in Japan, on January 31st, Harith sent me a message, and told me I was out, because I was “negative”. It was apparently after Harith and Nicholas had a talk on the phone. I did not know the content of the conversation, but Nicholas told me that he was himself upset, and that he therefore called Harith to explain the problems both him and me had with Harith. From the message I got from Harith, it seemed more like Nicholas had explained how dissatisfied I was. I realized that this probably had been a ploy to manufacture some sort of conflict, leading up to the theft. Probably because I the last two months had asked to cash in some of my fathers bitcoins so I could renovate his apartment. We bought BTC at around 2500 USD and now it was 17–19000 USD. Harith reacted first with friendly assurances that he would oblige, but then never do it, or have time, to gradually get angry, and in the end, create a conflict together with Nicholas. It was a game.

At the time is was more than happy to get away from them. Harith wrote in a message that he would refund my Bitcoins in 2–4 weeks. I said that this was OK. That I was tired and confused, but that is was probably for the best.

3 days later, in the middle of the night, with no prior dialogue, I got an angry message on Line again, where he said I now was in trouble for betraying him. That I could forget my bitcoins. I tried reason with him, as if there was a misunderstanding, but it seemed like he was more interested in creating a conflict.

From this point on, Harith and Nicholas would engage in what I would call psychological warfare, in an attempt to break me, scare me off, or perhaps coerce me into accepting a 10–20 % settlement, not even the money I initially invested. Harith now claimed that I had a loan with him for the bitcoins I invested in the exchange. That I now suddenly owed him 150.000 USD. He was also threatening. I told him that 7.86 of the 14,3 BTC was my dads saved pension, and that him acting like this, put a strain on his health, as he already had a 6X bypass surgery and was 75 years old. He did not care.

At this point I was becoming aware of the severity of his criminal mindset. He had spoken with my father, pretending to be his friend. Harith had even taken me to Japan to visit his mother. Any remotely normal person would assume that this meant something. He would not even spare my old father from his own greed.

The following weeks and months it became clear that Nicholas was helping and protecting Harith, and he was trying to make me back off. Utilizing various tactics: on the one side accusing me of threatening him (I could get sued), on the other, looking to beat me up. Or more serious, saying he would report me for drug abuse to the police, or Royal Defamation (very serious in Thailand), et cetera. What kind of arrangement they had, I don’t know till this day. It was hurtful, because I had considered Nicholas to be my friend, up until the very last. There are chat and audio recordings documenting Nicholas engaging in this behavior.

3 months after the theft I went to a lawyer. Here is an AUDIO TAPE RECORDING of how Nicholas (Nikky) and Harith (Nick) tried to stop me doing that.

Almost a year chasing my fathers stolen pension

As the number of victims has increased, the tactic of Mr. Motoshiromizu has changed. Now he will promise to return the stolen assets, but never do so. Nicholas seems to have taken a “backup player” role by claiming he also has gotten his bitcoins stolen by Harith. But at the same time he is still with Harith in the ongoing Bitex, XBX scam. He is trying to get people to buy XBX tokens from Harith.

What Harith was really doing at the time is unclear. A friend of mine, Peder, who also was scammed by Harith has written his own account here. Peder is a software engineer and very knowledgable in crypto, and has analyzed the flow of bitcoins in Hariths accounts. He says it is very likely that Harith was involved in international money laundering at the time, which is another reason why law enforcement is now chasing Harith.

Update 11.1–2019.

Harith has been engaged by various third parties in attempt to get him to repay the 210.000 USD he owes me and my father. In the weeks leading up launching the XBX scam on the DAX exchange, he went as far as offering to pay 2000 USD in exchange for some time until after launch. Then he promised to start paying a more substantial amount. When the date came, January 1st, he went back to sending tirades of threats and insults to third party mediators.

He is also trying to convince his current unknowing partisans (and soon to be victims, most likely) that he is paying back what he has stolen (“borrowed” in his terms) and that he has an arrangement, etc. These are all lies. Probably he was asked to do something by new investors, on account of Peders article that was published some time ago, exposing him.

As of now there is still no promise of returning the 210.000 USD worth of crypto he stole. He has made vague promises of returning 20%, or the amount that the bitcoins was initially bought for, sometime in the future. He have also been sending around the transfers slips of the 2000 USD he paid to buy himself some time, to a lot of people, as proof that he is taking care of it. Clearly he still has no intention of admitting to what he stole, or repaying.

Harith is currently wanted by the Thai police. There seems to be very good relations between Japanese and Thai law enforcement. He will most likely get an international arrest warrant on him and then extradited to Thailand.

The last few weeks have been tough. I recently flew back to bury my father who passed away, in his apartment, alone. May he rest in peace. Unfortunately I was not able to retrieve the money Harith (and Nicholas) stole fast enough. But I will try to use that stolen inheritance to start a family and give him grand children.

To be continued.

PS: If you have any information regarding Harith Motoshiromizu please contact me.

Here is a YouTube response to a video Harith made in May 2019: https://youtu.be/HEGnrmysM78

[oselatra]

Perp walk

Comrade Orange equates his problems, his dilemmas and his bulging portfolio of serial wrongdoings with our country's best interests.

Comrade Orange equates his problems, his dilemmas and his bulging portfolio of serial wrongdoings with our country's best interests. As the judicial system slowly and deliberately tightens the noose around his zesty, bulbous neck, he cries, "This is a disgraceful situation" and an "attack on our country in a true sense." Let's not overlook Putin's Pumpkin's invocation of "witch hunt," his go-to description of any effort to expose his seedy resume chronicling a lifetime of bad acts.

Through rheumy eyes, all he sees is l'etat is under attack, substituting it for himself. What about the rest of us? What do we see?

A wall of orange obscures our vision. On closer examination, we discover a 6-foot, 3-inch, 300-pound behemoth clad in an orange jump suit doing what we've all been waiting for: The infamous perp walk.

L'etat c'est bien!

Harry Herget

Little Rock

Zealots

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette printed two front-page education stories on April 9. One story told about a unique state program that helps pre-kindergarten children with behavior problems. A significant picture went with the article showing the program's diversity. The first-in-the-nation program served three times as many children than expected. Such a successful plan should qualify it for added support.

Considering economics, the difference between the cost of a well adjusted, productive citizen and a criminal for society can run into the millions. When there are thousands of nonproductive citizens, the cost to society defies calculation. Scrolling through the mug shots tires you before getting to the last page, there are so many. The people in those shots were students at one time and, with help, could have avoided a life of crime.

During my 42-year teaching career, I knew many children that behaved like the ones the new Arkansas program helps. Back then, no special help existed and, sadly, the newspaper recorded the crimes of those who did not make it. Felony convictions put many of these good people in prison, costing Arkansas millions each year. Intervention could have saved most of them.

A part-time job during the summer had me working in an Arkansas prison. I needed help moving some heavy equipment and was told to go out into the yard and pick four men. When I walked into the yard, I heard a chorus of voices calling my name. I picked four former students from the many who had passed through my classroom. I politely turned down their invitation to eat lunch with them.

Early intervention is best but special help must be available for every age. New students at every level enroll during the school year. Circumstances can bring about problems at any age. Problems thought solved might need more help later. Some knotty problems need many years of intervention. This is one of those things that spending money upfront saves many times the amount spent later. The problem is having the money to spend upfront.

The other story was about Alice Walton's charter school loans. She sees pumping a lot of money into charter schools as a bold solution to the problem of paying for charters schools. Obviously, the more charter schools started, the more money they need. It appears the Walton Family Foundation stands ready to give a lot of support to what they call "school choice."

A review of the literature does not justify the Walton Foundation's charter school support. However, facts do not impact those who think they are right. It appears the Walton Foundation thinks that charter schools should replace public schools. Charters call themselves public schools and get public funds but are self-governing. The money given charter schools lessens the money for non-charter schools. Less money for non-charter schools concerns only the people who must use those schools.

When there is an obvious need for more support of public schools and giving that help would save money and improve society, why is support lacking? Furthermore, why are extreme measures to change public education so heavily supported by a distinct segment of society?

Cutting to the chase, one can say there is an overlap of charter school and Trump supporters. To simplify, those supporters will be called zealots. Zealots confer on themselves cheap grace that allows them to use whatever means they need to get what they want. For certain, zealots are free to own and use guns, to go to schools where they choose, to keep bad people from entering the United States, to protect "unborn children" from the moment of conception, and to provide their politicians with unlimited funding.

The wealth of many zealots insulates them from the ravages of poverty and all the things associated with insufficiency. That Alice Walton shares magnificent art with the world shows how much she cares for people. Would Alice Walton consider helping Arkansas fund the new Behavior Help Response System at every grade level? One can hope for rejection of "cheap grace" and the Walton Intervention Plan Everywhere (WIPE) helps wipe away expulsions.

Richard Emmel

Little Rock

From the web

In response to Antwan Phillips' April 12 guest column on his experience as a teenager of being stopped by police after a friend waved a BB gun in a car in which he was a passenger:

As NRA-encouraged fear and paranoia increases the number of guns in the hands of "bad guys," cops more often assume everyone is armed.

Bow ties are back in style

In reading the opening sentences, I was worried where this was going. I was thinking to myself, "I'd call the cops, too!" and then "This isn't going to end well!" Thank goodness a lesson was learned and there was professionalism and common sense used on the part of law enforcement. It's a shame in this day and age we have to worry that those characteristics are not widespread.

bwc76

Very well written story, Antwan. Valid points. I think a key sentence is "In a manner of moments, they evaluated and de-escalated the situation." Today, I see law enforcement (used to be called your neighborhood cop) being trained like they are combat soldiers ready to invade a foreign country. I think the recruitment process for law enforcement should involve more psychological tests to weed out applicants who may not have the right temperament to responsibly carry a gun. They need to practice more on how to shoot with better accuracy. There needs to be more training on how to evaluate a situation before you pull the trigger. Officers take their cue from their supervisors who take their cue from mayors and governors. If the attitude being passed down is shoot first, ask questions later, then that does not bode well for anyone, including law-abiding citizens. A jury is hesitant to convict a police officer for a questionable shooting. I see people's attitudes changing and people do not trust policemen as much as they used to and I think we will see the attitudes of a jury change. In Arkansas, we have certain state legislators aggressively pushing guns into every part of everyone's daily lives, and I think they are setting up an escalation of unnecessary shooting deaths. Why they would want to do this is beyond me.

ShineOnLibby

Tragedies happen because stupid people do stupid things. This weak attempt to make it about race ignores the fact that anytime folks want to discuss the shootings of supposedly innocent, unarmed black men, they use the names of two men who were not innocent, nor unarmed.

Trayvon Martin was shot in self-defense while he was on top of George Zimmerman. Trayvon was trying to murder Zimmerman.

Michael Brown was shot attacking a police officer, reaching into the patrol car in an attempt to use his larger physique as a weapon to disarm a police officer.

The boys in that car were very fortunate, indeed, that the person in the other car was not armed, or they would have rightfully been shot by the people in the other car.

While there is plenty of room for improvements in training, as evidenced by the many incidents of unarmed, complying people of all races being shot down by cops, but to make it a race issue is to forget the issue that the lies told by those pushing this narrative still cling.

Why is it that these same activists do not bring up the name of Johnny Crawford, who was gunned down by police in a Walmart because some guy on the phone called in a false report of a man with a rifle threatening people?  His name should be on that list, Trayvon and Brown should not.

Before we attempt to address any perceived issue, we at least need to start from an honest point of view, with the bare facts available.

Steven E

"The boys in that car were very fortunate, indeed, that the person in the other car was not armed, or they would have rightfully been shot by the people in the other car."

In one sentence you have the mentality of the American gun nut. In a nutshell you might say.

Olphart

From the web in response to the April 17 Arkansas Blog post "Hucthinson: 'GIF money is history':

Just wait till all the mayors and city council members in the little towns start screaming about getting kicked off the teat paying for their community projects.

Asa is likely to flip-flop like Donnie Little Fingers does on anything except Russia.

Why don't they just raise their own taxes to pay for these things? (Rhetorical, OK?)

wannabee conservative

Hutchinson knew it was wrong in 2015, but was more concerned about having the money to dole out in the form of political favors. Now all of the sudden - again - it's the wrong thing to do. Someone needs to ask him why he continued the practice when he clearly understood that the practice was tainted.

Vanessa

What will Jan Morgan cause Asa to say tomorrow?

DeathbyInches

Big Deal. Legislators will just find other ways to turn our tax dollars to their own benefit. They are probably working on doing so as I write this.

Kate

Baloney. GIF not dead. Asa just controls it.

Screen name taken

Lest everyone forget Jon Woods is the sole reason we now have some of the worst ethics rules, extended term limits, doubled salaries and much more garbage after the so-called ethics amendment was passed. Now he is going to prison. Speaks highly of our elected officials doesn't it?

concernedinheber

Perp walk

[lady-divine-writes]

Klaine fic - “Need for Speed” (Rated NC17)

Kurt Hummel moves from California to Lima after his dad's heart attack causes them to lose their repair shop. Kurt leaves his prestigious performing arts school and any chance of moving to New York and getting into NYADA. His only other joy in life is custom tuning cars, but his father doesn't approve. Things seem to get back on track when he joins the Dalton Crew as their mechanic, behind his father's back. He'll make the money he needs as long as he can put up with the unwanted attention of Sebastian Smythe. But, how will his dreams change after he meets the head of the McKinley Crew, Blaine Anderson, who decides that winning Kurt Hummel will be his next big challenge?

For those of you who don’t know, this is one of my first and, in my opinion, flagship fics, so I’m doing a little touch-up job on it in preparation for the sequel. I’ll be posting the revised chapters here one at a time to give everyone who wants the chance to re-read it and get re-acquainted with it. It is posted in its entirety on AO3 and FF.net, with the majority of the chapters revised, if you want to go that route, but if you guys could also spread this around, I would really appreciate it <3 The cover for this story was done by the incredible @freakingpotter so you guys should all go and give her some love because she hella deserves it :)

Chapter 1 (2772 words)

Kurt sat cross-legged on his bed, elbows propped on his knees, head in his hands. He felt like crying, and not just a calm, rejuvenating sob, but an all-out, throw-yourself-on-the-floor-kicking-your-legs-and-flailing-your-arms-while-you-wail-like-a-skewered-seal tantrum. He looked around at the worn cardboard boxes piled high in his room, each labeled accordingly - clothes, books, music, Vogue magazines, misc. - all waiting patiently to be unpacked and put away, but Kurt wanted none of it. Unpacking his things and settling in felt so permanent. It felt like giving in. Once he put his clothes in his closet and his books in the bookcase, it would all be real.

Setting his room up would mean he was staying.

It had only been a week since they moved to Ohio from California, and he knew, with every fiber of his being, that he didn't want to live here.

"Give it a chance," his dad had pleaded. "I'm sure everything will work out."

Kurt highly doubted it, but he couldn't really blame his dad - not for his heart attack that caused the hospital bills, which in turn zapped all their savings, or for the recession that started to drag them under so far there was no way for them to recover. No, he couldn’t blame his dad for any of that, but in the end, because of his dad's unwillingness to franchise out, they had lost the shop and had to move to Lima, of all places. What kind of name was Lima for a city, anyway? Lima wasn’t the name of a city. It was a type of bean - a curled, sickly pale, ugly bean that most normal and rational people pushed to the side of their plate and forgot about long after their steak was gone.

That's what Kurt's life in California had been for him. Steak - rich and flavorful, and extremely fulfilling. Kurt sighed with longing when he thought about it. Even for a boy who didn't believe in a God, he had felt incredibly blessed. He had a good life in California. He had friends. He had a future. He was on his way.

Now, here he sat, aging Texas Instruments calculator in hand, trying to figure out how he was ever going to make it out to New York and his dream school NYADA when he was resigned to making ten dollars an hour at his dad's new shop. His dad had already dropped the bomb that with settling the hospital bills, the move, and all their other numerous expenses (which seemed to crop up out of nowhere on a daily basis) he would most likely not be able to help Kurt afford the college of his dreams.

Kurt's only dream.

With a frustrated groan, Kurt tossed the calculator violently to the floor, but the horrid 1960s green shag carpet mocked him by shielding the tiny machine from shattering into a thousand satisfying pieces.

Kurt felt trapped; trapped like some animal that's meant to be free, too big for its cage and dying inside because it will never be allowed to roam. Kurt hated feeling trapped. Trapped was not a life. It almost felt like not living at all.

Two weeks before the start of school, the start of his senior year, supposedly the best year of his young life, and Kurt sat on a metal stool in his dad's shop, begging silently for business to pick up. I'd better get used to it, Kurt thought. With his dad's poor health, Kurt would be spending most of his free time before and after school right here…on this stool…the minutes of his life slowly dripping away. At his last school, Kurt had taken mostly accelerated and AP classes, so he managed to swing getting first period off. Kurt and his dad, Burt, had only one other employee – Mark. To be honest, the man wasn’t really much help around the shop, but he was doing Burt a favor, and he came cheap.

Mark was a friend of Kurt's parents from back in the day, when Burt and Kurt's mother Elizabeth had lived in Lima. When everything had first started crashing down around them and his father was still trying frantically to keep their heads above water, Mark had been the one to suggest that they move back to Lima and start over. He volunteered to do all the grunt work. He found them the shop, acted as liaison to the leasing agent, found them a house they could afford, he even helped negotiate the move.

Yup, Mark was a stand-up guy.

Kurt hated Mark. He hated him with a burning passion. Mark seemed to know it, too, because he kept to the far corner of the shop and barely said anything other than ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to the livid young man.

Kurt would never tell his father, but he resented wasting what remained of the summer rotating tires and doing oil changes; not that there seemed to be anything more interesting to do in that Podunk town. It's not that Kurt didn't like working in his dad's shop. He actually quite enjoyed it. He wasn't very fond of getting dirty, but he liked working on cars. If his dreams of New York and NYADA didn't pan out, being a custom tuner wouldn't be so bad. His dad disagreed. Burt Hummel definitely did not appreciate the street racing culture the way Kurt did. Far from it. It had been mortifying back home when his dad would turn away boy racers, especially in California where custom tuners made all the money and little shops like Hummel Tires and Lube were steadily going out of business.

Kurt had built his own car almost from scratch – a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse. A friend had helped him buy the body at auction. After that, he scoured junk yards for the parts he needed, putting the car together practically one piece at a time. Once it was completely constructed, he traded some transmission work with a local painter who taught him the fine art of detailing. It took an extreme amount of patience, but in the end it paid off in spades. Kurt loved his car, and with the exception of his voice, he had never been prouder of anything else in his life. As much as his father hated the thing, Kurt had spent his own money on it, and his dad couldn't really complain much. His son had done an excellent job putting it together. Besides, Kurt didn't race. He just liked cars...and the guys who drove the cars.

Ding, ding.

Kurt looked up, a little surprised by what was rolling into the shop. Four boys, about his age, in white tank tops and blue jeans, pushed a silver 300ZX through the bay doors. Kurt smiled. 'Now that's what I'm talking about,' he thought. Hot guys and a hot car. Maybe today wouldn't suck so hardcore after all.

Kurt quickly made his way over to the group before they could realize their mistake and split.

"Hello, and welcome to Hummel Tires and Lube," Kurt recited cheerfully.

Ugh. That sounded lame, even to his own ears.

His father demanded that he greet every customer the same way. Personally, Kurt didn't know what was wrong with just saying, 'Hello,' or maybe, 'How may I help you?'

"Hello," a tall, Asian-looking boy said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "I wonder if you could help us."

"Okay," Kurt said, eyeing each of the boys in turn. They all smiled warmly at him.

"We've been trying to get this guy up and running for the last month or so," a blond boy said, patting the hood of the silver car fondly with his hand. "I've got big plans for her."

"Yeah," a slightly shorter, dark haired boy, with light skin and bright eyes, agreed, "but the problem is it's making some strange noises, and it doesn't seem to have the pick-up it should."

Kurt nodded his head thoughtfully as he took in the information, trying his utmost to appear calm and professional while at the same time praying to anyone who might be listening, whether Kurt believed in them or not, that his dad didn't come back from his break before he had the chance to get this baby on the lift and put his hands on it.

"Just out of curiosity," Kurt said when the boys had finished, eying the car from top to bottom, "why did you stop in here? I mean, we're not really a custom car shop."

"Well," the last boy spoke up, "our regular mechanic sort of bugged out on us, and we saw the Eclipse out front..." The boy motioned over his shoulder to Kurt's car parked out front. Kurt had forgotten to bring the cover he normally kept on it, so it sat outside in the shade. Parked beside his dad's pick up, it kind of stood out with its crystal blue paint job and silver lightning vinyl graphics down the side. "We thought someone in here might be able to help us."

"Yup," Kurt said with a nod. "That's my baby. Took close to a year to get her up and running."

"That's hot," the Asian boy, evidently the leader of the group, commented. "Are you rolling NOS?"

Kurt smirked.

"Not if my dad's asking."

"Gotcha," the boy said with a wink.

"So, can you help us?" the blond boy said, eyes wide and hopeful.

"This is a '96, right?" Kurt asked, and the boys nodded. Kurt crossed his arms and tapped his chin with his right index finger, going over what he remembered of the schematics of the ZX engine in his head, scrolling through several possibilities, and troubleshooting the problem mentally. "Well, your variable cam timing's probably dropped, so that's most likely where you're losing horsepower. And the ZX always makes a lot of interesting noises. I'd have to take it around the block to see for myself..."

The sound of a door slamming shut and heavy shuffling footsteps caused Kurt's mouth to go dry, his heart to sinking into his stomach.

"Hey, dad," Kurt called, already feeling defeated.

"Hey, kiddo," Burt said, walking over slowly. "What's going on here?"

"I'm with some customers," Kurt said, turning his head and fixing his father with a tense smile, willing him with his eyes to turn around and walk back into the office so Kurt could fix this car. His dad didn't seem to understand facial cues. Burt circled the car and the group of kids slowly, examining them uncomfortably.

"300ZX?" his dad asked thoughtfully. "What's the problem?"

"Possible cam timing problem and a couple of odd noises," Kurt rushed out. "I was just about to take her around the block to make sure."

His dad nodded. Kurt had seen this dance before, and he didn’t hold out much hope that the outcome would be different this time. On the other hand, his dad didn't look overly concerned with the presence of four boys surrounding an obvious racer car in his shop. Kurt might just be in the clear.

Burt leaned in closer to the car’s roof and peered at the paint, green eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Is that an aftermarket silver flake?"

Oh crap...

Kurt sighed and dropped down onto his stool. He knew where this was headed...right out the door with the rest of his hopes, his dreams, any chance of making some decent money, and the possibility of a social life.

"So, you kids running NOS?" Burt asked, looking the car over. Three of the boys looked at each other, exchanging nervous looks, but the boy that Kurt made out to be the leader didn't seem at all intimidated by Kurt's dad.

"Yes, sir," he answered, smiling politely.

Burt maintained a roughly unreadable expression, but Kurt knew his dad, and he knew the grim look in his eyes. This whole deal was about to go sour.

"You guys street racing around here?"

"Yes, sir,” the boy admitted. “And may I say that your son here seems to really know his stuff. We were kind of hoping he could help us out. We have quite a few cars, and we're in the market for a new mechanic.”

Kurt perked up immediately. Did this guy just compliment him? And he was offering to bring them business? His dad couldn't say no to that, right? Kurt side-eyed his father shrewdly. He knew how his dad felt about street racing; that it was dangerous and illegal. He also knew that these kids could give them business, good steady business. Heck, the profit they could feasibly make on some of the import parts alone could pay for his first semester. Kurt sat straight as a rod, bouncing slightly, pleading with his father, but only in his head. Here it was, Kurt going to New York and living the dream, as long as his dad made the right decision.

"I'm sorry boys,” Burt said finally with a determined shake of his head, “but I don't think we can help you."

"Dad..." Kurt hissed.

"No, Kurt.” Burt turned to his son with a look on his face that emphasized that his decision was final. “Now you know how I feel about racing." Burt turned his attention back to the boys with the car. "It's dangerous, and I will not promote it here in my shop. Besides, I don't think we offer the kind of services you guys are going to be needing anyhow."

"But, dad!" Kurt argued, desperately trying to give it one last go, to make his dad see reason.

“No, Kurt. Now I've said my piece. Why don't you gentlemen take your car and run along?”

The blond boy deflated almost as much as Kurt. The Asian boy nodded to his crew, and they started to push the car back out of the garage. Kurt’s cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment. He glared, shooting daggers at his dad as the man, without a single other acknowledgement to his son, turned and headed for his office. After he locked himself away, Kurt watched the four boys maneuver the 300ZX carefully out of the bay. There it went; another opportunity rolling its way right out the door. Another time his dad could have made things right for them, but instead he chose to let his stubbornness and inability to change get in the way. If his dad thought they were going to get anywhere doing tune-ups and oil changes at a paltry $30 a pop for the rest of their lives, he was sadly mistaken. Kurt couldn’t take it anymore. His dad had told him to give it a chance; that everything would work out, but from where Kurt sat everything looked exactly the same.

This couldn’t continue to be his life. It just couldn’t.

He decided then and there that he was sick of watching his future be decided without him even getting to have his say. Kurt watched as his dad rounded to the office, heading to the back of the shop, then sprinted out of the bay and ran after the boys.

"Hey!" Kurt called. “Wait up!”

The Asian boy turned around, a knowing smirk on his face.

"What's up?"

"I can do it." Kurt glanced over his shoulder to make sure his dad didn't notice his absence and come looking for him. "I can fix your car, and any other one you want to toss my way."

"Really?" The boy looked him up and down. "And what about pops?"

"Let me worry about him." The words came out before Kurt could stop them. He felt guilty about disrespecting his dad, but not enough to give up on his dream. "Can you come back later? Maybe after we close?"

The four boys looked at each other, the blond one’s face lighting up with unbridled joy. Then the three boys looked back at their leader. After a silent moment, he nodded.

“We can do that.”

Kurt exhaled with relief.

“Bring it by tonight. I can have it done for you in an hour. Two tops."

"We'll bring it by at around 7. The races start at 10. And if I like the job you do, you can come with me and my crew. You can be our mechanic."

"Great," Kurt said.

He watched the group limp their silver car away, and while he did he weighed his options - the chance of his ultimate success over his father’s inevitable disappointment.

He shoved aside the bitterness that came with considering his dad’s point of view and returned to the shop, trying not to look too overjoyed.

[onlinemarketinghelp]

The Average Net Worth Of Millennials By Age https://ift.tt/2M7e6jE

Let's not sugar coat it - we're all a bit voyeuristic when it comes to other people's money. How much do you think they make? How much do you think they have? How did they afford that car? Can you believe that so and so is buying a house?

​So let's focus on one metric - net worth. And let's talk about millennials - which is likely you, and is me too.

​Why millennials? Well, the media seems to portray millennials as broke, unable to pay their student loans, and never able to buy a house. Millennials are supposedly delaying marriage and all sorts of stuff because they are poor and burdened by debt.

I don't think that's the case. With anything financially related, there is never an easy answer. But I think there are just as many millennials crushing it financially. I know first hand that some millennials are already millionaires. 

​Maybe the trouble is how we define millennials? Maybe there's a bigger picture here we need to consider. Maybe we just need to ignore the mainstream media when it comes to wealth. Let's break it down and then look at the average net worth for millennials.

To keep is easy, the average millennial net worth is $10,400. But that is really skewed given the age ranges. See our charts below.

Note: I originally wrote this article in 2016, and there was no data available to figure out millennial net worth. Over the last few years, several surveys have polled millennials, with the most recent one being Deloitte. In their survey, they found millennials have an average net worth of $8,000 - just shy of our estimate of $10,000. 

Regardless of $8,000 or $10,000, I strongly urge you to think about the high achiever net worth - trust me, I know plenty of millennials who are way above average and it's possible.

If you're looking for a way to improve your net worth, consider the free online personal finance app called Personal Capital. It's designed for millennials who want to take control of their spending habits and start making positive changes. ​Get started for free here >>

Quick Navigation

Who Are Millennials?

Factors To Consider About Millennial Net Worth

The Net Worth of Millennials By Age

Millennial Net Worth FAQ

How To Boost Your Net Worth

Conclusion

Who Are Millennials?

Millennials are technically anyone born between 1982 and 2000 (always subject to change). Basically, these people are roughly 19 to 37 today. That's roughly 81 million Americans. We more fully break down the millennial age range here.

​What makes them unique as a generation? Well, millennials likely were little kids in a time before computers and cell phones were everywhere. They likely remember getting their first computer and cell phone, and it was a big deal. The likely encountered technology for the first time at school - playing Oregon Trail on a green computer screen.

​When it comes to money, millennials do have some of the highest student loan debt rates of any generation in history. The average millennial has $30,000 in student loans.

​Depending on when the millennial graduated college, they could have entered a terrible or awesome job market. Remember, some millennials graduated from college before the financial crisis of 2007, some during it, and some after it. When you graduated from college played a huge role in your earnings right out of school.

Millennials are also all dealing with life events at different times as well - from buying a house to getting married, some did it before the recession and some after. As a result, even some older millennials can still be behind.​

So, it's really a mixed bag when it comes to millennials. They're hard to define financially.

But one thing's for sure - they're not dumb when it comes to their money. They are combining technology and money like never before (mobile banking, financial apps, etc), and they want their money to work for them. However, the traditional banking and finance sector hasn't caught up, and millennials really don't like engaging with traditional brick and mortar finance. As such, there is a divide here.

When looking at net worth for millennials, these are all factors to consider.

Factors To Consider About Millennial Net Worth

When I think of the main factors that fall into millennial net worth, here's what we need to consider.

First, we need to consider when millennials graduated. If millennials are 19 to 38 today, some haven't even graduated college yet. However, if you're 38 today, you likely graduated from college 17 years ago - or 2003. That was before the last financial crisis.

Second, we need to look at the average salaries of graduates by year. NACE has a great survey that they conduct to look at the average salary of college graduates each year. Here's how that looks:

Age

Starting Salary

38 (Class of 2003)

$40,818

37 (Class of 2004)

$43,124

36 (Class of 2005)

$41,376

35 (Class of 2006)

$42,881

34 (Class of 2007)

$43,094

33 (Class of 2008)

$42,414

32 (Class of 2009)

$41,546

31 (Class of 2010)

$40,766

30 (Class of 2011)

$41,701

29 (Class of 2012)

$44,259

28 (Class of 2013)

$45,327

27 (Class of 2014)

$48,127

26 (Class of 2015)

$50,561

25 (Class of 2016)

$52,569

24 (Class of 2017)

$51,022

23 (Class of 2018)

$50,994

22 (Class of 2019)

$50,004

Third, we need to discuss student loans. Student loans are a huge factor in millennial net worth, so we want to consider the average amount of student loan debt millennials had when the graduated (data here). Just look at the chart below - just within the "millennial generation", student loan debt has doubled, on average. For current students, I estimated how much student loan debt they'd have currently - with next years graduates on track to set records again.

Age

Average Student Loan Debt

38 (Class of 2003)

$18,271

37 (Class of 2004)

$18,608

36 (Class of 2005)

$19,669

35 (Class of 2006)

$20,790

34 (Class of 2007)

$21,975

33 (Class of 2008)

$23,228

32 (Class of 2009)

$24,664

31 (Class of 2010)

$26,125

30 (Class of 2011)

$27,707

29 (Class of 2012)

$29,384

28 (Class of 2013)

$29,455

27 (Class of 2014)

$29,526

26 (Class of 2015)

$29,597

25 (Class of 2016)

$29,669

24 (Class of 2017)

$29,740

23 (Class of 2018)

$29,812

22 (Class of 2019)

$29,900

Finally, we do have to make some assumptions about saving. Remember, net worth is all about assets minus debt. But income plays a huge role and how much income is saved and how much debt is payed off really makes a difference. For the "average" millennial, I'm going to look at average savings rates for the calculation. For the above average millennial, we're going to factor in IRA and 401k savings, as well as home equity.

Year

Average Annual Savings Rate

2003

4.8%

2004

4.6%

2005

2.6%

2006

3.3%

2007

3.0%

2008

4.9%

2009

6.1%

2010

5.6%

2011

6.0%

2012

7.6%

2013

4.8%

2014

4.8%

2015

5.1%

2016

6.4%

2017

7.0%

2018

7.6%

2019

8.1%

The Net Worth of Millennials By Age

As we compare the net worth of millennials by age, I want to look at average and stretch goals. I think it's important to always consider the average, but I also want to leave you with a stretch goal to get yourself in the top 1%.

Remember, net worth is assets minus liabilities. As we discussed earlier, the main assets we're focusing on is savings, based on income. The main liability is student loan debt.

Also, you have to remember that we've seen exceptional growth over the last few years due to a growing economy and bull market. These have helped compound growth at faster levels than can likely be expected in the future.

Finally, I want to re-emphasize that these are just my estimates. The Federal Reserve data lumps everyone under 35 into one bucket, so while we have some starting points, things can always skew one way or another.

However, I think it's a great starting point for discussion, so let's jump into it.

Average Millennial Net Worth By Age

Age

Average Net Worth

38 (Class of 2003)

$33,173

37 (Class of 2004)

$25,152

36 (Class of 2005)

$20,612

35 (Class of 2006)

$16,132

34 (Class of 2007)

$11,494

33 (Class of 2008)

$6,690

32 (Class of 2009)

$4,159

31 (Class of 2010)

$2,093

30 (Class of 2011)

-$1,989

29 (Class of 2012)

-$6,043

28 (Class of 2013)

-$10,168

27 (Class of 2014)

-$14,447

26 (Class of 2015)

-$18,988

25 (Class of 2016)

-$23,704

24 (Class of 2017)

-$28,706

23 (Class of 2018)

-$33,984

22 (Class of 2019)

-$38,915

I tried to make these estimates line up with the real data as best as possible, but most real data points exclude negative net worth for millennials buried in student loan debt.

For reference, the median of millennial net worth is $10,400. The true geometric average of millennial net worth is actually $75,500 - but that number is heavily skewed by outliers like Mark Zuckerberg.

So, what that means is, if you want to be "better" than average, the 50% mark is $10,500 overall. Here you can see my best estimate of the 50% mark by age.

Notes: This assumes that students don't work or work marginally during school, maintain an average amount of student loan debt, and get average employment after graduation. It's why you see the net worth jump a lot right after graduation - income! Also, the older millennials have benefited from a bull economy, seeing their small nest egg growing more over the last few years.

High Achiever Millennial Net Worth By Age

Now that you've seen what average is, what does it take to be above average? Well, anything better than the chart above is above-average. But I want to give you a stretch goal. I call this the high achiever millennial net worth by age.

How do you get here? A few key areas:

Eliminate Your Student Loan Debt (Read: How To Eliminate Your Student Loan Debt)

Boost Your Income by 25% (Read: How To Boost Your Income)

Save at least 25% of your income - can be through both personal savings or through employer matches (don't think 25% is possible? Here's an example of saving 75% of your monthly income)

Age

High Achiever Net Worth

38 (Class of 2003)

$435,405

37 (Class of 2004)

$415,341

36 (Class of 2005)

$373,844

35 (Class of 2006)

$341,174

34 (Class of 2007)

$329,624

33 (Class of 2008)

$308,441

32 (Class of 2009)

$287,593

31 (Class of 2010)

$267,169

30 (Class of 2011)

$231,957

29 (Class of 2012)

$215,082

28 (Class of 2013)

$193,302

27 (Class of 2014)

$166,425

26 (Class of 2015)

$142,767

25 (Class of 2016)

$104,765

24 (Class of 2017)

$72,706

23 (Class of 2018)

$41,518

22 (Class of 2019)

$28,915

What are some of your thoughts on this? Do you think an 2 year old can have $28,915 saved up and graduate college debt free? I think it's definitely possible - especially the high achievers that started working at 16 (or earlier) and saved a bunch.

I think that these high achiever net worth amounts are very do-able. They are a stretch, but not unheard of. And these amounts will clearly make you above average.

Notes: There's a huge jump around the 30 year old range, and that's all due to the Great Recession. The compounding just didn't kick in and there wasn't a big nest egg to start going into it.

Millennial Net Worth FAQ

Here are some common questions when it comes to millennial net worth.

What is the average net worth of millennials?

The average net worth of millennials is $10,400. However, this varies quite a bit across the millennial age range.

What is the millennial age range?

Millennials were born between 1982 and 2000, making them roughly 19 to 37 today.

What is the average millennial starting salary?

Millennial starting salaries vary quite a bit by graduation year. Starting salaries have ranged from $40,818 to $52,569.

What is the average millennial student loan debt?

Millennials have graduated with anywhere $18,217 to $29,000 in student loan debt on average.

Are millennials doing well?

There is a big divergence in millennial success. Many millennials are doing extremely well, but others are struggling. There are plenty of millionaire millennials, but there are also many millennials in poverty.

How To Boost Your Net Worth

Now that you know the average and above average net worth, how do you get there? It's time to start looking at ways to boost your net worth. 

As I mentioned above, it's essential to track your net worth. I'm a fan of Personal Capital, because it's free, has great tools, and it's online. Check out Personal Capital here.

The great thing is that you're still young and you have a ton of time on your side. Time is the biggest ally you have in building wealth. But if you want to grow it (and fast), here are two more key areas to focus on.

Boosting Your Income - As mentioned earlier, income is one of the key drivers in building assets and eliminating debt. The more income you have, the easier it is to grow your net worth. I want to challenge you to earn at least an extra $100 per month. We have a great list of ideas to get started. I'm a firm believer that everyone can earn more if they try.

Eliminating Your Debt - One of the biggest struggles millennials have is overcoming a negative net worth and making it positive. Eliminating that student loan debt is key. Leverage your additional income but also look at student loan repayment strategies to help lower that debt.

Conclusion

The fact is not everyone is average or above average when it comes to net worth. But knowing where you stand is incredibly important. It can validate your current financial plan, or it could provide motivation for you to make financial changes in your life.

Don't be discouraged if you're not hitting the bar yet. Follow the strategies we discussed and start working towards building real wealth.

What are your thoughts? Are you a millennials that's above average or below? What do you think is the driver of that?

The post The Average Net Worth Of Millennials By Age appeared first on The College Investor.

from The College Investor

Let's not sugar coat it - we're all a bit voyeuristic when it comes to other people's money. How much do you think they make? How much do you think they have? How did they afford that car? Can you believe that so and so is buying a house?

​So let's focus on one metric - net worth. And let's talk about millennials - which is likely you, and is me too.

​Why millennials? Well, the media seems to portray millennials as broke, unable to pay their student loans, and never able to buy a house. Millennials are supposedly delaying marriage and all sorts of stuff because they are poor and burdened by debt.

I don't think that's the case. With anything financially related, there is never an easy answer. But I think there are just as many millennials crushing it financially. I know first hand that some millennials are already millionaires. 

​Maybe the trouble is how we define millennials? Maybe there's a bigger picture here we need to consider. Maybe we just need to ignore the mainstream media when it comes to wealth. Let's break it down and then look at the average net worth for millennials.

To keep is easy, the average millennial net worth is $10,400. But that is really skewed given the age ranges. See our charts below.

Note: I originally wrote this article in 2016, and there was no data available to figure out millennial net worth. Over the last few years, several surveys have polled millennials, with the most recent one being Deloitte. In their survey, they found millennials have an average net worth of $8,000 - just shy of our estimate of $10,000. 

Regardless of $8,000 or $10,000, I strongly urge you to think about the high achiever net worth - trust me, I know plenty of millennials who are way above average and it's possible.

If you're looking for a way to improve your net worth, consider the free online personal finance app called Personal Capital. It's designed for millennials who want to take control of their spending habits and start making positive changes. ​Get started for free here >>

Quick Navigation

Who Are Millennials?

Factors To Consider About Millennial Net Worth

The Net Worth of Millennials By Age

Millennial Net Worth FAQ

How To Boost Your Net Worth

Conclusion

Who Are Millennials?

Millennials are technically anyone born between 1982 and 2000 (always subject to change). Basically, these people are roughly 19 to 37 today. That's roughly 81 million Americans. We more fully break down the millennial age range here.

​What makes them unique as a generation? Well, millennials likely were little kids in a time before computers and cell phones were everywhere. They likely remember getting their first computer and cell phone, and it was a big deal. The likely encountered technology for the first time at school - playing Oregon Trail on a green computer screen.

​When it comes to money, millennials do have some of the highest student loan debt rates of any generation in history. The average millennial has $30,000 in student loans.

​Depending on when the millennial graduated college, they could have entered a terrible or awesome job market. Remember, some millennials graduated from college before the financial crisis of 2007, some during it, and some after it. When you graduated from college played a huge role in your earnings right out of school.

Millennials are also all dealing with life events at different times as well - from buying a house to getting married, some did it before the recession and some after. As a result, even some older millennials can still be behind.​

So, it's really a mixed bag when it comes to millennials. They're hard to define financially.

But one thing's for sure - they're not dumb when it comes to their money. They are combining technology and money like never before (mobile banking, financial apps, etc), and they want their money to work for them. However, the traditional banking and finance sector hasn't caught up, and millennials really don't like engaging with traditional brick and mortar finance. As such, there is a divide here.

When looking at net worth for millennials, these are all factors to consider.

Factors To Consider About Millennial Net Worth

When I think of the main factors that fall into millennial net worth, here's what we need to consider.

First, we need to consider when millennials graduated. If millennials are 19 to 38 today, some haven't even graduated college yet. However, if you're 38 today, you likely graduated from college 17 years ago - or 2003. That was before the last financial crisis.

Second, we need to look at the average salaries of graduates by year. NACE has a great survey that they conduct to look at the average salary of college graduates each year. Here's how that looks:

Age

Starting Salary

38 (Class of 2003)

$40,818

37 (Class of 2004)

$43,124

36 (Class of 2005)

$41,376

35 (Class of 2006)

$42,881

34 (Class of 2007)

$43,094

33 (Class of 2008)

$42,414

32 (Class of 2009)

$41,546

31 (Class of 2010)

$40,766

30 (Class of 2011)

$41,701

29 (Class of 2012)

$44,259

28 (Class of 2013)

$45,327

27 (Class of 2014)

$48,127

26 (Class of 2015)

$50,561

25 (Class of 2016)

$52,569

24 (Class of 2017)

$51,022

23 (Class of 2018)

$50,994

22 (Class of 2019)

$50,004

Third, we need to discuss student loans. Student loans are a huge factor in millennial net worth, so we want to consider the average amount of student loan debt millennials had when the graduated (data here). Just look at the chart below - just within the "millennial generation", student loan debt has doubled, on average. For current students, I estimated how much student loan debt they'd have currently - with next years graduates on track to set records again.

Age

Average Student Loan Debt

38 (Class of 2003)

$18,271

37 (Class of 2004)

$18,608

36 (Class of 2005)

$19,669

35 (Class of 2006)

$20,790

34 (Class of 2007)

$21,975

33 (Class of 2008)

$23,228

32 (Class of 2009)

$24,664

31 (Class of 2010)

$26,125

30 (Class of 2011)

$27,707

29 (Class of 2012)

$29,384

28 (Class of 2013)

$29,455

27 (Class of 2014)

$29,526

26 (Class of 2015)

$29,597

25 (Class of 2016)

$29,669

24 (Class of 2017)

$29,740

23 (Class of 2018)

$29,812

22 (Class of 2019)

$29,900

Finally, we do have to make some assumptions about saving. Remember, net worth is all about assets minus debt. But income plays a huge role and how much income is saved and how much debt is payed off really makes a difference. For the "average" millennial, I'm going to look at average savings rates for the calculation. For the above average millennial, we're going to factor in IRA and 401k savings, as well as home equity.

Year

Average Annual Savings Rate

2003

4.8%

2004

4.6%

2005

2.6%

2006

3.3%

2007

3.0%

2008

4.9%

2009

6.1%

2010

5.6%

2011

6.0%

2012

7.6%

2013

4.8%

2014

4.8%

2015

5.1%

2016

6.4%

2017

7.0%

2018

7.6%

2019

8.1%

The Net Worth of Millennials By Age

As we compare the net worth of millennials by age, I want to look at average and stretch goals. I think it's important to always consider the average, but I also want to leave you with a stretch goal to get yourself in the top 1%.

Remember, net worth is assets minus liabilities. As we discussed earlier, the main assets we're focusing on is savings, based on income. The main liability is student loan debt.

Also, you have to remember that we've seen exceptional growth over the last few years due to a growing economy and bull market. These have helped compound growth at faster levels than can likely be expected in the future.

Finally, I want to re-emphasize that these are just my estimates. The Federal Reserve data lumps everyone under 35 into one bucket, so while we have some starting points, things can always skew one way or another.

However, I think it's a great starting point for discussion, so let's jump into it.

Average Millennial Net Worth By Age

Age

Average Net Worth

38 (Class of 2003)

$33,173

37 (Class of 2004)

$25,152

36 (Class of 2005)

$20,612

35 (Class of 2006)

$16,132

34 (Class of 2007)

$11,494

33 (Class of 2008)

$6,690

32 (Class of 2009)

$4,159

31 (Class of 2010)

$2,093

30 (Class of 2011)

-$1,989

29 (Class of 2012)

-$6,043

28 (Class of 2013)

-$10,168

27 (Class of 2014)

-$14,447

26 (Class of 2015)

-$18,988

25 (Class of 2016)

-$23,704

24 (Class of 2017)

-$28,706

23 (Class of 2018)

-$33,984

22 (Class of 2019)

-$38,915

I tried to make these estimates line up with the real data as best as possible, but most real data points exclude negative net worth for millennials buried in student loan debt.

For reference, the median of millennial net worth is $10,400. The true geometric average of millennial net worth is actually $75,500 - but that number is heavily skewed by outliers like Mark Zuckerberg.

So, what that means is, if you want to be "better" than average, the 50% mark is $10,500 overall. Here you can see my best estimate of the 50% mark by age.

Notes: This assumes that students don't work or work marginally during school, maintain an average amount of student loan debt, and get average employment after graduation. It's why you see the net worth jump a lot right after graduation - income! Also, the older millennials have benefited from a bull economy, seeing their small nest egg growing more over the last few years.

High Achiever Millennial Net Worth By Age

Now that you've seen what average is, what does it take to be above average? Well, anything better than the chart above is above-average. But I want to give you a stretch goal. I call this the high achiever millennial net worth by age.

How do you get here? A few key areas:

Eliminate Your Student Loan Debt (Read: How To Eliminate Your Student Loan Debt)

Boost Your Income by 25% (Read: How To Boost Your Income)

Save at least 25% of your income - can be through both personal savings or through employer matches (don't think 25% is possible? Here's an example of saving 75% of your monthly income)

Age

High Achiever Net Worth

38 (Class of 2003)

$435,405

37 (Class of 2004)

$415,341

36 (Class of 2005)

$373,844

35 (Class of 2006)

$341,174

34 (Class of 2007)

$329,624

33 (Class of 2008)

$308,441

32 (Class of 2009)

$287,593

31 (Class of 2010)

$267,169

30 (Class of 2011)

$231,957

29 (Class of 2012)

$215,082

28 (Class of 2013)

$193,302

27 (Class of 2014)

$166,425

26 (Class of 2015)

$142,767

25 (Class of 2016)

$104,765

24 (Class of 2017)

$72,706

23 (Class of 2018)

$41,518

22 (Class of 2019)

$28,915

What are some of your thoughts on this? Do you think an 2 year old can have $28,915 saved up and graduate college debt free? I think it's definitely possible - especially the high achievers that started working at 16 (or earlier) and saved a bunch.

I think that these high achiever net worth amounts are very do-able. They are a stretch, but not unheard of. And these amounts will clearly make you above average.

Notes: There's a huge jump around the 30 year old range, and that's all due to the Great Recession. The compounding just didn't kick in and there wasn't a big nest egg to start going into it.

Millennial Net Worth FAQ

Here are some common questions when it comes to millennial net worth.

What is the average net worth of millennials?

The average net worth of millennials is $10,400. However, this varies quite a bit across the millennial age range.

What is the millennial age range?

Millennials were born between 1982 and 2000, making them roughly 19 to 37 today.

What is the average millennial starting salary?

Millennial starting salaries vary quite a bit by graduation year. Starting salaries have ranged from $40,818 to $52,569.

What is the average millennial student loan debt?

Millennials have graduated with anywhere $18,217 to $29,000 in student loan debt on average.

Are millennials doing well?

There is a big divergence in millennial success. Many millennials are doing extremely well, but others are struggling. There are plenty of millionaire millennials, but there are also many millennials in poverty.

How To Boost Your Net Worth

Now that you know the average and above average net worth, how do you get there? It's time to start looking at ways to boost your net worth. 

As I mentioned above, it's essential to track your net worth. I'm a fan of Personal Capital, because it's free, has great tools, and it's online. Check out Personal Capital here.

The great thing is that you're still young and you have a ton of time on your side. Time is the biggest ally you have in building wealth. But if you want to grow it (and fast), here are two more key areas to focus on.

Boosting Your Income - As mentioned earlier, income is one of the key drivers in building assets and eliminating debt. The more income you have, the easier it is to grow your net worth. I want to challenge you to earn at least an extra $100 per month. We have a great list of ideas to get started. I'm a firm believer that everyone can earn more if they try.

Eliminating Your Debt - One of the biggest struggles millennials have is overcoming a negative net worth and making it positive. Eliminating that student loan debt is key. Leverage your additional income but also look at student loan repayment strategies to help lower that debt.

Conclusion

The fact is not everyone is average or above average when it comes to net worth. But knowing where you stand is incredibly important. It can validate your current financial plan, or it could provide motivation for you to make financial changes in your life.

Don't be discouraged if you're not hitting the bar yet. Follow the strategies we discussed and start working towards building real wealth.

What are your thoughts? Are you a millennials that's above average or below? What do you think is the driver of that?

The post The Average Net Worth Of Millennials By Age appeared first on The College Investor.

https://ift.tt/31lvaWB August 07, 2019 at 10:15AM https://ift.tt/2v2WXi4

[morganbelarus]

Cheers for the input, but I’m gonna continue being a millennial coffee drinker

Image: Getty Images

There are many of life's little luxuries I could live without, but coffee is not one of them. That's why I was dismayed to read yet another article shaming me for spending my money on skinny lattes and espressos.

This morning, as I trawled through my Twitter feed with bleary, pre-caffeinated eyes, I saw the "news" that millennials are "spending more on coffee than on saving for retirement".

An article based on a report by SurveyMonkey, and carried out by the investing app Acorns, is hardly representative of population.

Irrespective of the article's shaky foundations, I'm galled that people have so much to say about how I choose to spend my money. I'm also troubled that, yet again, young people are being blamed for the bleak financial outlook they currently face.

SEE ALSO: No, baby boomers, millennials aren't poor because they eat smashed avocado

So many studies and polls say millennials aren't saving money or buying houses. And articles like this reinforce the argument that millennials are financially irresponsible and only have themselves to blame when they can't afford to invest in a pension or buy a house.

Assuming this is because they're spending money on coffee is shortsighted. It's just not that simple.

Giving up coffee is not going to make me rich

Living in a city means that most of my salary goes on rent, utilities and transport. Most of the time I barely break even after pay day. I'm not alone in this.

A recent study by the Resolution Foundation revealed that millennials in the UK will spend 53,000 ($65,654) on rent by the time they are 30 compared to the 9,000 ($11,150) our parents spent on rent in their twenties.

On those occasions when I've a bit of money left over, I'll live a little, buying coffees, glasses of wine, the occasional meal or a new item of clothing.

Stop bashing millennials

Millennials are continually being accused of wasting money on supposedly frivolous things. In October, an Australian man named Bernard Salt wrote that he had had enough of seeing young people ordering "smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 (13.45) a pop and more. Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house," wrote Salt.

According to my calculation, if millennials were to abstain from their avocado toast three times a week, they'd save around $3,432 per year (2,098). Which isn't all that much, in reality.

Priced out of the market

A cursory Google search will tell you that millennials are earning less today than previous generations and housing affordability is a major problem faced by young people. Owning property has traditionally been a marker of status and security; two qualities that can feel out of young people's reach.

As a millennial living in London, I am close to giving up on the idea of ever owning a home. Recent reports suggest that first-time buyers in London need an average deposit of 91,409 ($113,230) to buy a house in the capital. To me, that figure is so large, it's improbable I'll ever be able to save enough for a deposit. It begs the question: is there any point in even trying?

While my expenses are big, I know that my situation is arguably better than that of my U.S. counterparts, who also have healthcare costs and astronomical student loans to contend with.

I spend 1.80 ($2.22) three times a week on skinny lattes. That amounts to 280.80 ($347.74) per year. That definitely won't make much of a dent in the 91,409 ($113,230) I'll need to get on the property ladder. The amount is negligible in the bigger scheme of things.

I don't need to apologise for my spending. For now, I'll just keep on drinking my coffee and minding my own business.

BONUS: This mug brews a cup of coffee while on the go

More From this publisher : HERE

=> *********************************************** Original Post Here: Cheers for the input, but I’m gonna continue being a millennial coffee drinker ************************************ =>

Cheers for the input, but I’m gonna continue being a millennial coffee drinker was originally posted by Just news - Feed

[vickeyeppunitarj42insurance-blog]

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[samuelfields]

How To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse When Purchasing An Expensive Luxury Vehicle

When it comes to cars, buyer’s remorse is the worst because there’s no return policy.

My first experience with buyer’s remorse was when I had purchased a new vehicle when I was 24 after receiving a lucky break. Within two months I regretted my decision.

A year and a half later, I sold the vehicle for a $10,000 loss because it couldn’t fit in the garage of the condo I wanted to buy. After realizing how much better it was to own an asset that could go up in value, I decided to stop wasting money on cars.

After driving an old $8,000 Land Rover from 2005 – 2014 and a $230/month business lease Honda Fit from 2014-2017, I finally stepped up and bought a 1.5-year-old Range Rover Sport with 10,500 miles for $60,000 after tax. The original new price is $81,000 after tax.

It’s been two years since I purchased the Range and I have zero regrets. The car runs perfectly and is fun to drive. I also like how it looks with 22″ rims, black tinted windows, black leather, and a metallic black exterior.

If you’re afraid of experiencing buyer’s remorse when purchasing a luxury vehicle, here are some tips that helped me eradicate all guilt.

Eliminating Buyer’s Remorse When Buying A Car

1) Know the streets are a war zone. Within the past two years I’ve witnessed five car accidents and driven by at least a dozen more. About 70% of the time I drive somewhere, I experience or witness a close call: drivers running red lights, speeding, sideswipes, distracted cellphone driving, road rage, drunk driving, and more.

There is only so much defensive driving you can do. If there is a reckless driver on the road, they might plow into your vehicle and cause serious harm.

Although I loved my tiny Honda Fit because it could fit into 25% more parking spots, I did not like its paper thin doors and small crumple zones. Driving a luxury vehicle tends to provide more safety features for your passengers.

A random accident I witnessed as the speeding vehicle jumped the curb

2) Ask yourself how much would you pay to save a life. Let’s say you got into an accident and your loved one died because the airbag was too old and didn’t deploy or the crumple zone needed to be six inches larger. I’m absolutely sure you would give EVERYTHING you have to save your loved one’s life.

Given you would be willing to give everything to save your loved one’s life, spending an extra $20,000+ above the median new car price of $34,000 is a bargain for added safety, comfort, and performance.

The driver of this $500K Porsche GT was doing donuts in a 25 mph zone and lost control

3) Ask if you could live with yourself if something happened to your loved ones, and you could afford paying more? One of life’s biggest tragedies is experiencing regret. Bad things happen all the time. But if you could have done more to help prevent a bad thing or if you did all you could and a bad thing still occurred, at least you could more easily console yourself in the aftermath.

On July 7, 2018, a New Jersey father and his four daughters were killed after a pickup truck crossed a highway median and struck their minivan in Delaware — leaving only the mother as the only survivor. The daughters weren’t wearing their seat belts. I would not be able to live with myself if my family died and I survived.

After hearing about this tragedy, besides always wearing a seat belt, I began driving in the middle or right lane when on the highway when my family is also in the car. You just never know. The more family members in the car, the more careful we must be.

4) Spend no more than 1/10th your gross income on a car. When you buy a vehicle equal to 1/10th your gross income or less, you do not feel guilty. Instead, you start feeling great about how frugal you are. Ideally, you can earn a high enough income to afford the safest vehicle on the market. If that’s not possible, it’s worth violating the 1/10th rule in order to get a safer vehicle especially if you have little ones.

Buyer’s remorse comes from being unable to comfortably afford the car. Instead of the 1/10th rule, you might use the net worth rule for car buying. Or maybe you can spend up if you’ve spent 10 years at your firm or started a flourishing side business. You’ve got to find a counterbalance of accomplishment for the extra money spent on a luxury vehicle.

For me, I followed the 1/10th rule, turned 40, waited 14 years since my last luxury vehicle, built a lifestyle business, and was about to become a father. Thus, I figured it was now or never to finally live it up some.

5) A business expense reduces costs. One of the benefits of running a business and owning a 6,000 lb gross weight vehicle or more is that you can deduct the entire cost of the vehicle as a business expense. Therefore, if the cost of the SUV is $70,000 and you pay an effective 30% tax rate, your real cost is only $49,000.

If you don’t want to buy the car outright and wish to avoid “depreciation recapture,” you can always just lease the vehicle. By leasing, you still can expense the rental payments under your business according to your percentage usage, and at the end of the lease, you simply return the vehicle.

Of course, please double check with your accountant.

6) You’ve calculated your estate’s future value. For those of you who are steady earners and investors, it is more than likely you will die with an excess of funds. It’s obviously better to die with too much than too little since nobody ever wants to go back to work for money at an advanced age.

But if it is clear that you will die with millions of dollars at the rate you’re going, then there’s no reason for you not to get any vehicle you can comfortably afford that is fun, safe, and comfortable.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to die with even more than the estate tax exemption amount ($11.4M/person in 2019), then, by all means, buy your Lamborghini, even if your gross income isn’t 10X more. Paying a 40% tax rate on every dollar over the estate tax exemption is a sin since you’ve already paid taxes while accumulating your wealth.

A random car accident in a quiet neighborhood at a four-way stop sign intersection

Be Able To Comfortably Afford Your Car

Make no mistake. A luxury vehicle is not a necessity. A nicely equipped $40,000 Honda Pilot has the IIH’s top safety rating for its class. There’s no need to buy a brand new Tesla Model X for $120,000, even though it’s supposedly safer because it doesn’t have an engine.

But if you got the money, worked hard all your life, and most importantly, have a family to protect, you’re free to get the safest and most luxurious vehicle you can afford.

Making money is pointless if you aren’t going to spend it. So enjoy your luxury vehicle, especially after you’ve made a fortune since the financial crisis.

The increasingly frequent stock market corrections have shown us that our money can go *POOF* in a nanosecond.

Related:

The Safest Cars And SUVs To Survive A Crash

My Favorite Mid-Life Crisis Cars To Buy

Your Car Insurance Might Not Be Good Enough

Any readers drive a luxury vehicle? How did you overcome buyer’s remorse?

The post How To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse When Purchasing An Expensive Luxury Vehicle appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from Finance https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-avoid-buyers-remorse-when-purchasing-a-luxury-vehicle/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[mcjoelcain]

How To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse When Purchasing An Expensive Luxury Vehicle

When it comes to cars, buyer’s remorse is the worst because there’s no return policy.

My first experience with buyer’s remorse was when I had purchased a new vehicle when I was 24 after receiving a lucky break. Within two months I regretted my decision.

A year and a half later, I sold the vehicle for a $10,000 loss because it couldn’t fit in the garage of the condo I wanted to buy. After realizing how much better it was to own an asset that could go up in value, I decided to stop wasting money on cars.

After driving an old $8,000 Land Rover from 2005 – 2014 and a $230/month business lease Honda Fit from 2014-2017, I finally stepped up and bought a 1.5-year-old Range Rover Sport with 10,500 miles for $60,000 after tax. The original new price is $81,000 after tax.

It’s been two years since I purchased the Range and I have zero regrets. The car runs perfectly and is fun to drive. I also like how it looks with 22″ rims, black tinted windows, black leather, and a metallic black exterior.

If you’re afraid of experiencing buyer’s remorse when purchasing a luxury vehicle, here are some tips that helped me eradicate all guilt.

Eliminating Buyer’s Remorse When Buying A Car

1) Know the streets are a war zone. Within the past two years I’ve witnessed five car accidents and driven by at least a dozen more. About 70% of the time I drive somewhere, I experience or witness a close call: drivers running red lights, speeding, sideswipes, distracted cellphone driving, road rage, drunk driving, and more.

There is only so much defensive driving you can do. If there is a reckless driver on the road, they might plow into your vehicle and cause serious harm.

Although I loved my tiny Honda Fit because it could fit into 25% more parking spots, I did not like its paper thin doors and small crumple zones. Driving a luxury vehicle tends to provide more safety features for your passengers.

A random accident I witnessed as the speeding vehicle jumped the curb

2) Ask yourself how much would you pay to save a life. Let’s say you got into an accident and your loved one died because the airbag was too old and didn’t deploy or the crumple zone needed to be six inches larger. I’m absolutely sure you would give EVERYTHING you have to save your loved one’s life.

Given you would be willing to give everything to save your loved one’s life, spending an extra $20,000+ above the median new car price of $34,000 is a bargain for added safety, comfort, and performance.

The driver of this $500K Porsche GT was doing donuts in a 25 mph zone and lost control

3) Ask if you could live with yourself if something happened to your loved ones, and you could afford paying more? One of life’s biggest tragedies is experiencing regret. Bad things happen all the time. But if you could have done more to help prevent a bad thing or if you did all you could and a bad thing still occurred, at least you could more easily console yourself in the aftermath.

On July 7, 2018, a New Jersey father and his four daughters were killed after a pickup truck crossed a highway median and struck their minivan in Delaware — leaving only the mother as the only survivor. The daughters weren’t wearing their seat belts. I would not be able to live with myself if my family died and I survived.

After hearing about this tragedy, besides always wearing a seat belt, I began driving in the middle or right lane when on the highway when my family is also in the car. You just never know. The more family members in the car, the more careful we must be.

4) Spend no more than 1/10th your gross income on a car. When you buy a vehicle equal to 1/10th your gross income or less, you do not feel guilty. Instead, you start feeling great about how frugal you are. Ideally, you can earn a high enough income to afford the safest vehicle on the market. If that’s not possible, it’s worth violating the 1/10th rule in order to get a safer vehicle especially if you have little ones.

Buyer’s remorse comes from being unable to comfortably afford the car. Instead of the 1/10th rule, you might use the net worth rule for car buying. Or maybe you can spend up if you’ve spent 10 years at your firm or started a flourishing side business. You’ve got to find a counterbalance of accomplishment for the extra money spent on a luxury vehicle.

For me, I followed the 1/10th rule, turned 40, waited 14 years since my last luxury vehicle, built a lifestyle business, and was about to become a father. Thus, I figured it was now or never to finally live it up some.

5) A business expense reduces costs. One of the benefits of running a business and owning a 6,000 lb gross weight vehicle or more is that you can deduct the entire cost of the vehicle as a business expense. Therefore, if the cost of the SUV is $70,000 and you pay an effective 30% tax rate, your real cost is only $49,000.

If you don’t want to buy the car outright and wish to avoid “depreciation recapture,” you can always just lease the vehicle. By leasing, you still can expense the rental payments under your business according to your percentage usage, and at the end of the lease, you simply return the vehicle.

Of course, please double check with your accountant.

6) You’ve calculated your estate’s future value. For those of you who are steady earners and investors, it is more than likely you will die with an excess of funds. It’s obviously better to die with too much than too little since nobody ever wants to go back to work for money at an advanced age.

But if it is clear that you will die with millions of dollars at the rate you’re going, then there’s no reason for you not to get any vehicle you can comfortably afford that is fun, safe, and comfortable.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to die with even more than the estate tax exemption amount ($11.4M/person in 2019), then, by all means, buy your Lamborghini, even if your gross income isn’t 10X more. Paying a 40% tax rate on every dollar over the estate tax exemption is a sin since you’ve already paid taxes while accumulating your wealth.

A random car accident in a quiet neighborhood at a four-way stop sign intersection

Be Able To Comfortably Afford Your Car

Make no mistake. A luxury vehicle is not a necessity. A nicely equipped $40,000 Honda Pilot has the IIH’s top safety rating for its class. There’s no need to buy a brand new Tesla Model X for $120,000, even though it’s supposedly safer because it doesn’t have an engine.

But if you got the money, worked hard all your life, and most importantly, have a family to protect, you’re free to get the safest and most luxurious vehicle you can afford.

Making money is pointless if you aren’t going to spend it. So enjoy your luxury vehicle, especially after you’ve made a fortune since the financial crisis.

The increasingly frequent stock market corrections have shown us that our money can go *POOF* in a nanosecond.

Related:

The Safest Cars And SUVs To Survive A Crash

My Favorite Mid-Life Crisis Cars To Buy

Your Car Insurance Might Not Be Good Enough

Any readers drive a luxury vehicle? How did you overcome buyer’s remorse?

The post How To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse When Purchasing An Expensive Luxury Vehicle appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from Money https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-avoid-buyers-remorse-when-purchasing-a-luxury-vehicle/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[ronaldmrashid]

How To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse When Purchasing An Expensive Luxury Vehicle

When it comes to cars, buyer’s remorse is the worst because there’s no return policy.

My first experience with buyer’s remorse was when I had purchased a new vehicle when I was 24 after receiving a lucky break. Within two months I regretted my decision.

A year and a half later, I sold the vehicle for a $10,000 loss because it couldn’t fit in the garage of the condo I wanted to buy. After realizing how much better it was to own an asset that could go up in value, I decided to stop wasting money on cars.

After driving an old $8,000 Land Rover from 2005 – 2014 and a $230/month business lease Honda Fit from 2014-2017, I finally stepped up and bought a 1.5-year-old Range Rover Sport with 10,500 miles for $60,000 after tax. The original new price is $81,000 after tax.

It’s been two years since I purchased the Range and I have zero regrets. The car runs perfectly and is fun to drive. I also like how it looks with 22″ rims, black tinted windows, black leather, and a metallic black exterior.

If you’re afraid of experiencing buyer’s remorse when purchasing a luxury vehicle, here are some tips that helped me eradicate all guilt.

Eliminating Buyer’s Remorse When Buying A Car

1) Know the streets are a war zone. Within the past two years I’ve witnessed five car accidents and driven by at least a dozen more. About 70% of the time I drive somewhere, I experience or witness a close call: drivers running red lights, speeding, sideswipes, distracted cellphone driving, road rage, drunk driving, and more.

There is only so much defensive driving you can do. If there is a reckless driver on the road, they might plow into your vehicle and cause serious harm.

Although I loved my tiny Honda Fit because it could fit into 25% more parking spots, I did not like its paper thin doors and small crumple zones. Driving a luxury vehicle tends to provide more safety features for your passengers.

A random accident I witnessed as the speeding vehicle jumped the curb

2) Ask yourself how much would you pay to save a life. Let’s say you got into an accident and your loved one died because the airbag was too old and didn’t deploy or the crumple zone needed to be six inches larger. I’m absolutely sure you would give EVERYTHING you have to save your loved one’s life.

Given you would be willing to give everything to save your loved one’s life, spending an extra $20,000+ above the median new car price of $34,000 is a bargain for added safety, comfort, and performance.

The driver of this $500K Porsche GT was doing donuts in a 25 mph zone and lost control

3) Ask if you could live with yourself if something happened to your loved ones, and you could afford paying more? One of life’s biggest tragedies is experiencing regret. Bad things happen all the time. But if you could have done more to help prevent a bad thing or if you did all you could and a bad thing still occurred, at least you could more easily console yourself in the aftermath.

On July 7, 2018, a New Jersey father and his four daughters were killed after a pickup truck crossed a highway median and struck their minivan in Delaware — leaving only the mother as the only survivor. The daughters weren’t wearing their seat belts. I would not be able to live with myself if my family died and I survived.

After hearing about this tragedy, besides always wearing a seat belt, I began driving in the middle or right lane when on the highway when my family is also in the car. You just never know. The more family members in the car, the more careful we must be.

4) Spend no more than 1/10th your gross income on a car. When you buy a vehicle equal to 1/10th your gross income or less, you do not feel guilty. Instead, you start feeling great about how frugal you are. Ideally, you can earn a high enough income to afford the safest vehicle on the market. If that’s not possible, it’s worth violating the 1/10th rule in order to get a safer vehicle especially if you have little ones.

Buyer’s remorse comes from being unable to comfortably afford the car. Instead of the 1/10th rule, you might use the net worth rule for car buying. Or maybe you can spend up if you’ve spent 10 years at your firm or started a flourishing side business. You’ve got to find a counterbalance of accomplishment for the extra money spent on a luxury vehicle.

For me, I followed the 1/10th rule, turned 40, waited 14 years since my last luxury vehicle, built a lifestyle business, and was about to become a father. Thus, I figured it was now or never to finally live it up some.

5) A business expense reduces costs. One of the benefits of running a business and owning a 6,000 lb gross weight vehicle or more is that you can deduct the entire cost of the vehicle as a business expense. Therefore, if the cost of the SUV is $70,000 and you pay an effective 30% tax rate, your real cost is only $49,000.

If you don’t want to buy the car outright and wish to avoid “depreciation recapture,” you can always just lease the vehicle. By leasing, you still can expense the rental payments under your business according to your percentage usage, and at the end of the lease, you simply return the vehicle.

Of course, please double check with your accountant.

6) You’ve calculated your estate’s future value. For those of you who are steady earners and investors, it is more than likely you will die with an excess of funds. It’s obviously better to die with too much than too little since nobody ever wants to go back to work for money at an advanced age.

But if it is clear that you will die with millions of dollars at the rate you’re going, then there’s no reason for you not to get any vehicle you can comfortably afford that is fun, safe, and comfortable.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to die with even more than the estate tax exemption amount ($11.4M/person in 2019), then, by all means, buy your Lamborghini, even if your gross income isn’t 10X more. Paying a 40% tax rate on every dollar over the estate tax exemption is a sin since you’ve already paid taxes while accumulating your wealth.

A random car accident in a quiet neighborhood at a four-way stop sign intersection

Be Able To Comfortably Afford Your Car

Make no mistake. A luxury vehicle is not a necessity. A nicely equipped $40,000 Honda Pilot has the IIH’s top safety rating for its class. There’s no need to buy a brand new Tesla Model X for $120,000, even though it’s supposedly safer because it doesn’t have an engine.

But if you got the money, worked hard all your life, and most importantly, have a family to protect, you’re free to get the safest and most luxurious vehicle you can afford.

Making money is pointless if you aren’t going to spend it. So enjoy your luxury vehicle, especially after you’ve made a fortune since the financial crisis.

The increasingly frequent stock market corrections have shown us that our money can go *POOF* in a nanosecond.

Related:

The Safest Cars And SUVs To Survive A Crash

My Favorite Mid-Life Crisis Cars To Buy

Your Car Insurance Might Not Be Good Enough

Any readers drive a luxury vehicle? How did you overcome buyer’s remorse?

The post How To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse When Purchasing An Expensive Luxury Vehicle appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-avoid-buyers-remorse-when-purchasing-a-luxury-vehicle/

[topicprinter]

I grew up watching a show called Ali G. It’s undoubtedly one of the greatest masterpieces of the early 2000s. If you haven’t seen it you’re either 13 years old, over 65, or have terrible taste in TV. Seriously it’s that good of a show.The show involved a guy interviewing a bunch of intellectuals and acting like a complete dumbass during it. Guests even included a young Donald Trump [1], to who Ali pitched the idea of an ice cream glove. Needless to say The Don didn’t invest.Ali would dress like a moron, mispronounce the simplest of words, and say the most absurd roll-on-the-floor-funny things. If you’re not familiar with the show go to Youtube and watch a few clips. [3]Here’s the crazy thing. 90% of interviewees came away thinking Ali was the moron. The idiots couldn’t identify the clear-as-daylight joke being played, nor could they see the fun side of it all. They were so rigid and detached from reality they took everything literally. In turn they came of looking like complete morons..The Dumbest People Always Think They’re The Smartest.Despite the interviewees coming off as stick-up-the-ass stiffs to anyone who watched them, rest assured they came away believing they were smarter than ever. After all meeting such a buffoon like Ali only reinforced how smart and intellectually superior they were.In short they were blind to reality.This is exactly how 90% of the entrepreneur community is. Complete morons. Yet they can’t see it. Let me explain.The whole theme of the entrepreneur sphere is work work work. Focus focus focus. Sacrifice everything. Work 18 hour days, work 7 days a week, work holidays. Don’t buy coffees – instead save the $3 and invest it. Discussions about whether being married or having girlfriends affects success. Don’t take vacations. Sleep 3 hours a day…. And so on.Basically live a life like shit.Don’t get me wrong, I get the premise. The thought being work hard and sacrifice a good time now, for a phenomenal time in the future. I understand the theory completely.The problem with this is two-fold.First, less than 2% of budding entrepreneurs ever become even financially well-off. By this I mean having enough money and savings to live out the last 15 years of their lives without working. The success rate is rock bottom.Second, it’s nothing short of insanity to work away the best years of your life. Time can’t be replaced my friend. It’s about the only thing that can’t. If you’ve ever look back on periods of your life and thought you should’ve used them better – or ever felt old – then guess what this horrid mentality will bite you in the dick later on. This high-work mediocre-pay setup is the ultimate waste of life..Don’t Work Away The Best Years Of Your Life. But Also Don’t Give Up On Earning Money.The world is beautiful baby. Friends, people and lovers are what makes life worth living. There’s fun in the simplest of things. Splashing about in a beautiful clearwater ocean, “wasting” a lazy Sunday afternoon watching a dumb comedy eating pizza, getting drunk and acting like clowns with your friends. That’s what life’s about.NEVER sacrifice all of that just for money. But at the same time understand pizzas, vacations, and hauling your drunk asses into taxis cost money. And the more money you have the more you’ll be able to enjoy the world.Money matters my friend. Anyone saying otherwise is deluded (or wishes it were true so they could be at ease with their lack of money).I’ve always hated the saying “Money can’t buy you happiness”[3]. That’s asking too much from money. But there’s no doubt money helps support happiness if you used smartly – whereas poverty doesn’t..So… What Should You Do?.I didn’t write this article to give you a step-by-step solution. It’s simply a reminder to balance what matters in your life.I quit my office job three years ago because it was killing my soul. I was working something I hated, and giving up my health, relationships and livelihood to do it. I was missing out on the world and what really mattered to me. It’s why I left to work for myself.Admittedly I much preferred working for myself, but it was still at the expense of everything else. I was working every day and barely did or met anyone else. At least before I had my weekends.My bliss came from learning to cut down my hours, by learning to charge a shitload more.In 2014 I was charging between £20-30 an hour – and worked around 45 billable hours [4]. It brought me around £3600 a month. It was mayhem. I felt burnt out. It was shit.Compare this with last year where I worked 19 billable hours total per week. I charged between £100 to £205 per hour and got all the work done from Mon to Wed, giving me four days off to do what I wanted. I brought in close £11,000 a month, and had the time to do more of what I loved. As a result my friendships and relationships with my wife and family have deepened, not to mention I look and feel great.This year I’ve got 4 hours billed at £280 an hour a piece (that’s £4480 guaranteed a month). And I’m hoping to pick up 4 or 5 hours more. And I’m going to get all my work done and dusted on a Monday, and take the other 6 days off to do whatever I want. I’m expecting to earn £8,500 a month.It’s less but who gives a fuck when I get 6 days off. It’s more than plenty to cover expenses, live a life of relative luxury, and put away a big chunk so I can retire hopefully in my 40s (I’m currently 30 years old).For me learning the skill of charging more for what I do has single-handedly transformed my life..The Art Of Charging (Lots) More Money Per Hour.Not everyone is comfortable with charging more money. They either feel secretly guilty to charge so much more than they currently are, or think it’s not possible to get anyone to pay them the kind of fees I’ve talked about.The guilt is a personal issue. Some people mentally can’t bring themselves around to charging a higher fee – even if they have someone who’s willing to pay them. They just wouldn’t be able to quote the fee. If that’s you, I can’t help with that. Either you feel guilty or you don’t. If you do I doubt it’s possible to charge the “super-fees” I’m talking about.If you’re ok with charging the money, but don’t think it’s possible to charge that much – then my friend you are wrong. I understand the thinking, but it’s absolute rubbish.Most people think you need to be an expert to charge mega bucks. They think it takes years of qualifications, experience or you need to have some sort of “reputation” before they have the right to charge even double the average. This is utter crap. You’re self-employed. Nobody chooses this but you.For the record I work in the UK, in an industry where the national average is £22/hour for what I do. You’ll barely see anyone charge even £35/hour. For some reason £30/hour is considered the top-end.As mentioned I have charged £205/hour for what I do. In October I have 4 hours confirmed at £280/hour. Grab a calculator, that’s over 12 times the national average. And remember I only have 3 years of the supposedly sacred “experience” under my belt.Don’t make any mistake about the quality of my work. I’m good at what I do. Truth is most people in any field are shit at what they do. The “average” market rate reflects crap work. If you’re not shit at what you do you should be charging more.There’s always someone willing to spend big money to find the right person. Believe me people piss away big money on dumber things all the time… (Just think of low income people queuing up in their thousands to buy the newest iPhone).Anyway that’s enough for now. Hopefully this little ramble has opened your eyes to the dumbness of working your life away, and more importantly to that you can and should charge more (assuming you can actually do what you claim to).SIDE RAMBLE POINTS FROM POST ABOVE[1] I’m not pro-trump nor am I anti-trump like much of the fundamental left-winged corners of internet and by no means want to be associated with that crap on either side. I respect any man who’s made something of himself – but have absolutely no care for politics. Saying that watch Ali Pitch to Trump here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc[2] Who knows, maybe this birthed Dragons Den (or Shark Tank for you American readers)[3] Trust me it’s better than the poor ball-less excuses for comedies like Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mum[4] A tired cliché spewed by many including my mum. Did I mention we grew up kinda poor for a while? (Now I think about it, she seemed to say it less once my dad made some more money. Hmmm…)[5] I say billable hours, because I worked outside of that preparing stuff. I estimate it was around 15 hours, so likely worked 60-odd hour weeks. It was a piece of shit time..If you want to learn what I've learnedIf you liked the post and found it helpful or insightful in some way then please upvote and leave a comment. It takes a buttload of time and effort to churn out one of these articles. You pour your heart into it, and a comment means the world to a writer. Otherwise it's like writing for a brick wall.I'm also in the process of writing my new ebook The 10 Dark Laws of Charging (and Getting) Monster-Fees.You can grab it by heading over to my site The High Fee Club and entering the asked details in the sidebar (or bottom of page if viewing on mobile).I warn you in advance that I will ask for your email. That's completely your choice. Remember, I'm not sticking a gun to your head.The book contains the methods and strategies which have worked for me. Every word in the book comes from personal experience. The material inside isn't always pretty, but it works. You won't see me regurgitating material I know nothing about. It's 100% Free but I do ask for your email address. (Simply enter your details into the website sidebar - or at the bottom of the page if you're viewing it on a mobile device)By all means feel free to ask any questions. I'm out and about the whole day so won't be back for a good few hours, but I'd love to answer any cool questions once I'm back.

[howtolivealifelessordinary]

Egypt Day 9- Egyptian museum, Bazaar

We started our day with a delicious breakfast at our hotel and then began the days excursions at the Egyptian museum. Honestly, I would have been happy to spend the entire day there, especially with the midday itinerary, but we only had a few hours so I made the most of it. The collection here is insanely large and there's still thousands of pieces in storage that they don't even have room to display. They're currently building a new museum but I'm told the project has been delayed multiple times and they're not really clear as to when it will be complete. One of the first things you see is a replica of the infamous Rosetta stone and a bust of it's translator, Jean-Francois Champollion. The museum is separated by old, middle, and new kingdom so it's interesting to see the progression. All over are much better preserved statues than the ones seen at the temples and endless scrolls of papyrus telling different stories covering every wall. It's so much to look at, I think you stop absorbing it all because there's always something new to divert your attention. There was one piece that absolutely intrigued me. It was a black pyramid made of basalt, one of the most durable stones and almost impossible to break, let alone carve. If you were to smash a piece of granite against it, you'd do nothing more than pulverize the granite while leaving the basalt unscratched, or so we're told. But when you look at the stone itself there are deep hieroglyphs carved into it and completely straight lines. It almost looks machine cut, it's so perfect. Diamonds are the only thing I could think of them using but what do I know? There's well preserved burial rooms where you can see what the walls looked like when they were completely painted and it's a temporary fulfillment of my desire to have a time machine. These chambers have been frozen in time by strict temperature and humidity controls and are encased in glass to protect them and allow the public to view them. There's wooden statues, clay pots, and so much ornate jewelry on display. We only had an hour after our official tour of the museum to explore at our leisure so I decided to make the most of it by paying the extra money to see the mummy museum. Inside, are glass boxes with royal mummies inside, the final resting place of these great nobles. I wonder what they'd think of this display rather than the large and beautiful sarcophogi they'd originally intended to spend eternity in. I suppose they are eternal in this way but I don't know if it's what they had in mind. They're so shriveled and because of certain salts or preservation processes, vary in color. You can still see eyelashes and locks of hair, fingernails and teeth. Their skin has come off the bone in places and some are missing toes and fingers. The only parts you're able to see are the heads and feet but I wish I could pull away the linens blanketing them. I'd also like to smell them but they're encased in their new glass sarcophogi. One, a woman, was found with what was thought to be her mummified baby but after further examination using x-rays, they were able to determine it was actually just her pet baboon. When you look at these mummies, you begin to realize how much the ancient Egyptians really initiated for humanity. Wigs, ear plugs, gauged ears, sandals, and toilet seats to name a few and I'm sure the list goes on. One woman's cheeks even exploded from injecting too much fluid into them to give her cheeks a fuller look. These people were way ahead of their time and masters at their craft. How long did it take for them to figure all of this out? How many generations before them were performing the trial and error period for all of these advances? As always, I walked away with so many more questions than answers and I have a new-found respect for this once great civilization. We then headed to King Tut's section of the museum and I was once again brought back to his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. I remembered the small chamber that they found all of his belongings and as I was looking at the trove of treasures here in the museum, I realized that it must have been piled high from floor to ceiling and bursting with all of these objects. There's multiple chariots, multiple beds, statues, chairs, thrones, even an umbrella, some made of gold. And then there's the giant golden boxes, each perfectly fitting within the next where they finally revealed his sarcophagus and renowned 11 kilo solid gold mask carved and painted in his likeness. There were multiple pieces of solid gold jewelry layered around him, a crown, and even gauged plugs for his ears. Again, his tomb and it's belongings had a completely different feel to it. We wrapped up and stepped out into the hot Egyptian sun to regroup for lunch before heading to a couple of churches and the mosque of Mohammad Ali. To be honest, I had no interest in either. Being relatively agnostic but more in the Taoist realm, these places hold no spiritual significance to me. I'm sorry if that's offensive but I prefer the natural beauty of the God's work as opposed to man's interpretation of it, hidden away from the light of the stars. The church was free, so I reluctantly went in and saw where Jesus and his family supposedly hid from the Romans. My lack of interest made it difficult to pay attention and when the time came to go to the mosque, I opted out. I had been in several mosques before and preferred to save that money for the bazaar. If I could have opted out of the churches as well, I would have. As I said, my day would have been much better spent split between the museum and the bazaar. Instead, while everyone else was touring the mosque, I hung out with our driver, Imad, and we chatted over some Turkish coffee. This was way more fulfilling for me getting to know this sweet man who'd been our driver for the week and was always wearing a smile. After we picked up the others we headed to the bazaar in Cairo. This place was AMAZING! There's a lot of cheap Chinese-made stuff but also some real hidden gems as well. The narrow streets were packed to capacity and winding to random corridors and in and out of random buildings. It would be quite easy to get turned around if I wasn't so accustomed to major cities and finding my orientation landmarks. I'd say I navigated it fairly well. It was organized chaos within, with people of all ages winding and pressing to get to their intended destination. You've got a keep up or you'll get stuck while everyone else moves around you. Mothers hold tightly onto their children's hands as they pull them along and the kids are just used to it. The shop owners don't harass you and many speak no English so we have to do our negotiations on a cell phone or calculator just inputting numbers in until we agree on a price. I love bartering and they love my enthusiasm. At one point, I met Mustafa, a clothing store owner who had an abundance of comfortable and colorful clothes, all reasonably priced. I could lowball him but his kind face and bright demeanor made me want to give him a fair price, especially knowing how little the money is to me and how much it is for him. I started out buying one shirt but it quickly turned into two shirts, a dress, and two pants totalling 350 Egyptian pounds- a whopping $19 for me. He spoke great English and we laughed and joked around while he brought me outfit after outfit. At one point he jokingly asked, "How many camels do you think you're worth?" "At LEAST 90!" I proclaimed with a smile. "No no NO! I already have two wives but I pay a MILLION camels for you!" And we both had a raucous laugh. For those of you who don't know, this is not offensive in any way. It is socially acceptable in Egypt for a man to have up to 4 wives and the dowry is based on camels and horses. It may seem oppressive to the women but ultimately his first wife has final say of the other 3. It's her job to stay at home and take care of the family and his job to work hard and provide equally for all of his wives. If he buys jewelry for one, he must buy jewelry for all of them. It is more of a status symbol than anything else, I think, but all the women and wives I've encountered on this trip seem happy and healthy. And they are allowed to divorce if it's not, and the women can accept or decline a marriage proposal. To be honest, I think the men are getting the short end of the stick. But hey, I'm not here to judge, I'm here to enjoy the experience. For all of these reasons, marriage proposals, horses, and camels had become a running joke with the group and we took it as a compliment. I walked away, with a bag of clothes and started heading towards the main square, our meeting point, but not before I noticed a leather bag store. I walked in the dimly lit store which looked more like a western pawn shop with trinkets and luggage all over. It was dark and cool and the men in the shop were just hanging out having a hookah. I found a backpack that caught my eye and started asking about the quality. He assured me all were real leather and proceeded to flick his lighter on the material and let me have a whiff. I found a beautiful black bag with images of Egypt printed on the leather and talked him down from 600 to 400 Egyptian pounds. We shook hands and I had my new pack for $22 after the conversion. It was time for everyone to meet up to go back to the hotel, so I started making my way in that direction and was there in no time but not before taking it all in one last time. I didn't understand a word anyone was saying to each other and I absolutely loved it. We regrouped and headed back to our hotel, everyone sharing their experience and their finds. We were all quite happy with the outcome. Once back, we cleaned up a bit and decided to join for one final dinner before many of them were headed back home. We reminisced about the week and gave our highs and lows. Many of us agreed that the only real low was our stomachs and the farewell. I was technically in the wrong group so they were all leaving and I had to join a different one the next day. We had a great dinner and enjoyed each other's company before several had to catch their uber to the airport. I had a 4:45 AM checkout time so I retired to bed to get my stuff packed and ready for the 9 hour drive to Dahab and the Red Sea the following day. The goodbyes were warm and jovial and we all invited each other to our home countries. This is one of the things I love most about meeting fellow backpackers and the whole traveling lifestyle. The sense of camaraderie, hospitality, and appreciation for all walks of life.

[heliosfinance]

The Ultimate Game of Economics

Have you heard about the ultimate game of economics? Here’s how it goes.

A person – let’s call him proposer – is given a hundred bucks and asked to split the money with a stranger, called responder. The split doesn’t need to be equal. Proposer could split it 50-50 or he could even keep 90 for himself and offer 10 to the stranger. But the condition is that if the responder rejects the offer, none of them get any money.

If you were the responder, at what split ratio would you accept the offer?

50-50? Most people would consider that fair. But is it rational?

What if you didn’t know about the total sum involved in the deal and you’re told only about the amount that proposer offers you? Isn’t it like a free money, something that you found lying on the street. Why would you reject even 5 bucks that way?

But that’s not how humans think. Right?

The knowledge that someone else got a better deal (at our cost) makes us humans feel cheated.

“Not fair,” we cry. “How dare the proposer offer less than 50 to me?”

Some would even argue that the proposer should keep less than 50 for himself and offer more to the responder.

The ultimate Game of economics isn’t something that I have coined myself. Wikipedia mentions –

When carried out between members of a shared social group (e.g., a village, a tribe, a nation, humanity) people offer “fair” (i.e., 50:50) splits, and offers of less than 30% are often rejected.

But how exactly do we define what’s fair? Here’s another hypothetical situation. I have taken this example from Prof. Sanjay Bakshi’s post –

You are in charge of running a retail store and one of your cashiers, an elderly woman, is caught committing a minor embezzlement. Fearing that she might be dismissed, she approaches you to plead forgiveness. She tells you that this is the first time she embezzled money from the company and promises that she’ll never do it again. She tells you about her sad situation, namely that her husband is very ill and that she was going to use the money to buy medicines for him. She becomes extremely emotional and your heart is melting. What do you do?

There’s no right or wrong answer here. It’s an open-ended question and how you think about it is more important than what you decide to do in the end. Prof Bakshi writes –

The possible actions are: (1) She is lying and you fire her (good outcome – because it cures the problem and sends the right signals); (2) She is telling the truth and you fire her (bad outcome for her but good outcome for system integrity); (3) She is lying and you pardon her (bad outcome for system integrity); and (4) She is telling the truth and you pardon her (bad outcome for system integrity because it will send the wrong signal that it’s ok to embezzle once).

What’s fair to the elderly lady may not necessarily be fair to the larger system or the society. Prof Bakshi has termed this mental model as the “law of higher good.” So one way to solve this problem is to make a decision based on what’s good for the larger group of people i.e. the people in the organization. Of course, this course of action assumes that your decision will lead to a good outcome for the larger system, which again may not be true.

Devdutt Pattanaik, a medical doctor turned mythologist, in his book How To Take Decisions, writes –

At the time of action, our decision is based on a set of assumptions. The assumptions may be wrong. Leaders have to constantly deal with uncertainty, give hope to the people even when nothing is clear. Decisions become good or bad in hindsight. We would like to believe that a decision is rational. More often than not, decisions are rationalized.

Now the question of fairness leads us to a bigger and even more interesting conundrum. It’s about morality.

For centuries, the trolley problem has troubled the philosophers.

A trolley with no brakes is cruising at a dangerous speed on its track. Few hundred meters down the same track five people are working, unaware of the oncoming trolley. Fortunately, you are sitting in the control room and can see the precarious situation. You can save those five lives by pulling a lever which will send the trolley on a different track. But doing so will ensure the death of another guy who is working alone the second track. Should you kill the one to save five?

Most people say, that they would pull the lever and save five lives at the cost of one. Fair enough. But here’s a little twist in the tale. Now imagine you’re standing on a footbridge above the track and can see the trolley hurtling towards those five people. There’s a fat man standing next to you, and you know that his weight would be enough to stop the trolley. Would you push that fat guy while the trolley is passing through the footbridge? Effectively, it’s the same situation. Just that, now you have to push a guy instead of pulling a lever.

A real moral dilemma. Isn’t it? There’s even a book on this particular problem called Would You Kill the Fat Man?

Now you might think that it’s a purely hypothetical question which armchair philosophers have created for their own amusement. Not really. This problem is perhaps giving sleepless nights to Elon Musk these days.

Imagine you’re out on a long drive in your brand new self-driving car. A Tesla maybe. The car is gliding on a deserted mountain road. All of a sudden, a group of cyclists appear from nowhere. The car-software, supposedly powered by an advanced artificial intelligence, does a few million complex calculations in a couple of microseconds and determines that collision is inevitable unless the car takes a sharp turn towards the right and plunges several hundred feet down the hill, killing the passenger. What would the car do?

It’ll probably depend on how Mr. Musk chose to address the trolley problem. Or maybe it’ll boil down to a much simpler problem i.e. what version of the software have you bought for your autonomous car. Is it the cheaper altruistic version? Or is it the selfish one for which you had to pay an exorbitant price?

We started this discussion with the ultimate game of economics and then drifted off to the subjects of fairness and morality. How’s all this related to investing?

Let’s say you spend months together in researching a stock. You read all the annual reports of the past year, you crunch the numbers, you attend the AGM and study the conference call transcripts diligently. After all this hard work you decide to invest in the business only to find out a few months later that the stock crashes because of a change in certain government regulation which negatively impacted the businesses. Is it fair?

In this situation, if you harp on the question of fairness you may lose more money as the stock continues its downward journey while you are shaking your head in utter disbelief and crying, “It’s not fair.”

Peter Lynch said, “In this business, if you’re good, you’re right six times out of ten. You’re never going to be right nine times out of ten.”

That’s why you need diversification. If you have 15-20 stocks in your portfolio, you don’t need to make money on each of them. In investing, you don’t have to make the money the same way you lost it.

Extending the “law of higher good” mental model in this scenario would mean ensuring a positive outcome at the portfolio level and not getting disheartened about few losers.

Let’s talk about morality and investing.

Should you invest in a business that manufactures tobacco products? How about investing in a company that sells alcohol? These products are harmful to the society so isn’t it unethical to promote these businesses? But scientists have proved that even sugar is very harmful too. Should you then reject the businesses that use sugar in their products? If yes, then you’ll have to filter out almost all the businesses selling packaged foods.

It’s a very difficult question. And the answer is very subjective. Call it the investing version of the trolley problem. By the way, if you haven’t watched Harvard Professor Michale Sandel’s lecture – Moral Side of the Murder – you must watch it as soon as you’re done reading this post.

Coming back to the proposer-responder game, it’s not just the ultimate game of economics but the ultimate game of life. How should one deal with seemingly unfair situations in life? Should we fight for our fair share? Or we should move on?

Image Source: Dilbert.com

My intention in this discussion is to nudge you to think about these paradoxes of fairness and morality in the context of your own life and the decision that you’ve made or are going to make in future.

And while you do that let me go and find that scientist who would like to play the ultimate game of economics with me. It would be a good opportunity to make few easy bucks.

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