In the world of Save. Spend. Splurge.: Inflation, Bitcoin drops, Stock Market Corrections and What to buy Super Rich People

1. INFLATED

This article on the recent inflation is succinct, easy to read and to-the-point. In line with this, I found this meme that made me laugh:

Long story short, if you are someone who is cashing out because you’re panicking, I have a few words for you:

YOU DO YOU…. BUT…..

1. You’ve locked in taxes and/or losses by selling out, assuming you are not in a tax-registered account. Even if you are, if you sold at a loss, you’ve lost that contribution room forever – the government doesn’t say – hey sorry that didn’t work out, here’s the money you lost up to the contribution room you put in. They simply see that you put in $100K, sold at $50K, lost $50K, and now only have $50K in cash sitting there. DO. NOT. GAMBLE. WITH. YOUR. RETIREMENT. ROOM. Then you’ve paid selling fees on top of it.
2. Your money is sitting in cash. Not great in inflationary times as it is not growing (“oh but it is losing money anyway”), yeah but you are forgetting you need to ZOOM OUT into the big picture of 10-years, not just in the past few months, even the past year or two. Cash, is not great unless you are going to use it for a specific, short-term (within the year) reason, like a down payment on a home, and you want it SUPER STABLE AND SECURE. Otherwise, leave it invested, presumably in index funds for the long-term and not Bitcoin (please see article #7 below – BITDROP)
3. You’re not going to retire on that cash right? Remember that inflation is real. $100K today, buys $50K tomorrow. Whatever amount you have now, needs to keep pace with inflation by GROWING to match the real dollar in the future. So if you leave $100K in cash today, under your bed, in 40 years, it can buy $50K of goods in 40 years, not $100K. So unless it is invested and growing, you’re losing money due to inflation. Same goes for salaries / wages, so ask for those raises and salary hikes.
4. What are you going to do with it anyway? Re-invest it right? So why not leave it invested and ride it out? If I look back at when I first started until now, going through two major drops (dotcom and pandemic), the returns ARE STILL astronomical because I am seeing the NET returns of what I invested almost 15 years ago. And now you’re going to pay selling fees again. Why?

Thanks for coming to my TED talk lol…

2. WELL HEELED

I am trying very hard to convince my mother to let me buy her these boots. They are the best for winter – super warm, rated for -35C (more than -4F), and with a solid sole that will not let her slip easily. Personally, I am eying these ones in nude because they’re super cute, but I am also trying to keep in mind I only have one pair of feet for winter.

3. REFRESHING

I am loving these Room Refresh 2-5 hour room makeovers. Yes, they have a whole crew like a carpenter and bunch of painters on hand, because… hello, TV!!… but I really did enjoy seeing the thought process and the transformation from what it was to what it became. I am impressed and inspired to do more.

4. STRIPY MCSTRIPERSON

I am in love with stripes. I think I have a problem. Stripes, and blue or white shirts. At any rate, this sweatshirt is chic and looks great for lounging around the home or wearing out. I like the white cuff and neck, the bright cobalt blue stripes, and how comfy yet chic it looks. You can wear it with anything even a pencil skirt, with a half tuck in front.

5. WHAT TO GIVE RICH PEOPLE

This article was an interesting read – what to give rich people as a gift. Personally, I’d just avoid all of this and give food. Whether rich or poor, everyone appreciates well-made, homemade food / treats / snacks. Worst case scenario, something personal that doesn’t cost a lot can be a memory book, which is more time than it is money. Or simply decide to stop gifting each other items if it causes stress on both ends.

This is extreme for some people but I wrote on why we personally don’t do gifts for big events or Christmas. My main goal was to opt out of the stress and the wastefulness of it all. Don’t get me wrong – I love surprising and gifting people things, I just don’t do it at events or wait for events to do it. I just randomly buy things and send them if they need them, in the moment they mention them.

I am currently trying to convince my mother to let me buy her some super warm winter boots, considering that I think -20C (or -4F) weather is here to stay in Canada, and it gives me anxiety to think of her going around with cold toes. She however, refuses gifts from people (?) yet is very free with her money, gifting things that people don’t necessarily need at all (think: expensive kitchen utensils).

I am more of a necessary / essentials gifter, with a luxurious touch. I buy for people, what I would personally buy for myself (e.g. cashmere, not cotton or polyester blends for a cold weather sweater).

For my mother, it is extravagant, yet she spends an equal amount of money on non-essentials, so I don’t really see it as being logical / rational in terms of finances.

6. MAID MARIAN

I mean.. not as bad as Maid Marian maybe, but this dark evergreen dress is truly one of my favourite colours to wear. It is deep, rich, and exactly my shade of green. I love the simple statement sleeves, and how comfortable it looks even to… YOU GUESSED IT – LOUNGE AROUND AT HOME. I am clearly also eying this jumpsuit in the same shade. OK I lied – last one this sweater with a simple v-neck and drape is just stunning.

7. BITDROP

Also you might find this article on the Bitcoin drop interesting because this paragraph made me sweat:

First, a big thing to understand about bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies for that matter, is that its price is largely driven by retail traders — aka normies like you and me. Institutional investors — J.P. Morgan Chase and the like — have cautiously warmed to crypto, but it’s still not really their thing.

This matters now because, in recent months, a lot of retail traders have bought bitcoin on margin — meaning they’ve bought coins with money loaned from their brokerage or trading app. The hitch: many places only let Jimmy and his beer buddies leverage so much. (In a 2019 study, 59% of Gen-Z traders admitted to drunk-trading.) So, if a dive goes deep, a margin call triggers an automatic sale of some of Jimmy’s stake, until he’s less leveraged.

BITCOIN ON MARGIN.

BIT. COIN. ON. MARGIN.

My brain is exploding.

I simply, am not someone who buys investments on margin because…. if I don’t have the money, buying it with debt, makes me quite nervous, as things can go pear-shaped very quickly.

8. PHILOSOPHICAL

Little Bun and I have been really having a lot of fun with this book – Philosophy for Beginners (Eastern and Western), as it is posing a lot of great questions about life, morality, ethics, art, and I find it very interesting.