2024: The year of soft?
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard the term "soft landing" ad nauseum by now. It's been all over the news and seems to be one of the buzzwords for the latter half of 2023. If it is to be believed, all the worry and concern about the economy is foolish. We are going to settle into a nice comfortable cozy space like our dog Jovi has in the photo above.
I think we all know that's a bit far fetched, but that's not the only place I have heard the term "soft" lately.
I was reading an article the other day and they were talking about living the "soft life". According to the article, more and more people are abandoning the hustle culture and as an antithesis to the FIRE movement, they are choosing to live the "soft life".
In stark contrast to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), the soft life has no goals of retiring. The expectation is that you will work the rest of your life, so why save up money for retirement? Why not spend it now on luxury items, fancy meals, and exotic trips.
I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something to this. I've said for a while to my wife that we better live long enough to see retirement because if we don't, we could be doing a lot of really cool things right now instead of tucking that money away. Especially given the fact that we don't have any kids.
Then again, I don't really have a desire to work the rest of my life. I'd much rather spend that time doing activities I enjoy or hanging out with friends and family now that we finally have a chance to slow down. What do you think? Does the soft life have an appeal for you or would you rather plan for retirement?
It is time again for another Finance Friday/Friday Finance. This is a series I started where I talk about random bits of financial stuff that I have seen, gathered, or experienced during the week. I hope as a reader you find it informational, entertaining, or both. I also hope it can generate some good discussion and edify the community.
Lots of stuff to cover today. It's been another crazy week in crypto and if you think it's going to slow down or get any easier, you might want to get your head checked!
KOIN
A long time ago when the HIVE hardfork happened, several of the developers from Steemit started another chain called KOINOS. The initial token was KOIN and you had to mine it on the ETH network. If you're familiar with the story, there was some kind of exploit and the team had a couple of options in front of them. They could start over from scratch and wipe everyone's progress so far, they could freeze what they assumed was the bad actor, or they could just move forward.
Ultimately, they just kind of moved forward and it was at that point that I gave up on the project. I honestly don't know how I had the free ETH to do any mining at the time, but somehow I did. Fast forward to earlier this week when I remembered that token. I went to look and see if I still held any and it turns out I did. I then jumped over to their page to see what the token was worth and I was shocked to find it sitting over $1 and having hit an ATH just a month ago of $2.
Have you ever found a $10 or $20 in an old coat you haven't worn in a while. That's kid of what this was like for me.
They took a snapshot a while ago and launched their mainnet this past year. Thanks to @thisismylife for getting me the info I needed to claim my tokens.
My plan (which I have already put in place) is to take profit on 1/4 of the tokens I held which I recently moved into HBD savings. The rest I am going to hold to see what the next bull market brings. I have a hunch that $2 ATH could get smashed in the next cycle.
Long story short, if you participated in the mine and forgot about it, you might want to check your wallets and see if you left some money on the table!
Go Army!
The past year or so instead of giving my nephew (who is also my godson) extra money for Christmas, I have decided to start gifting him silver. Last year he got his first couple ounces of silver in the form of two bars. I had originally bought him one of those Bitcoin silver rounds, but I liked it so much I kept it for myself.
He is a young man who loves sports and anything military, so I decided to get him this US Army 1 oz silver bar from APMEX this year.
The back side shows some soldiers and it says United States Army EST. 1775. I think it's pretty cool and I hope he is going to love it. I paid a little more than spot price for it because it is specially licensed by the Army and it is a commemorative piece.
I also plan on giving him one of the 1 oz dragon rounds that I picked up and shared with you a couple weeks ago. I think he is really going to dig that. I plan on continuing to give him a couple ounces of silver each year for Christmas so that by the time he is an adult, he has a nice little stack.
SEC Changing their tune?
@edicted has written some really good posts about this over the last week, so I recommend you check them out, but I recently read an article indicating the SEC might be changing their stance on crypto. Apparently, they have added a new section to their webpage for crypto assets. It's a hyperlink you can click right from their main page. I haven't checked it out myself, but it really wouldn't surprise me.
The thought is that in the past, they have pretty much wanted nothing to do with crypto assets except to control them. This new development could be a sign of them softening their stance and actually acknowledging crypto for a change.
I think we can all agree we knew this was coming. They were going to look like even bigger fools than they do now if they continued down the same path. Then again, this could be a bit of a false flag to think we are safe before they drop the hammer.
Who knows.
Personally, and I don't have any evidence for this, but I think the crypto lobby is finally firing on all cylinders and there are likely some dealings happening behind the scenes.
I've been saying this for a while, but I feel like we are on the edge of something big. Others are feeling it too and have been commenting as such. This ETF thing if/when it hits could send all of us spinning on our heads.
I feel like a kid on Christmas morning waiting to open my presents!
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I love how you started giving your nephew silver, I remember that post from last year. I think from next year, I will start giving my daughter some bits of silver here and there too. Not before I add more to my own collection first, though!
In terms of the live now and spend it all instead of later, it surely fits within the narrative that's being pushed where we "own nothing and be happy". I mean, check how bad products nowadays are being produced things don't last as long as they did a decade (and mostly longer) ago. They are pushing the "leasing of items" in every way possible, I mean you can even lease sport outfits and needed stuff for your family's sport adventures now so that you won't have to worry about them sizing up twice a year. Just bring them back and change them. My personal theory is that they are now making us think "oh wow, this is convenient" about leasing stuff, needing less space at home, so that we get comfortable with this idea and at some point, the good stuff will be only available if leased and all items for sale are crap and last a year or so.
While I had a harder first part of my life, meaning I could not save, I was in debt and even had to build up a life from scratch again, I would never feel comfortable by spending every cent now. In fact, I get very stressed and worried as soon as there is an event (such as our recent move which was not planned ahead) that drains the savings account. I don't feel at ease and will not rest before it's replenished, lol.
Therefore, spending it all is not for me, I've probably lived my life the other way around in terms of owning stuff. That doesn't mean we aren't enjoying the higher income compared to what we had. We go out for tapas a lot and when we need something, we often just buy it.
Yay for getting the KOIN situation sorted, I'm happy for you!
Sorry for the book-long comment :) Have a good weekend!
It's been cool to buy him the silver I think he will be really impressed with the pieces this year. Plus, his dad is an accountant and he seems to be interested in it as well, so that might give them something to bond over (not that they really need another thing, he is a great dad). About ten years ago leasing cars became the big thing and I still just can't bring myself to do it. I know the depreciation is horrible on vehicles, but I like owning my car. I've never bought a new car either. I've always bought used. I hear you about the savings too. We just had to buy a car and it drained us pretty good. Then the holiday's came and I told my wife the other day we might need to go on a "spending freeze" just to get us back where I would like to be.
I've also been seeing a lot about this on social media, about life without retirement. It tempts me, and a lot.
I don't like the idea of enjoying myself after retirement, so I work independently, I also collect some cryptos. Today we are here, but tomorrow we do not know which new currency will increase its value, so it is good to have a reserve that can be useful.
I have also been seeing that money is being invested to generate interest, it catches my attention a lot, I think I will use it.
Good post, I liked the reading, it's quite fluid.
Thank you, I appreciate it! I just can't imagine working the rest of my life, but I guess I am more old school. You really can't beat the 20% interest rate on HBD right now.
I saw the KOINOS pump and then Had a look at the eco system and there is nothing there basically. Nice you could cash out some chips though.
They are trying to build I think. The community is active. They actually have a connection to S&S here on Hive for whatever that is worth. If they can maybe pump to $5 I would be cool with cashing out completely. It's a convoluted process though.
Lol
People want things to be very soft for them and maybe that’s why they have been saying soft over and over again
Anyway, kudos to you for giving your nephew a coin
Yes, I think people are definitely looking for the easiest most comfortable thing these days.
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SEC is definitely changing their tune .... Courts made GG review his not-so-friendly attitude and he probably wants to stand a chance one a job when Biden is gone- meaning ETF Incoming.
But I am still still om FIRE I need 15K min a year till pension, so I need 350K to make it till pension.... OOPS this bull run better make me rich !LOLZ
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That could be though I don't think he has much chance. I guess a lot of it will depend on who gets elected. I'm pretty excited to see what (if anything) ETFs are going to do for the space. It's hard not to get hyped up by some of the predictions I have been seeing and reading.
Well I expect a dump once approved but then we will soon see a stable uptrend, but I think GG can go back to MIT if they still want him
Congratulations on finding the free money! That always feels good! That's some great Army silver, I think I have some around here too somewhere. Ironically I don't think I picked up any of it while I was actually in the Army.
Let's hope the SEC continues to soften on crypto, though I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop if you know what I mean...
It sounds like they might have already dropped that shoe. The new decision on Coinbase doesn't feel too good. I'm interested to see where KOIN goes.
Maybe the sledgehammer is next?
It wouldn't shock me!
We have to wait for hive coin because the price is increasing slowly every day I hope it will go above $1 soon
I think it will eventually, but $1 is probably a bit off.
As much as I want to live the "soft life," I can't because I have kids.
So, I settle for putting all my spare money into gold, silver and crypto, to leave a fortune behind for them, so maybe they can live the soft life.
Yeah, kids will go that I hear. Maybe part of the reason fewer people are having them these days.
Jovi has the right idea, settle in take a nap and see what transpires.
I do agree to save toward pensionable age, soft approach sounds more like the hippie era to me. No one knows what the future holds, spread between variety of options on offer, more today than we ever had.
Try to control your own pension fund savings, from experience we see how some countries grab pensions to bail themselves out of financial sticky corners they place themselves in.
I have a pension through the state and I am often quite concerned about what might happen to it before I get the chance to take advantage of it. That's part of the reason I have my own investments as well just in case.
State pensions a problem in many countries, on reaching retirement age, if allowed to commute part pension, move as much as legally allowed, invest where you desire with that amount.
My side investments are doing pretty well, so I will likely just let the two remain separate. It's always a fear in the back of my mind though.
Good to spread and keep separate, another I firmly believe in in fiat cash stashed somewhere in the home, no interest but a safety net. We have experienced how quickly the rug is pulled from under ones feet, when hard cash is a must have to buy essentials.
We have a safe that we keep cash in for those times that we suddenly need it. It has come in quite handy over the past decade.
Something we have always done, weary of banking and others....
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