Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
71–78 of 78 posts
Re: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I use bitcoin for long term savings. At least your savings aren't losing to inflation, but this strategy has zero real growth and carries a tremendous amount of unsystematic risk[1]. [1]: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unsystematicrisk.asp
What do you mean by “real growth”? No interest earned? What I want is the ability to safely store value. Saving money in a bank account wasn’t working for me, because monthly fees took literally my last pennies, which led to overdraft charges. Saving money with bitcoin hasn’t just maintained and stored value for me, it has also grown tremendously in value. In my case, it’s risky to participate in the traditional fina…
(Disclaimer: you should talk to a CFP for personalized advice.)
> What do you mean by “real growth”?
Stocks have real growth. It is "real" because your stock is a share of a company whose employees are trying new ideas, teaching each other, making customers happy, etc.
> ... it has also grown tremendously in value.
Bitcoin had a lot of initial growth[1] indicating it was undervalued, and there was a ton of speculation. If you got in early and weathered the storm, congrats, but the market should have bitcoin correctly priced by now.
In general, a currency doesn't grow in value any more than a lump of gold can grow in value.
That it looks like it does is nominal growth, it means your benchmark, e.g. USD, is losing value.
Your bitcoins will get you more USD in 10 years, but the prices of goods and services in USD will increase as well, so it's a wash in terms of spending power.
Re: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you like not knowing whether your entire life savings are going to go down in value by 99% at any point in time?
You assume my life savings is substantial enough for me to care
How are they not substantial enough if you started with Bitcoin in 2011??
Re: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
You assume my life savings is substantial enough for me to care
How are they not substantial enough if you started with Bitcoin in 2011??
I didn’t start with bitcoin in 2011. I closed my bank accounts in 2011.
I started with bitcoin in 2015.
The main reason my life savings is almost nothing is because it came from almost nothing. $50 here and there isn’t much, but it’s more than zero
Re: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
#75Every time you swipe your credit card innumerable processes and algorithms begin to parse and reevaluate your personality profile. Every purchase you make changes their opinion and assessment of your shopping habits and needs. Google may start showing ads for pet food if you bought something at PetSmart. Your bank may start sending you car loan ads if you spend at the repair shop. Everything has a side effect. Cash i…
Yeah, but I get paid for that in a combination of cash back and points. I limit my credit card information sharing as much as the privacy preferences allow, but I'm not about to give up hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in value because Google might show me an ad I won't click on anyway.
Cards with cash back and points charge a much higher rate to the merchant, so please don't use such cards at small businesses.
Re: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
#76I use cash primarily because I enjoy promiscuous arithmetic with strangers
It's good practice for your math skills, too!
Cashier: "That will be $3.86"
Me: [hands over a $5 bill, a dime, and a penny]
Cashier: "..."
Cashier: "..."
Cashier: [hands back a dollar and a quarter]
Re: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
#77After hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the blackout lasted for months. I assume no one was getting any money out of ATMs or using credit/debit cards or Apple pay or anything like that. You don't have to distrust the financial system to want cash on hand. You just need to have a rudimentary understanding of the fragility of the current system. I simply cannot see a cash less society ever existing while the only altern…
After the hurricane, for the next 2-3 days there were no working ATMs (that we found) in San Juan. Luckily, we had around 120$ in cash handy which we carefully spent. After that we had to queue up for 1h+ in the torrid sun at one of the few ATMs which had any cash. If I remember well there was a limit of 100$ withdrawal.
Re: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill
#78I closed my bank accounts in 2011. Cash is my currency of choice for most things. I use bitcoin for long term savings. Cold storage is safer than a bunch of cash under the mattress.
Who needs things like FDIC insurance anyways /s
Not someone who doesn’t have to ask permission to spend their own money.
FDIC is meant to protect deposits in banks. If I don’t need to trust a bank, why would I need FDIC?