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Bitcoin and Institutional Adoption

Bitcoin has seen immense popularity since its inception, even more so in recent times fueled by growing speculation, media hype, investment opportunities, and rapid rate of adoption. But long-term investors and financial analysts have been cautious about its meteoric rise to fame since the digital currency is neither backed by any physical commodity nor supervised by any central entity. Since the price is adjusted purely as a result of supply and demand, some analysts have predicted bitcoin could be as good as worthless in the next few years while other analysts have mentioned that bitcoin would continue to rise further and may even hit the value of $100,000.

 

Institutional Adoption

One way bitcoin’s value could be saved from eroding is the financial adoption of bitcoin by mainstream institutions and corporations. Being widely used by these entities would make it less likely for bitcoin’s value to drop and encourage further adoption and popularization of the digital currency. Many institutions had been wary of bitcoin in the past but that attitude is slowly changing. Although they’re not fully adopting bitcoin’s use just yet, many of them are giving it serious consideration, embracing blockchain technology, or investing in more digital assets.

 

The sudden change in perspective regarding bitcoin by these institutions may be a result of the growing concerns that have plagued the traditional financial system since the turn of the century. That could be anything such as the slow domestic fund transfer times and even slower international transactional speeds. The variety of charges that are levied on transactions, especially high-volume or international ones. In a society where people have been accustomed to one-day deliveries and instantaneous communication over the internet, the slow and archaic nature of the financial systems feels unacceptable to many. These same slow times have impacted institutions as well and not just individuals.

 

Hence bitcoin and blockchain technology, although new, provides a viable alternative to banks and corporations. Utilizing them could cut transaction time by as much as eighty to ninety percent. Moreover, less manpower would be used on the backend of financial transactions and in completing new deals. The amount of time and manpower saved will be very beneficial for these banks and be used elsewhere more efficiently. So banks definitely have a huge incentive to drive the further adoption of bitcoins.

 

Investors and Growth

This might pose new challenges for investors, both individuals and companies alike. Hence it becomes imperative for investors to teach themselves about the various aspects of bitcoin and how the market might react to it in the future. There are various factors that affect the price and movement of bitcoin such as media attention, amount of new investors, etc. Companies like JP Morgan have dedicated resources to further explore blockchain and even created an altcoin based on their own name. This shows the belief these institutions have in the promise of bitcoin. And just because it is a cryptocurrency doesn’t mean it won’t have an inherent value, companies can back the value of their digital assets with US dollars guaranteeing their customers that their digital currencies will not go obsolete even in the worst-case scenario.

 

Paypal, the biggest third-party financial company in the world, recently announced their users would be able to buy, sell and hold bitcoins further driving up the value. President and CEO of Paypal, Dan Schulman, mentioned that the move to digital forms of currencies is inevitable that will bring with it a host of benefits and financial inclusion. It could also be used by corporations or the government to disburse funds to large amounts of people quickly.

 

Since Paypal is so widely used, bitcoin will most likely see further growth as people unaccustomed to cryptos begin to understand how they function and the various advantages they offer. The advantages do not come without their caveats, so it will also become important for people to take precautions and learn the risks associated with cryptos. Paypal plans to offer educational content to its users to deepen their knowledge of digital currencies, not just bitcoin but also cryptos such as ethereum,  bitcoin cash, and litecoin. This massive move by Paypal to move into the crypto ecosystem could prove to be a massive boon for the bitcoin optimists. Just like how once the internet revolutionized communication across the world making it both cheaper and faster, blockchain could do the same to financial systems in the future.

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What You Need to Teach Your Kids

Every parent wants to see their kids succeed, and some go to great lengths to ensure that they prepare the kids for the future. Whether it is taking kids to good schools, engaging them, or walking the talk, you can impart some life skills to your kids in many ways.

Unfortunately, I had to learn most things that I know today by myself while growing in a foster home. My early experiences in life might not have been ideal for a young kid, but luckily, I could beat my path. I believed my dedication to soccer and fitness played a crucial role in achieving success in life.

Fast forward, I can now use my experiences to impart some noteworthy life lessons to my kids. As I try to be that parent that I never had, I have had my struggles and a fair share of experiences. My two kids, Juliana and Graham, are now grown. Looking back, here are some essential lessons that I believe were instrumental in helping me nurture these responsible young adults.

The Value of Honesty

The best way to instill honesty in your kids is to live an honest life. Looking at my dark past growing in a foster home, I was lucky enough to get a wife who went to great lengths to teach me how to live an honest life. I now love everything about honesty and the joy of spending life around an open family. Well aware that kids take cues from parents, we had to refrain from any dishonest behavior. Also, we had to reward them occasionally for their virtuous deeds. In case we noted some signs of dishonesty, we had to encourage them to own up their wrongs and explain the consequences of lying.

The Essence of Being Respectful

Respect is fundamental to a child’s development. Respect for elders, authority, other people, and most importantly, respect for oneself is vital to becoming a responsible adult. Training your kids to be respectable cultivates a feeling of self-worth and respect for others. It also goes a long way in helping your kids co-exist and accept everyone for who they are, irrespective of their caste, religion, or creed. Any sign of disrespect should be addressed immediately. At times, spend some time talking to your kids about the value of respect and the consequences of disrespect. You can even make them to attend youth ministry lessons on the Bible, so that they not only learn respect but other values of life as well. There are several essential qualities such as obedience, self-control, kindness, and cleanliness that follow when your kid can demonstrate basic human respect.

The Importance of Time Management

I am a person who values time. Hence, I do my best to manage time, meaning that I refrain from making mistakes that can cost me a moment of my life. Let me help my readers understand the above-mentioned point with an example. Say that I had to spring clean my house. As everybody must be aware, there are so many tasks when it comes to deep cleaning the house, from dusting to mopping and everything in between. I know that all these tasks require a lot of time. Hence, I do not try to juggle myself between them and waste my time unnecessarily. Instead, I consider hiring a helping hand (from firms like Modern Maids–look up house cleaning services San Antonio TX to locate them on the Web) who can assist me in my cleaning endeavor, so that I can finish the tasks quickly and move on to something else that needs my attention. You see, I love working with anyone who can keep time. And looking at the gains that come with effective time management, I knew that I had to raise kids who could manage their time well and meet deadlines. And whenever I got a chance to help them learn how to manage time, I was glad to grab it. Parents should teach the value of time management to their children when they are still young. This means coaching them on simple time management skills and practices such as prioritizing, planning well, and keeping time. The best time to impart this skill to any child is when they are old enough to understand what it means to save time and honor deadlines.

The Weight of Being Responsible

Parents who want the best for their kids should not compromise on responsibility. Your kids will undoubtedly benefit from learning to be responsible. As far as cultivating responsibility goes, I always advise parents to model responsible behavior. This means that you do not have to keep instructing them on how to be accountable. Instead, show them by walking the talk. Cultivating responsibility goes a long way in helping kids develop a healthy attitude and pride in everything they do.

I now understand that learning is a lifelong process that requires serious efforts from both parents and the kids. As a parent, you have to keep encouraging your kids along the way without losing motivation, even after they are past the age of majority. To achieve success in the parenting journey, then you should be it in the long haul. It is easy to lose touch with your kids when you have to attend to professional demands. You should be wary of all manner of demands that might compromise your parental obligations to find a way of giving your kids the best.

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Ways to Prepare for Retirement

When it comes to retirement, many are not prepared and aren’t saving enough for retirement. And that’s crazy because a small, life-long change can result in long term financial freedom.

There are many methods, theories, and approaches to retirement preparation. But we are speaking about saving & investing in providing an income stream for the future. As a long-time investor, I believe the earlier a person begins saving for retirement, the better. What follows are my thoughts, observations, and experiences about how to prepare for retirement.

Secure a monthly pension

A pension fund may be deposited in any bank or development-bank run by the government or invested in a mutual fund. According to the amount, pensions can either be paid as lump-sum payments or monthly installments for life. Usually, pensioners expect a pension of at least up to 50% of that earned during working life.

It’s a smart move to play it safe and invest in the security of a pension. There is a guaranteed monthly payment that can help me throughout retirement.

Take advantage of tax benefits

Taxes are confusing, and one should take advantage of tax benefits. With traditional retirement plans, such as a 401(k), IRA, or pension, the employer may offer savings incentives and matching contributions. Use tax-advantaged retirement accounts to responsibly save for retirement while reducing the overall combined tax burden now and later on in life.

Plan for the additional expenses of retirement

There are many expenses associated with retirement, and one of the biggest ones is health care. I must plan for the money I will need to cover premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. For example, many people spend more on prescription drugs during this stage of their lives. Prescription Drug Prices do vary from state to state, however, so it may be possible to find medication at lower costs online. Contact an advisor about ways to plan for extra expenses in retirement. Furthermore, your life might only just be getting started! You might want to move into a senior living environment, such as Starhaven Villas in Utah, to get the most out of retirement and enjoying older age. If this is the case, you will want to keep some money stashed away to have ready to splash out when the time comes!

Start planning for potential health care costs

When it comes to expenses during retirement, health care tops the list. That means I have to plan for the costs associated with any long-term care treatment such as those found in Chelsea Senior Living or future medical needs that may arise. I can start by calculating my current income. Then factor in any additional income I will obtain from sources such as Social Security and investment. Once I know how much money I have coming in every month, I can choose a plan that fits my needs and budget. Life insurance is often vital for retirement planning, so make sure you have insurance with a good provider.

Pay off debts

Paying off my debts gives me a more secure economic future. While it may seem like a good idea to rack up different credit cards, or even a mortgage, this extra debt can increase my financial risk when I retire. Addressing my debts by clearing any outstanding loans reduces my financial risk for the future.

Save early and often – invest for growth

Saving early and often is one of the most important ways to customize my investment strategy. Several smart investment options are available, including a broad range of mutual funds that are perfectly suited for anyone’s needs and risk tolerance.

For instance, I am a 35-year-old person with $50,000 of income (mostly made through crypto investment) and a contribution rate of $200 per month saved for 30 years with an average annual return of 7%. With the help of compound interest, I could have nearly $1.8 million in my retirement account at age 65.

Build an emergency fund

Having a solid emergency fund is the first step towards a better retirement. Whether I am saving for an upcoming trip, a new car, or some unexpected medical expenses, knowing I have money to fall back on immediately puts my mind at ease.

That way, when life gets rough, I will be less likely to make rash decisions such as adding to credit card debt or cutting into my savings.

First, I decide how much money I’ll need for emergencies and carve that amount out of my daily budget. Then aim to put some cash in a safe place -preferably a high-yield savings account or a money market fund that keeps my cash accessible.

In later years, achieving financial independence when I am not as mobile or physically fit as I once was is a challenge. Depleting supplies of cash and accumulating more debt add to the stress that growing older can cause. Fortunately, these tips can help ease the process in the future and ensure a comfortable retirement.

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Home-Based Activities to Do With Kids

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the renewed restrictions, we cannot take our children out to the park or to their friend’s house to play. We cannot invite friends over because we have to maintain social distancing. Some countries are still under lockdown, which means that our children are home throughout the day. The kids have online classes that keep them busy, but they have a lot of free time because they are at home. Below is a list of some of the things we can do with our children that will keep them busy and at the same time enjoy the activities.

Make Mathematics Fun

We should try and engage our children when preparing meals for the family. This is the best time to indulge in mathematics activities because they get to know different measurements, recognize different shapes, improve their estimating skills, and make comparisons. In short, it will be a practical learning experience for the kids, and we can all have a good time as well as a great meal. I always ask my kids to help in kitchen activities such as measuring and counting using cups and spoons. Kids can also count and estimate how many utensils will be needed when laying out the table for lunch or dinner. Let us teach the kids different shapes and colors using our cutlery.

Read More Books

These days, we give our children mobile phones or video games to keep them busy. Many children are not interested in reading books. We should always read out texts more often for our children if we want them to develop a reading culture. We can read out different stories and explain to them words they do not understand. Make it more fun by giving them a small quiz at the end of a chapter or reading session to monitor if the kids have understood what has been taught to them. Encourage the kids to tell us a story daily and use different creativity.

Play Board Games

There are many board games that we can play with our children. These include snakes and ladders, checkers, chess, and Monopoly, which is an exciting game for children. This game teaches the kids how to manage money, which estate is worth investing in, and paying bills and fines. Moreover, these games keep us occupied, and we have a great time with the family.

Discover Family History

With the development of so many sites such as Genealogy Bank, it is now easier than ever to look up your family history. Kids love to discover if they are descended from royalty or if there is anyone famous in their tree. You can combine this activity with creating a physical family tree as part of a craft project. Other activities like this might include looking up your last name origin or even searching through Newspaper archives for fun stories about your relatives.

Encourage Out-Door Activities

Many children these days do not like to play outside. Most kids are interested in playing on mobile phones or video games. This isn’t good for a child in the growing stage of life. That is why it is the duty of parents to encourage their kids to play outside. However, this would mean that parents need to ensure that they have enough place on their property which can accommodate the kids’ playtime. However, if that is not the case, then getting a porch or deck constructed (with the help of a custom deck builder or porch contractor) could be a good idea. This could ensure that your kids do not have to go on the road to play. In this way, they can see the world from afar without getting too involved. That said, besides the above-mentioned options, interested people could also opt for a backyard garden or a lawn.

Anyway, once these are done, parents should try getting tricycles for kids and teach them how to ride, play different games such as hop-scotch, or even consider treasure hunt games.

Honestly, it is our duty that we, as encouraging guardians, should also make our kids play other sports such as badminton or football with the kids. If we have a small inflatable swimming pool, we can teach them to swim. These activities keep the brain active, and by the end of the day, the kids are tired and will definitely have a good night’s sleep. Of course, some children might enjoy gardening too, so make sure to try that. For flowers to grow properly, you’ll need to make sure that there are no pests in your garden that could ruin them. One way of doing this is to look for any signs of destruction in other plants around your garden. If there is some damage, it might be worth visiting https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/pest-control/ to see if their services could help. Hopefully, by exterminating the pests, the flowers will be able to grow properly.

Try Different Crafts

Arts and crafts can be exciting and so much fun. Let us encourage our children to draw, color and paint. The pictures do not need to be perfect, and with time we will notice an improvement. We should let the kids paint and color freely and teach them to do it in one direction so that the crafts work looks neat. Trust me; this can be therapeutic for children and adults. We can also make different crafts with the children. We should always encourage the kids for a well-done job through gifts and appreciation when work is done neatly. Supplies can be bought online if you don’t want to go out to get them, and there may even be savings to be had with eBay coupons from sites like Raise.

Try Different DIY Hacks and Tricks

We have many items at home that we do not use. Make use of them by creating something new. YouTube has many videos that show us how to re-use clutter. For example, we can make coasters out of old CDs, or make a small garden using plastic bottles, among many more activities.

These activities will keep our children active and limit their time watching TV or playing games on mobile phones. They will help the kids learn and grow in different ways, and it is also a great way to have a good family time.

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Cryptocurrency and Price Volatility

Cryptocurrency provides a safe haven for your money that is not a part of the mainstream financial system as all cryptocurrency transactions are anonymous and outside the purview of the government. But this has not been without risk. We’ll take the example of the most widely used and valuable cryptocurrency of recent times which is bitcoin. Bitcoin was one of the first cryptos to enter the market and had a rapid rate of adoption but has seen massive swings in its value over the course of its lifetime. It has been quite volatile since the beginning but the last few years have been a wild ride for investors seeking to profit off of the digital currency. While some people have made millions with an upswing, others have lost both large and small bitcoin savings with equally brutal downward swings.

Hence, even though bitcoin can prove to be a worthwhile investment it’s best to be aware of the risks associated with it to prepare for the worst and minimize losses or even rake in profits by being smart about crypto management. The main two risks with bitcoin investment are: highly volatile exchange rate and investor uncertainty.

Here we can outline the main few factors that impact the main risks associated with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general:

1) Cryptocurrency is a new market

Cryptocurrency has garnered much press and media attention over the past decade but despite all the commotion surrounding the digital currency, it is a very new market, especially compared to the traditional fiat currencies and commodities like gold. Even during the peak of bitcoin, its market cap was very small compared to the stock market in the United States.

The smaller size of the market means that certain key factors or players can have bigger effects on the entire bitcoin currency. Such as a massive investor buying or selling their holdings can result in slight fluctuation of the price. This is why people should always check a reliable source to understand the market changes and factors that can have ripple effects all over the bitcoin economy. But this smaller and emerging market also creates opportunities for exciting opportunities such as a new company entering the market with a product that can grow in popularity quickly and receive larger attention than in the fiat market.

2) Cryptocurrency is entirely digital

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are purely digital assets, which can be bought and sold using apps like https://www.coin.cloud/app, meaning they are not backed by the government or any independent financial entity. Its price is mostly determined by the law of supply and demand resulting in higher and quicker fluctuations as there is no central entity governing the price. Because of this, the price of bitcoin can tend to gravitate towards both extremes. Media hype and artificial demand can result in a hyper-inflated bubble which is then followed by market correction and a sharp fall in prices. Hence, knowledge about typical bitcoin price movements can be necessary for short-term investing. Long-term investing tends to be safer as the price tends to correct itself sooner or later.

3) Development of crypto technology

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin work based on a decentralized technology named Blockchain. It keeps track of all the digital transactions happening in the bitcoin network. The technology is still new and rapidly developing. Since crypto transactions are completely dependent on it unlike fiat currency, any congestion or problems in the blockchain can affect the service for millions of people. The network congestion can also result in higher transaction fees which are not desirable as one of the key attractions of bitcoin is lower transaction costs than traditional banking transactions. But since the technology in bitcoin is so rapidly developing, it leaves a lot of room for new technologies to develop and take the space of current ones diversifying the available tech for use in bitcoin.

4) Speculation, media and new investors

Speculation, media hype, and investors all work in tandem to determine the price of bitcoin. The heightened speculation can lead to media promoting or criticizing bitcoin which can lead to newer investors buying or selling their bitcoin assets. Since bitcoin is purely digital, there’s little to no entry barrier for a new investor. All a person requires is their payment card and a crypto wallet to buy and sell all kinds of cryptocurrencies. Hence it becomes even more important to research and study bitcoin and its behavior to make informed investing decisions. A smart and focused strategy can lead to some great returns over time making it imperative to avoid amateur mistakes when working with this new age currency.