My initial use case is for increased privacy, better coin management and do “my bit” for the network.

Still learning about LN nodes, no intention for routing, just exploring LN for personal use.

Read a lot about people mismanaging their channels so to start with just easing into it.

Yeah I know a node can be run on a RPi as many many people do and enjoy it. However cost wise for me there’s not a lot in it, so for the smoother and faster performance, spending a little bit more is worth it, I will avoid buyer’s remorse 

Yes I have noticed the prices for M2 NVMe SSDs to be cheaper!  This is what threw me as I was under the impression the performance is better and I see a lot of people using SATA 3s.

I’ll be sure to check the health.

Thanks for your advice!

Someone ask me a question after introducing bitcoin to him, if he can start up with $30 and grow with it but I told him bitcoin is wide and high in volume, price and market, that's means whatever you're starting with determine the outcome of the market like for example; if you start with $30 and eventually the market goes up to a little increase of $32 can not be compared with someone who started same time with you, at the rate $100.

So also when the market is down to some extent, the person with $30 may likely loss more because of the money is small. Blockchain has the minimum amount one can invest if am not mistaken but if your amount is too small may be difficult to make easy progress.

What do you think about my advised to him?

Base on one of my recent post titled"Common Money Mistakes Anyone Can Make"(https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5448160.msg62062701#msg62062701). One of the serious point there is SPENDING MORE THAN YOU EARN. I believe this should be discussed as a separate topic as it's a very crucial part of ones financial life. Spending more than you earn make ones keeps accumulating debt from expenditure before getting income. This isn't good for ones financial life. With this you hardly save money but keep accumulating debt. It’s better to avoid debt if you can. That way you’ll avoid paying interest on what you owe. Below are ways one can easily stop spending more than you earn:

👉👉Create a Budget (or Improve Your Existing Budget)
99% of the trouble that people have with money isn’t that there isn’t enough of it but that there is no plan for it once you actually get it. Your budget (either weekly or monthly) should consider your income and your expenditure. Guide your spendings for the week or month with the budget made. This might be hard at first, but having that extra cash in hand, definitely worth the effort.

👉👉Use cash only
Shopping using card look more convenient and most time encourages you to buy unnecessary things even out of plans. I really observed I spend more money(even more than 20% of my salary) on airtime only any month I load airtime directly from my bank account through USSD. This is so convenient that immediately I exhausted my airtime when calling, I just dial the USSD code to get another. This doesn't help you financially. You get to stop. Knowing your Credit and Debit Card Number offhand isn't helpful for you. It makes you shop unnecessarily online. Using cash-only envelope budgeting system can help you minimize your spendings and sticks to budget.

👉👉Shopping with a list
This is a lifesaver and a game changer. It’s so simple! Literally, all you have to do is write down what you need in the house that week. Make the list, and stick to it. If you only need to get chicken and vegetables and some pasta at the house for the week, there’s no reason for you to be going to the snack food section. It’s a trap!

👉👉Control your grocery list
Having meal plan can help you minimize your monthly expenditure. This helps you to stop spending money unnecessarily on food without depriving yourself of your favorite treats. This will also help you to plan your week without any worries and give you the insight of all what you need from the store.  

👉👉Learn to say “no”
Not all goods worth buying at the moment. Although ads may be tempting but one should learn to go off any unnecessary items.


Reference: https://www.pnc.com/insights/personal-finance/save/how-to-stop-spending-money.html

CONCLUSION
It's good for one to satisfy his/her desire when making purchase of items but this shouldn't cause issues in ones lifestyle. The key to stop spending too much money is to create better money habits in your daily life. But I know that’s easier said than done. Putting one or all of these ideas into action, helps in building a healthy spending habit. Take control of your spending today and you’ll reap financial rewards for years to come.

would not count Djokovic out for French open winner, he does have bad results on clay so far, but he always starts clay season with a few loses
nevertheless, Tsitsipas and Alcaraz seem to be in form, and would challenge him on RG for sure, I am not sure that Nadal will even take part there, he is obviously closing down his career

Welcome aboard. Please update signature, avatar and make a post to let me know about your total post count.

@Kryptowerk, promoted to the Green Zone. Congratulations. I hope you will stay there for long time.
One of the parameter for Green Zone members are the amount of time they invest in their posts when they create it which makes the posts unique, thoughtful and interesting to read. Another parameter of many others is they are not shy to post in different boards and different topics. It's obvious they spend a lot of time and familiar with most of the area of the forum.

We still have slots to apply but I will likely select members before the next pay day and you will start from the next week.

Dominc Thiem despite being currently ranked number 106 in the ATP ranking, he managed to reach a good position in the past, he came from reaching position number 3, so he has been slowly improving, I don't know if he will be able to reach a better position, at least be in the top 10, but if he's improving then he could at least move up in the future. while his opponent is Holger Rune, who is currently number 8 and heads the table, who this year has already played 21 games and won 14 and only lost in 7 games, in my opinion Rune will win this game, but the odd in case Rune wins it is at @ 1.34, I see it being a very low odd, if at least it was something around @ 1.44 it could motivate me to put it in my parlay

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Botic Van de Zandschulp - Casper Ruud

Botic Van de Zandschulp, who currently occupies the 31st position in the ATP ranking, has never won any relevant tournament that he started his professional career in 2016, while his opponent Casper Ruud, who currently occupies the number 5th position in the ATP ranking, in addition to being in a better position, he has better performances in relation to Botic Van de Zandschulp, I see that Ruud will win this game without much difficulty, maybe for this reason that the odd for Ruud to win is at @ 1.29 which is an odd very low, but I could add it to some parlay, I'll think about it

Taylor Fritz - Stan Wawrinka

Taylor Fritz, who currently occupies the 10th position in the ATP ranking, this season has not had many outstanding performances, but in this game he will be playing against an opponent that is in the 90th position in the ATP ranking, and it is true that in the past Stan Wawrinka managed to occupy The number 3 position in the world, but that happened many years ago, and he is now 38 years old, I think that in this game Taylor Fritz has a good chance of winning the game, but it will not be an easy game for Taylor Fritz , but the interesting part is that the odds for this match are at @1.48 in case Taylor Fritz wins the match, and it's a risky bet if placed on a parlay

I think people don't understand that there is no strategy in gambling. Gamble but consider your spendings on it as an entertainment expense. Got luck on your side and won? Good. If you don't you still had fun.
 

Hi friends, I have some questions for you guys about online casinos

What will you do if you don't know that a online casino will ask you for KYC after winning over 8,000$ on the platform? And you now manage to process with the verification and they failed to pass you? Can you consider such a casino a scam?

Also, imagine you get attracted to an online casino because of the bonuses they offer and you open an account and make your first deposit then you didn't receive the promised bonus, is this an act of scam or not?

I am trying to solve such an issue for someone very close to me and that the complaint he gave, I have no answer than maybe the bonus was canceled already before he made the deposit or there was a minimum deposit requirement.

Any other reasons?

Irrespective of rank I believe am still learning in gradual steps about bitcoin and therefore have this question to ask, it would be of good consequence for me if am well enlightened on this particular subject about bitcoin. So just in case,  someone I might want to talk to about bitcoin for the very first time happens to ask me I can comfortably address it too.

Question:
I have read few posts of persons talking about losing their wallet's containing BTC and couldn't recover it at all. Hence, as people keep losing their BTC due to loss of wallet seed phrase, can it affect or cause a decline in BTC supply entirely?

I want to apologize for writing about an area of Bitcoin that I know little about. From what I have gathered so far Bitcoin miners are attracted to places that have constant but cheap electricity supply, favorable government policies, security, less pollution, and accessible quality infrastructures. Cheap and uninterrupted power supply increases the chances of making profit, friendly government policies and security determine the longevity of the business, clean and green environment reduces the effect of mining emissions and quality infrastructures make the miners and their families live good lives in a particular location. All African nations might not have these qualities but some possess them. I want to state a few reasons why miners should consider Africa.

Humanitarian Grounds: If Bitcoin miners focus only on profit taking, Africa might be the least continent to consider to locate your mining firm. But if your goal is to make a profit and also help to improve the standard of living of Africans, then it is the best location. Africa needs help because of so many negative factors. Like the case of Gridless a company that started a bitcoin mining project by tapping into 50 kilowatts (kW) clean, stranded and excess hydro energy in Malawi. This Bitcoin mine has brought economic empowerment and job opportunities and 1,600 households connected to this mine have constant power supply. Another company SustainSolar, Earth Wind and Power and INENSUS saw the opportunity to use what would have been otherwise wasted energy to support crypto mining and in the process generate electricity to process high-value agricultural crops such as vanilla and BEC in rural Uganda; and yield many socio-economic benefits for the surrounding farming community.

Friendly Government Policies: Only four African countries have absolutely banned Bitcoin operation in their jurisdiction which includes Morrocco , Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria. Some African nations don’t have any laws that prevent or approve mining activities. Many countries in Africa will be willing to welcome miners because they desperately need revenue from the tax.  So, mining activities will be welcomed in Africa as long as you pay your tax.

Relatively cheap electricity: African countries are among the nations that have cheap electricity costs. According to Statista a firm that analyses the power consumption of countries, out of 30 nations that have the cheapest power four African countries made the list which includes Rwanda (8th), Kenya (15th), South Africa (15th), and Nigeria (27th). Africa has a lot of sunlight to power solar, many rivers or water bodies for hydroelectric power, and several abandoned power projects that can be revamped.
 
Security: Africa has always been a continent characterized by wars and political conflicts. In some of these nations, there is a high rate of crime. But this narrative is changing because many African nations are become politically stated and security friendly. African nations might not be among the first twenty safest countries but their rating has consistently improved Mauritius is the 28th safest country in the world, Ghana is the 40th, Gambia 45th and Botswanan 48th.

Infrastructures: Some African nations are investing heavily in infrastructural development. An example is Seychelles , a tropical island in the East of Africa which 100% of the population has access to electricity while 98% has unhindered access to drinking water. The country has 247 internet service providers and with the lowest population in Africa, the country still has 14 airports spread across its many cities. It has good roads, a quality health system, and well-planned cities. Other countries like Mauritius , Ghana, South Africa and São Tomé and Príncipe all have basic facilities that will be of great interest to bitcoin miners.

Friendly people: 80% of Western experts and local business leaders interviewed by How we made it in Africa confirmed that the best thing about the African country in which they operate is the people, along with its geographical beauty. According to the InterNations report, East African country received the highest marks for friendliness. More than 57% of experts in Uganda gave ‘general friendliness’ the best possible rating (the global average was 26%) and not a single respondent ranked this factor negatively. African love foreigners and treat them with love and respect. It will not be bad for some interested bitcoin miners to marry Africans because they are wonderful people.

As I said before, Africa might not be a perfect place to mine bitcoin but it could be a place to consider because things are changing for the better and we also need the support of bitcoin miners.

i am studying in college, i was really excited to get my first credit card . i thought it will give me a sense of independence and allow me to buy things i could not afford with cash.

though, i quickly learned that credit cards can be a double edged sword. while they can be helpful in building credit, they can also lead to debt and financial trouble if not used responsibly.

at first, i used my credit card reasonably, only for like emergencies or small purchases that i knew i could pay off in full each month. but as time went on, i began using it more and more for larger purchases and impulse buys, without really thinking about how i would pay the balance off.

before i knew it, my credit card balance had  blown up to several thousand dollars, and i was struggling to make the minimum payments each month. the interest charges alone were eating up a significant portion of my income, and i felt like i was going under debt.

it was not until i sat down and made a budget that i realized just how much my credit card debt was affecting my overall financial health. i had to make some tough choices and cut back on some of my expenses , but finally,
i was able to pay off the balance and get back on track.

the lesson that i learned here is that credit cards can be a valuable tool for building credit points/scores and making purchases, but they should be used responsibly and with caution. it is important to keep track of your spending(like keeping a journal), pay off the balance in full, each month if possible, and avoid carrying a balance that will increase interest over time. by being mindful of your credit card usage, you can avoid debt and maintain your financial health.

i am weak at economy, is it wise decision to use credit card?

The last time Van de Zandschulp and Ruud also played against each other, and then the Dutchman won. So maybe the level is closer than the bookies suggest. They are of course mainly based on the statistics and by that I mean the world ranking. Ruud is considerably higher in this than van de Zandschulp, but how good is Ruud actually? He could potentially become the new number 1 in the world, but I still feel that he is lagging behind guys like Nadal, Djokovic and now Alcaraz. I hope for a long game and a three setter.

ya.ya.yo!

Dominic thiem is doing good so far in the monte carlo tournament he beat gasquet easily even thought his opponent is not at peak form but thiem really improved a lot since his comeback but unucky for him he is facing Rune one of the top players at the moment he is young and yet impressive i doubt thiem can do anything against him.

With the death of some old hardware I was using to run one of my nodes plus a few other bits and pieces, I've decided I'd quite like to simplify my always-on home hardware down to a single device.

With that in mind, I'm looking for both hardware and software recommendations for a standalone device capable of running the usual Bitcoin and Lightning nodes, but in addition to that, an Electrum server, an instance of mempool.space, a coinjoin server (be that JoinMarket or Samourai Dojo), and Bisq. I'd also like to potentially use this device to run a variety of non-bitcoin software, such as Pi-hole, personalized cloud storage, potentially a home media server, that sort of thing. Having looked in to it a bit, it seems that Umbrel might be the most straightforward way to do all this, and can run everything I've listed above except Bisq (although an app appears to be in the works).

My first question is whether anyone who has experience with this kind of thing would disagree about using Umbrel and would suggest just running something like Debian (or any other Linux distro)?

My second question is whether anyone could suggest some hardware which would be most appropriate for this. My main considerations are low power usage and being powerful enough to run everything I've listed above. I had originally looked at a Raspberry Pi 4, but I have some concerns about whether it could handle everything listed. At the moment I'm sort of considering the Orange Pi 5. I don't actually need it to be a single board computer at all - I'm just looking for energy efficiency with good enough hardware.