I've actually taken a different approach in the past couple years.  Now I buy higher quality products that will last a long time.  The price is more expensive, however it lasts several times longer.

For example, I got a pair leather boots on sale last year for $300.  They're hand made from high quality leather.  With proper care, these should last me between 10-15 years.  A pair of $80 boots would probably last 2-3 years, and over time the cheaper boots would cost more due to the need to repurchase several times.

This is just an example.  I know boots aren't even necessary in more tropical places, but for doing a lot of walking during a Canadian winter, they're necessary.

I think you meant Income - Savings = Expenses

And since you control income and expenses, maybe an easier way to look at it is Income - Expenses = Savings.  But I'm not sure if this basic formula will help someone that is struggling to save.

You're not going to get a disagreement from me on not having tax, but that world is far from the socialist one we live in.  There are some things that I don't mind contributing to, like infrastructure, transportation systems, renewable energy, etc (all of that can also be done privately).  These are things that directly or indirectly benefit pretty much everyone, and making it more efficient would help everyone.  However a lot of the other bullshit responsibilities seem to fall under the government umbrella that I don't care for, and which are extremely expensive.

Ah okay no worries.

My cash back is paid once a year, and takes into account net purchases (total purchases - total returns/refunds) when calculating the amount.  Some other added benefits are extended warranty, emergency auto assistance, and other types of insurance that most people don't use.

Yeah VAT or any consumption tax sucks, but I'd take a consumption tax over an income tax any day.  At least consumption tax is based on a purchase that an individual is willing to make (although basic needs purchases are always necessary).  There's not much you can do about income tax.

Weird man.  What country are you in?

Here, not only is there no commission to pay for the cardholder, there are rewards programs for using it, including cash back.  So a lot of people including myself, use the credit card for almost every purchase, then pay off the balance, and receive the cash back without having any fees.

It does suck for the vendor, as they pay ~3% commission, but there usually isn't a difference in price based on method of payment, so credit card it is.

Debt spending is also largely encouraged here.  For those that don't pay the balance, it's like 18%+ interest charged.

Yeah pretty small bankroll of 100,000 satoshi and starting bet was 1000 satoshi which is relatively high...7 bets to lose it all.

The point is the probability of hitting the losing streak is low, but it's possible for the streak to be the very first series of bets.

You, as the cardholder, pay Mastercard a commission when you make a purchase?

Is that normal in your country?

In North America, I haven't heard of a credit card that charges the cardholder unless they have a running balance - but that is an interest charge rather than a commission.  The vendor pays the commission here.

Time is only money for those that can generate income from their time.  Time is not money to an unemployed person

I think there is a range of different reasons that people here are interested in bitcoin.  For me, it's not really much of an investment to get a better life.  I just want to learn about the technology and how it works.

What you said makes sense.  I am assuming that the commission originally referenced would be for the seller of goods/services, and not the buyer.  Most credit cards around here also provide protection against theft.  So even if the card was stolen and used, the credit card company/bank would be liable and not the cardholder.  It's this way in Canada at least.

Why do you think that?

The government is currently addicted to monetary expansion/money printing/debt creation.  Bitcoin doesn't allow for any monetary expansion at all, so why would the government welcome something that will end the game that they play today?

The government has the option to stop printing money right now, and can't seem to take that option willingly.

There are a couple factors that usually get in the way of the compound interest example in the link you provided.

1) It assumes a 12% annual rate of return - You need to take some risk to get that type of return, likely from equities (stock market), and most people are not able to get attain 12% every year.  Most people can't even beat the market, and the average market rate of growth is 7%.

2) It assumes that you won't use the money until the age of 65 - Most people will want to use at least part of that money to enjoy life while they're still relatively functional in their early years.  Few people are willing to live in the shit part of the neighbourhood, AND have a million dollar retirement savings account that they're not touching

A more realistic example would be compounding interest with a 1.5-2% "high interest" savings account or GIC.  It likely doesn't even beat inflation.

Thanks for the clarification.  I'll do some reading on the links you shared, but it's making a lot more sense

I hear ya bud.  It's just about being passionate, and that passion can manifest in music, or some other type of art, sport, cuisine, etc.  The passion allows you to invest a lot of time, in an enjoyable way, to become masterful.  The tough part is incorporating that into your career and making a living doing it.  People that are able to find and continue to engage with their passion are a different breed.  They're much happier, and age much better than those that are making good money, but are miserable doing it.

Corporate work has enabled me to live without hardcore financial restrictions, but god damn it is unfulfilling.  I had quit a couple years ago to travel, and I'm getting that same feeling again.

Okay let me rephrase the question.  What would you do without insight into the future?  So assuming that you don't know which direction the markets and certain assets are going to go, to exploit for financial returns.

Great points on lifestyle.  These are really difficult changes for people to implement in their own lives, unless they have a particular interest.  What some people enjoy is boring for others.

One of the things that I want to learn is how to play guitar

Well with or without free will, the decisions you make are impacted by genetics and the environment that you're in.  Without free will, it is pure cause and effect.  So what we are talking about really is the environment, which will impact the decisions that everyone makes.

Think about how heavily conditioned kids are - from their parents, family, friends, from their school system, from media and advertising.  If we don't have free will and are just a distant echo of the big bang, wouldn't it be beneficial to back off on the intense conditioning?  With or without free will it will still change society.

So given the importance of the environment we are in, how does our current monetary system and government affect our environment?  Are resources distributed appropriately?  Do the most intelligent and benevolent and selfless people become leaders?  Not really.  But of the infinite possibilities, there is an environment where it would be so.

Yeah, it basically needs to be as easy to use as a debit card and almost as widely accepted.  Anything more complicated than that won't get the entire mainstream crowd.  Then the unit of value needs to be understood for pricing.  Most people have trouble converting currencies in their head to understand pricing, and bitcoin is definitely more difficult as it goes into decimal places.

Thanks, I appreciate the explanation

So when you write SHA256(H, N), is that a function of the two variables, H and N?

If you could go back and choose another type of education, would you change it given what you said above?

If I could do it over, I'd either go into neuroscience, engineering or technology (science/physics background).  Business is a pretty bullshit subject to study in university as you mentioned, it's easy to learn online through research. 

Yeah it's even very interesting to see what type of drugs are marketed by society.

Psychedelics (psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, DMT, Ayahuasca, Peyote, etc.) = mind opening and illegal all over the world except for select tribes, not addictive
Stimulants (caffeine, cocaine, meth, MDMA, etc.) - of those MDMA is mind opening and illegal, but coffee which increases productivity of workers is completely fine, decently addictive
Opiates (oxycontin, herion, morphine, etc.) - mind and pain numbing, incredibly addictive - this is mostly prescribed by health professionals

Even look at what point does society acknowledge a sociopath?  These people usually have a terrible childhood and become apathetic just to get by, and until they commit some type of crime, there really isn't any help.  Even then, they become victim to the legal system and police, who are unable to help anyone with mental illness.


There are lots of savages, I'd guess less than 50% of the population though lol.  For the most part these are kids that grow up without love, and then turn into insecure adults, overcompensated with aggression.  It's very odd to see unreasonable aggression from a man who was loved and accepted by his father.  Without good parenting and love, there needs to be some type of therapy (doesn't have to be in the typical sense with a psychotherapist) to acknowledge traumatic events and reconcile.  It's a very difficult process for most people, but anyone can do it, it just requires more awareness and a different perspective.  Some are just unwilling to do that.


Yes, agreed.  The gazelles are just stupid, similar to our unconscious population.  With some awareness of the power they hold (which is power in numbers), the 300 gazelles wouldn't need to run from 5 lions.  But instead of awareness, they just have a fear reaction and it's every gazelle for themselves, and one of the little shits that twisted its ankle becomes lunch and none of the other gazelles give a shit.  On the flip side, look at the species of ants.  They work as a single unit for the greater good, and a single ant will give it's life for the rest to prosper.  So in that respect, ants don't need to run from say a spider that is 200X its size.


Well empathy is required to care about those that suffer.  Although there are empathetic individuals, society as a whole is not empathetic yet.  Current society definitely doesn't care about the poor, so criticizing libertarians of the same thing is really a mute point.

Well put on the second point.  Once you remove obstacles that are largely implemented by the government, then the political job is done, and it's up to the individual to seize the opportunity and contribute to society.