I remember seeing something similar a few months ago, unless I'm mistaken. On the one hand, it's not a significant amount of money, but on the other hand, aren't huge companies like Google already using our personal data for advertising and other purposes, basically with our consent, without receiving a single penny from them? If you think of it that way, I don't see how it's bad to receive a small amount of money per month for data that we already provide to huge corporations for free. The ideal would be to have a way to avoid the oversharing of our personal data and digital footprint, but it's inevitable in this day and age.

I actually messed around with ChatGPT a few days ago, and I find it both outstanding and scary at the same time. It can generate anything, from articles to code, while finding answers to your most stupid questions. On the one hand, it can be an extremely useful tool to use in projects and assignments, for instance, in moderation of course. On the other hand, it can easily be abused, from posting in the forum to even using it to generate massive walls of text in a master's thesis. AI is getting out of hand.

Good job, LoyceV, for spotting AI posters. Despite having seen how the application works, it didn't cross my mind that it was AI-generated, and truth be told, I've seen quite a few similar ones the past few days but thought nothing of it.

The issue is that there's absolutely no balance anymore. Oil prices are extremely volatile and cause gas prices to change on a weekly or even daily basis. Predictions are speculating an increase in oil prices, even surpassing $100 per barrel. I'm getting a feeling that 2023 will be way worse than 2022. On the other hand, CNG has plummeted, marking a 11% decrease just within 24 hours, probably due to the snow storm. I didn't find much relevant information justifying this crash.

Bananas were on sale at Lidl last week for €1.19/kg, they typically go for €1.49/kg, while chicken fillet is also around 9 to 10 euros per kilogram. I remember buying it for €6-7/kg a year ago. As the previous poster also mentioned, inflation numbers are highly inaccurate; some prices are even double what they were. Unfortunately, prices are unlikely to even decrease in the future.

Germany is indeed quite a popular immigration destination. As much as immigration might be a solution, I'd hate to do it. The issue with countries like those you've mentioned is that wages are low even for qualified people, and those entering the job market now, after finishing universities and degrees, are unlikely to get a job that will pay accordingly.

This is quite inconsiderate; you cannot judge others by their financial situation; it's impossible to know what someone has gone through. You can't promote Bitcoin as a panacea; you're implying that Bitcoin will magically transform someone from poor to rich. Someone who's barely making ends meet isn't even able to save for an emergency, let alone invest. On top of that, not everyone is familiar with the technology behind cryptocurrencies; thus, they're not comfortable purchasing something that they're not knowledgeable about and doesn't even guarantee them profit.

I have no clue about Germany's food prices, but I'd like to leave my two cents. Judging by the photos, at least the first couple ones look like they are from Lidl, am I right? If you compare your Lidl prices with Greece's for similar items, you'll notice tremendous differences, with Germany being cheaper. On top of that, if you're comparing the average salaries between the two countries, it's absolutely unacceptable for Greece to have such outrageous prices for everyday goods. I don't know what policies Germany might have taken to tackle the inflation, but nothing effective has been done here so far. They're now preparing to issue a food "coupon" in the form of a prepaid card, which is a complete joke.

Great guide; thank you for spending your time to write it! As someone who's trying to transition from centralized exchanges (Binance in my case) to a decentralized solution, it's extremely helpful. I'm considering stopping using CEXs but haven't yet been bothered. However, the "issue" of such exchanges as Bisq is that they're generally a little more complicated compared to centralized services and consume quite a lot more time, especially if you're starting from scratch (without any prior balance).

Now that you've mentioned it, I've caught myself falling in the "trap" of thinking it's Christmas and it's okay to spend money, thus, I ended up spending more money than I had anticipated. It's extremely easy to get carried away, I wouldn't call buying a few more gifts a mistake, unless they're completely unnecessary. I'm trying not to be overly concerned about money but it's generally good to keep track of what you're spending.

Anyway, merry Christmas to you!

I don't understand why you're being so frustrated about something so simple. I've never used Coingecko so I can't relate, but the pop-up is supposed to be a coin tracking tool, not an advertisement, thus, it's not being blocked by the adblock. Perhaps your browser may allow you to block such pop-ups. Coinmarketcap is just fine and allows you to switch between all major currencies on the top right corner of your screen.

Personally, I wouldn't switch to another browser about such a petty issue, due to Gmail synchronisations with Chrome.

I don't quite understand what you're trying to say. How is investing in Bitcoin providing you with an interest-based income? While Bitcoin has proven to be growing in the course of its lifetime, but none of that is guaranteed. The concept of staking is to gradually grow your portfolio by earning a X amount of coins on a daily basis. Staking isn't a panacea but it can be profitable if you're careful (and lucky) enough. FTX incompetency has nothing to do with Bitcoin since you can always use non-custodial wallets and decentralised services.

Electrum itself is safe and runs fine; as others have already mentioned, your environment can be your only issue. There's always the option of a hardware wallet, which is quite affordable nowadays if you feel unsafe. I'm in a similar boat with you after having my Chrome browser infected. Avoid downloading torrents and exposing your wallet. If possible, use a separate computer or laptop for that purpose.

I recently created a similar thread; make sure to check it out because it contains a ton of useful information.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5423844.msg61357747#msg61357747

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Crude oil is on the rise again and is expected to average $100 per barrel in 2023. WTI is already at $80 per barrel, and Brent oil is at $84 per barrel, an approximate 10% increase compared to the recent year low after the war. A few days before the entry of 2023, the future already looks unpleasant, with inflation expected to rise even further, up to an extra 5% of what it currently is.

In the meantime, Europe is accusing the USA of profiting from the war by selling CNG even up to X3 to X4 its price since, after the imposed sanctions against Russia, the USA became one of the main importers.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/100-Oil-To-Return-In-2023.html

I'm sorry for your loss. As others have already mentioned, it's not advisable to store money in exchanges. It's a mistake we've all made in the past and are still making, and it's understandable; they are convenient. I'm not going to stand on how much money you were making, firstly because I can't relate to the USA's salaries and it's quite pointless to compare them with those in another country (It's approximately $5–6 per hour in Greece), and secondly because it's irrelevant to the topic. The point is that you lost all your savings, and in the best-case scenario, you might get a small percentage back if and when they liquidate their assets after declaring bankruptcy.

As someone whose hometown has a NATO military base, I'd say anywhere else there isn't one. Austria, Switzerland, and New Zealand are a few great examples of non-NATO and neutral countries that are prosperous enough. I'd also steer clear of ex-Soviet countries such as the Baltic States, Poland, Moldova, etc. On the one hand, I don't believe that we'll have another world war, but on the other hand, there are increased tensions between countries (see Kosovo and Serbia, Armenia and Azerbaijan).

I generally avoid interfering Bitcoin with my daily life/routine. Christmas is no different. Bitcoin hasn't enabled me to celebrate any differently just because I may do better financially. I'm also trying to approach a more minimalistic way of life; hoarding stuff you don't use or need is exhausting and a waste of resources; thus, I rarely resort to binge buying clothes or other items, even during Christmas celebrations. Don't get me wrong, I'll buy a few gifts for my parents and significant other, but I won't go on a shopping spree. With that being said, I'm not spending a fortune, nor do I spend more than I can afford; thus, there's no way I'd liquidate my Bitcoin. I've adopted a way of thinking that involves completely ignoring its existence.

Interesting chart. I actually have never bothered to compare gains among the first few years of Bitcoin, in which you'll notice massive, inconceivable gains. It's astonishing to think of an investment achieving over 5500% of its original value within a single year. From my point of view, 2022 has been a terrible year in terms of price. Bitcoin has lost tremendous value, but the somewhat fortunate thing is that this recession is not confined only to cryptocurrencies. People are quick to judge simply by looking at the minus sign in front and claiming that Bitcoin was a Ponzi scheme that came to an end. As I've also mentioned before, 2022 is showing many similarities with the 2018 crash; however, the issue now is a lot wider.

Those who are capable of investing now will have great profit margins in the upcoming years. I see it as a second chance to acquire relatively cheap Bitcoin. Personally, 2018 sucked because it made me abandon cryptocurrencies, but I'm still in the game, so far so good.

I don't have 1 Bitcoin; unfortunately, I'm nowhere close to having that much. I'd love to set a goal to acquire a whole Bitcoin but it won't be a realistic one. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the amount of BTC is quite irrelevant in this case since the majority of us are at a loss of over 50%. Even if you've held since 2012 as Franky1, it'd still hurt thinking that one day Bitcoin would be worth almost $70,000 each. Generally, I'm quite optimistic, despite an approximately 60% loss, because this isn't money that I take into account on a daily basis. Thus, I pretend that I don't have them; it helps keep my mind at peace. I'm hoping that we'll see a recovery in the upcoming few years.

It's unlikely that I'll ever acquire a whole bitcoin, but fortunately, the lower prices make it way more affordable than it was a few months ago.

It depends on what you decide to invest in. Not all smart contracts are the same; the risk may vary depending on the coins the vault is comprised of, the platform, or the yield. There were actually a few decent options featuring BNB and/or BUSD that provided a decent APY. If you do your research and choose vaults that don't involve shitcoins no one knows about, there's a decent chance your investment will thrive. It really varies on what type of investor you are; some decide that it's best to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum, while others may stick to staking. Whatever floats your boat

A decent description of staking; brief but contains all necessary details to analyze what it is. I used to stake algorithmic stablecoins back in early 2020, if I remember correctly, and it was extremely profitable but also involved medium-to-high risk. I managed to earn a decent amount of money, but the idea of it being a completely passive income is quite false. It may be valid if you're staking stablecoins such as USDT or BUSD, with which your yield will be extremely low, but actually staking requires frequent monitoring. Tons of such projects go down within the night, and in my case, I cashed out, and the next day it had crashed.

To sum up, in my opinion, staking is still profitable but not as much as it used to be. However, the term "passive income" is inaccurate because it requires frequent monitoring and may be subject to changes (switching from one vault to another because it was no longer profitable).

Not really. Such obsessions can have a huge toll on your personal life and mental state. This behavior is mostly anxiety-derived and may even show symptoms of OCD. I'm not implying that the OP is suffering from anything, but some of us, including myself, present compulsive behaviors or symptoms due to anxiety stemming from investments. I'm generally an anxious person myself and can relate to the OP's feelings, back when I was actively trading. I switched up to holding and accumulating Bitcoin and never suffered any anxiety again. That applies if you're patient enough to wait a few years.

OP needs to decide if he's willing to wait until the bull market and come to terms with the risks of doing so. Till then, it's best to make your wallet less accessible and focus on what you plan for the future. Purchasing below $20,000 is quite safe if you're long-term holding.