So I told my father about bitcoin.

[finkleshnorts]

And I think he may start buying about 100 dollars a month of them from me for diversification purposes, onto a paper wallet. I tried to explain the whole system and he was very interested (and extremely confused). His biggest reservation was bitcoin's grey legal status and it's use on silk road etc. But he was fascinated at them same time.

Does anyone have any success/disaster/funny stories about explaining bitcoin to non-technical people?

P.S. (just a side note) This conversation took place on the drive to purchase my first loan-necessitating vehicle. I went to the bank with my dad, and we got a 5500 dollar loan at 3.093 percent APR for 36 months (he cosigned). This will be my first financial venture to establish a credit score. I told him that I could have (at least) applied for a loan in bitcoin, and he was amazed. That's a damn good APR though.

[the joint]

I tell people to take $25-$100, buy some bitcoins with it, and act like its a lottery ticket for the future but with very good odds.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I tell people to take $25-$100, buy some bitcoins with it, and act like its a lottery ticket for the future but with very good odds.

...and better ROI, even if Bitcoin turned out to be a negative investment.

~Bruno~

[Bitcoin Oz]

If you leave $100 in a bank after 10 years how much will be left...

[Bitcoin Oz]

about $100, a bit more if the interest rate is good...




 

Not where I come from. Fees would destroy the balance and you would be lucky to have $2 left

[Foxpup]

If you leave $100 in a bank after 10 years how much will be left...

$150, though by that time it will only be worth enough to buy 3 cigarettes and a stick of gum.

[Bitcoin Oz]

about $100, a bit more if the interest rate is good...




 

Not where I come from. Fees would destroy the balance and you would be lucky to have $2 left

Oh lol! Where do you come from? What place is so crazy that people pay banks to let the banks borrow their money? WTF lulz.

The national australia bank made $4 billion profit last year. Now you know why. If you even use a non bank atm its a $2 fee.

[mc_lovin]

When it comes to fiat banking, I love my President's Choice bank account. 

http://www.pcfinancial.ca/

President's Choice banking has "no fees".  If you live in Canada, you'd be fooling yourself to use any other bank.  There is no actual "banks" as in "brick-and-mortar" physical locations, but just a kiosk in Superstore, the biggest Canadian chain market.  They do not need to have a staff of tons of people or the overhead of a whole bank so they pass on the savings. 

Plus they use CIBC as their banking system so you can withdrawal for free at any CIBC.

It's great!