Monthly Archives: January 2024

Israel-Hamas War: Yearning for children lost before their time – The Jerusalem Post

Posted: January 29, 2024 at 2:23 am

There are moments in which the Torah we learn jumps off the page and morphs into something completely different than what appeared at the outset.

As I was searching for inspiring Torah to write for this column, I came across a beautiful dvar Torah by Rabbi Aviva Richman of the Hadar Yeshiva. It was so instantly resonant that it was as if it had been sent for this purpose.

The beginning of the Book of Exodus opens with the terrible loss of baby boys as they are cruelly thrown into the Nile. In this weeks Torah portion, as the Children of Israel are leaving Egypt, they are leaving behind their dead children mired in their watery graves.

Richman analyzes two midrashim that I had never paid close attention to because of their fantastical content. Both describe a reality in which these babies miraculously survive! However, there are significant distinctions between them that yield contrasting ideas.

In the first, the parents reunite with their children on the banks of the Reed Sea.

How do we know that the sons thrown into the Nile River went up with their parents out of Egypt? The Holy One, blessed be He, hinted to the angel appointed over the water who spit them out into the desert. They ate and drank and procreated there... and when the Children of Israel were on the banks of the sea, these sons appeared opposite them and opened their mouths and cried out, These are our fathers!

Immediately, their fathers opened their mouths [in response to this miracle] and said, This is my God and I will glorify Him. The sons [then] said, God of my father and I will elevate Him (Otzar Midrashim Minyan 1:17).

In this midrash, the glorification of God comes after the parents are reunited with their lost children on opposite sides of the Reed Sea. While the children are not part of the initial exodus from Egypt, they join the nation in this singular moment of redemption. In Richmans words, the midrash is suggesting that leaving Egypt would not be meaningful if parents had to leave their children behind.

Only now, in this moment of joyous, miraculous reunion against all odds, parents, followed by their children, recognize the greatness of God and cry out in praise. Love for God is intertwined with love between parents and children, reflecting the midrashic idea that there are three partners in the creation of a child: mother, father, and God. When the partnership between God with parents and children is illuminated, as in this midrashic moment, it is cause for exaltation and celebration of the divine.

In a parallel midrash in Exodus Rabbah, the story is told somewhat differently. The narrative begins with the daughters of Israel seducing their husbands in order to continue procreating, despite Pharaohs decree to kill the male babies. The women would give birth in secret in the fields, and the babies would be provided for by an angel sent by God to clean, care, and feed them.

The midrash in Exodus Rabbah 1:12 continues: Once the Egyptians became aware of them [the babies], they sought to kill them. A miracle was performed for them, and they were enveloped in the ground. They [the Egyptians] brought oxen and they plowed [the land] above them. After [the Egyptians] would leave, they [the babies] would sprout and emerge like the grass of the field.

Once they grew, they would come in flocks to their homes. When the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself at the sea, they recognized Him first, as it is stated: This is my God and I will glorify Him (Exodus 15:2).

In this version of the midrashic narrative, the children return to their parents after they sprout wildly in the fields. They are thus part of the exodus experience. Furthermore, as Richman explains, it is they who recognize God at the sea and, in this way, introduce God to their parents.

Their direct experience with near death and salvation gives them the ability to see Gods providence in the world before their parents, who have only just emerged from the crippling experience of slavery and the near loss of their children.

THIS COLUMN is being written on a day in which 21 families were informed of the terrible loss of their sons during the fighting in Gaza, including a young man, Ariel Wolfstal, who grew up in my community in Elazar and married his childhood sweetheart, Sapir.

Last week, our community lost David Schwartz, and on the October 7 Hamas massacre, we lost Rinat Zagdon. Three beautiful young people with so much life to live and so much love to give to their family, friends, and Am Yisrael. We are only one community mirroring the myriad communities and families who are in deep mourning.

Before this war, I would have read the midrash dispassionately, trying to understand and teach the literary underpinnings to the interpretation and the midrashs incredible ability to weave verses from throughout the Bible to enrich the narrative.

But today, when I rediscovered these midrashim, all I hear is incredible yearning for children who have died before their time to be united with their parents; to feel Gods presence; to sense salvation at times of unending darkness.

One final point. I give a weekly Gemara shiur at the home of Ariel Wolfstals mother, where we study the Talmudic tractate Bava Batra. The first chapter is about the relationship between neighbors, building walls, and the nitty-gritty of who owes what to whom, and when.

Last night, before the family was informed of the terrible news, we started learning about Reuben. His fields abut Simeons on three sides, and he decides to build fences on each side of Simeons field.

In the usual style of the Talmud, questions arose whether Simeon could be obligated to contribute to the cost of the walls. The Talmud talks about the makif (the one who surrounds) and the nikaf (the one who is surrounded). This morning, it occurred to me that those concepts have a much deeper significance. In moments of sorrow and loss, when we live in a community, we are either the ones surrounding a family in mourning (the makif) or being surrounded when we are experiencing a loss (nikaf).

While Bava Batra is filled with moments of conflict between neighbors (which is why good walls make good neighbors), those walls temporarily dissolve as we surge forward to hold, comfort, and surround those who mourn.

May the memories of Ariel, David, and Rinat, along with all of those who have fallen, be a blessing. May they help us see the presence of the divine in these moments of darkness.

The writer teaches contemporary Halacha at the Matan Advanced Talmud Institute. She also teaches Talmud at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, as well as courses on sexuality and sanctity in the Jewish tradition.

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Israel-Hamas War: Yearning for children lost before their time - The Jerusalem Post

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Roots, Midrash and Tu B’Shvat | Gershon Hepner | The Blogs – The Times of Israel

Posted: at 2:23 am

Although regardingboksersI dont give two hoots,

about thecarob trees on which they growmyminds not shut,

appreciating what helps themgrow like me, their roots.

My roots:not just midrashic explanations of me, butpeshat,

a process which midrashic explanations hardly moots,

both tastier thanboksersI dont eat onTu BShvat,

enjoying both midrashic explanations andpeshatas fruits

that arent dependent on a kashrut label such asglatt.

InWhy Jews Used to Eat Dried Carob on Tu bShvat: Bokser smells like Limburger cheese. Its also an embodiment of Jewish vitality and endurance,Mosaic.com, 2/4/15, Meir Soloveichik writes:

In the Talmud, the holiday of Tu bShvat commemorates nothing more than one in a series of halakhic deadlines related to the obligation to offer tithed portions of the years crops to the Levites in the Temple. For fruits in particular, the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of the next was marked by Tu bShvat, the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shvat. Because these laws of tithing applied only to produce grown in the Holy Land, celebrating Tu bShvat became throughout the centuries a way of connecting to the land itself. For Ashkenazi Jews, that meant eating one fruit: carob, whose name derives from the Hebrewharuv and whose Yiddish name,bokser, is short for the Germanbokshornbaum, the tree with rams-horn-shaped fruit..

In its discussion of laws dependent on the land, the Mishnah presents us with the following conundrum. Suppose a tree is planted on one of the lands borders, with its roots in sacred soil but its fruit hanging over into non-native territoryinto, in effect, the Diaspora. Is the fruit subject to tithing in accordance with the laws relating to Tu bShvat? The answer is unequivocally yes: everything depends on the roots, not the foliage.

Another talmudic ruling is also relevant here. The tractate ofBava Batraincludes a lengthy discussion of the obligations we owe our neighbors. According to one ruling, we may not plant a tree near our neighbors well because the roots, though on our own property, will extend underground and possibly contaminate his water supply. Any tree, therefore, must be planted at a distance of 25 cubits from neighboring property. But certain trees, with exceptionally long roots, must be placed twice as far away. One such tree, the Talmud stresses, is theharuv, the carob.

So, according to Jewish law, identity is defined by roots: surely, an arresting idea. After all, we moderns often assume the oppositethat identity is not predetermined but malleable, that it can be shed and replaced like a suit of clothes, that we can be whoever we wish to be. And to a certain extent that is true enough; taken to an extreme, however, such an attitude, Judaism insists, denies human nature. For man is akin to a tree in the field, Deuteronomy informs us. In the view of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, this strange comparison suggests precisely that man, much like a tree, is in fact integrally connected with his roots, and indeed largely defined by them.

The carob, says the Talmud, has longer roots than most other Israelite trees; to eat its fruit was thus, for Jews in the Diaspora, to link themselves with a land and a heritage far away, and with an identity impervious to the often inimical forces of their surrounding environment. Unquestionably, sweeter and more exotic species of fruit exist abundantly in the Holy Land today, and can be almost instantly transported anywhere in the world. But even today, to connect with ones long-ago ancestors in the land by savoring the humble carob is truly to comprehend the Psalmists confident exclamation: Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored "Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel." He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.

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How much money Americans need to earn to be ‘financially independent’ – CNBC

Posted: at 2:23 am

Financial independence is a common goal for people at many different life stages.

In fact, 67% of Americans say achieving that milestone is important to them, according to a recent survey from Empower financial services.

But financial independence can have various meanings. One popular definition is having enough money to be able to stop working. A more attainable interpretation is that you don't have to rely on someone else, such as your parents or a spouse, for money.

Regardless of how they define it, Americans say financial independence is also the most important marker of overall life success, or feeling like you've financially "made it," Empower found.

It doesn't take an exorbitant salary, either. Americans say they'd need to earn about $94,000 a year on average to feel financially independent. That's about $20,000 more than the median household income of $74,580.

There are several ways people may consider themselves financially independent. A young adult who moves out of their parents' home. A subscriber to the FIRE movement which stands for financial independence, retire early who is able to live off passive income, with the flexibility to work for a lower salary or not at all.

Most people, however, define financial independence simply, Empower found. The most popular definition, chosen by 47% of survey respondents, is "no longer needing to receive money from family and friends."

"Reaching a certain net worth" (44%) and "starting to contribute to a 401(k)" (42%) were also popular definitions, according to Empower. Respondents were able to select up to three definitions.

If you're interested in achieving financial independence, the first step is deciding what it looks like for you.

"Financial independence starts with clarity," Keith Jones, senior financial professional with Empower said in the survey release. "Establishing clear financial goals provides both direction and purpose, motivating you to work towards a more secure and satisfying financial future."

If you're looking to be as financially independent as possible, a FIRE mindset might be a good idea for you. Followers typically aim for a certain net worth, known as their "FIRE number," which is the amount of money they estimate they need to have saved and invested to be work-optional.

You don't have to adhere to a specific definition of financial independence to be part of the FIRE movement. But for many followers, it is tied to the ability to retire early, which requires you to be untethered from other people and institutions, whether that's a supportive family member or an employer paying you to work.

There can be levels to this kind of financial independence, too. Jessica and Corey Fick, money coaches and personal finance content creators known as "The Fioneers," identify five levels of financial freedom. Level one is being debt-free, while level five is having enough in savings to completely replace your income.

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What is Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)? – Bankrate.com

Posted: at 2:23 am

The Financial Independence, Retire Early movement, or FIRE, is a group of people trying to gain financial independence by amassing enough wealth and cutting their expenses so that they can retire extremely early. Many FIRE proponents are looking to retire in their 30s or 40s.

So how do people in the FIRE movement achieve their goal, and what are the drawbacks?

The FIRE movement centers on taking control of your finances, and proponents focus on earning more and spending less. FIRE participants focus on two areas, which are really two sides of the same coin:

By saving and investing their money, participants grow an amount of money that can generate enough income to sustain their lifestyles. They use detailed spreadsheets and financial plans to model how theyll be able to meet their needs based on their income and the rate of return they can expect from their savings and investments in stocks or stock funds.

To meet their goals, FIRE participants must take on extra risk by investing in stocks, and that means understanding how the stock market works and having a brokerage account. They wont be able to rely on the low returns and absolute safety of a bank account to amass their fortune.

And by spending less, they reduce the level of savings they need in order to retire early. While some FIRE critics say that FIRE participants live a too-frugal lifestyle to reach their goal, many proponents say that theyre not making extraordinary sacrifices. In fact, they say by spending on what they really love that they actually derive more enjoyment from those things. Plus, they enjoy moving toward independence, when they can do what they truly love.

But however they approach it, FIRE participants see the lifestyle as a way to spend their time doing what they really want to do rather than what society tells them they should want.

Because of their desire to retire early, many participants wont be able to take full advantage of employer-sponsored retirement plans such as a 401(k). They may or may not be able to take advantage of plans such as an IRA, depending on whether they earn income in retirement. Instead, theyll need to save in taxable accounts or in accounts such as a Roth IRA, both of which offer access to cash (at least at some level with the IRA) without any penalties.

To achieve FIRE, followers adhere to two key principles: the rule of 25 and the 4 percent withdrawal rule.

The rule of 25 serves as a helpful tool in planning for retirement. It recommends that a person should have 25 times their yearly expenses saved up for their retirement. To use the rule of 25 to figure out your FIRE number, begin by estimating your annual expenses in retirement, and then multiply that number by 25. To put it in perspective, if your yearly expenses amount to $40,000, you should strive to save $1,000,000 for your retirement, according to the rule of 25.

The 4 percent rule is a common retirement withdrawal strategy. It suggests that retirees should initially withdraw 4 percent from their total investment portfolio in their first retirement year, then adjust this figure annually for inflation, in order to make their savings last for a 30-year retirement. This guideline intends to strike a balance between enjoying life and safeguarding against running out of money in retirement.

The FIRE movement is not for everyone. It takes a certain type of person to be able to live frugally and save aggressively. It requires a high level of discipline, commitment and a willingness to live well below ones means. It is best suited for individuals who have a high income and can afford to save a large portion of their earnings.

Additionally, it helps to have a minimalist mindset and the ability to derive happiness from non-materialistic aspects of life. However, anyone who is interested in gaining financial independence and the possibility of retiring early can benefit from the principles of the FIRE movement.

Achieving financial freedom usually doesnt happen out of the blue, but instead demands a well-thought-out strategy. This is something the FIRE community is especially committed to, often mapping out their financial journey years in advance. The movement is also really supportive of members who have started the journey, and members provide spreadsheets and other tools to help each other.

This social solidarity helps FIRE participants realize that there is a community that values what theyre trying to achieve, making it that much easier to do.

Heres a rundown of the different mindsets within the FIRE movement:

The benefits of FIRE come mostly from the financial independence component, though retiring early can be a nice benefit as well.

When you become financially independent, you no longer need a bi-weekly paycheck to survive. That is because you have amassed enough wealth that your investments can cover all your expenses.

Financial security is arguably the biggest benefit of financial independence. While there are other benefits of FIRE, they tend to be enabled by the financial security that comes along with it.

For example, before reaching financial independence, you may have no choice but to keep working. But after financial independence, you can leave the moment you say thats the last straw and still be just fine financially.

Different people define FIRE in different ways. Some say you have to stop working completely, while others include the option to work a job you care about instead of simply exchanging your time for a paycheck.

For instance, there may be a non-profit working to address an issue that is important to you. A job with the non-profit may pay less than your current job, but once you reach financial independence, you can retire from your current job. Thus, the idea is to have more options and be able to do something especially meaningful to you.

They say that time is money, but for FIRE proponents, there is nothing more valuable than time. No, not even money. And once you reach FIRE, you will no longer be obligated to exchange your time for money. Instead, you can spend time doing things you really enjoy.

That could be spending more time with family, volunteering, traveling, or whatever you are passionate about. Notice how these activities usually dont pay, and yet, most of us would consider them priceless.

Criticisms of the FIRE movement generally fall into one of two key categories:

Some early retirees, for example, may assume that they could generate the kind of returns that investors have seen in stocks over the past few years. Or perhaps some may rely on their ability to pick stocks and have had a few lucky years.

Critics also say that FIRE participants are not factoring in the longer-term costs of major expenses such as health care and housing, which have continued to increase substantially. Plus, leaving the workforce may create an employment gap that many employers will view negatively. For sure, staying out of the workforce will ding the amount of Social Security income you can draw later in life, and thats when those on a fixed income may most need the money.

These are all relevant concerns, but many in the FIRE community say they have considered these scenarios and have planned accordingly. They may cite their financial models as proof that they have been realistic, pointing to detailed projections of their income and expenses.

In any case, a major decline in stocks, which typically occurs as part of a recession, will stress-test these plans and forecasts, and may challenge the security of many early retirees.

The FIRE movement is just that: a movement. It isnt a particular decree or set of rules. However, some ways to become financially independent include:

There is a lot to like about the FIRE movement even if you dont decide to retire early. For one thing, pensions have largely disappeared in the private sector, lessening the financial incentive to stay with one employer for many years.

This has also resulted in a shift of financial responsibility from employer to employee; in many ways, FIRE is just taking an already existing trend to the next level.

And even if you choose not to retire early, FI just makes sense from a financial security perspective. Thus, everyone should consider pursuing financial independence regardless of their long-term goals. You never know what could happen due to an economic slowdown or a change in strategy at your employer. FI, and thus FIRE, lead to the sort of financial security we should all aspire to have.

The FIRE movement has attracted a lot of attention in recent years some of it negative. Yet its hard to see how people consciously spending their money and time on what they truly love is anything but a net positive, even if it does have some costs along the way.

Bankrates Brian Baker contributed to an update of this story.

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.

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Crypto Sundae The Dog $SUNDAE: Your Path to Financial Independence – Medium

Posted: at 2:23 am

7 min read

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Throughout this guide, well uncover the secrets behind Sundae The Dog Airdrops and provide valuable insights on quickly navigating this dynamic landscape. Its a chance to unlock your share of the crypto wealth and set off on a thrilling voyage toward building your digital fortune.

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Before we begin, navigate to the Official Airdrop Page.

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The moment youve eagerly awaited has arrived! After completing the assigned tasks, return to the airdrop platform and click the Claim button. Your free tokens will be seamlessly transferred to your wallet when the airdrop event concludes. Imagine it as stumbling upon a chest overflowing with precious coins, only in the digital realm.

As your airdrop journey climaxes, the final step involves activating automatic token crediting. This eliminates room for manual errors and ensures a hassle-free and streamlined experience as you reap the rewards. Automation is critical in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, and it ensures that you dont miss out on any tokens due to human error or oversight.

Now, lets look closer at the featured airdrops waiting for you. These opportunities offer free tokens and a chance to explore intriguing blockchain projects. Lets dive into the specifics:

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Sundae The Dog, a blockchain project making waves in the crypto space, is offering you the chance to win a staggering $400 worth of SUNDAE tokens in their exclusive airdrop. SUNDAE tokens hold immense growth potential, making this an enticing opportunity.

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Seize this golden ticket to free tokens and join a promising project by claiming your SUNDAE tokens today! Remember that the cryptocurrency landscape is renowned for its dynamic nature, where astute investment decisions can potentially yield significant profits.

To ensure you never miss out on these exhilarating opportunities, consider subscribing to airdrop notification services or watching cryptocurrency news websites. The cryptocurrency market is known for its rapid developments, and new chances to claim free tokens emerge frequently. Staying engaged and informed is your key to success in this dynamic ecosystem.

Airdrops serve as your gateway to the captivating realm of cryptocurrencies, offering a remarkable introduction to the world of digital assets. Following these straightforward steps, you can initiate your expedition to claim airdrop rewards today. Seize this golden opportunity to unlock valuable tokens, marking the initial steps toward accumulating digital wealth.

Embark on this exciting quest and watch your crypto portfolio thrive with every token acquisition. The treasure hunt is underway dont delay; claim your free tokens now, and let your crypto journey soar to new heights

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Salary Success: Is $94000 the Magic Number for Financial Freedom? – Study Finds

Posted: at 2:23 am

NEW YORK How much do you need to make in order to really feel like youre in a good spot in life? The average American says financial independence means making upwards of $94,000 per year, and 60 percent feel optimistic they can reach this milestone.

In a recent poll of 2,000 adults, spenders and savers say financial freedom is synonymous with resilience and independence: not needing money from family and friends (47%), reaching a certain net worth (44%), and contributing to a 401(k) (42%). The new study by financial services company Empower, conducted by OnePoll, also reveals that more than two in five define making it as reaching financial independence (44%).

Doing so is important to 67 percent of Americans, though nearly a quarter (24%) say they havent yet achieved it. Definitions of success extend beyond Americans wallets to the workplace by moving up in their career (39%) and having a job they love (37%).

Despite having financial aspirations for the future, a majority of people (72%) admit they currently stress over their finances at least once per month, and nearly one in five (17%) say they worry about money daily.

Over half (57%) of Americans say they still rely on their family and friends for financial support, especially for help paying their rent (62%), internet and streaming services (56%), and their phone bill (54%). Of those who dont feel financially independent, three in 10 (31%) are optimistic they will be in the future, while 54 percent dont think theyll ever be able to pay their bills without help. The majority (92%) of financially independent Americans say they only started to feel that way once they reached the age of 36.

No matter your age, financial independence starts with clarity, says spokesperson Keith Jones, a senior financial professional with Empower, in a statement. Ask yourself what you want and why you want it. Establishing clear financial goals provides both direction and purpose, motivating you to work toward a more secure and satisfying financial future.

The poll finds many parents believe their kids should be able to pay their own bills and expenses by the time they reach age 23. Of those with adult children aged 20 or older, two in five (40%) parents surveyed currently support them financially, more than half (53%) are dipping into their retirement savings to do so, and 49 percent say they live with their children to help manage expenses.

More than half of parents regret not having more money conversations with their children while they were growing up (57%). If they could turn back the clock and do things differently, 60 percent would have made financial literacy a priority.

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was commissioned by Empower and fielded by market research company OnePoll between December 11 and December 12, 2023. OnePoll team members are part of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).

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Salary Success: Is $94000 the Magic Number for Financial Freedom? - Study Finds

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Early Retirement Is Just A Big Lie – Seeking Alpha

Posted: at 2:23 am

zimmytws

When I first approached the world of finance, I had a completely different attitude than I do today. I was convinced that anything that was mathematically right coincided with the correct choice to make; therefore, simply doing calculations was enough to achieve any goal.

In particular, right from the start I was passionate about FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). After all, being financially independent as soon as possible is all we aspire to when investing our money. In any case, I have noticed that in some cases the concept of FIRE is taken to extremes, and in this article I would like to discuss the problems that such a lifestyle can bring.

No one doubts that it is wise to save as a young person in order to have a nice nest egg as an adult, but it is not always the right financial choice for us.

FIRE refers to a lifestyle of reducing expenses and increasing investments to quickly achieve financial independence and the ability to retire at a young age. You can find many articles online that explain how to retire in your 40s or even 30s. There are some authors who promise you an early retirement simply by investing in a stock: my invitation is to be wary of those who promise you difficult goals with minimal effort. This is not the reality, otherwise we would all be rich.

FIRE's first problem concerns goal setting since there are no one-size-fits-all standards. What does it mean for us to be financially free? Getting around in a Ferrari at 40 or being able to cope with any unexpected expenses at 50? Much depends on the value we place on money.

The moment the goal is set, our life will revolve around it, so it is of crucial importance to do it judiciously. However, it is not easy for two reasons:

These two aspects generate considerable uncertainty and, more importantly, have a strong psychological impact over the years. When you are young, it is much easier to save and be positive, but the moment a mortgage and a family take over, unexpected expenses are the order of the day, which could jeopardize your constancy. As a result, you will be forced to reduce your investments and scale back your goals, which is not easy to accept.

In short, life is far from predictable, and in time, the goals you set in your 20s and 30s may turn into nothing more than a dream from when you were full of enthusiasm.

As mentioned earlier, the amount of money to aspire to in order to feel financially independent can vary greatly, depending both on the country of residence and the kind of life to be made once retired. For an American a good figure might be $3 million at age 50; for a poorer country $1 million would already be a lot. Be that as it may, in either case reaching this goal would involve a huge sacrifice for a person with an average income (obviously for those who are wealthy the problem does not exist). Specifically, in the case of the $3 million one would need to invest $18,237 each year and achieve an average return of 10%. And I am considering reinvested dividends.

Anticipating this by 10 years would imply an annual investment of $52,378. Basically, one would have to live with parents until the age of 40, have no family, hardly ever go out and have a good job as well. But is it really worth it?

If we were relying solely on the monetary aspect, it would be absolutely advisable to accumulate as much as possible in order to take full advantage of compound interest. Spending money or even receiving dividends (a tax disadvantageous solution) will postpone the time when you will be financially independent. However, people are not machines, and what makes sense mathematically is not always the right thing to do.

When it comes to investing, the most important thing is the psychological aspect in my opinion, since where and how much we decide to invest greatly affects the quality of our lives. Maintaining a balance and a certain serenity is what we should all aspire to, and I don't think it coincides with retiring at 40-45 years of age. You may have your $3 million at that age, but if you have completely sacrificed your best years you will probably have other problems to deal with.

Moreover, I doubt that a person with an average income can really maintain such a low standard of living for decades only to stop working at 40-45 years old. Saving as much as possible and investing for the very long term is sustainable only if the sums involved are minimal compared to the salary. Otherwise, the initial enthusiasm will gradually be replaced by a feeling of discouragement. After all, who guarantees that we will ever see the fruits of our investments? In 20-25 years, anything can happen.

The aspects that can really help you during your journey to financial freedom are only two: increase the money invested or improve the annual return.

Increasing the money invested obviously requires earning more money since saving too much can limit your lifestyle too much. In this case, it is useful to look at ourselves as a kind of investment, since the more knowledge we have, the more chances we will have to climb up the hierarchies work-wise. Spending thousands of dollars on our education instead of investing it in the S&P 500 may prove to be an even more profitable investment in the long run. So, in order to achieve an early retirement, it is also necessary to increase your knowledge: you may benefit both mentally and economically. Earning 20-30% more than the average can make a huge difference in reaching your early retirement.

The second aspect concerns the annual return, a component that can disrupt the final outcome. A small variation can lead to completely different results:

Of course, when we make an investment we hope that it will turn out better than expected and especially that it will beat the market. Anyway, we are not all Warren Buffett and that is often not the case. Investing in individual stocks rather than in a well-diversified ETF can prove to be no small mistake and may disrupt the timing of early retirement. In other words, taking big risks to get rich as soon as possible is a strategy I do not recommend for those who really care about their retirement. Wealth is a process and not an event.

For some people, getting 10% per year may not seem like much (average return of the S&P 500 over the past 30 years) but it is actually enough to create wealth: sometimes more than money, patience is lacking.

Early retirement is the dream that many pursue but few succeed in achieving. In my opinion, the reason why many fail depends mainly on the motivations that drive the individual to invest in the first place. The harsh truth is that financial markets will not make the average investor rich unless you are willing to be patient for decades. However, taking the FIRE concept to extremes can lead to a lifetime of regret, just as seeking high-yield investments can lead to substantial losses that will only make you poorer.

The right approach to operate in the financial markets is to take a long-term view, and to do this we need to look first at our psychological well-being: without it we will not be able to be consistent for decades. Assuming that the performance of the S&P 500 is similar to that of the past 30 years, it only takes a little to achieve a major accomplishment:

Since the average annual salary in the U.S. is $59,428, these seem like pretty affordable figures to me and not so high as to weigh on an individual too heavily. For those who save a little more, there would also be room for individual investments. Of course, even then you risk not getting the amount you hoped for, but at least you will not have sacrificed your whole life. Anyway, almost certainly even in the worst case scenario you will end up with a good nest egg. You won't be driving around in a Ferrari, but you can take a lot of satisfaction out of it.

Overall, I think the topic of early retirement is a dangerous fad because it generates false hopes in the average investor. Assuming there is someone who, thanks to his or her investments, can stop working before 50, he or she will not necessarily achieve the much-coveted happiness. Chasing that goal for the better part of a lifetime may have overshadowed many other aspects far more important than any amount of money. For those starting from scratch and earning average income must see the financial markets as a way to supplement their salary not to replace it and live off of it, otherwise they will most likely be disappointed. Accepting this harsh truth from a young age, I believe, is the only way to make the investment process satisfactory in the long run; the alternative is to tell ourselves a big lie that is not meant to last forever.

This article is aimed primarily at people of a young age; after all, they are the retirees of the future. In any case, I would greatly appreciate comments from someone with more experience. I think young people (including me of course) can learn a lot from those who have already faced this tortuous path.

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Lucid Dreaming & Dreamwork / Sinister Technology & the Paranormal – Coast To Coast AM

Posted: at 2:23 am

Author and journalistVon Braschleris a writer on the subjects of time, human consciousness, and energy healing. In the first half, he discussed his latest work on lucid dreaming and dreamwork. There's a rich history of ancient cultures using dreams for revelation, divine encounters, prophecies, and even physical healings, he said, adding that the Greeks built temples for people to specifically explore and cultivate their dreams. Braschler talked about the concept of dream walkers-- a Native American tradition where shamans go into an altered state of consciousness to bring back knowledge from beyond time and space. One fascinating aspect of dreams is that we may be visiting parallel realities or even other versions of ourselves, he marveled.

In a lucid dream, a person is aware that they're dreaming, and in this state, it may be possible to link up with other participants in a kind of shared or group dream, Braschler revealed. You can train yourself to have lucid dreams through creative visualization, he stated, and there are techniques related to this from the ancient Hindus. He advised that you should get into a harmonious altered or meditative state in the visualization exercise and picture yourself successfully having a lucid dream. As a technique for remembering your dreams, he suggested that after waking up, you lay quietly in bed with eyes closed and then hold and feel the dream without trying to unpack it analytically.

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In the latter half, C2C's investigative reporterCheryll Jonesshared her interview with scientific researcher, author, ghostwriter, and teacherElana Freeland. Exploring such topics as chemtrails, HAARP, and transhumanism in her books, Freeland delved into sinister agendas and paranormal connections in her conversation with Cheryll. She shared her belief that a "worldwide global technology" that includes synthetic biology controls many things in our lives, and most people are completely unaware of this. She further argued that humans are breathing in or ingesting tiny nanotechnology particles that can be controlled or surveilled at a distance by 5G and 6G systems.

Freeland told Cheryll that one of her upcoming projects is to write a book about "targeted individuals" who are being controlled and tortured by electromagnetic energies. She also shared some of her paranormal experiences, including an out-of-body episode, and an encounter with a diamond-shaped aerial object that she realized was a kind of organic creature rather than a metallic craft. She compared this to the amoeba-like beings in the sky thatTrevor Constabledocumented.

The last half-hour featured a replay from8/1/17in which space historian Robert Zimmerman reported on space technology developments.

News segment guests: Christian Wilde, Kevin Randle

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The absurdity of political correctness – Fiji Times

Posted: at 2:22 am

We are living at a time where political correctness (PC) has turned things upside down so that many people have been forced to accept things in a certain way as the new normal.

Gone are the days when what you saw is what you said because that was the truth. When something was black, we called it black because thats the colour we saw. We did the same for red, blue and white.

But because PC has gone bonkers and just because someone may consider something offensive, we cannot say that anymore. And, being the spineless wimps that we are, we have succumbed to the tyranny of PC.

So while the object is black, we would just say its grey, dark or something. Anything but the truth. So what is this ridiculous concept called PC anyway? It is avoiding language and actions that insult, exclude or harm people who may already be experiencing (perceived or real) disadvantage and discrimination. But it has been taken to a ridiculous extreme.

Maybe some of us are getting old. Maybe we need to change with the times. But then maybe we dont. Maybe there are some values worth holding onto like honesty and telling the truth and standing our ground against stupidity.

The definition of PC I really like it is a term used for whiney overly sensitive pansies (is that too American?) who need everything sugar coated for them.

I spent almost half of my life in the US and PC there has become so absurd it boggles the mind Here are some totally inane examples of PC that will make you shake your head in disbelief and prove the stark and distressing reality of what Einstein said, Only the universe and human stupidity are infinite and I am not sure about the universe.

A college diversity-training course taught that it was culturally insensitive to expect people to be on time.

A Clemson University (in the US, where else?) training course taught its attendees that it is offensive to expect people to be on time, because time may be considered fluid in other cultures.

Maybe they should call it Fiji Time. College students decided against bringing a camel to school for a Hump Day event, due to concerns about racism. Students at the University of St.

Thomas in Minnesota were worried that the presence of a camel might offend Middle Eastern students. Journalism lecturers at Leeds Trinity University were instructed to avoid using all caps when communicating with students, because it might make them too afraid to do the assignment.

Oxford University law students (OMG, England too?) were told that they didnt have to learn about rape or violence law if they found it too triggering. Undergraduate law students were reportedly allowed to leave during any lessons about such material if they felt uncomfortable.

Evergreen State University told professors to take student protesters feelings into account when grading them.

Apparently, their emotional commitment to protesting should be taken into account when evaluating their academic work. (Apparently, grading classwork based on, you know, classwork would be too insensitive).

And the stupidity continues Someone said the two pillars of PC are willful ignorance and a steadfast refusal to face the truth. PC is destroying the very fabric of society.

Never before have people been so afraid to stand up against absurdity for the fear of being a called a homophobe, a racist or a bigot. Even a progressive organisation like Toastmasters has submitted to this idiocy.

I once participated in a speech contest and the Chief Judge told me that even though my speech would have won hands down, I was penalised because I made a derogatory religious reference.

Being taught to avoid talking about religion has led to a lack of understanding of it something most of us are so deeply entrenched in.

What we should be taught is how to have a civil conversation about a difficult topic.

I feel that if we did not have religion, everyone will live together peacefully.

My wife thinks we need religion or else people will not have a moral code of conduct. If you need religion in order to be a good person, youre intrinsically not a good person. You dont need religion to have morals.

But I digress. PC causes people to needlessly worry about offending those around them. Once we are afraid to speak out, we are afraid to think. Consequently, control of the public is achieved.

And like sheep, we submit to this most inane societal norm. My distaste for PC started when I was in high school and came across Uriah Heep, the villain in Charles Dickenss novel David Copperfield.

This slimy creep has since become a byword for a falsely humble hypocrite (like the PC advocates) who make your skin crawl. PC reminds me of this joke John was asked to watch Bobs family home while the family was on vacation, included was the dog, the cat and Bobs Grandma. After the first week, Bob called and asked how things were going.

John replied Everything is okay, except the cat died.

Bob says Couldnt you be more diplomatic? John asks What do you mean? Bob replies Well, if I ask how the cat is, say the cats on the roof then the next time, you could tell me it died

The next week, Bob calls, John answers and after a short discussion, Bob asks how his Grandma is doing. John replies Shes on the roof. George Carlin was a favorite comedian of mine.

He had no tolerance for hypocrisy. He said, Political correctness is Americas newest form of intolerance, and it is especially pernicious because it comes disguised as tolerance.

It presents itself as fairness, yet attempts to restrict and control peoples language with strict codes and rigid rules. Im not sure thats the way to fight discrimination.

Im not sure silencing people or forcing them to alter their speech is the best method for solving problems that go much deeper than speech. Is there a cure? Yes, it is to speak your mind!

Or we are doomed to the political correctness police somewhat akin to thought police George Orwells nightmarish classic, Nineteen Eighty-four. Maybe not so ominous but quite ridiculous.

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The Future of Academic Freedom – The New Yorker

Posted: at 2:21 am

On January 2nd, after months of turmoil around Harvards response to Hamass attack on Israel, and weeks of turmoil around accusations of plagiarism, Claudine Gay resigned as the universitys president. Any hope that this might relieve the outsized attention on Harvard proved to be illusory. The week after Gay stepped down, two congressional committees demanded documents and explanations from Harvard, on topics ranging from antisemitism, free speech, discrimination, and discipline, to admissions, donations, budgets, and legal settlements. Some at Harvard might say this is a crisis sparked by external forces: the government, donors, and the public. But it developed long before Gay became president and wont end with her fall. Over time, Harvard, like many other universities, has allowed the core academic mission of research, intellectual inquiry, and teaching to be subordinated to other values that, though important, should never have been allowed to work against it.

Sometime in the twenty-tens, it became common for students to speak of feeling unsafe when they heard things that offended them. Ive been a law professor at Harvard since 2006. The first piece I wrote for The New Yorker, in 2014, was about students suggestions (then shocking to me) that rape law should not be taught in the criminal-law course, because debates involving arguments for defendants, in addition to the prosecution, caused distress. At the very least, some students said, nobody should be asked in class to argue a side with which they disagree. Since then, students have asked me to excuse them from discussing or being examined on guns, gang violence, domestic violence, the death penalty, L.G.B.T.Q. issues, police brutality, kidnapping, suicide, and abortion. I have declined, because I believe the most important skill I teach is the ability to have rigorous exchanges on difficult topics, but professors across the country have agreed to similar requests.

Over the years, I learned that students had repeatedly attempted to file complaints about my classes, saying that my requiring students to articulate, or to hear classmates make, arguments they might abhorfor example, Justice Antonin Scalia saying there is no constitutional right to same-sex intimacywas unacceptable. The administration at my law school would not allow such complaints to move forward to investigations because of its firm view that academic freedom protects reasonable pedagogical choices. But colleagues at other schools within Harvard and elsewhere feared that their administrators were using concepts of discrimination or harassment to cover classroom discussions that make someone uncomfortable. These colleagues become more and more unwilling to facilitate conversations on controversial topics, believing that university administrators might not distinguish between challenging discussions and discrimination or harassment. Even an investigation that ended with no finding of wrongdoing could eat up a year of ones professional life and cost thousands of dollars in legal bills. (A spokesperson for Harvard University declined to comment for this story.)

The seeping of D.E.I. programs into many aspects of university life in the past decade would seem a ready-made explanation for how we got to such a point. Danielle Allen, a political philosopher and my Harvard colleague, co-chaired the universitys Presidential Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging, which produced a report, in 2018, that aimed to counter the idea that principles of D.E.I. and of academic freedom are in opposition, and put forward a vision in which both are necessary to the pursuit of truth. Like Allen, I consider the diversity of thought that derives from the inclusion of people of different experiences, backgrounds, and identities to be vital to an intellectual community and to democracy. But, as she observed last month in the Washington Post, across the country, DEI bureaucracies have been responsible for numerous assaults on common sense. Allen continued, Somehow the racial reckoning of 2020 lost sight of that core goal of a culture of mutual respect with human dignity at the center. A shaming culture was embraced instead.

Last year, students at Harvards public-health school discovered that Tyler VanderWeele, an epidemiology professor and a Catholic, had signed on to an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in 2015, arguing that the Constitution does not contain a federal right to same-sex marriage and that the issue should be decided by the statesa view similar to that of President Barack Obama until 2012. After some students called for VanderWeeles firing or removal from teaching a required course, administrative leaders at the school e-mailed parts of the community explaining that it seeks to nurture a culture of inclusion, equity, and belonging, that everyone has a right to express their views, even though free expression can cause deep hurt, undermine the culture of belonging, and make other members of the community feel less free and less safe. In light of the harm and betrayal students reported because of VanderWeeles views, the school hosted more than a dozen restorative circle dialogue sessions, for people to process, share, and collectively move forward from the current place of pain. (A spokesperson for the School of Public Health pointed out that students exercised free-speech rights when they demanded VanderWeeles firing and said that the administration never considered disciplinary action against him.)

In 2021, Carole Hooven, a longtime Harvard lecturer on human evolutionary biology who wrote a well-reviewed book about testosterone, stated in a Fox News interview, The facts are that there are in fact two sexes... male and female, and those sexes are designated by the kind of gametes we produce. She added that understanding the facts about biology doesnt prevent us from treating people with respect, and that we can respect their gender identities and use their preferred pronouns. The director of her departments Diversity and Inclusion task force, a graduate student, denounced Hoovens remarks, in a tweet, as transphobic and harmful. A cascade of shunning and condemnation ensued, including a petition, authored by graduate students, which implied that Hooven was a threat to student safety. Graduate students also refused to serve as teaching assistants for her previously popular course on hormones, making it difficult for her to keep teaching it. Hooven found it untenable to remain in her job, and she retired from the department.

Students across the political spectrum, but largely liberals, have told me that they felt it would be foolish to volunteer their opinions in class discussions, or even that they routinely lied about their views when asked. These self-censorious habits became even more conscious with the rise of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, such that a large range of political remarksquestioning abortion rights, calling a fetus an unborn child, doubting the fairness of affirmative action, praising color-blindness, or asking who should compete in womens sportscould be perceived as being on a continuum of bigotry. In this climate, it became increasingly difficult to elicit robust discussions because students were so scared of one another.

In 2021, feeling that the environment for open inquiry was dire, I helped form the Academic Freedom Alliance, a national organization that supports faculty who are threatened with penalties for their exercise of academic freedom. It defends the freedom of thought and expression in research, writing, teaching, and extramural speech, and provides funds for the legal defense of faculty who face official reprisals. The people whose rights weve defended have usually expressed views that I happen to find objectionable and even offensive. For example, the University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax wrote that the United States is better off with fewer Asians and, on a podcast, suggested that the spirit of liberty may not beat in their breast. I wished she hadnt said that, but I held my nose and defended her right to not to be fired or otherwise punished, which many at Penn demanded.

A year ago, I became a co-president of a new group, the Council on Academic Freedom, founded to promote free inquiry, intellectual diversity, and civil discourse at Harvard. That summer, Gay took office as Harvards president, and the groups leaders soon met with her to press the case that academic freedom desperately needed her attention. In her inaugural speech, in September, Gay acknowledged Harvards long history of exclusion and the weight and honor of being a first, as its first Black president. I was very relieved when she also pointedly said that the goal of intellectual inquiry is knowledge, not comfort. She stated, We serve that purpose best when we commit to open inquiry and freedom of expression as foundational values of our academic community. Our individual and collective capacity for discovery depends on our willingness to debate ideas; to expose and reconsider assumptions; to marshal facts and evidence; to talk and to listen with care and humility, and with the goal of deeper understanding and as seekers of truth. At that time, Gays emphasis on free speech was at odds with the prevailing tone on campus, but she was known as a supporter of D.E.I., which dampened the risk of her words being seen as reactionary or insensitive.

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