Category Archives: Financial Independence

* Mine says it is first in Africa with an all-female staff * Jobs offer a lifeline to rural women escaping violence

* Project also aims to champion women in mining By Farai Shawn Matiashe

KAROI, Zimbabwe, March 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At first glance the Zimbaqua mine in Zimbabwe looks normal: a series of shallow craters dotted with workers in overalls and hard hats toiling to unearth the treasures below. But a closer look reveals something unusual. In an industry dominated by men, everyone working to unearth prized aquamarine gems from the yellow soil is a woman.

"I no longer have to bother the father of my children because I am paying school fees for the two of my children who are in primary school," said Shupi Kabudura, 33, who became a miner after fleeing an abusive husband with her three children. "I also buy essentials such as clothes and food."

Kabudura is among about 25 women employed by Zimbaqua, which bills itself as the first mining firm in Africa to be staffed entirely by women. Many are forging a new life with each other's support after escaping abuse such as rape, domestic abuse or forced marriage.

About one in five Zimbabwean women said they had suffered violence from their partner in the previous year, found an official 2015 survey, and child marriage remains rife despite being outlawed by the Constitutional Court in 2016. Women in rural areas are often forced to remain in violent marriages because they rely on their husbands financially, said Rumbidzai Gwinji, a mine manager at Zimbaqua, which is located in the farming area of Karoi in northern Zimbabwe.

"This project has become a solution to women in such situations," she said. "It has given them choice over the environment and lifestyle they want for not only themselves, but also for their children."

OUTNUMBERED AND ABUSED Zimbaqua was opened in 2019 by Iver Rosenkrantz, a Danish gem expert who has lived in Africa for more than 15 years, and Zimbabwean Patrick Tendayi Zindoga.

"This (firm) came after realising that women are not given the same opportunity as men, especially in the mining sector," said Gwinji. Zimbaqua's workers dig for the mine's rich deposits of aquamarine, a pale blue to light green gem that is highly prized by jewellery designers and collectors around the world.

It is hard labour. The women use hammers to break up rocks and reveal the aquamarine, which is easily visible due to its bright colour shining out from the surrounding stone. In return, they get a decent salary equivalent to about $295 per month.

But they are outliers in an industry that is overwhelmingly staffed by men. Women make up about 10% https://www.pactworld.org/library/golden-opportunity-artisanal-and-small-scale-gold-mining-zimbabwe of the country's artisanal and small-scale miners, found a 2016 report by the Pact Institute, a Washington D.C.-based development nonprofit.

Neighbouring South Africa's mining industry has a similar gender disparity https://www.mineralscouncil.org.za/industry-news/publications/fact-sheets/send/3-fact-sheets/738-women-in-mining, although the number of women in the industry is growing. "Women are few in the mining industry due to challenges they face, including verbal abuse and labelling from male counterparts who believe they are of the weaker sex," said Kundai Chikonzo, founder of the Insiza Women In Mining Trust.

Men often do not allow their wives to work as miners, said Chikonzo, and women lack equal opportunities for promotions. Projects to get more women into the industry can improve women's prospects and boost the wider economy too, she added.

'SAFE HAVEN' Zimbaqua staff said their jobs had given them financial independence and new hope after they escaped abuse.

Miner Paidamoyo Kuronga, 21, said she had struggled to make ends meet as a single mother to a young daughter until she learned about opportunities at Zimbaqua. "I was so excited to get my first ever job," she said.

Now, she is considering returning to school for a mining-related course to further her career in the industry. Gwinji said the mine is working on plans for a daycare centre close to the mine for the children of employees.

New mothers working at Zimbaqua are given three months' maternity leave on full pay and get regular breastfeeding breaks when they return, she added. Workers at Zimbaqua said the mine not only had offered them a fresh start, but represents a beacon of hope for others hoping to escape domestic abuse.

"I know there are other women out there who are experiencing (gender-based violence). I hope our company will grow so that more women can come to this safe haven," said Kabudura.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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FEATURE-In Zimbabwe, a women-only gem mine gives abuse survivors new hope - Devdiscourse

Nicholas Moore with his mother, Wendy Johnston, who assists him with getting his messages out to the world.

For years while he was growing up in Warrenton, Nicholas G. Moore, who has autism, hardly spoke at all. His intelligence was hidden behind a wall of silence. Now, having discovered several methods of communication and melding them into one that works best for him, he is reaching out to autistic people and their parents to help them unlock their potential with his new business, Victorious People, LLC.

The business is hugely important to Moore, primarily because of his wish to help free others with autism to achieve what he refers to as Intentional Open Communication (IOC), or reliable communication with others. But it is also for himself, to achieve more financial independence.

My business is predicated on the fact that I have mastered self-advocacy and clearly become proficient at communication via typing. I believe every voice in our community needs to be heard and I intend to see that it is. For me, it is a passion and a mission, to bring these families closer to God and to free the voices of their sons and daughters.

(Editor's note: All quotes attributed to Nicholas G. Moore were spelled out on an alphabet board and relayed to the writer by his mother, Wendy Johnston.)

Successes and struggles

Moore was adamant this article be about successes, not struggles. But his struggles and overcoming them are what makes him what he is today and are important to the story. He explained, I spent 25 years in near silence being misunderstood and taken for a fool. When I was little, I was forced to live in silence not by people, but by fear. I was literally afraid to speak because nothing came out correctly. It felt to me as if a stranger had my throat. I developed a negative mindset that I could not speak. It was a devastating curse on my entire life.

Moore went to school, of course, but struggled as many with autism do. He attended C. Hunter Ritchie Elementary School, Marshall and Cedar Lee middle schools and Liberty High School. He learned fast but was frustrated by his inability to communicate. The school told my mother I couldnt be taught how to tell time. What they didnt know was I already knew. But I couldnt demonstrate it. They didnt give me a chance to show them my way, he said.

He continued, So, I suffered through the entire course of my education until one day when I was a teenager, a teacher named Carmen Fox was given me as a student. She saw a light in my eyes. And she knew I was in there. So, she proceeded to teach me. She found I could spell. I was the best speller in her class, even though I could barely speak. She was a lifesaver. She rescued me.

Community support

Moore also received support from others in the community. At about the age of 12, he aspired to become an athlete and worked with trainers at the Old Town Athletic Campus.

Cole Forsten embraced him as any other and thought outside the box to teach him to run, jump and sprint, said Wendy Johnston, Moore's mother.

He was a hero to me because he did not require me to talk, Moore added.

John Tanner, also then at OTAC, was another huge influence because, as Moore explained, He did not see me as disabled, but abled. He has always been a good friend.

The beginning of a new life

When Moore was 20, he attended a Special Olympics event that changed his life and his familys. He met a young man whose mother had trained in a method called Facilitated Communication (FC). They had coffee together, and she introduced Moore and his mother to this method of communication. Johnston said, I looked at the young man and said, Thank you. You have saved my son. And then he said, Thank you so much for meeting us. My mom needed a friend.

FC -- and similar methods called Spelling to Communicate (S2C) and Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) -- involve the autistic person spelling out messages by touching letters on a card or keyboard while their hands are steadied physically by a facilitator. Armed with this information, Moore and his family plunged ahead, and Moore, using a hybrid of the three methods, developed his own method of communication. He became proficient in spelling out messages that his mom would read. After 25 years, Johnston said, just by having the connection of my hand touching his, he was able to communicate with me and teach me about his whole life and about God.

The methods are not mainstream -- and are even discouraged -- in the commonplace treatment of autism due to studies strongly suggesting that responses are actually coming from the facilitator and not the autistic person. However, spelling on alphabet boards does have the support of hundreds of families around the globe, many of whom have found independence through typing. Moore said, The methods I learned have been largely discredited by professionals, but they dont ask us. We are the true experts.

However, noted Moore, spelling is not perfect. It is laborious, he said, to spell out each word of each thought. It is excruciating, and yet I need my voice to be heard. As autists, we are conceptual thinkers, not word thinkers. Concepts are large and vast. To hone them down to words is a huge act of willpower. To have to spell out every thought is challenging because they come so fast. It is maddening to have to wait for my mother to tell what Ive spelled out because I have so much more to say.

Forging ahead

Now, Moore has goals, primarily helping others with autism and helping to reduce the stigma they face. His business rates are reasonable, because sometimes autism treatment is cost-prohibitive, and Moore doesnt want any family to be broken by the inability to pay. He is not educated in the treatment of autism - as he said, I dont have a degree, I went to the school of hard knocks - but what he can do is use his own experiences, methods and successes to help other families.

I meet individually with each family and listen to their challenges. Then we teach them a bit about anxiety and motor control. From there we do a series of exercises to establish a baseline. And then make recommendations for a blueprint to success for each individual according to his or her unique situation, Moore explained.

He continued, We are a group of people with vast capabilities who are awaiting the key to unlock the prison doors to discover our voice, which has been locked away in silence. Helping someone unlock their own true voice is a huge gift to all.

Growing his mission

Moore has seven clients already -- some nonverbal, some partially verbal -- and is working seven days a week. He meets with clients both in person and virtually, and travels extensively within the U.S. to spread his message of helping all to find their voices.

I flew to Montana recently where I found a community willing and ready to embrace the communication challenges of their students. They have formed an autism center and they are working with me to add a communication training piece that is underwritten by grants and supported by donations. My hope is that I can do the same here in Warrenton, he said. I hope to invite everyone to embrace us as intelligent people that are no different from everyone else on the inside. We are all in the battle for our lives imprisoned by bodies that at times do not obey and are hampered by voices that at times do not convey our truest intentions.

Moore closed, My vision is for a worldwide network of hope to spring up out of nowhere and to rescue the lost voices around the globe. It all begins with me. That is my purpose in life. My vision is to first build a virtual community, and then an actual community in which autists can live, learn, and grow, and teach the world the truth about autism.

Website coming soon: thequietvoice.godaddysites.comIf you would like more information, write to Nicholas Moore at his business email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

This article originally appeared in the April 2022 issue of Warrenton Lifestyle. Read the full issue here.

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'Victorious People:' Fauquier man helps members of the autistic community find their voice - Fauquier Now

Introducing a smart money app for families to the market, Woli has just raised 700k in a Seed round led by renowned fintech investors. Eleven Ventures leads the participation with prominent angels and entrepreneurs like Victor Trokoudes from Plum Fintech, Thanassis Sofianos from Relevance, and Hristo Borisov from Payhawk getting in on the action.

Based in Athens, Woli streamlines family money by offering an engaging and educational money app for kids. It gives parents a tool to automate allowance and offers absolute security and control. So, not only can parents have oversight over the account, but kids can start to get some financial independence and learn how to be financially responsible.

Across Europe, pocket money tends to still be in cash leaving kids and teens to manage their own money and set their own goals without digital support and without a debit card for ecommerce payments. In 2022, ecommerce payments and card payments are the standard, so without an account like Woli, teens are left behind.

Managing Partner at Eleven, Vassil Terziev said: While personal finance management for families has been a growing trend, children are participating in ever more cashless transactions, requiring that they be served with tailored financial products, adequate education and brand identity. We are very happy to welcome Vasilis and his team to Eleven, as Woli is taking on a mission to change how money management and financial education in the family works.

The young startup, founded in 2020, issues a colourful prepaid Mastercard tied to the childs account and enhances the child banking experience with unique modules such as financial literacy, quiz-based game, as well as a marketplace with relevant rewards and offers.

Woli is licensed as an e-money distributor from the Bank of Lithuania and grew past 1000 accounts in the first 3 months of its operation showing a clear market need for the service. Currently, the Woli app and card is only available in Greece, with Italy and Spain earmarked as the next markets.

The fresh funding will enable Woli to further expand its product offering, grow its team, and prepare for operation in new markets. The company is currently working on new features, such as financial literacy platform, smart saving goals, money gift cards from relatives, and a marketplace where teens will be able to access various rewards and products, such as vouchers for their beloved online gaming brands.

Woli CEO and founder Vasilis Zoupas said: We are extremely excited for the upcoming year. We have a challenging roadmap in place, with many features that extend way beyond fintech, and we aim to position Woli as one of the leading kid and teen neobank brands in Europe. To achieve this, we need to focus on growing our team with superstar talent and executing our strategy with efficiency and speed. Bringing such a great lineup of investors onboard is surely a major milestone on our mission.

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Athens-based Woli picks up 700k for its money app for families and plans European growth - EU-Startups

Natural gas supplies from Russia to Western Europe could be cut off unless a deal is reached following Russian demands that payments for its exports be made in roubles rather than euros or dollars. This demand was flatly turned down by a meeting of G7 energy ministers earlier this week.

Germany and Austria have both taken the first steps towards instituting gas rationing because of the potential halt in supplies. However, in a call late on Wednesday between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin, there was an indication of a possible pullback.

According to German sources, Putin said payments could still be made in euros as long as they were made to the Gazprombank, which has been excluded from sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union.

On Monday, Putin had declared that henceforth payments for oil and gas should not be made in euro and dollars but in the Russian currency in an attempt to boost its value.

Under the sanctions imposed by the imperialist powers, the rouble has fallen sharply in value. But the Russian central bank is not able to use its reserves, estimated to be around $630 billion, to prop up the currency.

Money is still flowing into Russian bank accounts as a result of the payments for oil and gas, which have been excluded from the sanctions regime, but the increased euro and dollar holdings are effectively frozen once they have been made.

The Putin directive was aimed at pressuring foreign companies to buy the Russian currency and thereby step into the breach, at least partially, left by the ban on the activities of the Russian central bank.

The demand for rouble payments was flatly rejected by the G7 group of major capitalist powers as soon as it was issued. The aim is to press ahead with the drive to crash the Russian economy, in order to promote a social, economic and potentially a political crisis for the Putin regime.

Germanys economics and finance minister Robert Habeck said the Putin demand had been unanimously rejected and the group was prepared for all scenarios, including a possible halt to Russian energy supplies.

With the major powers having imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, the world 12th largest economy, the G7 pronouncement reeked of hypocrisy as it invoked the sanctity of contracts as the basis for its decision.

Speaking after the meeting, which included representatives from the US, UK, France Canada, Italy, Germany and Japan, Habeck said: All G7 ministers totally agreed that [requiring payment in roubles] would be a clear and unilateral violation of existing contracts.

He then went on to reveal the motivation for the decision saying Putins move showed he has his back to the wall as sanctions were harming the Russian economy.

Russia hit back against the G7 decision with government officials declaring that it would not supply gas for free.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: Payments will be accepted in roubles only. Companies need to understand the changed market situation, the absolutely new reality that has emerged amid the economic war waged on Russia.

The major European importers of natural gas have all invoked contract stipulations that payments be made in euros and dollars as the reason not to accede to the Russian demand.

The chief executive of Polands state-controlled gas company PGNiG, Pawel Majewski has said there is not much possibility of switching payments to the Russian energy company Gazprom to roubles. It is not the case that our counterparty can just freely change the means of making payments as it wishes, he said.

Even if companies did decide to try and comply with the Russian directive it is likely they would be hit with sanctions aimed at preventing the conversion of euros into roubles.

According to a French government official, President Macron told Putin in a call on Tuesday that it would not be possible for gas companies to make their payments in roubles. France was against such a move.

If Russia sticks to its demand, then gas supplies will start to be cut off. The Russian news agency Interfax has reported that officials from Gazprom, the government and the central bank will report to Putin today on how to organise payments in roubles.

The Russian government has implemented several measures to try to halt the fall of its currency, including ordering Russian brokerages not to allow foreign clients to sell securities, making it more difficult to sell the rouble. Exporters have also been told to sell 80 percent of their foreign currency revenues and buy roubles. But such measures can only make a marginal difference. Hence the move on gas payments.

The issue goes far beyond the conflict with Russia. The ability of the major imperialist powers to unilaterally null and void the foreign currency holdings of major countries overnight has cast a shadow over the entire global financial system. Its very foundations are being threatened.

This issue was the subject of a comment published yesterday by Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf entitled A new world of currency disorder looms.

Wolf noted that after the Russian default of 1998, Putin had hoped that by building up foreign currency reserves he would be able to guarantee financial independence. The current action against Russia is significant not only for Russia because a targeted demonetisation of the worlds most globalised currencies has big implications.

The weaponization of currencies had major consequences for those who fear being targeted, he wrote. Sanctions on Russias central bank are a shock. Who, governments ask, is next? What does it mean for our sovereignty?

Wolf warned that Western policymakers may find that by using these weapons they might damage themselves as the rest of the world tried to find ways of transacting and storing value that circumvent the currencies and financial markets of the US and its allies.

He noted that China was already attempting to do this. But he ruled out the prospect of China developing a new international monetary system based on its currency. Its financial system was underdeveloped and relatively closed and was very far from providing what sterling and the dollar provided in their heyday.

The future, Wolf concluded, was not a new global order but more disorder and future historians may view todays sanctions as another step on that journey.

Foreword to the German edition of David Norths Quarter Century of War

Johannes Stern, 5 October 2020

After three decades of US-led wars, the outbreak of a third world war, which would be fought with nuclear weapons, is an imminent and concrete danger.

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Conflict over Russian demand for payments in roubles - WSWS

Lets face it: standard school curriculum may prepare you to solve quadratic equations or recite the United States historical timeline. But, many practical skills are also severely undertaught.

Additionally, many other more personal skills such as emotional awareness and self-love are neglected inside traditional classrooms.

One Reddit user was particularly interested in womens points of view on this topic. This user asked the women of Reddit, What is something that every girl should know but is rarely taught? The takeaways range from financial practicality to knowing your worth.

Strategies for financial independence.

There is a great podcast I love called Shes On The Money. The episodes explain in easy-to-understand lingo stocks, shares, mortgages, and all that stuff.

MrsRobertShaw

As a guy, this is for sure something I will teach my future daughters. It is not boy stuff. It is sophisticated member of society stuff.

AweDaw76

It is okay to be rude if someone will not leave you alone. You do not owe anyone your time or energy.

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Women Share Things That Other Women Need To Know, But Are Never Really Taught - Chip Chick

Senators call on Governor Hochul to Fund Addiction Treatment Services with Opioid Settlement Money

(ALBANY, NY)New York State Senators Rob Ortt, Sue Serino, Fred Akshar Peter Oberacker and other members of the Senate Republican Conference joined advocates in calling for legislative leaders to save the opioid settlement funds and reject Governor Hochuls state budget proposal to circumvent existing New York State law and spend $265 million in opioid settlement funding without any formal plan or input from the state-appointed advisory board.

The Opioid Settlement Board was put in place to provide accountability and ensure that opioid settlement funds are properly directed toward prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Its unacceptable that there are still vacancies on the Board with the state budget deadline just a few days away. Its imperative these seats are filled and the Board is able to carry out its important goal to ensure that funding in the budget truly goes to help those who are struggling with addiction in our communities,said Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt.

New York has a unique opportunity to fight back against the scourge of opioid addiction and abuse and help change the trajectory of countless lives and families affected by this epidemic, saidSenator Fred Akshar.Instead, our leaders in Albany are playing shell games with these settlement funds, backfilling deficits and shutting out the stakeholders on how this money is spent. The people who ultimately suffer from these political games are those struggling with addiction and their families who are all crying out for help.NewYork state government needs to keep its word, do right by these families and spend these funds responsibly with input from experts, not bureaucrats. Only then will we be in a better position to successfully turn the tide in a struggle that costs our state thousands of lives every single year.

New York experienced a record number of overdose deaths in 2020 with nearly 5,000 residents losing their lives to this horrific epidemic, saidSenator Serino. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reverse these statistics and save lives, but the state is already squandering it as it tries to circumvent the law that gives stakeholders a real voice in the process. If we want to make a difference, we have to start by listening to those with lived experiences, and experts in addiction and recovery, not backroom bureaucrats. The lockbox legislation passed unanimously, with full bipartisan support. Today we are calling on our colleagues in the Legislature to maintain their commitment to this cause, reject any proposal that turns the settlement into a slush fund and help ensure that the advisory board is fully appointed and active so these dollars can be put to work to help save lives.

There were plenty of headlines last year touting the opioid settlement lockbox and the advisory board that would ensure those in need receive essential help, saidSenator Peter Oberackerranking member on the Senate Committee on Alcoholism & Substance Abuse. Yet here we are, set to crack into the safe and spend $265 million without a real plan and without consulting the true stakeholders. Its the Albany way and it needs to stop. The opioid epidemic has devastatedindividual, families, and entire communities. People are hurting and we need to honor the promises that were made to involve true experts and develop an effective plan to save lives.

Over the past several years, New York State has negotiated more than a billion dollars in monetary settlements with drug manufacturers for their role in helping fuel the opioid epidemic, and in 2021, legislation was signed into law that required New York to create alockbox for fundsreceived through settlements with opioid drug manufacturers.

By law, the lockbox fund is meant to be overseen by anOpioid Settlement Fund Advisory Boardmade up of families of victims, individuals with lived experience, doctors, and treatment providers to bolster transparency and accountability, and to ensure that the funds were being used effectively to provide much-needed resources for prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction services.

The law also expressly prohibited the funds in the lockbox from being used to supplant existing state funding for services and programs related to Substance Use Disorder (SUD). However, to date, a number of seats on the Board remain vacant and the group has yet to meet.

Tucked into Governor Hochuls multi-billion dollar Executive Budget Proposal, is a little noticed measure that proposes to spend $265 million of opioid settlement funds before all the vacancies on the much-lauded Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board have been filled.

Advocates are calling for the advisory board to finally be filled and actually meet to decide on the administration of these settlement funds for treatment, recovery and other support services.

In a joint letter to Governor Hochul, advocatesLinda Ventura from the Thomas Hope Foundation, Avi Israel of Save the Michaelsand advocate and recovering addictAshley Lafountainnote that supportive services are needed now more than ever before as the national number through October 2021 reports 105,000 individuals dying of overdose in the last year with 5,700 individuals being NYS residents.

This is unacceptable,Ventura, Israel and Lafountainsaid of Governor Hochul's proposal. The potential diversion of the settlement money could deny treatment, harm reduction and other supportive services to New Yorkers who need it the most. We demand that the Governor and State Legislature immediately appoint the Advisory Board and not spend a penny of this money until that board has had the opportunity to review and approve any plan to spend those funds. This settlement money is our loved ones Blood Money, and we demand it be controlled by a board consisting of families, people with lived experience, doctors, and treatment providers. Many of us lost loved ones because of a lack of treatment and harm reduction services, a lack of housing and recovery resources and the lack of a continuum of care desperately sought by individuals struggling for recovery. Thousands of lives were and will continue to be lost to overdose and thousands more are struggling with this life-long disease. Do the right thing - appoint the Advisory Board and protect the money!

Linda Ventura - President/Founder Thomas' Hope Foundation, concluded, This Opioid settlement money is our loved ones' BLOOD MONEY and we demand that the Governor and State Legislature follow the law, appoint a Board.consisting of families, people with lived experience, doctors and treatment providers.

Amanda Richlinefrom the City of Poughkeepsie was in Albany as well to share her experience with lawmakers as a New Yorker in recovery and to discuss her work withUnshattered, a local non-profit organization thatempowers women in recovery by helping them gain financial independence, which Senator Serino noted is a great example of the kinds of successful programs the state needs to be investing in going forward.

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SENATORS TO STATE: SAVE THE SETTLEMENT FUNDS | NY State Senate - The New York State Senate

With inflation as high as its been, economists are all on recession watch. Check any of your favorite economic news stations and youll find that that word getting some serious traction.

Historically, inflation spikes as high as our recent ones were followed by recessions shortly after.

Making matters worse, the yield-curve continues to flatten. For a quick econ lesson on how this pairs with inflation, check out this article.

To be fair, there are various indicators of a recession, such as job sentiment, unemployment, wage growth, sales, commodity pricing, credit spreads, money supply, yield curvethe list goes on. The feds comments include that they feel many of these indicators are strong but are still forced to make a move to curb inflation. Will they be able to do so without creating negative ripple effects in our economy?

The problem is that even if we dont enter an official recessionary environment, that doesnt mean the markets wont behave as such. Markets tend to price in anticipation of events. If the consensus is that were headed in the wrong direction, your portfolios may take a beating.

But recessionary environments are a normal part of the economic cycle, and present great opportunities for federal employees as they adjust their plan.

The challenge is that investors tend to view every current crisis as a calamity, while viewing every past crisis as an obvious opportunity.

Your wealth aside, the ultimate risk is your inability to do the things you want when you want. This shows up in many practical ways, like when you want to stop working, move to be closer to your children or grandkids, getting a second home, take care of a health challenge, etc.

Whether we enter a recessionary period or markets simply remain unstable, well address the top items were discussing with our clients to successfully navigate the volatile economy in 2022. Years like this one truly separate the disciplined investors from those who wing it.

Defined simply, this is when an investor experiences poor market performance late in their careers or close to their retirement dates. When federal employees come to us for help, this is one of the biggest risks we find families failing to address when managing their wealth. If the markets arent favorable nearing your retirement date, you risk running out of money much sooner than you may have anticipated.

You need to understand what different market returns will do to a portfolio that is supplementing your lifestyle.

Lets use this graph below as an example. Were assuming a starting $500K investment account, whether thats your TSP or another vehicle with your assets, and in this model, we project a $25K annual drawdown to help meet living expenses.

The annual returns are exactly the same for both portfolios A and B, except for the years in which the returns occur. In portfolio A, we model the first few years of retirement with unfavorable markets, and in portfolio B the bad years occur later. Understand that this starting withdrawal rate is likely too high, but this serves merely as an example to illustrate Sequence-of-returns risk.

Notice the difference in account value at the end. A federal employee with portfolio A may consider reducing their withdrawal rates to help curb the draw-down, which is a fine strategy to help against this type of problem. If this was discretionary spending, then it is more easily mitigated by ensuring your portfolio is invested properly. It simply becomes a question of needs versus wants. But what if you have a financial need and are forced to make the withdrawals?

One way that wealthy families address this risk is through SBLOC, or Securities-Backed Lines of Credit. Before we go any further, let me make clear that this is not a recommendation for you to acquire one, rather understand all your options. Simplistically, you may be able to borrow against your taxable investments for cashflow needs in times of decreasing markets.

Why would an investor do this?

Youve heard of buy low and sell highif you need cash when the markets (and your investments) have fallen, you may be forced to sell low. SBLOCs may allow you to borrow just enough to cover your need without having to sell the down investment. If its a good investment, its likely to recover, potentially keeping you from realizing that permanent loss.

In up markets, it allows you to tap into your growth without realizing the capital gains and paying taxes. The interest rate paid is generally significantly lower than the capital gains taxes that you would pay. This is one of the ways that the rich use their money without ever running out of money.

Note that this is not available to any form of retirement assets. You can only have this feature on non-qualified dollars, so its only for dollars youve saved and invested outside of TSP, IRA, 401ks, 403b, etc.

Please understand that SBLOCs can be highly complex, and there are various risks involved. If youre considering one, I recommend that you read the SECs bulletin on SBLOC accounts and discuss this with your advisor.

There are many financial firms that are incentivized to sell these products, as they earn revenue on the SBLOC. However, there are other firms that do not earn anything, offering them simply as a value-add available to their clients. Its critical that you understand this relationship prior to agreeing to an SBLOC. Used intelligently and correctly, they can be a handy tool. But alas a tool is all that it is, for a specific job, for a specific type of investor, like every financial instrument.

Its also important to not mistake them for margin. Adding margin to an investment account is different and should be reserved only for professional managers and institutions. Generally speaking, stay away from margin-type accounts as individual investors.

For some federal employees, their TSP and other investments may be only a small part of their necessary income. Between multiple pensions for dual-fed families, Social Security, or anyone with CSRS, you have greater flexibility in being able to pivot properly when the markets dont go your way.

But just because you can avoid catching the falling knife doesnt mean that youre not still at risk of jeopardizing your lifestyle or legacy. Part of having a successful portfolio isnt simply holding the same S&P 500 funds for eternity and only touching it when markets are doing well. What good are those savings for if you cant continuously draw from them later in life?

It is commonly known that one must diversify their assets, but what does that really mean? Its critical for federal employees to understand what an index fund does and doesnt offer. Understanding how the C Fund is going to perform in any given market is incredibly important if youre going to use the C Fund as one of your investments to support your financial plan.

Spreading your investments across numerous asset classes and sectors reduces your portfolios reliance and correlation to economic events, like a recession. This is done successfully in a multi-layered way:

Youve seen me say that markets are cyclical in nature. What works in one decade may not work in the next.

If you have 25+ years left of working, market cycles impact you less because you have plenty of time to allow your accounts to recover from a poor investment strategy. But if youre nearing retirement, the integrity of your financial independence depends on this.

You need to understand the risk of holding only a few large index funds and waiting it out. Sequence-of-returns risk is a serious component of your financial safety and crushing markets at the wrong time for you can deliver a blow to your wealth from which you may not recover.

The S&P 500 (C Fund) has many stocks in it that have lost 40% or more in the market this year so far. If youre already retired or will be soon, this can be devastating. Making the wrong move at the wrong time can become a torpedo to your financial independence. You cant control the markets, but you can control how you participate.

To illustrate this point, take this years chart of the Vanguard Growth fund compared to the Vanguard Value fund. A Growth fund and a Value fund are similar in that they are both investments of stocks, but with completely different types of stocks. Take a look at how each has behaved this year so far:

If youre nearing retirement, having your investments in the Growth fund would have taken out nearly 20% of those dollars since the beginning of the year. How does that impact your plan?

Should you reposition to a different investment instead to help meet your goals? The importance of an investment policy statement cannot be overlooked, and neither can the need for having the right asset allocation.

You may need to de-risk your assets to keep them from tanking with the markets, but you also cant afford to take risk off the table in a highly inflationary environment, like the one we are in right now. Both of these factors are critical when deploying your 2022 investment strategy.

If youve been diligent about saving cash outside of your retirement accounts, then you might have the ability to pay the taxes on a Roth conversion without tapping into the capital. In certain cases, this is better than deploying that cash that youve been saving into the markets. Youll pay capital gains on the growth. Why not use them to pay the taxes on a Roth conversion?

A Roth conversion allows you to take Traditional money, known as pre-tax, and move it into tax-free status by paying the taxes. Its important to understand that if youre still an active federal employee under 59.5 years old, your options for this may be limited. The TSP does not allow its participants to affect a Roth conversion within. You are, in some cases, allowed to transfer a portion of your TSP into a Traditional IRA and convert those Traditional dollars into Roth, if youve separated from service or are of age.

There are various reasons that Roth conversions are incredible planning tools, but its a long-game play that benefits the longer its allowed to remain in your Roth account. These include, but arent limited to:

During bear markets, the markets are discounted from their recent high values. If you can get dollars into Roth (tax-free) status and invest them properly, you have the opportunity to ride the markets back up and reap the benefits of that money being completely tax-free.

Just be careful that youre not making your IRMAA skyrocket if youre currently taking Part BRoth conversions count toward filling your income brackets.

Remember that Roth conversions can be tricky to plan, and theyre not right for everyone. Make sure that you, your planner, and your accountant are all of mind.

When is the last time you got into your car and started driving before you knew where you were going? Managing your familys wealth is similar. You need to have a plan about where youre going so that you can take the right path to get there.

Our firm sees the results every day. We see how the people who do these things stand the greatest chance to achieve their wants, needs, and desires. They have removed the burden of financial uncertainty from their lives, allowing them to truly live the retirement they want.

Retirement planning is simple but not easy. The Nasdaq has been down 20% or more 3 times in the last few years. Despite that, its compounded at 21% return for the last 5 years.Read that again.

This is why we invest, and this is why investors can single handedly blow up their portfolioand their financial independenceby making the wrong move at the wrong time.

If you dont have a plan for these types of markets, youre subjecting yourself to making irrational decisions. Holding the line isnt always the right answer.

As you continue navigating through this difficult economy, ask yourself these questions:

If you dont feel 100% comfortable with your answers, then consider getting help. Investors can often become their own worst enemies, so having a team to save you from yourself may be the most important factor to your success. After all, its not just your money, its your future.

2022 Thiago Glieger. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without express written consent from Thiago Glieger.

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Are We Headed For A Recession? - FedSmith.com

Hollywood movie star Will Smith storming the stage at the Oscars and slapping comedian Chris Rock over a bad joke about his wife's bald head was beyond embarrassing; it was outright thuggish and against the law. It was also a highly emotional and childish response one expects on the school playground, when one immature kid teases another or picks on their little sister, not from a 53-year-old adult at the Academy Awards.

My first reaction when seeing "the slap heard 'round the world" was: Why can't a fellow comedian like Smith, who spent years making us laugh on his hit TV show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," take a joke? Has his skin gotten so thin that any joke or perceived slight against his wife by another Hollywood entertainer warrants going full Conor McGregor on live TV?

Gimme a break. The Oscar winner needs to take a chill pill and start practicing yoga, like, yesterday.

My second thought when watching the fiasco unfold on TV was: Why does fitness enthusiast and fellow actor Jada Pinkett Smith need a man, in this case, her husband, to defend her? Perhaps if we were living in the "Leave It to Beaver" days of the 1950s, when American women were predominantly housewives and not able to have careers or achieve financial independence, the whole "damsel in distress" act would've played well.

It does not play well in 2022, after women have fought tooth and nail for the past 70 years in pursuit of gender equality. Today in America, we have a female vice president, for Pete's sake, who's a heartbeat away from being commander in chief of the U.S. Armed Forces and having access the nuclear codes, but Jada Pinkett Smith needs a man to defend her from a bad joke?

Seriously? Ask any self-respecting modern American woman of any background and she'll tell you that was more embarrassing to the sisterhood than the slap itself.

The sad truth is Pinkett Smith and her Oscar-winning husband have done more damage to feminism and set women back years if not decades by putting on a show, in front of millions of impressionable young women and men around the world, implying that women can't defend themselves. Together, they sent the message that women are incapable of handling themselves publicly and hence need a man to run to their defense when their feelings get hurt.

A major setback for women and feminists everywhere.

Modern women or feminists by any definition shouldn't be acting like helpless victims who need a man to bail them out of awkward situations. What the Smiths should have done was shrug off the insensitive joke, and then afterward, Pinkett Smith should've approached Rock and asked for an apology.

No husband needed thanks very much.

That would've been the best approach and earned Rock's respect, who undoubtedly would have apologized to her. But now, instead, Will Smith's image is in tatters for assaulting Rock needlessly, and the multidecade acting legacy he's worked so hard to build is in jeopardy. And Pinkett Smith has done women no favors when it comes to female equality and liberation, especially for the millions of oppressed women living in Sharia countries in the Middle East who are forced to live under the thumb of men and who are not permitted to work, drive or get an education.

That's the unintended consequence of Will Smith running to his wife's defense. He may have meant well and responded out of love to defend his wife's honor. But at what cost to his career and women striving for equality everywhere?

That remains to be seen.

Adriana Cohen is a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate. To find out more about Adriana Cohen and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at http://www.creators.com.

Photo credit: analogicus at Pixabay

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A Slap in the Face to Women's Rights, by Adriana Cohen - Creators Syndicate

Nene Leakeswas an original cast member of the reality television seriesThe Real Housewives of Atlanta.For 10 seasons, from 2008 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2020, she captivated viewers with her larger-than-life persona.

As thehighest-paidRHOAhousewifeon Bravo, with a net worth of $14 million, its hard to imagine Nene Leakes came from humble beginnings. She was never ashamed to let viewers know about her past as an exotic dancer. Heck, she even used it to her advantage when she appeared onDancing With the Starsin 2014.

Peoplereported Nene Leakes first revealed her job as a stripper in her provocative memoir,Never Make the Same Mistake Twice.Unafraid of judgment from others, theGleealum candidly explained, saying, Yes, I was a stripper, a woman who took her clothes off and danced for dollars.

At 23, the reality star was a struggling single mother attempting to attend college and make ends meet. Leakes wrote that her oldest son, Bryson, was going to private school, and his father was not contributing any money to the household. I had no job and no money coming in, the rent was past due, and the super told me and my roommate that our condo owner was about to put us out, Leakes explained. I did what I had to do.

Without any dancing experience, themother of twoanswered an ad in a local newspaper and started dancing at the most glamorous upscale gentlemens club in Georgia. Using the stage name Silk, Leakes admitted that she became comfortable on stage, saying, I felt powerful in front of those men.

Several decades later, the reality star refers to the experience as the ultimate power trip, saying, I worked this body like a well-oiled machine, and every moment got me closer to my goal of financial independence for me and my child.

The Bravo channels fan-favorite housewife mether late husband, Gregg Leakes, in 1996 at an Atlanta strip club where she was dancing.

He was a wealthy real estate investor and instantly smitten with his future wife. On a 2018 episode ofRHOA,the formerCelebrity Apprenticecast member recalled exchanging telephone numbers with the Georgia-based entrepreneur. He left her a voicemail saying, Give Big Daddy a call.

Leakes remembers thinking,Oh, hell, no!He persisted, saying, Ima marry you one day. She said, Uh uh uh!

Six months later, the couple did get married, sharing a loving on-again-off-again romance that spanned more than 20 years. They share a son, Brentt, who is now 23 years old.

In 2021, Leakes died after a lengthy battle with stage III colon cancer. He was 66 andworth $4 million at the time of his death.

Nene Leakes is not the only celebrity who once performed as a stripper.Insiderreported that Grammy award-winning artistEve was once a stripper. She does not regret the experience. I was confused, going through personal problems. I did it for about a month, and I was glad I did it, she said. The Let Me Blow Ya Mind singer admitted, It helped me find Eve, helped me get serious.

Cosmopolitanreported that A-list celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Chris Pratt, Channing Tatum, and even Brad Pitt had short stunts as strippers before making it big in Hollywood. The Poker Face singer said she made more money stripping than working as a waitress. But says she didnt show too much or do anything super seedy.

In an interview with theTelegraph, controversial rapperAzealia Banksadmitted that she once danced in a strip club. She called it, super-athletic and sexy as hell. The performer said, I still go to strip clubs, and I follow a lot of strippers on Instagram. Banks continued. I like the nightlife, the drinking, the partying, the attitudes, the clothes its cool.

RELATED:RHOA: NeNe Leakes Admits That She Considered an Open Marriage and Says Shes Allowed to Flirt With Other Men

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Nene Leakes Sees Her Exotic Dancing Past As Empowering'I Worked This Body Like a Well-Oiled Machine' - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Tennis season is officially in full swing, with the Indian Wells tournament wrapping up last week and the Miami Open currently cruising towards finals in South Florida.

Usually a sport that sits in the side columns of the major American sports media outlets, the events of the past several years and the past couple of months in particular have shot tennis into top headlines. From Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal officially securing the most Grand Slam titles of all time after his champion performance at the Australian Open in January, to Novak Djokovics dramatic and persistent refusal to receive the Covid-19 vaccination, which ultimately led to his exclusion from the first Grand Slam of the year, sparked global debate, and resulted in a general distaste for a player widely considered one of if not the greatest of all time.

Still, the women in the sport are also making headlines for major reasons. The playing field of professional tennis is packed with pioneering women who are making significant strides in speaking up for mental health awareness, womens financial independence, equal pay, and more.

Heres a brief overview of three top women tennis players that are leading the narrative of the sport both on and off the court, establishing social activism, and standing up for themselves and others as the new standard of sportsmanship.

Naomi Osaka

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA MARCH 08: Naomi Osaka of Japan prior to her Eisenhower Cup match against Amanda Anisimova of the United States on Day 2 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 08, 2022, in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

After making headlines in 2021 for her withdrawal from the French Open due to mental health reasons, 24 year- old Naomi Osaka has continued to use her global platform to spread awareness surrounding mental health topics, activating wider acceptance of mental health struggles in women and athletes through her clear-hearted, down-to-earth, and utterly honest transparency about her own experiences with depression and anxiety.

Most recently, Osaka used her young-but-already-proven-powerful voice to stand up for herself within the tennis world once again. During her recent match at Indian Wells one of the major Grand Slam tournaments in tennis a heckler in the stands repeatedly yelled derogatory statements directed at Osaka. Reaching a breaking point, Osaka requested to use the umpires microphone to address the fan but was denied.

After the match, when questioned about the heckler during an interview, Osaka recounted that usually, she can shrug off situations such as these, but receiving verbal abuse from an onlooker in this particular arena, during this particular tournament, struck a deep nerve that caused her to speak up. Osaka recalled a video from 2001 of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams being brutally heckled at the Indian Wells tournament over a decade prior. Experiencing the same heckling she had seen her predecessors experience in the same arena carried a significant weight to Osaka, who is part of a generation of tennis players that grew up idolizing the Williams sisters.

Along with her mental health advocacy, Osaka also is an active voice in womens equality movements, and her most recent partnership with cryptocurrency FTX is rooted in a message of financial freedom and equity for women. In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Osaka shared the reasoning behind her launch into the cryptocurrency space. We have seen the statistics about how few women are part of crypto by comparison, which kind of mirrors the inequality we see in other financial markets, Osaka shared. Cryptocurrencies started with the goal of being accessible to everyone and breaking down barriers to entry. Im excited to partner with FTX to get back to that mission and to innovate on new ways to reach more people and further democratize the space.

Serena Williams

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 09: Serena Williams speaks onstage at Cloud9 Champions Day on November 09, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Cloud9)

Easily considered the most dominant female tennis player of all time, 23-time Grand Slam title holder Serena Williams determination and drive reaches far beyond the court. Most recently, she launched her own venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, which aims to invest in projects led by founders with diverse points of view. In early March, the firm raised over $100 million in its inaugural funding round.

Williams was inspired to launch the firm after hearing Caryn Seidman-Becker, CEO of Clear, speak at an event about the disparity between women and men in the venture capital space. Seidman-Becker revealed the unfortunate fact that only 2 percent of all venture funds went to female founders. As Williams told the New York Times, I literally couldnt wrap my mind around the fact that 98 percent of all this money were talking about billions of dollars goes to one type of individual.

Williams was inspired to take matters into her own able hands and used her global reputation and expertise in leadership to launch a fund where she would call the shots, ensuring that the 2% figure wont stay so small in the future.

Along with her financial endeavors, Williams has been a constant leader in body positivity on the court. In 2018, the cat-suit style outfit she was set to wear to prevent blood clots post-pregnancy was banned by the events executive committee, a decision widely perceived to be a racist and sexist slight against the athlete. Throughout her career, Williams confidently embraced her African-American heritage in a sport that was historically very Euro-centric and predominantly white. In 2019, Williams explained to Allure Magazine that she and her sister, Venus, started out being successful, continued to be successful, and we were also unapologetically ourselves. We were not afraid to wear braids. We werent afraid to be Black in tennis. And that was different. The trailblazing efforts of the Williams sisters paved the path for the next generation of athlete-leaders like Osaka.

Ashleigh Barty

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA MARCH 24: Ash Barty speaks to the media during a press conference at the Westin on March 24, 2022, in Brisbane, Australia. Barty announced her retirement from tennis yesterday at age 25 and ranked number one in the world. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Australian athlete Ashleigh Barty, who is currently ranked as the #1 female tennis player in the world, announced her retirement from the sport. At just 25, she already holds three Grand Slam titles and was projected to win many more. When announcing her shocking departure from professional competition, she largely attributed her decision to burnout and a desire to try something new something other than tennis.

Her decision to leave the sport while quite literally holding the top position is just another step in her long-standing reputation for following only the rules and boundaries she set for herself, not the ones society or the sports strict standards set for her.

Several years ago, just as Bartys career was bursting onto the scene and sparking whispers of future superstardom, she abruptly left the tennis court to play cricket for three years. Her hiatus broke with every expectation of hyper-competitiveness and unmatched devotion from athletes at the top of their class. Her reputation within tennis, beyond her athletic prowess, also set her apart from the norm, as she was continuously going against the cutthroat tradition of the pro tour and making friends with other players from other countries, as reporter Steve Tignor explained. Now she is retiring at No. 1, at the age of 25, when most of the tennis world expected an athlete of her caliber to remain on the world stage for another decade or more.

Beyond the bold message she sends just by being undeniably herself, Barty also sends the same clear message of prioritizing what matters to her through her off-court pursuits. For example, in 2020, when wildfires were ravaging her home country, Barty donated all of her winnings from Brisbane International to the Australian Red Crosss efforts during the fires. That same year, she teamed up with the Australian Tennis Foundation to provide financial support to Indigenous Tennis Programs in Queensland. She is an avid lover of her home country, and this love, along with her refusal to bend to who the world thinks she should be or what she should do, is clear in the statement she shared when discussing her retirement. She explained that I know that people may not understand it. Im OK with that. Because I know that Ash Barty the person has so many dreams she wants to chase after that dont necessarily involve traveling the world, being away from my family, from my home, which is where Ive always wanted to be.

A recent Tennis.com article expounded on Bartys legacy of carving her path to the top that never involved wavering from her character, and just how important leaders such as Barty are in sports. As Steve Tignor wrote, Whether Barty comes back or not, I hope her attitude toward her work and life continue to influence the players around her, and those younger than her. At a time when the mental health of athletes and young people is more precarious than ever, Barty offered a roadmap not only for how to play the game well on court, but how to treat yourself well off it.

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The trailblazing women of tennis making a change - Culturess