Category Archives: Financial Independence

For Mel Dorion, financial freedom means achieving a total investment portfolio that allows them a 4 per cent withdrawal rate to cover their cost of living for the rest of their lives.Ashley Fraser/The Globe and Mail

The global pandemic led many Canadians to re-examine their priorities, leading some to make major life changes like switching jobs or leaving a big city.

For a lucky minority, the last year and a half has made them question whether they can realistically stop working full-time.

Mel Dorion, was a government worker in the middle of a decade-long financial independence retire early (FIRE) journey when COVID hit. For the 33-year old from Gatineau, Que., the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns led to a change in priorities that was enough to adjust her timeline, propelling her into an even earlier semi-retirement than she projected.

Financially, the 9-5 was fantastic, I had a secure position and all that, Ms. Dorion said. But the pandemic shifted the balance away from quality time with her two children, which was a main reason she was even on a FIRE retirement plan.

The quality of time with the family wasnt as good, because my energy was spread thin.

In January, Ms. Dorion decided to take a sabbatical from her job as a senior business analyst with the federal government to test-drive her pandemic FIRE plan. Could she cover a share of her cost of living with income from her side hustle, a financial education business? Would that, along with withdrawing a percentage from her investments, let the remainder continue to compound so that she could still reach full financial independence in her 40s?

For Ms. Dorion and her partner, financial freedom means achieving a total investment portfolio that allows them a 4 per cent withdrawal rate to cover their cost of living for the rest of their lives.

In early fall, she handed in her resignation, officially becoming semi-retired.

According to a recent survey from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, one in four individuals report shifting retirement timelines as a result of the pandemic but the vast majority are now expecting to work longer than planned.

For a smaller number 15 per cent of respondents COVID-19 has meant they will now retire sooner, many owing to reasons such as job loss or concerns over workplace health and safety.

As Trixie Rowein, a portfolio manager and certified financial planner with Raymond James in Edmonton explains, work-related challenges during COVID were one reason cited by her clients who did seek early retirement during the pandemic some in the postsecondary and medical sectors although most were only a few years away from their original planned retirement age, instead of proponents of a FIRE approach.

Others, she says, weighed the pros and cons of spending more time with their families now, versus earning their salary for another year or two and chose time with their families. Its a mind shift that only the client can make and COVID just made people re-evaluate what was really important, she says.

In Ms. Dorions case, making early semi-retirement work means continuing to run her Modest Millionaires side business part-time, which currently covers half of her monthly cost of living. She has also withdrawn 1 per cent of the initial value of her investments as of the beginning of the year, with a plan to pull out up to 2 per cent of her investments yearly until her early 40s. She and her partner have also been mortgage-free since 2017.

Her original FIRE plan included putting away 40 to 60 per cent of both her and her partners take home pay since 2015, which Ms. Dorion says ended up surpassing initial projections.

That investment that 40-60 per cent part of it went to my contributions to my employer pension plan. I intend on transferring that out, she explains, into a self-directed locked-in retirement account, and also registered retirement savings plans and tax-free savings accounts, primarily investing in low-cost exchange-traded funds.

Certified financial planner Natasha Knox, founder of Alaphia Financial Wellness in New Westminster, B.C., says she has received more inquiries during the pandemic from people wanting to accelerate their retirement than in previous years both from the occasional individual in their 40s and others looking to retire just a few years early. Prior to COVID-19, she says, the questions were more along the lines of when can I reasonably retire? Is this something I can do some day?

Now, she explains, its all about, no, I dont want to wait, I want to use my time while I have it, while Im healthy, while I can. And that is a theme across the board, is that they want to do it now, because theyre not sure.

Prospective early retirees should start by having a clear picture of their spending habits and be sure to consider a broad range of scenarios that might affect their plans, says Ms. Knox, such as a poor sequence of returns, and their fallback position in case something happens. (Sequence of returns refers to the timing of withdrawals and the associated risk of poor market returns early in retirement).

Using reasonable mortality assumptions in your calculations living into your 90s or even 100, rather than your 80s is also essential, she says.

Another consideration especially for those who are more than a couple of years away from the traditional retirement age is to gain some perspective around what this life change means in practice, and whether they may want to consider taking on part-time work or consulting during retirement.

[I] try to contextualize it if youre in your mid to late 40s, you could be retired as long as youve been alive, says Ms. Knox.

Thats how long you want this money to last and thats how long you would be retired and for some people it gives them pause and for some people, theyre just really done.

Although she is enjoying the freedom of her new schedule, Ms. Dorion says if it werent for the realities of pandemic life, its unlikely she would have made the move toward early retirement now. I would have continued on, she says.

I ... definitely did not have in mind that 2020 would be the year that made me decide and in 2021, actually hand in my resignation.

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Some lucky people retired early during the pandemic. How did they structure their finances? - The Globe and Mail

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SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI), a leading next-generation financial services platform, and the Financial Planning Association (FPA) the leading professional membership association for Certified Financial Planner professionals today announced the launch of a strategic partnership between the two organizations designed to benefit nearly 19,000 FPA financial planning practitioner members and the clients they serve.

The partnership will provide FPA members with preferred rates and exclusive access to a suite of financial solutions, services, and educational resources that theyre able to tap into to better support the hundreds of thousands of consumers the organizations members are already guiding on their path to financial independence. This joint initiative led by SoFi and FPA marks SoFis first external foray into the financial planning industry at a time when a record-breaking number of consumers are seeking professional financial advice1.

Making progress in personal finance doesnt have to mean navigating that journey alone at SoFi, weve always seen tremendous value in the financial advisor community, which is why access to complimentary financial planning services has been a member benefit since day one, said SoFi CEO, Anthony Noto. Our partnership with FPA is an expansion of that trust and is rooted in a shared commitment to helping people get their money right on their financial journey. This means equipping the professional community that serves consumers with the financial solutions and services their clients can benefit from so that all advisors regardless of firm size have access to the tools they need to help their clients achieve financial independence and realize their ambitions.

Financial planners are on the front lines of helping American families safeguard their financial well-being. That means they require access to the necessary tools that help them serve the needs of their clients like those offered by SoFi, says Patrick D. Mahoney, FPA chief executive officer. Were thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with SoFi to bring a variety of financial solutions to our members and to our members clients.

For more information on SoFis partnership with FPA visit the FPA Marketplace.

About SoFi

SoFis mission is to help people achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions. Our products for borrowing, saving, spending, investing and protecting give our more than two million members fast access to tools to get their money right. SoFi membership comes with the key essentials for getting ahead, including career advisors and connection to a thriving community of like-minded, ambitious people. SoFi is also the naming rights partner of SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. For more information, visit https://www.sofi.com/ or download our iOS and Android apps.

About the Financial Planning Association

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) is the principal membership organization for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals, educators, financial services professionals and students who are committed to elevating the profession that transforms lives through the power of financial planning. With a focus on the practice, business and profession of financial planning, FPA advances financial planning practitioners through every phase of their careers, from novice to master to leader of the profession. Learn more about FPA at financialplanningassociation.org and Twitter at twitter.com/fpassociation.

SOFI-F

1Northwestern Mutual, After a Year of Uncertainty the Value of Professional Financial Advice Goes Up, July 2021

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211109005646/en/

Media ContactMeghan BrownSoFipr@sofi.com

Ben LewisThe Financial Planning AssociationBLewis@onefpa.org

Source: SoFi Technologies

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SoFi Partners with the Financial Planning Association to Provide Exclusive Access to Suite of Financial Solutions to FPA Members and Clients -...

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera Financial Group, one of the industry's largest networks of financial professionals, today announced that it attracted more than $2.4 billion in new assets through its recruiting efforts in the third quarter of 2021, and is on pace to add more than $10 billion in new assets to its platform in 2021. The latest numbers come at a time when many advisors are seeking more independence and community, business-building resources, and tools that help strengthen client relationships.Cetera's recently-launched Growth360 program will empower these new Cetera financial professionals to grow their practices by learning from and incorporating the successes of their fastest-growing peers.

"We continue to focus on attracting teams and families interested in growing their practices and who believe in Cetera's vision of delivering an Advice-Centric Experience," said John Pierce, head of business development. "Cetera welcomes high-quality financial professionals who value a sense of community and industry-best solutions, resources and support. We are proud to welcome these financial professionals to Cetera and will continue the positive recruiting momentum through the rest of the year and into 2022."

Key firms that joined Cetera in the third quarter are:

Click herefor more information about Cetera's tools and resources for financial advisors.

About Cetera Financial GroupCetera Financial Group (Cetera) is a leading financial services firm whose purpose is to enable the delivery of best-in-class financial advice to as many Americans as possible. Cetera empowers its financial professional communities to help clients achieve their version of financial wellbeing through the Advice-Centric Experience. Cetera proudly serves independent financial professionals, tax professionals, banks and credit unions in providing wide-ranging financial planning and wealth management services.

Cetera oversees $340 billion in assets under administration and $119 billion in assets under management, as of June 30, 2021.

Visit http://www.cetera.com, and follow Cetera on LinkedIn, Twitterand Facebook.

"Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), Cetera Financial Specialists LLC, and First Allied Securities, Inc. All firms are members FINRA/SIPC.

Individuals affiliated with Cetera firms are either Registered Representatives who offer only brokerage services and receive transaction-based compensation (commissions), Investment Adviser Representatives who offer only investment advisory services and receive fees based on assets, or both Registered Representatives and Investment Adviser Representatives, who can offer both types of services.

SOURCE Cetera Financial Group

cetera.com

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Cetera Recruiting Efforts Yield More Than $2.4 Billion in New Assets In Third Quarter - PRNewswire

CHRIS Mamula was working as a physical therapist when his wife Kim and him found out they were expecting a baby - and it changed their mindsets completely.

Five years later, in December 2017, the then 41-year-old handed in his notice and retired - roughly 25 years earlier than most Americans.

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Chris told The Sun he "was burning out really quickly" working in healthcare in the US.

The Pennsylvania couple, who later moved to Utah, had also fallen in love with the outdoors and wanted to build a lifestyle around it.

Yet, the biggest contributing factor came in 2012 when they learnt they were expecting another family member - a daughter, who's now nine years old.

Chris told The Sun: "When we found out we were having a child, that's when we got serious.

"That's when early retirement and financial independence came onto our radar."

To their help, Kim and Chris, now aged 44 and 45, had been savvy with their finances ever since they graduated from college.

They started living on just Kim's salary after school - and used Chris' wages to clear student and car debt - and then continued when they were out of the red.

Chris said: "We started to use my salary to save for a down payment on a house.

"And then from there, we just used my salary to pay off the mortgage quickly and to start investing.

"We always just lived on one salary and the other salary was saved. So we kind of had a 50% savings rate the whole time."

"Some years, we probably saved more because we didn't spend that much. Other years, we would splurge and do big vacations."

When they first graduated from college in 2000 and 2001, they were both on salaries of around $40,000 a year.

And by the end - before Chris retired - their salaries had increased to high five-figures of between $80,000 and $90,000.

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When it comes to retirement, the standard rule of thumb is that you'll need 25 times your yearly expenses saved up - and that you can withdraw 4% each year.

This was a target Chris and Kim aimed for too, although he said it wasn't based on a number when he later left his job.

Chris said: "I think the first question we had with most people was like, how much money do you need? And do we have enough money to retire?

"So we really focused on the finances first.

"But then as we started to get closer, it was kind of a matter of 'do we really want to retire' and what do we call the things that work provides, like purpose and just a way to fill your time and a way to give back and be of service."

Today, Chris has partnered with Darrow Kirkpatrick, founder of the blog "Can I Retire Yet?", while Kim works part-time within operations research.

Chris has also written a book, Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence, which was released in 2019.

Chris said: "I don't know if either of us will ever retire in that traditional sense that people think of sitting on the beach and sipping a drink with an umbrella.

"But we have both definitely altered our lifestyle substantially.

"Having that time and freedom to do what I want when I want is by far the biggest benefit.

"I took five years of planning, getting a grasp on car expenses and tax planning and taking over investments.

"The saving part we had been doing for a decade before that, so we had a big head start."

Four years into early retirement, Chris said he has no regrets but he noted that the whole idea of retiring is "faulty".

He said: "It was my goal. I wish it wasn't in retrospect.

"I [like] the whole idea of building financial independence and gradually using it to have leverage to design the lifestyle you want sooner.

"But I think the idea of zero work and zero income is not necessarily the best goal."

For anyone who's keen to retire early too, Chris' main tip is to find out where your money is going.

You can do this by either creating a budget, or by just tracking your spending.

He said: "Using that 25 times rule, if you don't know what you spend, you don't know what target to shoot for."

"And if you don't know what you spend, it's kind of hard to improve upon that."

After this, you'll need to create a plan on how to build up enough savings to last your retirement.

Check out our guide on the steps to retire with a $1.9million savings pot.

Money expert Tori Dunlap recently revealed on TikTok thatshe can retire next yearthanks to her booming business.

The Sun has also spoken to Jen and Travis Smith abouthow no-spend challenges helped them pay off $78,000 debtin two years.

Plus, read about how Andy and Nicole Hill paid off a $195,000 mortgage in less than four years.

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I retired at age of 41 to spend more time with family heres how you can too... - The Sun

According to Korea M&A Exchange, a platform that mediates buyers and sellers of small and medium-sized enterprises, of the 5,481 business owners looking for buyers, 515 said they were looking for new owners to take over their firms as their children did not want to take on the family business.

By industry, owners from traditional industries such as those in agriculture and manufacturing, were more eager for a sale -- 5.4 times more than those in software -- the survey results showed.

Experts say descendants of small firms would rather inherit financial assets than take over the family business, since they mostly belong to industries seen as declining.

Descendants arent interested in running manufacturing business or others that show little prospect. Adding to that, they would rather accomplish financial independence, a state of early retirement, by inheriting money after the company is sold, said Hwang Se-un, a senior researcher at Korea Capital Market Institute who did not participate in the survey.

An M&A Exchange official forecast that with baby-boomer CEOs retiring, company sellouts will be the new trend in mergers and acquisitions of small firms in the near future.

In Korea, baby boomers refer to those born between 1946 and 1964.

(hyejin@heraldcorp.com)

By Byun Hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)

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1 in 10 SMEs seek buyers as heirs refuse to inherit: survey - The Korea Herald

India is one of the largest Fintech markets in the world today with over 2100 Fintech companies and robust adoption of digital financial services. Fintechs have acted as a catalyst for the BFSI ecosystem at large opening up Financial Services access to large parts of the population, bringing in a digital first approach and offering world-class customer experience.

On the consumer side, India is seeing a massive digital transformation, with over 600M Internet users and changing demographics young, technology friendly audience who have higher spending power. There is a never-before-seen focus on reimagining services and offering them digitally. This shift is evident in many parts of the BFSI space, from investment to insurance to lending to payments. Incumbent leaders such as traditional banks, have their own structural challenges (higher operating costs, reliance on older technology stacks, etc.) and this has given rise to new business models.

Fintechs have fundamentally re-imagined the delivery of financial services in India. Unlike the traditional BFSI players, Fintechs have unbundled the offering, simplified the proposition, created context-specific financial products, slashed pricing and increased transparency. The focus is on offering brilliant customer experience at an affordable price. While payment providers dominated the early landscape, Fintechs have increased access and penetration in other sectors too such as lending, payments, investments and insurance .

In fact, the consumer acceptance of Fintech products has accelerated the pace of digital transformation for traditional players such as banks. Witnessed by the increased push towards online and digital banking and the partnerships being forged between Banks & Fintech companies. The future potential for these tech-led FS players is also evident from the amount of PE/VC interest they are generating with Indian players having raised $10B over the last decade.

There are four key drivers that led to this impressive pace of growth:

Demographic dividend:

India is one of the worlds largest internet markets. A large millennial population with strong mobile adoption and historically lower financial services penetration makes it an attractive market for Fintechs. With the help of tech, powerful customer engagement for this demographic is now possible. Personalized engagement, powered by customized offering and interactive user journeys provide a brilliant customer experience.

Data explosion:

Data explosion and increasing tech-savviness of the Indian customer backed by robust smartphone penetration, cheap data rates, swift adoption of mobile and the availability of vernacular content has catalyzed the growth of the consumer-tech ecosystem.

Public digital infrastructure and favourable policy environment:

All of this comes on the backdrop of the regulatory push from the RBI and the government and their focus on financial independence and inclusion. The account aggregator program, innovative KYC regime, creating a space for payment banks, enabling payments infrastructure are examples of the transformative changes underway on the Policy front.

The governments focus on creating efficient public infrastructure Aadhaar, UPI, Digilocker etc. has further enabled access to digital financial solutions. Regulatory sandboxes, for instance, indicate the forward looking intent of our policy makers.

Disruption enabled by Tech:

The use of technology is helping crash the cost of delivery. For example the technology now exists to enable remote-onboarding, AI based decisioning, processing data from multiple & non-traditional sources.

Digital lending companies, for instance, are opening up access to credit to previously underserved segments in the form of quick and smaller ticket size loans (not usually offered by traditional banks and lenders). Since they use technology to underwrite a borrower they are able to reach deeper into the customer base and serve even those who dont have bureau history. The use of AI, leveraging alternative data sources and using digital distribution channels allows them to serve customers hitherto underserved.

These increased efficiencies and lower costs will make financial services providers more competitive and offerings more affordable and accessible to the consumer.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

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Growth through innovation: Uncovering the future growth potential of Indian BFSI industry - The Times of India Blog

The Lithia woman's circumstances inspired U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to propose new legislation.

LITHIA, Fla. Rachael Booth and her 3-year-old daughter are safe. That's what's most important. Booth said it took one time and she was out.

She said her ex-husband was a member of the U.S. Air Force, and a few years ago, the newlyweds moved to a base in North Dakota.

Booth said, at first, her ex-husband started abusing alcohol and getting violent but never towards her. The military got involved and mandated him to get help. Booth said he was doing great until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and required meetings and check-ins went away.

"He took that as I can party now because they wont be checking up on me," said Booth.

Not long after, Booth said he came home one night and turned violent towards her when she was in bed breastfeeding the couple's daughter.

"He had started beating down a door, my daughter was crying at the top of her lungs. We were both scared," she recalled.

Booth left that night. She said she went to a friend's house on base and booked a flight back to Florida to be with her mom. That's where she and her daughter have been ever since.

"I knew we had to get out and I had to put her first," said Booth, who is now working full time trying to get back on her feet.

She thought she'd be eligible for transitional compensation (TC), which is money the military offers to people who have suffered domestic abuse at the hands of a U.S. military service member.

Under the current rules, dependents can apply for TC to help them gain financial independence after their service member is discharged from the military in a domestic abuse case. But, there's a hole in the law. If a service member gets convicted of domestic abuse in a civilian court but then technically gets discharged for something else, it leads to a lengthy process for the spouse or other survivor of abuse.

"They would laugh if I even applied for it. Thats when I contacted Senator Rubio," said Booth, who was dealing with a victim's advocate in the aftermath of the incident.

About a year later, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan are now backing a bill that would make people like Rachael Booth immediately eligible for compensation.

Rachael and her mom, Kathryn Krajewski, said they're advocating for this legislation for the people who don't have a family to fall back on. Rachael didn't hesitate to call her mom when she was battered and bruised. Many don't have that.

"Theyre stuck, theres nothing they can do," said Krajewski.

Becoming eligible to receive compensation is step one, but Rachael doesn't expect the payments to come through for another one to four years after she's approved.

"I cant afford a house or an apartment for my daughter and I to be safe," she said.

In the meantime, she's hoping awareness and advocacy make getting out a little easier for the next military spouse.

"Were really blessed I had my mom who took us in."

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Tampa Bay area woman survives domestic violence, now fighting for compensation from military - WTSP.com

By Mat Wahlstrom

A recent documentary series available online investigated LuLaRoe, a company that targeted women with the promise of gaining financial independence working from home, by selling quirkily patterned leggings and dresses, creating freedom through fashion.

In reality it was a pyramid scheme, wherein the real money was made by recruiting others into becoming sellers to recruit others to become sellers. The people at the top of a pyramid scheme get a cut of both that particular schemes actual product sales in addition to a cut of the buy-in fees new sellers pay to get in on it.

Eventually the market gets saturated and the income from the buy-in fees becomes greater than that from product sales. So the new money is cycled in to hide that the scheme is unsustainable and delay as long as possible the inevitable implosion.

A pyramid scheme is like a game of musical chairs: when the music ends, theres only one person left with a place to sit. But it isnt a game.

Its a horror story ending in broken lives and bankruptcy, told by those blinded by greed and deceit who only regained their sight after losing everything else.

If this were all it was to them, then every pyramid scheme would be obvious and never get off the ground. Which is why they all depend on some form of affinity fraud.

Affinity fraud is when a schemer targets a specific group, of which they either are or pretend to be a member, with a message that promises them success specifically by virtue of their also being members of that group.

Religious and ethnic communities, English-as-a-second language speakers, the elderly, people in the same occupation such as LuLaRoes stay-at-home moms are the usual marks. But any shared characteristic or concern can be exploited.

In other words, affinity fraud is the trick needed to short circuit an individuals critical thinking to make belief in the plausibility of the pyramid scheme possible.

And beyond the financial world, its a two-step evident when looking at the conduct of politics today.

Lets start with the pyramid scheme.

Our existing system of electoral politics requires us to buy in to the idea that change or continuity can only be achieved by our participation. This requires us to believe that we can only get justice, progress, or anything at all, by voting.

But the only candidates on the ballot are those already at the top, the early investors as it were, who are where they are solely by virtue of convincing previous people to recruit others to buy whats being sold, moving them up in the party pyramid.

And once elected, were told that *not enough* people voted for them and others in the same scheme which is why we cant yet have justice, progress, or anything at all. So we the people need to give more of our own money to and go out and find more voters for them.

And thus every movement and moment of electoral significance is cycled in to hide that the scheme itself is unsustainable.

Consider voting rights and infrastructure. This whole year weve heard the debate over them. And although legislation for both has long had majority approval ratings among the populace of voters and non-voters as a whole, the first is likely killed and the second shrunk so much especially regarding climate change mitigation measures as to be too little too late.

Its not just a pyramid scheme, its a self-licking ice cream cone.

Affinity fraud plays off a host of natural cognitive biases that affect critical thinking, foremost affinity bias, or the tendency to believe those who have things in common with us. It targets this bias to get us to accept what we would reject if proposed by someone not in our group.

But affinity fraud takes it further. It sets up an in-group within the target group, a subset of the chosen who are privileged with special knowledge and therefore first among equals as well as superior to everyone else, who answer the call to share the gospel.

It propagates a cult mindset as a necessary condition for resolving cognitive dissonance.

Whatever real policy differences there might be between the two main political parties, its hard to see any practical difference between the Vote Blue No Matter Who crew and the QAnon-MAGA-Trump faction. Each requires dismissing evidence when it shows those sharing their affinity dont always (if ever) act in their objective interests or deliver whats promised. And each rewards those members who to attack such messengers the most viciously.

There are signs that more people are becoming aware of the scheme. Among those who still believe in the system is the growing plurality of independent or no party preference voters. Certainly surveys of non-voters have consistently noted their prime reason for not participating is that it doesnt make a difference.

Pyramid schemes and affinity fraud will likely always be with us. But the one that serves as our current system of governance need not. The big picture solution would be to take the business out of politics, to finally remove money from elections by publicly funding them. This would also free affiliation from being vulnerable to fraud.

We must ask hard questions and demand honest answers both of ourselves and our electeds ever wary of appeals to defer to scheme or fraud.

Until then, dont be surprised when leggings fall apart and the Arctic melts.

Continued here:

Pyramid Schemes, Affinity Fraud, and the Business of Politics - OB Rag

CARROLLTON, Texas, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Titan Factory Direct is proud to be Certified by Great Place to Work. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Titan Factory Direct. This year, 93% of employees said it's a great place to work 59% more than the average U.S. company.

Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation.

"Great Place to Work Certification isn't something that comes easily it takes ongoing dedication to the employee experience," said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of global recognition at Great Place to Work. "It's the only official recognition determined by employees' real-time reports of their company culture. Earning this designation means that Titan Factory Direct is one of the best companies to work for in the country."

"The entire Titan management team is super excited to become Great Place to Work-Certified! We lead the Titan organization with our employees in mind and do everything possible to ensure each and every employee has all of the tools available to ensure their success," said Joseph Kesterson, president of Titan Factory Direct. Our culture is centered around teamwork, mutual respect, inspiration, and customer satisfaction. We appreciate and value our employees and are so proud of them for earning this incredible recognition."

Titan Factory Direct offers a fun and energetic atmosphere. Daily training allows our team members to master the art of sales and marketing and help secure the financial independence they desire while helping our customers find the perfect home for their needs. At Titan, we provide a comprehensive benefit package to our team members because they are truly the heart of our company.

According to Great Place to Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company's profits, and have a fair chance at promotion.

WE'RE HIRING! Looking to grow your career at a company that puts its people first? Visit our careers page at: https://www.titanfactorydirect.com/careers

About Titan Factory Direct Titan Factory Direct is the fastest growing manufactured home retailer in Texas and Oklahoma. Our wide selection includes award winning floor plans and styles. From single-wides to triple-wides, from modular homes to tiny homes and everything in between Titan has something that can fit any customer's homebuying needs. Titan Factory Direct's mission is to provide affordable housing to every type of homebuyer while delivery the best quality homes and customer service. Titan's senior management team that developed the company 10 years ago, has over 70 years of combined experience on the retail side in the manufactured homes industry.

About Great Place to Work Certification Great Place to Work Certification is the most definitive "employer-of-choice" recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place to Work-Certified.

About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All.

Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Media Contact

Erin Harrington, Titan Factory Direct, 1 855-550-6550, eharrington@titanfactorydirect.com

SOURCE Titan Factory Direct

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Titan Factory Direct Earns 2021 Great Place to Work Certification - Benzinga - Benzinga

Cadarrius CJ McGlown grew up in a military family in Memphis, Tennessee.And at the age of 29, he has hit millionaire status after having a negative net worth. His drive towards financial independence was rooted in the belief that it was the only way he could be himself.

The goal is to get myself to a point where I can build my business and innovate and create things; Ive got inventions in my attic right now, he told the Business Insider.

He shared his path towards hitting a million-dollar. He said he started off in debt. He had about $80,000 in student loan debt and when he got married, he and his partners combined student loan debt reached $200,000.

Through a combination of strategic decisions, McGlown was able to clear his debt and also accumulate a million-dollar net worth.

His first strategic decision was to job-hop in order to increase his income. When he landed his first job out of college, his salary and add-ons amounted to$75,000 a year. He took up consulting as a side hustle and made an additional $30,000 in a year.

However, nine months into the job, McGlown realized he needed to move and make money more elsewhere as he had more debt to tackle. He landed an Army Corps of Engineers contract and quickly realized government contracts were a great way to stay at the top of his earning potential while working on his side hustle. His first contract brought in $85,000 and a year later, he secured a Department of Defense contract and made just under $100,000.

I just kept jumping so I could stay at the max earning for my skill set, he explained. Through the process, he honed his skills and grew his professional network, and eventually started his own business HeySoftware!, according to the Business Insider.

Another strategy he adopted was to live below his means while paying his debt. He saved as much as he could and lived as frugally as possible. We literally only ate peanut butter sandwiches the whole time, he said.

While he was saving as much as he could, and living frugally, his wifes salary covered most day-to-day expenses bills, food, and other basic necessities.

After one and half years, McGlown saved about $200,000 and successfully settled his debt. It was a terrible moment where I was like, Wow, I have $200,000 [saved] and I have $200,000 of debt,' he said. I made the crazy decision to go to $0 [in total savings] and pay it all off.

McGlown then turned his attention towards building long-term wealth and his initial step was to get a house which he did with a down payment. He started saving up again and accumulated about $500,000.

He invested the money he has saved into stocks. In addition, he and his wife acquired another home and leased it out immediately. They also invested in a property manager to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of being a landlord, according to the Business Insider.

Business Insider also reports that he nets around $12,000 a year from the home. He also earns another passive $11,000 a year from dividend payouts, mostly from his lower-risk investments.

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How this 29-yr-old entrepreneur went from a negative net worth to a $1M net worth in just 5 years - Face2Face Africa