Most people think money is that paper fiat currency you’re carrying around in your wallet. It is what we have grown accustomed to and it is a commonly accepted societal norm that we rely on this paper because our government says it’s ok.
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As you go down the rabbit hole and investigate the history of money it becomes pretty clear that this paper stuff isn’t really worth holding. The smart and rich people put their wealth into assets and they only use currency for transactions and cash flow. But the majority of people are clueless about the way the financial system and central banks are working and in many cases they don’t want to know. For the Sheeple “Ignorance is Bliss” and many people of my generation are just too busy with their heads-down-bums-up just trying to make ends meet so they can make their mortgage payments. They don’t have time to look into this stuff themselves. They just want to trust that the governments and banks will do the right thing….and we know where that leaves us…..
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So when I figured some of this money stuff out, the first thing I wanted to do was share some of the knowledge I had gained. At first I was just blurting and ranting about things and my arguments might have seemed barely coherent as it can be such a complex subject. Trying to explain it and doing a bad job usually just results in the “Thousand yard stare” and you can see your audiences eye’s glaze over – you’ve lost them.
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I’ve come to appreciate that getting past the mainstream brainwashing about money is actually a bit of an art form. Now I am no expert as I’m still struggling to convince even my own parents about this subject. They want to just trust their mainstream financial adviser, who has them chasing yield in the typical crowded trades that will continue to pay them 5-6% a year until we hit the next financial crisis and it takes a big dump. They already lost something like 50% of their retirement savings in the last GFC and they still haven’t got it back. But that’s the thing with old people – they have a bad short term memory.
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So I’ve come around to thinking that the best way to teach family about money is to actually get someone else to do it. You can focus on facts as there are a lot of good documentaries about the history of money, which was in fact Gold and Silver for centuries. Since I’ve changed tact I am very close to making a breakthrough. I actually got my father to watch this recent video “Bitcoin : Beyond the Bubble” which runs for only 35 mins but it has an excellent opening 10 minutes or so where it summarises the history of money. My dad actually shared the video with his Probus group, and believe me – That is a big deal!
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Mike Maloney appears in that video and while I have followed him for a couple of years now it’s only recently that I have come to appreciate that he is very focused on Investor Education. He speaks very well and explains complicated subjects in easy to understand language. He has also done an excellent series called “Hidden Secrets of Money” and I am confident that if I can get my parents to sit through that then I’ll be half way there.
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My realisation is that it is quite difficult to explain the Cryptocurrency phenomenon without a basic understanding of money and currency because it is important to understand what problem Cryptocurrency is actually trying to solve. I think it is wise to start by looking back through history and understanding the important role Gold and Silver has played (and still plays) in our financial systems before looking forward to Cryptos. In Part 2 I will talk about that next step.
http://educateinspirechange.org
http://themillenniumreport.com
https://www.pixoto.com
https://au.finance.yahoo.com
https://vimeo.com
https://goldsilver.com
checking some of your posts and ya got my full vote, interesting post. I would say gold and real estate are the best things to hold to create some wealth.
Thanks. I broaden that a bit and put both gold and real estate into a category of "tangible assets", but I can't bring myself to buy real estate at these lofty valuations, so it's gold for me right now :)
Yaa I guess gold is easier to sell. I heard silver is going to be a hot commodity in the near future because is going to be used for many things involving tech. gadgets
The "system" is purposely obfuscated to ensure a level of confusion and complexity to the common person. That's why not many people understand it and many many people are bored by it.
I agree. It's a shame as it doesn't need to be so complicated a subject.
Trying to explain it and doing a bad job usually just results in the “Thousand yard stare” and you can see your audience's eyes glaze over – you’ve lost them.
I don't understand your comment. You have just copy-pasted my own words and then self-voted yourself. You haven't even upvoted the original post.
So I’ve come around to thinking that the best way to teach family about money is to actually get someone else to do it
I don't really get when you said those words, does it mean that the family couldn't have an expert who could educate his family on the issue of money.
I feel like it's meant that because @buggedout is a close family member they are more likely to dismiss what he is saying as unofficial biased information rather than that of a 'trained' professional or documentarian.
Thanks. You've pretty much nailed it there @bogglemcgee
I seem unable to convince them, whether it's because I am a family member who they discount, or it's because my presentation skills aren't good enough. I have come around to thinking I need to find good professional material from other sources to help make my case.
Gold and Silver cryptos are already here.
Check out Unity Ingot (UNY) and the whitepapers on Cryptobontix.com.
Unity Ingot currently has the highest 7 day return on Coinmarketcap.
Thanks for post.
Thank you, @buggedout for the nice article.
I have a similar problem with my family. Especially smart and successful people are difficult to convince that they've been fooled.
I have found a good way, though. I ask them about fiat currencies. Questions like those:
I totally agree. The problem is that we all take the meaning of money for granted. No one teaches us about it.
I have found Andreas Antonopoulos's speeches very enlightening.
Do you have a link to any particular speech that interests you?
Check this one:
https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@alketcecaj/andreas-antonopoulos-in-an-old-but-good-introduction-to-bitcoin
Links to specific speeches would be good!
Thanks. I haven't seen much of Andreas speeches. Thought he was more of a blockchain guy, but I might have to study him up a bit more before I write part 2 :)
I've tried to explain to people how our money isn't actually money but I too sound like a nut job. It's really an uphill battle against indoctrination. One paradigm shift that may help with helping your close friends and family to understand is by having them make the paradigm shift to understand that goods aren't getting more expensive, but their money is getting more worthless. Great post!
That's an interesting way of looking at it. Reverse the inflation paradigm. I might try that one too :)
Great post, I’ve just found you one here and will be following you. I’m looking forward to the next part. It’s so hard to discuss matters like this with family and especially older family members.
Thanks. I'm still working on Part 2. Hopefully I can do the topic justice :)
I’m not sure if you have seen the “zeitgeist” documentaries or not but they do an impressive piece on how modern day banking works (a bit of a scam if you ask me) I can did up the you tube links if your interested but by the sounds of things you’re pretty clued up on the topic.
I have actually. I think it was the first Zeitgeist movie that kicked me down the rabbit hole again a while back and it was quite good though still a bit "full on" for mainstream consumption. The follow up Beyond Zeitgeist I think had a real socialist slant to it from memory which put me off. But the original was very good for a viewer already tasting the red pill ;)
Ha ha yes. I couldn’t agree more.
i totally agree with you my parents still ask me how i make my money at first they say that its illegal because its bitcoin but i tried explaining it to them that it is another form of currency that doesn't use banks and somehow it worked with my parents. sometimes you need to show them visually whats happening for them to better understand, i think thats why most people trust bills and physical currency because you can feel secured if they have it physically.
I'm glad to hear that worked for you. My parents are getting quite elderly now so sometimes I have spent a bit of time explaining crypto and the next time I see them it's like they've forgotten. That's why I am working on the history side of things. I probably won't ever get them into crypto but if they even just get a handful of gold stocks or physical metal it'll be a small victory :)
Gold and Silver are real money and not fiat money that is based on the value of each of the country's governance.
Look, for example, Indonesia, their currency is so low that SGD 1 = 10,000 rupiah. This is ridiculous. I just bought 10 silver 1-ounce coins as a start. Upvoted!
Good post. I studied this topic at university. It is simple. Sadly, money =debt and slavery. In the past banks would actually protect your gold in a vault . Money is not gold anymore, so what do banks do now??? Create debt for everyone :)
This is why I am so interested in crypto. Governments are controlled by bankers and rich ass familys. The people pay the debt, not the government. People cannot see it or they choose to ignore it as they are not taught, labelling it conspiracy theories. I tried to educate some people in the past, they just couldnt be bothered to understand. Most people I hang around do understand and agree. Not sure if people are waking up or I decided to associate with open minded people lol. Some guys at work believe I am stupid for buying some bitcoin when it recently dipped to 6k :) Diversity is important, just put money on different assets and pay debts fast.
Banks just skim off all economic activity. It's almost a private tax on the velocity of money. It's no wonder we have such a large, and growing gap between the "haves" and "have nots".
Ooh, very teasy. I can't wait to see how you tackle this situation. I have seen plenty of people give the 'thousand yard stare' as I have tried to explain complex social systems to them. On a positive, I offered my parents to have a go at a little crypto and they were happy to try an investment.
That's great to hear your parents are having a go! I am also eager to see how I tackle this situation. It's very much an "in progress" thing and I am fishing for ideas here as much as sharing my own experience! :)
I have to agree with you on all of what you say. Even getting a member of my family to watch a video would be tough, so good on you for even achieving that.
There's a reality bubble. Everyone's living in their own version of it, and unless their reality includes seeing the trouble that's been brewing for, well forever, then they won't see it until it's too late.
I've found that if you truly care about topics, you need to find arguments for and arguments against, and take all sides into account and then figure out what's true. It's a long, often difficult task, but being ignorant isn't a solution. No one's going to bail you out when everything comes crashing down. You'll either be prepared or you won't, and screaming, "Why didn't someone warn us?" won't have much weight, when someone did. Someone in our own family who we discounted repeatedly.
Oh man...the "Reality Bubble" - I love that!
I know I am going to have the "I tried to warn you" moment, just like I did after the GFC hit in 2008. But it's a small consolation and the funny thing is people never even remember the warnings. I've suffered from the Cassandra Curse for many years now. Maybe it's the way I deliver the message, that's why I'm looking for new ideas.
I worked some twenty years in corporate treasury departments so understand a little about finance and money. But never enough. I am a crypto virgin still.
If you're here on STEEM then you are no Crypto virgin. This is a great place to start. Owning STEEM and STEEM DOLLARS is owning Crypto. So well done on losing your virginity! :)
I was born in Brazil and we have a popular phrase : Santo de casa não faz milagres. Translating : A home saint opperates no miracles. People only believe in someone that is outside the family. For years I tried to make my parents think about silver and gold, to no avail. They started thinking about it only when a famous economist talked about it.
Sounds like we have a lot in common! Thanks for sharing your own personal experience :)
Great post! A lot of information to chew on over lunch! I have been pouring silver for awhile and that kinda helped bridge the gap of bringing my family to silver and gold! 👍🏼🍺🥓
Pouring silver - Very cool. That might be a novel way to approach this too. Thanks for the idea :)
Haha, yeah. Better show them a video or article made by someone else if we can't inform them abt things as well as we'd like.
I think the best way to discuss with someone else is showing them some short presentation just like you did, youtube or short video, and brochures with a good design will attract his/her attention more on it.
Great read. I’m the daughter of a broker/financial planner, and trying to explain Crypto has been met with great hesitation.
I can only afford one bar... You think it’s enough?
385.95 oz's
My brother and I are working hard on the others. Mike Maloney's videos are great for showing the history of money and current state of money.
there is some money can forget everything, forget his family, do not we are affected with money to forget family, family remain number one, happiness can not be bought with money, thanks @buggedout
I always try to learn new things about money every day
Great post lots of information! and I agree education is key!!
Money is just a by-product of creativity, skill, strength and other minors. Money to me isn't all about the physical stuff @notes, it's about your worth even when the notes can't be seen.
I've never think this side of the currency though. Thank you for the article :D @buggedout
🍜 terrific & impressed!
Nice post, great thoughts :):):)
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