The Joy of Ownership

The Rat Race is for rats. You can do better. [The Rude Awakening] January 25, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The Joy of Ownership [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Today, I’m returning to Rude basics, as many new subscribers may not know or understand what we’re all about. No one loves flapping his gums about geopolitics or the markets more than I do, but above all, I love the freedom to do what I want when I want. I used to write about that freedom much more in my early days as editor of this venerable newsletter. With your permission, I’d like to revisit it and its related topics more often. You may or may not know, the Rude’s Four Pillars of Financial Freedom are: - A second passport - An online business - A bit of crypto - Getting in great shape Most of the time, the above plan or similar plans encourage running away from governments and their associated tyranny. What if I told you that you could stay in one place and accomplish the same objective of being free? In this edition of the Rude, I will detail how owning my business has allowed me to stay in one country with minimal interference from overarching bureaucrats. The Home Office One of my good friends from childhood had a father with a perpetual scowl on his face. He was the most miserable man I’ve ever known. To be sure, he was always kind to me. But he never smiled for any reason. I realized that my friend’s dad didn’t drive to work. He’d walk a few blocks to the bus stop and then commute into New York City for his big corporate day job. During the 80s, if you took the bus to work in New Jersey, you were poor. He wasn’t. He owned a car. Nevertheless, he commuted by bus, day in and day out, for decades. I never understood why my friend’s dad was so miserable. …Until I started commuting from New Jersey to New York City for my job at Lehman Brothers. First, my mother would drive me to the train station. Then, I would switch to the PATH train. Next, I would navigate from under 1 World Trade Center to Number 3 World Financial Center. Finally, I’d reverse the process at night. Make no mistake: commuting day in and day out sucked. After about three months of that commute, I resolved to find a better way. When I moved to London a few years later, I cut my commute to 25 minutes on one train. Once I quit banking, I started to work - at least sometimes - from home as a financial trainer. This was in 2007, long before the term “digital nomad” was invented. Besides my enormous mistake of returning to work for a big bank in Hong Kong for three years in 2015, I’ve been working from home, at least partially, for 17 years. As far as I’m concerned, reducing or eliminating commuting is the only reason you need to open a home business. And erasing the additional commuting costs is enormously beneficial. I’m not just talking about the cost of train tickets and the time it takes to get from home to work and back again. No stupid Starbucks coffee bills every month. Pam makes a pot of fresh Lavazza coffee every morning. It's much better than SBUX’s burnt offering and way cheaper as well! No ad hoc drinks after work that cost a ton in a city center. No overpaying for lunch at Chipotle every day. Oh, you’ll miss walking the city streets and browsing through Barnes and Noble? Think about how much time you’ll have to enjoy it after working from home. More Time to Do What You Want I’ve known friends in banking who barely have a passing acquaintance with their children. But besides the first year and a bit of Micah’s life in Hong Kong, I haven’t missed anything. It’s great not noticing how fast he’s growing up. As I see him every day, he looks the same to me. Pam and I know each other. Like, really know each other. Sure, I’ll enjoy my upcoming business trip to Dubai. I’ll be away for a few days. (Pam can’t come along because Micah has school, and one of us must be here. But if he were off, I’d have taken them both.) But all in all, I love being with them both every day. And it’s not just family. You can see friends whenever they can get away from their office jobs. Haven’t been reading enough? Want to learn that skill you’ve been stalling on? Do you want to drink a cappuccino at a lovely cafe every day? You can do all that while building your home business. [TIME-SENSITIVE: A “Second Wave” Of Inflation Is Coming]( [Click here to learn more]( During the 1970s, inflation lasted for years and came in three separate waves. Each wave was far worse than the last. [Today, the same exact thing is happening again.]( Is the price of food, gasoline, housing and more about to skyrocket even higher? [== > Get ready for “Inflation’s Second Wave.” Click here now to see my urgent warning.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Paying Taxes Differently I don’t mean to insult most Americans, but if you’re using PAYE, you’re doing it wrong. PAYE stands for “pay as you earn.” As in paying taxes as you earn your money. Unless you’re an investment banker, corporate lawyer, or neurosurgeon - jobs with incomes so far outrunning expenses that taxes don’t matter - you want to own your own business. PAYE allows the government to take your money too early and earn interest on it. PAYE disallows you the privilege of getting paid your gross amount, saving for upcoming expenses like taxes, and then paying them when they’re due. PAYE infantilizes the population by letting the nanny state privileged access to their funds. And then the populace celebrates - celebrates! - getting a “refund” from the government. I’m positively embarrassed for those celebrants. When you own your business, you pay taxes differently. You work with your accountant - and yes, hire someone to do this for you - to set aside the right amount of money to pay the government when it’s due… and not one microsecond before. In the meantime, your accountant works with you to maximize your income while reducing your taxes through any legal means. You’d be shocked to learn that the tax you pay as an entrepreneur is nowhere near what you’d pay on the equivalent income as an employee. Even [Warren Buffett doesn’t seem to understand that](. How you make your money (income versus business revenue) matters more than how much money you make. Wrap Up With all the negativity flying around, I wanted to remind you that now is the best time to open your own business. You’ve undoubtedly got something unique to offer, even if you’re unaware of it yourself. You must find out what that particular skill is and get it out into the world. You’ll be richly rewarded for doing so. Everyone gets paid in two ways: time and money. Owning a home business allows you to maximize both. Have a great day! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… Donald Dominates [Sean Ring] SEAN RING The Donald continued his march to the Republican nomination by thrashing Nutty Neocon Nikki Haley 43% to 32.5%. Trump didn’t need to say much before the vote to win. But he did rub it in Haley’s face afterward. “She had a very bad night,” Trump said. And he was right. Haley spent over $30 million in a state where Democrats and Independents can vote in the Republican primary if they switch to Republican status beforehand. Over 3,000 registered Democrats switched their registration to “undeclared” ahead of the primary, which is well below 1% of voters. New Hampshire's registration history shows several thousand voters typically switch their registration before each election. So when Trump claims that Democrats and Independents can vote in the Republican primary, he’s technically incorrect. But, really, he’s not far off. Watch this video to see this usually registered Democrat say he voted for Haley to oppose Trump. But if Haley won in a general election, he’d vote for Biden. Ludicrous. [Rude] Credit: [@NuanceBro]( [@NuanceBro]( followed up that post with this: New Hampshire has semi-closed primaries. They do not limit voting in primaries only to members of that particular party. If you aren’t registered with either party AKA undeclared you can vote in any primary you choose. This man is a Biden supporter and technically undeclared but voted Haley. In fact, [only 47% of New Hampshire voters identified as Republicans, 45% identified as Democrats, and 8% identified as Independents.]( Although most Republicans in New Hampshire are moderate, Trump still won by a wide margin. As [Statista’s]( Richter wrote]( before the vote: If the results from New Hampshire actually go Trump’s way, he would be the first non-incumbent Republican candidate to win in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states often considered crucial in the presidential primaries as they host the first contests in the nomination process. Is Haley Shameless or Delusional? [Rude] Credit: [@grandoldmemes]( You’ve got to hand it to her: win or lose, Nikki Haley keeps her chin up. She always gives a victory speech, no matter the outcome. “New Hampshire is first in the nation; it is not last in the nation,” Haley said in her concession speech. “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go. And the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.” She’s already trailing Trump in South Carolina by over 30 points. “South Carolina voters don’t want a coronation. They want an election. We are just getting started.” WTF is she talking about? She’s done. Or is she? Why is she talking like she still has a chance? Who’s encouraging her? [External Advertisement] [Biggest Investors in the World LOADING UP on This AI Stock]( [Click here to learn more]( It's a small cap that trades for less than $10... Yet the biggest investors in the world own millions of shares. Why? Because their AI just did something no company has ever done before. [Details here.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Rotten Republicans According to former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, The Wall Street Journal isn’t helping. [Rude] Credit: [@VivekGRamaswamy]( So let’s get this straight: Vivek thinks the MSM and Republican co-conspirators are hoping to keep Haley alive long enough to get her past Trump’s legal troubles? Why on earth would he think this? Kari Lake Leaks It may be because Arizona Republican Party Chairman and all-around slimeball Jeff DeWit was caught on tape offering Kari Lake bags of money if she’d just step aside for two years. [Rude] Credit: [@WarClandestine]( Tim Pool’s post has the full audio: [Rude] Credit: [@Timcast]( Long story short: “Back east,” some Republicans are happy to send Kari Lake mountains of money to get her out of the AZ Senate race. If that doesn't work, according to DeWit, they're happy to pay assassins to get their way. Let me remind you that these are Republicans, not Democrats. So the next time you hear, “But Maricopa County was run by Republicans!” you can retort by saying, “Well, election fraud isn’t a one-sided issue.” Imagine the kind of collusion going on between the parties if Republicans are talking to each other like this. My friend, there is a swamp, and it’s filthy! I’m thrilled Lake told DeWit to use the money as a rectangular suppository. If you have doubts about the tape, [Lake confirms it’s real here](. Wrap Up If left to his devices, Trump would’ve won this race already. But dark forces on the Republican side are trying to keep Trump out of the White House and Kari Lake out of the Senate. We mustn’t just look at the Democrats when inquiring about the fairness of our voting mechanisms. The Republicans are rotten to the core as well. In November, Trump will prevail and face Biden in a Battle of the Dentures and Diapers War. But it’ll be a dirty, filthy race until then and beyond. Still, it could be worse. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. 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