There's a true story that sums it up better than any other. December 2001, Argentina.
Millions of people went to the bank to withdraw their savings and were met with a limit: 250 pesos per week.
The money remained in the account, the balance was still there, but they couldn't touch it.
They called it the "corralito" (bank freeze).
Then came the worst part: dollar deposits were converted to pesos at an exchange rate that had nothing to do with the market.
No one robbed a bank. The system did it, with a law and a signature.
That day, many people understood that "my money in the bank" is actually a promise.
And promises are broken by those in power.
Do you have something against fiat money?
Just spit it out!
I saw a news story about a man who left a few million lire, the old Italian currency, to his nephew, but the lire was no longer in use.
Growing up, mom and dad would always spend too much on materialistic bs, and then if I asked for a video game, it was always like "dad has to work so hard all day, we can barely pay the bills now!" Like don't dump this on your 10 year old son, figure out your finances guys
When I was very young, possibly 4-5 years old, I would take my piggy bank out into the living room in order to count the contents. This was at minimum, a daily occurrence.
I did not recieve an allowance so it didn't change much, I didn't care. Reason I would count in the public living room was out of fear of getting robbed by an older sibling if I counted the money in my shared bedroom.
One day my mom become concerned with my Ebenezer Scrooge tendencies and threatened to take my money away if she saw me counting it again.
The threat of forceful seizure of my assests made my quite upset and I was forced to take the risks of counting it in my bedroom.
It was about $1.50 in loose change.
I guess it isn't suprising I ended up here.
Wow! $1.50 is a fortune when you're a kid! Something you don't want to lose!
My worst memory was as a kid. I was told by my mother to behave while we were in church, be quiet and participate. Then I would get an allowance and reward for a hot wheels toy afterwards. I did and followed the instructions to a T. Then, after church we are leaving and I reminded her of the commitment. She snapped at me something about not needing to be rewarded to just go to church. I protested that she promised and her response was, "Well I lied. You needed to behave."
And that set my attitude about money and contracting for the rest of my life from age 6.
Unfulfilled monetary promises are cruel... especially when they come from Mom.
I mean, I think Hot Wheels models are awesome too!