Comments by "Crime Stoppers" (@crimestoppers1877) on "According to Nicole" channel.

Good for you! Buying a house before age 30 is an excellent idea.
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Yes it is true. I found that baby steps one step at atime to wealth can work. Each of us has our own goals and limiting factors so the solution is individual. My first goal was ZERO debts. Once you achieve zero debts you are starting to experience freedom. Ironically, the path to zero debts is actually more difficult for those who have more wealth and of course debts., The lesson I learned is that with each increase in wealth can accompany a larger potential for going into debt! An example is a mortgage. These debts can be long term and ever present so this should be a temporary situation only. . One way is lower initial price, high down payment and frequent additional payments. Each of us must to make our own way and this starts with frugality and a plan. I am self employed and do not advertise. I started my "business" by doing work for free.
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My home is where I am. My work is where I am. I really don't have a Third place, because if I am in a place I enjoy, I remain there. I guess my Third place is where I am. You mentioned large cities with extreme disparities between the rich and people who have nothing. Cities define themselves as what they are, a high population density area. I redefined my life by trying to do everything I can and minimally relying on others. I built my own house and grow my own produce in the "country". I do all the "yardwork" and do the many things that others would do in a city. There are many good results. I know my neighbors and their names. When I have an abundance of produce I give it away. Making breakfast this morning I realized that I only have 8 eggs left. Later I will talk to a neighbor who keeps asking "do you need any more eggs?" I noticed that another neighbor has some family visiting, so I walked over to her house and gave her a few bags of vegetables and fruit. She asked if I wanted some melons and apricots. This is my world and it is not a bad place to live. No sirens from police or fire fighters, no noise from car traffic, no street people "hanging out", no homeless, no busses. I don't watch TV or listen to the radio. Every morning the sun appears and I can hear and watch the birds talking to each other. Do I need to travel to experience serenity? I drive so few miles each year and yet the "The world is coming to the end" people remark about my "polluting" vehicle which I rarely drive. Priuses have gasoline engines , so what is the complaint about? I have a few projects for today. I found an old dishwasher for free and I am now troubleshooting it and will soon have it running like new. The cost? nothing. I found that personal responsibility, planning, self education ( Youtube videos) and a slower pace can work wonders. PS: I don't have a job and do not miss it. What do I do for money? What's that? Don't worry be happy.
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Don't worry. I know a man at your age who lost it ALL ( savings, pensions, Social Security, property, and assets via a QDRO) in a disasterous divorce. Today he has recovered to a higher economic status by working multiple jobs and working on his own. The spouse quickly became the loser because of spendy habits and unable to have self control over a budget. As long as you have your health you can do it.
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In my view, happiness can be supported by not having any debts. My goal of not owing money to anyone is made difficult by government. In the USA you can never own property tax free, unless you are a non profit ( this requires lawyers and fees and annual filing reportd= $$). There are millions of taxes and fees on services and benefits that do not exist. Why is there a 50 cent fee for using a paper grocery bag but no fee when you use a plastic bag?
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Excellent presentation, and many good choices. I went one step further for amazing freedom. This step requires that you accumulate or save as much money as you legally can. Today I only "work" for my amusement. I am located in California, that has very high taxes. These taxes are paid by employees and individual workers who are "selling their work time for money". I noticed that the top of the economic pyramid there are many people who never work. At the levels above the top 1 percenters of assets are people who got their assets because of who they know not what they know. These people do not need to be productive or spend a certain amount of time doing anything. They seem to just "Veg out" and do whatever they want. I am following their "lead". I hired a tax accountant who showed me the way via many Legal loopholes in income taxes. These tax laws were actually written by the campaign finance campaign of politicians in office and are widely exploited by them. I was led to my favorite tool, the IRS LTCG or (Long Term Capital Gains regulations) which contain many wonderful ways to freedom. I have not earned one dime ( taxable or non taxable) and no bartering in over 5 years. This as a result of using my brain and knowledge and not participating in any type of labor. I no longer need to do slave work for money to acquire ( not own) or experience those benefits that I desire. Most of us who toil in a "paid job" have at least three bosses: Supervisor-management, Government tax and regulatory rules and possible a Trade Union with its own taxes. My only advice and "control" comes from my tax accountant. You can own some types of assets with zero taxes. The last taxes I face are the allodial taxes on real property, but you can decide which locations have the least taxes. I do not want benefits from the work of others -Taxes.
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I agree, no streaming services and NO TV ! I pay for zero subscriptions, junk fees and all of it. No index funds for me. I invest by building a house and keeping it. Never tenants. In my area house prises follow inflation over many yeras and can lose less value than currency. I like to build houses as a hobby- all trades. I grow my own produce and give what I don't consume to neighbors. My eggs are free and most of my meat chicken, fish, pork, goat and beef. No fast food. My water is from my rural tested clean fresh water well . I do require power equipment for my ranch. I built my own house and shop. I am a "Meatatarian" aka Keto-vore. I buy junk appliances and repair them for a new life and build my own computer gear. Guilty on my home Gym 90-120 minutes/ day/7/365. Yeah! I love to label EVERYTHING food. Organic potatoes are actually different than supermarket type potatoes. Potatoes from supermarkets will not sprout when you plant them ( chemical sprays penetrate to interior of the potatoes and can not be washed off!).
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Fun stuff! When I was in Middle School and High school I felt the same way! I solved the problem by considering the financial opportunities os selling the "busy work" commonly assigned as Homework, book reports, projects, "extra credit", etc etc blah waste of time. I earned enough money writing papers, taking tests and making cheat sheets to buy my first car. I also took the advantage of having to learn so much so the other students would get the high grades they paid me for. Just before my high school graduation one of the students who went from an "F" student in physics to an A grade on his final test. He blabbed to the teacher and the school tried to keep me from graduating. They had a problem. I had already met the state legal graduation requirements the previous year and had already been accepted to a few colleges. Oh well? Wash Rinse and Repeat. They did catch another student friend of mine who was running a similar operation but he did not receive his high school diploma. No problemo! Today he is a successful patent attorney with a few BA degrees, a Masters degree and a JD degree with no HS diploma. Oh my! Most public seconday schools is only a scam to extract more tax money from lazy or incompetent school district employees.
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When employed I bank 100% of my net portion of my check in my own self funded pension plan. This is not taxed and can not be touched until retirement but it is a huge amount of money over time. I uusally work two or more jobs at the same time plus work for myself. The greatest expense has been rent, so I avoid that in many ways. Employers have offered me free room to sleep in the office as long as I keep the areas clean. I shower at local gyms and it is easy to find part time restaurant jobs that provide free meals. If you are sleeping, your are NOT earning money. Most people do not realize that an apartment is used mostly for sleeping. How much money does the apartment cost you while sleeping? 30 days/month x 8 hours per day = 240 sleep hours = $ 4.16/hour. If you include utilities, taxes, insurance, furniture , the cost is much greater. Add the cost of transportation and the cost increases. So during a typical week day you are spending $33.28 per day just to sleep on the floor of an apartment. Typical US cost of unfurnished single apartment in a non gang area= $1,000/month.
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Yes, Love the Moka pot from Ikea and use when my FREE gravity filtered coffee is not ready. I use a small battery powered grinder for my coffee beans.
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This is why I eat what I can grow or trade. No batteries required for a tomato or potato. I have learn that many vegetable seed packets contain seeds of biological or genetically engineered plants that can not reproduce. They do this so you have to buy more "Godzilla" or "Franken" seeds for next year. My strategy is to purchase real plants and remove the seeds for planting next season. This usually works with one exception. The typical potato available for sale in stores has been treated with chemicals that penetrate into the potato so it will last years on a shelf without rotting. If you try to plant one of these it will not grow. I now only use organic branded potatoes for future potato plants! This strategy is working.
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I switched from the expensive always updating and never repairing Apple cult. Today I am proud of my old Linux computer that is rarely "updated" and always repairable, 99% free software, no spam or scam and dirt cheap. I even have a "white" one with designer influence. This is already 5 times faster than any Windoze or Apple toy. I win every day with no ads eating up my data.
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The new Maytag appliances have Peoples Republic of China components designed to break at the time the warranty expires and replacement parts are never available.
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Some of us are not faking it, we are just frugal and have zero debts.
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How about the scam of insurance? In the USA there is no legal requirement for an insurance company to actually pay a legitimate claim. Each state has its own insurance regulations and these change based on each state. Generally the insurance company use the following scheme: Deny, Delay and Minimize. A denied claim requires that you hire an attorney who legally are not reimbursed for the significant legal work they do to try to get the insurance company to be honest and pay the claim. One result is that most attorneys will only sue an insurer if someone has been seriously injured or killed. If the injured person is of lower income or is killed the insurer pays less. There is no requirement to pay for the increase in inflation. Go and wait ten years to get paid with inflated dollars and subtract the legal costs from that. How many claims "professionals" go to prison for lying, cheating or not paying legitimate claims? None! Insurance fraud is a serious crime yet there are no laws against insurer fraud. Why?
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Nice! I agree, I am not miserly and if I need or want something I buy it. My options: Coffee: I also enjoy coffee and use fresh roasted beans. I use a gravity method that consist of a large mouth canning jar with a mesh filter. Nothing special. Less than $5. If I am in a rush and want a quick extraction I use a Moka pot from Ikea also about $7. For a desk I found one at Ikea. It is only a thick picee of glass fastened to four aluminum tube legs. Nothing fancy. I read books, so I use them to raise and lower my PC. Today I just ordered a new book from Mark Dice ( The War on Conservatives). I use 6 books to raise up my PC monitor. If I want to increase or decrease the height of my PC monitor, I just use the books that I have read. I built my PC. When I have a technical issue, I troubleshoot and repair it myself. I use Free Linux operating systems and only Free Linux software which are mostly Ad free spam, Spam free and scam free. As a back up PC I built another DIY computer called an "Atomic Pi" for $40. My desk chair also came from Ikea. My smartphone does not use iOSs or Android , instead I use FREE and spam and spy free GrapheneOS. You have one dog and I have 16 of them. I foster dogs for free as a hobby. You must pay income taxes if you make any income and working for free is still legal. Vacuum cleaner: I use a regular whisk broom and a mop and bucket to clean my floors, it seems to work well and I don't have issues with batteries or repairs like the mostly unrepairable robotic floor cleaners. I don't like to buy anything unless I can fix it on my own. I must have all available parts and schematics when I buy. If not available I skip the purchase. I am a strong "Right to Repair" advocate. I will soon be buying a new DIY Laptop, mostly for fun. This is designed to be a 100% DIY project. Framework provides each laptop part that you will ever need for upgrading or repair. https://frame.work/products/laptop16-diy-amd-7040 Why deal with lousy "tech support" from "Lower Slobovia" when I can troubleshoot and repair myself with minimal tools and equipment? I installed a new 38 SEER Mini Split Heat pump to provide excellent heating and cooling at a low energy cost. I found you can buy most commercial items at wholesale prices if you just give them a Contractors license. This unit installed runs about $8,000 and my cost was less than $1,200 with me doing the work. I cut my heat and cooling bills by more than 50%. Youtube videos help! Lastly my dog food, Vet bills and Vet dental bills are paid by volunteers who want me to keep being successful. Each dog gets an annual Vet teeth cleaning at no charge. I don't have car heated back rest. Instead I bought a new car at MSRP that includes heated seats. No TV, CD, entertainment devices in the house. Why? Everything I need is free online. I splurged on my internet by upgrading to over 2,000 mbps down and 1,400 mbps up wireless T Mobile Home Internet at a locked in price of $50/mo.
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Does Prilosec ( PPI inhibitor) really help those with acid indiegestion? @virginiav.1172
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Thank you! The old adage "Lie to me once shame on you, lie to me twice shame on me" fits your Scam #1. My Cable ISP has lied, cheated and actually stolen repeatedly. Whose fault is that ? You can't put a corproation in prison for these crimes. I blame myself for allowing this deception. I just cancelled my internet provider and will rely on a different lying group of snakes. The only good thing is my new ISP has not lied to me ( as far as I can know). So goodbye Scamcast!
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I have been through the same house buying trauma, until one day I figured out a plan. You must ask these questions first before going on your hunt: 1) What actually determines the asking price of a house? This is a VERY complex answer but is the key to understanding the motivation of the seller to sell today! I bought a house in an excellent location over 30% below the listed price. I look for the reasons the seller sells not the house. I am not shopping for "the house" but "the location" + "the reason for selling". Most other factors are secondary. The house I bought ten years ago is worth 400% more today. Neighbor houses only increased less than half as much. This menas that in any market I can easily afford to sell at a lower price than my neighbors. No longer owned by a mortgage or a house.
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iPhone? Why?
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Am I an actor in the movie Idiocracy? @toolguybak
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That can sure save a lot of stress, costs and hassles. The guy I know has been homeless a few times and is now a millionaire laughing at all the wannabe Gold diggers. Divorce-Grape can not help a woman who spends it faster that she can count it. I hear there are a lot of homeless women out there trying to sell their "fashion" designer SITC type shoes for cash. @SirReptitious
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You are on he road to real freedom from debt and control by others. I found that the starter houses or lower market segment houses usually have a higher cost per square foot than larger houses. You can remodel or increase your house footprint DIY and increase your house market value at less cost for more profit when you sell. Don't buy the "best" house in the neighborhood , but instead the oldest or smallest house in a "good" neighborhood. Better value for DIY. My last low priced house increased in market price over 400% in ten years just by fixing, repairing and remodeling myself. From $200K to $850k, Property taxes remain almost the same in California.
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Yes, I agree with you. I stopped working for money 5 years ago and can match my net worth with the best of the "busy-workers". I do not invest in stocks and do not work in sales and am not a grifter, l but found my way through guidance from the tax regulations, just like the "Big Boys" @human1513
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Keep on Truckin!
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I agree with all 6 rules, but after accumulating items that I need I no longer think about it. There is one thing in your video that piques my curiosity. This is the design of your closet (2:24 - 3.0) In the US, most bedroom closets ( In the US, a room is not a bedroom unless it has a closet) are linear along one wall. I just built a Guest house with a bedroom closet adjoining the bathroom and an adjacent wall similar to the design that you have. This closet provides ample space for clothes that must hang with two sections for hanging clothes at different heights. Use a step stool to reach the higher level of clothes ( 9 foot ceiling...no wasteful attic) ). Why take up space along a whole wall that could be used for other reasons? I use a Minisplit heat pump design for HVAC and the indoor unit is adjacent to the BR closet. The closet acts like a natural barrier to disperse the HVAC air ( no ducting required). I enjoy learning by doing so I built a guest house just for fun. I am located in California so allowing tenants to live in any residence is a legal danger. By law, November 30, 2022 is the first day since March 2020 that tenants actually must pay rent! Who needs this hassle? The result is I build for my amusement. I know that if I ever sell my property values are very high ( All construction is high quality, environmentally sound and according to the latest building codes) .
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Nice one! So how I live today has a name! "Financial Independence". Do not need an income, have no debts and enough to do what I want to do. I use a the phrase "A Penny saved is a penny earned", I found that, for me, the number one expense was rent or mortgage. I never had enough time to actually have time for myself. I took a cooking course and use YT videos extensively. I own three freezers and two stand up refrigerators. I buy frozen foods ONLY when on sale. Last 2 weeks, I have been thawing out a 22 pound standing rib roast ( purchased on December 2022! Tastes SUPER! For produce I grow most of my own. Vegetables and fruit. When I harvest and get too much to eat I give away to neighbors at no charge. This morning one neighbor called and told me she had two dozen free rangeand organic hen eggs. You use Iphones? Try a Pixel 6a with Free and Non Spy Graphene OS. I do not have a land line telephone. Why? I have the best tasting natural water from my water well. Nothing wrong with this. One neat advantage is I get to see real stars at night, no city crime, noises or light pollution. If I watch the street in front of my house, it can be hours before any vehicle drives by.
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