11 Comments

Finally getting into reading all of this stuff. A bit like drinking from a fire hose but this is what I signed up for.

More than 2 years later, do you still recommend Okcoin, or its rebranded OKX?

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they went dark for a while. They don't have earn any more so no yields on anything. Fees are not as low.

If you don't already use them, I probably wouldn't start right now I been using coinbase for the most part - the fees suck, but seem less likely to just freeze everything with no warning. And they give some staking yield

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Did not expect an actual response on a two-year old post.

On the topic of "less likely to freeze everything," how immediately crucial is it to do all of those other things that avoid the "not your keys" risk? I'm waking up to a new world over here and there's a lot I need to catch up on.

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I feel very obligated to grossly over-deliver value, which includes prompt responses.

The vast majority of my crypto is in cold wallets. Even the stuff I have for staking/DEX/LPs/Etc is on a cold wallet that MetaMask references so any transactions require me to approve on the physical hardware (instead of sitting on MetaMask).

The stuff on CEX is small in comparison, and there for convenience.

OKcoin was good, but when FTX happened they basically went dark and pulled all staking and it was not a great user experience (also foreign company...Korean maybe? I forget).

With BTC and ETH as ETFs, if you really don't want to fuss with it all, that is likely the easiest exposure to the price moves. Unlikely SEC just freezes huge ETFs they approved. Coinbase seems ok as a CEX. But the best way to really own coins is in a hardware wallet and with a secret key that has never seen the internet as you really own them and can access them. Times can change though so need to paya little attention

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“Stablecoins to the rescue”

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Yea, in hindsight poor word choice in the title to that section.

There is sufficient disclaimer -

Now stablecoins are NOT risk-free. There is a chance of depegging from the dollar. There is some regulatory risk. And there is always the hacking/rugging/human error risks. As always, DYOR and look to diversify, and have a plan B.

Still should be net positive vs 0% loan but I'd reword that header to better reflect them as an alternative than a rescue

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I "made it" this past year and have learned to use debt as a tool to grow wealth responsibly, but it can certainly be a mental adjustment.

Example: bought two new cars. Used to pay cash; this time I took out max length loans at sub 4% APR while I am earning more than enough in UST to cover the monthly payments. Even boomers can open up some iBonds with the Treasury and get over 8%.

Another example is that I'm borrowing from my core holdings to buy more stocks (Vanguard funds and BRK-B). Doing this to avoid taxes, which slaughtered me last year.

The result thought is I have a decent amount of debt. With exception of the vehicles, however, it is being used to grow my wealth responsibly (I already did the "borrow from ETH to get into high risk ICOs" back in 2018 and failed).

Great article; looking forward to more ripping on Ramsey.

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Outstanding comment.

I am genuinely worried about the FIRE folks. They have their identity very wrapped up in no debt and living forever cheaply and investing conservatively. If inflation starts ripping, the Dave Ramsey & FIRE crowd can see some real problems.

And 100% correct on IBonds. Boomer purchase and CPI understates inflation so you are 'losing' purchasing power. But if you take a $10k car loan and max your iBond purchase above your car loan rate, you are STILL better off than paying cash for the car.

Its all about the opportunity cost.

Just be semi-responsible.

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Loving these posts man. What is a good stable farm in defi?

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If you want ease - UST on OKCoin like mentioned in the article.

Stargate has some stable farms in the high teens (I have some USDC on stargate on matic chain so gas is low too)

You can use Anchor directly too on chain for the 20% UST (Anchor pool is what is backing the UST on OKCoin).

If you can handle it, crv pools have 5-8% on the Mim+3crv and UST+3crv.

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Apr 11, 2022
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Appreciate the comment & well said. Feels a little like AA sometimes with the amount of people coming clean "I used to be a Ramsey fan boy, but I quit him and have been making better financial for 18 months now". kek.

Glad to hear you made it thru and came out wiser on the other side. Congrats brother.

There is a huge lack of teaching basic finances to teenagers. Unfortunately it leads to people putting themselves in poor situations.

And honestly, there is nothing 'wrong' with paying down debt. Dave Ramsey followers are brainwashed to pay down debt at literally all costs. And he is making a fortune while having people make financial decisions that are objectively less optimal.

Its a great grift for him. If you didn't live poor enough to make it to $1mm its not his bad advice, its your fault for not living even more poor. Its all those drive-thru coffees you bought or that credit card you opened up. Such a terrible scarcity mindset.

Whereas you can flip a few $1k a year just from cycling credit cards, refinancing and investing the difference, and a handful of other low-hanging fruit I have yet to get to.

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