Hacking Money; Real Money vs. Crypto-currency (Day 1)

Introduction:
First I want to start off with a couple of simple general statements: 1. none of this information in any of these blogs is created by a get-rich-fast scam or other buy-in type of thing; 2. I am not a financial expert and never claim to be; 3. this is the first step in learning and spreading the word on how to diversify funds, simply put, how to invest. Hacking money means learning the ins and outs of how to use money the correct way. I'm starting from scratch here. So if you don't have any investments, that is perfectly fine.

A bit about me:
I'm a father of four and husband to a supportive but understandably skeptical wife. I have a stable income where I can pay for my cost of living with about a few hundred dollars left over after all expenses, hobbies and other things come out. We seem to always find a way to spend that last bit as well. We don't shop excessively, we don't party or indulge crazy habits like gambling except on special occasions like an anniversary or birthday. Bottomline, we're average John and Jane Q taxpayer.

I followed good advice early on in my working life to purchase modest properties at fair long term interest rates using my VA Certificate. I currently own two investment properties with reliable renters in each and aside from natural disasters or repairs, the rent covers the mortgage with some left over to save for issues later. Those are stable investments I consider paying for themselves and just building equity for a very long-term investment.

Starting point: 
I set aside $50 a month for my hobby with Magic the Gathering Cards and have accrued over $11,000 in value to date. If I hold most of it as a mid-range investment, I can sell it off a piece at a time as fodder for the day-trading. That keeps all of this initially away from what we need for living. But if another person were to try to follow in my footsteps, just moving $50 to a separate checking account that has nothing to do with your bills would be the first step. Then using that account as a transfer spot, in and out of the day trading. I have little capital to begin with for this test so I'm letting go of a bit of my hobby to have something to play with. This money is something I see as safe for investing follies or learning because it is outside my current debts, assets or income. Totally outside my monthly income and monthly bills, so it should be okay to put where I want.

I learned tonight about an app called Coinbase, which you can find for free in the App Store. The app allows for the purchasing and selling of crypto-currency like Bitcoin and charges flat fees for investments at certain increments with the relevant one being an investment more than $50 and less than $200 is a flat fee of $2.99. Similar fees of about 1% at lower increments as well. For larger investments, the commission jumps up to 1.49% of the amount. In my opinion, this is not too bad for investing fees, the trick will be to make sure I am making a profit at the investment times to recoop that and then some. I started with an initial investment of only $10 and it charged me 1.06 for the investment, earning me .00139 Bitcoin. The main takeaways here are that the app easily and securely connects to your checking account. It wouldn't connect to my PayPal however, so having a separate checking account for this venture was handy.

Information and Lessons learned going in:
After reading some articles and YouTube testimonials (positive and negative) I learned that crypto-currency is a day trading scheme. It is generally volatile or high-risk/high-reward. Bottom line is that this is not a long-term investment strategy. My properties or possible future mutual fund account will be for that purpose. This is to dabble in day trading by following the trend charts (also on the app) and following the daily trend for all-in or all-out strategy. For example, I'm planning on using $1000 as my first real test. Move it in on a day starting early on with up-trend. Then check the next day for and sell all if I notice a down-trend. The highest Bitcoin has ever been was $19,005.91/btc... If I had noticed it dropping to 18,700, I'm out. Sell all, full stop. The price today (25Sep18) is $6402.44/btc.

My goal with crypto-currency is to get an over-all average return on investment of over 10%... that goal may adjust to my successes or failures with the venture, but that's where I'm starting. So looking at this initially month by month. If I break even one day, make a profit the next and lose a little on the third and sell-out, I will guage the monthly progress as an average profit. With $1000, I hope to be making $100 a month, then 110, then 121 and so on. I'm also focusing heavily on an expected sell-out date of the end of the first week of March (mid-way through tax return season). I noticed a trend from last year that had a steady increase and then a big drop that day. So I would like to get some evidence and practice rolling until then and look to sell-out around that time.

I'm also looking into normal stock market investing in a similar fashion. Once I have over $3000 of capital (the minimum for stock trading with the USAA app), I will start bouncing the money from fruitful venture to fruitful venture, Bitcoin or regular stocks. Fruitful meaning, investments showing positive trends. Day-trading I'm expecting should take me 4 or 5 hours a day while my money is in it. There should be times when I'm all out, and the money is sitting in an account waiting for the next up-trend. And so on. This is not going to be over-night millions. But I am expecting with the right discipline, it will be a strategy that has worked with my hobby investments. Time will tell.

My long term goal:
I want to diversify my investments in seperate "buckets." One bucket for long-term like my properties, another bucket for mid-range investments like Fortune 500 investing (medium-risk / medium-return), and the last bucket (and smallest) is for day trading (in crypto-currency or traditional stocks). I plan on using my military pension, possible disability from the VA and any actual salaries to supplement a normal life, paying the bills, etc. So eventually I would like to be making enough from the day trading and mid-range investments to allow me to have a stable monthly return where I don't have to depend on a monthly salary from an employer. The long-term investments are for retirement age/ safety-net purposes.


Update:
One Year Later - The funds placed in the account neither increased or decreased. Still waiting for change.


Update:
Two Years Later- Decided to withdraw funds after continuing to see no change. Assessment - Crypto-currency is not a reliable investment platform and should be seen as a form of asset transfer or under-the-radar savings plan.


Test Complete.

Let alone the names of the dead, may they rest in peace.

Context:

In an article from a right leaning source, the author claims the widow of legendary sniper Chris Kyle wrote a letter to Nike  condemning their new Just do it campaign with Colin Kaepernick. In her response she talks about the sacrifices of Soldiers and refers to deceased former Football star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman. The link to the article for full context is at the bottom but that's the basic gist of it.




My response:

Much respect for Veterans and their spouses. That said, she doesnt have a whole lot to say on this topic. Her husband didnt sacrifice his life, he was murdered. She references Pat Tillman as several right leaning talking heads have... but he didn't sacrifice his life for his country either, that was fractercide in the line of duty, an accident. Jump on a grenade, jump in front of a bullet, got it, but not accidents and stateside murders... do dudes coming home from war dying in DUI's count? do dudes committing suicide with PTSD count? My point is all service members sacrifice some amount, I know that one keenly well, but dying doesnt always equate to sacrifice. Sometimes people just pass away. I for one hope that my loved ones wouldn't use it as an opportunity to grandstand. Pay your respects and let alone the names of the dead. May they all rest in peace.

~Marc

Posted 10Sep18:
http://patrioticexpress.com/american-sniper-wife-ends-silence-goes-directly-after-nike-and-kaepernick/

To hijab or not to hijab?

I stumbled upon an amazing and intelligent debate about the Quranic scripture as it relates to obligatory wearing of the Hijab... both people in the debate have strong feelings on the matter but more importantly, they reveal some of the arabic translation and historical context from the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). No matter our bias, culture or traditions, the Quran serves as the foundation for all Muslims around the globe. We should seek first to understand our roles and responsibilities from the Quran before our culture or traditions. First step is to create a baseline, then add to that baseline with cultural norms and societal traditions.

What do you think about the exchange below?