Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 27 degrees, hot, sunny, with beautiful, clear blue skies.
It is the middle of the week in Rio, and it is just a typical day, but it is still very good. A heavy exercise session in the park in the morning, followed by classes on and off for the rest of the day.
When I lived in Copacabana, some days I would work solidly from morning until night. Thinking about it now, I had done that for the last 20 years or so with the school, and even before or after it existed.
Since leaving Copacabana, living with Yasmin and Nalva, and going to England for 7 months, my schedule has been lighter, and I think I am earning about the same as I was before.
I don’t know whether that is good or bad!
Maybe because of less financial pressure, because in the past, for many years, I had to pay three rents every month, for the school, Yasmin and Nalva’s place, and mine. When I closed the school, I was down to two rents; however, Copacabana was not cheap. Then, moving from Copacabana to Flamengo, I was down to only one rent, which gave me financial space to resolve debts, commitments, and issues, and to save money.
Since September of last year, I have been saving money, and I am loving it.
When I opened a new bank account with Nubank, I began depositing money into a poupança, the Brazilian equivalent of a standard savings account. After a couple of months, I realised the interest and returns were pittance, too low, even for me.
I have always been curious about cryptocurrency; its mystery had always intrigued me. I know one ex-pupil whose boyfriend, a Polishman, is a crypto and Bitcoin millionaire. He also told me that he had learned to invest in crypto and how it works, so I took all my money out of the poupança and began buying crypto through my bank. It was much simpler than I thought it would be, relatively straightforward, and I haven’t regretted it since.
In less than a year of buying crypto, I have not only learned a lot about the subject but have also accumulated more than expected in such a short time. Like any investment, it is not about easy, immediate money now but about the future, for the next 5, 10 or 15 years.
As I am 57, I cannot think too far ahead because I will probably be dead. Besides cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, I have also bought some shares in Tesla. I bought them last year, and they had been negative until the previous month, when suddenly Elon got his shit together, and the shares have now considerably increased in value.
I nearly sold the shares two or three times because they were almost 50% below the original investment, but I did not give in. By simply telling myself that they were a long-term investment and that I did not know what could happen tomorrow, I have kept them to this day, and they are now beginning to increase in value.
The reason I bought the Tesla shares was that the market was saying Tesla was not just an EV car company but was becoming a tech company, with so many diverse projects coming out of Tesla, not just the cars: roof tiles and solar panels, electric lorries, sports cars, motor homes and homes, and even cell phones that will be linked to Starlink. You name it, Elon is trying to do it.
Imagine selling the shares today because they are temporarily at a loss, only for something to happen to the company or the market tomorrow. Suddenly, they are positive and rising, rocketing. How stupid would it be not to wait?
Like anything in life, we have to be patient and wait. Usually, things happen, but not necessarily when we want them to, and patience is a virtue many people lack and pay dearly for.
Maybe, or even for sure, everything probably comes at the right time, or it doesn’t.
In bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
