The ceiling of financial comparison is so high that virtually no one will ever hit it

7 months ago

You know when I first watched Good Girls on Netflix, I went into depression for a while. And Netflix wasn't helping matters, they kept recommending movies that towed those lines of actions and lessons. So my depression lasted all the while you probably caught me publishing posts on dbuzz instead of bringing myself to write another financial post.
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Yes, I began to question all the things I came to learn about money. And everything I preached felt like a hoax, a lie. I started asking myself, "What if you are spreading the wrong messages across to your audience?" At that point, I no longer dared to write anything that preached saving, investing, and the like of it all. I was depressed. Don't question that!

I found out a lot of things about money, especially the illegal ones and I began to wonder if there's any part of it that's not camouflage or a lie.

So as I watched Ozark down to this particular episode, Jonah, Marty's Son, reminded me how I felt the first few months after my birthday when Netflix made sure I knew both sides of the world of money so I could go ahead and make up my mind about where I stand.

This scene opens up with Jonah's new school teacher in the Ozark teaching them the danger of consuming drugs and alcohol as they can get addicted and the rest is history. And she asked them to sign some sort of promissory note to never indulge in any form of drug addiction or alcohol. Everyone eagerly signs except Jonah. When his teacher asked him why he was hesitating, he mentioned he wanted to think about it.

It was both funny and surprising to hear that she had to ask him why he needed to take the time to think about saying no to drugs and alcohol. He told her this particular decision is complicated because he could be coerced into signing something he doesn't believe in.

At this point, she tried to explain that drugs are addictive and they cause crimes and death. This is where Jonah reminds her that;

Drugs also prop the US Economy. Jonah - Ozark

And that he would be a hypocrite to sign something that says;

It'd be great if people didn't get addicted to drugs but ...... People are addicted to drugs.

And to be able to get those drugs they have to buy them and the drug dealers of course need to sell to feed their families, get shelter, clothing, and some means of transportation. Something. Anything to make life easier for them and their loved ones.

Jonah did not stop there, he went ahead and told his teacher that;

There's even this theory that says, drug money was the only thing that prevented the collapse of the global economy in 2008.

He cemented his words by including this;

When real estate went bust, drug money was the only cash available to prop up big banks.

Not to mention the 350 million narco-dollars that paid for bridges, roads, and health care was probably drug money. Maybe even education. Maybe part of the school he was going to at that point. Jonah - Ozark

Propping the economy

I must confess Jonah isn't the only one who is inclined to believe that no matter how badly the public persecutes drug dealers and buyers, there's a part of the economy that keeps standing year in, year out because of them.

Watching these movies already made me realize that a lot of businesses we see standing firmly could be supported by dealers especially when they need to have their money cleaned and used legitimately. In the Good Girl movie, a lot of means were used to clean money, car dealings, supermarkets, etc. I stopped envying anyone's financial status after I saw these movies. I wasn't judging anyone, I just found a new understanding, a new perspective.

In fact, I began to wonder if all the industry that popped up after the Industrial Revolution was mostly because drug money supported them in a way to help them clean their money. Watching Ozark took my thinking further in a way that I began to look at each business through the lens of money laundering. I began to think about look for which businesses I would work with to effectively clean my money without having the IRS on my back, if I needed to launder money.

I looked at the music industry where we get the "tickets are sold out, and seat occupied" hypes as though it's a means of getting cleaned money for Money launderers. I wondered if those artists get paid, do tours, and live celebrity and flashy lifestyles because they have the support of drug money.

Hell, I even started thinking maybe the Feds are right about cryptocurrency being a means for people to launder money. Hear me out, I don't care what The Feds think of this particular industry, Blockchain Technology is here to stay and gives us the much-needed freedom that the traditional system of money did not give us. So if it also means freedom for Money launderers, everything is fair enough.

I remember Theresa Mendoza laundered her drug money through cryptocurrency too. She even invested in the stock market, which is something I mentioned in one of my posts. I think it was her investments in the stock market that sent me into a deep depression. The reason was that I watched her move money out of the market when she faced a life-threatening issue and I wonder what if she had a huge chunk of percentage in the market and taking it out would mean having the market getting beaten?

Before I knew it, I was thinking, what if the ups and downs we have in the stock market are because money launders put and take out money at will and the market reacts according? I began to understand why we have been advised to never time the market because there are different people in the market, each person with their own agenda.

What am I doing? Judging? Hell no! I support whatever it is that people are doing that places food on the table as long as they learn where to stop. Where to draw the line! As long as they help the economy! As long as they provide gainful employment! After all, if you look closely people get employed even in the tiniest or the stupidest thing you could ever think of and each time, money flows in and out of the economy. Everyone gets a share of the pie as long as they are innovative enough to figure out a way to get their share.

Understand your own time horizons.

All in all, I have been made to understand that, sometimes good people do bad things and they have valid reasons.

So it's almost like Morgan Housel telling us;

Be careful who you praise and admire. Be careful who you look down upon and wish to avoid becoming. Morgan Housel -The Psychology of Money

So;

Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems. Luck and risk have everything to do with it. Morgan Housel -The Psychology of Money

But most importantly, Morgan Housel says;

Beware of taking financial cues from people playing a different game than you are.

This is because if you're swayed by people who are playing a completely different financial game, you risk making the same decisions as them. You never know if they are mostly trying to have their money cleaned while you are trying to invest for your future. The only visible thing you see is what they show you, you don't know their goals, worries, and aspirations.

It's almost like watching your mates buying different adult toys and you have no idea what sort of financial games they are playing. And you go to bed asking the universe how could your life be so miserable compared to theirs. Stop that comparison. It will kill your financial prospects faster than you will notice. Do not be persuaded by the actions and behavior of people playing different games......instead understand your own time horizons.