# Financial
Fintech, Financial alternatives, Bitcoin, Fiat Devalution, XAU, Pension, Dividend Kings, Inflation
# Fintech/Challenger Banks
#### Summary
[ESG](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp) has permeated day to life deriving from Govt and Corporate policy in the UK, which in turn directly comes from the UN's [SDGs](https://sdgs.un.org/goals) . These actively push an ideological narrative for the greater good, sometimes called [stakeholder capitalism. ](https://www.investopedia.com/stakeholder-capitalism-4774323)
One of the aims in stakeholder capitalism is where profits and providing a good service play second or third place to being virtuous for the greater good of minorities and filling a quota. The best people get ignored over mediocre alternatives, be it policy or people.
The financial system is not immune to this and there has been a push for ESG friendly finance over the last few years, with all of the UK/Europe based traditional banks adhering to this in some degree (advocated by the top down [cartel](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-state-street-vanguard-arguably-211002034.html)) banking has played its part and you can choose how much you want to virtue signal dependent on the bank or financial group. (Natwest, , Co-operative, Nationwide, Aviva and others.
Some examples of Fintech/Challenger providers, all are app based to some degree. I have not found any that are not to date. as I find/acquire more I will add here.
*Not financial advise, Do your own research!*
##### Revolut
- [https://www.revolut.com/en-US/](https://www.revolut.com/en-US/)
- [https://www.finder.com/uk/current-accounts/revolut-review](https://www.finder.com/uk/current-accounts/revolut-review)
- [https://www.revolut.com/about/](https://www.revolut.com/about/)
- Stock trading, Crypto Buy/Sell
- Industry leader
- Physical card available for small fee
##### Glint
- [https://glintpay.com/us](https://glintpay.com/us)
- [https://www.finder.com/uk/digital-banking/glint-review](https://www.finder.com/uk/digital-banking/glint-review)
- Gold backed 1:2:1
##### Monese
- [https://monese.com/gb/en](https://monese.com/gb/en)
- [https://www.finder.com/uk/current-accounts/monese-review](https://monese.com/gb/en)
- British-Estonian company
- KYC/AML via ID
- Free Simple plan, other paid monthly plans available
- Physical card is £4.95, one off cost
##### TallyMoney
- [https://www.tallymoney.com/](https://www.tallymoney.com/)
- Gold backed 1:2:1
- Physical card is £19, one off cost
- Waiting list currently
##### Wise
- [https://www.wise.com](https://wise.com/)
- 40 currencies
- AML/KYC ID document required
- Physical card is £7, one off cost
##### Others
- [https://www.finder.com/uk/current-accounts/starling-bank-review](https://www.finder.com/uk/current-accounts/starling-bank-review)
- [https://www.finder.com/uk/digital-banking/challenger-banks-list](https://www.finder.com/uk/digital-banking/challenger-banks-list)
- [https://www.finder.com/uk/current-accounts/monzo-review](https://www.finder.com/uk/current-accounts/monzo-review)
# Bitcoin Halvening
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-04/tzHDVMMcva57dYo8-btc-halvening.jpeg)
Blocks contain all transaction data within the Bitcoin base layer. The block subsidy, or block reward, is the reward paid to miners for discovering a block and completing the Proof of Work. These block subsidies are newly mined [hashtag\#Bitcoin](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=bitcoin&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7180249024719933440).
Every 210,000 blocks (roughly 4 years), the block subsidy is cut in half, reinforcing the scarce nature of Bitcoin. Blocks confirm, on average, every 10 minutes, so as of mid to late April, the block reward will be halved to ₿3.125 (312,500,000 sats).
Bitcoin is finite with programmatically guaranteed reductions in the rate of inflation every 4 years. Similar to how gold is locked in earth, Bitcoin is locked in time. Unlike gold, new Bitcoin supply cannot be mined if demand increases. It will take over 100 years to mine the remaining ~ ₿1m.
# Fiat Devalution
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-04/155G8AXbEz1htUXK-price-home.jpeg)
- In 2016, the average house price was $288,400, which equated to 664 Bitcoin - In 2018, the average house price was $328,900, equating to 45 Bitcoin
\- Today, the average house price is $434,700, equating to ~ 6.6 Bitcoin
I mean, you can argue about this all day, but the fact remains that if you had saved your money in dollars (or worse, in another fiat currency) then everything, including houses, would have become a lot more expensive for you.
Whereas if you had saved in BTC, it would have become exponentially cheaper.
A hard reality check for people who keep slinging unfounded arguments against Bitcoin into the world. Just check the facts. Lose your bias and dive in.
# Bitcoin Performance
Major class performance Vs BTC
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-04/EslUDCTYmAakybFh-bitcoin-performance.jpeg)
# XAU
25 years of the Euro.
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-10/WfcwhWQE5f1PrfiV-25yrs-euro.jpeg)
# Pension
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-10/vlOUU4LemY1vwtZE-lump-sum.png)
[https://www.ii.co.uk/pensions/tax/emergency-tax-pensions](https://www.ii.co.uk/pensions/tax/emergency-tax-pensions)
### Which form do I need to reclaim emergency tax on a pension lump sum?
HMRC has several forms you can use to claim a refund for emergency tax paid on a pension.
Which one is right for you will depend on your circumstances.
- [**P50Z** ](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-tax-refund-if-youve-stopped-work-and-flexibly-accessed-all-of-your-pension-p50z)– should be used if you if cashed in your whole pension and have no other sources of income.
- [**P53Z** ](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-tax-refund-when-youve-flexibly-accessed-all-of-your-pension-p53z)– should be used if you have cashed in your whole pension but also have other sources of income.
- [**P55**](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-back-tax-on-a-flexibly-accessed-pension-overpayment-p55) – should be used if you have only taken part of your pot as cash and have no immediate plans to make any further withdrawals.
Free cash flow (FCF) is a company's available cash repaid to creditors and as dividends and interest to investors. Management and investors use free cash flow as a measure of a company's financial health. FCF reconciles net income by adjusting for non-cash expenses, changes in working capital, and capital expenditures.
In financial accounting, free cash flow or free cash flow to firm is the amount by which a business's operating cash flow exceeds its working capital needs and expenditures on fixed assets. It is that portion of cash flow that can be extracted from a company and distributed to creditors and securities holders without causing issues in its operations.
# Inflation
Purchasing Power of the Dollar.
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-12/bEdBQinSo62o1Nsd-dollar-worth.jpg)
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-12/UvReCAJRVTHgxeAR-hyper.jpeg)
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-12/ePLkIbtw9X70JNW3-pints.jpeg)
# 14 ideas from Buffett and Munger
1\. The one thing that has surprised me all my life is how many people with high IQs do massively stupid things.
2\. The real issue is mediocrity. There are too many .240 hitters on boards. Businesses often settle for a notch or two above mediocrity.
3\. Unfortunately, Bertrand Russell's observation about life in general applies with unusual force in the financial world: "Most men would rather die than think. Many do.”
4\. The sign above the players' entrance to the field at Notre Dame reads 'Play Like a Champion Today.'
I sometimes joke that the sign at Nebraska reads 'Remember Your Helmet.' Charlie and I are 'Remember Your Helmet kind of guys.'
We like to keep it simple.
5\. You need an ability to not be driven crazy by extreme success.
6\. It's so easy to get so busy that you no longer have time to think—and you pay a huge price for that.
7\. We've had enough good sense when something was working well we keep doing it.
8\. While an excess of self-regard is often counterproductive in its effects on cognition, it can cause some weird successes from overconfidence that happens to cause success.
9\. We have been a student of other's folly, and it has served us well.
10\. I like to deal with people where I feel a one-page contract would do the job.
11\. Always try to simplify things to their essence–the fundamental or most important aspect of something—the core.
12\. Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know.
13\. In almost sixty years of investing, we've found it practically useless to give advice to anyone.
14\. Berkshire was a small business at one time. It just takes time. It is the nature of compound interest. You can't build it in one day, or one week.
All of these highlights are from the book All I Want To Know Is Where I’m Going To Die So I’ll Never Go There: Buffett & Munger — A Study In Simplicity and Uncommon, Common Sense by Peter Bevelin
# Bitcoin Books
[](https://resources.planforfailure.com/uploads/images/gallery/2025-02/7cKMMbVYRNOeHwlA-bitcoin-books.jpeg)