Farmers in the “Stans” have always paid me back. 
That’s the great thing about Kiva is you can choose the exact person you want your loan to go to.
[quote=“jdsmith”]Farmers in the “Stans” have always paid me back.
That’s the great thing about Kiva is you can choose the exact person you want your loan to go to.[/quote]
You might want to check your sources…
I spoke to some Kiva reps few years ago for some research help and uh… ahah. Yea, def check your sources again.
Yes and no. There are plenty of instances where they haven’t made any difference, Equally, there are plenty where they have. Like anything, do your research and due diligence beforehand, don’t just give to anyone who claims to be a charity.
[quote=“Lili”][quote=“jdsmith”]Farmers in the “Stans” have always paid me back.
That’s the great thing about Kiva is you can choose the exact person you want your loan to go to.[/quote]
You might want to check your sources…
I spoke to some Kiva reps few years ago for some research help and uh… ahah. Yea, def check your sources again.[/quote]
If you have something to say, say it. You don’t do coy very well. 
I’d use it to help offset my food bill for two teenaged boys. :s
Guess we’re getting a bit OT, but … can you describe a particular instance, and explain why there was no economically-sustainable alternative to pure charity? Excluded from consideration: famine relief in Africa (since they’re usually caused by human activity and/or completely predictable) and one-off crisis management (tsunamis/earthquakes).
Guess we’re getting a bit OT, but … can you describe a particular instance, and explain why there was no economically-sustainable alternative to pure charity? Excluded from consideration: famine relief in Africa (since they’re usually caused by human activity and/or completely predictable) and one-off crisis management (tsunamis/earthquakes).[/quote]
I’ll do better than that - I’ll describe a photo assignment I’m doing next month. It’s for a charity in Nepal that rescue children that had been kidnapped and sold into slavery and sweatshop labor in India. The charity works to rehabilitate them, educate them and help provide a stable environment for them. A lot of these children are beaten and raped during their captivity - one young woman they are helping spent 13 years as a virtual prisoner.
Dude, Matthew 7:6.
Gao Bohan: Seems apt.
What would I do with 500,000NT$? I guess, a bit more than with 400,000NT$ …
You both have points.
Sorry for the grave dig, mods. I wound up looking at this thread as a result of a word search using site:forumosa.com plus some words having to do with how much money would be adequate for a person to move back to his or her home country–well actually, the U.S., but I was thinking in general terms and would have been interested in input from Australians, Brits, Canadians, etc.
Anyway, I think I got a pretty good general idea of what people thought would be needed.
You both have points.[/quote]
I have a point, too, that i oddly enough hadn’t even suggested yet although it is obvious from my own experience: traveling in certain ways, i.e., traveling not in the manner of consuming but traveling in the manner of doing and learning, can apparently equip a person for business ventures and better paying jobs as much as higher degrees can. 
Charlie, i wouldn’t worry about “grave digging” - this thread contains pretty timeless ideas… another round would be interesting… 
Buy 10,000 lottery tickets? 
If you don’t have one yet, start a retirement fund. 17,000 USD right now might not seem like much, but if you add 1000 a month and earn 7% a year on your investments, after deducting capital gains taxes it’ll be 905,000 USD 25 years from now. 300,000$ of that from deposits of course, but 605,000$ from compounding investment returns. 
7% a year for 25years… Not an easy task for someone inexperienced in the stock market. And I doubt many funds with an entry ticket lower than 100kUs$ could provide such return on investment for so long.
I remember a poster on forumosa “playing” with HTC stock, then lost half his $ over few months, but … a few months later he couldn’t help himself and reinvested more money on HTC and lost another half!
If you would be keen to share your thoughts on earning 7% long term! I’m all ears!
7% a year for 25years… Not an easy task for someone inexperienced in the stock market. And I doubt many funds with an entry ticket lower than 100kUs$ could provide such return on investment for so long.
I remember a poster on forumosa “playing” with HTC stock, then lost half his $ over few months, but … a few months later he couldn’t help himself and reinvested more money on HTC and lost another half!
If you would be keen to share your thoughts on earning 7% long term! I’m all ears![/quote]
You’re right, the amount we’re talking about is too small to join any formal funds, I was speaking more about a self directed account. There are ways the average Joe can earn that kind of return in the long run. I wouldn’t get into it on a forum, but I’d be more than happy to offer some direction if anybody was interested in a friendly cup of coffee 
And HTC? ouch… 
My advice would be to steer well clear of any and all forcasting and just let probability and the passage of time be your ally.
7% a year for 25years… Not an easy task for someone inexperienced in the stock market. And I doubt many funds with an entry ticket lower than 100kUs$ could provide such return on investment for so long.
I remember a poster on forumosa “playing” with HTC stock, then lost half his $ over few months, but … a few months later he couldn’t help himself and reinvested more money on HTC and lost another half!
If you would be keen to share your thoughts on earning 7% long term! I’m all ears![/quote]
You’re right, the amount we’re talking about is too small to join any formal funds, I was speaking more about a self directed account. There are ways the average Joe can earn that kind of return in the long run. I wouldn’t get into it on a forum, but I’d be more than happy to offer some direction if anybody was interested in a friendly cup of coffee
And HTC? ouch… My advice would be to steer well clear of any and all forcasting and just let probability and the passage of time be your ally.[/quote]
Could you recommend me some investment forums?
Thanks!
Forums are full of people with “systems” and trading strategies, but you’ll likely get no basic advice on how to set up a long term buy and hold portfolio that can earn that magic 7% a year number. I’ll give you one independent link you can browse which should give you an idea of what’s possible in a self directed, and then a shameless plug for another one 
canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/
theironcondor.com/?page_id=891
theironcondor.com/?page_id=2034
I’m a completely amateur investor following this advice and just buying a variety of index funds (as ETFs) every month. Ask me in five years whether it worked!
7% a year for 25 years, absolute rubbish, that would beat the world’s best hedge funds who have insider info and can leverage their huge money pots. If it’s so easy how about I give you 10,000 a month, you guarantee me 5% per year and you pocket the 2%! 