Finally, Hello!

I have been on Steemit only a few weeks but have not yet written my intro piece. So, here we go.

I was born on a naval base in Beaufort SC and have since lived in many parts of the country and been lucky to travel most of my life in the US and outside. Dad was a TWA pilot, mom a teacher. I became an engineer and have been in the electric power industry most of my career. I religiously saved and invested in the 401k of my employers and rolled them into IRAs when I moved on. Of course, typically, you can only invest in traditional things that way, stocks, funds, bonds, and cash.

I am a libertarian and have become immensely concerned about the growing acceptance of authoritarian socialism/communism in this country (USA). Additionally, our country is in abysmal shape fiscally with no end in site and really no reason for hope of much change. The deep state only wishes to protect itself and keep us tax slaves in bondage and under constant surveillance.

In 2013 or 2014 I made a revelatory discovery that one can have something called a Self Directed IRA (SDIRA) which allows an individual much much more freedom in what investments they can make. In an SDIRA one can invest in real estate, gold, private companies, mortgages, etc. I immediately rolled a couple of my IRAs over into SDIRAs and began investigating foreign real estate investing as a way to diversify away from just stocks and from the US and US dollar.

I have since invested in a variety of rental properties, agricultural properties, and timber all outside the US. Only about 25% of my investments remain in stocks while I have also accumulated gold/silver and cryptocurrencies. I feel much more secure now. Stock market fluctuations matter less. I am diversified out of the dollar and the US. Real estate and foreign bank accounts cannot be seized overnight in a "bail-in" by the US government.

This kind of investing also encourages (forces?) one to travel to scout and invest. I combine that with my natural interest and experience in travel with other interests like photography, scuba diving, and kayaking. So, I think I have a lot of potential content that I can produce to share here on Steemit. I have really enjoyed my discovery of cryptocurrencies a little over a year ago and that also brought me here.

I hope that I can inspire people to save and invest in as many things as they can and to take responsibility for their own learning and financial security. I think that our country purposely avoids teaching financial literacy in any and every level of school because then we are encouraged to become dependent on the government. The more dependent you are, the less freedom you have and the more you can be exploited.

If these things interest you, please follow me, ask questions. I will endeavor to write articles that can relate my own lessons and learning curve, guide you to resources that have worked for me, write some travelogues (including photo and video), and general interest articles in my hobbies and adventures.

Well, if you made it this far, I thank you very much! Stay tuned.