What are the top 10 biggest lessons you have learned from the corporate world?

What are the top 10 biggest lessons you have learned from the corporate world?

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What are the top 10 biggest lessons you have learned from the corporate world?

According to Wikipedia, Corporate America is  an informal (and sometimes derogatory) phrase describing the world of corporations and big business within the United States and Canada.

Below are the Top 10 potential lessons that might be learned from working in a corporate environment:

  1. The importance of teamwork and collaboration: Working in a corporate environment often requires you to work as part of a team and to collaborate with others to achieve common goals.
  2. The value of communication: Effective communication is essential in the corporate world, both when interacting with colleagues and when dealing with clients or customers.
  3. The need for adaptability: The corporate world is constantly changing, and it is important to be able to adapt to new situations and challenges as they arise.
  4. The importance of professionalism: Maintaining a professional demeanor and following appropriate workplace protocols is crucial in the corporate world.
  5. The need for time management and organization: In a corporate environment, it is important to be able to manage your time and resources effectively and to stay organized.
  6. The importance of developing strong problem-solving skills: Working in a corporate environment often requires you to solve complex problems and make decisions under pressure.
  7. The value of networking: Building strong professional relationships and networking with others in your industry can be beneficial for your career development.
  8. The importance of learning and development: Continuing to learn and grow as a professional is important in the corporate world, both for your own development and for the success of your organization.
  9. The need for conflict resolution skills: Conflicts and misunderstandings are a normal part of working in a corporate environment, and it is important to have the skills to resolve these conflicts effectively.
  10. Maintain a positive attitude: A positive attitude can help you stay motivated and focused, and can also influence the people around you in a positive way.
  11. Develop strong communication skills: Being able to clearly articulate your thoughts and ideas, listen effectively to others, and communicate with people from different backgrounds is crucial in the corporate world.
  12. Build a strong network: Building strong relationships with colleagues, clients, and industry professionals can help you advance your career and open up new opportunities.
  13. Take ownership of your work: Taking responsibility for your work and delivering high-quality results is essential for success in the corporate world.
  14. Continuously learn and grow: Staying up-to-date with industry trends and continuously learning new skills will help you stay competitive and adapt to change.
  15. Be proactive and take initiative: Don’t wait for someone else to tell you what to do – take the initiative to identify problems and find solutions.
  16. Be adaptable and flexible: The corporate world is constantly changing, so being able to adapt to new situations and approaches is key to success.
  17. Manage your time effectively: Being able to prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively will help you meet deadlines and achieve your goals.
  18. Set clear goals and objectives: Setting clear goals and objectives will help you stay focused and motivated, and will also make it easier to measure your progress.
  19. Be willing to take risks: Success often requires stepping outside your comfort zone and taking calculated risks.


A job or career in corporate America is usually the best entry to true middle class or even upper middle class for managers,  but it comes with baggages.


1- Every single day, there is someone whose job is to figure out how to get rid of you without impacting the business. Make choice that are good for you and your family only. If you leave, no one will care. Everybody is replaceable.


2- No emotion, nobody cares for you. The occasional smiles are 95% fake. Never forget that.

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3- Always figure out a way to be good and be needed, because at the second they realize they can do it without you with minimal effect to the team or business, you will be gone.


4- Always improve yourself and keep your eyes open on the market. Never get too comfortable. Be nice to recruiters, always reply nicely to their email even if you are not available. The tide can turn very quickly. Always keep a pulse on the job market. At least twice a year apply for jobs in your industry to get a sense on what your skills trade for in the open market and to sharpen your interviewing skills. It is also a great habit to be in the orbit of recruiters because they operate within a tight-knit ecosystem, network with, and know one another. If you’re not a great fit for one role, and they like you, they’ll refer you to a friend or colleague looking to fill another role as a courtesy.


5- If you are very technical , the best outcome for you is to open your own business or become an independent consultant or contractor or freelancer while working in corporate. Once your own business pick up, quit your corporate job and discover real freedom.


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Read this excellent answer from Quora

6- Be very wise and knowledgeable about the business, but stay humble at the same time: Be friendly without making friends. Being too cold can prevent colleagues from sharing gossips with you and those gossips can be helpful sometimes.

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7- Stay away from people who complain too much, they slow productivity and can drag you with them and expose you.

8- HR is not your friend. Their jobs is to protect the big bosses and their own job. Think twice before reporting racists, sexists, bullies, …or you will be gone. If you are victim of any of that as a minority, look for a new job and report it anonymously, otherwise your career will be over. All the following characteristics are overlooked by most HR departments:

Compassion

Sympathy

Empathy

Kindness

Gratitude

Humility

Patience

Self awareness

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The ability to be the “bigger person”

Sincerity

9- Become a subject matter in at least one topic or area within your department of team to make yourself indispensable. Be result oriented and not effort oriented. Result matter more than effort. Focus on getting things done instead of on working hard. They are more than often not the same thing.

10- Volunteer to headline new projects and gain visibility from leadership. It might help during tough times when cuts are needed.

11- Be kind, especially to nerds, they will probably own a company one day and will remember you. Be authentic, work hard and be wise and kind, especially to the awkward and silent ones. Introverts, extroverts, flashy dressers, frumpy dressers, are sometime gifted with supreme execution and succeed in business, which proves one thing: Success doesn’t care how you show up; just that you show up.

12- Never waste your weekend or holidays for office work. Your company is not going to take care of your family. You will regret later when the time will start taking your loved ones back, every product of nature has expiry date. This is harsh truth.

13- Emotional and professional are opposite words in corporate culture. Don’t share your emotional stories with your colleagues, surely one day, they are gonna make fun of your emotions and use it against you.

14- Keep your spirit and self respect up and never let anyone harm your image. They selected you because you were better than others and you add value to the company.

15- Never make a relationship in the office, a single mistake will destroy your personal and professional life.

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Other Corporate America stories:

What are the unwritten rules and dark truth of corporate America?


What are your best tips to survive corporate America?

Disclaimer: The content of this post doesn’t describe or target any company I worked with in particular, it is based on research and discussion with friends working with several companies within Corporate America.

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How does using a VPN or Proxy or TOR or private browsing protects your online activity?

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How does using a VPN or Proxy or TOR or private browsing protects your online activity?

There are several ways that using a virtual private network (VPN), proxy, TOR, or private browsing can protect your online activity:

  1. VPN: A VPN encrypts your internet connection and routes your traffic through a secure server, making it harder for others to track your online activity. This can protect you from hackers, government surveillance, and other types of online threats.
  2. Proxy: A proxy acts as an intermediary between your device and the internet. When you use a proxy, your internet traffic is routed through the proxy server, which can mask your IP address and make it harder for others to track your online activity.
  3. TOR: The TOR network is a decentralized network of servers that routes your internet traffic through multiple servers to obscure your IP address and location. This can make it more difficult for others to track your online activity.
  4. Private browsing: Private browsing mode, also known as “incognito mode,” is a feature that is available in most modern web browsers. When you use private browsing, your web browser does not store any information about your browsing activity, including cookies, history, or cache. This can make it harder for others to track your online activity.

Overall, using a VPN, proxy, TOR, or private browsing can help protect your online activity by making it harder for others to track your internet usage and by providing an additional layer of security. However, it is important to note that these tools are not foolproof and cannot completely guarantee your online privacy. It is always a good idea to be aware of your online activity and take steps to protect your personal information.

VPNs are used to provide remote corporate employees, gig economy freelance workers and business travelers with access to software applications hosted on proprietary networks. To gain access to a restricted resource through a VPN, the user must be authorized to use the VPN app and provide one or more authentication factors, such as a password, security token or biometric data.

How does using a VPN or Proxy or TOR or private browsing protects your online activity?

A VPN extends a private network across a public network, and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. Applications running on a computing device, e.g. a laptop, desktop, smartphone, across a VPN may therefore benefit from the functionality, security, and management of the private network. Encryption is a common though not an inherent part of a VPN connection.

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To ensure security, the private network connection is established using an encrypted layered tunneling protocol and VPN users use authentication methods, including passwords or certificates, to gain access to the VPN. In other applications, Internet users may secure their connections with a VPN, to circumvent geo restrictions and censorship, or to connect to proxy servers to protect personal identity and location to stay anonymous on the Internet. However, some websites block access to known VPN technology to prevent the circumvention of their geo-restrictions, and many VPN providers have been developing strategies to get around these roadblocks.

Private browsing on incognito window or inPrivate window a privacy feature in some web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Explorer, Edge). When operating in such a mode, the browser creates a temporary session that is isolated from the browser’s main session and user data. Browsing history is not saved, and local data associated with the session, such as cookies, are cleared when the session is closed.

These modes are designed primarily to prevent data and history associated with a particular browsing session from persisting on the device, or being discovered by another user of the same device. Private browsing modes do not necessarily protect users from being tracked by other websites or their internet service provider (ISP). Furthermore, there is a possibility that identifiable traces of activity could be leaked from private browsing sessions by means of the operating system, security flaws in the browser, or via malicious browser extensions, and it has been found that certain HTML5APIs can be used to detect the presence of private browsing modes due to differences in behaviour.


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The question is:

How does using a VPN or Proxy or TOR or private browsing protects your online activity?

What are the pros and cons of VPN vs Proxy?

How can VPN, Proxy, TOR, private browsing, incognito windows How does using a VPN, Proxy, TOR, private browsing, incognito windows protects your online activity? protects your online activity?

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  • VPN masks your real IP address by hiding it with one of its servers. As a result, no third party will be able to link your online activity to your physical location. To top it off, you avoid annoying ads and stay off the marketer’s radars.
  • VPN encrypts your internet traffic in order to make it impossible for anybody to decode your sensitive information and steal your identity. You can also learn more what a development team tells about how they protect their users against data theft.

If your VPN doesn’t protect your online activities, it means there are some problems with the aforementioned protection measures. This could be:

  1. VPN connection disruption. Unfortunately, a sudden disruption of your connection can deanonymize you, if at this moment your device is sending or receiving IP-related requests. In order to avoid such a situation, the kill switch option should be always ON.
  2. DNS/IP address leakage. This problem can be caused by various reasons from configuration mistakes to a conflict between the app under discussion and some other installed software. Regardless of the reason, you will end up with otherwise perfectly working security app, which, in fact, is leaking your IP address.
  3. Outdated protocol. In a nutshell, it is the technology that manages the сreation of your secured connection. If your current protocol becomes obsolete, the app will not work perfectly.
  4. Free apps. This is about free software that makes money on your privacy. The actions of such applications are also considered as unethical and illegal. Stealing your private data and selling of it to third parties is one of them.
  5. User carelessness. For instance, turn on your virtual private network when you visit any website or enter your credentials. Don’t use the app sporadically.

How is a VPN different from a proxy server?

On top of serving as a proxy server, VPN provides encryption. A proxy server only hides your IP address.

Proxies are good for the low-stakes task like: watching regionally restricted videos on YouTube, creating another Gmail account when your IP limit ran out, accessing region restricted websites, bypassing content filters, request restrictions on IP.

On the other hand, proxies are not so great for the high-stakes task. As we know, proxies only act as a middleman in our Internet traffic, they only serve a webpage which we are requesting them to serve.

Just like the proxy service, a VPN makes your traffic to have appeared from the remote IP address that is not yours. But, that’s when all the similarities end.

Unlike a proxy, VPN is set at the operating system level, it captures all the traffic coming from the device it is set up on. Whether it is your web traffic, BitTorrent client, game, or a Windows Update, it captures traffic from all the applications from your device.

Another difference between proxy and VPN is – VPN tunnels all your traffic through heavily encrypted and secure connection to the VPN server.

This makes VPN an ideal solution high-stakes tasks where security and privacy are of paramount of importance. With VPN, neither your ISP, Government, or a guy snooping over open Wi-Fi connection can access your traffic.

What are daily use of VPN for?

There are many uses of Virtual Private Network (VPN) for normal users and company employees. Here are the list of the most common usages:

Accessing Business Networks From Any Places in the World :

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This is one of the best use of VPN. It is very much helpful when you are travelling and have to complete some work. You can connect any computer to your business network from anywhere and set up your work easily. Local resources need some security so they have to be kept in VPN-only to ensure their safety.

To Hide Your Browsing Data From ISP & Local Users :

All Internet Service Providers (ISP) will log the data of your IP address. If you use the VPN then they can only see the connection of your VPN. It won’t let anyone spy on your website history.

Moreover, it secures your connection when you use a public Wi-Fi network. As you may or may not know, users on these networks can spy on your browsing history, even if you are surfing HTTPS websites. Virtual Private Networks protect your privacy on public unsecured Wi-Fi connection.

To Access Geographically Blocked Sites :

Have you ever faced a problem like “This content is not available in your country”? VPNs are the best solution to bypass these restrictions.

Some videos on YouTube will also show this restriction. VPNs are a quick fix for all these restrictions.

What about TOR and VPN? What are the Pros and Cons?

The Tor network is similar to a VPN. Messages to and from your computer pass through the Tor network rather than connecting directly to resources on the Internet. But where VPNs provide privacy, Tor provides anonymity.

Tor is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication. The name is derived from an acronym for the original software project name “The Onion Router”. Tor directs Internet traffic through a free, worldwide, volunteer overlay network consisting of more than seven thousand relays to conceal a user’s location and usage from anyone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis. Using Tor makes it more difficult to trace Internet activity to the user: this includes “visits to Web sites, online posts, instant messages, and other communication forms”.[ Tor’s intended use is to protect the personal privacy of its users, as well as their freedom and ability to conduct confidential communication by keeping their Internet activities from being monitored.

Tor does not prevent an online service from determining when it is being accessed through Tor. Tor protects a user’s privacy, but does not hide the fact that someone is using Tor. Some websites restrict allowances through Tor. For example, Wikipedia blocks attempts by Tor users to edit articles unless special permission is sought. Although a VPN is generally faster than Tor, using them together will slow down your internet connection and should be avoided. More is not necessarily better in this situation.

Is VPN necessary when using the deep web?

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The deep web is the part of the web that can not be indexed by search machines: internal company login pages, or a school portal (the internal portal) private google sites or government pages.

The dark web is the more sinister form of the Deep Web. The dark web is more associated with illegal activity (i.e child pornography, drug dealing, hitmen etc).
VPN is not necessary when connecting to the DEEP WEB. Please do not confuse the DEEP WEB with the DARK WEB.

Are there any good free VPN services?

It is not recommended to use free VPN for following reasons:

1- Security: Free VPNs don’t necessarily have to ensure your privacy is protected.

2- Tracking – Free VPNs have no obligation to keep your details safe, so at any point, your details could be passed on.

3- Speed / bandwidth – Some free VPN services are capped at a lower bandwidth that is you will receive less browsing or download speed to that of paid VPN.

4- Protocols supported – A free VPN may not support all necessary protocols. PPTP, OpenVPN and L2TP are generally provided only on paid VPN services.

If you are ok with the risks of using Free VPN, here are some you can try:

  1. TunnelBear: Secure VPN Service
  2. Hide.me VPN
  3. SurfEasy | Ultra fast, no-log private network VPN for Android, iOS, Mac & Windows
  4. CyberGhost Fast and Secure VPN Service
  5. Windscibe Free VPN and Ad Block
  6. OpenVPN – Open Source VPN
  7. SoftEther VPN Open Source
  8. Zenmate
  9. HotSpot Shield

Paid VPNs are better and give you:

  • great customer support
  • lighting internet speed
  • user friendly design
  • minimum 256-bit security
  • advanced features such as P2P, double encryption, VPN over Onion etc.

Below are the top paid VPNs:

1- NordVPN – cost-effective, provides Netflix in 5 countries (US, CAN, UK, JP, NL) and does not log your info.

2- ExpressVPN – nearly 3x NordVPN’s price but guarantees Netflix in the US. Excellent customer service and claims to not log your info.

3- Private Internet Access – a U.S. based VPN that has proven its no log policy in the court of law. This is a unique selling point that 99.99% VPNs don’t have.

4- OpenVPN provides flexible VPN solutions to secure your data communications, whether it’s for Internet privacy, remote access for employees, securing IoT, or for networking Cloud data centers. 

Other Questions about VPN and security:

Why might certain web sites not load with VPN?

For security, some corporations like Banks often block IP addresses used by major VPN companies, because it is thought to improve security.

Can a VPN bypass being flagged as a suspicious log-in on Facebook & Instagram?

You probably need a VPN that allow you to use dedicated IP address, otherwise the server ips are constantly switching every time you reconnect to your vpn and shared ip usually raised as suspicious logins due to many people logging in from the same ip address (which make the site thinks it might be bots or mass-hacked accounts).

How is a hacker traced when server logs show his or her IP is from a VPN?

  • Start looking for IP address leaks. Even hackers are terrible at not leaking their IPs.
  • Look for times the attacker forgot to enable their VPN. It happens all the time.
  • Look at other things related to the attcke like domains for example. They might have registered a domain using something you can trace or they left a string in the malware that can help identify them.
  • Silently take control of the command and control server legally.

What is the most secure VPN protocol?

  • OpenVPN technology uses the highest levels (military standards) of encryption algorithms i.e. 256bit keys to secure your data transfers.
  • OpenVPN is also known to have the fastest speeds even in the case of long distance connections that have latency. The protocol is highly recommended for streaming, downloading files and watching live TV. In addition to speeds, the protocol is stable and known to have fewer disconnections compared to its many counterparts.
  • OpenVPN comes equipped with solid military grade encryption and is way better, security wise, than PPTP, L2TP/IPSec and SSTP.

What are some alternatives for VPN?

  • Tor network, it is anonymous, free and well, rather slow, certainly fast enough to access your private email, but not fast enough to stream a movie.
  • Proxies are remote computers that individuals or organizations use to restrict Internet access, filter content, and make Internet browsing more secure. It acts as a middleman between the end user and the web server, since all connection requests pass through it. It filters the request first then sends it to the web server. Once the web server responds, the proxy filters the response then sends it to the end user.
  • IPSec (Cisco, Netgear, etc.): secure network protocol suite that authenticates and encrypts the packets of data sent over an Internet Protocol network.
  • SSL (Full) like OpenVPN
  • SSL (Partial) like SSL-Explorer and most appliances
  • SSH Tunneling is a method of transporting arbitrary networking data over an encrypted SSH connection. It can be used to add encryption to legacy applications. It also provides a way to secure the data traffic of any given application using port forwarding, basically tunneling any TCP/IP port over SSH.
  • PPTP
  • L2TP (old Cisco, pre IPSec)
  • DirectAccess 
  • Hamachi
  • You can create you own VPN as well using any encryption or simple tunneling technology.


How does private browsing or incognito window work?

When you are in private browsing mode, your browser doesn’t store any of this information at all. It functions as a completely isolated browser session.

For most web browsers, their optional private mode, often also called InPrivate or incognito, is like normal browsing except for a few things.

  1. it uses separate temporary cookies that are deleted once the browser is closed (leaving your existing cookies unaffected)
  2. no private activity is logged to the browser’s history
  3. it often uses a separate temporary cache

What are the advantages of Google Chrome’s private browsing?

  • simultaneously log into a website using different account names
  • access websites without extensions (all extensions are disabled by default when in Incognito)
  • Shield you from being tracked by Google, Facebook and other online advertising companies
  • Allow you to be anonymous visitor to a website, or see how a personalized webpage will look like from a third-party perspective

Firefox private browsing or chrome incognito?

Mozilla doesn’t really have an incentive to spy on their users. It’s not really going to get them anything because they’re not a data broker and don’t sell ads. Couple this with the fact that Firefox is open-source and I would argue that Firefox is the clear winner here.

Chrome now prevents sites from checking for private browsing mode

Mozilla Private Network VPN gives Firefox another privacy boost

Adding a VPN to Firefox is clever because it means the privacy protection is integrated into one application rather than being spread across different services. That integration probably makes it more likely to be used by people who wouldn’t otherwise use one.

Pros and Cons of Adding VPN to browsers like Firefox and Opera:

Turning on the VPN will give users a secure connection to a trusted server when using a device connected to public Wi-Fi (and running the gamut of rogue Wi-Fi hotspots and unknown intermediaries). Many travellers use subscription VPNs when away from a home network – the Mozilla Private Network is just a simpler, zero-cost alternative.

However, like Opera’s offering, it’s not a true VPN – that is, it only encrypts traffic while using one browser, Firefox.  Traffic from all other applications on the same computer won’t be secured in the same way.

As with any VPN, it won’t keep you completely anonymous. Websites you visit will see a Cloudflare IP address instead of your own, but you will still get advertising cookies and if you log in to a website your identity will be known to that site.

Additional reading:

Resources:

1- Wikipedia

2- Quora

3- SearchExpress

4- Reddit

5- VPN’s for Remote Workers: A Beginners Guide for 2019

Top 10 Financial Tips for Young Adults in USA and Canada

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This blog is geared towards young adults, particularly young first and second generation immigrants like me who don’t have any real estate and assets inherited from their parents here in Canada and USA. In this blog, I will help answer the following questions below based on my own experience and extensive research:

I- What are some financial tips for middle class people? What is the best financial advice for middle age people?

  • Work Hard first and foremost and do well at your job. If you are not working hard at your job, you will lose it and any advice below won’t matter.
  • Live a healthy lifestyle. Your health is your most important asset: Any advice below will be useless if you don’t eat healthy, exercise and have a stress free life. Get medical insurance and get a health check up done once every year
  • Live within your mean; within your budget; Don’t spend more than you earn.
  • Use your credit cards, but always pay them off at the end of the month.
  • Never miss a credit card payment: It will affect your credit negatively and cost you money.
  • Don’t buy a car unless you really really need one. If you do need a car, don’t buy old cars; You will end up spending more in the long run. Buy new cars at bargain price.
  • Take public transit or bike to work: You will save money and exercise and read a lot in the process.
  • Rent empty rooms in your apartment or house, and use that rental income to pay off your mortgage.
  • Get a side job in an area you are passionate about: If you like team sports, you can become a referee or coach and make extra money. You can help people fix their web site if you are tech savvy; You can buy and sell used items on facebook marketplace or kijiji or craigslist for a profit; you can be a tutor on week ends or evenings, etc…
  • After paying all your student loans and more importantly your credit cards debts, save money every single month automatically in your TFSA, RRSP , Roth IRA, 401K accounts.
  • Negotiate everything involving money coming in and out of your pocket. There are no rules set in stone about interest rates or pay grade; Negotiate, Research, Negotiate again until you get the best value for anything you are buying. Don’t be a jerk though and don’t come across as cheap: Learn when to stop and accept and appreciate a good value.

II- How do I improve my personal finances?

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  • Work hard. The harder you work, the more likely you are to become financially independent. 
  • Diversify your income. You should never rely on one source of income, you should try and diversify your income streams. On top of your monthly salary at your main job, try to get rental income by renting empty rooms in your house or apartment. Get a side job in an area you have some expertise. Example: Tutoring, Team sport referee, Dance instructor, Handyman, Cleaner, salesman, etc…
  • Cancel recurring paying for things you don’t need (Netflix, Spotify, cable, etc…) ; They add up.
  • Save as much as possible into your TFSA and RRSP, Roth IRA Account and let them compound.
  • Don’t stress too much about anything, particularly finances; Stress is harmful.
  • Have self control: Resist the temptation of buying things that you don’t need.
  • Start investing early and focus on compounding. Always think about long term. Have your money earn money.
  • Read, read and read: Education will help you make and save a lot of money.
  • Exercise and invest on your health which is your most important asset.

III- What should I invest in as a 18-45 year old?  How do I become financially stable in my 20’s?


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  • As soon as you get paid, transfer at least $100 automatically to your TFSA, or Roth IRA Account every month. Select an aggressive portfolio and forget it. You will likely get a big return after 10 years.
  • If you can afford a 5% down payment for a house, buy one and if you are still single, rent the empty rooms and make sure that your rental income can cover at least half of your mortgage payment.
  • If you have time to research about stocks market, do your due diligence and buy some good stocks. Don’t invest more than $10000 on stocks from your own pocket. Invest in stocks as if it is lost money and you might be lucky down the road.
  • Start saving money monthly in your RRSP, 401K and RESP accounts if you have kids.
  • Invest in your physical, mental and emotional health: Yes I am repeating myself. If you are not healthy, any other advice is useless and you might not even be around to enjoy the benefits of your investments.

IV- What is a financial rule you should never break? What personal finance mistakes should everyone avoid?

  • Easy to say, but hard to do: Never buy depreciating assets on credit. Cars, RVs, appliances, clothes, trips, leasing, etc. You won’t get rich that way.
  • If you’ve ever thought about buying a house, you’ve probably heard it: Don’t take out a mortgage until you’ve saved up at least 20 percent for a down payment. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to pay notorious private mortgage insurance.
  • Save 10 percent of your income.
  • Don’t rent or throw away money. Buy a house and be the landlord.
  • Investing before spending rather than investing after spending.
  • Pay all your bills and dues in time so as to never pay them with heavy interest or penalty!
  • Don’t invest in anything that you don’t understand. Yourself. Not because someone sold it to you or because others are doing it.
  • Don’t focus on the short-term, allow yourself to be unduly influenced by the financial news media, or let news about the market or the economy affect your long-term investing strategy.
  • Save and Invest early and aggressively in your 20’s. Time and a higher risk tolerance are extraordinarily valuable and everyone can make this call when they are younger—or do so for their children/family. This also sort of falls under the “rule” of paying yourself first. This is key to maximizing wealth.

V- How can you attain financial freedom by working 9 to 5 job?

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  • Read , read, read and be curious. This will help you find and execute ideas to make some money on the side.
  • Increase your income streams: On top of your day job, try freelancing on the side for a few extra bucks. Identify where you can provide your freelancing services (Referee in team sports, Handyman, Tutor, Buy and Sell used items for a profit, art, etc..). The more sources you have, the better.
  • Start saving as early as you can.  The earlier you start, the better.
  • Make your money work. Start a business, make investments, do something that makes you more money from what you have.
  • Make money from your existing assets (rent rooms in yours house, Uber or deliver stuffs with your car or truck, etc..)
  • Never spend money on depreciating commodities that doesn’t affect your safety. What you can do with a  used $200 phone, doesn’t have to be bought at $1000 just because it is hip.
  • Don’t jeopardize your safety. If you buy old cars that  break down regularly and put you at risk on highway, all the advice above won’t matter.

VI- What is the best way to invest in real estate?

  • Whatever you are buying, put at least 20% down to avoid paying extra insurance fees and be stuck with a high interest rate for years.
  • Buy in decent neighbourhood.  It usually means better tenants who will be more likely to  pay their rents and not damage the property.
  • Buy a mix of multi family and single family homes.  It usually results in better tenants and higher equity growth over time.
  • Invest on home inspection: Make sure to use an agent who is able to point out potential problems.  Get a home inspection and don’t buy a property that requires extensive repair.  Especially on your first one and when you don’t have a ton of disposable income.
  • Build: Contact builder who build properties and buy from them, allowing you to get great discount and customize the house for extra rooms and developed basement. 
  • Become Part of a Bigger Deal:  By partnering up with others interested in investing and pooling your resources to make a larger deal happen. Do some research online on how you can do this for either a commercial or residential property, which in some cases, requires an investment as small as $1000. The good thing about these deals is that you can hedge your bets by placing multiple investments into various properties.
  • Real Estate Investment Trust: Also known as a REIT, you can invest in a publicly traded trust that uses the capital of its investors to acquire and operate properties. You can find REITs in the major Wall Street exchanges and it requires companies to shell out 90% of their taxable profits through dividends to investors in order to retain their position as an REIT.
  • Rent A Portion Of Your Existing Home via Airbnb or VRBO: I prefer those options because you it is short term and you can always stop renting when you have family visiting. This gives you a lot of flexibility.

VII- Is it worth taking out a loan to pay for a house?

 Year 1Year 10
Time to Sell
John Doe 1
Buys 1 house cash putting 20K down and invest 80K
Gets $800 per month from the $80K savings
easy life and always has plenty of cash
$96,000 in rental income
sells his one house for $200,000 and nets $100,000, so his total gain was $196,000, not bad. His $100,000 investment has nearly tripled!
John Doe 2
Borrows and Buys 4 houses with 100K putting down 20K for each
Gets $200 per house per month but spends it all towards the principal of the loan, so gets $0 per month
Must keep his full time job and has a struggle keeping up with expenses
around $24,000 in rental income
sells his 4 rentals for $200,000 each netting $100,000 each for a gain of $400,000, so his total gain is $424,000, so his investment has more than quadrupled!

Who won?

VIII-  What are some rookie mistakes of first-time house buyers?

  • Rushing to accept any financing offer because of the excitement to own your first house: Not good. Get various and competitive financing offer from different institutions and negotiate to get the lowest possible interest rate.
  • Don’t just focus on the aesthetic part of the house; Most first houses are never your dream house:  Focus on features that will make the house  easily and quickly sellable (Number of rooms, size of rooms, garage, easy to maintain, location, etc..).
  • Don’t buy an above average size and price house for your first house, go to the lower end and get a size that is proportional to your family size.
  • Using a family or friend for a realtor: Don’t do it. This is your first most important investment and don’t mix it with feelings and emotions.
  • Location, location, location: Buy where you can easily access public transit so you don’t have to spend all your savings on driving to work. In the same token, buying closer to public transit will help you get renters easily if you have empty rooms available.
  • Inspection, inspection, inspection: Get the best home inspector available. Some of them are really bad. Look for home inspectors reviews before hiring them. If the home inspection misses important defective stuffs like dry rot on the siding, you will end up spending thousands of dollars to fix them.

IX- What’s a realistic down payment percentage for a first-time home buyer?

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  • As a buyer, if you have  enough money for a 20% down payment and closing costs and has something left over for cash reserves, 20% is fine. But if you carry any consumer debt with rates higher than that of a mortgage, it is far better to pay those more expensive items off with available cash than to put it into a home down payment.
  • When you get a conventional mortgage with a down payment of less than 20 percent, you have to get private mortgage insurance, or PMI. The monthly cost of PMI varies, depending on your credit score, the size of the down payment and the loan amount. 

X- Resources & Definitions:

1- Quora

2- CRA

3- What is RRSP: An RRSP is a retirement savings plan that you establish, that we register, and to which you or your spouse or common-law partner contribute. Deductible RRSP contributions can be used to reduce your tax. Any income you earn in the RRSP is usually exempt from tax as long as the funds remain in the plan; you generally have to pay tax when you receive payments from the plan. (Applies to USCanadaonly)

4- What is TFSA: The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) program began in 2009. It is a way for individuals who are 18 and older and who have a valid social insurance number to set money aside tax-free throughout their lifetime. Contributions to a TFSA are not deductible for income tax purposes. Any amount contributed as well as any income earned in the account (for example, investment income and capital gains) is generally tax-free, even when it is withdrawn.  Administrative or other fees in relation to TFSA and any interest or money borrowed to contribute to a TFSA are not deductible. (Applies to Canada only)

5- What is RESP: A registered education savings plan (RESP) is a contract between an individual (the subscriber) and a person or organization (the promoter). Under the contract, the subscriber names one or more beneficiaries (the future student(s)) and agrees to make contributions for them, and the promoter agrees to pay educational assistance payments (EAPs) to the beneficiaries. (Applies to Canada only)

There are two different types of RESP available: family plans and specified plans.

6- What is Roth IRA? A Roth IRA is an IRA that, except as explained below, is subject to the rules that apply to a traditional IRA. (Applies to USA only)

  • You cannot deduct contributions to a Roth IRA.
  • If you satisfy the requirements, qualified distributions are tax-free.
  • You can make contributions to your Roth IRA after you reach age 70 ½.
  • You can leave amounts in your Roth IRA as long as you live.
  • The account or annuity must be designated as a Roth IRA when it is set up.

The same combined contribution limit applies to all of your Roth and traditional IRAs. 

A traditional IRA is a way to save for retirement that gives you tax advantages (USA)

  • Contributions you make to a traditional IRA may be fully or partially deductible, depending on your circumstances, and
     
  • Generally, amounts in your traditional IRA (including earnings and gains) are not taxed until distributed.
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7- 401K: A 401(k) is a feature of a qualified profit-sharing plan that allows employees to contribute a portion of their wages to individual accounts.

  • Elective salary deferrals are excluded from the employee’s taxable income (except for designated Roth deferrals).
  • Employers can contribute to employees’ accounts.
  • Distributions, including earnings, are includible in taxable income at retirement (except for qualified distributions of designated Roth accounts).

Search all files containing a specific string

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How to search all files containing a specific string on Linux and Windows?

  • On Linux

    grep -rnw ‘directory’ -e “pattern”
    grep –include=\*.{txt,log} -rnw ‘directory’ -e “pattern”
    This will only search for files with .txt or .log extension.
    grep –exclude=*.txt -rnw ‘directory’ -e “pattern”
    This will exclude files with .txt extensions.

  • On Windows

    CD Location
    FINDSTR /L /S /I /N /C:”pattern” *.log

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