The Propeller - WARNING! Opening this email may lead to increased Intelligence - 10/29/2023

What do you do with Damaged Money?

I rarely carry or spend much cash anymore, but I have run across some pretty tattered bills during my life. If you accidentally ripped a dollar bill, you may not be completely out of luck. But what do you do with the mutilated moolah?

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, commercial banks will exchange your damaged, or “unfit” currency, for another, after some checks are made.

“Unfit currency’ is the currency which is unfit for further circulation because of its physical condition such as torn, dirty, limp, worn or defaced,” the department states on its website. The currency “may be exchanged at commercial banks.”

You could tape the green stuff back together but be warned that merchants may not accept the bandaged bills.

If you have, what the government refers to as, “mutilated money” then you can send the cash off to the Treasury for exchange.

“Mutilated currency’ is currency which has been damaged to the extent that: one-half or less of the original note remains; or its condition is such that its value is questionable and the currency must be forwarded to the Department of the Treasury for the examination by trained experts before any redemption is made.”

Damaged coins are handled differently.

Bent or partial coins will be accepted for redemption by the U.S. Mint as long as they weigh no less than one pound and are separated by denomination category such as pennies, nickels, dimes, etc. Coins that are not readily and clearly identifiable as to the genuineness and denomination of the coins, fused coins and mixed coins will not be accepted by the U.S. Mint for redemption.

Why Coke Cost Only A Nickel For 70 Years

The President of Coca-Cola tried to get two lawyers out of his office and ended up having to sell Coke for 5 cents a bottle for 60 years. Here’s the story of how two crafty lawyers and a shrewd contract took Coke From 9 (Yes only 9) to 1.7 Billion Servings a Day

In 1899, two lawyers paid a visit to the president of Coca-Cola. At the time, Coke was sold at soda fountains. But the lawyers were interested in a new idea: selling drinks in bottles. Rumour has it that the president of Coke signed the contract just to get the guys out of his office.

However, according to the terms of the deal, the lawyers would be able to buy the syrup at a fixed price. Forever.

There was only one way out – if Coca-Cola could somehow keep the sale price of a bottle down to 5 cents, they could sell as much syrup as possible to the bottlers and prevent them from making much profit – which in turn would force them to come back and renegotiate.

Coca-Cola couldn’t just go and slap price tags on the bottles of Coke saying “5 cents.” But they could paint giant ads on the side of buildings right next to the stores that say, “Drink Coca-Cola, 5 Cents.” Some of these ads can still be seen today.

Suddenly everyone’s drinking cheap Coke – year after year. Coca-Cola is forced to sell the syrup cheaply to the bottlers, but in turn, they can’t make a profit either. Coca-Cola was able to constrain the sale price with ads until the bottlers were forced to come back and negotiate.

But here’s the second problem: Coca-Cola managed to renegotiate the contract and it was time to cash in on Coke sales, right? Wrong. Coca-Cola put billboards up everywhere saying Coca-Cola is 5 cents. It’s always been 5 cents. Now demand is pegged to that price.

Coca-Cola wasn’t able to increase the price until America came off the gold standard, and inflation shot up to 20% after WW2. Everything became more expensive, so no one noticed the price of a Coke flying up. It only took 70 years.

In the end, inflation killed the nickel Coke. The price of the ingredients rose. In the late 1940s, some stores sold Cokes for 6 cents. The last nickel Coke seems to have been in 1959.

The nickel price had lasted over 70 years – from the time of soda fountains to bottles, to the rise in price. And in retrospect, it wasn’t a bad thing for the company. It’s one reason Coke is everywhere today. The company couldn’t raise the price. So it did the only thing it could: It sold as many Cokes as possible.

The moral of the story – If you don’t learn to look around corners and anticipate the long-term consequences, your promises could trap you in ways you never expected.

Personal Net Worth Statement

Every few weeks I take 5 minutes to update my net worth spreadsheet and I think this is the most important thing you can do to track your finances.

If you haven’t done this before, it’s really simple:

Log into each bank/brokerage account you own and write down the current balance
Add those balances together with the market value of any real estate or other significant assets you own. This makes up your Total Assets
Write down all debts you owe including mortgage, credit, student loans, etc., and add them together to get your Total Liabilities.
Total Assets minus Total Liabilities = Net Worth

Track this at least quarterly and watch this amazing journey to Financial independence unfold before your eyes!

I have built myself a custom spreadsheet that tracks this and does all the calculations for me so that I can see the trend over time. If you need help building a spreadsheet like this for yourself, just reach out to me.

What I’m Reading/Listening To This Week

My goal of reading one book a week in 2023 is still underway.

What I read Last week:

The Lemonade Life by Zack Friedman is an inspiring book that offers valuable insights on how to live a more fulfilling and successful life. The book revolves around the idea that everyone has the power to create their own “lemonade life” – a life filled with happiness, abundance, and purpose.

The top 4 takeaways that I got out of this book were:

The Power of Perspective: One of the key messages in The Lemonade Life is the importance of shifting your perspective to a more positive and empowering one. By changing the way you see the world, you can open yourself up to new possibilities and opportunities.
The Five Switches: Friedman introduces the concept of the “five switches” – five key areas that can help you unlock your full potential. These switches are: Perspective, Risk, Independence, Self-Awareness, and Purpose. By focusing on these areas, you can create a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
The Importance of Purpose: A significant portion of the book is dedicated to the importance of finding your purpose in life. According to Friedman, living a life that is aligned with your values and passions is essential for true happiness and success.
Overcoming Obstacles: The Lemonade Life also discusses the importance of overcoming obstacles and challenges that may arise in your journey to a better life. Friedman provides practical strategies and advice on how to navigate these challenges and come out stronger on the other side.

Overall, The Lemonade Life is a thought-provoking and motivational book that provides readers with practical tools and strategies to live a more purposeful and fulfilling life. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to create positive change in their life.

Pick up your copy here: https://amzn.to/407hu1h

What I am Listening to this week:

Love him or hate him, there is no doubt that Elon Musk has been a huge influence on the World over the past several decades. I’m looking forward to reading this book (Yeah, I am actually reading this one, not listening to the audiobook). Here is the description from the publisher).

“When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.

His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive.

At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,” he said.

It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground.

For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the question: are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?”

Read or Listen along by picking up your copy here: https://amzn.to/47prs0r

What did you do this weekend?

This is re-published from the weekly email sent by Leonard Mack entitled The Propeller. To subscribe, visit https://www.LeonardMack.com/subscribe and read it every Sunday evening.

This intellectual nourishment is intended for informational purposes only. One should not construe anything herein as being legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

My rule is this – I have no advice to give, only experience to share. I have no interest in being a guru or telling people what they should do. Rather, I share my own experience because there is no right or wrong. Your mileage may vary.

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