Delta1

One of the things I have to be thankful for in this situation is that I've worked for an insurance and financial advising agency for the last 2 years (assistant at 40% less wages than my last job as marketing director for harley-davidson, but anyway), I've learned a lot of how to protect MY money. Since I'm not an advisor, I can't tell anyone what to do with their money, but this is what I'm doing with mine (I suggest you find a CPA and an estate planning attorney that is also a tax attorney): 1. Put nothing in your name. Form an LLC for your home and any other real estate you intend to purchase. Transfer your home and vehicles to the LLC, and open a checking account for each to pay taxes, insurance, etc. For liability reasons, if you are ever sued, you cannot lose your personal assets. Insurance will cost a little more for commercial coverage, but a lot cheaper in the long run in case of law suits. If someone knows you have money, they'll try to get it from you. 2. With #1 in mind - insurance! Make sure every piece of property and vehicle has at least $300k in liability coverage. Then, get an umbrella policy for each LLC. A $1 million policy will only cost you about $400/year. You can usually get up to $5 million in coverage if you want. Reason is, an umbrella policy has a $300k deductible on real estate and $250k on autos. Get the maximum amount on all policies...not that expensive to cover your ass! 3. Begin a Charitable Trust for any funds that will be given to charity. Under the Trust name, you can put X amount of money into a savings account, mutual fund, CD, etc. I intend to put X amount into an account, then whatever interest is earned that year, give to Humane Society, SPCA, St. Jude's Hospital, etc. These are being investigated by the IRS, so be sure that any charitable trusts are actually for charity reasons, not to give money to friends and family! 4. Don't let anyone work on your property that does not carry their own insurance. Whether it's a plumber, roofer, home health care worker, etc, ask for proof of general liability insurance and worker's comp. Tell them to get a certificate of insurance issued with your LLC name and address as the certificate holder. This won't cost them anything and can be done quickly (we do it all the time). This way, anyone gets hurt, it's on them. 5. If you're due Social Security when you retire, make sure you have most of your retirment funds in something like an annuity. Otherwise, money drawn from another IRA or other investment account will be considered income and you will get taxed on your SS income. In some cases, you could be taxed so much, it's like not even getting your SS. You put money into the system, it should be yours when you get it out. Distributions from an annuity are not considered income and won't get your SS taxed. 6. I hear a lot of talk about a flat 15% capital asset tax. I can't believe our government would let us walk away with only 15%. I truly believe this will be taxed as income, putting the majority of us in the highest tax bracket possible. Right now, a single filer would pay $110,016.50 PLUS 35% of excess over $379,150. Please confirm this with a CPA before you buy anything! Take advantage of whatever income tax deductions we might be left with when this is all over. Personally, I'm not doing anything, even cashing in, till I establish a TX residence, driver's license, etc. All LLC's and bank accounts will be established there and will cash in there. Then, I at least save myself paying LA income tax. One more option for those considering relocating anyway. 7. Stay out of the stock market, and limit mutual funds to conservative investment funds. While the market is rocky, I'm sticking to CD's and gold/silver, other currencies that have a good chance to RV and real estate for rental income. 8. For each LLC, there should be a buy/sell agreement for all company officers, even husbands/wives. Make sure you have enough life insurance on each member to cover the value of the company's assets should one of you pass away. Especially when there are children involved, make sure they are protected for the future. 9. Too much to list....only good thing about the RV taking a while...I've had a lot of time to think, research and prepare. Your first homework assignment....find a great CPA that you can trust and a tax attorney that also does estate planning! Come on RV!

Yes, it is sad, but it also makes you thankful for what you do have, and really grateful when you get the opportunity to help someone in a worse situation. I remind myself everyday that it could be much worse. I could be wearing 30 pounds of kevlar in some stinkhole in Afghanistan dodging bullets. (However, dodging the bullets here in New Orleans isn't much better. Would be much appreciative for some government issued protection and defense ammo I also try to find a little humor in every situation. Much better to find a reason to smile than to feel sorry for yourself. Most of us Americans come from a long line of tough-as-nails folk, I know I do, and I remind myself that people like my grandfather had it much tougher than I do now. Going through hell is a character builder, and I think we'll all be better people for it in the end. We'll come out of this with more compassion and understanding for our fellow man, and with the determination to use our RV to make the world better for those who didn't know or couldn't do anything about it. Always hoping. Come on RV!

Saw that last night...knew right away it couldn't be right. He was hesitant with too many answers, gave vague information and even admitted he couldn't answer some of the questions. One thing that jumped out was, if we're paying the contractors there, why have there been so many rumors about contractors being told they will soon not get paid in USD, but in dinars? Understandably, a rumor is a rumor, but I would love to hear from a contractor out there....who's signing the pay checks, Iraq or USA?

Sadr is so Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde. On one hand he's great at being pro-citizen, demanding reforms and trying to get M & A to get over themselves for the greater good of the people. On the other hand, he starts his rants on militias attacking our troops and you have to wonder why, with all the military and private security (mercenaries) still over there, can not one sniper put a piece of brass right between the eyes!?!?

The gurus, mods and members frequently tell us not to be so connected to these IQD RV sites. Take abreak for a few days, they say. For someof us, this addiction is not a choice, it’s our one last hope. Sure, some are just looking for a get-rich-quickinvestment. Many of us just hope to get enough out of this to get our lives back. This economy over the last few years has done more than take money out of our pockets, it’s affected every aspect of our lives. We’re faced with unemployment, underemployment, foreclosures, repossessions and worst of all, isolation. For those of us lucky enough to still have our homes, it’s just a matter of time before that’s not an option any longer. The only utility bill that gets paid is the one that sends the shut-off notice that month. There are no luxuries like cable tv, home or cell phone, internet or nights out. We get our TV with a converter box with about 8 public channels and our internet comes from a neighbor’s unsecured wireless connection. We can’t remember the last time we ate in a restaurant, and every time one of our friends asks us to do something, we say we already have other plans. We have too much pride to tell them what a financial disaster we’re in and that we can’t afford to go out, much less the gas money to get there. If we use the a/c, it hovers around 78 degrees, just enough to keep you from a constant sweat, unless you decide to actually move, but keeps the electric bill somewhere between “really?” and “wtf?”. We’re frequently plagued by migraines and chest pains. Every time we look at a bill we can’t pay, check our bank account balance or have an unexpected expense, blood pressure goes through the roof and one or the other is triggered, usually both. We’ve gained weight because instead of that salad we used to have at lunch, a pack of bologna and a cheap loaf of bread can keep you fed for a week for only $3. Not only do we feel bad most of the time from the constant stress, but self-esteem is a ship that has long ago sailed away. We don’t check these sites in a methodical order and frequency because we like gossip, rumors, or juvenile banter. Not all of us actually believe that it’s happening “tomorrow”. We check each site with a hopeful pessimism that today might be the day, but probably not. Just the idea that it might be close keeps us going till tomorrow. We realize that getting millions would be great, but just enough to get us through the economic slump for the next few years, before losing everything we own, would be great too. Many of you have no idea what I’m talking about. You have a good job, your bills are paid and everyone goes to bed happy, fed and comfortable in your air conditioned world. Many more know that every day is a fine line between laughing and crying, and the hope of an RV!

I say, develop a good, believable story, and stick with it. Our plan for justifying our newfound wealth is to say my dad found some stock certificates for the oil companies he used to work on in the 70's. He was cleaning out his safe, and happened to find them, long ago forgotten, and we cashed in. That's our story and we're sticking to it! That way no one knows where the money truly came from and can't hold it against us that they don't have any. Also, we'll be working with CPA's and lawyers that are out of state and don't know a single soul we know. Just want to make sure any water cooler talk doesn't let the cat out of the bag to anyone on where the money really came from. Of those we told, most decided it was too good to be true and opted not to invest. Only immediate, close family will know the truth.

We've heard for a while now that the RV was contingent on the HCL, seating of remaining security ministries and lifting of Ch. 7 which involves the resolutions with Kuwait. We now see articles that the reading of the HCL will not be until after Ramadan, and Maliki has appointed interim Security and Defense Ministers. Has he selected an Interior Minister and it hasn't been published? Also, where are they exactly with Kuwait resolutions such as border agreements, haven't seen anything definitive? Will this port dispute affect Ch. 7 resolutions? Or does none of this really matter and the RV could be anytime?

I fear this will cause more delays as Allawi and his party are bound to counter Maliki's assumption of power. This is the person Maliki wanted all along, and was not even a candidate on Allawi's list of submitted names. My assumption is he's another puppet that Maliki wants in position to do his bidding. Sounds like the Minister of Culture was probably on the list of ministries to be axed, so Maliki had to find another post for his flunkie. He's not even qualified with a degree in sociology....how can a glorified social worker command the military effectively? Allawi had the right pick with someone experienced in the police and military forces, but you know Maliki would have never agreed. This move only proves his intentions to create a majority party and a new dictatorship IMO.

From the research I've done, Afghanistan and Libyan currency may be a good bet, but very far down the road. The Dong is more likely to be a shorter term investment (possibly sometime in the next 2 years). Afghanistan has big supplies of Lithium buried below the rock & sand, but you also have to factor in the political scenes of these countries. Whereas Vietnam is looking to grow and prosper, places like Afghanistan thrive on keeping their people oppressed. I've always felt that when the U.S. leaves, the Taliban will be right back there taking over again, my same fear with long term investment in Iraq and Iran pulling in as the U.S. pulls troops out. For example, I was watching a documentary this weekend on our troops that have been sent to Afghanistan to help train their army. It's a horrible waste of time, resources and lives lost. Their troops have no discipline, no loyalty to the country of Afghanistan and no incentive to keep the Taliban out other than a paycheck. Problem is most of the army's families fled to Pakistan when the Russians invaded Afghanistan. These men grew up in refugee camps in Pakistan, run by Taliban. They only joined the Afghan army because they were born there and make $31/month in Pakistan vs the $66/month they make from the Afghan army. Our troops are constantly dealing with the Afghan army members giving away locations and information to Taliban fighters and putting our troops at risk. If their goverment was at least making reasonable efforts to re-structure the way Iraq has, I would be comfortable in a long term investment there. Personally, I don't see that happening with the Taliban threat that exists. Even if they start to re-structure and eliminate the major threats, I would think that was at least a 5-10 year investment. Same with Libya. Nothing's going to happen with Qaddafi alive, it will be nothing but turmoil until he's out of the picture. You then have to hope they get their stuff together better than Egypt is doing. They took three steps forward and two back. Once Qaddafi is out, who will take over? Muslim brotherhood is no friend of economic growth and global relations. Again, if they start moving in the right direction, looks like a 5-10 year investment. Personally, I'm going to wait out the Dinar, then invest in the Dong. Maybe China, depending if they keep playing nice in the sandbox with the other kids, or if they go on an all out power trip and still play the bully. Good luck with any of your decisions. I suggest research, research, research!

It's still not clear to me what caused Adam to be so excited with a 10 day window of opportunity, and what changed to extend this window another month? What was supposed to happen that didn't? Who/where is the bottleneck in the RV process, ministries, Maliki, U.S., Ch 7?

I purchased my last order from that seller. Shipping was quick, received in 3 days. Same seller as iraqpapermoney.com, but I found their ebay rates better than the website rates. Would definitely buy from them again on ebay. You might want to call your credit card company right after the purchase to make sure they don't block it. Let them know the amount of purchase and that it is international. Chase blocked my initial payment because the large amount was unusual for my account. Giving them a heads up will avoid any delay in shipping.

http://www.sec.gov/a...treform-cpa.pdf Link is to the entire Act. You can search by the sections 413 and 742, but doesn't clarify anything for me...reads like sanskrit. Any lawyers out there, translation to plain English would be appreciated.

Based on the last 6 months of research, sounds like most of those invested are short term and will incur the 35% capital gains tax. This can definitely be deferred and in some cases avoided. There's no way possible to pay no taxes at all, but you can make investments with your cash-out that will limit how much you pay. It depends on your situation...a single person with no children has very different options than a person that needs to put three kids through college and still try to leave an inheritance or retire early. I've done a ton of research for my particular situation, there's plenty of information on the web if you spend some time looking. You might even want to make contingency plans on whether it comes in at 3 dollars or 30 cents. After you have a general idea what your goals are, confirm with a CPA and/or estate attorney to make plans for your future and be sure you avoid the slammer by paying all the taxes you need to, without just giving it away.