HacksFlashNews #1
I'm building and stacking list of various hacks for years. You know how it goes. Sometimes you try something and it works, sometimes your friends teach you another hack I didn't know about and so on and so forth....
I thought it would be a good idea to share some of them with you. Don't expect any regularity in this but let's put it this way, when I have something interesting I'm going to share it and you can try it for yourself. Honestly it won't be in any particular form.
The topics I usually touch on are related to travel hacks, services, online services, payment methods, health and wellness, opsec, prepping, Latam life and bitcoin of course.
Here we go!
Online
Everything humans know about is a fantastic website where you can get pretty detailed information about anything you want. Want to know more information about a specific driveshaft for your car? No problem. Specific information about wallet? No problem... Try it out... 🤯
GPT4ALL is a free, locally-run, privacy-friendly chatbot. It does not require GPU or Internet. A solution for all those who value their privacy. The good part is that you can run it on your macbook. No special hardware is needed.
Signal usernames released, finally. If you use Signal (you should if you value your privacy), you no longer have to reveal your phone number to other people. You can set up your username.XX (two-digit number) and use it within your community so that people can connect with you. The interesting thing is that you can regularly change the username (e.g. for some specific event and show others the dedicated username or QR code to connect with you)...
Traveling
Wanderlog is a service where you can plan your entire trip, including the places you want to visit, create a daily schedule for each day, add budgets and collaborate on it with your friends. If you are planning to go somewhere new with a group of friends, this is a great service for all of you.
Payments/banking
Dukascopy is a Swiss bank where you can open your account in several currencies, there are about 22 currencies available with IBAN sub-accounts. It works well. It is not the cheapest bank and there are several fees with transfers but the advantage of the bank is to open it only with ID (for example Paraguayan) and availability to use the account together with cryptocurrencies. Besides operating with FIAT you can receive/send bitcoin, ethereum, USDT. Also you can order mastercard in 3 main currencies (USD, EUR, CHF) . Quite happy with the bank so far after couple of months.
LATAM
El Salvador approved the bill to become a friendlier towards taxation. Money transfers, international investments from abroad will be taxed at 0%. In addition, the Law for the Promotion of Innovation and Manufacture of Technology sets a special regime for technology companies incorporated in El Salvador to be exempt from taxes for 15 years in order to develop and grow the country's economy.
However, to be a tax resident (as an individual) in El Salvador it is necessary to live in the country more than 200 days per year. It can be a good solution for those who have moved to El Salvador or planning to settle in El Salvador. Getting a temporary residence permit in El Salvador is not that difficult and you will be able to enjoy the sun and surf. But keep in mind that not everything is perfect. You can learn more about life here in my article and full video about El Salvador
Business
In USA, The FinCEN law requires certain companies to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them. This law aims to enhance corporate transparency and combat illicit finance. Beneficial owners, under this law, include individuals who either exercise substantial control over a reporting company or own or control at least 25 percent of the ownership interests of a reporting company. This applies to many LLCs and INCs.
However, the good news is that the federal court ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act's BOI reporting requirement is unconstitutional. The ruling, issued by a federal district judge in Alabama, found that the BOI reporting mandated under the Corporate Transparency Act exceeds Congress's enumerated powers. The court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs and enjoined FinCEN from enforcing the BOI reporting against entities that are members of the National Small Business Association.
Let's see how this will play out in the future. If you own an LLC or Inc I would wait with reporting (if you haven't done this yet). Maybe there is still a good chance that everything will end well and LLC owners will be able to keep their privacy.
OPSEC
If you are new in Latin America here are some basic tips that are good to respect in order to go unnoticed or at least being less noticed. Follow these basic rules and you will attract less attention (except if you are 2m tall, white, blond, European, blue-eyed)
Men wear long pants and closed shoes. Forget about rocking your beach shorts and flip flops. On official errands you should wear long pants, some kind of loafers and a shirt.
Don't show wealth when walking down the street. Especially in areas you don't know well. Many times areas/neighborhoods slowly merge from one to another and you won't even recognize it, but the environment and safety can change drastically. Know your surroundings, do your homework, especially if you have no experience in that part of the world.
Observe the environment and blend in with the behavior. Various areas/neighborhoods even within the same city have different lifestyles and type of movement/energy.
You can read my very basic and simple takes on OPSEC here.
BITCOIN
Bitcoin reached its all-time high in all national currencies once again. If you like bitcoin, make sure you have your keys under control. Bitcoin is a scarce asset and it would be unwise to leave your coins on exchanges. Don't trust third parties. The best way to approach it would be to get a hardware wallet and store it in this specifically designed piece of hardware that has only one function, to keep access to your bitcoin offline where it is more secure. If you want to know more about self-custody you can read my article on this topic here.
Big bitcoin event is getting close. BTCPRAGUE in Prague (CZ) will take place June 13-15 and I am sure it will be the biggest bitcoin event in Europe in 2024. If you are planning to visit and meet many global speakers (including OGs) and catch up with other bitcoiners you can get tickets here with a 10% discount or by using the code "STALLION" on your purchase. If you pay in bitcoin you will receive another 5% discount. I hope to see you there and have a beer with you. Looking forward to it.
PREPPING
I believe that you, my readers, are in many ways life preppers. Surely you want to have choices in your life and not put all your eggs in one basket.
If you want me to help you to relocate to Paraguay (at least from documents perspective, meaning to have another residency permit in your global toolbox, change tax residency to 0%, etc…) and to set up step by step more options in your life you can consult my web pages in ENG, ESP or CZE.
I see you soon inside HacksFlashNews #2
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