Off Topic: What you can do to protect yourself from instability
10 Minutes now can be worth much more time later
Hello Everyone,
This is a slightly off-topic post as I just wanted to go over a couple of preparations I am doing for myself that might prove invaluable later on & so I wanted to share them. I’m not recommending going wild and purchasing a ranch in preparation for a new world war but I did want to cover some easy steps anyone can do that aren’t very much out of their way/extra cost but can make a big difference in the case of an emergency. Most of these preparations are focused around preparing for the scenario of a cyberattack which could make contacting our loved ones challenging to impossible whereas if some of the work is done now it takes little to no work, maybe as little as 10 minutes.
In terms of general planning I am reaching out to family members to come up with a rough plan of where I & they would go to meet should we be unable to contact each other. This doesn’t sound like a big deal but if you cant reach out due to issues with the communication network due to a cyber-attack or something else this can be invaluable as otherwise, you could travel right past each other.
In terms of transportation, I am downloading a road map of New Jersey & I am going to print a couple of routes I would need to take if I wanted to reach my family members. I am also keeping my car topped up with gas in case prices rocket up further due to the conflict or in case it becomes difficult to get gas at all.
In terms of food, I am going to buy food that lasts for a long period of time (Ex: canned food) that I would be buying in the long term anyway, just getting it in bulk now.
In terms of electronics, I am keeping my phone charged as well as some portable batteries I have.
Financially I am making sure to have some cash at hand in case I needed cash in order to make payments. I am also going to move some funds from my digital account in Bitcoin into a separate wallet in case funds were locked up in the bank/on exchanges. This is unlikely to happen in the US but it takes very little time to set up once and it can prove invaluable if I am ever in a situation like those in Ukraine are facing. Many of them are unable to bring much of their property/funds when avoiding conflict and with banks locking up funds they aren’t able to access their money via traditional methods. Etoro has a guide for moving Bitcoin off of Etoro to a wallet here: https://www.etoro.com/en-us/customer-service/help/1320587972/how-do-i-transfer-cryptocurrency-from-the-etoro-trading-platform-to-my-etoro-money-crypto-wallet/
How do I send cryptocurrencies from my eToro Money crypto wallet to another wallet?
To send coins to an external wallet, please follow the steps below:
Open the eToro Money app on your mobile device and sign in.
Under the 'Crypto' tab, tap the type of cryptocurrency you wish to send.
Tap 'Send'. On this page, you will select the amount to send and enter the recipient’s public address. Type in the public address or tap the camera icon to scan the recipient's QR code, which will input the public address automatically.
Make sure that the address has been input correctly and then tap 'Send'.
An SMS with a verification code will be sent to your mobile phone. Enter the code you receive and tap ‘Verify’.
That’s it! A screen will appear, confirming that your send request has been received. You can check on the status of your request by going to the ‘Transactions’ screen.
Please note that the validity of public keys can be checked online on the relevant blockchain explorer for the specified coin.
Hope everyone stays safe and has a great weekend