The best healing and wellness support system we have is Nature. Yes, Mother Nature!
Here is the latest edition of 1 thing I’m doing, 2 things I’ve learnt and 3 things to explore lovingly created so you can live a happier, healthier and longer life. Much love, Sandy xx
1 Thing I’m Doing
It was February 2022, and like many around the world, I watched in horror as reports emerged of Canadian truckers (and people trying to help them) having their bank accounts frozen and credit cards cancelled. This extreme action — so unprecedented that it had never even crossed my mind a government might do such a thing —left these individuals unable to access a single cent on essentials like food, fuel, or medicine for their children. Their crime? Participating in a peaceful rally against COVID lockdowns and mandates.
Whether or not you agreed with their cause didn’t matter. What mattered was their right to protest peacefully, a cornerstone of any free society. Yet, here they were, debanked and defunded. As the situation escalated, I had a stark realisation: This could happen to anyone—including me one day.
As someone who is deeply passionate about justice and who despises corporate greed, manipulative lying governments, Big Food, Big Pharma and Big Tech (to name a few), this hit close to home. When you have children – everything changes. The protective Mama Bear in me knew I had to protect my cubs – not just physically but financially. If I found myself on the wrong side of a government narrative one day, and did or said something that they didn’t quite like, how could I ensure my family’s security? That’s when I realised I had to consider Bitcoin.
My First Steps into Bitcoin
At the time, I had zero knowledge of Bitcoin. It felt daunting, risky, and filled with pitfalls, especially with the warnings I received from well-meaning friends and accountants. I’d heard the cautionary tales: “It’s a bubble,” “It’s unregulated,” “It’s too volatile”, “A scam” and the common “I know someone that lost so much money”. But despite the fear of venturing into what felt like crocodile-infested waters, I knew the stakes were high so the question I asked myself was this. Was my need to protect my family greater than my fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) about investing in Bitcoin? The answer was a hell yeah!! And so I did.
I fumbled my way into learning how to buy Bitcoin, how to self-custody (not your keys, not your house) and I continued to learn more about this decentralised, private currency that I’m still learning about today. Was it easy? No (I have battle scars and lessons). Was it worth it? Absolutely.
With Bitcoin hitting an ATH (all time high) of US $100K this week, I thought it was timely to share this story. After all, if we are to decentralise our health and life – we must also look at how we can decentralise our money.
The more I learn, the more I believe that Bitcoin is an essential piece of the financial freedom puzzle. And there is nothing that says “take that” to the government, then taking your money out of their system. Since that time, I’ve created my own Self Managed Super Fund, invested in precious metals (and a little more bitcoin) and feel very comfortable with my decision. Everyone has to do what’s right for them but at the end of the day, it’s my money and I should be able to access it whenever I need and want.
Another Wake-Up Call: Westpac Withholds My Money
Fast forward to May 2024. Life had mostly returned to “normal,” though we all know it will never go back to what we thought was normal and the pre-COVID days. My partner and I decided to invest a small amount of money in a US stock so I transferred funds from my Westpac account across to an e-Trade account that was 30 years old. This account was remnant of my days as a Marketing Manager for a Macromedia / Adobe and part of an old employee stock option plan. Simple enough, right?
Wrong.
While driving my kids to school, I received a call from Westpac. For over 15 minutes, I was grilled about the transfer I’d initiated to my e-Trade account. The questions were personal, invasive, and infuriating:
“What is the money for?”
“What stock are you planning to buy?”
I answered Apple choosing the most vanilla and safe stock I could think of at the time to appease them.
“Where did you get the money from?”
“How long do you plan on holding the stock for?’
“What are you going to do with the money?”
“How did you make this decision?”
When I answered my partner and I came to the decision together, the situation escalated.
“How long have you known your partner for?”
Enter rage! I was stunned—and furious. How dare this total stranger pry into my personal life. Anyway, the representative deemed my answers unsatisfactory, recalled the funds, blacklisted my e-Trade account, and refused to authorise the transfer. Oh, and he hung up on me!
My teenagers, who had overheard the call, got to experience first-hand a side to our society that I am trying to teach them about. Lucky for them, they weren’t in the car when I immediately rang Westpac to file a formal complaint. After several weeks, I received the apology below and resolution. But the damage was done.
The Harsh Truth: It’s Not Your Money
That experience was a bitter reminder that our hard earned money, that we’ve put our time and energy into, isn’t truly ours. Banks, at their discretion, can freeze, recall, or withhold it. If “they” decide your transaction doesn’t align with their policies or if they suspect “unusual activity,” they can pull the plug. They can cancel credit cards, recall loans, refuse payments.
This experience reinforced why something like Bitcoin does have a place in our society. It’s decentralised, private, and, most importantly, it places financial control back in your hands. My journey into Bitcoin wasn’t without doubt (but gosh I wish I had invested earlier); it was about protecting my family and ensuring our financial freedom in an increasingly unpredictable world. Without sounding all doom and gloom, I don’t think we’re out of the woods just yet. An economic reset, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) are all possibilities of things we may have to face in the not too distant future.
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly my personal opinion, educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.
2 Things I’ve Learnt
What is Money?
Money is something we use every day, but how often do we stop to think about what it actually is? At its core, money is a tool—a medium of exchange that a) simplifies trade and lets us buy goodies, b) a unit of account that helps us measure value, and c) a store of value that allows us to save for the future.
Throughout history, different things have served as money: shells, precious metals, salt, and even giant stones. But over time, our society has agreed on a set of qualities that make something effective as money. These qualities include:
Durability: Can the money withstand wear and tear over time?
Portability: Can the money be easily transported and used in different locations?
Fungibility: Is the money interchangeable with other forms of money?
Acceptability: Is the money widely accepted as a form of payment?
Scarcity: Is the money scarce and not too abundant?
Divisibility: Can the money be divided into smaller units for transactions?
How Is Bitcoin Different to Money? And How Does It Compare?
When I started learning about Bitcoin, I was surprised to see how well it matches these qualities.
Durability: Bitcoin isn’t a physical object, so it can’t wear out or degrade. It exists on a decentralised blockchain that keeps it secure.
Portability: Bitcoin can be sent anywhere in the world within minutes. No physical transportation is required, making it far more portable than cash or gold.
Divisibility: Each Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million smaller units called satoshis, making it incredibly versatile for transactions of any size.
Uniformity: One Bitcoin is the same as any other Bitcoin, ensuring standardisation.
Limited Supply: With a hard cap of 21 million coins, Bitcoin’s supply is fixed, making it resistant to inflation—a quality that traditional fiat currencies lack.
Acceptability: While still in its early stages of adoption, Bitcoin is increasingly recognised and accepted as a medium of exchange, store of value, and investment asset.
The Problem with Fiat Money
While fiat money, like the Australian dollar or US dollar, fulfills many of these criteria on the surface, it falls short in several critical ways:
Portability: My own experience with Westpac demonstrated how unportable fiat money can be. Want to transfer a larger sum, make a hefty withdrawal or take a stash of cash with you on your overseas holiday? Be prepared to jump through hoops or face outright rejection.
Scarcity: Fiat money is anything but scarce. Central banks, like the Reserve Bank of Australia or the Federal Reserve in the US, can print more at will, flooding the economy with new currency. This erodes purchasing power over time, as we’ve seen with rising inflation in recent years. Is anyone else stunned at the cost of food these days?
Centralised: Fiat money is centralised. Issued, controlled, and regulated by governments and central banks, the power of the whole monetary system lies within a few hands.
Bitcoin offers something fiat money never can: decentralisation. No single entity controls Bitcoin. It’s governed by code and consensus among its users, which ensures that it remains resistant to manipulation by governments or corporations. It still confuses me a lot, but I have to trust in the process and realise Bitcoin isn’t going away any time soon. It will play a much larger role in our kids’ future and lives than it did in ours so it’s time for this Mama Bear to keep pushing herself outside her comfort zone and keep learning more.
3 Things to Explore
The Connection Between Health and Wealth
You’ve heard me say that health is our greatest wealth and this is certainly true. That doesn’t mean that we can ignore wealth. Health and wealth are like two sides of the same coin. Both are about how well you, or your body can generate, store, and use energy and you can’t truly thrive with one and neglect the other.
When you’re healthy you can pursue your goals, a fulfilling career, look after your family, travel and simply enjoy life. Now, wealth is no different. Having a degree of financial freedom allows you to do similar things; pursue goals, work, look after your family, travel and enjoy life. It gives you the freedom to invest in your health, like grounding, sunlight exposure, and buying healthy organic food so, essentially you’re feeding both systems at once.
Wealth amplifies your ability to pursue health, and health gives you the physical and mental energy to build wealth. Both are about owning your energy — biological and financial — and breaking free from the toxic systems that deplete it.
Decentralise your life and your physical health and financial health, and you’ll get to enjoy the ultimate freedom.
Will This Matter
With so much to do and so little time, here’s a quick framework to help you prioritise your days. It’s called the “Will This Matter “ test.
Ask yourself the question of nine. Will this matter in nine minutes, nine hours, nine days, nine weeks, nine months or nine years? The more boxes you tick, the more you should pay attention to it. You can also use this to help you set your important short and long term goals.
Money Is A Tool
“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” – Ayn Rand
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