Don't invest more than you can afford to lose

I stan'd about BlockFi for years.

Yesterday, the FTX contagion was realized and withdrawals were frozen. I stand to lose $50,000 USD in Stablecoins, my ACH withdrawal is in a "Pending" state. I spoke to my wife and let her know. This money represents many hours of my life, sleepless nights, hard work, and time away from my family. But all in all, as my spiritual adviser would have said: "well, at least you had $50,000 to lose." I can still hear his voice in my head saying that.

I say "would have said" because on July 22, 2022, facing foreclosure and bankruptcy, he was closed off to the world. Sources tell me that his last phone call was to a friend would talked him off the ledge, literally, of his 12th floor apartment.

He ended the phone call, backing away from the balcony, only to go into his apartment, pick up a firearm that he was borrowing from a friend for "range shooting", put it up to his head and end his life.

I still haven't unpacked those feelings, they will come out one day.

The point of all of this is that sound financial decisions, "risk," and everyday finances have a profound impact on the choices that we make. For someone who suffers from depression like he did, that profundity ended his life. But finances are temporary.

There is every reason to believe that I will never get that money back. But I have a family who loves me, a wife who supports me, and a life beyond anything I ever imagined.

If you are affected in this way and are thinking of ending it all, that you seek help and get to the other side. Life is worth living, for richer or poorer.