Hey there, !

It's a bit of a low effort post - haven't had a lot of time recently just for myself to write and write and write :D

But I did want to take a look at my Kiva profile! Kiva is a crowdfunding loan site, like GoDaddy, but the loans are used for charity-type causes and microfinance type loans in places where it's harder to get loans. When the people have paid it back, you can then put that money back into loaning it to another person.

I've been donating since 2021, and after a few years of slowly trickling money in when I feel guilty or feel like I want to do something good in the world, I'm finally at a point where nearly every second month I can guarantee that I'm able to put back repaid funds into another loan and another loan and another loan.

I'm aware of a lot of controversy around Kiva, as with many of these types of charities, that the top brass are being paid too much (true) and that the middlemen who are actually setting up the loans might be taking fees or are predatory (sometimes true). The only thing I can say is that I love the way this process is designed, and if it makes me feel good to give, perhaps the money will get to the people on the other side somehow.

I guess I just like to feel like I'm doing something.

Anyway, here are some topline stats:

90th percentile seems good? Perhaps it's because there are so many people who just do one or two loans and then stop loaning stuff.

53 loans over five years doesn't seem that good tbh but I think it's growing on a year-on-year basis. I checked - 34 of those loans were done in the last two years...I think it's just down to it all coming back around. It's like a subscription service but for helping people!

Honestly, I should probably try and give more.

Over the last 5 years, $1400 donated, with currently $900 paid back, and about $480 outstanding to come. There's a lower than average delinquency rate, but a higher than average default amount. So it seems like there aren't as many people who are late on their repayments, but a lot of them will just skip paying back. Ah well, that's fine - it's only about $16 that was defaulted, it looks like.

The better stat, I think, which I found elsewhere, is that my deposits of $509 have turned into $1400 in impact due to the cyclical nature of these loans. I really like that there's a multiplier effect just due to time.

This part is actually very motivating. Every time I donate, I try to donate to a new country or new industry. I didn't even know there was a 'balut-making' activity I could donate to but man I might try next time!

Lastly, a snapshot of my portfolio of loans:

Countries (Top 5) - I don't think these mean that much because I've only got 53 loans, but still:

• Colombia (10%)

• Phillippines (7.3%)

• Madagascar (5.5%)

• Kazakhstan (5.5%)

• Tajikistan (5.5%)

Gender - as in, the gender of who I donate to:

• Women (65%)

• Men (35%)

Sectors (Top 3) - I absolutely LOVE donating to people who want to buy chickens, pigs, or cows, or want to buy stuff for their convenience stores. I don't know why, I just do:

• Agriculture (40%)

• Food (20%)

• Retail (12.73%)

Anyway, that's all - any questions lemme know!

Chat soon :)

(P.S. If you've got any feedback for the newsletter, just hit the reply button!)

✔️Real Life Recommendations

1. LA Confidential - 4 stars - unfortunately stars Kevin Spacey, but he dies so that kinda evens out. Headed up by a trio that included Guy Pearce and Russell Crow, this LA detective neo-noir film is a really fun watch; the separate investigations into the multi-layered crimes happening across LA really draw you in to want to keep watching, and the performances are masterfully restrained. There's a whole lot of intrigue and the characters are really human - as in, they say one thing, but do another; I really liked that. Also Danny DeVito is in it so you know it'll be a banger.

2. Clay pigeon shooting - Oz Shooting - went for a friend's bucks; yes, it's expensive, but wow the shotgun kicks hard, and it's very satisfying to destroy the clay pigeons - especially when they burst into 3 or 4 pieces! Really fun experience - would jump at a chance to do it again if it was cheaper. But still - recommended!

🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway

1. TrainJazz - yeah, it's just subway trains traveling in New York each representing a different instrument, and their location being a note. It's fun.

2. A Pokémon of a Different Color - apparently because of different colour profiles between Japanese and US computer systems, we saw Pokemon slightly differently overseas??!?

3. Which colours dominate movie posters and why? - haven't you always wanted to know?