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Are You Moving Toward or Away from Financial Independence?

It’s Jim here with your day’s money (and money adjacent) gems.

Are You Moving Toward or Away from Financial Independence? [Passive Income MD] – “The usual direction of our financial lives is to move gradually toward financial independence. However, there are three situations where we may find ourselves moving away from financial independence.”

How to Make Money Online for Beginners: 25 Easy Ways [Millennial Money Man] – “So, you want to learn how to make money online? There are so many options for beginners, and that’s awesome news if you’re looking for a side hustle, a new career path, or you just want to make extra money to offset inflation.”

This is fascinating — China’s Van Goghs: The Village That Paints Thousands Of Fakes A Year – “Until 1989, the village of Dafen in the city of Shenzhen, China was little more than a hamlet. It now has a population of 10,000, including hundreds of peasants-turned oil painters. In the many studios, and even in the alleyways, Dafen’s painters turn out thousands of replicas of world-famous Western paintings. Nobody thinks anything of an order for 200 Van Goghs. To meet their deadlines, painters sleep on the floor between clotheslines strung with masterpieces. In 2015, the turnover in painting sales was over $65 million.

Local painter Zhao has a dream to travel to Amsterdam to see the works of his legendary associate. After struggling and saving, he fulfils dream. In Europe, his encounter with van Gogh’s paintings brings an epiphany. Although dejected at the revelation, Zhao is inspired by van Gogh’s paintings and the hardships he suffered, and resolves to dedicate himself to his own original art.”

I think “fakes” is a bit disingenuous for the title, I think replicas is a more apt term.