Here’s the really good stuff.  I got tweets/information that everyone is on board, happy, and super-excited this weekend for what’s about to come, and it’s happening any moment.  There are some who think this is the last week you will have to hear the name TONY ever again.  I’m okay with that!  I’m ready to go!

More that anything else, you should appreciate this:  as of this moment, the banks have let this go down to another level.  Another level of employees have been notified that they will participate in this event. It’s not at the tellers yet, but it’s pretty close to every-body being briefed on how this process will work. They can’t do that at 8am, saying they just changed their minds ten minutes ago. They have to give them some notice, some time to prepare emotionally so that they won’t walk off their jobs OR be mad and frustrated when you walk up.  I’m glad we’re now at that point, that more staff know about this and are getting prepared.

The exchange people already know, of course, but they have to let everyone know sooner or later or they won’t know what we’re talking about when we come in.  Whether they are involved in this or not, they have to have some notice but not too much or they will walk off the job rich.

It could be any day now;  there is nothing in the system stopping it.  It is truly the optimal time.

828 caller:  I’m really good.  You already said the Iraqi citizens would be paid before we would, and you said that the people were paid last week.  Was that the citizens in Iraq, and can we now be paid?

Tony:  Yes and no.  They only showed the rates for those cards that are outside the country, but all the cards should be the same, at the same rate.  Before, cards had different rates, depending on who they were;  supposedly they all read the same rate now and when the announcement is made publicly, and that is when they can go and we can go – everyone at the same time.

Caller:  Any updates on tax or exchange rates?

Tony:  Rates haven’t changed so far as I know, and those aren’t going to change – we’ve told you about first, second, and third mouse strategies.  Focus on going to the bank dressed properly, how much you have, what you plan on doing with it, and how long you will leave it in the bank.  Go in knowing what you are asking for.

601 caller:  Have you got any update on procedures?

Tony: There are still some little changes in terms of notifications, in terms of the roll-out;  there could be a super-slow rollout, we could do a 15-minute call, there are options. We will do some kind of notification, but we don’t know what they will ask us to do.  You will be the most informed group there is – the 40,000 on this call.  The other 4-5 million won’t know what they are doing, what to ask for, etc.  You are not going to walk into the bank and say “I want to do an exchange” and just take whatever they choose to give you.  You want to say, “I want the highest rate available;  what do we need to do to do that?”   If you don’t know, nobody is going to tell you.  If you do know, you can have a discussion.  The other 4-5 million won’t have a clue of what to ask for.  “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed”;  if you are too scared to ask, you won’t get the best rate.  The banks have a job to do, and it’s the same as your job – to get as much in their pockets as they can.  I can’t get mad at someone doing his job.  You have to do your job as well.  Nobody is going to do that for you.  Go back to the calls;  I have given you everything you need to get the highest rate you can get.  Based on what I know about how they are being trained, you have all you need to know.

Caller:  I hear that some of the banks down South have lower rates, so how do I find out where the higher rates are?

Tony:  That’s right, you can’t go through all of them, so I’m looking online and calling some banks.  Some will give you the rate over the phone, and some won’t, you have to go in.  Then you sit down and negotiate.  You won’t be able to go to 10-12 banks to check the rates.  Certain people will have access to the contract rates, and told how many they can give out and they can pick who to give them to, and it might be you!  They get their commissions based off that, and they may give you their 20 slots while you are going from bank to bank.  You’ll have to make a decision quickly.  I’ve given you the information and options, and you have to be prepared to negotiate.

Caller:  Can’t wait to see you all in Las Vegas!

404 caller:  [Appreciation]  With the exchange centers, how many are offsite rather than in standard bank locations?  The retail banks in my area are not that private, so I’m wondering how they will deal with that, or whether we will be sent to a teller line, etc.

Tony: The majority will not be bank locations, as I understand it, because they don’t want lines.  Most are the private banking locations, mostly offices.  They have also rented some buildings with cubicles.  They will send you to locations based on how much currency you have.  If you have just one note, you might be sent to a bank, but for more, they will have more security, in more secluded places.

Caller:  Are these offsite exchange centers – how long will they be there?

Tony: They want this over with in the first ten days!  The majority will be gone, and the four or five million with one or two notes will just go to the banks to do their exchange.

Caller:  Hope this is our time!  Vegas, Vegas, Vegas so we can meet Tony and celebrate!

617 caller:  Will we be able to negotiate the contract rate on the first visit?

Tony:  I think so – nothing beats a failure but a try.  You can ask, and negotiate.  If you don’t ask, it won’t be answered.  It’s possible you’ll get something else when you go to your wealth manager, saying “if this rate can be adjusted, I’ll leave my money for six months” or whatever.  You can always ask.

Caller:  What are the times we can call for our appointments?

Tony:  From as soon as it starts until 11pm.  At one point, they even had a third shift at the call centers.

Caller:  So as soon as we find out, we can call…  Also, does Abadi have to be Iraq for this to happen?  And is the Afghani currency all denominations?

Tony:  Abadi does not have to be in Iraq.  I don’t know about the Afghan currency, and although that’s come up a lot lately, I don’t know why anyone wants that when there is a perfectly good currency that will make a lot of profit.

559 caller:  I had a senior moment when I sent my donation, and I want to tell you the check number.   [Tony:  I’ll call you later on that.]  We are still holding off on our taxes. Thanks for the information for negotiating at first OR second appointments.

Tony:  If we don’t come out and give you the exact procedures, try to negotiate right from the beginning.  If you don’t get what you want at the first appointment, go in and negotiate again. You do have options.

410 caller:  I’m surprised that the excitement is not even higher.  When I had my first child, I was all excited preparing up to the last minute, and then everything got real calm.  If we want to find out what the bank rates are, we need to call them and find who will serve us better, should we take all our cash?  Or set a time after we get a good deal?

Tony:  I cannot go to all banks at the same time.  If I call 3-4 banks, and all four give me a rate, I’ll go with the highest, but is that their highest rate?  Then I go in and ask if I leave it longer, will you give me a higher rate?  Sure, they will probably work something out.  They probably won’t do that in 20 minutes, but maybe at the second meeting.  The rate you negotiate at the first appointment, you know it won’t go down later.  “What is the highest rate you are authorized to give, and under what conditions?”  You just ask them.  The original plan was ‘in and out in 20 minutes’, but so much has changed, I just don’t know how this will work.  Before, they were going to have exchangers exchanging you, but now wealth managers will be doing the exchanges, and they may be able to offer higher rates.

Caller:  That’s a smart idea, rather than having to do it all over again at the second appointment.  I’m going to have a quiet day and rest.  See you in Vegas or Raleigh.

682 caller:  I’m in Texas;  last time you couldn’t hear me, evidently.   I’m from Michigan originally, from the same part as Pam.  She kicked me out of the forum because I’m dyslexic and I typed in all caps.  She kicked my butt out for that!

Tony:  Yes, she is a tyrant.  Do you have a question?

Caller:  I have a good connection here in Texas.  I used to got to the Governor’s Ball in Florida, and I talk to the governor’s wife from time to time.  I heard from her that everyone will be able to exchange by 1. October.  I have a friend where I work, and he is saying the same thing:  October 1^st.  That is cool for me!
Tony:  Me, too – I can survive for three more days.
Caller:  I have been following you for a long time;  I read, study articles, and have a connection with a friend in Iraq.  Her phone is not working suddenly.  She is in Baghdad with her grandmother, and I am not longer able to get her on her cell phone.
423 caller:  I asked you a question the other day and the phone call clicked off… sorry.  About the banks being notified, so that the staff wouldn’t be shocked – does that mean everyone knows now?
Tony:  I’m sure every bank knows, but I don’t know at what level.  I know that the three banks we talked to over the weekend brought in their people early so that they could start explaining this.  I don’t know if it they did that at every branch, because each branch manager has the option to be in this or not.  As it comes down a level, they told the managers to notify their people, their way.  I don’t know if it’s at every branch. I’m sure that every branch will be informed before this comes out, but at this point, it’s just to the next level.  Then they will tell their people the day before, and give them extra training. The others will be told, and will be mad, but just have their regular customers.
Caller:  That’s horrible, that they find out too late after years of being told it’s a scam.  I have banked at Regions Bank for years, and the manager there said, “We will never handle dinar, because they are a terrorist country.”  Are they involved?
Tony:  I don’t know, but I do know that ignorance is not limited to the ignorant.  Many you look to for knowledge give you their personal opinions rather than going and finding out.  They might have started working there three days ago!  They may be the manager or the head teller, and still know nothing.  You have to pay attention and ask if they know what they are talking about, or if you know better because they don’t know.  Sometimes you have to go into a bank and educate them about their own procedures!  They should have just said they don’t know!
Caller:  I’ve been reading Tony Robbins’ book – it’s great – and it’s clear that many don’t know what they are talking about, even at the banks.  Are you going to leave your money in the bank to get a higher rate?
Tony:  Let’s say I have $100,000.  Let’s say I set aside 40% for taxes, and I need 20% to deal with debts, and now I have 40,000 to work with.  Now, let’s say they give me double the rate, and now I have an extra 40,000 to play with, and they are giving me 10% on leaving it in the bank.  Now my $80,000 is already being put to work.  That will give me that much more to spend right now as well as being put to work.
Caller:  Six months isn’t a big deal, but two years feels like a long time to leave it if there are fees, etc.
Tony:  As long as it is sitting there, and the bank is giving you interest, they can loan out up to ten times that money, but I don’t’ care about that – the bank is there to make money.  As long as they double or quadruple my rate, I can work with that.
Caller:  How sure are you about this happening now, out of 100?
Tony:  99.8%.
251 caller: You say we are going to go to exchange centers, yet you are also calling more than one bank.  How do we get the numbers to call those banks?
Tony:  Either we will put out 800 numbers, and we understand that each bank will have their own, so you can call each of them. I think that is crazy myself, but that seems to be how they want to do it.  You can always call their foreign currency department and ask for the current rates.
Caller:  You said last week about the National Guard Law and such;  are those done?
Tony:  There is supposed to be a big announcement on those laws, but they say that those are done.  It could be a fly in the ointment, but anything could be.  Before the sunrise this morning, everyone said “this is done, this could be the last call today”, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
770 caller:  Do you feel confident that we won’t be in this condition come Saturday?
Tony:  No.  Yes.  Maybe.  I think so.  That’s all the answers.  The window I have didn’t include Saturday.   We are in a very good place;  everyone was excited all weekend, this morning.  They are saying that this could be the last call, and this is our week, but we have to see what happens at the UN.  Pam?  It’s that time.   She has problems finding that mute button.
Pam:  You know more than you think you know.
Ray:  This is Marvelous Monday and it might get even more marvelous as we go through the evening into Terrific Tuesday!  I am excited.
Tony:  As Pam would say, you have all the information. We’ve gone over this many times, and when it comes to the process, it will come to you.  Be kind, respectful and helpful to each other throughout the process.  There is super-fantastic information.  Everyone is on pins and needles since Friday because we didn’t know if it would go before, during or after the UN event.  There is a major announcement scheduled in Iraq, and it could be about the laws, or it could be what we’ve all been waiting for.  The window we’ve been looking at the last two weeks concludes this week, and I think it will. There is nothing blocking this, all systems have been tested, and everyone signed off this weekend, waiting for the witching hour.  Enjoy the rest of your day.  I would love nothing more than for this to be our last call.  If not, I’ll talk to you on Wednesday if not before.