The call option numbers betting on crude oil prices at $200 per barrel before the end of 2008 has doubled in the last month, according to Javier Blais of the Financial Times, July 3, 2008.

Some speculators are even betting on 'lottery tickets' at $300 per barrel. Call option contract activity increases when prices of securities, commodities, interest rates and currencies are predicted to rise, giving the buyer of the call the right to purchase, in these instances, crude oil at a predetermined price and date in the future.

Locally, inflation, driven by oil prices, continues to rise. However, this period in time is not like the last time inflation in Bermuda was high. This time, we may be seeing a dramatic shift in western lifestyles that is precedent setting and possibly permanently different, not only due to rapid changes in demand and prices for commodities, but also in the acceleration of Internet information world.

Today, with community and individual attention enhancers such as YouTube there is almost nowhere to hide, but countless ways to disseminate your thoughts, attributes and feelings. Information can be stored and retrieved at leisure forever.

If you are uncertain about making a major life decision, you can practise first - to get it right for the second time around - in virtual worlds. Feeling anonymous? Want to brand yourself, set up a Facebook trial first. In the blink of an eye, you will have thousands of friends, most of whom you may never meet physically; some of whom, you may wish you had never known in any way.

We may feel helpless watching the constant erosion of our hard-earned dollars through market conditions that are beyond our control; however, our personal financial lives and the decisions that we make are still very much within our control. Bermuda's people are survivors.

This time, given the impact of outside market forces on us personally and our economy are we resilient enough to make changes in our attitudes, choices and lives to allow us to successfully adapt to this 'new flat world'?

In the following two months, we are going to explore (and hopefully receive feedback from readers) what these changes in global market pressures may mean from a financial perspective to us as individuals, families, and our society on a long-term basis.

We may have to throw some of our conventional thinking out the air-conditioned window. You may not agree with any of the ideas, discourse, or recommendations. Whether the answers are right or wrong for your situation, hopefully, you will participate in a dialogue that will provide some alternative solutions. Necessity is the mother of invention, that euphemistically means when the going gets tough, the tough take advantage of every opportunity.

We will explore the following topics, and additional ones that you may suggest:

1. Do you fill your gas tank or your tummy? Food is for body fuel; just like gas is for transportation. Keep or cut your food bill budget in spite of rising food costs.

2.Your work environment. What it can and cannot do for you. Contingency planning can lead to career opportunity.

3. What should you be invested in now? In a low interest rate, high inflation global economy, are there any alternatives?

4. Children, education and the future, is there the potential for greatness?

5. Consumerism - if everything is virtual, why do we need so much? Futuristic lending and asset accumulation. Is less now more?

6. Our economy on a long-term basis. What sustains it? How does it grow? Where will future funding come from? Will there be a safety net for us?

7. Retirement - should you, maybe not? Everyone getting close to retirement feels the pressure of this decision, knowing that once made, it may be difficult to reverse. We are after all, dealing with probabilities. Will my investments do what they are supposed to do? Will I have enough? Can I function socially without my working network of friends? Will I still feel valued or invisible? What if you were able to practise your retirement ahead of time - try it out in a new setting with new people, new location and a new currency?

Now there is Second Life www.secondlife.com virtual world, an online version of the known world, which attempts to replicate many of the basic elements of your First Life - often referred to as your 'Real Life'.

Just as in Real Life, Second Life boasts a large and expanding population as new users from around the world log on, interact with each other in the virtual space and crucially, create new virtual content themselves. Just as in Real Life, Second Life features men and women (avatars), land and sky, day and night, flowers and tress.

You can build houses and shops, you can work and play, you can make, save, or spend money, you can go to bars, dates, stay at home, read a book, sit, stand, walk, dance, swim, fly, teleport and just as in life, also a caution, get involved in less than savoury activities.

There is an endless list of activities and opportunities to fill the time between birth and death, except that in Second Life, death does not exist, at least not in any significant lasting way (source: The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to Second Life - the Essential Guide to an Amazing Virtual World with Millions of Users). Second Life is like Real Life in one key respect: if you want your life to be worthwhile and interesting, you have to put in a little effort.

And lest you dismiss this idea, as silly, superfluous, and just so much hype, note that the more 50 major companies have ventured into the virtual world to date. IBM, with in-world business meetings, COKE, NBA, Coldwell Banker has opened a virtual real estate office.

Brands like Adidas, H&R Block, and Sears have set up shop. CNET and Reuters have opened virtual bureaus there. AICPA has established a CPA island, universities use it for e-Learning, research scientists to resolve problems, CISCO and others for recruitment and so on. Is this the wave of the future? We don't know, but we certainly could not have conceived of this literal 'try before you buy' new life several generations ago.

Note that the author does not endorse this game, but includes it as an example of another almost extraterrestrial powerful influence on our new world.

Martha Harris Myron CPA -NH1929, CFP® -67184 (US licences) TEP - Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She is a Senior Wealth Manager at Argus Financial Limited, specialising in comprehensive financial solutions and investment advisory services for individual private clients and their families, business owners, endowments and trusts. DirectLine: 294-5709 Confidential email can be directed to mmyron@argusfinancial.bm The article expresses the opinion of the author alone. Under no circumstances is the content of this article to be taken as specific individual investment advice, nor as a recommendation to buy/ sell any investment product. The Editor of The Royal Gazette has final right of approval over headlines, content, and length/brevity of article.