By 2 Cents on November 21st, 2011 | Category: Life Balance |  We’re not talking about mere balance here . . . A visionary company doesn’t simply balance between idealism and profitability; it seeks to be highly idealistic and highly profitable . . . a highly visionary company doesn’t want to blend yin and yang into a gray, indistinguishable circle that is neither highly yin nor highly yang; it aims to be . . . both at the same time, all the time.
~ James Collins & Jerry Porras, Built to Last
The English proverb tells us that we can’t have our cake and eat it too. I’ve often struggled to understand exactly what that means. I guess it’s supposed to imply that we can’t have it both ways. How can we preserve something of value if we continue to consume it?
Today’s quote comes from a book I’ve been reading on visionary companies: the ones that stand the test [...]
Read on and enjoy … Why Can’t We Have Our Cake and Eat It Too?
By 2 Cents on June 1st, 2011 | Category: 20 Cents |  Another month has flown by and it’s time once again to point out a few choice pieces writing from the web for May of 2011. Finally, some nicer weather has arrived here and I hope some of it has made its way to where you are too! This month’s selection of articles is as eclectic as always. Enjoy!
1. Most of us like to look on the bright side. Although this Optimism Bias may not always be rational, it can be quite adaptive. Take a few minutes to read this fascinating article by Tali Sharot courtesy of Time.
2. Staying on the brighter side, how about taking a look at 50 Creative Questions to Create the Life You Really Want. Tiny Buddha shares some excellent food for thought in this article by Lynn Zavaro. I love the opening quote: “If you focus on [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from May 2011
By 2 Cents on November 12th, 2010 | Category: Investing |  I’m away for a few days, so I’ll have a couple of guest posts for you today and Monday. Today’s post comes from Rachel at MomVesting. She’s got an interesting take on my What Is a Balanced Portfolio post. I enjoyed this and I hope you will too.
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Our esteemed host is an advocate of balance, and honestly we are too. We believe diversification is good, but only when it’s good diversification. Let me explain. Even in the case of a well-diversified portfolio, sometimes all you’re doing is guaranteeing worse returns than you’d expect otherwise. If anything was failsafe in investing, then everyone would do it.
What is Balance?
In her post about balance, 2 cents looks at how she can claim to be balanced when she doesn’t own any stocks. There’s no inherent lack of balance in lacking a certain [...]
Read on and enjoy … In Praise of Imbalance
By 2 Cents on November 3rd, 2010 | Category: Investing |  Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.
~Albert Einstein
Update: This article was included in the Canadian Personal Finance & Investing Carnival #9 at Investing Thesis. Thanks!
Last week I wrote about what it would take to get me to invest in the markets again. My friend Jim Yih challenged me with a really great question in the comments section and I promised to answer it in full this week. I’ve heard the same question on occasion from others as well, so I’ll do my best to address it today.
I’m not currently invested in any stocks or bonds except for a small position in an inverse ETF. I won’t go over my rationale again, as I’ve covered it [...]
Read on and enjoy … What Is a Balanced Portfolio?
By 2 Cents on October 11th, 2010 | Category: Life Balance |  Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.
~Buddha
Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, so Happy Thanksgiving to all! Although we may not go as whole-hog on this holiday as our American friends, we do take the day off to contemplate our bounty. With the economic events of the past couple of years, some of us are probably feeling little less bountiful. My family’s financial position isn’t quite as secure as it was 3 years ago, but I don’t necessarily feel less thankful today as a result.
In the spirit of the holiday, I decided to challenge myself to think of 10 things that I’m most [...]
Read on and enjoy … Take the Thanksgiving Challenge
By 2 Cents on July 21st, 2010 | Category: Economics | Socialism failed because it couldn’t tell the economic truth; capitalism may fail because it couldn’t tell the ecological truth.
~ Lester Brown
Update: This article was selected for the Best of Money Carnival #61 posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog. Thanks Big Cajun Man!
On Monday, we looked at 5 financial bubbles floating around our economy and asked whether the proliferation of bubbles could mean that we’re in a bubble of bubbles. We defined a bubble as a structurally tenuous entity with nothing of substance at its core. Today we’ll look at 5 socioeconomic bubbles that could easily be viewed as both causes and effects of those financial bubbles.
The current version of capitalism seems to be based on the idea that growth is always good. Is that realistic? Is it desirable? Is it even capitalism? The very fact [...]
Read on and enjoy … The Culture of More: 5 Socioeconomic Bubbles Ready to Pop
By 2 Cents on May 14th, 2010 | Category: Book Reviews | Throughout the years, feedback from individuals continued to underscore the idea that this course was not simply about retiring early but about thinking in new ways.
~ Prologue, Your Money or Your Life
Update: This review was included in the Forethought Edition of the Festival of Frugality #280 at Penniless Parenting. Thank You!
This book has become a personal finance classic with a bit of a cult following. It first came out in 1992, but a new edition was released in 2008. With Phase I of the financial crisis unfolding at the time, I guess it just looked as if we really needed it again.
The book was originally written by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. It was based on principles that Joe used to retire at age 31. While Joe unfortunately died in 1997, Vicki worked with Monique Tilford on [...]
Read on and enjoy … Book Review: Your Money or Your Life
By 2 Cents on April 30th, 2010 | Category: Economics | Some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way.
~ Douglas Pagels
Update: This article was a Best Overall Carnival Post nominee in the Money Hacks Carnival #114 posted at Nerd Wallet. Thanks!
Today’s Friday Food for Thought is based on a recent article from The Economist that discussed the waning popularity of shareholder capitalism as advanced by Jack Welch and others. In this model of capitalism, “a firm’s sole aim should be maximizing returns to its shareholders”. This brand of capitalism has dominated the business landscape for the past 25 years or so.
Stakeholder capitalism, by contrast, is more concerned with the needs of customers, employees, suppliers, and society at large. Roger Martin, dean of [...]
Read on and enjoy … Shareholders vs. Stakeholders: Skipping Steps Is Costly
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