Interesting: Cyprus stealing citizen money and the ever increasing importance of diversification

How would you feel if you woke up this morning to find out that nearly 7% - 10% of the money in your savings account was being taken by the government? This is what happened to the citizens of Cyprus.

I couldn't sleep so I was reading news articles. The Cyprus story caught my eye along with this article on how much a bestselling novel will bring you nowadays ($12,000).

All types of events can sap financial resources. Historically, people have lost their life-long savings and retirement accounts when their corporation went under, others of us swallowed huge losses to our retirement accounts due to volatility. People lose their possessions to natural disasters, funds have to be diverted to cover unexpected medical conditions. Now, apparently, savings accounts are fair game.

I realize I'm mixing two different subjects, but with many meaningful occupations paying less than ever and a higher risk involved in accumulating wealth due to unrest and government failure, it becomes less about the money and more about enjoying life through non-monetary means. It's unfortunate that writing, programming, giving advice, and writing music now pays less than ever, but this isn't stopping a lot of people who are willing to enrich our lives for free because they understand the value in what they do.

If you're fortunate or skilled/smart enough to have money to invest. Diversify the hell out of it! Here is a great article I've been sitting on about work in the modern job market. Some, but not all, of the reasons coincide with my choice late last year to leave my job, go back to school, and change career paths.

1. We looked out at all the office buildings around us. “What do you see?” he said. “I don’t know.” “They’re empty! All the cubicles are empty. The middle class is being hollowed out.” And I took a closer look. Entire floors were dark. Or there were floors with one or two cubicles but the rest empty. “It’s all outsourced, or technology has taken over for the paper shufflers,” he said. 10 Reasons Why 2013 Will Be The Year You Quit Your Job.

To throw a third, but related, point into the mix. I went to see A Place at the Table with my wife last week. Eating $30+ in theater food while watching families try to survive on $4.45 a day made me question the value of my behavior. From what I saw, most people in the film were in the situation they were in because they made poor decisions. Isn't paying $60 for a movie that will show up on Netflix and some theater food similarly, a poor decision?

Coinstar -- Cooler than formerly thought

 

Warning: This reads like an ad, but it isn't.

This is a public apology to Coinstar for my years of self-righteousness. Since as long as I can remember I've walked by Coinstar, snickered, and wondered what type of lazy person would pay a 10% commission to avoid rolling coins. Recently however, my wife and I ran out of penny wrappers and decided to take a few years worth of pennies to Coinstar just for the fun of it.

We chose our payout as an Amazon gift card and paid $0 fees. Then, they threw in $5 worth of free MP3s as a bonus for hitting $20! Most companies want you to feel like they've created a win-win. They make a profit while you get a product that improves your life. Very rarely is literal profit gained in both directions. Here, not only do I save time for free, but I get free music. Sure, I have to drive to Coinstar, but it's at the grocery store. I'd go anyway. Sure, I have to spend the money on Amazon, but again, I would anyway. They have all different free payout options from Starbucks to iTunes. Might be worth checking out if you're busy and don't like the smell of money permeating your hands from rolling change for hours. Consider saving your nickels though....