Money Isn't Evil

If it was, who would support all the charities?

Did you know that in the United States alone, there are over 1 million public charities in the United States with over $1 trillion in revenue?! These are non-profits and they’re not running a business to generate profits to support themselves, however, they have many of the same expenses of a business. 

It takes a lot of money to run a charity
Somebody’s got to run these things and someone’s got to do all the work. All of these people require salaries, benefits, and other support. That’s a lot of money right there. Then they need facilities. They’ve got a constant need for office supplies, marketing and other communication expenses, the list goes on and on. Much less the cost of the actual charity and support they give to their particular targeted outreach group, whether it is orphans, the homeless, abused children, unwed mothers, veterans, widows and families of war casualties, victims of natural disasters—the list is endless. And we’re just talking about domestic charities, not even those that give massive amounts of aid around the world when tsunamis strike in Thailand or Japan, or earthquakes hit places like Haiti, or millions starve from drought in Africa. 

Where do you think this support comes from?
The funds don't come from the government. We all know governments around the world are essentially bankrupt. They are cutting funding and expenses every day. If you were running a valuable, charitable program right now, would you be betting your survival on your government?  

It comes from people who have money.
The bulk of support for these charities comes from those who have extra to give. People who are living a hand to mouth existence, barely surviving financially themselves have nearly nothing to give anyone else. It’s only those who, through hard work and/or good fortune, are in a position to lend a helping hand to those in need. Those are the only people who can support causes they believe in! Every charity would love for you to come in and pitch in with some time helping out every week but I promise you they would be much happier if you would send them a big check.

Charities that benefited from Warren Buffet's $31 billion didn’t think money was evil, they thought it was a God send.

Money is not evil
It’s the “love of money” that’s evil. It’s the mindless worship of money, where you essentially make money an idol in your life that is evil. When you do that, you place it in importance above God, family, health, integrity, and you become a miserable wretched failure of an excuse for a human being.

But that’s a long way from someone who is industrious, hard working, and takes advantage of any good fortune to do something or create something profitable with it. Some of these people are wealthy. Most are not, but they do have the generous, caring, giving, humanitarian spirit that causes them to be so concerned about others that they give substantial support to those in need. Money can do phenomenal good if the right people have it and spend it on to those in need. If you can’t get past the myth that money in and of itself is evil, you’ll never have much yourself to support those worthy causes YOU believe in. It's time to get this issue settled in your mind.

Money is not evil—but laziness and selfishness are.

Winner's Book Club Selection of the Week: Warren Buffett Invests Like A Girl

What are his "Winner" credentials?

Warren Buffett has long been recognized as the world’s greatest investor. When he started neighbors and friends would give him their precious savings, $25-$30,000 or so for him to invest. The result is that over 30 families in his midwestern town were rewarded with fortunes of $100 million and more. That’s just one town. He has changed the financial lives of  hundreds of thousands of people. This book is about his previously never revealed secret strategy… he invests like a girl!

Amazon Editorial Review

“At last, The Motley Fool hits on the real “secret to success” that dozens of other books on Warren Buffett have overlooked - temperament. A witty, well-researched roadmap.” (Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future)

“Through this refreshingly new approach to understanding Buffett, Lofton convincingly argues that both men and women can improve their stock returns by studying how women (and Buffett) have been more successful in investing.” (Prem Jain, author of Buffett Beyond Value: Why Buffett Looks to Growth and Management When Investing)

“A well-written, sound investment book....[A] fine, readable book which is of real practical help to investors.” (Andrew Kilpatrick, author of Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett)

“Lofton lays out sound feminine and Motley Fool-worthy rules for investment that men would be wise to heed.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Their Panache is a cover for a belief in the old-fashioned virtues of patience, simplicity, and prudence.” (U.S. News & World Report)

“They’ve built up a large and much-deserved following.” (Washington Post)

“The best place online for talking with investors... amusing as well as educational.” (Barron's)

Book Description

Investing isn't a man's world anymore—and that's a good thing for individual portfolios, Wall Street, and the world's financial system.

Warren Buffett and the women of the world have one thing in common: They are better investors than the average man. Psychologists and scientists have shown that women have the kind of temperaments that help them achieve long-term success in the market. The calamities of the past several years have only provided more statistical and anecdotal evidence of the same. Here are just a few characteristics of female investors that distinguish them from their male counterparts:

• Women spend more time researching their investment choices and tend to take less risk than men do. This prevents them from chasing "hot" tips and trading on whims. Women are also more likely to seek out information that challenges their assumptions.
• One study found that men trade 45 percent more often than women do, and although men are more confident investors, they are also more susceptible to becoming overconfident. By trading more often—and without enough research—men reduce their net returns and increase transaction costs and capital gains taxes.
• Women aren't as susceptible to peer pressure as men are, which results in a more levelheaded, patient approach to investing.
• Women have less testosterone than men do (not a surprise, we know). New and continually unfolding science points to the possibility that testosterone is responsible for herdlike risk-taking behavior from men in the financial markets.

This book shows that women, with their patience and good decision making, epitomize the Foolish investment philosophy, as well as the investment temperament of the most successful investor in history: Warren Buffett. While men may be brash, compulsive, and overly daring, women tend to be more studious, skeptical, and reasonable. The book will empower and educate women—and the men smart enough to embrace a "feminine" investing style—on how to strengthen their portfolios and find success in the market.