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	<title>Mo2 Thinks.com</title>
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	<link>http://www.mo2thinks.com</link>
	<description>Here&#039;s what I think about Finance, Investing, and the world&#039;s current events</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:52:08 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>A Little Soul Searching</title>
		<link>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/02/a-little-soul-searching/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/02/a-little-soul-searching/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:52:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mo2</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life in General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Becoming a better person]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Happiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reflecting on mistakes and regrets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Soul Searching]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mo2thinks.com/?p=1252</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another week has passed and so many things happen in a blink of an eye that it’s hard to really take in what has happened. I’m referring to both good and bad things. We always say, “time flies” passively but it’s only because we’re busy and not really spending the time to really appreciate the good and bad things that occur to us on a daily basis. As I was browsing around and brainstorming about what to write for tonight’s post, I realized how much negative news there was out there. Yes, it’s nothing new but it’s very rare for a good deed to be recognized. The first three topics that come out are Greece, the Presidential race, and something about the Middle East. Bad news sells and it’s an unfortunate that this is the world we live in, no wonder there’s so much anger, hatred and stress everywhere we go. I once read somewhere that it’s extremely important for someone to spend a bit of time every week to reflect on the mistakes and regrets. Sure it isn’t good to be negative, but it’s so important to understand the mistakes we make in everyday life. If you can reflect and learn, you become that much of a better person. I’m stating the obvious, but for so many people it just doesn’t happen. You see people in their late 40s and 50s acting like children all the time, setting an example of what you don’t want to become. The difference is if you’re going to learn from them and become a better person or fight back and bring yourself to their level. There are some things that just aren’t meant to be and some things that are. You will never know until you try. I guess I’m doing a bit of soul searching right now trying new things out and exploring a portion of myself that I never had a chance to before. Not only do I want to become a better person in all aspects, but I also want to be a happier person; someone that is capable of spreading happiness to others, and that stems from having a positive attitude and having a genuine smile. It isn’t easy. Most of you work day jobs and unless you’re living and working your dream, to be able to do this consistently is extremely difficult. I thought I came across an opportunity that is extremely rare recently. Something that could throw me to new level, but it turns out it just wasn’t meant to be. I have a few options but the option I’m opting for is to let go for now, and hope there will be another opportunity. Sometimes things just don’t go your way, and I haven’t had the best of luck the past couple years but I’m optimistic that the tide will change. Optimism can be contagious, but it can’t hurt. I’m going through a phase where I need to keep gutting it out, hoping for the best....]]></description>
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		<title>Retiring Early and What it Really Means</title>
		<link>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/retiring-early-and-what-it-really-means/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/retiring-early-and-what-it-really-means/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:55:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mo2</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Budgeting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philanthropy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[000]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial Freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[living off of $30]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retirement vs financial freedom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mo2thinks.com/?p=1245</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to Investing and Finance, I’m a bit of nerd. Ok, that’s probably an understatement. Many a time, I have sent e-mails to close friends that have turned out to be essays trying to give them good advice. It’s definitely a passion I have. I’ve spent countless hours studying this stuff and probably will continue to do so going forward. I came across this article about a couple that became financially free at the meager age of 30. Now that’s young, and many of you probably doubt that it’s possible at all. If you go ahead and read the article, you’ll find out that they were both frugal and earned a nice salary. But what you should see is that it’s both possible and that you simply need a plan. So let’s start out and see what you need. How much do you need to be financially free? If you’re planning on buying a new car every year, spending tens of thousands on new clothes and going on extravagant vacations every 3 months, you will need quite a bit. But if you are willing to be frugal like the couple in the article and can actually live off of $30,000 &#8211; $40,000 a year, then financial freedom is definitely attainable! Sure you have to think about taxes, but the fact of the matter is most people live off of $30,000 a year before taxes since in reality, that’s what many people earn. It makes a difference if you own a home or not. If you do, over time you will be much better off than someone that is renting. There are a variety of reasons but to state the most obvious, you won’t have any mortgage payments while renters will have to pay for rent forever. Of course, as a homeowner you will have maintenance, insurance, and property taxes costs. To get back to the point, spend some time on figuring out what you spend your money on. You should be doing this anyway to keep track of your expenses so that you can figure out what you’re wasting a big chunk of your money on. If you do the numbers $30,000 will most likely be enough, obviously depending on where you live. In Vancouver, $30,000 honestly isn’t enough to live but it can be done. Now to earn $30,000 pretax at 5%, you need an investment portfolio of $600,000. That’s a pretty big number, but not completely out of reach. You can’t build it overnight, but it definitely is reachable if you’re disciplined enough. Retirement versus Financial Freedom Retirement means you’re going to stop working and do whatever you want. Financial Freedom means you don’t have to work but still probably want to while not having to worry about your finances. In all honestly, at 30 I can’t imagine myself stop working. I would be bored out of my mind. Sure, I could write on this blog everyday, but even then I’d still be bored out of...]]></description>
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		<title>The Search for Balance in Life</title>
		<link>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/the-search-for-balance-in-life/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/the-search-for-balance-in-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:54:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mo2</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life in General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[balance in life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mo2thinks.com/?p=1240</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I started out the year writing about how I wanted to find balance in my life. The search continues as it isn’t something that can be accomplished overnight. I’m currently working and taking three courses at the same time. Having to drive out to a class after work and coming home around 10 pm is mentally and physically draining. I don’t have to do it very often, but trying to plug in 15-20 hours of studying on top of work and trying to find balance is tough. I know I’m not the only one out there that’s going through a similar situation. Kudos to those of you that are investing the time and money into yourself to make yourself smarter and more marketable, it will pay off eventually. At the end of the day, knowledge is power and there isn’t anything to lose by learning new things. Keep at it. But in the midst of all this studying and work I always like to take a step back and look at the big picture. I know, I probably should be doing this more often. You look at all the different people out there and how they live their different lives. How some people have no money and others have a ton of it. How some people are happy and some aren’t or some look happy, but aren’t happy at all. How some people look like they have a huge number of friends (or like 1,741 Facebook friends) but have noone they can’t talk to about important matters. And well people that have like 5 designations but don’t really make all that much money. All that makes me wonder if I’m doing the right thing, I second-guess myself all the time and then come to the conclusion that I need to think about the longer term. Taking courses aren’t cheap, and like I said the mental and physical strain takes its toll. But in 5-10 years I’ll be looking back thanking myself for gutting it out. Sure, it might lead to a better job, but more importantly I’ll be a more competent person (hopefully!) This second-guessing goes beyond my studies and everything else I do. Do you ever have a time when you second-guess yourself? Yes, this turned out to be a bit of a rant post so I apologize for that. It almost sounds like I’m trying to justify myself for what I’m doing and that just might be the case. I have a long year ahead of me in 2012 in terms of studying and I need to stay on track while juggling work and other things. Having said all that, finding a balance in life will probably take a little longer… The next post, I’ll talk about retiring young and what it takes. I read this inspirational post about someone retiring at the age of 30! Stay tuned. Photo of city scene in Hamamatsu Cho, Japan by heiwa4126 on Flickr.]]></description>
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		<title>Mo2&#8242;s Music Street: Jimi Hendrix</title>
		<link>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/mo2s-music-street-jimi-hendrix/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/mo2s-music-street-jimi-hendrix/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mo2</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mo2's Music Street]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mo2thinks.com/?p=1233</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’m going to start a new corner on Mo2 Thinks. I’ll introduce my favorite musicians whenever I feel like it. Initially I thought about doing it every week, but I’m definitely way too lazy to do this every week. So we’ll play it by ear. Enjoy! Jimi Hendrix is a guitar god. If you play the guitar, you know Jimi Hendrix. If you don’t you have issues, but at least you know about him now. In fact, everyone in the world should know Jimi but sadly many don’t. I’m surprised by the number of people I talk that don’t know who he is. Jimi died at the young age of 27 years old. Yes he’s part of the good ol’ famous Club 27 along with other amazing musicians like Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Jim Morrison. Amy Winehouse being the newest addition last year. I’m not going to write a whole biography on Jimi, you can use Google or Wiki for that. Just know this, he was the most amazing guitarist that ever lived. So why do I like Jimi? When I started playing the guitar, I didn’t even know who Mick Jagger was, I knew the Rolling Stones, but not Mick Jagger. Kinda liking knowing the Beatles but not George Harrison I guess. Sad eh? I can’t believe myself either. It goes without saying I didn’t know Jimi either, although this is like 10 years ago. When I first listened to Jimi I knew I was onto something and I’ve never looked back, every time I play the guitar I’m playing some sort of lick that Jimi played. I love Jimi for his originality. He brought a new face to Rock and Blues. He never played a song the same way and his guitar was on fire (sometimes literally). Whatever he played on the guitar made people go…”Oh my god…” and he still has that effect today. Try listening to this version of Little Wing…it’s 3 minutes of your life that you won’t regret experiencing. If I’ve peaked your interest, just watch Jimi at Monterey in 1967 when he came back from London to the States, that’s where the storm began in the US. He was already famous in the UK, but that festival was what made him. Jimi is human, his guitar playing was god-like, but he had a weak side. A lot of his performances were duds and if he was in a bad mood you could often hear it in his music, if he played at all that night. But when he was into it, he would produce music to a level that will never be reached by anyone. That’s another thing I liked about him, he had his dark side that he often wouldn’t conceal. You could see him struggling and I’m sure that had a big part in his death, but his pain and strain must have helped him in becoming such a musical legend. Want more? Visit my Youtube picks of Jimi, that’s...]]></description>
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		<title>New Year’s Resolutions and Taking a Step Forward</title>
		<link>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/new-years-resolutions-and-taking-a-step-forward/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mo2thinks.com/2012/01/new-years-resolutions-and-taking-a-step-forward/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:40:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mo2</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life in General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[401k]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog Goals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Year's Resolutions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philanthrophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RRSP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TFSA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mo2thinks.com/?p=1225</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Happy New Year! I hope every one of you had a wonderful New Year celebration and I wish you only the best in 2012. Hang in there! Life is full of humps and bumps but the more humps and bumps you experience, the better person you become. So, what are your goals this year? A New Year usually means you set out some resolutions to improve yourself in one way or another. I think I’ve made resolutions every year as far back as I can remember but to be honest I’m not too sure if I was able to fulfill any of those goals or promises that I made to myself over the years. I guess I’m lazy, I’m a hard worker but I’m lazy at heart. Very lazy. So what does it take attain to make these goals or resolutions? I guess it’s important you actually care about what you’re trying to achieve. It’s also vital that you make those resolutions attainable. Be realistic with yourself, don’t try to make a million dollars in one year unless you’re about to take a company public or already have $20 million. I think it’s also important to have a bit of variety in goals and keep them minimal. The three areas I want to focus are monetary, well-being, and socially responsible resolutions. So here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2012. Monetary Resolution: Pay Myself First and Be Smart about what I buy Put away 10%+ of my gross income in investments. This could be RRSP and TFSA as well as non-registered investments. For non-Canadians the RRSP and TFSA are registered investments, much like the 401(k) in the US. The goal here is set aside funds to increase and grow my investments; this is the key to financial freedom and to be consistent about it. And save money…for my new electronic drum set. Life or Well-being Resolution: More Guitar and More Drum Revive one of my hobbies. This will be either playing the guitar and/or drums a lot more. 2011 was a about work and study and 2012 will be much the same but I need to find more of a balance and I believe that I can achieve this by bringing my guitar playing and drumming to a new level. Being part of a band again would be awesome, time permitting. Socially Responsible: Volunteer and Donate One of my goals in life is to be a philanthropist. I’d like to donate my time and money to help others that deserve to be given a chance to live a normal life without worrying about the basics. In 2012, I’d love to spend some time volunteering and donate more and spend more time in what it means to be a true philanthropist. My first step is the Save Japan banner on the right side of every blog post on Mo2thinks.com. I wish also donate 50% of all earnings from Mo2thinks.com. There were a lot of natural disasters worldwide in 2012 with the...]]></description>
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