In your investment portfolio

If you ask any competent financial advisor you will get a piece of advice "Diversification". Yes there will be other advice to be certain but making sure there is a mix of different assets is going to be one key component. Of course have some stocks and/or ETF's for long term growth but also some GIC's for short term stability. Dividend stocks and REIT's for regular income or maybe even some preferred shares. Then invest in your local stocks but also foreign ones as well. The reason? Never put all your eggs in one basket. The future is uncertain and with a diversified portfolio if one thing is doing poorly it is very likely that some of the others are doing well.

In your crypto

Of course as HIVE members you are also likely to know about cryptocurrencies. However, should you only hold HIVE or should you diversify? I'm going to bet that anyone interested in making money on the HIVE platform has diversified! LEO and ZING tokens give great income with the possibility of growth in the future. HBD give great income with the benefit of being somewhat more stable as its linked to the USD (which has risks all its own!). Of course if you ever want to get your money into a larger exchange it's likely you are familiar with Ethereum or Bitcoin as larger more stable cryptocurrencies and swapping them with HIVE is one of the easier ways to get cash out of the Hive ecosystem. Again, diversification.

In bank accounts.

For myself I also hate putting too much money in one bank account. After I reach a certain amount of cash in an account I'll often look at putting money in a different bank for additional funds. My reason? If my debit card is compromised, if the bank goes bankrupt, if I'm held at ransom and forced to drain my account or other unforseen event--I'd rather have a backup account than lose everything in one bad day!

However, there are other reasons as well. Some bank accounts come with perks such as a free safety deposit box (like my Scotiabank account does). Others have accounts with low or no foreign exchange fees which is very useful when travelling abroad. While it may not seem important some deal with different ATM networks which can also be important when trying to access money in foreign countries. For example: Neo financial cards won't work in the Philippines while Wealthsimpe financial cards will. Having options is usually a good thing.

Income and income streams

Diversification in income streams is also a great idea. Sure I have my regular job to pay the bills. However, I get a little income from preparing people's taxes. A little income from paying Splinterlands. A little income from playing Cubieverse. Even on Hive I get a little curation from #HiveLearners if I make a good post and a little curation from my Actifit posts.

When it comes to bank accounts even diversifying the type of bank account makes a difference in income. A chequing account might be convenient...but bring in no interest. Simply moving the money from a chequing account to a savings account could take interest from 0% to 5% with no additional risk on the cash. Moving money into a short term GIC or Short Term Time Deposit could potentially earn even a little more interest.

Diversity is the spice of life.

Even in everyday things diversity is important.

• Diversity in what you eat? More interesting and more nutritious
• Diversity in who you date? Better chance of finding the right partner
• Diversity in the seasons of the year? Adds variety and important for crops

Who can argue against diversity? Simplicity!

Mo' money, Mo' problems!

I heard there is a song by that name although I think it is aging now. Regardless, it is absolutely true!

Indeed the Swedish have a word "Döstädning" or "Death Cleaning" to tidy things up and simplify everything before someone dies. The main reason is to make things easier for the next generation...the side benefit is it gives an older person more time to focus on what's important without all the distractions of having diversity making it harder.

And more things, more investments and more diversity absolutely DOES make things more complicated.

• Playing the field while dating? Way more complicated than one girlfriend.

• Trying all the different food types out there? Way more work figuring how to cook it all and even just figuring out what to eat tonight!

• Having to prepare for 4 seasons? Way more clothes to suit the weather.

Financially? It can be a major headache!

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Yesterday I worked on my taxes (ugh)

Now I happily prepare taxes for many of my wife's friends. So many people are afraid of doing taxes that I find it kind of sad...and amusing. I have them come to me with one T4 slip and maybe an RRSP contribution slip and I happily get the software ready and have their taxes ready in 15 minutes...plus a few more minutes for double checking, and a lot more minutes for just chatting ☺️

Doing my taxes is a totally different matter though.

• A T4 slip from my main job. Easy
• Two T4 slips from my wife's jobs. Easy
• Keep track of my crypto investments over 3 crypto exchanges? Yuck
• Find T3 slips from 4 of my wife's bank accounts and 6 of mine? Ugh
• Find T5 slips from 3 investment exchange companies? Why? Why? Why?
• Enter T5008 slips for every stock purchase in a year...with over 50 stocks held...kill me now
• Depreciation reports for my cellphone and laptop to make money on Hive and Cubieverse
• Tuition Fee transfer from student to parent
• Income statements and receipts from rental properties
• RRSP deduction slips
• Mandatory liability insurance slips and license fees
• Charitable donation receipts

I spent 6 hours yesterday hunting down, printing, and entering my taxes. Over 90 pages of receipts and tax slips later...and I still have to wait for another month to file...Just in case something gets mailed to me that I forgot about!

Now, on the plus side my dedication to keeping detailed records means I'll be getting a fairly large tax return because of eligible deductions. It also means I'm unlikely to get audited later and if I do I can back up every claim I made. I'm happy that it is done and feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders today! Horray!

But every year I do this I keep thinking....

Simplicity

Diversification is great for making more money. Great for having a richer experience in life. Great for making the most of what you have.

I'm quite happy with the results diversification have led to ... but Simplicity can lead to Peace. As a Christian I've heard the saying "Lord of Peace" and "Peace be with you" for years. I truly believe my life has more peace as a Christian. However, perhaps its time to stop chasing diversity and start chasing simplicity. Perhaps it's time to say NO to Mo money... and perhaps say YES to being happy with enough instead of more.

Or maybe I'll just do this all over again next year 🤣

As always I love getting comments and Thank you if you've read down this far .