Can we still dream of a more egalitarian and fairer world? Do we want it? Can we find now, in our current time, concrete examples of people living and working in different settings than corporations and profit-oriented organizations? Do we want to? Is there something different going on? Or is it all just a utopia portrayed in books and movies?We live the imperative of winning: always and at any price. Results matter, but not how we get to them. We do not see ourselves as complementary or interdependent. The other human beings have become adversaries, competitors... enemies! What shocks me most is how many of us consider this kind of mindset, policies, and ways of life to be natural. People aspire to grow more and more within these ready and available ideals of success. Success for whom? At the cost of whom? Me first. Me second. Me third. But that is not unanimous! Not everyone thinks, feels, and desires to live like this!I always get confused when I think that we are in the middle of the 21st century, with so much technology, so many resources of all kinds, so many possibilities of making the world a better place for everybody and not just for a tiny group, and we still consider that the ‘standard’ way to work, generate income, find the necessary means to live, is to fit within the model that is the most common: to work in highly hierarchical, utilitarian private companies, where one commands and the others obey, where people are managed by fear of losing their job (and livelihood) the next day.By the way, how is it possible that, in the same organization, one earns a thousand times more than the other? How can this be supported, applauded, justified, and even desired by so many people? Something that I often think about is: what do we stimulate when we adhere to determined values, practices, and behaviors? What are we signalizing as natural, as positive? What are we (re)producing?I am sure there are other ways of living and working. How and where can I find them?It is rare to perceive incentives to collective mobilization, ways of managing life, and organizations that stimulate values such as cooperation, solidarity, and egalitarianism.We cannot fail to question and even deconstruct what seems to represent the nature of people and things, including to show that the modes of existence are neither unique nor inevitable.I did not want to just complain. Denouncing, debating, discussing: all fundamental. But I wanted to go further. I was curious to look for concrete alternatives. Practical possibilities. Concrete experiences. To live. To experiment.Until 2004, I had never heard of Solidarity Economy, associativism, or even self-management. But there are initiatives in which profit does not seem to be above all. You must pick them up, listen to them. You must live them.I love listening to stories and dreams. I love learning from how people build their existences and what types of values and societies these modes stimulate. It was essential to meet people who, together, fight for other ways of working and being, based on attitudes and values that are more loving and focused on life than those who today seem naturalized to many people, but that have nothing of natural.I write this book with narratives linked to what I lived and felt: processes, experiences, experimentations. Theory is treated here as a tool, not as an end. I try hard to make it a job with and not about people and companies.I have learned a lot. I took many life lessons. During my journeys, I have heard and witnessed something that seems contrary to what many preach and believe:"there are other suppliers… other qualities of dough. Everybody must win. Everyone must sell. Everyone must have their space"I hope that this book can affect you, raise questions, concerns, actions, and changes, especially in the direction of more just, egalitarian, and supportive worlds.

Personal finance journalist, Michelle McGagh, takes on a challenge to not spend money for a whole year in an engaging narrative that combines personal experience with accessible advice on money so you can learn to spend less and live more. Michelle McGagh has been writing about money for over a decade but she was spending with abandon and ignoring bank statements. Just because she wasn't in serious debt, apart from her massive London mortgage, she thought she was in control. She wasn't. Michelle's took a radical approach and set herself a challenge to not spend anything for an entire year. She paid her bills and she has a minimal budget for her weekly groceries but otherwise Michelle spent no money at all. She found creative ways to live have a social life and to travel for free. She has saved money but more importantly she is happier. Her relationship with money, with things, with time, with others has changed for the better. The No Spend Year is Michelle's honestly written and personal account of her challenge. But it is more than that, it is also a tool for life. There are top tips for your own finances including easy to understand advice on interest, mortgages, savings , pensions and spending less to help you live a more financially secure life.

An insightful and original look at why understanding macroeconomics is essential for all investors

Praise For The Retirement Plan Solution "Short, clear, complete, and always interesting. Best book on DC plans and what we should do-now." —Charles D. Ellis, author, Winning the Loser's Game "At a time when the world is in turmoil, along with retirement expectations, the authors have hit a home run. After reading this book, I have a plan. Read it for your path to retirement security." —Dallas Salisbury, President and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute "The Retirement Plan Solution offers a refreshing and provocative perspective on how to assess retirement needs, save to meet these needs, and manage the retirement payout process. In this time of financial turmoil, employees, plan sponsors, and financial advisors will find this highly practical resource volume both useful and humorous." —Olivia S. Mitchell, Director, Pension Research Council, Wharton School "The Retirement Plan Solution is a map to the future of 401(k) retirement plans. But it is not just a theoretical view of what could be. Instead, the authors describe the needs and trends that are already here, and then describe the changes that are developing to meet those needs. It is about the tomorrow that is happening today." —Fred Reish, Managing Director, Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen "The respected authors have created a readable, timely, and very helpful book on all aspects of retirement planning. The suggestions are practical, the information is concise, and the book is highly recommended for anyone that is interested in sound financial planning." —Moshe A. Milevsky, PhD, Finance Professor, York University, Toronto, Canada "This is a must-read for people working in the retirement industry, as well as those who simply care about how to improve their chance of reaching a financially secure retirement. In a clear and simple fashion, the authors deliver one of the best books to date on inefficiencies in the current DC plan and potential improvements." —Peng Chen, President, Ibbotson Associates

"Ehrlich’s insightful self-help guide will resonate with Christians wishing to streamline an overstuffed life."—Publishers Weekly Logically, we all know our purpose in life is not wrapped up in accumulating possessions, wealth, power, and prestige—Jesus is very clear about that—but society tells us otherwise. Christian Minimalism attempts to cut through our assumptions and society’s lies about what life should look like and invites readers into a life that Jesus calls us to live: one lived intentionally, free of physical, spiritual, and emotional clutter. Written by a woman who simplified her own life and practices these principles daily, this book gives readers a fresh perspective on how to live out God’s grace for us in new and exciting ways and live out our faith in a way that is deeply satisfying.

New in paperback from the author of Outrageous Openness: a witty and spirited guide to radically releasing the burdens of financial fears. It's natural to crave prosperity. Some seek to manifest it in myriad ways--using anything from vision boards to writing a pretend check for a million dollars from the Bank of Divinity. Yet whatever comes, or doesn't, the mind always seems to want more. But what if there was a whole other way? Instead of grasping and chasing, what if we offered everything--our money (or lack of it), our triumphs, our problems, our desires--fully back to Love? What if this offering itself was actually the secret to abundance? Tosha Silver, internationally beloved spiritual guide, has created a practical and powerful financial book unlike any other. Leading you through a deeply transformative eight-week process, she shares the mental, emotional, and spiritual steps that anyone can take to learn to fully receive and prosper. Her step-by-step guidance is filled with prayers, meditations, and stories to help you find and heal the source of these fears and unworthiness. As you come to know you are part of something larger--something that you serve and that longs to serve you--you begin to feel a new sense of freedom and abundance. You yourself become a vehicle for Divine Flow.