Joshua and Aaron Colgate-Palmolive Toothpaste

Colgate-Palmolive: A Real World Examination of the Limitations of the P/E Ratio

Back in 2011, I did a 20-year case study of Colgate-Palmolive. Global events have conspired in such a way that it can now serve as a perfect illustration of a valuation conundrum: While not cheap, Colgate-Palmolive is significantly cheaper for a long-term owner than the price-to-earnings ratio alone would have you believe. In fact, despite having what appears to be a 26.54 p/e ratio, it’s slightly undervalued to its private market value could you get your hands on the entire empire. It’s a rare thing to be able to talk about a gem like this under conditions such as these so I’m not going to let the opportunity pass. Dust off your powdered wigs, take out your walking cane, and travel back with me to post-Revolutionary America.

Don't Give In To the Siren Call of Leverage

Don’t Give In To the Siren Call of Leverage

So much misfortune in life can be sidestepped if you simply make it a rule to never stretch your finances, yet it’s a rule I see violated more than any other both through observation of those around me and through the messages I receive.  Someone can afford a $150,000 house but they try to buy a $250,000 house.  Another can realistically go to a college that will cause them to graduate with $10,000 in debt but they want to sign up for the program that will put them $40,000 in debt.  Then, not only do they have to hustle to try and meet their legally promised payments, they have to pay rent (in the form of interest expense) on the savings they’ve temporarily borrowed from someone else through an intermediary such as a bank.

This Is Thin Privilege

Anti-Model: Emotional Fragility

A huge percentage of the writing on this blog is about positive models for success, including using things like mental models in an ethical and honest way to maximize your gains in life.  Yet, I also keep case studies and files on anti-models of behavior; things that, if emulated, can cause suffering, distress, unhappiness, and failure.…

Superman Man of Steel Henry Cavill

Reflections on Superman and Mickey Mouse

I was reading a film review by actor James Franco of the new Superman movie, which I saw at the midnight premier right before I hopped on the flight out to California for the weekend.  My family wanted to go, and I’ve always like Henry Cavill’s work since the adaptation of the seminal work of Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo, so I thought it would be fun.  When we were in the theater, the talk turned to the actual character of Superman.