If you don't keep up with financial news, you may have missed this story about a new bill The House has recently passed. It's called Secure 2.0, and, as the name implies, the goal is to help secure a better retirement for US citizens. As luck would have it, the Senate is also on the [...]
No, we’re not counting sheep or bottles of beer on the wall today. We’re talking about retirement age! Most Americans, according to CNBC, are hoping to retire by the age of 62. Wishful thinking? Maybe. 62 is also the age at which people can first claim Social Security retirement benefits, so long as they are [...]
We’re used to assessing our wellbeing through metrics. Newborns are immediately given a numbered assessment for things like skin tone, breathing, and reflexes. School children regularly take standardized tests to determine their grade level in reading and math. High schoolers focus on their GPA and SAT scores. And as adults our routine check-ups involve tests [...]
If a friend describes the latest spy novel as “about as interesting as watching paint dry,” or a review says the plot of an award-winning film “is like watching grass grow”—you take that information as a warning. The book and the movie are boring. And the last thing you want when you’re looking for entertainment [...]
When most people think about retirement, they tend to think of it in terms of numbers. “How much money do I need to retire?” “How are my investments doing?” “Are all of my income sources going to cover my expenses?” “Will I run out of money?” And yes, the tangible details are important (it’s the [...]
Saving for retirement has been likened to climbing a mountain. It’s an ambitious goal. It requires long-term effort and an experienced guide. Progress is sometimes slow as you work your way around obstacles. But when you finally reach the summit, you can just relax and enjoy the view. That’s the idealized version, anyway. In real [...]
It’s the wish of every parent that their children will experience a better standard of living than they did. And yet, people who grew up poor and are now raising their kids in affluent surroundings talk about a downside. Never having experienced want, their children simply take their comfortable lifestyle for granted. New York Post columnist [...]
We have a friend who’s a devoted fan of his university’s football team. When he watches them play, he wears a team hat and hopes they win. When they lose, he puts the outcome in perspective. There’s always next week. It’s only a game. But he didn’t used to be this philosophical. Several years back [...]
A friend who sold cars for a living once pointed out a prestigious imported brand and stated that, in general, anybody you saw driving one really couldn’t afford it. His evidence was, of course, anecdotal. But maybe not too far off. People like paying more than they ought to for nice cars. Edmunds reported that [...]
Younger generations are often unfairly characterized by their elders. In the late 1960s the Greatest Generation, who grew up during the Depression, accused baby boomers of being anti authority. Some were. When their turn came, the baby boomers said that the millennials (those born between 1980-2000) were lazy and entitled. Some have been. But this [...]