The Mission Critical Blog
What’s Your Number? 65… 66… 67… 68
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 eligible based on their work records. However, you should know that the age you start claiming benefits can affect how much you [...]
Pigeons, Monte Hall, and the Cost of Bias
It’s pretty obvious that birds have much smaller brains than humans. In fact, calling someone a birdbrain is considered an insult. Yet, research has shown that even though birds lack the analytical abilities of humans, they are superior to people in certain kinds of decision making. The evidence is in how our two species perform when solving the “Monte Hall” problem. Monte Hall was the host of the long running gameshow “Let’s Make A Deal.” During the show [...]
When Gauging Progress Towards Retirement, Avoid Fixating on a Single Number
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 with dozens of data points—our health by the numbers. In each case the metric comes with the question: How does this compare with [...]
Good Days Follow Bad Days
If the stock market were a person, you would not want to be around them very much. Imagine a friend who reacts unpredictably to every major piece of economic news, often several times a day. One minute they’re on top of the world. The next minute they’re sitting in a dark corner with their head in their hands declaring it’s all over. These are the daily ups and downs of a market that moves with complete unpredictability. It’s [...]
Retirement Investing: When Boring is Good
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 is to be bored. But when it comes to managing your finances and saving for retirement, boring is good. First of all, it’s [...]
6 Tips for Happy Retirees
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 cornerstone of everything I do!) but we can not afford to ignore the intangible. That’s how to make sure that you are happy [...]
