Two of the most important calculations in retirement planning are (1) how much you need to save up in order to be ready to retire and (2) how much you can afford to draw from your savings each year in retirement. There are many different calculators available online, and each has its own assumptions. There … Continue reading A simple approach to retirement income planning
Category: financial planning
Financial inclusion
Amidst a growing societal discussion on racism, inequality, and social conflict, we need to focus on practical ways that we can address these issues. One of the challenges for disadvantaged people is that they lack access to the key tools for managing money and building wealth. Efforts aimed at increasing access to low-cost financial services … Continue reading Financial inclusion
Free guide to personal finance
For years, I wanted to write a book on personal finance and financial literacy. I finally found the time and wrote my take on what people need to understand in order to be effective with money. I have gone back and forth about whether to publish the manuscript through traditional means, self publish, etc. I … Continue reading Free guide to personal finance
Radical uncertainty and COVID-19
I have been reading a very interesting book called Radical Uncertainty: Decision-Making Beyond the Numbers. The authors' thesis is that people, companies, and governments place far too much faith in quantitative predictions and measures. The failure of predictions and planning lies in the inherent limitations in our understanding and data. This relates to Nassim Taleb's … Continue reading Radical uncertainty and COVID-19
Does COVID-19 change the rules of personal finance?
While experts have been warning about the potential for global pandemics for years, the emergence and spread of COVID-19 has been an enormous shock to societal systems. Along with the risk to life and health, many families have have been thrown into economic turmoil. In a world with the potential for social and economic shocks … Continue reading Does COVID-19 change the rules of personal finance?
Misleading statistics on the retirement crisis
The issue of retirement savings in the United States needs more sensible discussion and fewer sensationalist headlines such as The Retirement Crisis is Much Worse Than You Think and Fears of a Retirement Crisis are Overblown - and These Numbers Prove It. Unfortunately, discussions of this topic are rife with simplistic and misleading statistical arguments. … Continue reading Misleading statistics on the retirement crisis
Is it useful to discuss the ‘average American’?
In discussions of all sorts of public policy, it is common to see references to the average American or the average household. It seems to me that the entire idea of the average American household may be fairly meaningless. About 33% of Americans have a college education. The average incomes of people with college degrees … Continue reading Is it useful to discuss the ‘average American’?
When early retirement doesn’t work out
As a financial professional and an avid individual investor, I have followed the evolution of the Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) movement with considerable interest. I have written a couple of blog posts on FIRE here and here. I just ran across an article saying that one of my favorite FIRE authors, Financial Samurai … Continue reading When early retirement doesn’t work out
Instead of FIRE, consider this
There is an endless stream of articles discussing the Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) movement. The plan is to save a very high percentage of your working income, invest the proceeds, and then retire young and live off of investment income. There is, however, another way to achieve many or all of the benefits … Continue reading Instead of FIRE, consider this
The evolution of personal finance
The ways that people earn money, spend, borrow, and invest are all changing quickly. We are experiencing the greatest changes in personal finance since the start of the industrial revolution. To thrive in the new economy, people need to know far more and be disciplined and proactive in managing their finances. In this post, I … Continue reading The evolution of personal finance
Geoff Considine on Finance and Economics 