Building ‘real options’ in financial planning

April 11, 2020April 11, 2020 ~ Geoff Considine

In finance, the term "real option" refers to having the ability to make an economically-valuable choice (see here for quantitative explanation). There is considerable literature on real options in many areas of finance, but I have yet to see a discussion of how this concept applies to personal finance. I have come to believe that … Continue reading Building ‘real options’ in financial planning

Instead of FIRE, consider this

September 26, 2019January 1, 2020 ~ Geoff Considine

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

Rethinking earnings and consumption through life

September 15, 2019December 11, 2019 ~ Geoff Considine

In the United States, many people are re-evaluating the traditional model of working and saving through life. The traditional model is that you get an education and then work full-time until you exit the workforce entirely and live on a pension, Social Security, and/or savings. In recent years, the Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) … Continue reading Rethinking earnings and consumption through life

Job Clustering

June 21, 2019January 20, 2020 ~ Geoff Considine

The industrial revolution created an enormous economic shift in which work became highly centralized. People moved to cities to work in factories and office buildings. The tendency for jobs to aggregate in small geographic areas was required for large-scale production of goods as well as for large-scale research efforts. The growth of the financial sector … Continue reading Job Clustering

There are (at least) two distinct gig economies

May 18, 2019May 18, 2019 ~ Geoff Considine

There is little question that people working in non-traditional employment (freelancers, contractors, other forms of self-employment) make up a substantial and growing fraction of the working population. McKinsey estimates that about 20%-30% of Americans and Europeans perform independent work. Some estimates for the U.S. are even higher. There are projections that as much as half … Continue reading There are (at least) two distinct gig economies