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
Category: gig economy
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
Redefining middle age
The ways that people envision and plan their lives start with concepts about the "natural" stages of life. These concepts change over time, though. As people live longer, new ideas are emerging about how to characterize mid-life in developed economies. More people are thinking in terms of a new stage of life, the second middle … Continue reading Redefining middle age
An optimist’s view of the future of work
Today's workers face challenges that previous generations did not. First, a diminishing fraction of company earnings goes to workers. Second, real job security is largely a thing of the past. Third, employers provide less generous benefits than they used. Workers bear an increasing share of the costs of healthcare and traditional pensions have been replaced … Continue reading An optimist’s view of the future of work
There are (at least) two distinct gig economies
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
Emerging features of work
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) calculated that the self-employed comprised about sixteen percent of the American workforce in 2015, up from 10% in 2005. Morgan Stanley estimates that as many as 35% of American workers are self-employed. Deloitte reports that 27% of Millennials are self employed and 54% have either started their own … Continue reading Emerging features of work
Geoff Considine on Finance and Economics 