Archive for ‘links of interest’

1) Young adults now saving more.  Not coincidentally, young adults are also now more debt-averse.

2) Is the retirement income rule-of-thumb no longer viable?

Two interesting and related articles.  The first, from the Memphis Commercial Appeal, says one in four workers are now tapping “retirement funds” for current expenses.  The second, from the New York Times, relates the story of one single mother who dropped off the fast-track into a large amount of debt and discusses some of the psychology behind the choices made by those with scarce resources.

h/t Marginal Revolution

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a fascinating new study on American’s charitable giving habits.  The data is broken down by from the state to the ZIP code levels, examine political leanings and religious affiliation, and the difference in giving between the wealthy, the middle class, and low-income families.  Here is the Chronicle’s own summary of the data.

From the Washington Post:

(click to embiggen)

A few things I see regarding this:

1) From a market perspective, it looks as though the smallest return (measured as “likelihood of employment”) on investment in an advanced degree is in the arts, law, business, ag, and health.  I do realize that measuring return as “lifetime investment” instead of as “higher likelihood of employment” on an investment in an advanced degree would result in a much different list.

2) Note the bottom of the chart: “experienced college grads” and “graduate degree holders” are both defined as between 30-54 years of age.  Someone 54 years old hasn’t been in college for a very long time and in fact probably has multiple children that are college graduates themselves.  That skews the perspective of this chart somewhat, considering that the unemployment rate of 20-somethings is significantly higher than the unemployment rate for those in their 40s and 50s.

3) Note the fields with the lowest unemployment (sub-3%) among those with graduate degrees and experience.  Health.  Education.  Ag/Natural Resources.  Science.  Recreation.  All those fields seem to be pretty secure areas.  If you can get a job there in the first place (not hard in health and education), you’ve probably got one for life.  In health care, you apparently don’t even need an advanced degree.

So, unsurprisingly, the field your kids or grandkids major in matters quite a lot when it comes to job opportunities.  It’s one thing to follow your passions.  It might be quite another thing to be able to support yourself and a family while doing so.

1) Biggest tax stories of 2012

2) The 25 documents you need before you die – some good things to think about, but not all are applicable to everyone

3) How much money would it take to consider yourself “rich”?

4) Will your finances survive a chronic illness?

This chart shows (almost) all the money in the world.  Absolutely fascinating.  (Here is a bigger version; you can – and should – zoom in considerably further.)

An advertisement, yes. But the message is excellent and the delivery is sweet and funny.

We’re coming into the holiday season. I can say that officially now, ten days before Thanksgiving.  It’s not too early to begin thinking about giving: not just to those you love, but to those who have great need.

Watch the video.  It’s worth 20 minutes of your time.

You are not special.  “Stop worrying about what gifts we came with and whether or not we’re special and worry a little more about what we’re doing with those gifts.”

We are all a little bit crazy.  “Crazy people make better leaders in times of crisis.”

A lot of what you believe is wrong.  “It’s easy to hate an idea.  It’s easy to hate a creed.  It’s a lot harder to hate a person with whom we break bread.”

You are not as safe as you think.  “So why not stop worrying and start living?”

Your ideas are not that original.  “Your ideas will be as good or bad as the books you read and the people with whom you interact.”

You are chasing the wrong dream.  “Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.”

The time will never be right.  “These excuses that we construct for ourselves end up becoming the shackles that keep us from pursuing our dreams.”

The headline of this Politico.com article doesn’t really tell the story, but it’s still worth looking at:

Almost one in five men between the ages of 25 to 34 are living with their parents, according to a Census Bureau report released Thursday. About 14 percent of men lived with their parents in 2005, a figure that crept up to 19 percent.

More statistics at the link, including this one:

Married couples with children made up 20 percent of all American households, versus 40 percent in 1970.

Fascinating.

What if the worst happens?  What would we do?  What can we do now to help guard against the worst case scenario?

Instead of thinking “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,”  it might be worth thinking about “what ifs” today, even if things are going well for you right now.

Take a look at this insightful post by frugality blog The Simple Dollar.  It’s worth five minutes of your time.