I’m reading Timothy Ferriss’ latest book, The Four Hour Body.  I don’t really have a special desire to read a book on health, nutrition or exercise, but I like Ferriss’ style and unique ideas on subjects.  I read his first book Four Hour Work Week and I liked it – not because I liked everything in it, but because I liked the way he challenged consensus views on a number of subjects like finances, retirement, careers, entrepreneurship, etc.  While lots of it might be irrelevant, it is interesting because it …

I heard some interesting insight into social security today that I’d pass along to the readers here. First, let’s start with demographics – demographics are crucial to anything finance or political. When it comes to life expectancy, the demographics show the following with regards to men and women, both black and white:

Rumors are flying again regarding certain Democratic Senators pushing for legislation for the government to seize private 401(k) plans in an attempt to bailout Union pensions and distribute retirement funds in a more “fair” manner.  Make no mistake, if this kind of crap happens – and it might actually be attempted to be pushed through with a lame duck congress in the coming months – there will be a serious uprising in this country.
This is straight up theft, where people have been allocating their own money towards their own retirement, …

Fidelity released today that early retirement withdrawals are up big time in recent days where individuals are opting to pay a stiff penalty in order to gain access to retirement funds. This is yet another example of the terrible financial condition of many, many Americans.

Sometimes the mounting debts of college students overtake their bank accounts and it can be difficult to imagine a lifestyle where debt isn’t an everyday reality. But if you can manage to get your finances in order, you’ll realize that it is very possible to get yourself out of debt as you progress through school and that it’s even more possible to start saving for retirement as you plow through the courses for your degree.
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The first step to figuring out how you can …

As I continue to overwhelm you with pessimistic economic insight, the WSJ had a recent article that was interesting on the baby boomers and their retirement picture.  The article paints the picture where policymakers of course always encourage saving for retirement, but the problem is that the baby boomers whose spending has fueled economic growth for decades are cutting back severely as they plan to enter retirement.
The cut back on spending is huge and is a must for most baby boomers if they wish to be able to actually retire.  …

People in general are optimistic. Successful people in any occupation usually exhibit this characteristic. Though it is a contributing attribute to their success, optimism must be exercised with caution. The noble assume that promises and commitments will be met. Yet in the realm of retirement promises this is unfortunately untrue.

No one is more optimistic than politicians, especially when they are dealing with other people’s money. They make promises that cannot be fulfilled. “Promise anything, let the other guy worry about it” seems to be their strategy. By the time the problems become apparent, the typical politician is long gone from office.

To find more money to save, Murray turns her free time into extra cash. After work and on weekends, she writes freelance articles on career advice, retools résumés and even does event planning. This work she enjoys can add up to $25,000 a year in extra income.