25th April 2006
I’ve heard this one several times before: everyone’s becoming a millionaire. It goes right along with the idea that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. These days, that certainly seems to be the case. Some of us are watching the numbers on our quarterly statements getting bigger, while the rest have the bankruptcy attorney on speed dial.
But there is a question I can’t avoid here: Why are there so many millionaires today? Here’s a few answers I came up with:
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Posted in Net Worth, Retirement, Investing | 2 Comments »
12th April 2006
Michelle Singletary wrote about the power of compound interest. She says she wishes she hadn’t invested so heavily in bonds when she was younger. While there is something to learn from her mistake, she apparently did something very right in her youth.
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19th January 2006
With the first grey hairs appearing on my head, I’m forced to think about the future of my career - perhaps 10 years sooner than I really should. I’ve been the sad witness of 50-somethings (and perhaps one 40-something) who have lost their jobs and have had a very hard time regaining employment. The hard thing is that they are mostly talented bright people who could contribute to any organization.
Strangely enough, what sparked my interest in this situation is a 50-something who still has a job, but is afraid to put his college graduation date on his resume. His theory is that his resume will be tossed aside once the math is done and a guestimate of his age is made. That’s right he fears the ugly idea of age discrimination.
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16th January 2006
Part of the American Dream once included working for a company for 25-40 years and getting a decent pension that would let you live out your retirement years in peace. I recall seeing that dream erode in the 1980s, and now it looks like pensions are near collapse.
Shouldn’t companies have put away enough money for the future? Were finance executives out playing the ponies with pension funds? Why has this part of the American dream become a nightmare?
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