The Freedom to Ignore Money

I think part of the reason I haven't been posting much is that concerns other than money have been more prominent in my life lately. This is probably a good thing. The reason I started this blog in the first place was that so many concerns in my life seemed to relate to money in some way-- family, relationships, career, friends, housing, creativity, etc. That is still the case in many respects, but the money stuff has fallen more into the background.

My father's death really highlighted this. In the months before he died I'd really been at a high anxiety level about my mother's spending, their budget, and how ends would ever meet. Then when he went into the hospital, I couldn't help thinking about how my mother's compulsion to spend money fixing up the house related to the cause of his accident. But after he died, it was like my anxiety just evaporated. You'd think I would have been even more anxious-- after all, this means my mother's income is cut in half way earlier than we expected it to be, so she'll be spending down her savings even sooner. But there will be time later to worry about that, and right now we just need to be at peace.

I'm still very conscious of money, of course, but it's like I'm floating above it a bit right now. And this in itself is part of what I've always aspired to in how I manage my finances: the freedom not to worry. Sometimes financial security means you can put things on auto-pilot a bit, at least for a little while. My dad left my mother well-enough provided for that we don't have to panic, even if we will have to be careful and make some changes within the next few years. And my own finances are such that I don't have to be hyper-vigilant about them right now. My income exceeds my expenses, I have a good cushion of cash in the bank, and my investments are muddling along as well as can be expected in line with overall market conditions. I still need to worry about whether I am saving enough money to meet my long-term retirement goals, and ignoring that is definitely not something to take lightly, but right now, I can give myself a bit of a break.

I've obviously been giving this blog a break too! I've been thinking about different ways to approach it, perhaps writing more substantive posts less frequently rather than posting lots of quick links and commentary-- we'll see. Thank you to everyone for all your kind words and sticking with me through good times and bad!

Fancypants Lawyers

Literally! Here's a nice light-hearted topic for a change:

Women lawyers at City firm Clifford Chance have been given a £90 lingerie allowance. How should they spend it?

Women lawyers at top [London] City firm Clifford Chance are bucking the trend for reduced expenses now that their £90 lingerie-and-blouse allowance, if they work later than 11pm, has been reinstated. Inevitably dubbed the "90 nicker knicker allowance", this may or may not be the most reliable indicator yet that the credit crunch is over.

Now that is a fascinating benefit I've never heard of any other company offering. At current exchange rates, £90, aka 90 nickers, is about $144, which should suffice to buy some very pretty panties. But what about men? Do they get to expense their undies if they work late too?

Still Here...

For those who have noticed the deafening silence here for the past month, just wanted to let you know I will be back someday soon. As you might have guessed, my father died, and for some reason, it seems to have knocked me out of orbit a bit as far as this blog is concerned, though I'm doing okay otherwise. I guess money issues just haven't been top of mind, but of course they never completely disappear... so bear with me and I'll get back to writing more soon.

Unintended Consequences: 401ks Mean Fewer Jobs for Young People

Interesting, this is something I hadn't really thought about: when people rely more on private retirement savings, they retire later, leaving fewer openings for younger workers to fill.

A Reluctance to Retire Means Fewer Openings

In other parts of the developed world, people are retiring as planned, because of relatively flush state and corporate pensions that await them. But here in the United States, financial security in old age rests increasingly on private savings, which have taken a beating in the last year. Prospective retirees are clinging to their jobs despite some cherished life plans.

As a result, companies are not only reluctant to create new jobs, but have fewer job openings to fill from attrition. For the 14 million Americans looking for work — a number expected to rise in Friday’s jobs report for August — this lack of turnover has made a tough job market even tougher.

All those baby boomers refusing to retire isn't going to help our unemployment situation...