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1 week ago | 
opher-ganel.medium.com | Opher Ganel
Not all annuities are bad for your financial healthI’m finally in the home stretch. After four and a half decades, I’m perhaps two to three years from becoming “work optional” and downshifting my career from full-time to half-time or less. At that point, besides writing online, I’ll only work when I find an interesting project that lets me work with people I like, with compensation a far second consideration (if even that).
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2 weeks ago | 
wealthtender.com | Opher Ganel
Saving for retirement is hard. Just ask people who are approaching retirement age. The median net worth of Americans ages 60 to 64 is under $164k, enough to supplement your Social Security benefits with an underwhelming $480 a month. That figure is per William Bengen’s “4 percent rule,” based on research he published in 1994 using market data from 1926 and on.
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2 weeks ago | 
wealthtender.com | Opher Ganel
It’s my favorite quote. Not least of which because it’s often misattributed to Yogi Berra, which makes me smile. “It’s hard to make accurate predictions, especially about the future.” – Nils Bohr, Danish physicist and 1922 Nobel laureateParaphrasing the well-known proverb, it seems investment experts keep making market forecasts, despite Bohr’s above-mentioned admonition. But maybe they’re just that good. Or are they?
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Opher Ganel
It’s my favorite quote. Not least of which because it’s often misattributed to Yogi Berra, which makes me smile…“It’s hard to make accurate predictions, especially about the future.” — Nils Bohr, Danish physicist and 1922 Physics Nobel laureateExperts Rush in Where Angels Fear to TreadParaphrasing the well-known proverb, it seems investment experts keep making market forecasts, despite Bohr’s above-mentioned admonition. But maybe they’re just that good. Or are they?
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1 month ago | 
wealthtender.com | Opher Ganel
If you want to know someone’s priorities, don’t ask them for their priorities. Even if they’re honest, they’re probably deluding themselves. No. If you want the real answer, ask where their money goes.
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1 month ago | 
wealthtender.com | Opher Ganel
Understanding health insurance is hard, leading Americans to spend too much on healthcare with outcomes worse than many developed countries. As Americans, we should all be outraged. According to a Commonwealth Fund report, “The U.S. is a world outlier when it comes to health care spending,” yet we don’t get what we’re paying for – better health outcomes. In 1980, we were already at the high end of developed economies, at 8.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Opher Ganel
As Americans, we should all be outraged. According to a Commonwealth Fund report, “The U.S. is a world outlier when it comes to health care spending,” yet we don’t get what we’re paying for — better health outcomes. We Pay More to Get LessIn 1980, we were already at the high end of developed economies, at 8.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But the latest data show we’ve more than doubled that since, to 17.8%.
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2 months ago | 
wealthtender.com | Opher Ganel
I’ll admit it. I’ve never been a huge fan of bonds. I even suggested once that rental property can be a better way to diversify your stock holdings without giving up most of your return as you do with bonds. This is a somewhat tricky question. Stocks are inherently riskier than bonds, especially US treasuries – considered a near-zero-risk asset. This is because stocks provide zero guarantees of higher prices tomorrow, next month, next year, etc.
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Dec 31, 2024 | 
wealthtender.com | Opher Ganel
Insights By Opher Ganel, Ph.D. Opher Ganel is an accomplished scientist (particle physics), instrument designer, systems engineer, instrument manager, and professional writer with over 30 years of experience in cutting-edge science and technology in collider experiments, sub-orbital projects, and satellite projects. Almost all of us aspire to improve our lot in life. For many of us, this means we’d like to build a nest egg big enough to allow us to stop working at some point before we die....
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Dec 31, 2024 | 
wealthtender.com | Opher Ganel
I’m sure you know that delaying Social Security benefits increases them. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), your benefits increase by up to 8 percent for every year you delay claiming them. Conversely, they decrease by 5 to 6.7 percent per year you claim earlier than your FRA. The following SSA table shows how your benefits are affected by when you claim, depending on when you were born.
