Finance
Embracing the next chapter: A personal finance writer’s journey to retirement
A couple of years ago, I wrote a column about how to have a retirement worth saving for. It ended with a quote from personal finance educator Barbara O’Neill, who reflected on how the pandemic disrupted many retirees’ plans. “It wasn’t just two years lost, it was two good years,” O’Neill said then. “You don’t know how many of those you have left.” One of my younger colleagues objected to that sentiment, saying it was a jarring ending to an otherwise upbeat column. But my older co-workers got it. Those of us who currently have good health and energy don’t know how long those blessings will last. There’s no guarantee we’ll get to enjoy the retirements we have planned.
That lesson was driven home in July 2023, when a longtime colleague died at age 61. We’d had many talks over the years about the retirement he had envisioned. It’s heartbreaking that his dreams will never happen. But his death was the push I needed to make my own decision. By the time you read this, I will have retired from my job at personal finance site NerdWallet.
MAKING THE DECISION WAS SURPRISINGLY HARD
When our financial planner told us we could afford to retire, my initial reaction wasn’t joy but bemusement. I’ve been writing about retirement planning for three decades and saving for even longer, but it was always a goal in the distant, misty future. Making the decision felt like jumping off a cliff.
Would I be OK without the intellectual challenges, social interactions and sense of satisfaction I get from my job? Had I accomplished everything I wanted to in my career? And just how much would I miss that nice, steady paycheck and all the wonderful benefits NerdWallet provides, including massively subsidized health care?
DOING WHAT A JOURNALIST DOES: RESEARCH
At this point, I have to acknowledge the huge privilege of even having a choice about when to retire. Almost half of retirees leave the workforce earlier than they planned, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Some are laid off or forced out. Others have health issues or must care for loved ones who are sick or disabled. Many people keep working out of necessity: They have bills to pay and too little savings.
Knowing all that didn’t make the choice easy, however. So I did what I do best: copious research. I found it hugely helpful to read O’Neill’s book, “Flipping a Switch: Your Guide to Happiness and Financial Security in Later Life.” Another good read is “Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement from Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will,” by Steve Lopez, my former Los Angeles Times colleague.
My husband and I had many, many discussions with our financial planner. We asked her to rerun our plan with different assumptions about what we’d spend, how we’d tap our funds, what the markets might do and what we’d earn with part-time work. This stress testing gave us confidence in our plan.
Our planner also connected us with an insurance agent who helped us figure out health coverage. My husband is old enough for Medicare, but I’m a few years shy of 65 and we have a daughter going to college in another state. I’m glad we have the option to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. But continuing my employer’s group coverage for my daughter and myself through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) turned out to be the most cost-effective option for now.
Our financial plan worked and health care was solved, but emotionally I was still resisting. Ultimately, I realized why. I was looking at retirement solely as an ending.
LOOKING AHEAD, RATHER THAN BACK
With previous big life changes — buying a home, getting married, having a child, starting new jobs — excitement about the adventure to come quickly overcame concerns about what I was giving up. I needed to stop focusing on what I was retiring from and start contemplating what I was retiring to.
Today, I’m seeing retirement for what it is: the beginning of an interesting new chapter in our lives. The time I once spent building a career will be invested in travel, volunteering, and deepening relationships with friends and family.
I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve won awards, written five books, contributed to the growth of a company (NerdWallet) and its award-winning podcast (“Smart Money”). Most importantly, I’ve helped people solve their money problems. I’ll continue with that last part, but I’m also looking forward to the rest of what comes next.
Finance
State mobilises resources to boost private sector as economic growth driver: Finance Minister – Dailynewsegypt
Finance Minister Mohamed Maait has reiterated President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s commitment to implementing robust measures to ensure the nation’s economic, financial, and food stability, which are fundamental components of Egypt’s comprehensive national security strategy amidst the current global and regional challenges. These efforts aim to enhance the government’s capacity to elevate the standard of living for its citizens and fulfil their essential, developmental, and public service requirements.
Speaking at the economic forum organized by the Egyptian Association for Political Economy, Statistics, and Legislation, under the theme “Navigating the Egyptian Economy: Regional and Global Perspectives… Addressing Food Economy Challenges,” Maait highlighted that the ongoing global crises underscore the soundness of Egypt’s approach in harnessing collective efforts to bolster state capabilities. This is achieved by meeting strategic agricultural development goals, which include providing citizens with quality products at reasonable prices, thereby ensuring food security and shielding the nation from international and regional market volatility. This is in line with the political leadership’s initiative to broaden agricultural and food production projects aimed at self-reliance and boosting export figures, as well as maintaining sustainable strategic reserves of vital commodities for six months.
Maait added that the government has embarked on a series of reformative actions to reshape the economic landscape and foster recovery, prioritizing agricultural and industrial output and exports in the next phase. The state is fully committed to deploying its resources to fortify the private sector’s role as the main propellant of economic growth, ensuring a more robust structure and agility in adapting to both external and internal economic perturbations, as part of the economic reform agenda backed by the IMF and global development allies.
The programme, which is garnering increased investment interest, is predicated on sustained fiscal prudence, aiming to achieve a primary budget surplus of 3.5% of GDP and setting deficit and debt ratios on a declining path, with a debt ceiling not surpassing 88.2% in the forthcoming fiscal year. International credit rating agencies have conveyed optimism regarding the prospects of the Egyptian economy, recognizing the potential for more invigorating opportunities for local and international investors. They have favourably evaluated Egypt’s new economic direction and foresee a potential upgrade in the country’s credit rating in 2024.
The Finance Minister elucidated that the government is collaborating with investors to alleviate the financial load of fostering agricultural and industrial ventures by continuing the interest rate support initiative, offering financing provisions of approximately EGP 120bn for these sectors. The national treasury is allocating EGP 8bn annually to cover the interest rate differential for beneficiaries, alongside budgetary provisions in the upcoming fiscal year to assist farmers, reinforcing the agricultural domain and fortifying Egypt’s food system.
He noted that the Egyptian economy has been grappling with intricate challenges over the past four years, exacerbated by the succession of regional and global crises. These difficulties are further intensified by the severe consequences of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, tensions in the Red Sea area, and other forms of instability in the Middle East, coupled with the adverse effects of the conflict in Ukraine.
The geopolitical unrest and regional as well as international disputes have engendered a volatile economic environment marked by decelerated economic activities, diminishing growth and investment rates, and escalating inflation on both the global and domestic fronts. This has manifested in increased financing and developmental costs, particularly due to the central bank’s tightening monetary policies, rising interest and exchange rates, and elevated transportation and logistics expenses, leading to augmented production and import costs, as well as higher prices for essential commodities, food, and services, while also considering the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maait pointed out that the nation’s overall fiscal intake has suffered in the last four years, owing to reduced economic dynamism and the detrimental impacts of international and regional discord on certain economic sectors like tourism, manufacturing, exports, Suez Canal revenues, and foreign investments. Expenditures have surged to unprecedented levels to counteract the severe economic jolts and mitigate their inflationary impacts, with swift interventions and extraordinary social protection measures targeting the most vulnerable segments of society, including low and middle-income households, and bolstering the sectors most affected by the economic upheaval.
Finance
Russian PM Proposes New Ministers, Retains Ministers of Finance, Economy
Finance
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment to be out on May 13. Steps to check status
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO Allotment: The bidding for the initial public offering (IPO) of Aadhar Housing Finance has ended and the public issue received strong demand. The investors’ focus now shifts on Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment which is expected to be finalised on Monday.
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO opened for subscription on May 8 and closed on May 10. Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment date is May 13 and share listing date is May 15.
The company will finalise the basis of allotment on Monday and the investors can know if and how many shares they have been allotted.
Also Read: TBO Tek IPO allotment to be finalised on May 13. Latest GMP, steps to check status
Investors can check Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment status on the BSE website as well as on the official portal of IPO registrar. Kfin Technologies is the Aadhar Housing Finance IPO registrar.
Follow the below given steps to check Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment status online.
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment status on BSE
Step 1: Visit the BSE website on this link – https://www.bseindia.com/investors/appli_check.aspx
Step 2: Select ‘Equity’ under ‘Issue Type’
Step 3: Select ‘Aadhar Housing Finance Limited’ in the ‘Issue Name’ dropdown menu
Step 4: Either the Application number or PAN details
Step 5: Click ‘Search’
Your Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment status will appear on the screen.
Also Read: Mandeep Auto Industries IPO opens next week: From price band to key dates – all you need to know
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment status on Kfin Technologies
Step 1: Visit Kfin Technologies website on this link – https://kosmic.kfintech.com/ipostatus/
Step 2: Select ‘Aadhar Housing Finance Limited’ in the Select IPO dropdown menu
Step 3: Select among the options given – Application No, Demat Account and PAN
Step 4: Enter the details as per the option selected
Step 5: Enter Captcha and click ‘Submit’
Your Aadhar Housing Finance IPO share allotment status will be displayed on the screen.
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO GMP Today
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO shares are trading at a decent premium in the grey market. Aadhar Housing Finance IPO GMP today is ₹71 per share, as per market observers. This indicates that Aadhar Housing Finance shares are trading at ₹386 apiece in the grey market, commanding a premium of 22.54% to the issue price of ₹315 per share.
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO Subscription Status
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO has been subscribed 26.76 times in total as it received bids for 178.65 crore equity shares as against 6.67 crore shares on the offer, according to the NSE data.
The public issue has been subscribed 2.58 times in the retail category, 76.42 times in the Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) category, and 17.33 times in the Non-Institutional Investors (NII) category.
Read here: Aadhar Housing Finance IPO: Issue subscribed 25.49 times on day 3, QIB portion booked 72 times; Check GMP, other details
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO Details
The bidding for Aadhar Housing Finance IPO commenced on May 8 and ended on May 10. The IPO allotment is likely to be fixed on Monday, May 13, and the Aadhar Housing Finance shares are set to be listed on both the bourses – BSE and NSE – on May 15.
The ₹3,000 crore worth Aadhar Housing Finance IPO was a combination of fresh issue of 3.17 crore equity shares aggregating to ₹1,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) component of 6.35 crore shares aggregating to ₹2,000 crore.
Aadhar Housing Finance IPO price band was set at ₹300 to ₹315 per share. Ahead of the IPO opening, the company had raised ₹897.90 crore from anchor investors on May 7.
ICICI Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Nomura Financial Advisory And Securities (India) Pvt Ltd and SBI Capital Markets are the book running lead managers of the Aadhar Housing Finance IPO, while Kfin Technologies is the IPO registrar.
Read all IPO news here
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More
Less
Published: 11 May 2024, 09:52 AM IST
-
News1 week ago
Police enter UCLA anti-war encampment; Arizona repeals Civil War-era abortion ban
-
Politics1 week ago
The White House has a new curator. Donna Hayashi Smith is the first Asian American to hold the post
-
News1 week ago
Some Florida boaters seen on video dumping trash into ocean have been identified, officials say
-
Education1 week ago
Video: President Biden Addresses Campus Protests
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
The Idea of You Movie Review: Anne Hathaway’s honest performance makes the film stand out in a not so formulaic rom-com
-
World1 week ago
UN, EU, US urge Georgia to halt ‘foreign agents’ bill as protests grow
-
World1 week ago
In the upcoming European elections, peace and security matter the most
-
World1 week ago
Arizona Senate repeals near-total 1864 abortion ban in divisive vote