[patientrenter]

[quote=waiting hawk]”NEW YORK/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China bluntly criticized the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower’s credit rating was downgraded, saying the “good old days” of borrowing were over.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/China-flays-US-over-credit-rb-3974888722.html?x=0%5B/quote%5D

That’s just noise for domestic Chinese consumption. China continues to export far more than it imports. As long as it does that, it must buy vast amounts of US assets. When China’s trade with the US becomes balanced, you know they are serious about the US being too risky to invest in.

[patientrenter]

[quote=waiting hawk]”NEW YORK/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China bluntly criticized the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower’s credit rating was downgraded, saying the “good old days” of borrowing were over.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/China-flays-US-over-credit-rb-3974888722.html?x=0%5B/quote%5D

That’s just noise for domestic Chinese consumption. China continues to export far more than it imports. As long as it does that, it must buy vast amounts of US assets. When China’s trade with the US becomes balanced, you know they are serious about the US being too risky to invest in.

[patientrenter]

[quote=waiting hawk]”NEW YORK/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China bluntly criticized the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower’s credit rating was downgraded, saying the “good old days” of borrowing were over.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/China-flays-US-over-credit-rb-3974888722.html?x=0%5B/quote%5D

That’s just noise for domestic Chinese consumption. China continues to export far more than it imports. As long as it does that, it must buy vast amounts of US assets. When China’s trade with the US becomes balanced, you know they are serious about the US being too risky to invest in.

[patientrenter]

[quote=waiting hawk]”NEW YORK/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China bluntly criticized the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower’s credit rating was downgraded, saying the “good old days” of borrowing were over.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/China-flays-US-over-credit-rb-3974888722.html?x=0%5B/quote%5D

That’s just noise for domestic Chinese consumption. China continues to export far more than it imports. As long as it does that, it must buy vast amounts of US assets. When China’s trade with the US becomes balanced, you know they are serious about the US being too risky to invest in.

[patientrenter]

I too am a fan of WF. As a foodie who has medical issues that can be treated with a strict diet, I find WF very convenient. I buy food from markets featuring fresh locally grown produce when I can, and from standard big supermarkets when I must. Whole Foods covers the rest pretty well. (I live close to 3 of them. Bristol Farms and Trader Joe’s and a few specialty local markets, bakers, and delis can help too. For example, Bristol Farms stocks prime dry-aged ribeye steaks which are hard for me to get without driving some distance.)

As for the Whole Paycheck problem, well, by eating healthily I save enough on medical care to support all my daily food extravagances. Health care costs a lot more than food. Anyway, as a foodie I don’t really care what the food costs, as long as it’s what I want.

I understand that some people don’t differentiate food by flavor or freshness or healthfulness or convenience, just quantity and price. Whole Foods doesn’t work if those are your food criteria. Everyone is different. My observation is that more and more people are becoming educated about the health and flavor of foods, and WF does a good job, albeit not perfect, of catering to many of their needs.

[patientrenter]

I too am a fan of WF. As a foodie who has medical issues that can be treated with a strict diet, I find WF very convenient. I buy food from markets featuring fresh locally grown produce when I can, and from standard big supermarkets when I must. Whole Foods covers the rest pretty well. (I live close to 3 of them. Bristol Farms and Trader Joe’s and a few specialty local markets, bakers, and delis can help too. For example, Bristol Farms stocks prime dry-aged ribeye steaks which are hard for me to get without driving some distance.)

As for the Whole Paycheck problem, well, by eating healthily I save enough on medical care to support all my daily food extravagances. Health care costs a lot more than food. Anyway, as a foodie I don’t really care what the food costs, as long as it’s what I want.

I understand that some people don’t differentiate food by flavor or freshness or healthfulness or convenience, just quantity and price. Whole Foods doesn’t work if those are your food criteria. Everyone is different. My observation is that more and more people are becoming educated about the health and flavor of foods, and WF does a good job, albeit not perfect, of catering to many of their needs.

[patientrenter]

I too am a fan of WF. As a foodie who has medical issues that can be treated with a strict diet, I find WF very convenient. I buy food from markets featuring fresh locally grown produce when I can, and from standard big supermarkets when I must. Whole Foods covers the rest pretty well. (I live close to 3 of them. Bristol Farms and Trader Joe’s and a few specialty local markets, bakers, and delis can help too. For example, Bristol Farms stocks prime dry-aged ribeye steaks which are hard for me to get without driving some distance.)

As for the Whole Paycheck problem, well, by eating healthily I save enough on medical care to support all my daily food extravagances. Health care costs a lot more than food. Anyway, as a foodie I don’t really care what the food costs, as long as it’s what I want.

I understand that some people don’t differentiate food by flavor or freshness or healthfulness or convenience, just quantity and price. Whole Foods doesn’t work if those are your food criteria. Everyone is different. My observation is that more and more people are becoming educated about the health and flavor of foods, and WF does a good job, albeit not perfect, of catering to many of their needs.

[patientrenter]

I too am a fan of WF. As a foodie who has medical issues that can be treated with a strict diet, I find WF very convenient. I buy food from markets featuring fresh locally grown produce when I can, and from standard big supermarkets when I must. Whole Foods covers the rest pretty well. (I live close to 3 of them. Bristol Farms and Trader Joe’s and a few specialty local markets, bakers, and delis can help too. For example, Bristol Farms stocks prime dry-aged ribeye steaks which are hard for me to get without driving some distance.)

As for the Whole Paycheck problem, well, by eating healthily I save enough on medical care to support all my daily food extravagances. Health care costs a lot more than food. Anyway, as a foodie I don’t really care what the food costs, as long as it’s what I want.

I understand that some people don’t differentiate food by flavor or freshness or healthfulness or convenience, just quantity and price. Whole Foods doesn’t work if those are your food criteria. Everyone is different. My observation is that more and more people are becoming educated about the health and flavor of foods, and WF does a good job, albeit not perfect, of catering to many of their needs.

[patientrenter]

I too am a fan of WF. As a foodie who has medical issues that can be treated with a strict diet, I find WF very convenient. I buy food from markets featuring fresh locally grown produce when I can, and from standard big supermarkets when I must. Whole Foods covers the rest pretty well. (I live close to 3 of them. Bristol Farms and Trader Joe’s and a few specialty local markets, bakers, and delis can help too. For example, Bristol Farms stocks prime dry-aged ribeye steaks which are hard for me to get without driving some distance.)

As for the Whole Paycheck problem, well, by eating healthily I save enough on medical care to support all my daily food extravagances. Health care costs a lot more than food. Anyway, as a foodie I don’t really care what the food costs, as long as it’s what I want.

I understand that some people don’t differentiate food by flavor or freshness or healthfulness or convenience, just quantity and price. Whole Foods doesn’t work if those are your food criteria. Everyone is different. My observation is that more and more people are becoming educated about the health and flavor of foods, and WF does a good job, albeit not perfect, of catering to many of their needs.

[patientrenter]

[quote=captcha]I am surprised to read that someone who teaches high-level math at high school finds linear functions and matrix calculus exciting. I was expecting topology, predicate calculus or at least Euclidean geometry. After reading the article, my impression is that she was under-qualified to sub in her son’s school when he was 6 and she was just as under-qualified to teach high-level math at high school.[/quote]

You’re a little rough there, captcha. Isaac Newton wasn’t studying topology as a teenager. He did OK. The precise areas of mathematics you study are not as important as learning a goodly amount of important, challenging, and interesting mathematical ideas and techniques. (Full disclosure: I am a former mathematician.)

I liked her apparent enthusiasm for her subject and for her students, and her humility – she attributed her best teaching techniques to her students.

It is a shame that the best teachers don’t get paid a lot more than they do now, more in proportion to their impact on their students. And that the worst teachers, who waste their students’ precious potential, aren’t directed to other careers.

[patientrenter]

[quote=captcha]I am surprised to read that someone who teaches high-level math at high school finds linear functions and matrix calculus exciting. I was expecting topology, predicate calculus or at least Euclidean geometry. After reading the article, my impression is that she was under-qualified to sub in her son’s school when he was 6 and she was just as under-qualified to teach high-level math at high school.[/quote]

You’re a little rough there, captcha. Isaac Newton wasn’t studying topology as a teenager. He did OK. The precise areas of mathematics you study are not as important as learning a goodly amount of important, challenging, and interesting mathematical ideas and techniques. (Full disclosure: I am a former mathematician.)

I liked her apparent enthusiasm for her subject and for her students, and her humility – she attributed her best teaching techniques to her students.

It is a shame that the best teachers don’t get paid a lot more than they do now, more in proportion to their impact on their students. And that the worst teachers, who waste their students’ precious potential, aren’t directed to other careers.

[patientrenter]

[quote=captcha]I am surprised to read that someone who teaches high-level math at high school finds linear functions and matrix calculus exciting. I was expecting topology, predicate calculus or at least Euclidean geometry. After reading the article, my impression is that she was under-qualified to sub in her son’s school when he was 6 and she was just as under-qualified to teach high-level math at high school.[/quote]

You’re a little rough there, captcha. Isaac Newton wasn’t studying topology as a teenager. He did OK. The precise areas of mathematics you study are not as important as learning a goodly amount of important, challenging, and interesting mathematical ideas and techniques. (Full disclosure: I am a former mathematician.)

I liked her apparent enthusiasm for her subject and for her students, and her humility – she attributed her best teaching techniques to her students.

It is a shame that the best teachers don’t get paid a lot more than they do now, more in proportion to their impact on their students. And that the worst teachers, who waste their students’ precious potential, aren’t directed to other careers.

[patientrenter]

[quote=captcha]I am surprised to read that someone who teaches high-level math at high school finds linear functions and matrix calculus exciting. I was expecting topology, predicate calculus or at least Euclidean geometry. After reading the article, my impression is that she was under-qualified to sub in her son’s school when he was 6 and she was just as under-qualified to teach high-level math at high school.[/quote]

You’re a little rough there, captcha. Isaac Newton wasn’t studying topology as a teenager. He did OK. The precise areas of mathematics you study are not as important as learning a goodly amount of important, challenging, and interesting mathematical ideas and techniques. (Full disclosure: I am a former mathematician.)

I liked her apparent enthusiasm for her subject and for her students, and her humility – she attributed her best teaching techniques to her students.

It is a shame that the best teachers don’t get paid a lot more than they do now, more in proportion to their impact on their students. And that the worst teachers, who waste their students’ precious potential, aren’t directed to other careers.

[patientrenter]

[quote=captcha]I am surprised to read that someone who teaches high-level math at high school finds linear functions and matrix calculus exciting. I was expecting topology, predicate calculus or at least Euclidean geometry. After reading the article, my impression is that she was under-qualified to sub in her son’s school when he was 6 and she was just as under-qualified to teach high-level math at high school.[/quote]

You’re a little rough there, captcha. Isaac Newton wasn’t studying topology as a teenager. He did OK. The precise areas of mathematics you study are not as important as learning a goodly amount of important, challenging, and interesting mathematical ideas and techniques. (Full disclosure: I am a former mathematician.)

I liked her apparent enthusiasm for her subject and for her students, and her humility – she attributed her best teaching techniques to her students.

It is a shame that the best teachers don’t get paid a lot more than they do now, more in proportion to their impact on their students. And that the worst teachers, who waste their students’ precious potential, aren’t directed to other careers.

[patientrenter]

The method I use for myself is very simple. To calculate my target retirement asset amount, I multiply the total annual amount I need to spend in order to preserve my standard of living by the number of years I plan to be retired for.

In equations, my target amount is S x (DA-RA), where S = annual spending requirement, RA = my retirement age, and DA = the age at which I want my savings to run out. Choosing DA is tricky. If you decide to have enough until you are 85, you are taking on real risk that you’ll be digging for food in a dumpster at age 86, should you live that long. If you decide to have enough until you are 100, you are taking on a lot less risk of outliving your assets, but you are going to have to retire later.

Which assets do I include? I need to be able to liquidate them over time without affecting my standard of living. So I don’t include any home I live in.

I don’t count future investment returns. Any investment return needs to be reduced for expenses, taxes, and inflation. Staying ahead of all those by a healthy margin would require taking on a healthy dose of risk, with a much higher probability of premature dumpster-diving should the risks not pan out.

[Author]

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