At 80 years old, I still wake up and go to work every day. I'm ageriatrician and it's a job that I've held for the past 55 years.

Theaverage retirement agein the U.S. around 64. I'm way past that, but I don't plan on retiring anytime soon. Why? For starters, I happen to be among the lucky few who love the work they do. (I know I'm in the minority with this, so I do feel extremely grateful.)

As a doctor who specializes in the care of older adults, I get a lot of questions from people about retirement, specifically in relation to health and longevity. Here's what I tell them:

A reporter once asked me, "Isn't working past retirement associated with longevity?" This was during the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis, when many people had to work past their anticipated retirement due to investment losses.

I replied, "People everywhere are revising their retirement plans. In fact, I came up with my own plan that's pretty simple and guarantees that I won't outlive my assets." The reporter took the bait: "Really? What's that?"

"I plan to die in the office," I said.

All jokes aside, based on my personal experience and from what I've seen in my long geriatrics career, I think it's fair to say that many people continue to work because it gives them pleasure or is financially necessary.

I find happiness in my work for a lot of reasons. Geriatrics health professionals like me and my colleagues are experts in the type of care we'll all need as we age. I get to work with incredibly talented and collaborative people, and what we do is rooted in change that benefits everyone.

Not always. Data behind whether or not later-life retirement is actually healthy are conflicting.

In a study of almost 430,000 people, an older retirement age was linked to a decreased risk of dementia. This was thought to be in line with the "use it or lose it" hypothesis, which suggests that cognitive decline related to age would be less likely to affect people who stay mentally active (in this case, working might help you stay sharp as you age).

Additionally, a2019 Swedish study reported that people who work past 65 have a 7% chance of enjoying better health compared to those who retire at 65. However, retiring later didn't mean better physical fitness, and participants didn't report improved well-being or fewer symptoms of depression, the researchers found.

On the other hand, a 2010 study on thousands of British civil servants contradicted those findings, and suggested that people who voluntarily retired early enjoyed better mental health and physical functioning.

"Voluntarily retired" are the key words there, as there is evidence that mandatory retirement is not good for your health no matter what your financial circumstances might be.

Common sense tells us of three scenarios that can erode happiness and longevity. You may be less likely to enjoy a healthy older age if:

Obviously, those who aren't healthy and active in their 60s or have lost some memory or thinking power may want to consider retiring earlier say, anywhere from their early to mid-60s if possible.

Many people do end up very unhappy in retirement. But those in the opposite group do something differently: They don't sit on a beach all day. Instead, they constantly engage in healthy activities.

A few examples I recommend:

Our understanding of what it means to pursue "healthy aging" is constantly evolving. We used to think exclusively about lifespan. But now, and even more important, we think about health span.

There's a big difference between the two: Lifespan is how long you'll live, while health span is how long you'll live while also being able to do things that are personally meaningful.Healthy agingis about much more than the absence of disease. It's also about our ability to live independently, safely and with a keen eye on what matters to us most as individuals, including when and how we "retire."

What that tells us is that retirement will look different for all of us; there's no hard-and-fast "date" to mark on your calendar, and there's no one right way to retire. You may need to continue working. Or you may not, but still want to, so you cut back to working just a few hours per week.

Supporting your health, safety and independence is really about striking a balance between what you want and what you need with you as the focal point for your choices.

Richard W. Besdine, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and Health Services Policy and Practice at Brown University.He is a member and former president of theAmerican Geriatrics Society.Dr.Besdineis a writer forHealthDay, and has also authored more than 125 publications on aging. He trained in internal medicine, infectious diseases and immunology at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

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Original post:
An 80-year-old doctor on why he refuses to retire anytime soon'I plan to die in the office' - CNBC

You might know where you'll live in 10 years and have a pretty good idea of the job you'll have, but could you predict the balance in your retirement savings? If the answer is no, you're not alone. Many American savers aren't even sure how much moneythey'll need to retire -- let alone forecasting their progress along the way.

Having the ability to project your retirement savings growth is a useful skill, because it allows you to recognize and fix contribution shortfalls proactively. The alternative is watching that account balance and waiting for the growth. You might set goals for yourself, such as amassing $500,000 by your 40th birthday. But you won't really know if you're on track until it's too late to adjust your strategy.

Image source: Getty Images.

The good news is that you can easily learn how to project your investment growth confidently. Here's what you need to know.

Your future retirement balance is a function of your balance today, future contributions from you and your employer, your rate of return, and the timeline. If you know these values, you can plug them into a compound interest calculator for a quick gauge of where your balance will be at some future date. It seems simple enough, right up until you have to predict your rate of return. That's the tricky part, because it depends on how your money is invested and what's happening in the financial markets. There's also inflation to consider, which reduces your returns by shrinking the buying power of your money.

For projections of at least 10 years, you can use long-term historic averages in your calculation. If you've ever read a mutual fund prospectus -- and hopefully you have -- you know that historic returns are no guarantee for future results. But they are a better choice for projections than, say, a hopeful guess or a reading from a crystal ball.

So, what are those averages? Inflation has been running quite low in recent years, but the long-term average is 3% annually. The S&P 500 has historically grown about 10% annually. Net those two numbers and you get an inflation-adjusted, average annual return of 7% for large-cap stocks.

You can't just pop 7% into your investment calculator and call it a day, however. You might need to adjust that percentage down based on how you are invested. If your portfolio is comprised of 50% stocks and 40% bonds, for example, your rate assumption should consider that the long-term average of government bonds is lower than stocks, at about 5.5% before inflation. That puts your overall return closer to 5%.

On the other hand, you could also expect high growth rates because you're invested in some aggressive small- and mid-caps or leveraged funds. Know that it's risky to raise your expected return in that case, because those high-growth positions are also more volatile. You could make more on them, or you could make less.

As you start running the numbers, there are a few projection pitfalls to avoid. One is being too optimistic on your rate of return. If you're unsure, use 6% as a conservative starting point. Another pitfall involves your employer matching contributions in your 401k. You can't take those contributions with you if you leave your job and you're not fully vested. If you aren't sure of your future with your employer, don't include unvested contributions in your calculation.

It's also inappropriate to assume your projection predicts the future exactly. The unfortunate side of investing is that the market can be erratic. That's why it's less useful to project investment growth for durations shorter than 10 years -- there's just too much volatility from year to year. If you were investing back in 2008 and 2009, for example, you know that results in a single year can be wildly different from that 7% average. Even in a 10-year window, you might be on pace to reach your goal when a crash in the ninth year suddenly stunts your progress. Always recognize that as a possibility.

Use projections from an investment calculator to evaluate your annual contribution relative to your goals. Say you are contributing $6,000 annually and you expect a 7% return after inflation. Given those variables, you should have $88,702 after 10 years. If your 10-year goal is $250,000, you know you're not going to get there unless you can increase your contributions substantially. You can do that from the get-go, or plan on raising your contributions gradually over time. This calculator lets you test both options.

While that may not be the news you want, at least you know where you stand. It'd be a much harder problem to solve if you didn't realize until year five or six that you weren't contributing enough. And if you haven't even set a 10-year goal yet, at least use your newfound knowledge to find out where you want your retirement savings to be in 10 years.

More:
Where Will Your Retirement Savings Be 10 Years from Now? - Motley Fool

My wife and I had our photo taken standing in front of a 1,000-year-old Sitka Spruce tree, and this got me thinking about the impact of 1,000 years of growth.

I can barely get my mind around a concept of the time that tree began its life, presumably around the year 1020. What was life like back then? Did anybody notice that tree when it was young?

Most likely well never know.

Still, my curiosity was now aroused, and I found an online site with lots of information about inflation. That topic doesnt directly apply to a tree, but it certainly applies to investors.

When I came into the world as an adult, U.S. inflation was very low. To me, the 1953-1966 inflation rate of 1.5% was normal. Something that I could have purchased in 1953 for $1 (more than I usually had as a kid) would have cost about $1.21 in 1966. By then, my ability to spend money had escalated mightily, so it didnt seem like a big deal.

As a result, I was in no way prepared for the next 14 years. From 1967 through 1980, the inflation rate was 7.1%. By 1980, that mythical item which I could have acquired for $1.21 in 1966 would have cost $3.08.

From 1926 through 2019, inflation in the United States and other developed nations has been roughly 3%, so at the moment it seems to make sense to regard that as a reasonable long-term expectation for the future.

Read: Inflation is low now, but it still poses a big threat to retirees financial security

In many parts of the world, inflation is much higher than in the United States. For example, Venezuela (15,000% annual rate as of April 2020), Zimbabwe (319%), Sudan (81.3%), Iran (34.2%), and Libya (22.3%). And no, 15,000% is not a typo.

Theres also the phenomenon of deflation, a decrease in the general price level of goods and services.

Every month, the federal government calculates the Consumer Price Index, which can be translated into an inflation rate. If youre curious, you can find a table here with the inflation rate for every single month going back to January 1914 along with the annual rate.

Scanning the table, youll find some interesting data points.

Double-digit inflation was experienced in 1917 through 1920, ranging from only 15.31% (1919) to 17.8% in 1917. But in 1921, inflation turned into deflation, minus 10.85% to be precise. Even stranger, for seven straight years (1927-1932) year-end inflation was either zero (1929) or negative that is, deflation.

In my lifetime, the highest rates of inflation came in 1979 (11.22%), 1980 (13.58%) and 1981 (10.35%).

So far this century, annual inflation has ranged from -0.34% (deflation again, though slight) in 2009 to 3.39% in 2005. Last year, inflation was 1.81%.

Read: 10 things you should know about diversification

The online page of historical data to which I referred above also has interesting discussions about the nature of inflation, hyperinflation and deflation. You can dig into these topics as much as you wish, and the site has some practical ideas on dealing with inflation.

Theres this advice against holding large amounts of cash: In a world where moderate inflation is the norm, there is little choice but to spend, invest, or be willing to accept a degree of loss due to inflation.

To which I say Amen.

In fact, the U.S. stock market has a history of advancing (over long periods) at a rate that outpaces inflation, and in my opinion thats a more reliable way to keep ahead of inflation than through commodities, real estate, art, or antiques.

Now back to that 1,000-year-old tree.

If we assume a long-term inflation rate of 3%, then over the course of 1,000 years, $1 will grow to $6,874,240,231,169.63.

Thats very impressive, of course.

Read: Should I still use the 60/40 investing rule for retirement?

But now think about this: If you added just one-tenth of 1% to that inflation rate (making it 3.1%), that $1 would grow to $18,141,169,599,823.68 nearly three times as much.

Those numbers contain a powerful lesson for investors who can take a long-term outlook. Even a tiny difference in return (which can result from shaving expenses, for example) can make an enormous long-term difference.

An assumed rate of future inflation is one of the key numbers necessary for thorough retirement planning. Whatever number you pick will have a large effect on the savings you need to afford a given level of spending.

If you assume a higher rate, that suggests you should save more. If you assume a lower rate, the implication is you dont need to save as much.

Inflation is one of the key numbers that I highlighted in a chapter of my book Financial Fitness Forever. The chapter is called Moving to Action: 12 numbers to change your life. You can read that chapter free if you like.

Richard Buck contributed to this article.

See the rest here:
Inflation will have a big impact on your retirement - MarketWatch

Jeanne Butterfield stands up for her beliefs

Kyle Kotecki, kkotecki@pioneergroup.com

Jeanne Butterfield holds a sign outside of the Manistee Post Office Saturday during a rally she organized as "an expression of concern in support" of the U.S. Postal Service.

Jeanne Butterfield holds a sign outside of the Manistee Post Office Saturday during a rally she organized as "an expression of concern in support" of the U.S. Postal Service.

Photo: Kyle Kotecki/News Advocate

Jeanne Butterfield holds a sign outside of the Manistee Post Office Saturday during a rally she organized as "an expression of concern in support" of the U.S. Postal Service.

Jeanne Butterfield holds a sign outside of the Manistee Post Office Saturday during a rally she organized as "an expression of concern in support" of the U.S. Postal Service.

Meet the retired lawyer who organized the rally in support of the USPS

Manistee's Jeanne Butterfield is not one to sit idly by in the face of what she sees as malfeasance. Butterfield prefers a more proactive approach.

When troubled by changes in the U.S. Postal Service, Butterfield took action, organizing a rally held outside of the Manistee Post Office Saturday morning as "an expression of concern in support" of the U.S. Postal Service.

"We've seen several disturbing actions since (Louis) DeJoy was appointed Postmaster General: cuts in overtime, slowing down of service, dismantling of sorting machines and removal of actual mailboxes from some city streets around the country," Butterfield said. "That comes on the heels of statements by some of our political poobahs that the post office should be a profit-making venture. We're here to say it's not it's an essential service.

"It's critical to our small towns, and rural communities need it not only for personal mail but for prescription medicines, benefits checks," she continued. "And then looking ahead, during a pandemic especially, we need a reliable mail service to get our votes mailed in so we don't have to stand in line and expose ourselves on Election Day."

Butterfield has dedicated her life to making a difference, working as an immigration lawyer and continuing to stand up for various causes in her retirement.

"I was an immigration lawyer and I did national immigration policy work, mostly in Washington D.C.," she said. "I'm the former executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. I've always been active on issues of concern to our communities."

Butterfield, along with husband Al Frye, is a member of the We the People Action Network of Northwestern Michigan, which is a local, non-partisan, grassroots network dedicated to education, advocacy and action around issues of concern to the local community.

"Al Frye is my husband and one of the co-organizers (of the rally)," she said. "We have had this little network called We the People Action Network of Northwestern Michigan. It's done a number of events over the years here and that was some of the impetus behind this."

Butterfield settled in Manistee after retirement and, not content to spend her days relaxing, continued advocating for worthy causes.

"I'm a born and raised Michigander," she said. "I came back to Manistee in my retirement and I've been active in the community here ever since."

See original here:
Meet the retired lawyer who organized the rally in support of the USPS - Manistee News Advocate

Ryan Ermey: Whether you're fantasizing about getting away for a couple of weeks or dreaming of a retirement on the road, an RV is seeming like a more and more viable option these days. RV Dealer Association president Phil Ingrassia joins the show for a discussion of the benefits, drawbacks, and costs of RVs in our main segment.

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Ryan Ermey: On today's show, Sandy and I tell a listener what to do after an issue that cut her credit limit in half and interest rates -- and the Fyre Festival feature in a new edition of Deal or No Deal. That's all ahead on this episode of Your Money's Worth. Stick around.

Ryan Ermey: Welcome to Your Money's Worth. I'm Kiplinger's associate editor Ryan Ermey joined as always by senior editor Sandy Block. And Sandy, we are recording today, I'm in a familiar situation, which is that a friend has texted me and said, You write for that financial magazine, don't you have answer for some question I have? And so the listener in question had her credit card limits slashed in half and was pretty livid about it. She says she puts at least $200 on the card monthly and pays it off in full. And she feels like she's somehow being punished for being financially responsible. She's trying to buy a house and is worried that her credit score may be dinged as a result of this, as well.

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Ryan Ermey: This is one that I reached out for some help for. I guess the number one thing, Sandy, is the reason that she's concerned about her credit score is this idea of utilization ratio, right?

Sandy Block: Right. If she's in the market for a house, one of the things that lenders will look at is the amount of overall... the ratio of the amount that she's borrowing versus the overall credit that she has access to. So if her credit limit has been cut in half, that's going to hurt her ratio, even though she didn't do anything wrong.

Sandy Block: I think this always comes as a shock to people that credit card issuers do this, but I remember this happening a lot during the Great Recession and it's happening now. It's not because of anything she did, it's because of the economy. It's because lenders are much more risk averse now. They're worried that people are going to lose their jobs and max out on their credit. And we were always shocked when this happens --especially if, as was the case with this listener, they've done everything right. It's like you're being punished for nothing. The only thing I can say is, you're not alone.

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Ryan Ermey: Right. And so, as you say, Sandy, credit card issuers are doing this now in the same way they did during the Great Recession, just because they're trying to reduce their exposure a little bit. Little used cards are a common target for these kind of cuts because they represent some kind of liability for the credit card company. Plus, their credit card's is not making too much money from that kind of card.

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Sandy Block: Right.

Ryan Ermey: Same with any kind of account exhibiting some kind of distress. Like if someone's maxing it out or making late payments. Those are kinds of things. Or just having complete inactivity. Those are some kinds of things that make you a target for this kind of thing. But in my friend's case, it was just some bad luck, frankly.

Sandy Block: It's just random, yeah.

Ryan Ermey: I reached out to our friend, friend of the show, Ted Rossman from CreditCards.com and he said that something similar actually happened to him recently. I mean, you're in the same boat as a credit expert, if this happens to you. He said, first thing he did, he called the card issuer andasked them to reinstate the old limit and they did. So that is absolutely worth a shot, especially if you're kind of taking a look at what your credit utilization is. Generally, a good goal is to keep it below 30%, although below 10% is even better. And so if this is something that could possibly affect you, it's absolutely worth asking.

Sandy Block: Certainly if you've been a good customer and they want to keep you. Maybe they just did this across the board, but you call up and say, Look, I've paid my bills. I'm a good customer. I don't have a lot of debt. It's definitely worth trying.

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Ryan Ermey: Yeah. And it's not out of the realm of possibility on any credit account to call them and ask for a higher limit. Ted says that in more normal times in 2018 that CreditCards.com had found 85% of card holders who asked for a higher limit got one. They're generally happy to give it to you now. And this is something I wasn't aware of -- that you could run into what's called a hard inquiry, which means that someone is taking a look at your credit. And a hard inquiry is the kind that can temporarily lower your score by a few points. And so Ted suggestsbefore officially asking for a higher rate, that you can call customer service to ask if a hard inquiry will happen.

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Ryan Ermey: He says last year he asked for higher limits on his American Express, Capital One and Wells Fargo cards and there were no hard inquiries, but he avoid proceeding with Chase who would have in fact done a hard inquiry.

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Sandy Block: Right. The difference between... ahard inquiry is what happens when you apply for a new credit card. A soft inquiry is when you get all those solicitations in the mail and maybe they checked your credit before sending you a solicitation. That's called a soft inquiry. That does not hurt your credit score. But a hard inquiry -- and that's why we always tell people -- avoid taking out a bunch of credit cards at one time or taking advantage of a whole bunch of retail back when we were shopping. You know, retail credit cards to get the 10% discount. That can ding your score. So it's important to understand the difference.

Ryan Ermey: Right. And so for my friend, who is possibly trying to finance a home here soon, getting a brand new card certainly isn't a solution in the very short term in terms of lowering her utilization ratio. I think she's more or less fine. She's probably not putting... it doesn't sound like she's putting too much money on the card, unless she's got a very, very low limit. The amount of money, the $200 that she's paying off every month sounds like she's not even going to come close. And so even with the credit limit lowered, it's certainly annoying and it's certainly going to affect her ratio, but she still should have very good credit coming out of this.

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Ryan Ermey: Our advice to her... yeah, Ryan and Rianne, go ahead and call Chase. I think she did mention that it was Chase and see what they can do for you. Hopefully, they should be able to raise that back up for you without a hard inquiry. But otherwise, you should still be good and best of luck on the new house, girl.

Sandy Block: Yes!

Ryan Ermey: Coming up, if you're dreaming of retiring in an RV, consider the cost as well as the benefits. Our interview with Phil Ingrassia is next.

Ryan Ermey: We are back. And today, we are talking with Phil Ingrassia. He is the president of the RV Dealers Association. Phil, thank you so much for joining us.

Phil Ingrassia: Happy to be here.

Ryan Ermey: We talked with another colleague of ours recently, and her theory was that the pandemic has sort of re-birthed the great American road trip. Has there been heightened demand for RVs since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out? And how can people go about finding a place to rent or buy one?

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Phil Ingrassia: Right. Well, initially there was a lot of people who were looking to use RVs as isolation areas. We had a lot of first responders, medical personnel using RVs when they were coming back from work so that they could have them in their driveway and stay away from their family. That kind of has morphed into more people than ever, trying RV-ing for the first time.

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Phil Ingrassia: We've got a survey out this past week that showed like 55%, more than half of the people buying RVs in May through June were first-time buyers. So it's been an interesting spring to say the least, as people have discovered the benefits of RVs travel.

Phil Ingrassia: They kind of check a lot of boxes, right? You can be outside with your family. You can self-isolate in the RV. So you're not with a bunch of other people that aren't related to you. And so it's been a very busy summer as we've seen a lot of people try to find the right travel trailer or motor home for their family as they try to kind of save their summer.

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Sandy Block: Phil, even before the pandemic, there was a lot of appeal among retirees for RVs. I assume that hasn't changed. What are the advantages of retiring to an RV and seeing the country, particularly if you're say, you're retired and you're on a fixed income?

Phil Ingrassia: Basically, they can budget in a way where they can figure out, okay, maybe they're selling their house and they're going to travel the country. They can be in the South in the winter time -- snowbird type --and then come back North. We have a lot of people that do that, but RV-ing is also something that you have to budget for. Certainly, you have to buy the unit and then you've got insurance issues and then you've got campground fees and things like that.

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Phil Ingrassia: So it's not exactly a free way to retire, but certainly for people who plan, it can be a very economical way to stretch their retirement savings.

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Ryan Ermey: Well, so let's talk a little bit about costs. Let's say I'm one of these people who kind of wants to dip my toes into this lifestyle. I want to take a vacation with the family at a safe social distance. About what would week-long RV rental run me? And consider some costs maybe that people might not always think about. And can I still come out ahead?

Phil Ingrassia: Right. Well, there's a couple different ways to look at it. Certainly, you've got a bunch of different units. So sort of like with hotels, you have different size rooms, you have different size RVs. Typically, your smaller RVs, you can rent for $200 a week on up. Larger RVs, you're getting into the motorized, which can be more expensive and they're larger, as well. So it really varies as far as how much it could cost. It basically depends on the type of RV you're renting. The other cost you have to consider, certainly gas, any additional insurance you might requireand then campground fees and things like that.

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Phil Ingrassia: Right now, the rental market is very, very tight. It's a supply and demand issue. If you can book further out, your rates are probably going to be a little lower. And the shoulder seasons are typically lower rates as well. And what I mean by that is when school is in session. Basically, the rates are lower in the fall and early winter. But again, it depends on the size of the unit and where you're going to. If you're going to a popular destination, such as Grand Canyon or things like that, the rates can be a little higher there than if you're doing a more Midwest swing on a trip.

Ryan Ermey: What do thetiers look like when it comes to different kinds of RVs? Because I think a lot of people think, "All right, I'm going to retire and I'm going to have the whole 'Meet the Fockers' like gigantic beautiful machine." But obviously, it kind of runs the gamut of different kinds of RVs. And you might want to start with something a little bit smaller to test it outto see if you like it.

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Phil Ingrassia: Absolutely. A lot of people think about RVs as motor homes. And certainly that's a very important part of the market. But over the last 20 years, the volume of sales has been driven by the tow-able sector. Basically travel trailers, campers. And so right now, the hot ticket is the entry-level camper that sells between $15,000 and maybe $35,000. And as you guys have probably noticed, the passenger car market has really evolved where people used to have a couple of sedans in the driveway, now they've got an SUV, maybe a light pickup or a crossover. So all those units are potential tow vehicles for the lighter weight RV travel trailers.

Phil Ingrassia: And so this has helped feed the desire for RV travel because people already have a tow vehicle in their driveway. So certainly the larger fifth wheel travel trailers and the motor homes are a big part of the market, big with the retiree and snowbird sector. But right now, the volume is in the entry level family type RVs that people can tow with pretty much what they have in their driveway now if they've got an SUV or crossover or a light pickup truck,

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Sandy Block: Phil, if you are interested in actually... maybe you've done the entry level, you're retired and you're interested in buying an RV and doing the whole lifestyle. What should people be thinking about? Do most people pay cash for RVs or is there financing available? Can you lease an RV? I mean, what are your options in terms of ownership?

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Phil Ingrassia: Well, most people buy an RV and will finance at least part of it. There are many options for financing. Unlike buying a car, if you go to an RV dealership, they'll say, Okay... You've made your selection and you'll talk to them and they'll say, Okay, do you want to finance it? Are you paying cash? What are you doing? So you'll go in and RV dealers have access to a lot of different lending sources, just like car dealers do. So you can finance through the dealership. There are also credit union programs and brick-and-mortar banks also have lending programs for RVs, as well. So there's no shortage of financing options if you want to finance the RV, and there's very attractive terms. And because it's something that's not necessarily used every day, you can lengthen the length of your term. So you can stretch it out over 7, 10, 12-year period of time.

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Sandy Block: And can you lease an RV?

Phil Ingrassia: Leasing is more of a long-term rental.

Sandy Block: Okay...

Phil Ingrassia: There really aren't leasing programs like you have in the car business where you would turn it in after three years or so many thousands of miles.

Ryan Ermey: Now, I imagine that there's some subset of the RV market who get in because the people are really excited. But they invest in a big piece of machinery like people do with a boat, and the joke for boats is always bust out another thousand, right? It's always comes with costs that you don't necessarily anticipate. Are there some cost associated with RV ownership and travel that the kind of bushy-tailed new buyers don't necessarily always consider?

Phil Ingrassia: Well, certainly when people buy their first RV, they really need to talk to their dealer about the maintenance schedule. I mean, really this is a house on wheels, right? So you've got plumbing systems, you've got electrical system, you've got water systems in there that need attention. Also, you've got a rubber roof on top of the unit, which needs to be serviced every once in a while. So it's not like a car. There are other things in an RV components that you don't have in a vehicle.

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Phil Ingrassia: So much like your house, where you'll have somebody take a look at the furnace every season, you still have those kinds of issues with an RV. So people need to consider the maintenance that needs to be done, to keep their RV ready to go when they want to go on vacation. There's nothing worse than you're all ready to go with a family camping, and then something's wrong. So you need to do that maintenance much like you have to do with a home.

Ryan Ermey: Nevertheless, the appeal of the RV is sort of more undeniable than ever.

Ryan Ermey: Phil, we want to thank you again for coming on. Before you go, where can people head to find more information about RVs and about where to possibly be able to procure one in their area?

Phil Ingrassia: There's a great website, GoRVing.com, that has all kinds of information on the RV types and terms that you need to know. It also has links to rental and dealers. So you can find a dealer at GoRVing.com and you can also go to our website, RVDA.org to find a dealer near you.

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Ryan Ermey: Fantastic. Well, Phil, thank you so much again for coming on. And until then, I guess we'll see you on the road.

Phil Ingrassia: Thank you.

Sandy Block: Thanks, Phil.

Phil Ingrassia: Bye.

Ryan Ermey: After the break, find out why news about the Fyre Festival had me wondering about deals on used cars. Don't go anywhere.

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Ryan Ermey: We are back. And before we go, Sandy and I are parsing, what are deals, what are not. It's Deal or No Deal. And Sandy, I have one that I really enjoyed. Every once in a while, you get one of these things that you just enjoy delving into.

Ryan Ermey: And so news broke this week that the U.S. Marshals Service was auctioning off seized itemsfrom the Fyre Festival. Now, for those of us who don't remember, the Fyre Festival was supposed to be a festival targeted toward beautiful young people, young Instagramand social media influencers. They flew them all out to an island, but it ended up being a humongous scam. There was no festival.

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Sandy Block: I think everybody got like a cheese sandwich and a...

Ryan Ermey: I mean by cheese sandwich, we mean two pieces of bread and a slice of cheese.

Sandy Block: It's not even good cheese. That's right.

Ryan Ermey: And they were supposed to be paying thousands of dollars for a beach side bungalows. And these people had set up FEMA tents.

Sandy Block: And there were all these supposed to be all these great bands, right? And there were no bands.

Ryan Ermey: It was really an epic disaster and a humongous scam.

Sandy Block: Epic.

Ryan Ermey: And a certain amount of schadenfreude that went into the whole thing that these people thought, these trust fund kids in New York, these club kids who are paying thousands of dollars to fly to the the Bahamas -- this is what they get. They don't, you know.

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Sandy Block: That's right.

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Ryan Ermey: Anyway, there's two fantastic documentaries, one on Netflix, one on Hulu. Go check those out. I mean, really, really tremendous stuff. So the Marshals Service was auctioning off a lot of their leftover merch that had been seized. So there was like hats and hoodies and t-shirts and wristbands and little tokens that I think you were supposed to be able to use to buy things there, which that obviously didn't really happen. But I'm talking, the hats and shirts are going for like $400 to $500.

Sandy Block: Oh my gosh.

Ryan Ermey: Well look, because people wanted a piece of that...

Sandy Block: Memoranda.

Ryan Ermey: ...that culture.

Sandy Block: Yeah.

Ryan Ermey: It was a really a moment in time. Obviously, I didn't want to buy any of that. But while I was there, there was all sorts of stuff being auctioned off. And I should say folks that as we record today on August 13th, the Fyre Festival stuff is closing today. So by the time you're listening to this...

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Sandy Block: You missed it.

Ryan Ermey: If you want to buy Fyre stuff, you can't. But...

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The Pros and Cons of Buying an RV in Retirement - Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Social Security has been in the headlines a lot lately, and not necessarily for good reasons. As President Donald Trump continues to push for payroll tax cuts -- or eliminating payroll taxes altogether -- many experts are voicing their concerns about how that will affect the future solvency of Social Security.

They have reason to worry, too. Payroll taxes are the primary source of income funding the Social Security program, and without them, benefits could potentially disappear. Even if payroll taxes are reduced and not eliminated, that could still result in benefit cuts for retirees.

That's especially concerning to the 20% of baby boomers who have no other retirement income besides Social Security, according to a recent survey from Nationwide, but it can spell trouble for all retirees. While nobody knows for sure what the future holds for Social Security, it may be a good idea to plan for retirement under the assumption that you won't get much financial help from the program. Here are four steps that can help you to do that.

Image source: Getty Images.

As you're planning for retirement, one of the first steps is to estimate how much you'll be spending each year. With that number in mind, you can break that down into how much will have to come from your retirement fund versus other income sources, such as a pension or Social Security benefits. From there, you can run your information through a retirement calculator to determine your retirement number -- or the amount you should have saved by the time you retire.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding Social Security, it may be best to leave your future benefits out of the equation. You'll likely need to save more, which may be a challenge if you're getting close to retirement age, but it's better than finding out during retirement that benefits are disappearing and your savings aren't enough to cover your basic expenses.

If you suddenly need to save more than you'd planned, it may be tough to find that extra money in your budget. Money is especially tight right now for millions of Americans, and saving more for retirement might feel impossible.

Do your best to save whatever scraps you can, though. Start tracking your expenses, if you don't do so already, and see if there are any areas in your budget where you can cut back. Saving even a little now will add up over time, so no amount is too small to stash in your retirement fund.

Saving more is challenging, so to make it easier, try to think of ways you can reduce your expenses in retirement so you won't need to save quite so much.

If you're open to making major life changes, you may consider moving to a more affordable city or neighborhood in retirement, for example, or downsizing to a smaller home. For less drastic changes, you might think about finding new inexpensive hobbies or changing your travel plans to destinations that are less costly.

Stashing more in your retirement fund is only half of the equation; it's also important to ensure your investments are allocated properly to maximize your savings.

When you're still decades away from retirement, your portfolio should be allocated more toward stocks. This is inherently riskier, but your savings will grow faster and you have plenty of time to recover from market downturns. As you get older, though, your investments should shift toward the conservative side and more of your portfolio should be allocated toward bonds. You'll still want to invest some money in stocks so your investments continue to grow, but by investing more conservatively overall, your money will be more protected against market downturns.

Social Security benefits are an integral part of many Americans' retirement plans, but there's a chance they won't be as dependable as they once were. If payroll tax cuts are in the future, it could have an impact on your retirement. By planning for it now, though, you'll be prepared no matter what the future holds.

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4 Steps to Surviving Retirement Without Social Security - The Motley Fool

In 2019, Google announced with much fanfare that it had achieved quantum supremacy the point at which a quantum computer can perform a task that would be impossible for a conventional computer (or would take so long it would be entirely impractical for a conventional computer).

What Is Quantum Supremacy And Quantum Computing? (And How Excited Should We Be?)

To achieve quantum supremacy, Googles quantum computer completed a calculation in 200 seconds that Google claimed would have taken even the most powerful supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. IBM loudly protested this claim, stating that Google had massively underestimated the capacity of its supercomputers (hardly surprising since IBM also has skin in the quantum computing game). Nonetheless, Googles announcement was hailed as a significant milestone in the quantum computing journey.

But what exactly is quantum computing?

Not sure what quantum computing is? Dont worry, youre not alone. In very simple terms, quantum computers are unimaginably fast computers capable of solving seemingly unsolvable problems. If you think your smartphone makes computers from the 1980s seem painfully old fashioned, quantum computers will make our current state-of-the-art technology look like something out of the Stone Age. Thats how big a leap quantum computing represents.

Traditional computers are, at their heart, very fast versions of the simplest electronic calculators. They are only capable of processing one bit of information at a time, in the form of a binary 1 or 0. Each bit is like an on/off switch with 0 meaning "off" and 1 meaning "on." Every task you complete on a traditional computer, no matter how complex, is ultimately using millions of bits, each one representing either a 0 or a 1.

But quantum computers dont rely on bits; they use qubits. And qubits, thanks to the marvels of quantum mechanics, arent limited to being either on or off. They could be both at the same time, or exist somewhere in between. Thats because quantum computing harnesses the peculiar phenomena that take place at a sub-atomic level in particular, the ability of quantum particles to exist in multiple states at the same time (known as superposition).

This allows quantum computers to look at many different variables at the same time, which means they can crunch through more scenarios in a much shorter space of time than even the fastest computers available today.

What does this mean for our everyday lives?

Reaching quantum supremacy is clearly an important milestone, yet were still a long way from commercially available quantum computers hitting the market. Right now, current quantum computing work is limited to labs and major tech players like Google, IBM, and Microsoft.

Most technology experts, myself included, would admit we dont yet fully understand how quantum computing will transform our world we just know that it will. Its like trying to imagine how the internet or social media would transform our world before they were introduced.

Here are just some of the ways in which quantum computers could be put to good use:

Strengthening cyber security. Quantum computers could change the landscape of data security by creating virtually unbreakable encryption.

Accelerating artificial intelligence. Quantum computing could provide a massive boost to AI, since these superfast computers will prove far more effective at recognizing patterns in data.

Modeling traffic flows to improve our cities. Modeling traffic is an enormously complex process with a huge number of variables, but researchers at Volkswagen have been running quantum pilot programs to model and optimize the flow of traffic through city centers in Beijing, Barcelona, and Lisbon.

Making the weather forecast more accurate. Just about anything that involves complex modeling could be made more efficient with quantum computing. The UKs Met Office has said that it believes quantum computers offer the potential for carrying out far more advanced modeling than is currently possible today, and it is one of the avenues being explored for building next-generation forecasting systems.

Developing new medicines. Biotech startup ProteinQure has been exploring the potential of quantum computing in modeling protein, a key route in drug development. In other words, quantum computing could lead to the discovery of effective new drugs for some of the worlds biggest killers, including cancer and heart disease.

Most experts agree that truly useful quantum computing is not likely to be a feature of everyday life for some time. And even when quantum computers are commercially available, we as individuals will hardly be lining up to buy one. For most of the tasks we carry out on computers and smartphones, a traditional binary computer or smartphone will be all we need. But at an industry and society level, quantum computing could bring many exciting opportunities in the future.

Quantum computing is just one of 25 technology trends that I believe will transform our society. Read more about these key trends including plenty of real-world examples in my new book, Tech Trends in Practice: The 25 Technologies That Are Driving The 4th Industrial Revolution.

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What Is Quantum Supremacy And Quantum Computing? (And How Excited Should We Be?) - Forbes

The quest to build the ultimate computer has taken a big step forward following breakthroughs in ensuring its answers can be trusted.

Known as a quantum computer, such a machine exploits bizarre effects in the sub-atomic world to perform calculations beyond the reach of conventional computers.

First proposed almost 40 years ago, tech giants Microsoft, Google and IBM are among those racing to exploit the power of quantum computing, which is expected to transform fields ranging from weather forecasting and drug design to artificial intelligence.

The power of quantum computers comes from their use of so-called qubits, the quantum equivalent of the 1s and 0s bits used by conventional number-crunchers.

Unlike bits, qubits exploit a quantum effect allowing them to be both 1s and 0s at the same time. The impact on processing power is astonishing. Instead of processing, say, 100 bits in one go, a quantum computer could crunch 100 qubits, equivalent to 2 to the power 100, or a million trillion trillion bits.

At least, that is the theory. The problem is that the property of qubits that gives them their abilities known as quantum superposition is very unstable.

Once created, even the slightest vibration, temperature shift or electromagnetic signal can disturb the qubits, causing errors in calculations. Unless the superposition can be maintained long enough, the quantum computer either does a few calculations well or a vast amount badly.

For years, the biggest achievement of any quantum computer involved using a few qubits to find the prime factors of 15 (which every schoolchild knows are 3 and 5).

Using complex shielding methods, researchers can now stabilise around 50 qubits long enough to perform impressive calculations.

Last October, Google claimed to have built a quantum computer that solved in 200 seconds a maths problem that would have taken an ultra-fast conventional computer more than 10,000 years.

Yet even this billion-fold speed-up is just a shadow of what would be possible if qubits could be kept stable for longer. At present, many of the qubits have their powers wasted being used to spot and fix errors.

Now two teams of researchers have independently found new ways of tackling the error problem.

Physicists at the University of Chicago have found a way of keeping qubits stable for longer not by blocking disturbances, but by blurring them.

It is like sitting on a merry-go-round with people yelling all around you

Dr Kevin Miao, computing expert

In some quantum computers, the qubits take the form of electrons whose direction of spin is a superposition of both up and down. By adding a constantly flipping magnetic field, the team found that the electrons rotated so quickly that they barely noticed outside disturbances. The researchers explain the trick with an analogy: It's like sitting on a merry-go-round with people yelling all around you, says team member Dr Kevin Miao. When the ride is still, you can hear them perfectly, but if you're rapidly spinning, the noise blurs into a background.

Describing their work in the journal Science, the team reported keeping the qubits working for about 1/50th of a second - around 10,000 times longer than their lifetime if left unshielded. According to the team, the technique is simple to use but effective against all the standard sources of disturbance. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Sydney have come up with an algorithm that allows a quantum computer to work out how its qubits are being affected by disturbances and fix the resulting errors. Reporting their discovery in Nature Physics, the team says their method is ready for use with current quantum computers, and could work with up to 100 qubits.

These breakthroughs come at a key moment for quantum computing. Even without them, the technology is already spreading beyond research laboratories.

In June, the title of worlds most powerful quantum computer was claimed not by a tech giant but by Honeywell a company perhaps best known for central heating thermostats.

Needless to say, the claim is contested by some, not least because the machine is reported to have only six qubits. But Honeywell points out that it has focused its research on making those qubits ultra-stable which allows them to work reliably for far longer than rival systems. Numbers of qubits alone, in other words, are not everything.

And the company insists this is just the start. It plans to boost the performance of its quantum computer ten-fold each year for the next five years, making it 100,000 times more powerful still.

But apart from bragging rights, why is a company like Honeywell trying to take on the tech giants in the race for the ultimate computer ?

A key clue can be found in remarks made by Honeywell insiders to Forbes magazine earlier this month. These reveal that the company wants to use quantum computers to discover new kinds of materials.

Doing this involves working out how different molecules interact together to form materials with the right properties. Thats something conventional computers are already used for. But quantum computers wont just bring extra number-crunching power to bear. Crucially, like molecules themselves, their behaviour reflects the bizarre laws of quantum theory. And this makes them ideal for creating accurate simulations of quantum phenomena like the creation of new materials.

This often-overlooked feature of quantum computers was, in fact, the original motivation of the brilliant American physicist Richard Feynman, who first proposed their development in 1981.

Honeywell already has plans to use quantum computers to identify better refrigerants. These compounds were once notorious for attacking the Earths ozone layer, but replacements still have unwanted environmental effects. Being relatively simple chemicals, the search for better refrigerants is already within the reach of current quantum computers.

But Honeywell sees a time when far more complex molecules such as drugs will also be discovered using the technology.

For the time being, no quantum computer can match the all-round number-crunching power of standard computers. Just as Honeywell made its claim, the Japanese computer maker Fujitsu unveiled a supercomputer capable of over 500 million billion calculations a second.

Even so, the quantum computer is now a reality and before long it will make even the fastest supercomputer seem like an abacus.

Robert Matthews is Visiting Professor of Science at Aston University, Birmingham, UK

Updated: August 21, 2020 12:06 PM

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Has the world's most powerful computer arrived? - The National

A quantum physicist is laying out the real-world impact of quantum computers on cryptography and cryptocurrency.

In a YouTube video, quantum physicist Anastasia Marchenkova shares her two cents about the race to break encryption technology with quantum computers.

Shors [quantum] algorithm can break RSA and elliptic curve cryptography, which is a problem because a lot of our data these days is encrypted with those two algorithms. Quantum computers are not faster at everything. Theyre just faster at certain problems and it just happens that this RSA and elliptic curve encryptions fall under that umbrella.

But there are other encryption algorithms that are not affected by quantum computers and we have to discover them and then actually implement them and put them into action before a large enough quantum computer actually emerges. [Breaking cryptography] requires a huge amount of qubits, something like 10 million qubits estimated. But it was one of the first discoveries of what practical application that quantum computers can actually do.

[Quantum computing] harnesses quantum properties to actually factor numbers a lot faster, and thats the whole core of the security behind RSA encryption. The consequences of this is that our data is not going to be secure anymore if we get a big enough quantum computer. So were going to have to do something about it.

Quantum computing has recently grabbed headlines as it poses a serious threat to cryptographic algorithms which keeps cryptocurrencies and the internet secure. Quantum computers have the capability to crack complex mathematical problems as qubits or quantum bits can maintain a superimposition by being in two states at a given time.

Meanwhile, Marchenkova doesnt think crypto holders must find a way to move their Bitcoin to a quantum secure wallet immediately. But she does believe anyone holding crypto should be concerned and keep tabs on the latest developments because blockchains will one day need to be upgraded to protect against the rise of quantum computing.

Yes, you should worry. But not anytime soon. You dont need to move your Bitcoin today to some other quantum secure wallet But in general, how do we upgrade the blockchain?

We can fork it and moving forward everything will be fine assuming we find a good quantum secure algorithm. But what are we going to do with all the old coins or the coins that have all private their keys lost? Are we just going to say Sorry, bye, this part of the chain will no longer be valid unless you move it or re-encrypt it. Or are we going to find new technology?

I

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Will Quantum Computers Really Destroy Bitcoin? A Look at the Future of Crypto, According to Quantum Physicist Anastasia Marchenkova - The Daily Hodl

COMPUTING

IBM Doubles Its Quantum Computer Performance Stephen Shankland | CNET Theres now a race afoot to make the fastest quantum computer. What makes the quantum computing competition different from most in the industry is that rivals are taking wildly different approaches. Its like a race pitting a horse against a car against an airplane against a bicycle.

750 Million Genetically Engineered Mosquitos Approved for Release in Florida Keys Sandee LaMotte | CNN the pilot project is designed to test if a genetically modified mosquito is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides to control the Aedes aegypti. Its a species of mosquito that carries several deadly diseases, such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

A Rocket Scientists Love Algorithm Adds Up During Covid-19 Stephen Marche | Wired Online dating isway up, with more than half of users saying they have been on their dating appsmore during lockdown than before. Just as local businesses had to rush onto delivery platforms, and offices had to figure out Zoom meeting schedules, so the hard realities of the disease have pushed love in the direction it was already going: fully online.

How a Designer Used AI and Photoshop to Bring Ancient Roman Emperors Back to Life James Vincent | The Verge Machine learning is a fantastic tool for renovating old photos and videos. So much so that it can even bring ancient statues to life, transforming the chipped stone busts of long-dead Roman emperors into photorealistic faces you could imagine walking past on the street.

What If We Could Live for a Million Years? Avi Loeb | Scientific American With advances in bioscience and technology, one can imagine a post-Covid-19 future when most diseases are cured and our life span will increase substantially. If that happens, how would our goals change, and how would this shape our lives?

A Radical New Model of the Brain Illuminates Its Wiring Grace Huckins | Wired The brain literally is a network, agrees Olaf Sporns, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University. Its not a metaphor. Im not comparing apples and oranges. I think this is literally what it is. And if network neuroscience can produce a clearer, more accurate picture of the way that the brain truly works, it may help us answer questions about cognition and health that have bedeviled scientists since Brocas time.

How Life Could Continue to Evolve Caleb Scharf | Nautilus theultimate currency of life in the universe may be life itself: The marvelous genetic surprises that biological and technological Darwinian experimentation can come up with given enough diversity of circumstances and time. Perhaps, in the end, our galaxy, and even our universe, is simply the test tube for a vast chemical computation exploring a mathematical terrain of possibilities that stretches on to infinity.

British Grading Debacle Shows Pitfalls of Automating Government Adam Satariano | The New York Times Those who have called for more scrutiny of the British governments use of technology said the testing scandal was a turning point in the debate, a vivid and easy-to-understand example of how software can affect lives.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)

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This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through August 22) - Singularity Hub