Ever-growing lifespans force us to rethink retirement

A redesign of the retirement framework is essential to build the financial resilience necessary for longer lives

Source: Business Day

Medication vs mindfulness: Which is more effective?

It is estimated that about 265 million people worldwide live with an anxiety disorder, something the World Economic Forum labels “the world’s biggest mental health problem”. In 2019, the SA Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) revealed as many as one in six South Africans suffered from anxiety, depression or substance-use problems.

For a long time, the thousand-year-old practice of mindfulness was widely touted as a simple method that can help achieve inner peace and tranquillity. Now, researchers are studying this practice in more detail and are onto something even greater. In a new study, an eight-week mindfulness programme was shown to be as effective as a common antidepressant for reducing anxiety.

 

Source: New study reveals surprising results | Life

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Is the bicycle really an economic disaster?

A banker made economists think this when he said: ′′ A cyclist is a disaster for the country’s economy: he doesn’t buy cars or borrow money to buy. He doesn’t pay insurance policies. Doesn’t buy fuel, doesn’t pay to take the car to revision and repairs needed. Does not use paid parking. It doesn’t cause major accidents. Does not require multi lane highways. He doesn’t become obese

Healthy people are not necessary or useful to the economy. They don’t buy medicine. They don’t go to hospitals or doctors. They add nothing to the country’s GDP.

On the contrary, each new McDonald’s store creates at least 30 jobs, actually 10 cardiologists, 10 dentists, 10 diet experts and nutritionists, obviously as well as the people who work in the store itself “.

Emeric Sillo

Are entrepreneurs liars?

‘“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

— Robert Browning

Entrepreneur is a synonym for salesperson, and salesperson is the pedestrian term for storyteller. Pro tip: No startup makes sense. We (entrepreneurs) are all impostors who must deploy a fiction (i.e. story) that captures imaginations and capital to pull the future forward and turn rhyme into reason. No business I have started, at the moment of inception, made any sense … until it did. Or didn’t.

The only way to predict the future is to make it.’

Source: Tell Me a Story | No Mercy / No Malice

Retirement Plans

Entrepreneurs: Try Harder

Source: www.heavychef.org

On mindfulness and mental energy

“We’ve all come to work exhausted, or under the weather, or while experiencing some sort of physical pain. We power through it as best we can, unaware that our brains are redirecting critical resources to manage these issues. It’s a process that enables us to cope. But as Mike Christian, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, has found, these efforts take a toll on our performance. When our mental energy is depleted, we are less able to exhibit control over our emotions and behaviors — and are more likely to be disengaged, break rules, take part in deception, or even act unethically.

There’s also some interesting research showing that vacations help people get back to their full level of self-control. (They) have shown that whether you come back to work refreshed after a vacation depends not only on the amount of time you are away, but also on what you do during your vacation. People who engage in what they call mastery experiences — those where they learn a new skill, like scuba diving — are able to really disconnect and feel accomplished. When they get back to work, they are much more replenished than people who sit on the beach and might still ruminate about work.

Being able to focus on the moment raises your level of self-control, but it can also recharge you, better preparing you to meet your goals.”

 

Source: Mike Christian on mindfulness and mental energy

Exploring impactful business leadership

Does your business need a fixer? #044

Source: A podcast exploring impactful business leadership in today’s complex world

Retired homeowners can apply for a ‘reverse mortgage’

Retired South Africans who own homes but are cash-strapped may now apply for a loan, or “reverse mortgage,” suggested in a recent policy paper by the World Bank as a way to supplement pension income.

The home equity release finance plan offers pensioners access to a percentage of their home’s equity while they retain full ownership. The loan is settled on sale of the house or death and interest rates are substantially lower than unsecured loans.

Termed Freedom Finance, the loan is being offered to qualifying homeowners on Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard initially and will later be rolled out across the country.

Source: IOL

Financial solutions for retired homeowners

According to the World Bank: low-income senior homeowners may tap into their accumulated housing wealth to smooth consumption and increase their resilience against financial shocks, like this Covid 19 one. www.waterfinancial.biz