Published on the 18th of October, 2003
Dear Economist,
My wife and I can never agree about buying extended warranties. She says they’re a waste of money, I say better safe than sorry. Isn’t it just a matter of opinion?
– R.A., Taunton
Dear R.A.,
Needless to say, your wife is quite right…
Continued on the FT website - subscription required.
Published on the 17th of October, 2003
This piece was published at Open Democracy - it’s closely based on the FT Comment piece, “Iraq’s oil wealth must flow straight to its people”, below. But this piece is a little longer.
I often share a taxi home with friends, and wonder how best to split the bill. When dropping a friend off first, I have received contributions varying from nothing to the full fare. If I get out first, what should I pay? As a woman with a large collection of frivolous shoes, walking home is a last resort.
Frances, Brussels
Last week I mused about whether people in general were saving enough for retirement. (The answer: as far as we can tell, most people are.) This week I have decided to take on a far more important question: am I saving enough for retirement?
Apparently this activity is called “retirement planning”, which strikes me as a silly phrase given the imponderables involved.
Saving for retirement is usually posed as a problem of willpower: foolish, impatient people save too little and doom themselves to an old age devoid of Caribbean cruises. The real problem is not lack of willpower but lack of omniscience...