Category Archives: Financial Independence

The public health and economic toll the coronavirus pandemic caused are well documented. Perhaps less understood are the social impacts. According to a report from Pew Research Center, young adults in the United States were more likely to be living with at least one parent in July 2020 than at any time since the Great Depression.

The historic numbers of young adults either moving back home or choosing to remain there during the pandemic appears to have been a continuation of a broader trend. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 34.4% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 lived with at least one parent, grandparent, or former guardian in 2019 -- compared to 31.5% in 2010.

The likelihood of young adults residing with their parents varies considerably from state to state.

There are 1.7 million people between the ages of 18 and 34 in New York state living with at least one parent or grandparent, or 37.7% of the young adult population.

A number of factors in the state may make it more difficult for those in the early stages of a career to achieve financial independence and afford their own place to live. For one, unemployment in New York stands at 8.5%, well above the 6.2% national average. Additionally, housing is not especially affordable in the state, as the median home value of $338,700 is nearly five times higher than the median household income of $61,980. Nationwide, the typical home is worth less than four times the median household income.

To determine the states where the most young adults live with their parents, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on family and household type from the Public Use Microdata Sample summary files of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey. States were ranked on the percentage of adults 18 to 34 years old who live with their biological parents, adoptive parents, steparents, foster parents, or grandparents in 2019. Supplemental data on the median age at first marriage of the 15 to 54 year-old cohort came from the Census Bureau's 2019 ACS. Data on regional price parity used to calculate cost of living came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and is for 2019.

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Young Adults in New York Are More Likely than Average to Live with their Parents - Salamanca Press

On Thursday I provoked a lot of conversation from some of my friends in High Places with this column posted late in the day that packed some power in only a few paragraphs:

May 06, 2021 ' 03:30 PM EDT DOUG KASS

* Fearing more cowbell

How is "transitory" inflation (high) price stability? Is the Fed violating a core tenet of its mandate? Can they make their own mandate now?

If "transitory" inflation is OK, why isn't transitory deflation OK? Isn't transitory deflation what their "models" should have suggested with regard to COVID? Virus goes away, economy recovers. Don't need a model. Bridge the gap fine, make sure the underlying financial alchemy hangs together, but after that well why the need to react so much to a transitory theoretical deflationary situation which never even turned out to be deflationary? They may argue there is substantial risk to transitory deflation, and it could feed on itself and create a fair bit of damage. Fine, same can be said of transitory inflation as well. In fact, more economic disasters in the world have been born out of inflationary disasters as opposed to deflationary disasters. The inflationary disasters tend to seem to start with poor governance, both fiscal and monetary, that we are seeing now.

My guess is the answer to all of this is the Fed is no longer an independent entity and has become entangled in politics. Further, the Fed has its own version of cancel culture. Follow doctrine, you are acceptable as an economist, and you become part of the group. Disagree, well you are just an old school curmudgeon stuck in the dark ages and you don't get a seat at the table. Mix that with the aforementioned lack of independence and politicization of the Fed, and you have a dangerous condition.

P.S. - Interesting from the State of Montana

With regard to my last point about the Fed no longer being independent of the Executive Branch, this little ditty hit the wires late in the day -- and it probably was the reason the market bounced right into the close as the headlines hit.

Fed Chair Powell, who has already been far too accommodative, is clearly getting pressure to remain more than highly accommodative and support aggressive fiscal policy as well by continuing to monetize our debt. At a minimum these little leaks are one more warning shot across the bow, "toe the line or you will be replaced."

Further to my point about lack of Fed independence -- in addition to them ignoring their own mandate -- appointing Yellen to run Treasury, given she was the former head of the Fed, also crosses a dangerous line with regard to the theoretical independence of the Fed.

Then this article below.

Full of contentions like this,"how the Federal Reserve manages the economy must be part of the Administration's policy vision as it decides who will lead the central bank," Fed Up urges the White House to back legislation to require the Fed to discuss racial employment and wage gaps twice a year, and what steps it is taking to eliminate them, and to create Fed Accounts to provide access to lower cost financial services and the more efficient distribution of federal benefits and aid. The proposal calls for standing Fed credit facilities to support real economy investment, not just financial markets in emergencies, and for more oversight over the lightly regulated financial sector that engages in bank-like activities. Finally, the group calls for more diversity among the Fed's leadership and regional bank boards." These guys more or less want the Fed to become progressive policy advocates. (Disclosure to readers, I am a Progressive Democrat!) That is clearly NOT part of the Fed mandate.

The plot seems to be badly lost among many now. Then again the Fed seems to be setting their own mandate now, so why stop here? Oversight of the Supreme Court? Becoming a 51ststate? Taking over the CIA and FBI and Justice Department? Educational policy?

Lastly, back to Lael Brainard. The latest financial stability report -- where she is one of the more influential authors -- contained the following quotes. Isn't it ironic? Put policy in place that causes excessive risk taking, but then warn that all the risk taking in turn could lead to broader stress on the financial system should said risk appetite reverse.

So are they trying to tap the brakes OR is this an admission that they cannot tap the brakes and must do more of the same to make sure risk taking accelerates to ludicrous speed? This is sort of how Ponzi schemes and drugs work. You always need more, or it comes undone.

Prices may be vulnerable to "significant declines" should risk appetite fall, the Fed report noted:

* "...Should risk appetite decline from elevated levels, a broad range of asset prices could be vulnerable to large and sudden declines, which can lead to broader stress to the financial system."

* "Indicators pointing to elevated risk appetite in equity markets in early 2021 include the episodes of high trading volumes and price volatility for so-called meme stocks -- stocks that increased in trading volume after going viral on social media," the report said.

* "Elevated equity issuance through SPACs also suggests a higher-than-typical appetite for risk among equity investors."

The latest Financial Stability Report provides valuable analysis to track increases in financial system vulnerabilities. I would highlight a few areas. Vulnerabilities associated with elevated risk appetite are rising. Valuations across a range of asset classes have continued to rise from levels that were already elevated late last year. Equity indices are setting new highs, equity prices relative to forecasts of earnings are near the top of their historical distribution, and the appetite for risk has increased broadly, as the "meme stock" episode demonstrated. Corporate bond markets are also seeing elevated risk appetite, and the spreads of lower quality speculative-grade bonds relative to Treasury yields are among the tightest we have seen historically. The combination of stretched valuations with very high levels of corporate indebtedness bear watching because of the potential to amplify the effects of a re-pricing event.

The FSR describes the failure of Archegos Capital Management and the associated losses at a number of large banks. It highlights the potential for nonbank financial institutions such as hedge funds and other leveraged investors to generate large losses in the financial system. The Archegos event illustrates the limited visibility into hedge fund exposures and serves as a reminder that available measures of hedge fund leverage may not be capturing important risks. The potential for material distress at hedge funds to affect broader financial conditions underscores the importance of more granular, higher-frequency disclosures.

With investors ebullient on expectations for a strong rebound, it is important to closely monitor risks to the system and ensure the financial system is resilient. With valuations and risk appetite at elevated levels, strong microprudential safeguards and macroprudential tools such as the Countercyclical Capital Buffer will be important to address risks to financial stability and enable monetary policy to focus on its maximum employment and average inflation goals.

My concerns are multiple:

Considering that our government now appears willing to to pay for free community college, pre-school, childcare and those are all brand new entitlement programs, the debt buildup will only accelerate further on top of the initial spending.

Below is a chart of U.S. Treasury marketable debt since 1975 from Peter Boockvar.

Again, the debt build up is not really transitory.

(This commentary originally appeared on Real Money Pro on May 6. Click here to learn about this dynamic market information service for active traders and to receive Doug Kass's Daily Diary and columns from Paul Price, Bret Jensen and others.)

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

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Kass: Questioning the Fed's Policy, Independence and Mandate - RealMoney

Make 2021 the Year You Finally open a Roth IRA, for the most tax free income in retirement.

The Roth IRA is one of the largest gifts ever bestowed upon the American taxpayers by congress. While many people ignore the Roth IRA, it has been around for more than 20 years. Even small contributions over time can grow into a substantial amount of tax-free income in retirement. Sadly, the Roth IRA is often ignored by high-income earners and the financial advisors who help them. Many earn too much money to contribute, or the lazy financial advisor just ignores the tax benefits because the contribution limits are too small to worry about for the ultra-high net worth client (so they think).

Roth IRA BASICS

ARoth IRAis a type of retirement savings account. However, unlike a Traditional IRA or 401(k), you will not receive a tax deduction when you make contributions, but your money will grow tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free during retirement. (That's assuming you follow a few Roth IRA rules).The Roth IRA is also not subject to required minimum distributions which means your tax-free growth can compound even longer.

The younger you are the more valuable the ROTH IRA tax benefits can be.

Contribute to a Roth When You Can. Your Income May Limit or Eliminate Your Eligibility.

The good news for procrastinators is you can contribute to a Roth IRA when you are filing your taxes for the previous year. Your Roth IRA contribution deadline for 2020 is May 17th, 2021. The sooner your Roth IRA contribution is made, the further into the future, your potential investment earnings will be sheltered from taxation.The longer your tax savings compound, the bigger the tax planning benefit of a Roth IRA.

For 2020, if you are married and filing jointly, each spouse can make a full $6,000 Roth IRA contribution if they have an AGI (adjusted gross income) of less than $196,000. For singles, that number is a bit lower at $124,000. Contribution limits drop if you earn more than these amounts, and you can't contribute at all if you are lucky enough to earn more than $206,000 as a married couple and $139,000 as a single individual. Notice, there is a marriage penalty in play here. I'm just saying.

For 2021, Roth IRA income limits have increased slightly; if you are married and filing jointly, both you and your spouse can each make a full $6,000 Roth IRA contribution if you have an AGI (adjusted gross income) of less than $198,000. For singles, that number is a bit lower at $125,000. Contribution limits drop if you earn more than these amounts, and you can't contribute at all if you are lucky enough to earn more than $208,000 as a married couple and $140,000 as a single individual.

If your income is close to the threshold limits above, consider saving the $6,000 throughout the year into a regular investment account. Then, take those funds and put the maximum you are allowed into the Roth IRA when filing taxes. Most people find it is often easier to come up with money over a year's time versus scrapping together a large lump sum at tax time.

Like A Fine Napa Wine, Roth IRAs Get Better As You Age

There are two main ways a Roth IRA gets better as you age. First, there is an allowable catch-up contribution of $1,000, per year, for those who have reached 50 years oldbringing the total contribution to $7,000 per year. On the other hand, the longer you hold a Roth, the more valuable the tax-free growth may become.

For example, if you fully funded a Roth IRA for ten years (assuming a net 10% investment return), you would have accumulated around $95,000. Whereas, if you save $6,000, per year, for 20 years, you would have around $343,000.Going a bit further, if you started contributing to a Roth IRA at 22 and kept contributing until age seventy, you could have a mind-blowing $5,760,000 on just $288,000 of contributions. Don't forget all this money can be withdrawn tax-free. So, get started as early as you can; I started funding my Roth IRA shortly after graduating from college at age 22 and before I even had a real job lined up.

A Spousal Roth IRA can help you become a Roth IRA Millionaire faster and easier.Even when one spouse doesn't work, you may still be able to open a Spousal Roth IRA. Whether your husband or wife is a stay-at-home spouse or just between jobs, a spousal contribution will allow your household to contribute to the non-earning spouse. This, of course, assumes you qualify for contributions based on the income limits.

Married couples can also use the Spousal ROTH IRA

Ignore This Roth IRA Benefit:Easy Access to Money

For those of you who are just getting started investing for the future, tying up money until you retire (decades in the future) may scare the crap out of you. What happens if you have an emergency and you need money? Roth IRA owners can withdraw their contributions after they have been in the account for five years, for any reason, without paying taxes or penalties. I mention this as a nice, friendly kick in the butt to make sure you get started saving. There is no excuse not to invest for the future. I say to ignore this Roth IRA benefit because if you use this account as a piggy bank, you will likely never accumulate enough wealth to achieve financial independence, let alone maintain a basic standard of living in retirement. Bottom line you can touch your Roth IRA money, BUT DON'T.

To have full access to your "tax-free withdrawals," you need to fulfill the Roth IRA five-year rule. This rule means you can't withdraw your earnings, tax-free, for at least five years from the beginning of the tax year for which you made your first Roth IRA contribution. This applies even if you are older than 59 .

Of course, you can still pull out all your contributions at any time. If you've been saving for years and have a substantial Roth IRA, this rule shouldn't really cause much of an issue. On the other hand, if you are starting late, make sure to work with your CPA and fiduciary financial planner on a smart withdrawal strategy so you can potentially avoid unwanted taxation on your Roth IRA distributions.

Some taxpayer may get both a tax credit and tax free growth and withdrawal with a ROTH IRA ... [+] contribution in 2021.

The Roth IRA Double-Tax Benefit for Some Taxpayers

For once, there is a tax benefit exclusively for those in the lower income tax brackets. As I mentioned above, you don't get a tax deduction when you contribute to a Roth IRA, but you also don't have to pay taxes when you make withdrawals in retirement. (If you follow the simple Roth IRA rules.) If this isn't enough motivation, there is an extra tax bonus for low-income workers who are smart enough to make Roth IRA contributions. This bonus comes in the form of the saver's credit. If in 2021 you make less than $39,500, single, or $66,000 as a married couple, you can potentially receive a tax credit for 10-50% of your contributions to a Roth IRA. This credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your taxes owed. For those who don't owe taxes, you can receive the credit as a refund.

This is like getting paid by the government to save for retirement. Your money will grow tax-free, come out tax-free, and you get a tax credit for contributing.

Just as a reminder, if you were to contribute $6,000 to a Roth IRA from the age of 22 until the age of 70, you would have contributed $288,000. Assuming a 10% annual return, your Roth IRA could potentially be worth $5,761,000. Keep in mind; this money can be withdrawn tax-free. If this isn't motivation tostart a Roth IRAtoday, I don't know what is.

For those above the income limits to fund a Roth IRA, you may have the option to fund a Roth 401(k) at work, use the Rich Person Roth IRA, or perhaps consider the backdoor Roth IRA strategies.

There is no better day than today to get started on the road to financial independence. Reach out to afiduciary certified financial plannerwho can help you develop a plan to make sure you are on track for your various financial goals. Whether you are just starting in the workforce or eying retirement, there is always a way to improve your financial health.

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What You Need To Know In 2021 About The Roth IRA - Forbes

Mothers Day honors motherhood, women who provide maternal bonds in our life and the influence that these moms have on our society.

FreightWaves interviewed four mothers in the industry, including three drivers and one mother who helps run the operations, a job commonly held by women in the industry.

Anna Alderete is the mother of three daughters and a grandmother to three grandchildren. She was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years and became a truck driver to provide herself with financial independence. She has been driving since 2012 and currently drives for TMT Industries.

Anna can be easily spotted on the road with her pink underglows, a customization provided to her by her company. TMT Industries was the featured truck and driver in the May issue of Truck Club.

LaKeesha Martin is the mother to one biological child, two stepchildren, five adopted foster children and grandmother to three grandchildren. She is a CDL driver with over 26 years of experience and the creator of TruckersLyfe: Helping Highway Heros, where she is commonly known as Queen Kee to her mentees.

She is also the author of the H.E.R. Method: You Are Precious Cargo, a guide to personal protection for truck drivers.

Tracy Gaudette is the mother to two children. After a painful divorce, Gaudette decided to start her new life as a truck driver, a career her mother and stepdad once did as a team. She has been driving for over five years and drives for U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:USX).

Tracy has been awarded team driver of the month and team driver of the year at U.S. Xpress. She received the member of the month award in October from the Women in Trucking Association.

Melissa Gaglione has a blended family with her fianc, to whom she is the mother figure of 5 children. She is an operations manager at her fiancs towing company and the president of Safety4her Inc., a high-visibility line of clothing for women working in the logistics industry.

Melissa started the company after finding that clothing that would comply with regulations was too long or too wide and heavy for most women and decided to design safety clothing that properly fit, including patent pending safety leggings.

She is also a member of the Women of Towing and Recovery Association and Women in Trucking Association.

These interviews were edited for clarity and length.

FREIGHTWAVES: What is it like to be a mother in the industry?

Alderete: I had never spent more than 3 days away from my daughters so it was really hard for me when I first started driving a truck. Luckily, the Relief and Recovery Fleet was very flexible and I would be out for two weeks and home for one week [at a time]. That helped me ease into it.

Martin: The worst thing about being away from my children was not being able to hug them whenever I wanted. Before there were such things like Zoom, I would look forward to phone calls at the end of my driving day.

A truck driving mom has dilemmas that tug on her heart, similar to a deployed military mom. Mom guilt is just that, because for the most part, dads who work away from home are not stigmatized for their decision to be away from home. Adaptability and clear communication with my littles very early in their lives helped us to deal with the obstacles.

Gaudette: It can be difficult at times because when your children need you, you are hundreds of miles away and you have to try to fix things over the phone. On the plus side though, both of my children think that their mom is one of the coolest moms out there.

Gaglione: It is definitely a juggling act! I think as women we try to do it all and learning to slow down and smell the roses has helped. We have a blended family of 5 kids so I can say there is never a boring moment and I am not sure what silence is anymore. Still, I would not trade it for anything!

FREIGHTWAVES: What could the industry change to help support mothers?

Alderete: Currently, the industry is very supportive for mothers. Truckers are in such high demand that companies will work with you on finding that perfect schedule. You might have to get some road experience first but once you have around two years under your belt and a clean record, you have options.

I think there is also less gender inequality. Rates are equal across the board.

Martin: It would be helpful if more truck stops included kid-friendly zones. Some truck stops have dog walking areas to accommodate pets and it would not be a big leap to add a swing set or jungle gym area for kiddos to stretch their legs.

There are changing areas in the womens restroom but if they added a family restroom that was separated from the public restroom it would be a good start. Many stores and airports have added these features to assist families. This area could also serve as a lactation station for breastfeeding mothers to have privacy. They could also designate a family shower stall much like the one they have for the handicapped. The extra space and time to get clean with your little ones can be challenging inside a regular shower stall.

Gaudette: I think that parents, not just mothers, need support and perhaps one way would be to be a little bit flexible with hometime. The company I work for (U.S. Xpress) has been awesome in this regard and I have no complaints.

Gaglione: I think being more open to understanding men and women are not the same and we require different adjustments in some areas. One of the major areas is safety clothing, as we are not shaped the same as men.

Another area is emotional safety for women. Balancing being a mother, a manager, an owner, and other hats can be difficult for women to emotionally deal with.

FREIGHTWAVES: Do your children ever go on the road with you or your significant other?

Alderete: Ive taken each one of my daughters out on the road with me. My youngest, Jelly, was my first passenger when she was 13 years old. We ran 11 states in 6 days. My second born, Andie, ran with me quite a few times. I believe she saw almost 30 states. My oldest ran locally with me to Las Vegas and San Diego a few times. I love having them roll out with me!

Martin: When they were little, between the ages of birth and five years old, they came along. Car seats, pack and plays and diaper bags all found their place in the bunk area.

When they became school aged, I had help from family members and I adjusted my long-haul driving to a regional dedicated lane that allowed me to be home every Friday. My truck soon became summer camp as they packed up to ride with me during their breaks. This was the system I put in place while I was a single mom.

Gaudette: No. My oldest is an adult who just recently got engaged so her life right now is working, saving, and planning a wedding. My youngest just became old enough, by company policy, to ride in the truck but then the pandemic hit and she has been quarantined and doing remote schooling. She just recently started going back to school in person and is loving the social interaction with her friends. I wont take her away from that.

Gaglione: We have not and honestly I try to concentrate on family when we do take our vacations, even though that really never happens in the transportation industry.

FREIGHTWAVES: What is your perfect Mothers Day gift?

Alderete: I know its cheesy but of course it would be to have all three of my daughters under the same roof. A little challenging when my Marine is based in Okinawa and my sailor is based in Port Hueneme. Well try again next year.

Martin: To be able to hug, hold and kiss my children and grandchildren. I havent been able to visit them physically in about a year and a half. Due to the dangers of my exposure to COVID-19, our family decided it was safer to not have in person gatherings.

Gaudette: Anything from my kids that shows me they are glad I am their Mom. Every year, they do just that.

Gaglione: Its the small simple things. I am always busy and running around so the perfect gift is my children letting me know that they are happy and they know they are loved.

FREIGHTWAVES: How are you spending your Mothers Day this year?

Alderete: Ill be spending it with two of my daughters. We will video chat with my Marine.

Martin: I have no plans set for this Mothers Day. I usually just field calls from the kids and grandkids.

My husband used to make a bigger deal out of the day than the children, to show his appreciation. I have been a widow now for 12 years, so that tradition has long become a pleasant memory.

I already set aside every Sunday for self care, so I will probably do one of my favorite self care things and schedule a massage.

Gaudette: This year I will be working but I was just home on vacation at the end of April and we celebrated Mothers Day while I was home.

Gaglione: We normally just hangout and maybe go for dinner. Were a pretty active family and like to be outside boating, swimming, riding bikes, and many other things.

Click here for more articles by Grace Sharkey.

Related Articles:

H.E.R. Method teaches trucking safety tips

Why women are increasingly interested in driving trucks

Daily Infographic: Women in trucking

Read the rest here:

Mothers make the trucking world go around - FreightWaves

Norway's sovereign wealth fund has called for increased independence and diversity requirements to be included in revisions of Japan's corporate governance guidelines.

Norges Bank Investment Management, the in-house manager of the Government Pension Fund Global, Oslo, said in separate letters to Japan's Financial Services Authority and the Tokyo Stock Exchange that it invested $76.2 billion in 1,499 Japanese companies at the end of 2020. Executives running the fund, which had 11.03 trillion Norwegian kroner ($1.29 trillion) in assets as of March 31, were responding to consultations by Japan's FSA on changes to its guidelines for investor and company engagement and to the stock exchange's consultation on revisions to the country's corporate governance code.

"We regard the protection of minority shareholders through good corporate governance as necessary to safeguard and promote the fund's long-term financial interests," the letters said.

In the letter to the FSA, NBIM executives highlighted the importance of board independence, board composition, the nomination process and sustainability reporting as four issues for the fund and manager investing in the Japanese equities market.

It made a number of recommendations for each area of concern, although also noted a "gradual increase in independence levels on Japanese boards since the introduction of guidelines in 2018.

The FSA is recommending in its revised guidelines that companies listed on Japan's prime market that at least one-third of the board is composed of independent directors. However, NBIM said that, over time, it would encourage that a majority of the board be independent over time, to align with global best practices.

Diversity of competences and backgrounds was also high on NBIM's recommendation list, with a call for an "appropriate gender balance."

The letter also welcomed a recommendation on enhancing dialogue between shareholders and companies. "Over the last years, we have seen that Japanese companies are increasingly willing to engage with shareholders. We would welcome further engagement directly with independent directors, especially in companies where the chairperson is an executive," the letter said.

The second letter, to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, regarded a consultation on changes to Japan's corporate governance code, introduced in 2015.

As well as echoing calls for increased independence and diversity of board members, NBIM said the code could be made more effective by the introduction of reporting against its standards in English by all companies, to be published "well in advance of the annual shareholder meeting."

"This would enable us to consider the companies' own reporting when we make our voting decisions and engage with Japanese companies," the letter said.

Both letters were signed by Carine Smith Ihenacho, chief governance and compliance officer, and Peter Alexis Wegerich, senior economist.

Continue reading here:

Norway wealth fund calls on Japanese boards to boost diversity, independence - Pensions & Investments

Young Americans are constantly told that they need to contribute to a 401(k) plan, meet the employer match and if they dont have access to a 401(k), to start an individual retirement account and thats just the beginning.

In order to safeguard their future nest egg, savers must understand the very basics of investment, which includes picking the right stocks and bonds, knowing how to balance their fund options and remembering to monitor the plan every so often.

MarketWatch teamed up with Barrons Live to provide its readers and viewers with a three-part webinar series on retirement savings for people in their 20s through 40s. The series, called Getting ready for retirement: From Gen X to Gen Z, everything you need to know, includes conversations with guests well-versed in the personal finance landscape.

The first part of the series, held on April 21, went beyond the basics of retirement advice with Roger Ma, a certified financial planner and founder of advisory firm lifelaidout, and Jully-Alma Taveras, a personal finance blogger and coach at Investing Latina.

Americans know they need to open up a retirement account, or meet the employer match, but not everyone knows how to pick the right investments for their portfolios or move over an old retirement account if they tend to jump from job to job. Taveras and Ma answered questions, such as: What are the biggest mistakes Americans make in regards to their retirement savings? Should they be heavily invested in equities or bonds, and how does the current low-rate environment affect their retirement assets? When shouldnt someone set and forget their retirement portfolio? And how can they be sure the investment choices they made were sound choices?

The second part of the series, held on April 28, discussed alternative sources of income in retirement, such as annuities, home equity and Social Security. On May 5, the third and last session will discuss the future of retirement for younger generations and the meaning of and path to financial independence.

See the original post here:

Getting started: The do's and don'ts of retirement saving and investing - MarketWatch

Many people approaching traditional retirement age choose not to retire for a variety of reasons. Some are driven by a sense of purpose and community; others are pulled back by financial necessity.

One third of older adults in central Indiana have difficulty paying for basic needs, according to a new study from SAVI and IUPUI. Because of racial disparities in lifetime earnings, the magnitude of those effects look different across race.

Black workers in Indiana, who earn 79 cents on every dollar earned by white workers, end up receiving less through social security benefits at retirement age. As a result, the poverty rate among older Black Hoosiers is 10 times higher than the rate for white Hoosiers.

How and why do older adults have to decide between work and retirement, and what additional challenges do they face? WFYI business and economy reporter Pria Mahadevan spoke with Tauhric Brown, president and CEO of CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions, to learn more.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Pria Mahadevan, WFYI: What drives people over 60 to come back into the workforce?

Tauhric Brown, CICOA: What we do know from the SAVI report is that our African American community, our Latinx communities are the two that appear to be disproportionately impacted from the earnings that one has throughout their career. And so what that does is, when they get to the end of their professional journey thinking it's time to retire, they find themselves in a position where they can't fully retire. They've got to keep some sense of income coming in, so that everything that they need to handle can be handled.

Mahadevan: And so is there anything about the nature of work that has changed in the last 40 or 50 years that you believe has contributed to this shift?

Brown: One of the things is, the old style of folks working 30, 40 years in one place -- those days are long gone, right? Company pensions and things that folks worked 20, 30 years to begin drawing down on have been changed quite a bit. And so, when people get to that point where they've got to decide, Do I get my prescription, which is really important for me to have, or do I eat? You never want folks having to make that kind of decision. But you and I both know that does happen.

Mahadevan: What are the policy issues behind that? Like, how did we end up in this place where an older adult may want to retire, but can't because they need to put food on their table or make sure they're getting their prescription?

Brown: Yeah, you know, what, I wish I had the answer to that at a policy level. When you get to that public policy, it's difficult to just say, flip this switch and do that. So my approach has always been, let's try and figure out on the ground, [in] neighborhoods, in the communities, community business organizations collaborating.

One of the things I talked about is computer literacy -- that's one area where we know at a certain point, maybe it's that 75 [years old] up, maybe it's 80 [years old] up, are not as tech savvy, perhaps, as some of those younger, older adults. And so that sparks an opportunity. What might we be able to do to help improve those skills to help develop those skills, so that if this 73, 74 year old man or woman says, I want to re-enter the workforce, gosh, they've got some great skills that they've developed to give them a shot at maybe securing something that's a little higher paying than what they might have thought they could get ahold of before.

Mahadevan: And I'm curious specifically for financial independence, and what early interventions to increase or better financial independence within the senior community might look like?

Brown: Yeah, and that's a wonderful point. My thing is -- if you can get to people sooner, right? So, I wish we could have met that 75 year old individual who's still working today, 35 years ago. There are many organizations in Central Indiana, whose missions are about the Latinx community, the African American community, and they are engaging that age spectrum. It literally is going to take an entire community of community business organizations to begin to transform what this SAVI report really shows and demonstrates for us.

Contact WFYI business and economy reporterPria Mahadevan at pmahadevan@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @priamaha.

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What Keeps Older Adults In The Workforce? - WFYI

Swiss finance is home to a burgeoning group of female bloggers. Ex-banker Carolina Newton introduces five of the key finfluencers every banker should be following.

Behind the banking scene, a fast-growing community ofSwiss-basedwomen are attempting a financialrevolution on social media. The discrepancy between the genders in terms of financial education was laid bare ina recent paper by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.

The role of finance bloggers shouldn't be underestimated: they helpbanks and financial service providers to increase their customer basis andpointout what ismissing in the world of finance in order to cater to women.

That's why every banker (male or female) should know about the following five Swiss female finance bloggers, follow them, andprobably even learn from them:

Carolina Newton

1. Finelles.comInstagram @finellescom

ClaraCreitz is the founder of Finelles, a learning platform and community for female investors. She has been working in the financial industry for almost ten years in various roles for companies such as UBS, Julius Baer, PwC, and HDI. In 2018 she realized through a discussion with colleagues that despite working for a bank many of them men or women did not take care of their personal finances.

After conducting a survey of 120 women Clara found out: Most of the surveyed women were doing fine with budgeting and basic banking products, but they were completely clueless about investing. Furthermore, she found out that even though these women knew nothing about investing, they were indeed interested in learning about it. As a result, she founded Finelles in order to offer what these women were looking for.

2. Investlikeaysha.com Instagram @ayshavandepaer

Offers a free blog, e-mail course, book club, and a paid program invest at REST in English

Aysha van de Paerhas over a decade of professional experience in private equity and real estate investing with firms such as Aventicum Capital Management, Bowfonds Investment Management as well as EY andPwC. In early 2017, I lost my husband Karl in a road accident while expecting our second child,she says. The new financial reality that followed inspired me to share my personal story and knowledge about investing to help women achieve financial security over the long term.

Showing women how to compensate for the financial disadvantages they face and become confident investors became her mission. She offers several free resources to start learning aboutinvesting, including a free email course available on her blog, a book club on personal finance and investing with over 1,200 members, and a paid program Invest at REST.

3. Liebefinanzen.ch

Instagram @liebefinanzen.ch

Offers free content inGerman

Helga is an experienced travel bloggerand normally travels non-stop. The pandemic put hertravel lifestyle on an immediate hold, and shestarted to rethink her personal financial situation.Hercomprehension and knowledge ofthe stock market, ETFs, and investing in generalis entirely self-taught:she has neither a background in finance nor a college degree.

Her personal investment journey isavailablefor freeonliebefinanzen.ch: Myblog is addressed to stock market beginners.My goal isto reduce inhibitions and take away fears of contactwith the world of finance. I do not believe in tradingand speculation on the stock marketwhich is why I write about long-term investments and wealth creation,says Helga.Her goal is to retire at 50 and having the choice to work as much or as little asshe would like.

4. Loveandfinance.chInstagram @loveandfinance

Offersa free blog, paide-book, money mentoring, and more in English

Elsie'sblog is about how to start investing, her own wealth updates as well as about her financialfailures (such as never creating a prenuptial agreement). I've become inspired by others and hope tobean inspiration as well to those who have experienced similar setbacks in love and finance, explainsthe 30-something divorcee, who worked in finance for a long time. She never applied what she learnedon the job to her personal finance but decided to changethat in order to become financiallyindependent. In addition to her blog, she offers ane-bookwhich helps people get on the path offinancial independence with a particular focus on Europeansand Swiss.

5. Missfinance.chInstagram @missfinance.ch

Offers free content in German

Angela Mygind currently works as an executive assistantand spent severalyears in the tourism industrybefore that. I observedwhen talking tomyfemale friendsthat theywantedto take care oftheirfinances,buttheirlack of knowledgeprevented them from doing so.Aftermany books,blogs,articles, and Youtube videos,Irealized that investing is not as hard as it looked.

Finding the right information and ideas was the hardest part about her financial education journey, which is why shedecided to share her experience. Her blog offers free educational content about topics such as theSwiss pension system (Pillar 3a), stock market investments, ETFs, and the respective investmentplatform.

Carolina Newtonis the operating chief and a board member of Swissfintechladies, anetwork for women in the finance and tech industry. She believes income inequality can be more adequately addressed by a wider participation in financial markets. Educating women about investing is one aspect to solving the problem. Newton, who began her career as a forex broker, has more than ten years experience in banking and finance.

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The Female Finfluencers Bankers Need to Know - finews.com

Im 24, have been a licensed U.S. Soccer Federation official for 11 years, love sports and am openly gay. I hope one day to become a professional referee at the highest level.

I love being a soccer referee. It has given me the opportunity to grow as an individual and improve communication skills I will be able to carry with me throughout my lifetime. Starting at a young age also gave me a better sense of financial independence and the importance of saving money early.

At first, it was very intimidating officiating a game where there would be conflict and I was only 13 years old. I would have to interact with disgruntled parents, coaches, and even scarier, kids my age or older. It took a lot of on-field experience and mental toughness on my part.

While I was learning to grow as a young official, I was also learning to grow as a young person who was trying to become more comfortable with my sexuality.

Being gay and passionate about sports is something that was new to me, but I am here to continue breaking stereotypes. I am proud that I have been able to express my sexuality while being heavily involved with sports. Both play a huge role in my life and I am so grateful for where my experiences have brought me today.

I started playing soccer at a young age in my hometown of Orlando, Florida, through a church league. I moved up to northern Indiana in fourth grade where I continued playing soccer while also trying various other sports. My love was and continues to be soccer. I played goalkeeper not only because I was the tallest on the team, but mostly because it was my favorite position.

Growing up, I always loved taking charge and leading others and those qualities play a huge role in being a goalkeeper. Sports have always given me the chance to express myself and be passionate without the fear of what others will think of me.

While I loved playing the game, I quickly realized I had a lot of potential officiating soccer also. My brother had a game where the official didnt show up and I volunteered, as a 13-year-old, to fill in. Someone gave me the number to a referee assignor and I quickly got involved and started officiating more games. I stopped playing after I became licensed and got more heavily involved with the officiating world.

I am going into my 11th season as a licensed USSF official, but my journey to get where I am now wasnt the easiest.

While I am proud to call myself a Hoosier, I grew up around many who didnt believe it was OK to be gay. This is something I struggle with. I was hiding who I truly am and not able to feel comfortable enough to express my sexuality.

I started officiating during a time where I was trying to figure out who I was. I would officiate players who I thought were attractive, but I never thought anything of it. I just thought it was normal, but I didnt realize until later in my youth that I was gay. It took a while to accept.

I quickly realized that I had more people than not supporting me and loving me for me. Sexuality didnt change the way people thought of me. Officiating soccer has given me the opportunity to be independent, remain passionate, lead others and continue to participate in a sport that I love.

Through my involvement with soccer, I have found other outlets to officiate and also play sports such as softball, volleyball, basketball and futsal through my involvement with Indiana Universitys recreational sports program, which is where I attended for my undergrad and worked during my four years in Bloomington.

Sports have always been something that has played a huge role in my life whether its officiating, playing, watching in person or on television. This all stemmed from my early exposure to sports through playing and officiating soccer. I participated in the student sections from high school through college, bought season tickets and traveled hundreds of miles to big sporting events.

Sports have had a huge impact on my life. It is a part of my life where I have felt most comfortable expressing myself and this isnt limited to my sexuality. It truly is amazing to me to see where I started as a youth soccer player and how it has turned out as an adult who has officiated the game for more than a decade and is an avid sports follower.

I hope I can show others that it is OK to break the stereotypes and be who you want to be and express yourself in any way you see fit. Just be yourself and do what you love. That is something I learned quickly and I hope others lan follow this same path during their journey.

Alec Pena, 24, recently graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington in May 2020. He is in his 11th year as a licensed United States Soccer Federation official. He can be reached on Instagram (alecpena97) and loves talking to fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community about sport-related topics.

Story editor: Jim Buzinski

If you are an out LGBTQ person in sports and want to tell your story, email Jim (kandreeky@gmail.com)

Check out our archive of coming out stories.

If youre an LGBTQ person in sports looking to connect with others in the community, head over to GO! Space to meet and interact with other LGBTQ athletes, or to Equality Coaching Alliance to find other coaches, administrators and other non-athletes in sports.

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Young soccer referee has thrived while being openly gay - Outsports

W

hen Nancy Mitford was writing The Pursuit of Love, she was working as a bookshop assistant in Mayfair. She was so hard up that she would often walk for nearly an hour to work from her home in Maida Vale to save the bus fare. When the book was published in 1945, she made so much money that she boasted that I sat under a shower of gold.

This entrancing comic novel, which has been turned into a three-part BBC One mini-series starring Lily James and Emily Beecham, is a fictional account of the Radlett family, set between the two world wars. The book was inspired by her own dismal love life and a freakish, dysfunctional aristocratic upbringing she admitted was mad. The Mitfords make the Bluths of Arrested Development look like models of normality.

Born on 28 November 1904, Nancy was the eldest of the six Mitford sisters she was followed by Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah and had one brother, four years her junior, called Tom. Their mother, Sydney Bowles, imposed all sorts of arbitrary rules on her daughters. They were banned from eating pork, their nanny had to rinse them in cold water after their baths, no medicines of any kind were allowed, and they were educated by governesses in case the future debutants developed thick calves from playing hockey at school. I grew up as ignorant as an owl, Nancy once joked.

She nicknamed her volatile father, David Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, the second Baron Redesdale, Old Subhuman, partly because of his habit of eating gelatinous, ruby red calf brains for breakfast. He is the model for The Pursuit of Loves Uncle Matthew played by Dominic West a quirky, bad-tempered, xenophobic bully. One of her fathers favourite games, which features in the novel, was called child hunt. Nancy and her sister Pamela would be designated the hare or the cold boot and given a head-start to flee across the fields near their Oxfordshire manor house, before he released the chasing bloodhounds. The dog that found a child first was rewarded by Redesdale with raw meat. Although it was supposedly a bit of fun, Nancy later wrote about her memories of four great hounds in full cry after two little girls.

Her father had fought a bloody First World War campaign. In The Pursuit of Love, Nancy describes how, over the chimney piece, hangs an entrenching tool, with which, in 1915, Uncle Matthew had whacked to death eight Germans one by one as they crawled out of a dug-out. When Matthew hears that a cosmopolitan neighbour is bringing friends to the Radletts ball, he spews out prejudice against fiendish foreigners. I wouldnt put it past him to bring some foreigners, I hear he sometimes has Frogs and even Wops to stay with him. I will not have my house filled with Wops.

Nancys father developed extreme right-wing opinions when she was a teenager, following financial problems brought on by a series of poor investments. In 1937, he joined the pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic organisation The Link. In real life, Redesdale passed on his hateful views to several of his daughters. Unity became a fervent Nazi groupie, declaring publicly that, I want everyone to know Im a Jew hater. She once etched a swastika into a window using a diamond ring. She ended up befriending Hitler, who used to stroke her hair and call her his Little Kind. On the day war was declared, Unity tried to shoot herself in a Munich park. She made a hash of it and was left with brain damage from the bullet lodged in her brain. She lived out her final years on the Scottish island of Inch, dying in 1948.

Hitler had been guest of honour at the wedding of Nancys sister Diana, when the socialite married the British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, at the Berlin home of Joseph Goebbels, in October 1936. Nancy briefly flirted with right-wing views, praising Mosleys Black Shirts, before turning her back on extremism and on the beliefs of her two sisters. She mocked both in her 1935 novel Wigs on the Green and wrote a letter to a friend saying she wanted to invent a sham arm which can be screwed on & which makes a noise like Hitler making a speech to give to Unity and Diana.

Biographer Lisa Hilton, author of The Horror of Love: Nancy Mitford and Gaston Palewski in Paris and London, is convinced that Nancys experiences of working in a refugee camp during the Spanish Civil War, and later helping Jewish refugees in London during the Second World War, changed her outlook. She has been accused of anti-Semitism but many of her close friends were Jewish, says Hilton. She loathed people who were anti-Semitic and she loathed people who were anti-gay. She saw both as being deeply, deeply uncivilised.

Things came to a head in 1940 when Diana Mosley was interred in Holloway Prison after Nancy gave evidence against her sister to M15, accusing her of plotting the downfall of democracy in England. Security service documents released by the National Archives in 2003 included a report from January 1941 stating the Nancy Mitford personally informed the authorities of her sisters (Lady Mosleys) treasonable sympathies. Nancy warned the government that her sister, who regularly visited Hitler, was a ruthless and shrewd egotist, a devoted fascist and far cleverer and more dangerous than her husband.

The Mitford family was divided over fascism with two of Nancys sisters - Diana and Unity - having close ties to the Nazis

(Getty Images)

Strange as it seems, the two sisters reconciled after the war and Nancy would regularly visit Diana and her husband, whom she always referred to privately as The Poor Old Leader. Nicknames were always an enthusiastic hobby in the Mitford family. As youngsters, the Mitford sisters developed a private language called Boudledidge (pronounced Bowdledidge), with each girl taking on a different persona. Their parents were known as Marv and Farv, Diana was known as Bodley (a moniker that mocked the size of her skull, taken from the name of publishers Bodley Head), the domesticated Pamela was dubbed Woman, Jessica was Decca, Unity was Bobo and Heart of Stone and Deborah was Debo, Nine or Stubby (because of the shape of her legs). Nancy was sometimes known as Koko.

Even in middle-age, Nancy retained a cruel streak, continuing to call Deborah, who became Duchess of Devonshire, Nine, arguing that her sister, who never read books and declared her favourite reading matter to be the monthly journal of the British Goat Keepers Society, had not developed beyond the mental age of nine. The great advantage of living in a large family is that early lesson of lifes essential unfairness, Nancy wrote in The Pursuit of Love.

Nancy admitted that she was often vile to her younger sisters. Jessica, who described the famous writer as sharp-tongued and sarcastic, recalled that Nancy once told her she looked like the eldest and ugliest of the Bront sisters. Deborah, 15 years Nancys junior, suffered the worst torments. Nancy would often tell the youngest sibling that everyone cried when you were born and she wrote poems specifically designed to upset Nine, including one about a little houseless match (it has no house, it lies alone) that made her little sister sob. Even holding up a box of matches soon became enough to bring tears to Deborahs eyes.

Lily James and Emily Beecham both star in the BBC adaptation of The Pursuit of Love

(Theodora Films Limited & Moonage Pictures Limited/Robert Viglasky)

The sibling who tends to be most overlooked in the family drama is Tom Mitford, who was 36 when he was killed in action, in March 1945, in Burma, fighting for the Devonshire Regiment (the Nazi sympathiser had not wanted to fight against Germans, but saw no problem in serving against the Japanese). Nancy was staying with friends when she heard about his death. She reportedly came down to dinner that evening immaculately dressed, never once mentioning her brother.

Perhaps old resentments still festered. Tom played an inadvertent part in Nancys unhappy romantic life, having introduced her to one of his former Eton lovers, James Hamish St Clair-Erskine. Nancys friend Evelyn Waugh warned her about the narcissistic St Clair-Erskine, whom she met in 1928. They became engaged shortly afterwards and Nancy later admitted that she did not have a single happy moment with the aristocratic Scot, telling Waugh on one occasion that what he would really like would be for me to die. That nearly came about in 1931, when the 26-year-old tried to kill herself by putting her head in a gas oven. She changed her mind at the last moment, bemoaning her life during the two days of sickness that followed. After St Clair-Erskine broke up with her by telephone, Nancy took revenge by turning him into the repellent artist Albert Memorial Gates in her debut novel Highland Fling.

Her love life was a disaster, Hilton told the BBC radio show Great Lives in 2019. She was engaged for five years to Hamish Erskine, who was frankly gay. Then she married Peter Rodd, who was a dreadful womaniser and the most boring man in England. He was feckless and stole all her money.

The handsome Peter Rodd, son of the first Baron Rennell, was a heavy drinker and another man incapable of showing her real affection. Their 1933 marriage was an emotional catastrophe. Rodd, who had supposedly proposed to two women in the same week he asked Nancy to marry him, was compulsively unfaithful to Nancy. He was also a colossal, pompous bore. Although Nancy tried to get her sisters to call him Prod, they dubbed him The Old Toll-Gater, in reference to his habit of rambling on about historical subjects such as turnpike roads and the medieval Norman kingdom of Sicily. He never held down a job and was always on the cadge for money. He appears both as the posh sponger Jasper Aspect in Wigs on the Green and as the shiftless Basil Seal in Waughs Black Mischief.

Nancy Mitford had an unhappy marriage to Peter Rodd, ending with divorce in 1957

(Getty Images)

Rodd drained Nancy of the money she earned writing for magazines such as Harpers Bazaar and for the small fees about 100 apiece that she earned for her first four novels: The cool reception for her 1940 novel Pigeon Pie, as well asher mounting unhappiness with Rodd, were factors in the way she threw herself into the war effort with such zeal. As well as helping refugees, she was an ambulance driver, a canteen assistant and a first aid worker, during which stint she was allocated the task of writing the names of the dead on their heads in indelible pencil.

In 1941, after suffering repeated miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy, she was sent to hospital for a hysterectomy. Nancy later revealed that her mothers reaction was to say: Ovaries? I thought one had 700, like caviar. One biographer believes the traumatic event marked a turning point. The brutal removal of her ability to have children liberated her into creativity, says Laura Thompson, author of Life in a Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford A Portrait of a Contradictory Woman.

A year later, Nancy began thinking about a new novel exploring her family and her own romantic life. It came at a time when she had fallen deeply in love with a new lover, Colonel Gaston Palewski, a top officer in Charles de Gaulles cabinet, who was co-ordinating Frances war effort from London. Although the chubby, balding Palewski was described as having rancid breath and a face like an unpeeled King Edward potato, he was a passionate lover and the model for the suave French duke Fabrice de Sauveterre in The Pursuit of Love (hes played by Call My Agent!s Assaad Bouab in Emily Mortimers BBC adaptation).

Assaad Bouab plays Gaston Palewski alongside James, based on the great love of Mitfords life

(Theodora Films Limited & Moonage Pictures Limited/Robert Viglasky)

The Pursuit of Love, the book that would finally give Nancy financial independence, was written while she was working at Heywood Hill Bookshop in Curzon Street. Thankfully, publishers Hamish Hamilton accepted her offer of a new novel, after shed written to say: "I expect your list is enormous, & you may not want it". Something about working at the bookshop seemed to inspire Nancy, who said she read enormously to educate herself as a child. She was sometimes disparaging about her own indifferent novels, underplaying books that are full of wisdom, humour and bitingly original descriptions. The Pursuit of Love is told through the eyes of Linda Radletts cousin, Fanny Logan. When Fanny is shown Lindas new-born baby, she remarks that it is the usual horrid sight of a howling orange in a fine black wig. This was daringly unsentimental writing for 1945.

Zo Heller, who wrote the introduction to a 2010 edition of The Pursuit of Love, described Nancy as a genius, declaring that beneath the brittle surface of Mitfords wit there is something infinitely more melancholy at work something that is apt to snag you and pull you into its dark undertow when you are least expecting it.

The Pursuit of Love (the title was suggested by Waugh) was published on 10 December 1945. It sold 200,000 copies in its first year. At one point, the irascible Uncle Matthew yells at Fanny for using the description notepaper when she should have said writing paper. The mores and foibles of the English upper class society remained a subject close to Mitfords heart. A 1955 essay in Encounter magazine called The English Aristocracy was a deliberately teasing, inflammatory guide to the etiquette of language. She detailed the correct U (upper class) things to say, offering the vulgar non-U (non-upper class) alternative. The essay proved so popular that it was expanded into a book called Noblesse Oblige: An Enquiry into the Identifiable Characteristics of the English Aristocracy.

She offered lots of examples: false teeth was U, dentures was non-U; sick was U, ill was non-U; chimneypiece was U, mantelpiece was non-U; a person had ones bath if they were U and took a bath if they were non-U. My favourite is her particularly stern instruction to anyone whose guests insisted on braying the word cheers as they clink their glasses. She advised her readers that silence is the only possible U-response.

The book secured her reputation as an insufferable snob. Not that she was worried. When she was interviewed by the BBC in 1970, she was asked if she was grieved by what the public thought of her. Not in the least bit. I dont care, she replied, playing the pantomime villain and using a strangulated cut-glass accent. I havent cultivated this. I suppose in some way I have given them reason to think so.

Mitford spent her remaining years in France, where she died in 1973 aged68

(Getty Images)

By the time of Noblesse Oblige, Nancy had long separated from Rodd (they divorced in 1957), and was living in Paris, finally able to indulge her lifelong passion for Dior clothing. Id much rather be glamorous than dowdy, she said. Although she desperately wanted to marry Palewski, she was upset to discover he was as much a philanderer as Rodd. She again sought an outlet in fiction. Her penultimate novel, The Blessing, was about an English woman who moves to Paris after falling for a glamorous Frenchman named Charles-Edouard, only to find that he is a serial womaniser. Mitfords melancholy feelings about her relationship with Palewski are best captured in a bleak passage in The Pursuit of Love, in which Fanny tells her mother that she thought Linda would have been happy with Fabrice, the great love of her life.

Oh, dulling, Fannys mother replies sadly, one always thinks that. Every, every time.

In 1960, 11 years after The Pursuit of Loves sequel Love in a Cold Climate, Mitford wrapped up the story of the Radletts in Dont Tell Alfred, the final instalment of this wonderful trilogy. Thereafter, she concentrated on journalism, essays and historical books, including finely observed historical biographies of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XIV and Frederick the Great. My greatest fear as a writer is of boring the public. I am so frightened in life of being a bore, she said in 1970. By then she had moved to a small house in Versailles, from where she sent a letter to Pamela reporting how terribly pleased she was to have been made Chevalier of the Legion dHonneur, the only honour I ever coveted.

The last four years of her life were excruciating. She contracted a rare form of Hodgkins disease that attacked her spine. She described the pain as something close to torture. Shortly before the 68-year-olds death, on 30 June 1973, Nancy Mitford said she was already making her society plans for the afterlife, explaining. Ive always felt the great importance of getting into the right set at once on arrival in heaven.

She died knowing that her lifelong pursuit of love had delivered one final, bitter sting in the tail. On the day she informed Palewski the love of her life and the man to whom shed dedicated her famous best-seller about her terminal cancer, he told her, with horrendously bad timing, his big news: he was soon to marry the younger, distinctly "U" aristocrat, Hlne Violette de Talleyrand-Prigord.

Back in the war years, when Nancy was pouring her new-found love for Palewski into The Pursuit of Love, she wrote a letter to Waugh telling him that she was so excited by writing her new novel that her fingers itched for a pen. She also informed him that she had just sat for a sculpture and was pondering her legacy, and how she would perpetuate myself. The answer lay in the book she was writing. The Pursuit of Love is a masterpiece, one still enthralling readers and viewers nearly 80 years on.

The Pursuit of Love begins on BBC One on Sunday 9 May at 9pm

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Nazis, nicknames and child hunts: The uniquely bizarre life of Nancy Mitford - The Independent