Are we ready for retirement, short answer NO

In 2018, the Investors Education group looked at the state of U.S. financial capability and took a look at the issue of retirement. Here is some of what they discovered:

Only 19% of those with incomes under $25,000 have tried to plan for retirement, compared to 62% of those with
$75,000 or more income. Similarly, the likelihood to have a retirement account increases dramatically with income,
such that only a small minority of respondents with less than $25,000 income have a retirement account (19%) while
the vast majority of respondents with $75,000 or more income have one (87%).

An examination of the differences between women and men in preparing for retirement suggests that the gender gap may be widening. Relative to 2009, the percentages of women who have tried to calculate their retirement savings needs or who have a retirement account have moved from 56% to  55% which is a negative change, whereas both of these measures have improved somewhat for men moving from 57% to 62%.

Here are some other results that may or may not surprise you.

Fifty-three (53) percent of respondents feel anxious when thinking about their personal finances and 44 percent find talking about their finances stressful.

Fifty-four (54) percent of respondents have not tried to figure out how much they need to save for retirement.

Only 58 percent of non-retired respondents report having retirement accounts, whether employer-based (for example, 401(k) or pension) or independent (for example, IRA).

Fifty-one (51) percent of respondents are worried about running out of money in retirement.

Thirty-nine (39) percent of respondents use websites or apps to help with financial tasks.

Among those with student loans, 48 percent are concerned that they will not be able to pay off their loans.

When asked whether they would be able to come up with $2,000 if an unexpected need arose in the next month, nearly a third of respondents (31 percent) said they probably or certainly could not.

Only 7 percent of respondents were able to answer all six questions about personal finance (mortgage, interest rate, inflation, risk, compound interest, and bond price) correctly and only 40 percent were able to answer at least four questions correctly.

Only 29 percent of respondents report having been offered financial education at school, college, or their workplaces and only 15 percent indicate that they were required to take financial education at some point in their lives.

Fake news?

Fake news is a problem we are faced with daily. I thought the problem was limited to National and International stories, but it is also affecting local stories.  In our local paper, there was a story called, "Someone is stealing our stories." 

When I read the story I thought it was very strange. The reporter says

If you have read one of these stories, you can join us in a good chuckle, having stumbled upon one of the weirdest inter-bot phenomena that we here in the community newspaper business have encountered. It seems that someone, or something, has formed a business based upon taking our news stories – which we have painstakingly researched and reported and fact-checked and written while consuming locally sourced doughnuts – and simply stolen them and posted them as their own.

Except what they have done isn’t exactly “simple.” The stories are almost identical to the ones we have published online except there are weird little differences. Something is just a little off, like a raccoon that’s actually a toddler dressed as a raccoon, yet somehow still climbing straight up the drainpipe.

The stories, it appears, have been run through some sort of translation system, although this is a very odd thing to do because the end result has been to translate them from English into worse English

The reporter, who has taken a tongue in cheek approach to the issue, and it is a fun read. However, fake news is a problem and the reporter, in the end, makes a valid point when he says that 

In this age of “fake news” – and never forget that fake news used to be a useful descriptor before it was co-opted by General Custard down there in the White House – it is more important than ever that you get your news from sources you know and trust. You must read everything with a “gimlet eye,” or, as our translator friends would say, a “cocktail made of gin and lime juice eye.”

There are still people out there digging every day to bring truth to the public. They’ve earned the public trust, the right to be called “reporters.”

Trust the reporters you know. Just don’t trust those “plural reporters.”

Walking Routes

I love to walk and find that a short (30 to 60 minute) walk always makes me feel better. Can you think of any walking areas in your area that you would like to share, suggestions welcome. Where I live there are a lot of hiking trails available,  here is a list of 16 walking routes in my area: Enjoy and if you ever come to the Vancouver Area, check these walking areas out. They are great and they are only a small number of the routes available. 

Some of us love to bike rather than walk, so I recommend Colleen MacDonald's book Lets Go Biking" for more Trails. Colleen is a local author who lives in Belcarra, which is fairly close to where I live.

• Coquitlam Crunch...any part of it. The stairs are a good work out, the rest of the trail is an easy walk with nice views. Lots of foot traffic.
• Castle Park, nice walking trail along the Fraser. Public washroom as well.
• Mundy Park, awesome trails for walking, running, biking and wildlife viewing.
• Como Lake Park, a nice little park with a flat trail around a small lake.  See birds in the water, there's fishing available off the small dock. A nice sized playground is fenced off the area is close to water,
• Wellington Park, a great place to meet up with friends or walk your dog or if your a kid good place to hang out
• Riverview Lands where the various species of trees can be seen, the lands also have the following trails
• Home Farm Dyke Trail - most of the trail is 7mm crushed rock (firm) with gentle slopes (< 5%); some areas have potholes. Where it meets Mundy Creek Trail, the trail surface is loose gravel. At the Main Entrance, access to Home Farm Dyke Trail via the roadway is also gravel. 
• Wilson Farm Dyke Trail has a semi-firm surface with some softer sections of loose gravel. There is a small threshold on the bridge to get to Wilson Farm Dyke Trail from Garden Trail. Junctions at the Millennium Bridge and Pumphouse Trail have gravel surfaces. The northeastern exit to Shaughnessy St and the exit via Pumphouse Trail have steep slopes (up to 24.3%).
• Sheep Paddocks Trail is located in Port Coquitlam just off of Lougheed Highway, Colony Farm Regional Park has a number of trails that pass along the Coquitlam River and offer views of the nearby fields. The area is popular with joggers, cyclists, bird watchers and those going for a quick walk who want to enjoy some scenery along the Coquitlam River.
• Mundy Creek Trail has a semi-firm surface with loose gravel in some areas. Some slopes are greater than 10% and the trail narrows (< 810 mm) in some areas. There are steep slopes (up to 19% for 5 m) on both ends of the trail.
• Colony Farm Road Trail is flat with a steep slope (18% for up to 5 m) to access the Mundy Creek parking lot. The trail is surfaced with coarse gravel and is soft/loose in some areas. The path narrows (< 810 mm) in some areas and may become muddy when wet 
• LaFarge Lake, lots of family-friendly activities, and the lights displayed a lot of creativity! 
• Port Moody Inlet Trail (Shoreline Trail), Beautiful trail (6.8 k)any time of the year.  Family/pet-friendly with ocean views. It starts at Rocky Point Park. Treat your self with ice cream or a pint at brewery lane right across!
• Coquitlam River Trail is a 9.2 kilometre out and back trail located near Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada that features a waterfall. The trail is good for all skill levels and offers a number of activity options. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
• Traboulay PoCo Trail, a 25.3-kilometre route that encircles the community. This flat walking and cycling trail is suitable for exploring at any time of the year.
• Pitt Meadows Dyke Trail System, they are well maintained & it is a pleasant place to visit.
• Crystal Falls - Trailhead, Located east of Vancouver in Coquitlam, Crystal Falls is a scenic waterfall that drains into the Coquitlam River and is along a short, easy hike trail. The area is also popular with dog walkers and mountain bikers and the route can be very muddy for several months of the year.

Coronavirus in perspective

I saw on Global News on Saturday morning a physician speaking on the likelihood of contracting Coronavirus in Canada--and the comparison to Influenza.

·         Coronavirus has had about 320600 deaths worldwide and about 93,000 cases reported.

·         Influenza has over 10,000 deaths in the USA alone this year, 19 million infected with the flu, and 180,000 hospitalized (according to the Centre for Disease Control & Prevention in the US).  In Canada, there are between 2000 and 4000 people die each year from the flu.

·         It's better to put this in perspective.  You are much more likely to be infected with the flu.  Wash your hands often and get your flu shot if you already haven't. Protect yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbours

Shingles

•      Chickenpox vaccine the varicella vaccine (Varivax) has become a routine childhood immunization to prevent chickenpox. The vaccine is also recommended for adults who have never had chickenpox.

•      Zostavax has been shown to offer protection against shingles for about five years. Costs $175 & has about 55% efficacy and decreases over 5 years.

•      Shingrix Studies suggest Shingrix offers protection against shingles beyond five years. Is given in two doses, with 2 to 6 months between doses. $150 each. Shingrix is approved and recommended for people aged 50 and older, including those who've previously received Zostavax. Zostavax isn't recommended until age 60. About 95% efficacy & is long-lasting.

Pneumonia

• Pneumococcal Vaccination

•      Prevnar 13 ($125) is administered in adults as a single dose into the arm or leg muscle. It is used for the prevention of diseases such as pneumonia, bacteremia pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis caused by 13 types of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumonia.

•      Pneumovax 23 (publicly funded--free) Get it 8 weeks after Prevnar 13 shot. It is used for the prevention of pneumonia caused by the 23 different types of pneumococci bacteria that are contained in the vaccine. Pneumococcal bacteria can cause many diseases ranging from pneumonia (lung infection) and meningitis (brain infection) to severe infections of the blood.

Influenza

•      High-Dose Influenza Vaccine has 4 times the antigen of a standard dose vaccine to account for “immunosenescence”. (weakening of the immune system over time)

•      This superior protection increases with those much older than 65 and with pre-existing underlying chronic conditions. (protection for an 80 yr old is about 37% better)

•      The National Advisory Council on Immunization (NACI) recommends High-Dose TIV compared with the standard dose TIV for adults 65 years (2019/2020)

Vaccination Funding	Drug	Cost (BC, Canada)
• Decreasing Immunity with Age Pneumonia
Decreases your chance of congestion of lungs	Prevnar 13	$125.00
Compromised immune systems	Pneumovax 23	Free
• Decreasing Immunity with Age Shingles
Decreases your chance of discomfort/pain	Zostavax 50%	$175
Compromised immune systems	Shingrix 95%	$300
Decreasing Immunity with Age Influenza
Decreases your chance of complications	High Dost +24	$75
Decreases your chance of hospitalization Decreases your chance of death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd2LbO4dCr4 Continue to perform Activities of Daily Life	Standard Dose	free