Will: A fictional short-short story

Pitching: A fictional short-short story

On Self-Sacrifice

Rising Up: A fictional short-short story

A Fundraiser: A fictional (I hope) short-short story

Secular Sermonette: More effective altruism

Advanced Objections Training, Episode 2 in At Work: a series of fictiona...

What to Do With a Trillion Dollars: A short-short story

Maximally Effective Altruism

Old Money: A short-short story

More Effective Altruism

Instead of Giving Presents: Ideas for holiday charitable giving

At some point, you probably shake your head at the bowdlerization of the Three Wise Men’s gifts into today's gaudy gift-giving.

If you’re at that point now, consider making charitable donations in the names of the people on your gift list, or directly to needy people, even if not tax-deductible. I offer suggestions on how to wisely do that in my Psychology Today article today.

In Praise of Charity That's NOT Tax-Deductible

When we limit ourselves to charitable giving that's tax-deductible, we may be letting the tail wag the dog. I offer what's offer a wiser giving option in my Psychology Today article today.

The Ultimate Hypocrites: Ultra-Wealthy Donors

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett urge other wealthy people to sign The Giving Pledge: a promise to give half their wealth to charity. Sounds generous but it's infinitely stingier than most people's charitable giving. In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I argue that before urging the middle class to give, the wealthy---for example the countless celebrities that headline fundraisers--should donate all their assets to charity except what they need to live a lifestyle equal to those they want to help, that is; take a vow of poverty.

A Workover: "What Should I Do?"

A caller to my radio show needed help figuring out what he wanted to do in retirement. My approach may be relevant to anyone trying to decide what to do in career or other big decision.

The transcript of our exchange is my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Tips on Wise Charitable Giving

Warren Buffett said it's easier to make money than to give it away.

That may be true even for you and me who don't have anywhere near as much to give away. My PsychologyToday.com article today offers tips on getting the most bang and personal satisfaction from your charity dollars

Aging Well: A practical guide to the not-so golden years

I’ve written many posts on aging and thought you might find it helpful if I synthesized their most important advice in one place. That's what I've done in today's PsychologyToday.com article. 

Thoughts On Aging, Dying, and Legacy

I thought you might like an advance look at my next column in the Mensa publication, The Intelligencer. It includes the best ideas that were in my seven recent PsychologyToday.com articles on aging.

Thoughts About Aging, Dying, and Legacy 

My mom died recently, which triggered thoughts about aging, dying, and legacy. Here are some of them. 

Make each heartbeat count.  When your second parent dies, it makes too clear that you’re moving toward the end of life’s conveyer belt. Most older people decide to play more, work less. But consider Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the genomic double helix who worked in his hospital bed on the day he died of cancer. Similarly, Isaac Asimov had written 450 books and was asked, “If you had six months to live, what would you do?” His answer: Type faster.

Indeed, a surprising number of people would rather work until the end. You might ask why? Imagine there were two clones of you, both with months left to live. One mainly played golf and video games. The other mainly did the most societally beneficial work possible: continuing on the job, mentoring, writing a helpful blog, etc. Obviously, the latter’s life was more meaningful. 

Give wisely. Donate to a charity where dollars have big ripple effects, for example,  a nonprofit serving needy gifted kids such as Supporting the Emotional Needs of Gifted (SENG.) As Mensans know, high-IQ people have great but sometimes unrealized potential to make a difference in the world.

Check out this New York Times article for more guidance on how to give wisely. 

Think three times before retiring. Yes, some people love retirement but many don’t. They’re bored, feel useless, and have difficulty spending so much time with their spouse. They may also outlive their retirement. You can always retire later but once you retire, it’s like the Roach Motel: You can check in but you can’t check out. 

Forgive yourself.  Most people, as they get older, decline physically and mentally. For example, they may develop a case of CRS: can’t remember stuff. Forgive yourself. Your decline is usually compensated for by your experience and, ideally, wisdom. 

Have a bulletproof will or trust. When money is at stake, some seemingly nice people will try to overturn a will. You might start with a do-it-yourself one, for example, using WillmakerPlus, but get it bulletproofed by an estate lawyer. 

Have an advance medical directive. Dying is rarely much fun. If you’re in agony and fed with a feeding tube, do you really want extraordinary measures taken to keep you alive? Without an advanced medical directive, that’s what they’ll do. My mom had such a directive, and when things got bad, we put her in in-home hospice: She could live out her days at home and a nurse visited her regularly to be sure she was comfortable but they didn’t do any probing, painful procedures to extend what was already a very poor-quality life.

Make sure your will and advance medical directive are in the hands of someone you trust who’ll know when you’re incapacitated or dead. 

Plan your burial.  Many people get conservative when it comes to dying: have a separate ceremony at a funeral home and another at the gravesite. Usually expensive and unnecessary. Preplan and you’ll avoid your next of kin having to, while in grief’s throes, withstanding a funeral home salesperson pitching you a fancy funeral: “You wouldn’t want to be cheap with your mother, now would you?” Your funeral’s value is determined by the warmth of the ceremony and celebration of your life, not on how much is spent on the funeral.  My wife, when she dies, after direct burial at the cemetery, wants the attendees to come back to our house for a brief celebration of her life over food, drink and ‘50s music. 

Dying well.  We still don’t allow people to decide when to die. That strikes me as a terribly unfair intrusion of government into one of our most personal decisions. Fortunately, some physicians will give a terminally ill person a final cocktail of tranquilizers and sleeping pills. And if you can't access such a physician, a right-to-die orgnization, Final Exit Network, makes available the most comfortable ways to go. 

Marty Nemko's bio is in Wikipedia

Pleasurable Philanthopy: The Art of Charitable Giving

I've been doing a fair amount of reading and thinking about the wisest way to give charity. I summarize my thoughts in my PsychologyToday.com article. HERE is the link.

What I Learned From Giving Money Away: A case for giving charity to individuals, not non-profits

My PsychologyToday.com article today talks about how I gave money away to strangers and my wondering whether, despite losing the tax deduction, it's wiser to give money to individuals than to non-profits. HERE is the link.