Rethinking65: “How to Adapt to Change”

Rethinking65.com, Jan. 27, 2023 — An article by actuary and author Peter Neuwirth is featured in today’s issue of Rethinking65: After losing his home in a wildfire, an actuary and author adjusted his life and his financial plan. Click here to read all about it! And scroll down to read the intro!

Author’s note: In my book “Money Mountaineering,” I describe six fundamental principles that I believe can help an individual navigate the world of money. Shortly before the book was published in 2021, I posted a series of six essays expanding on each of those principles. Below is the first of those essays, which I hope demonstrates that the principles I espouse remain valid, even as the world around us has changed dramatically since the book was published. — Peter Neuwirth, FSA, FCA

 Principle #1: Adapting to Change

“Everything changes a little as it should. Good ain’t forever, and bad ain’t for good.”
— Roger Miller from “Lou’s got the Flu”

I learned a lot from my mathematician father and with the many lectures he gave me growing up, there was almost always music playing in the background. Roger Miller’s songs formed the soundtrack to many of my childhood Sunday afternoons.

I always listened to the words of the songs and from the men and women who sang them I learned even more. As rigid and clear as my father’s views and teachings usually were, he was always open and curious about the world around us and how it can change — in unpredictable ways that can render one’s normal survival strategies a recipe for suffering. Read more here!