Friday Reading: Boomers vs. Millennials

By Harry Sit

Articles of Interest

Boomers vs. Millennials: The Fight of a Generation (or Two) from Kirk Victor at National Journal via The Atlantic

It’s an interesting topic, but I completely disagree with the economist interviewed in the article. I think Baby Boomers have the upper hand. I don’t see any signs of retreat. They will make sure the resources go toward their retirement income and health care.

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More on Switching to Vanguard’s LifeStrategy Growth Fund from Oblivious Investor

I’m surprised to see that some readers objected to Mike’s move to an all-in-one fund. For someone with most of the money in tax advantaged accounts (401k, 403b, IRAs, etc.), or for someone who is already retired and taking money out of the accounts, an all-in-one fund such as Vanguard’s LifeStrategy funds or Target Retirement funds works very well.

Between LifeStrategy and Target Retirement, I actually prefer LifeStrategy. Back when I first started this blog, I said the Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund was the Best Mutual Fund for Investing More Than $3,000. Now that the LifeStrategy funds have gone to all index funds, they are even better.

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Are UK house prices too high? from Monevator

Is Canadian Housing In A Bubble? from Canadian Finance Blog

These are from a blog in the UK and Canada respectively. People in the US are asking the same question. After a crash, are the housing prices still too high? Some say a home is not an investment but just a consumption item: a place to live. Does that mean you should just buy whenever you are ready and not worry about whether house prices are too high?

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Parent’s letter to an 18-year-old from Military Retirement & Financial Independence

A Dad shared his "what to expect" letters to his daughter — "just trying to do for the next generation what we wish had been done for us."

Blog of the Week

Monevator

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Posted on December 30, 2011 under News. Keywords: .

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Comments

4 Comments on Friday Reading: Boomers vs. Millennials

  1. J on December 30, 2011
     

    Wow, I did not know the LifeStrategy funds dropped their Asset Allocation component. I will definitely recommend this fund to those who ask me what to invest in for their Roth IRAs.

    I’m not sure if I will switch, myself. My three-fund portfolio is almost identical to the LifeStrategy funds except for the bond fund. Right now I use TIPS (VIPSX) for the bond component instead of the Total Bond Market fund.

  2. Tom Drake on December 30, 2011
     

    Thanks for the mention! Housing prices are becoming quite an issue all around the world, should be interesting to see how things turn out.

  3. Nords on December 30, 2011
     

    Thanks for the link!

    We’re a work in progress. I’m hoping to hear what else has worked for other parents…

  4. dd on December 31, 2011
     

    I found all the links interesting and helpful. Thanks and good luck in the new year.

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