Sunday, August 17, 2008

My generation

In reading some of my favorite pf blogs, I can't help but feel a little over the hill. It seems that most bloggers are much younger (and wiser about money) than I am. Without giving a specific age, I can tell you that I wore bell-bottom pants, tube tops and danced to the Monkees! Yes, I am a baby-boomer.

I hypothesize that we Boomers are less aware of our financial unhealthiness than the generations preceding us and following us. I'm not sure of all the reasons, but one reason might be that we had a lot of stuff growing up and we came to feel entitled to it. When many of my generation married or otherwise set up housekeeping, we did so on nearly the same par as our parents, because credit was so easy to obtain. We then kept on charging. As children came along, we tended to finance everything from boats, to vacation homes, to college educations and weddings. The general mindset was that as long as you could pay the monthly payment, you were financially healthy.
I found two articles that support my hypothesis:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24586616/

http://www.mynippon.com/social-security-privatization/2005/03/baby-boomers-clueless-about-retirement.html

What do you think? Are boomer clueless about financial health?

4 comments:

Sharon said...

You are not alone fellow baby boomer. By the way, Davy Jones was my idol!

Glad you are joining us by blogging. It has helped me stay on track, and gain a few friends along the wway!

RTC said...

Thanks for the encouragement, Sharon. I'm not sure of blog etiquette. Should I reply to you in email or in blog comments?
I checked out your blog yesterday. I love the pictures. Smith Mountain Lake looks beautiful. I've never been there, but I spent time at Claytor Lake in my childhood. Same mountain views.
It sounds like you and your husband are on the same page about finances, which is wonderful. Congratulations on your paying your CC debt and saving. I'm enjoying your blog.
Elizabeth

Sharon said...

Elizabeth,
You can comment anywhere, my blog or yours..I don't believe there is blogger etiquette where that is concerned. I'll enjoy following your progress, and it's nice to have someone close to my age too! :)

RTC said...

Thanks, Sharon. I think I'm getting the hang of this!