The Baby Boomer Renaissance

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Boomer Chronicles

Friday Links Variety Show (January 28, 2010)

Posted: 28 Jan 2011 05:40 AM PST

Find out what is the most important factor in retirement savings, from Get Rich Slowly

Will ginkgo help repair your fading memory?

We’re getting socked with snow this year in Boston. Check out this photo of a cool snow shape.

How the recently departed Jack LaLanne helped him change his life.

Friday, January 28, 2011

WineontheKeyboard

Life in Focus – Blessings

Posted: 28 Jan 2011 03:54 AM PST

tiny heart and paperweight When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. ~ Willie Nelson

This is a tiny heart that one of my sons made in preschool. It makes me smile every time I see it. Not fancy. Nothing expensive. Just a tiny wooden heart. My life is full of many blessings.

(My photo for Let’s Do 52 with the theme Blessings or Tiny {4/52} )

The Boomer Chronicles

It’s Hard to Know If You’re Getting Enough Calcium, Vitamin D

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 11:23 AM PST

Like a lot of people, I’ve gone back and forth on how much calcium and Vitamin D to take each day. A lot of times I don’t take any at all.

The New York Times has a story today on the calcium and Vitamin D controversy. The Institute of Medicine issued new daily recommendations for calcium and vitamin D last fall.

For daily calcium intake, the Institute recommends 1,000 milligrams for children 4 to 8, women and men 19 to 50, and men 51 to 70; 1,300 milligrams for children 9 to 18; and 1,200 milligrams for women 51 and older and men 71 and older. And remember, for bone health, vitamin D and calcium go hand in hand, because the vitamin must be present for calcium to be absorbed from the digestive tract.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Consumer Boomer

7 Reasons Not To Invest In China Funds For The Long Run

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 06:51 AM PST

The following is guest post by Neal Frankle who is a Certified Financial Planner in Los Angeles. He also is the man responsible for Wealth Pilgrim.

Conventional wisdom has it the China is about ready to take over the world – if they haven't already done so. One day you read about the new Chinese Stealth Bomber. The next day Chinese President Hu is sipping Pepsi with President Obama on the White House Lawn. Where does it end?

photo credit: Fuzzy Gerdes

Investors are all but certain the American Dollar is finished and the Chinese Yuan is the new leading currency of the world. As this unfolds, investors ask themselves if they shouldn't pile into China as well. Some people are even taking weekend jobs just to have a little cash to invest in the Orient. Of course I can't predict the future but here are a few reasons to reconsider this option:

1. China GDP

While the Chinese have the third largest economy in the world it also has a heck of a lot of people. If you divide the Chinese economy up by the number of people living there, their economy looks like yesterday's take-out food. China produces only $2800 in goods and services per person each year according the Investors Business Daily. Meanwhile, back on the range, the USA produces $42,000 in goods and services per person. That means we are much more productive.

2. Economic Freedom

Politics aside, economic freedom creates wealth. Economic control increases poverty over the long run. Freedom means people can invest and reap the benefits of their efforts. When that happens you get lots of innovation. When that doesn't happen, you don't get innovation. China ranks 135th out of 179 countries when it comes to economic freedom. The USA ranks 9th. Even though we've got plenty of problems is America, where do you expect to see the next big thing invented? Shanghai or Silicon Valley?

3. The Model

The Chinese have created huge surpluses by churning out very inexpensive products and selling them abroad. How do they do it? By making sure their people earn next to nothing. While the West has largely invested in the future by creating machines that help people become more productive, the Chinese have not. That does not bode well for their economic future.

4. They Own Us – But We Own Them

While it's true the Chinese own almost $3 trillion in American debt, they have more to lose from a weak dollar than we do. If the dollar became very weak relative to the yuan, the assets they own would lose a lot of value. On top of that, if the dollar lost value, we wouldn't be able to buy so much cheap production from the Chinese. That means less business for them. They have no interest in a cheap dollar.

5. Population

Long thought to be an asset, the Chinese population is actually their greatest problem. Let's not forget that the Chinese have had a one-child policy for over 40 years. While their population will grow over the next 15 years, it will start to decline as older workers have fewer younger workers to replace them. In the West, we've been able to put machines in place to make up for workers who leave the job. We also have lots of people who are beating down the doors to live here. The Chinese don't.

6. The Rare-Earth Metals Lie

China is the world leader in production of rare-earth metals required for advanced technology items such as cancer treatments, missiles, hybrid cars and solar panels. They don’t have most of the metals on earth…they just produce most of it. While they have a monopoly control over these expensive metals now, it probably won’t last. Western countries will wise up and bust through the red tape that has moth balled the refineries and factories needed to produce these rare metals. Once they do, the Chinese monopoly will fold like a ping pong table.

The Chinese are spending a lot of their new-found treasure on a military build up. There is no denying they are a huge military power. But as far as investments go, don't fall for it. They're workforce is the reason they have built their wealth. And that asset is aging, being controlled, not well trained and unable to leverage outside forces to become more productive.

If you’re looking for the best investments, I’m just not convinced that China should be on your list.

While anything can happen in the short-run, you should rethink your position if you are convinced that investing in China is a slam dunk for the next 20 years.

Get Shareaholic

WineontheKeyboard

Sometimes…

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 04:13 AM PST

I just like to look at pretty things.

pink flowers in a milk glass vase That is all.

(Thanks, SuperGuy, for the flowers to brighten up my dreary winter days.)

Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog)

Baby Boomers Blog Carnival Seventy-sixth Edition

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 12:27 AM PST

Welcome to the January 26, 2011 edition of the Baby Boomers Blog Carnival. There are some really well thought out and insightful Boomer articles for you to peruse this week.

So, grab a cup of coffee (or tea), sit back in your most comfortable chair, put up your feet and Enjoy.

This one’s for you!

Entertainment

Super Saver presents Why Golf Won’t by my Retirement Sport posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “After playing golf as a volunteer job, I’ve decided that golf won’t be one of my retirement sports.”

Fitness

William Neeson presents 5 Reasons Your Weight Loss Progress is Slow posted at Sonography Technician.

General

Charles Chua C K presents 10 Essential Things to Do posted at All About Living with Life.

Ray A Johnson presents Illinois Increases Taxes posted at The Debt Crisis.

Consumer Boomer presents Permanent Life Insurance For Baby Boomers posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “If you are a baby boomer and you currently don't have life insurance, have term insurance that will be expiring or just feel you don't have adequate insurance you need to read this article.”

Joe Plemon presents Budgeting Series Part Three: Nuts, Bolts and Tips for Your New Budget posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “This post, part three of a four part series on budgeting, not only explains how to make your budget match your financial goals, but also gives great budgeting tips you may never have considered.”

Aaron presents 8 Reasons Why Teenages Should Use Prepaid Cards posted at Prepaidcards123.

Health

Marvin Grossman presents Six Important Health Reform Changes in 2011 posted at Affordable Health Insurance, saying, “In 2010 President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act. Here some changes that 2011 will usher into place.”

stevo presents The Causes of Unexplained Weight Gain in Women posted at Quick Weight Loss Blog, saying, “There are many causes of unexplained weight gain in women and these causes usually result in a dysfunctioning organ or system in the body, which then leads to unusual weight gain.”

sophia Dell presents 25 Free Online Medical Databases to Learn About Any Disease posted at Medicalchemy, saying, “As a nurse practitioner, it can be helpful to keep studying different diseases and medical conditions. Continuing your education can help you serve patients better. Thats where this list of databases comes in handy.”

Michael Parsons presents 5 Ways to Multitask Without Stressing Out posted at Masters In Psychology.

Emilia Klapp presents Should a Diet for Diabetes Type 2 Include Bread? posted at The Diabetes Club, saying, “Perhaps the most difficult change you will have to make in a diet for diabetes type 2 is avoiding white and wheat flour products such as bread and cereals. Brown bread may look like a healthy choice, but not all brown breads are whole grain. Most "whole wheat" (brown) bread produced in the United States is highly processed and made with enough brown flour to make it look brown.”

Humor

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Sporty Limerick posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Retirement

Jeff Rose, CFP presents 4 Reasons You Should Rollover Your 401k Into an IRA posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “If you’re trying to decide what to do with an old 401(k) here are four reasons you should roll it over into an IRA.”

Dave@50plusfinance presents 7 Things to do Before I Retire. posted at 50 Plus Finance, saying, “Because my nest egg will never be as big as it should be to retire on, I have made myself a list of the things I must accomplish before the big day.”

Travel

Doris Gallan presents Baby Boomers Traveling ~ How Do You REALLY Feel About Travel? posted at Baby Boomers Traveling, saying, “I’ve been reading the Baby Boomers Blog Carnival for a long time but have yet to submit an article. This is from my website/blog. I’m surveying boomers to give them the chance to tell the travel industry how they really feel about it and its products. Hope you’ll publish this. Thanks, Doris”

Work

Job-Interview-Site.com presents Attention to Detail Skills: Paying Attention to Detail – Examples posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “It is quite important to pay attention to details. Do you posses Strong Attention to Detail Skills – Keen Attention to Detail. Read further..”

Denise Harris presents Eldercare – This Could Be Your New Career | Disabilities and Aging posted at Able Mart | Disabilities and Aging, saying, “With 36 million people over the age of 65 in the United States, a career in eldercare makes perfect sense.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of baby boomers blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Remember, when you submit an article, please fill in the Category and Remark Fields to add your own description of your post. Please Submit only ONE Article per Carnival, multiple articles Will Not Be Accepted.

Since this is a community endeavour, please feel free to advise me through comments or my contact form if there is something you think I can do to improve the Carnival.

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