Great piece, Dennis. I am in the process of signing up for Vanguard Advisor Service because if I am gone, my spouse and children are not interested in keeping up with it. I’m trying to simplify things and have fewer accounts and I hope advisors will provide experience that I lack. Thanks.
I will also be 74 next month and your article certainly resonates with me. I still own a ladder but my wife forbids using it. I always enjoy your contributions.
Thanks for the support. We don’t meddle in their financial lives. But I strongly suggest to them that a Roth IRA invested in a low-cost index fund over time is the best opportunity for working folks. I will gladly do it until they reach financial enlightenment. It’s like training wheels.
We are able to do this easily for our children and I prefer giving them this gift rather than consumer stuff. We live a frugal life and have more than enough for ourselves. This is a bit of an early inheritance. I try to share a little financial advice in the annual meeting.
Boomer here. My 40 something children are not interested in personal finance at all, but every year I made them look at a spreadsheet listing all of our assets and where they are located. If left to their own devices, they would do nothing about their own retirement planning, though they do have pensions. My wife and I fully fund their Roth IRA (Vanguard target fund) each year to make sure it gets done. (Too important to let them forget). I made them designate me as an agent on their Roth accounts so I can see the account, make changes and contribute. Maybe they will one day appreciate it.
Our two 40 something children are not interested in financial planning, in spite of my generous offers of advice. After we retired and could no longer contribute to a Roth IRA, we switched over and fully fund their Roth IRA for them. I signed up as an authorized agent on the Vanguard account and make sure contributions are made and accounts are in order. It’s too important to risk their forgetting about it. I also go over it with them once a year and check performance. We fund a 529 account for both grandchildren. We are giving now and hope they will appreciate it in the future.
Thanks for a great post! My grandson, age 11, has expressed an interest in learning about investing and I plan to use some of these points in our talks about money.
Great article. My wife and I have been maxing out Roth IRAs for our two children since we retired and cant add to our own IRA accounts. Our children are not interested in money matters now but I believe in the future they will be glad we took care of it for them.
Comments
Great piece, Dennis. I am in the process of signing up for Vanguard Advisor Service because if I am gone, my spouse and children are not interested in keeping up with it. I’m trying to simplify things and have fewer accounts and I hope advisors will provide experience that I lack. Thanks.
Post: Going It Alone
Link to comment from June 18, 2025
I will also be 74 next month and your article certainly resonates with me. I still own a ladder but my wife forbids using it. I always enjoy your contributions.
Post: It’s The Little Things That Scare Me Now
Link to comment from May 15, 2025
Great article! I used to be skeptical of panhandlers but I think a person would have to be in a bad place to resort to public begging.
Post: Give It Away Already
Link to comment from January 23, 2025
Thanks for the support. We don’t meddle in their financial lives. But I strongly suggest to them that a Roth IRA invested in a low-cost index fund over time is the best opportunity for working folks. I will gladly do it until they reach financial enlightenment. It’s like training wheels.
Post: Talking to your kids about money
Link to comment from October 15, 2024
We are able to do this easily for our children and I prefer giving them this gift rather than consumer stuff. We live a frugal life and have more than enough for ourselves. This is a bit of an early inheritance. I try to share a little financial advice in the annual meeting.
Post: Talking to your kids about money
Link to comment from October 13, 2024
Boomer here. My 40 something children are not interested in personal finance at all, but every year I made them look at a spreadsheet listing all of our assets and where they are located. If left to their own devices, they would do nothing about their own retirement planning, though they do have pensions. My wife and I fully fund their Roth IRA (Vanguard target fund) each year to make sure it gets done. (Too important to let them forget). I made them designate me as an agent on their Roth accounts so I can see the account, make changes and contribute. Maybe they will one day appreciate it.
Post: Talking to your kids about money
Link to comment from October 12, 2024
Our two 40 something children are not interested in financial planning, in spite of my generous offers of advice. After we retired and could no longer contribute to a Roth IRA, we switched over and fully fund their Roth IRA for them. I signed up as an authorized agent on the Vanguard account and make sure contributions are made and accounts are in order. It’s too important to risk their forgetting about it. I also go over it with them once a year and check performance. We fund a 529 account for both grandchildren. We are giving now and hope they will appreciate it in the future.
Post: Is it better to give away money now or upon death?
Link to comment from June 23, 2024
Thanks for a great post! My grandson, age 11, has expressed an interest in learning about investing and I plan to use some of these points in our talks about money.
Post: What Lies Beneath
Link to comment from February 24, 2024
Great article. My wife and I have been maxing out Roth IRAs for our two children since we retired and cant add to our own IRA accounts. Our children are not interested in money matters now but I believe in the future they will be glad we took care of it for them.
Post: Gifts With Interest
Link to comment from March 7, 2022