<prompt> Human: I just got out of boot camp, and Ive got more money in my bank account than ever before in my life, but I want to make sure I start saving for retirement. During boot camp they talked about the Thrift Savings Plan, which is basically the US governments retirement account for military and government employees. They had a bunch of different funds I could put my money into, including government, international, small companies, big corporations, a couple others, and then what they called the L fund which puts your money into all the funds and balances your portfolio automatically based on how close you are to retirement. That sounded pretty nice, however before I left for boot camp I read a book by Ric Edelman called Rescue Your Money and he talked about balancing based on the market rather than how close you are to retirement. I figure I could do that myself using the different funds they offer, however Im not really sure how to go about doing that. How much of my money should be domestic, or international? When do I know its time to re-balance my portfolio again? If someone could shed some light or maybe recommend a book that goes more into depth on how to properly balance a portfolio, itd be much appreciated. Also, if you have any other advice on financial benefits I should take advantage of while in the military, Id love to hear that as well.  <response>: The L fund is by experts and would be a good starting point. Im not familiar with the book you mentioned but beware, some books are awful and may give advice that is untrue. I recommend reading The Investors Manifesto by William Bernstein. At the very least hes someone who makes recommendations based on peer review investment journals. You can also check out the shorter free booklet If You Can by William Bernstein. 