Generational wealth. What's behind the obsession?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to understand the obsession behind generational wealth. If your retirement is on target, your kids college education funded and you own a home then why are you obsessively stressing over the generation beyond your kids?

I was used and abused because I had no money, no family here, or connections. Would have never happened if my family had any money. Nobody deserved to go through what I went through. I don't think others are doing it, because of that, but money surely helps in lot of different situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www1.lasalle.edu/~reese/adams.htm

The Adam's quote frequently condensed to : soldiers to mathematicians to poets.

My personal definition of generational wealth.

Oh cool! He's my distant cousin...I'll admit to some shared Anglo-American Yankee yeoman farmer privilege. Not exactly wealth though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not obsessing over it, but it would give me joy to see my grandchildren have their college tuition paid for like I had mine paid for--by my grandparents.

My dad wants to pay our kids tuition. Nope we are good. He will go to the local cheap state college which we can afford and he will take some student loans.

Your Dad can not take it with him. Why not have your kid graduate without debt. It such a great way to start out.

Stop this debt talk. Not PP, but my kid is going to local schools. They are so cheap that he is paying for them, because he works and he also had enough to open his Roth IRA. The kid is part of building generational wealth, but also self sufficiency.
It is too early to make the kids soft. Grandpa can leave the money when he passes. The little bit of student loans they mentioned,
will do good.
The kid going to local school is a great start. Grandpa can relax.

Using family money to pay for kids' education doesn't make kids soft. Other things make kids soft. Being able to focus 100% on undergrad and law or medical school puts them ahead of their peers, and starting out with a big law job or a medical practice and no debt puts them in a sweet spot to be self-sufficient and live a UMC or better life and set their own kids up for success. Good luck to your kids on staying in the top 10% of their class and getting into law or medical school, and then staying in the top 10% of their law or medical school class to get the best jobs while also working their way through school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Combo of anxiety of Gen X paired with greediness and Instagramification of Millenials/Gen Z. Apparently Gen X can't just enjoy their savings and spend it on themselves at long last, now they have to build enough wealth for their kids to be slackers and their future grandchilden too. No early retirement for you!

They have to build enough wealth to help their kids to pay for daycare so they can get grandchildren.

The Boomers fixed nothing. Broke the culture and left the shards for everyone else to clean up.

[Anonymous]

A few thoughts that are all intertwined with each other:

As the UMC grows it becomes feasible for more people to leave sustainable assets to their children.

The world is more competitive and individualistic compared to previous decades.

The wealth gap is growing and with that comes class anxiety. Leaving wealth for kids can ease that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not obsessing over it, but it would give me joy to see my grandchildren have their college tuition paid for like I had mine paid for--by my grandparents.

My dad wants to pay our kids tuition. Nope we are good. He will go to the local cheap state college which we can afford and he will take some student loans.

Did you go to college? If so, who paid? Did you have loans?

Really curious.

[Anonymous]

If you invest so much time and resources into your children, but they can't even prepare their own kids for success and you have to help out, then it means your kids haven't succeeded, which reflects on your own failure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is something extraordinary about knowing your basic needs will be met regardless of your employment. The freedom to quit a job you hate or take a job you love that does not pay as much is a true gift.

How does this build wealth for the generation after you unless your definition of generational wealth is like $100MM+ and just the income on the principal is enough to provide what you describe.

The reason most generational wealth is gone after 3 generations is that it gets divided among too many heirs and the heirs don’t feel an obligation to grow the pot.

Obviously, if the wealth is hundreds of millions or billions, that’s a different story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not obsessing over it, but it would give me joy to see my grandchildren have their college tuition paid for like I had mine paid for--by my grandparents.

My dad wants to pay our kids tuition. Nope we are good. He will go to the local cheap state college which we can afford and he will take some student loans.

Your Dad can not take it with him. Why not have your kid graduate without debt. It such a great way to start out.

Stop this debt talk. Not PP, but my kid is going to local schools. They are so cheap that he is paying for them, because he works and he also had enough to open his Roth IRA. The kid is part of building generational wealth, but also self sufficiency.
It is too early to make the kids soft. Grandpa can leave the money when he passes. The little bit of student loans they mentioned,
will do good.
The kid going to local school is a great start. Grandpa can relax.

Using family money to pay for kids' education doesn't make kids soft. Other things make kids soft. Being able to focus 100% on undergrad and law or medical school puts them ahead of their peers, and starting out with a big law job or a medical practice and no debt puts them in a sweet spot to be self-sufficient and live a UMC or better life and set their own kids up for success. Good luck to your kids on staying in the top 10% of their class and getting into law or medical school, and then staying in the top 10% of their law or medical school class to get the best jobs while also working their way through school.

You Chinese or Indian?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not an obsession, it's a general frame of mind.

My family are European aristocrats (titles, castles, etc) and we have genealogical records that go back to the 10th century. It's always been impressed in the minds of new generations that you don't just think about yourself. You are one individual in the family line. Your job is to accept your family history (warts and all), raise your kids as best you can, try and sustain yourself economically and teach them that they, too, have to maintain financial stability. Castles are extremely expensive to maintain, and since they're full of family lore, no generation wants to be the one to let them go. Over more than a thousand years of our history, some generations have been extremely wealthy and successful, and some have been dirt poor. A lot of my relatives are now middle class. Cycles are inevitable and depend on world wars, economic recessions, changes in the tax system, etc.

The idea is not to accumulate and transmit wealth at all costs. It's to leave behind something worthwhile for future generations.

Are you the French poster-because is so, I am so tired of hearing abt your castle! If not, don’t be like the French lady.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because poverty sucks. I can from wealth and my wife does not. For the first time in my life I got to experience someone who was actually poor and crying while telling me how much they struggle. I still don't truly understand poverty. But I'll do everything I can do so that our kids have more than we did.

I’ll help you understand poverty. If your child has a place to live in an area where jobs are in abundance (as opposed to a rural depressed area or an inner city), it’s almost guaranteed they won’t be destitute. If they are mentally well, that’s already a huge deal and most likely they won’t be homeless.
If they have some financial literacy and college education, that’s what will carry them.
These are the factors that make one poor or not poor.

None of these things are within your control, though - your kid may not be healthy, or may suffer a life changing event that makes them unable to work. The area they live and their field of work in can become depressed for all kinds of reasons. People want their kids to be fed and housed nonetheless, because they love their kids. Money is security against poverty when life goes wrong.

Beyond that, money is the freedom to leave a crappy boss, or take a job they love that doesn't pay well, or stay home with the kids, or travel. People want more for their kids than "not destitute."

I don't understand why this is even a question.

I can somewhat control where kid lives by not raising them in the boonies and helping them afford a place that isn’t in the boonies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Building generational wealth is fine I guess...My neighbor is 29 and a "TikTok content creator". He is a product of "generational wealth".

I think people who are aiming for generational wealth should (and hopefully) do put some serious conditions. A relative down the line choosing to create content filming people farting because they don't have to worry about money is kind of ridiculous.

But you'll be dead so fortunately you won't have to care about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because poverty sucks. I can from wealth and my wife does not. For the first time in my life I got to experience someone who was actually poor and crying while telling me how much they struggle. I still don't truly understand poverty. But I'll do everything I can do so that our kids have more than we did.

I’ll help you understand poverty. If your child has a place to live in an area where jobs are in abundance (as opposed to a rural depressed area or an inner city), it’s almost guaranteed they won’t be destitute. If they are mentally well, that’s already a huge deal and most likely they won’t be homeless.
If they have some financial literacy and college education, that’s what will carry them.
These are the factors that make one poor or not poor.

None of these things are within your control, though - your kid may not be healthy, or may suffer a life changing event that makes them unable to work. The area they live and their field of work in can become depressed for all kinds of reasons. People want their kids to be fed and housed nonetheless, because they love their kids. Money is security against poverty when life goes wrong.

Beyond that, money is the freedom to leave a crappy boss, or take a job they love that doesn't pay well, or stay home with the kids, or travel. People want more for their kids than "not destitute."

I don't understand why this is even a question.

I can somewhat control where kid lives by not raising them in the boonies and helping them afford a place that isn’t in the boonies.

Great. The bolded is part of generational wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not obsessing over it, but it would give me joy to see my grandchildren have their college tuition paid for like I had mine paid for--by my grandparents.

My dad wants to pay our kids tuition. Nope we are good. He will go to the local cheap state college which we can afford and he will take some student loans.

Why are you making your kids take out loans if your dad is offering to pay? That seems like your pride is getting in the way of your kids' best interests.

Wow, agreed. How can you deny your child the benefit of a paid education beyond "the local cheap state college" if it is available and he can get accepted? Why would you intentionally hold you kid back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not an obsession, it's a general frame of mind.

My family are European aristocrats (titles, castles, etc) and we have genealogical records that go back to the 10th century. It's always been impressed in the minds of new generations that you don't just think about yourself. You are one individual in the family line. Your job is to accept your family history (warts and all), raise your kids as best you can, try and sustain yourself economically and teach them that they, too, have to maintain financial stability. Castles are extremely expensive to maintain, and since they're full of family lore, no generation wants to be the one to let them go. Over more than a thousand years of our history, some generations have been extremely wealthy and successful, and some have been dirt poor. A lot of my relatives are now middle class. Cycles are inevitable and depend on world wars, economic recessions, changes in the tax system, etc.

The idea is not to accumulate and transmit wealth at all costs. It's to leave behind something worthwhile for future generations.

Are you the French poster-because is so, I am so tired of hearing abt your castle! If not, don’t be like the French lady.

I enjoy hearing from the French lady. Although I always wanted a medieval castle and she said I wouldn't like it in real life (different thread).

If meanies like you chase her away, that would make me mad.

I like hearing about castle lady stuff like her inherited cradle.

There was a French guy in my MBA class who had this kind of background. He got married at his chateau. He has to operate it as a tourist trap to keep it going.

My family had to sell our (now 150 year old) lakefront summer cottage in NY. Family got too small and too middle class to have time to vacation there and pay the taxes. I don't think my sister will ever recover from the psychic wound.

Enchantée de faire votre connaissance, "castle lady"!