Generational wealth. What's behind the obsession?

[Anonymous]

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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?

White. And most of my close friends think like me, as do Chinese and Indian families with means as you’ve suggested. We live in a competitive time and AI is going to make it even more competitive.

[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?

Because it’s so much more money than any previous generation of my family had, and I am the first woman professional? Yes it’s ego and wanting to live on through my family and charitable donations.

[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.

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.

My Uncle gave all his millions to his grandkids with trusts for his great grandkids. Left his own kids zero. They were rotten brats. Lucky for him all grandkids over 21 at time of his death. They said they did not care about money well now they have what they want.

Huh? Did you mean to respond to a different post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

So accurate!!

Generational wealth made it way easier for me and DH to have kids just out of residency. Not worrying about paying off student loans + generous help with a down payment for our first home made it feasible for us to have kids sooner.

I’d like to do the same for my kids— set them up for success so they can focus on their studies through whatever terminal degree they want, help them get set up and be able to afford kids if that’s what they want.

[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.

THIS. I unexpectedly inherited a lot of money in my forties and it gave me the freedom to not care about annoying bosses, coworkers, etc. It gave me the freedom to set limits at work and choose jobs carefully and with boundaries.

That said, I don't think that's necessarily a good thing in your twenties. It's better to have to learn how to get along with people and make your own way.

[Anonymous]

My boyfriend grew up in Ohio and did not have indoor plumbing until he was in 9th grade. He managed to attend and graduate from Ohio State. If he can pass money along to his kids so that they have a better quality of life it is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boyfriend grew up in Ohio and did not have indoor plumbing until he was in 9th grade. He managed to attend and graduate from Ohio State. If he can pass money along to his kids so that they have a better quality of life it is a good thing.

Your BF sounds a lot like JD Vance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My boyfriend grew up in Ohio and did not have indoor plumbing until he was in 9th grade. He managed to attend and graduate from Ohio State. If he can pass money along to his kids so that they have a better quality of life it is a good thing.

Your BF sounds a lot like JD Vance.

Unfortunately Ohio has a lot of poor hillbilly’s. JD wasn’t the first, definitely not the last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a boomer and those before them obsessing and GenX to an extent.

Millennials and Gen Z have 1 or 2 kids max and more and more are going the route of no kids. I think they are not going to worry about the generation after them

Gen Z’s are still in high school and college. People need to stop obsessing over what they’re doing.

[Anonymous]

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.

Jeez you’re not too bright are you? It’s very easy to understand poverty. Maybe visuals would help you. Watch some documentaries about families struggling.

I don’t know how people can go through life and not know people who are poor, people who are rich and middle class. It must be stifling to live in such a small box.

[Anonymous]

Its rocket ship building. Once you reach a certain point of wealth where your portfolio compounds faster than you need or want to spend you've built a rocket that has achieved escape velocity from problems money can solve. Paycheck to paycheck is living on the ground. A nice bonus is a puddle jumper plane ride. But the pratical definition of "wealth" is a rocket ship, even if it just can carry you into space. Then you think, can I build one to carry my family? Many generations of my family? Can we maintain it and stock it and make it self sustainable forever?

But no rocket can last forever. The population of inhabitants will either eventuually grow exponentially and no fuel will be enough, structural issues will emerge and internal and external forces will wear it down. Or the population will dwindle and the rocket eventually dismantled and sold for parts or is an antique inhabited by a paid crew who select people for short rides to space to briefly feel what zero gravity is like.

[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?

paying for your children’s college means you are helping your children with generational wealth.

[Anonymous]

As others have said, my hope is to provide for my child’s education, help with a downpayment, wedding, some travel, and daycare costs. I grew up blue collar and while I had student loans, my parents were able to help with college, pay for a nice wedding, fund some travel. I am worried about the world our children will inherit.

[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.

DP and I LOVE hearing about your castle! Can you do an AMA?

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you wish you had generational wealth OP.