Reply to Generational wealth. What's behind the obsession?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.[/quote]

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. [/quote]

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. [/quote]

Why you wouldn't want to help (if you can easily afford to) is beyond me!  I want my kids to have a great life, but also work/life balance.  I want my grandkids to attend good schools, my kids/their SO to be able to work jobs they enjoy and that are a short commute from home.  If one parent chooses, I want them to be a SAHP or PT or whatever they think is best for the family.  I want them to explore the world (if they want) and not just take 5 day trip once a year to the local lake and stay in a cabin (unless that is all they want).  So the no student loans already starts them out ahead of most.  We go further and gift them the max yearly, so they are already saving in ROTH/401K and independently for a home in the future.  That means they can put $300K+ down on a home and have a manageable mortgage.  It means they can live a shorter commute to work, so they get to spend more time with the grandkids (their kids) and be actively involved in their schools/sports/after school activities/etc.  We give to them now because it makes a 1000X difference towards their overall life versus when they are 50+ and we are dead.  It means they don't have to worry about saving as much for retirement because A) they will still inherit, B) the investments from age 16-30 into ROTH/401K will put them on a path towards having $5M+ at retirement, even if they don't invest anything else, so they can do minimal investments and not stress and spend more on life "now"

If your kids work hard and are good people, I don't understand why you wouldn't want to do this for them and their families if you can?  [/quote]

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