Th3 Core

>He said that many of his clients were miserable because they lived broke and another large part were miserable because they died rich.

The problem is getting the timing right!  For those of us with children it gets a bit more complicated.  I use to think that just getting them to adulthood and through college was enough, but now with all the dire predictions I feel like that's not enough.

The problem is getting the timing right!

I thought I had written those exact words, but I either didn't or I erased them. This exact problem has been a major topic, I think *the* major topic, in conversations with my wife these days. As I mentioned, my main 2019 goals is to get her to a place where she's working less, which brings on this discussion.

with children it gets a bit more complicated

Definitely. Many aspects to that, which is also something that crosses my mind a lot.

Yes. My husband and I have a balancing act right

I'm crossing the streams here... but you mentioned in the retirement thread that you were "there" no (no need to work for money). I remember many years ago, through your affiliate work, you achieved that goal for Marcel so he could disregard money and pursue the things he cared about. So now you're there for both of you (based on what you said).

First, congratulations. Second, does the "balancing act" impact your continued client and affiliate work, or are you just doing what you enjoy and not considering kids (and grandkids) in that picture?

I've seen a lot of squandering as well and a lot of cases where adults do not have to act like grown-ups because they are being supported way too long.

An Econ professor I had was a big advocate of a 100% inheritance tax -- basically the idea was to leave nothing for the children and make inter-generational transfers of wealth impossible.   The notion was to make the playing field as level as possible and it would cause economies to have more just rules.  It is an interesting idea, but far from the way our current society is set up.

This is a nuanced topic.  Helping a kid get a leg up can have a dramatic effect on that kids life and the lives of subsequent generations -- we've probably all seen examples of this working.  On the other hand, I've seen people subsidized for way too long as they hop from one type of education to another in an effort to find themselves. In those situations, I blame the parents as much as the adult children.

>> So now you're there for both of you

Yes. For those who haven't heard the story, my husband quit his job and went for a master's degree, enabled by my affiliate income. I got to brag that I was married to an A student!

>> does the "balancing act" impact your continued client and affiliate work, or are you just doing what you enjoy and not considering kids (and grandkids) in that picture?

Kids and grandkids are high on the list of what I enjoy. :-)

Re client / affiliate ... I  have one client these days, and affiliate work goes up and down. I can pick and choose what's interesting, I don't "have to" work. So I end up doing strange things just because they're fun ... such as proofreading a doctoral dissertation which I expect to receive this week.

>> adults do not have to act like grown-ups because they are being supported way too long

No ongoing support here, other than helping with grandkids' music lessons or sports fees. We've given a few surprise, no-strings $$ gifts when something went unusually well for us (e.g. website sale). In every case the $$ were put towards debt reduction, so used sensibly enough I'd say.

The biggest thing I'd like to do for grandkids would be some help with postsecondary tuition when the time comes. My grandmother paid for a year's tuition for me, and I'd like to do the same or similar.

Here's where the balancing comes in. How generous can/should we be for such things when we might have thirty years left to provide for ourselves? Or even forty if I were to live as long as my oldest uncle? To that question, add in some concerns about government pensions going broke ...

>> big advocate of a 100% inheritance tax -- basically the idea was to leave nothing for the children and make inter-generational transfers of wealth impossible

That would encourage older people to burn through their money instead of saving and investing, and increase the numbers who end up penurious. Not a good idea IMHO.

>> Can we bargain that down to this year?

Bargain as you wish.

It's someone else''s document that I'm expecting this week.

>> A huge help in the long run.

Yes. But it's not in a form that makes them dependent.