The title for an Article in thestar.com.my caught my attention. “To retire rich, don’t leave too much to your kids.” Are your kids now working and spending everything they earn every month? Are you doing your best to keep reducing your expenses in order to give everything you have to them? Well, that article above says, if you intend to retire rich, do not leave too much to your kids. Agree? Haha.
Here’s the article Article in thestar.com.my and this is what it says. Many may not have saved enough and that’s because we do not have self-control. In fact, an avocado toast today may mean one less future pair of reading glasses. Many parents will be thinking that they should leave something for the children. Then again, perhaps it may be better not to have kids then?
Global life expectancy went up by 5 years between 2010 and 2015. This is the fastest increase since the 1960s. What this tells us is that those retiring in 2035 would need to have enough money for an extra 5 years and that’s only because we are living longer. Statistically, in 1996, only 14% of Americans saw themselves as working beyond 65 years of age. Well, in 2019, that number went up to 45%. Do read the full article with a lot of other information here: Article in thestar.com.my
Perhaps a degree and a home?
I am still an Asian parent yeah. So, I do not care about all those predictions that a certificate in some online related skill is all you need to survive and earn good money. You may tell that to my kids when they grow up and have their kids. For me, that first degree, as long as my kids could do it would have to be completed. So, yeah, that savings for this purpose would have to be done. I would not save this money just to retire rich. My brother, my sister and I were all graduates and that was sort of a requirement from our parents. I have since completed an MBA as well.
A home is meanwhile more of what they intend to do with it. I will give each a property but I would not mind too much if they stay there, sell it to fund some business venture or even rent the property out for a few thousands while they stay in some rented rooms for hundreds and taking that rental as their second income. That’s up to them. However, I do think I agree with the article. I do think I will prefer to spend the money travelling a bit more. So, my responsibility is not to leave them my money. My responsibility stops with a degree and one property.
Perhaps it’s about investing and educating?
I continue to tell my kids that life’s not easy if they do not get a job which pays them a good salary. I know, some say that we should be encouraging them to be an entrepreneur. That one, leave it to them and that’s an upside potential yeah. Majority of everyone would still be working and there’s joy to working actually. Stable pay, go travel with annual leaves and not work day and night just to ensure the business stays profitable. Noted about that part that entrepreneurs could become multi-millionaires. Like I say, that’s for them to decide.
What I need to do now is to continue investing because that’s the only way I could build up the wealth versus just getting a monthly pay. That’s quite an important part and this investing part, they will start learning very soon. Let them enjoy their typical maths lessons first lah. At the moment though, I think they are disciplined enough to know that they better finish their food or I will show them some videos of kids without food and hunger. So, educating them correctly is super important yeah.
Yes, I do not believe in giving all I have to my kids
I kid you not. I am a Gen-X parent. Our kids would have to learn how to behave. They would learn why they must respect their elders, teachers and rules. They will certainly NOT become a ‘strawberry generation.’ My wife agrees to and by the way, they do not have their own smartphones and their access to smartphones are at most 30 minutes per day. When I say give me back, they know they must give me back. Haha. Yea, I am one of those TIGER papa.
I think when they grow up and they could read this article, they would realise that I am not joking. Haha. They deserve all my love but my wife and I deserve to use more of our money for our enjoyment too. So yeah, I think in order to retire rich, it may be prudent to also plan for our future after retirement and not just give everything to the kids. Do share your thoughts if you are also parent to young kids like me. Thank you!
Love to be updated of investment news? Sign up for KopiWeekly. (once per week for property, finance, investment news and more)
Please LIKE kopiandproperty.my FB page to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.my articles. Else, follow me on Twitter here.
Next suggested article: Kids are getting free properties from rich parents. Erm
Leave a Reply