Always risky to raise the kids in much more comfort than they can conceive of providing for themselves by working at a job they can realistically get on their own merits. It can't be good for a kid to see hanging around in his parents' place as more attractive than getting a job and an apartment, not to mention starting his own family. How's he supposed to grow up?
My folks raised us in a lot more material comfort than the fairly severe penury they'd grown up in, but they were thrifty nonetheless. They kept our allowances to a minimum and expected us to work for mad money. The financial security was in the form of keeping the family finances so stable that there was never any serious question of a problem with making the mortgage, paying medical bills, or fixing things when they broke--if they had financial anxieties, they didn't let on, that being a job for the grownups, not the kids. When the time came for college, they weren't in a position to pay crazy-high tuition, but they could float our (modest) room and board without straining too hard. They set up a good example of saving for a secure retirement. For my taste, that's enough riches but not too many.
Boy, did I live in some hovels when I was starting out on my own! It was good practice and a spur to ambition.
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Scary bit about the kids...
Always risky to raise the kids in much more comfort than they can conceive of providing for themselves by working at a job they can realistically get on their own merits. It can't be good for a kid to see hanging around in his parents' place as more attractive than getting a job and an apartment, not to mention starting his own family. How's he supposed to grow up?
My folks raised us in a lot more material comfort than the fairly severe penury they'd grown up in, but they were thrifty nonetheless. They kept our allowances to a minimum and expected us to work for mad money. The financial security was in the form of keeping the family finances so stable that there was never any serious question of a problem with making the mortgage, paying medical bills, or fixing things when they broke--if they had financial anxieties, they didn't let on, that being a job for the grownups, not the kids. When the time came for college, they weren't in a position to pay crazy-high tuition, but they could float our (modest) room and board without straining too hard. They set up a good example of saving for a secure retirement. For my taste, that's enough riches but not too many.
Boy, did I live in some hovels when I was starting out on my own! It was good practice and a spur to ambition.
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