Andre1969
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Omni550, in response to your question, no Jan Brady syndrome here. In these cases, both my uncle and my Dad were the youngest kids! So maybe they were babied too much or something, and never really could make it on their own?
I know in the case of my uncle, he was born with a horseshoe shaped kidney in 1952, and the doctor actually told my grandmother there was a good chance that she would end up outliving him. I know that's got to be a horrible thing for a parent to hear, and I know that thought haunts her to this day.
Anyway, Grandmom and Granddad didn't spoil my Mom and uncle as kids, but I think what they'd do is bail them both out when they got in trouble, either financial or otherwise. And since my uncle would get into more trouble than my mother, he got bailed out more. As a result, my mother has always been a bit jealous, and even to this day I can still see it. My grandparents (or Grandmom, after 1990 when Granddad died) probably helped out my uncle with just about every vehicle he's ever bought until the last two, while I think Mom paid for all of hers, starting with a $75 '57 Plymouth, a $250 '59 Rambler station wagon, and a brand-new '66 Catalina convertible that she bought when she was 17, in her senior year in high school. I'm STILL impressed that she was able to pull that one down! Heck, when I was 17, I had Mom's old hand-me-down 1980 Malibu!
As for my Dad, I really don't know much about his childhood. He was the youngest of 3 boys though. I don't know if he was spoiled or not, but my Grandparents on that side of the family really didn't seem like the type to spoil the kids, either, although they'd help them out in a pinch.
Anyway, one thing I'm glad about, at least, is that both my uncle and my Dad are trying to save now. My uncle has a 401K and a conventional IRA, and a pretty well-padded checking account. My Dad is putting away something like 15% of his pay into whatever the gov't equivalent of the 401k is (403b or whatever?). And he also had enough saved up to pay around $13K cash for a fairly new used Buick a couple years ago. I found out a few years ago my Granddad has also been charging him something like $500 per month rent, and is putting it into an account for him that he'll get back once Granddad passes away, so at least my Dad will have something.
Sometimes I do worry about what will happen when my Granddad on my Dad's side, and Grandmom on my Mom's side pass away. I really don't know if my Dad or uncle would be able to make it on their own. Neither one is very good about money or investing, although they are learning, slowly. They're at least trying to save now in their later years, which is better than nothing. But they'll never be able to get back those lost years that they blew on their youth.
Oh yeah, I just thought of another example. My grandmother's cousin, who recently turned 81, has a son who lives with her who's something like 60 or 61. Actually, from what I've heard he's not "all there" if you know what I mean, but he's smart enough to figure out how to declare bankruptcy, hide assets, and find other ways to work the system. I think in his older age the "system" is starting to catch up to him, but I swear, if over the course of his life he put half as much effort into working as he did avoiding work and trying to make a fast buck or work the welfare, legal, or some other system, he'd be a wealthy man! As for his mother, she retired back in 1980, and was a GS-13 in the federal gov't. But this is another case where alcohol took its toll. And drugs had a role in it too.
I know in the case of my uncle, he was born with a horseshoe shaped kidney in 1952, and the doctor actually told my grandmother there was a good chance that she would end up outliving him. I know that's got to be a horrible thing for a parent to hear, and I know that thought haunts her to this day.
Anyway, Grandmom and Granddad didn't spoil my Mom and uncle as kids, but I think what they'd do is bail them both out when they got in trouble, either financial or otherwise. And since my uncle would get into more trouble than my mother, he got bailed out more. As a result, my mother has always been a bit jealous, and even to this day I can still see it. My grandparents (or Grandmom, after 1990 when Granddad died) probably helped out my uncle with just about every vehicle he's ever bought until the last two, while I think Mom paid for all of hers, starting with a $75 '57 Plymouth, a $250 '59 Rambler station wagon, and a brand-new '66 Catalina convertible that she bought when she was 17, in her senior year in high school. I'm STILL impressed that she was able to pull that one down! Heck, when I was 17, I had Mom's old hand-me-down 1980 Malibu!
As for my Dad, I really don't know much about his childhood. He was the youngest of 3 boys though. I don't know if he was spoiled or not, but my Grandparents on that side of the family really didn't seem like the type to spoil the kids, either, although they'd help them out in a pinch.
Anyway, one thing I'm glad about, at least, is that both my uncle and my Dad are trying to save now. My uncle has a 401K and a conventional IRA, and a pretty well-padded checking account. My Dad is putting away something like 15% of his pay into whatever the gov't equivalent of the 401k is (403b or whatever?). And he also had enough saved up to pay around $13K cash for a fairly new used Buick a couple years ago. I found out a few years ago my Granddad has also been charging him something like $500 per month rent, and is putting it into an account for him that he'll get back once Granddad passes away, so at least my Dad will have something.
Sometimes I do worry about what will happen when my Granddad on my Dad's side, and Grandmom on my Mom's side pass away. I really don't know if my Dad or uncle would be able to make it on their own. Neither one is very good about money or investing, although they are learning, slowly. They're at least trying to save now in their later years, which is better than nothing. But they'll never be able to get back those lost years that they blew on their youth.
Oh yeah, I just thought of another example. My grandmother's cousin, who recently turned 81, has a son who lives with her who's something like 60 or 61. Actually, from what I've heard he's not "all there" if you know what I mean, but he's smart enough to figure out how to declare bankruptcy, hide assets, and find other ways to work the system. I think in his older age the "system" is starting to catch up to him, but I swear, if over the course of his life he put half as much effort into working as he did avoiding work and trying to make a fast buck or work the welfare, legal, or some other system, he'd be a wealthy man! As for his mother, she retired back in 1980, and was a GS-13 in the federal gov't. But this is another case where alcohol took its toll. And drugs had a role in it too.
