Boomer Wealth

[Mulligan]

I agree slackers and go getters in every generation. It sometimes doesn't mean how you were brought up either. Same work ethics taught to each child some take it some don't.



Interesting age group in your family with 17 years difference between the oldest and youngest.

I have a golf friend who is 60 and the youngest of 13 full and half siblings from his father who remarried a younger woman after his first wife died. If his oldest sister was still alive she would be 96, and his father 116.

 

[street]

I have a golf friend who is 60 and the youngest of 13 full and half siblings from his father who remarried a younger woman after his first wife died. If his oldest sister was still alive she would be 96, and his father 116.

Really not that rare in age difference among siblings. After thinking about it I know of a couple families that the aunt/uncle are younger than the niece/nephew.

 

[Mulligan]

Really not that rare in age difference among siblings. After thinking about it I know of a couple families that the aunt/uncle are younger than the niece/nephew.

I dont know what defines rare, but I suspect 36 year age difference in siblings isnt in the norm range. I have never heard of such a range though Im sure its been done, and if it was the same mother that would really be rare, ha.
The niece/nephew- aunt/uncle younger thing definitely occurs. In fact I dated a niece and her aunt in my way younger days (not at the same time) as we were all only 1 year apart in age.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

Really not that rare in age difference among siblings. After thinking about it I know of a couple families that the aunt/uncle are younger than the niece/nephew.

Yeah- I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic school so coming from a family with 5-6 kids was just normal. Some families had ~12.
It’s just not as common these days. Many people only have 1 sibling-like my kids. They don’t understand the dynamics of larger families. [emoji23]

My younger sister is 3 years older than my niece.

 

[Koolau]

The OECD keeps statistics where one can compare quality of life indicators between countries with different forms of government - OECD Better Life Index. The results may surprise you.

Yeah, sounds like a "best places rated" kind of thing. Depends on what you value. I don't usually put much stock in someone else's ratings. Give me the raw data and let me decide. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

Really not that rare in age difference among siblings. After thinking about it I know of a couple families that the aunt/uncle are younger than the niece/nephew.

My mother was 20 when she had my eldest sister. My sister is 1 year older than my youngest aunt.

My father was the 10th child in a big family. My eldest uncle whom I never met was more than 15 years older than my father.

And my father had a brother younger by 2 years.

PS. The spread in age between siblings is around 20 years, both on my mother and father sides. It's about right, as a woman's child bearing years run from 17-18 to almost 40.

PPS. The spread in age between my siblings is 10 years. It's 12 years between my wife's siblings. I guess that's an improvement in our parent's era, compared to our grandparent's.

 

[kgtest]

DF helped me by letting me crash at his place for a while rather than paying rent. I did pay for my own groceries and chipped in with household chores and repairs etc.

He also bought a townhome for me and my girlfriend (now DW) to rent..giving us all our money we paid in rent back to us for a down payment on our first home. For 13yrs that same TH was part of the estate I help manage but we recently decided to sell it with housing so high, and equities so low. BUY LOW, SELL HIGH.

He gifted me a one time roth contribution last year. He also paid for some of my wedding expenses. And he chipped in for part of our down payment on our current home that at the time was juuust a tad out of reach for us financially.

He has loaned us money when we were cash poor, investment rich.

DFIL/DMIL helped pay for a some of our wedding costs, gifted us a new roof on one of our homes, a fence for one of our home's so dog wouldn't run away and helped us with bedroom sets for our kids and paid for some counseling through a rough patch.

I am super grateful for all of the support. It's shown me that it's okay to support your children in need. I've seen both my folks and in-laws support all of their children in different ways financially and emotionally. What an incredible gift to be able to offer. Super grateful and blessed. Your money dies with you soo...my as well help the ones you love the most while above ground.

Now I am at the point where I can start paying it forward/treating them to nights out etc. We will never be "even" but even is not fair, and fair is not even.

 

[RobbieB]

My father paid for my college and nothing else. My MIL and FIL gave me nothing.

I guess I don't need to pay back, but I still do.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Yeah, sounds like a "best places rated" kind of thing. Depends on what you value. I don't usually put much stock in someone else's ratings. Give me the raw data and let me decide. YMMV

Actually, take a look. They have a interactive screen that lets you weight what factors are important to you. They do give you the raw data and let you decide.

 

[Out of Steam]

Yeah, but the boomers toward the tail-end were getting stuff like a Mustang II, or a Camaro with a smogged-down 267

True, the mid to late '70s were not a high point for the US automobile industry.

 

[Finance Dave]

Yeah, but the boomers toward the tail-end were getting stuff like a Mustang II, or a Camaro with a smogged-down 267

I'm a late "boomer" and I got a '71 Vega for $600...and I bought it myself!

 

[NW-Bound]

My first car was a 1969 Mustang in green color. 4-speed stick. It looked like the one from the Web below. The air scoop on the hood of my car was just a decoration.

The AC was an after-market add-on. It was better than nothing, but could not cool the car in the middle of the summer.

I bought it in 1975. Paid $1200, if memory serves.

PS. It had drum brakes all around. One trip, coming down from Yosemite the brakes faded, and scared me a bit. Learned never to overheat the brakes ever again. Not on any car ever.

PPS. No power brake, no power steering either. You get a workout doing parallel parking, wrestling the steering wheel.


Photo of similar car on the Web:

 

[street]

I did get a car from my parents. It was a wore out gas hog, but I didn't have to pay for it. That was about all they paid for me because they didn't have any more to give.

I worked 40 hours a week when I was going to college. Worked all summer with a couple of jobs and paid my own way for everything. College was on me.

Parents worked hard all their life and were great savers, but they didn't make much.

When I would leave on Sundays to go back to college my mom would give me a few dollars so I could get something to eat. She always wanted me to call her when I got back. I would call let it ring three times than hung up. That was the code I made it back safe and didn't have to pay for a call.

I learned to skimp and get by one way or another. This baby boomer made it and learned a lot along the way.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, I remember the "phone code" too!

Back when I was less than 10 and the family would visit my aunt on the east coast. Person to person call to the guy that just left by the guy that just left.

"Sorry, he's not here" No charge.

I remember Pops when I was taking drivers ed in high school.

"Well, looks like your going to get a driver license soon eh"

Yeah, I'm looking forwards to it.

"You'll be wanting to drive the family car too I presume?"

Yeah.

"Then you'd better get a job so you can pay the insurance increase and put gas in the tank"

Yes sir!

My parents did put me through school and I'm forever grateful because they made me work at the same time.

We got your room & board, everything else is on you.

 

[street]

RobbieB, I'm sure a lot of young people are doing the same thing today what we did also. Most is on us if that is what you want. Go get it yourself or don't get it at all. lol

I believe how a person starts out can have a huge effect on how we live the rest of your lives.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah. My parents helped me by supporting me, but not 100%.

They were there to help, but I had to help too. No free ride. No new car. No condo.

 

[NW-Bound]

I stayed at home, and worked to help with household bills. Never had any spring break, winter break. Our home was 3 miles from the university.

Only moved out after I finished grad school and got married. Still sent some money to my parents after that.


PS. My two younger brothers also stayed at home until they graduated from college. None of us had any major student loan. I borrowed a couple of grands while in grad school, and paid it off in a short time after working.

 

[DrRoy]

My two children don't know how much we have, other than it's 7 figure. Their careers have been successful so far, so will not need an inheritance (though I am sure they will not mind getting some ).

No chance of grandchildren.

We don't have fancy tastes, nor covet expensive toys. The only thing we enjoy is travel.

+1 although we have remodeled the house a good bit recently and bought a new large SUV late last year. What do you all think about sharing the
NW with the children?

 

[DawgMan]

I'm a late "boomer" and I got a '71 Vega for $600...and I bought it myself!

Funny... my first car was a 73' puke orange Vega with a big black racing stripe down the middle covered in bondo! I bought it from my sister for $150! It had a Hurst slap stick shift and a burnt out clutch (tough getting started on a hill). I was 16 and had my OWN car, which was kinda a big deal back then. Could not have been more proud and excited.

BTW, did it always seem like bondo jobs were always a work in progress, never quite finished??

 

[Bigdawg]

+1 although we have remodeled the house a good bit recently and bought a new large SUV late last year. What do you all think about sharing the
NW with the children?

What would be the purpose? Boast?, Gloat?. Our DD knows that she will have to help her mother figure things out someday. Anticipating the DW to have 10-15 years by herself after I'm gone. I have set everything up for a smooth transition (for the most part). There will always be finanacial questions to answer going forward. DD will help DW with those decisions when the time comes. Our kids know that we "have enough". Actually more than enough. That is plenty of information for them. I'm hoping my kids are in their 50's when I take the dirt nap. They are well established here in the mid/late 20's so am assuming they will be fine in their 50's. So in our case-no reason to let the kids know our NW.

 

[street]

+1 although we have remodeled the house a good bit recently and bought a new large SUV late last year. What do you all think about sharing the
NW with the children?

I really don't see a problem with it at all. If they (kids) aren't in your future plans for them to inherit anything, then I would say not.

Children are your blood and the most important and closest people we know. They are maybe the ones sorting things out when we are gone so I would say they should have some clues.

I also would say each one of us know our children and it maybe not a good idea that they know. If I had 5 children, I may not say anything to any of them. If you one or two and they are mature enough to understand your intent than I would make them aware of it.

 

[ncbill]

I have a golf friend who is 60 and the youngest of 13 full and half siblings from his father who remarried a younger woman after his first wife died. If his oldest sister was still alive she would be 96, and his father 116.

My father-in-law didn't know about his father's previous family until shortly before the latter died.

Father-in-law only finally met his (20+ years older) half-siblings at his dad's funeral.

 

[NW-Bound]

My two children are doing well financially with their professional career. They also get along well. I have told them that whatever we leave them will be divided 50/50. They just don't know exactly how much I have.

Yes, we count on them to look after us when we become invalid or senile. Most likely my wife, as chances are that I will croak before her. Without someone to look after your welfare, the money you have may not help.

I still remember the story of the billionaire Howard Marshall who married Anna Nicole Smith to have some companionship. I don't know all the details, but it sounded like Marshall had a sad and lonely life at the end. Anna did take care of him to some extent in the last days of his life.

 

[jazz4cash]

I had to settle for a 1956 Plymouth. It "needed some work". I had to replace the manual transmission before I could drive it.

But seriously, I was thrilled to have it. Most guys in high school didn't have any wheels at all. And yeah, the scissors jack is the safety stand....

When I drive by the local high schools there seem to be very few “hand me down cars”. I see lots of newish luxury imports including sports cars and convertibles in the student parking lot. The teacher’s lit is another matter. Think “Breaking Bad”.

 

[NW-Bound]

Because something bad may happen to both of us during our travel, I prepared a list of all the financial accounts that we have, and sent it to my children.

They would not have to go through all of our files to know where my assets are. And they know we have the two paid-for homes.

No, I don't tell them the balance of each account, only that the total is a 7 figure.