Not Special Like the Rich

You're special!, or so you've been told for your entire life. You're so special that people always give you things and ask for nothing in return. No matter where you go - your parents house, your college, your employer, your wife, or your husband - they all give and give and give, and don't ask for a thing in return! Great!

This subject was broached recently by an article in the Wall Street Journal. Its discussion circled around good old Mr. Rogers, and his favorite saying, which of course, was, you guessed it, "you're special." The author further discussed research that indicates a growing level of selfishness and sense of entitlement in younger generations. He says that this increased sense of entitlement is in large part due to the child centered culture that has evolved over the past several decades. It's no longer important what mommy and daddy did today, but "how was school today?," and "what did you do/learn?"

It occurred to me that perhaps this new sense of entitlement, this sense of being special, has lead an entire generation to believe that they don't need to save for their futures. They think that someone else will take care of it for them, because, after all, don't they deserve that? Many young adults that I know have parents that are not wealthy, but have retired, live in nice homes, have nice cars, and take nice vacations and trips, and when the kids come, even though they're 32, the parents foot the bill for everything. When these "kids" get in trouble and can't pay their rent or insurance, guess who comes to the rescue? I think most of the parents actually prefer the relationship to continue this way, after all, they can remain an important part of their child's life, it is clear co-dependency.

But these parents are not doing their children any favors by solving every problem, and allowing them to sit back and wait for their inheritance. Most will not even get an inheritance that can sustain them after it has sustained mommy, daddy, and the dead beat son or daughter for so long. What most will receive is an amount that is not near enough to provide for an adequate retirement, and they won't be prepared to manage even that much.

Children need to start learning about money, whether they are 13 or 35, it is never too early and never to late, but now is the time to start. Mommy and Daddy, you are special, you have accomplished, earned, and saved and proved how special you are. Children, if you want to be special, you will need to prove it through your own accomplishments.

Most of the rich could not have become so if they believed that someone or something would make them rich, that all they had to do was relax, sit back, maintain status quo, and wait. To the contrary, the had to work to earn, save what was required, and make those savings earn.

I have an uncle who is a retired oil executive. He earns about $200,000 a year in investment income. He worked for the same company for 40 years. He has a small home in the city where he spent his working life, and an even smaller house at the beach. He has 4 adult children, the oldest in his 40's. None would qualify for a description of independent. But that's not the rub. The rub is that none are interested in becoming independent. They all have jobs, but none of them have jobs that can support the type of lifestyle that they want, so they all regularly receive money from him that they use to pay for their living expenses. I think this makes him feel rich and generous, powerful and useful.

But he is not teaching any of them what he understood so well, and what made him so successful. Which is, to amass wealth, you must live below your means, otherwise you will never save and will never take the basic first step to building your own fortune. How long do you think his children's inheritance will last when its manager is no longer with us?