Phil and Pam are having the time of their lives!
Grey nomad Phil Crockart is spending the kids’ inheritance … and he doesn’t feel the slightest bit guilty!
When we started the grey nomad lifestyle, we were pretty much assured we would have no problems keeping our finances and lives in good order so we could enjoy our wanderings and retirement.
It seemed fair enough, but reading about some Gen X’ers and Gen Y’ers giving baby boomers flak over their supposed lack of generosity and their serious disregard for the ‘tradition’ of leaving an inheritance for the kids got me on the boil!
Baby boomers were 20 years down track in their working lives when compulsory superannuation arrived. This means that, for most of our lives, we had never heard the word, let alone had employer contributions. It follows that whatever super we baby boomers had was pretty worthless unless we were seriously cashed up at retirement.
This raises the question, do we work to live, or live to work? The answer is an individual choice.
We chose to become grey nomads because the cost of housing with its attached hanger on-ers such as rates, electricity, gas, repairs etc, was way too expensive for us and becoming a money pit on our finances.
So, we sold up and now live in a caravan. The best decision we have made!
As far as inheritance goes (which is what some Gen X and Y kids are chirping about) it won’t exist from us to our kids. Now this will raise a few eyebrows. Are we greedy? No!
It may be that the Gen X and Y folk will say: ‘why not an inheritance?’ Well, with the seeming need for a much higher education to do anything, the expected wages of Gen X and Y workers are way higher (inflation accounted for) than that which we baby boomers enjoyed.
The bottom line is that, from my point of view, our kids are better educated and higher paid than we ever were. So, is the inheritance a necessary and predictable thing? I say no! Apart from tradition, the inheritance is a thing of years gone by. When we shuffle off this mortal coil, the kids can have our caravan, our cameras and our Xbox.
When our parents passed, the only ‘inheritance’ we received was their wisdom and love. Gen X and Gen Y, my message to you is that there is no free ride. Mum and Dad may not be in a position to grant you an inheritance. The way I see it is why the heck would all generation work their guts out to give their kids money?
What happened to enjoyment and relaxation in latter life? I’m sorry, but I have worked to live, and now enjoy the fruits of that labour. But, to each their own.
Are you happy to spend the kids’ inheritance? Email us here to share your thoughts.
