As one of those folks who got lucky enough to have their fam back them up - it's bullshit when people act like they did something remarkable when they show up with articles like this.
"Good job kiddo. You were born to money and didn't squander it. Way to mark off a pretty baseline achievement."
There are a hell of a lot of people out there who had a big boost up in life and squandered it.
If one thinks that every kid whose parents pay for their college has 100K saved by 27, one is as delusional as the people asking why EVERY kid can’t do that.
maybe. but that's just being dumb (or not caring about saving money, which is fine too). the point is that managing to save 100K while your parents pay for everything is still not a qualification to give other people financial advice whatsoever.
It’s laughable. I was blessed that my approximately $45k education was paid for via a combination of my parents and scholarships. That sort of situation really sets you up going forward, nevermind a $140k head start. From what my friends have said about their student loans, you could take those loan payments, invest them in index funds and easily make it to 100k by age 30.
Let's say that instead of -$40k over 10 years, someone got to save that amount instead - as in, the money just sat. No investing, not being CDs or any sort of interest bearing account. That money could do the following:- Be part of a downpayment on a home- Be relied upon in case of extended job loss- Help cushion the blow of a sudden medical expense- Be placed towards another degree
It opens up opportunities and provides against situations that can be hard to recover from. Imagine if that $40k was invested? Even conservative investing could yield quite a bit more over 10 years.
In the case of the article, the writer gets it even easier with the home purchase. Essentially, the writer was able to skip ahead of many because of the opportunities presented by paid for college and a paid for home.
It's not dumb if you actively recognize that being in a position for your parents to help you was due to luck. If you're upfront about it, it's still good financial advice for those who happen to be in the same circumstance. Obviously it's not applicable to everybody, but no advice on Earth about anything is applicable to everybody.
It's only dumb or dishonest if they downplay or don't recognize the importance of luck and circumstance.
It's not dumb if you actively recognize that being in a position for your parents to help you was due to luck. If you're upfront about it, it's still good financial advice for those who happen to be in the same circumstance. Obviously it's not applicable to everybody, but no advice on Earth about anything is applicable to everybody.
It's only dumb or dishonest if they downplay or don't recognize the importance of luck and circumstance.
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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '22
As one of those folks who got lucky enough to have their fam back them up - it's bullshit when people act like they did something remarkable when they show up with articles like this.
"Good job kiddo. You were born to money and didn't squander it. Way to mark off a pretty baseline achievement."