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One millionaire says watching their parents struggle with money completely changed the way they think about work, retirement and raising children, and questioned why more people don’t prioritize building generational wealth for their families.

“I had a regular middle class upbringing,” the original poster wrote on Reddit’s r/Money forum. “Wonderful parents. But they struggled with the bills, terrible with money and had nothing to leave the kids when they passed.”

The poster said that experience pushed them to focus heavily on building wealth for future generations.

“I didn’t want that for my kids and will probably earn as much as I can as long as I can for their future,” they added.

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Many Said Most People Are Just Trying To Survive

The post quickly turned into a discussion about why so many people don’t prioritize generational wealth.

Some commenters said the answer is simple: most Americans are barely getting by.

“Majority of Americans will never be able to make generational wealth let alone lifetime wealth,” one person wrote.

Another commenter said many families are struggling just to avoid becoming financial burdens on their children later in life because of healthcare costs, retirement pressures and rising living expenses.

Others argued that the entire idea of generational wealth has become unrealistic for average earners.

“Most people can’t generate wealth for themselves,” one commenter wrote.

Still, plenty of people strongly agreed with the original poster’s mindset.

“I literally only work for my kids,” one person wrote. “If it was just me, I’d  retire. I grew up poor and am good with money. I want better for my kids.”

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Another commenter who grew up poor said they wanted to give their children “an arsenal of wealth” because “life is brutal” and financial security can dramatically reduce stress and suffering.

The original poster later revealed they were aiming to leave behind somewhere between $10 million and $20 million.

“I mean, I’m not talking insane money,” they wrote. “But even a few million, with the potential to continue growing could become 9 figures.”

Too Much Wealth Can Backfire

To many in the thread, excessive financial comfort can result in entitled children who lack ambition or purpose.

“Generational wealth tends to make future generations become rich losers,” one person wrote, “and then, eventually, poor losers.”

Another commenter shared that they had seen wealthy children completely waste fortunes through reckless spending and poor life choices.

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Several people repeated a common saying about family fortunes disappearing within three generations.

“Grandfather makes the family fortune, Father improves or expands it, Son squanders it,” one person wrote.

Because of that, many parents in the thread said they cared more about teaching financial literacy, work ethic and independence instead of simply leaving large inheritances.

Some said paying for college, helping with a first home or allowing children to graduate debt-free already counts as generational wealth.

The original poster appeared to agree with that balanced approach.

“I have no intention of my children knowing we’re ‘well off’ until they’ve done right on their own first,” they wrote. “I live a very modest life, modest home, modest vehicles, don’t fly first class etc. Short of telling them, they have no idea we have millions.”

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This article Their Parents Were ‘Terrible With Money’ And Left Them Nothing. Now A Millionaire Wonders Why More People Don’t Think About Generational Wealth originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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