How many of you have a Trust Fund? What’s it like?

Richie Richer wrote:

All of those obscenely rich people are liberals so if they wanted to pay more, why don't they just do it?

So the government can build walls and bombs?

1ub2run wrote:

I used to be a financial advisor.

Most trust find babies are.. losers.

I had a son of a client buy a 4x4 with cash. Totaled it on way home. Didn't know he was suppose to get insurance beforehand.

Many people say the #1 problem of the rich is how to make their kids successful.

You want to help but not too much. They have to earn it first. You want to buffer any disaster but not spoon. You want to make it downhill but without making it a one way street. It's harder than it sounds.

That's the trick. What my wife and I did was tell each kid that they could have $500K towards a house. (Both kids live in very expensive housing markets.) This will get them over the hurdle of coming up with a meaningful downpayment but they are going to have to make monthly payments so it is going to be their house, not our house bought for them.

Richie Richer wrote:

Upper middle class? I worked my way through college. My father earned $20k per year and raised a family of 6. I learned that everyone has a great deal of money to invest. I have never had cable TV. I lived with only my work cell phone. We did not eat out. Most don't want to make sacrifices at a young age in order to live a lifetime of leisure.

I am the opposite of you and very happy. Imagine that. Pride is a worthless quality dude. Nobody cares.

Btw, this is a thread about trust funds.

Meaning you are on welfare?

Richie Richer wrote:

All of those obscenely rich people are liberals so if they wanted to pay more, why don't they just do it?

There's a reason none of those obscenely rich people were Bernie Bros.: money. The game is "I'll support whatever woke BS you come up with next, as long as you keep your hands off my monopolistic money machine."

I don't have a trust fund. I didn't have rich parents. My dad was a mailman and my mom worked as program leader for a very small non-profit. I doubt they ever made $100k a year combined. They helped pay for some of my college and helped me find grants and loans to do the rest. They also let me live at home after college and feed the loan monster. My part of the deal was that I worked non-stop and did as much as I could to get ahead at work. Having your kids earn what they get is the greatest gift any parent can give. Grit, perseverance, patience, ingenuity + manners are more important than other skills I think kids can learn early on. Will my kids ever have a trust fund probably not. Am I providing a pretty comfortable life in a very high cost of living area. Yes.

1ub2run wrote:

You want to help but not too much. They have to earn it first.

It will be the banks house actually

The guy asked about the experiences of people who have trust funds, and immediately people start talking about how they made their own money and retired early. What the heck, can you not read??

I would think that one of the biggest advantages of a trust fund is the freedom to take risks and make mistakes. If you pack off to live in some far off place and take a big chance on some career you can do so because you are not worrying about paying for the basics like rent, food, car, health insurance. Want to be an actor/artist? Hey give it a shot! What to go work for some risky start up? Go for it! You literally have nothing to lose because all of the risk is removed.

The children of the very rich can take those big risks because their mistakes are glossed over with mom & dad's money. The very poor are apt to take big risks because (with appologies to Kris Kristopherson) they have nothing, so they have nothing to lose. It's those of us in the middle that are almost forced to play it safe because we have a little, but one or two bad mistakes or bad luck and you go from the middle class to poverty.

Stop writing in this thread because you are not a trust fund baby. Can you not read? Go away.

blueblooded wrote:

Richie Richer wrote:

I made my own. I retired in my mid 40s with 3 children to still put through college. I never made a great deal of money but socked every penny into the stock market and have a net worth exceeding $4M now. I pointed this out in a different thread and was even questioned by one of the founders who didn't believe that it was possible until I showed the simple math.

$4M isn't enough to retire on at mid 40s

I'm 27, I only spend about $20k per year. Let's ramp that waaaaay up and say I spend $100k per year. $4M would last me 40 years even if I spend 5 times the amount I currently spend. And if someone has $4M saved up, I imagine they have their house dang near paid for, so they don't have to spend anything much there anymore. $4M is easily enough to retire on at 40 years of age. I understand $4M now isn't going to be what $4M will buy you in 20 years, but just leave most of that in investments and only take money out as you need it and you're perfectly fine.

blueblooded wrote:

there is no risk of ever not being able to pay bills or go hungry or have a nice home/apartment. no student loans; mortgages are like play money. always have a working car, purchased new - not used. never had to make a budget or not buy whatever i felt like buying whenever i wanted it. travel where ever and do anything, but still working and not wanting to abuse vacation time too much

I know a lot of wealthy trust funders - people getting $15-50k/mo or who have 7-8 figures in an account. Most of them are not buying their cars outright, they lease. $1500/mo lease rate fits in nicely with the other monthly fixed costs and doesn't interrupt the semi-annual NetJet pop or holiday splurge.