Would it be such a bad thing to set your children up financially so that they never have to work?

[wonderingWallaby]

Let’s assume from the age of 21 you provide them with a monthly/annual allowance of x amount (a substantial figure), and they will receive this for the remainder of their life. Obviously I wouldn’t be happy if they spent all day sleeping, playing video games etc. But if the money allowed them to avoid the rat race that is work, maybe that’s not such a bad thing? I know there are a lot of positives to working, but my thought process is that life is short. And if you’re in a position where you don’t have to work or you can ensure your children don’t have to work, is that really such a bad thing?

This.

If my DC wanted to work at a domestic violence shelter, be a nurse with Médecins Sans Frontières, help with refugee resettlement, etc. and I had the means to top up their salary indefinitely, I would certainly consider it. But I would never condone not working. If nothing else, they’d run a real risk of not understanding how the world works, and lacking empathy.

I’m a very high earner, and one of the things I try to be most intentional about is making sure my DCs have responsibilities, do chores, and attend regular schools, even if they don’t “have” to.

I have a distant friend who never had to work (rich family, known in drama world). Can’t say his life has been particularly special or good. He had a personal family tragedy in later years and does a fair amount of charitable work now. I can’t say I envy anything about his life.

Me too. I fantasise about being able to give up paid employment.

But I'm pleased I've had to work in my life.

Well, no. They are going to need purpose in life.

Plus, Come The Zombie Apocalypse, you'd be toast without a marketable & transportable skill. I do bang on to mine a lot about this.

Assuming I somehow won the lottery tomorrow, I can't envisage the best use of that money being to render 3 perfectly competent & intelligent young adults fundamentally unemployable over a period of entitled years of nonsense.

I would probably quietly dripfeed it down the generations, with helpful house deposits to grandchildren in trust until they turned 30 or so.

But no. I would never, ever pull the rug on my dc like that. They are all currently working to attain qualifications which lead to the next step in their futures.

To effectively say: 'NOT to worry, guys! I will just keep on covering everything you ever need.' sounds to me like a lousy & poisonous message to launch a young adult dc with.

The fetishisation of work really matters because for most people, most of the time what you do to fund a meal on the table, is a large chunk of what you are. I do realise that I see this through a privileged lens, having been educated well and innately cleverer than many or most. I loved work. But most people don't, and it's a dull neccesssary evil.

It depends on a lot of circumstances. Some of the young lottery millionaires have had big probs with being rich at a young age. Obvs that’s a lump sum so it’s different. I’d also be concerned with who and what the money attracts. Some kind of supervision might be needed.

You have a shitty view of work op

A lot of work is a a bit shitty though. Why bother unless you have to, or you get a lot from it. I’m very fortunate that I fall into the latter category. I “retired” in my 30s and went back to work after a few years. But I went into a very senior role where I have large amounts of non financial rewards, plenty of flexibility and I do something I really enjoy.

Of course it wouldn't be a bad thing to save your children from a life of drudgery, clock watching and wage slavery.

Meaningful occupation does not have to involve paid work. Especially if they are creative types as they will have the freedom to pursue their art.

starlingdarling does make a good point above. I don't think it would hurt to tell them this is in the offing, though. I had a colleague in a similar position (inherited millions when his parents died) and he was very successful , ironically, as he didn't have to worry about being fired or building a career and that gave him a kind of confidence the rest of us lacked.

Further to my note above—it doesn't mean you won't have to give them a nudge sometimes. My parents did this for me when I was 20 years old and drifting. They had been supporting me financially for around 2 years and then they said... either get a job or go back to school (those were the terms on which they would continue to support me). Of course going back to school didn't seem like such a bad idea then! Actually it turned my life around and helped me decide what I wanted to do.

What do you hope they'll do with their lives?