I am a child of baby boomers (Gen X) and I think I can comment with confidence on this subject as my entire adult life has been ruined by the unmitigated selfishness of my parents. The dysfunction, the divorce(s), the drugs.... I saw for decades families broken apart because someones "needs werent being met".. My parents raised me and my sister in a home that was paid for and left by my grandparents.. that home was sold and the money squandered long ago.. My grandfather that fought in WW2 would spin in his grave if he saw the condition his grandchildren were left in today I promise you! Now in my early 40's I find myself burdoned with caring for my selfish mother in her old age and as a result my family is suffering.. I could write a book on the subject and would have to do just that in order to describe with any detail the extent of the damage that was done to me.. All I can say is..... Thanks for whatever I am supposed to be grateful for.. good job ,mom and dad!!

Seniorcit - I don't disagree. I don't have programs like those you mentioned in my area, and I'm sure if I looked hard enough, I could find people to share skills. That's not really what I mean. I wanted to get across that, like the article says, parents leave a legacy for their kids. That includes the attitudes and skills they pass on. Completely changing the way you view finances from what you were raised with is insanely hard. I grew up watching my dual-income parents pay off their home in 5 years and then buy whatever they wanted, go on annual vacations (often more than one), buy two timeshare weeks, etc. They shared with us and wanted the best for us. But what I learned about 'stuff' was that it's good, and you just buy it as long as you can pay the credit card bill every month. Not exactly an example of restraint, and it makes paying down other debt difficult. My parents have been responsible and lived within their means, but the world has changed. Their easier model for life no longer applies. This is how a lot of boomers have lived, and that's what the article is about. I'd love to leave an inheritance for my children, and I do think it is morally superior to leaving nothing, barring extreme circumstances. But I don't think I'll honestly be able to. We'll barely have the house paid off by the time we retire, let along RRSPs and stuff. The Boomers lived a lifestyle they couldn't afford on my generation's productivity and wealth. We'll be left with little to nothing because we're working to pay off their debts, and I think that's a huge moral failure of that generation as a whole. I just wanted to be clear that I'm not making excuses, just explaining why it can be difficult to keep good habits going. It's always easy for an older generation to criticize young people (I already do it), but not as easy to understand what it's like growing up in a world so different from your own.

We need the balance of forgiveness for our past mistakes and walking in the truth of the word. Yes, we want to be free from materialism. At the same time we want to be wise and plan for the future, as one of the earlier posters noted. It's just smart to put aside money and live within our means so we have an inheritance to pass on to our children or grandchildren. I am single so I want to make sure that when I die, my sisters and brothers won't have to incur any burdens with my funeral and burial. I also want to pass on an inheritance to my nieces and nephews, and to some ministries that friends have established. Beyond that, I don't worry. I'm am entrusting each day and my money to the Lord.

I agree with Susan, governments should not be leaving debts for future generations to pay off in order to fund the lifestlye of current generations. What a terrible system. Neither should we negate leaving an inheritance for our children. The family home should be more than a sufficient inheritance, but unfortunately many boomers sell the family home to go on a round-the-world trip and then settle into a lifestyle village. I am about to purchase my 2nd home and use the 1st as a rental, I pay above the necassary interest payments and forgo lifestyle pleasures now. I absolutely intend on leaving an inheritance for my future children (the bare minimum being a fully paid off roof over their heads that they can sell if they wish). I dont even have children yet but it seems prudent to me.

Well, I'm not sure what previous generations had so much help--it basically started in the 30's. The truth is, boomers shamefully shrugged off the lessons of their parents, to work hard, appreciate, and SAVE. They had ALL the advantages but did not live sensibly or even Christianly--they expected the good times to roll forever, and now have no money and talk about how terrible it is if the government (the rest of us) doesn't help them. And I'm sorry, but there is a reason Proverbs says to leave an inheritance-its Godly and right to plan for the next generation. I'm amazed at the excuses and I'm offended that this boomer author is trying claim that the inheritance for her children will be "spiritual". Please.

Michelle's post brings to light many of the assumptions formed by the Baby Boomer generation in light of their experience, but which no longer may be true. When I sit in a restaurant surrounded by retired people in their 70's and 80's speaking of their travels, new cars and new knees, I am cognizant my dinner table conversation with peers in 20 or 30 years will be entirely different. My generation probably won't have the luxury of retiring early, leaving a substantial inheritance, relying on corporate pension funds and Social Security. New medical studies also claim Boomers won't have longer life expectancy than their parents due to stress and cancer. The prospects for Baby Boomers has always been better than for their parent's generation, that isn't true any longer. I think that's where the tension, fear and frustration arises. We've always expected things to be better for us than they were for the generations before, and we're struggling to adapt to the new reality and shift our paradigm and expectations accordingly. As the big lump of the Baby Boomer generation moves toward the Golden Years, we have an opportunity to model how to adjust gracefully and thoughtfully and to do it with gusto - like we've done everything else.

Katie...I agree with your point that marriage is not just about "happy" but for many women economical reasons factor in as well. Sadly many women chose to ignore the red flags before they married their husbands. Then they continued on to bring children into a marriage that was in trouble only to go on to divorce. Many of our Grandmothers lived the word "endurance" out daily!

To S: We definitely have a generation gap here for sure, probably a lifestyle gap, too. I retired at sixty when physical problems made it too difficult to continue working even part time. Now in my 70s,I live in a condo with no mortgage. Grow herbs and tomatoes in tubs in front of my garage. Am content with my 15 year old 13' TV which is only on for the nightly news and the occasional PBS production. Haven't bought a new dress in 6 years. Wear jeans, T shirts and sweaters all the time. Don't travel much, never been to Hawaii, happiest at home with a new library book. Get my hair cut once a month, cut my own toenails, never had a pedicure. Still cook from scratch most of the time, make big batches of soup and freeze the leftovers; bake bread occasionally, too, and share. Love listening to classical music on CDs or radio, such entertainment is cheap. So is attending drama producations at the local high school. Knit a scarf with a $6.00 skein of drugstore yarn that turned out colorful and beautiful. Drive a car that is 13 years old. My sofa and easy chair are almost 20 years old, full of cat scratches. My bed is 36 years old. I keep my home comfortably warm and still am able to support some of my favorite charities such as the MCC and the local food bank. This with an income that is 60% Social Security, the rest savings and investments. Now this is certainly my lifestyle choice, but from some of the blogs I read it is also the choice of young families who want to center their lives around home, growing and preparing good food, church activities and service to others. I'm pleased to read about families who have discovered this less pressured lifestyle for themselves. It doesn't take a parent or a grandparent to pass on the skills. There are classes in food preservation and gardening offered by County Extension Services. How about Knit Nite at the local library? A class in budgeting and financial management through your local community college. There are older people willing to mentor those interested in acquiring skills. Check with your Senior Center or the older adult Sunday School class at your church. The thing is, in an economic recession with incomes declining, we all need to live more economically. There are multiple ways we can do this to save money and have more to put into our retirement plan and to give to those who are really needy. If our boomer parents and grandparents haven't taught us how to do this doesn't mean that we should throw up our hands and abdicate. All it takes is interest and determination. We make time for what is truly important in our lives.

Ahhh such great, deep thoughts with no clear answers. My husband and I are wrestling with this now - just starting out with our family (expecting baby #2). When it was just the two of us, we were very ready-and-willing to let caution fly to the wind (a little bit), but now we know we really want to be wise with what we're given and save for our children if possible. God has so far called us into ministry and we do not make enough money to save right now (on top of student loans...another issue for another post). We are wrestling with my husband going into law school and just holding leadership positions in the church or going into seminary and becoming a pastor. The thing is... some Christians are called to make a lot of money, some Christians are not. We need to be wise with what God has given us, and also acknowledge that ultimately it's all His anyways. I pray that God will give us a way to save for our children, but if He doesn't, then I know He will still take care of them. I think of the many who have gone before us - the great cloud of witnesses - and I remember the sparrows that He loves and cares for, and the lilies - and realize - YES we need to be responsible, but we need to remember that God is God and all things belong to Him. We need to trust in Him first and foremost and not in worldly safety nets. I wrote about this struggle recently - post linked in my name.

When my dad died, we were left enough money to get a sorely needed vehicle and were able to pay off the mortgage on our small Wisconsin home. We didn't know that in a year's time Russ would be unemployed and that inheritance saw us through 6 months with no income. We've been pretty fiscally conservative our entire marriage and have not bought big toys or gone on vacations. We have seen God meet our needs, but building up a savings or inheritance hasn't happened, despite all our best efforts.Our kids are not likely to get rich off of us. The reason I'm in seminary is so I can work in this second half of life, although I'm not sure geographically where we will be. About 10 years ago, it became clear that "retirement" as the previous generation has known it would not be part of our future; the world is a very different place than the one I see in the AARP mailings and Sunday morning insurance commercials. My grandmother told me a few years before she died that she wouldn't be leaving me any money; I told her her godly heritage and love for me was plenty. There was nothing else I could expect that would be of such inestimable value. So we cover our ripped-apart couch (now for the 7th year), watch our TV on shelves we bought when we first got married and live among mismatched furniture that looks like anything but a photo spread. But it is my home, for which I am grateful; we are committed to meeting our financial obligations and am thankful for how God has met our needs thus far. The economic future doesn't look bright, and I cannot claim I don't worry. As my grandma would say, "we have food, shelter, clothing...let us learn to be content with that." I have such a long way to go to learn that kind of godly contentment with God's provision for us.