Economic Outpatient Care is next up... As always, it starts with an absolute banger:
Their parents do not provide economic outpatient care.
This is like just a typical Maori upbringing - your parents won't give you money once you move out, at least it is for some of us. So, ironically it's a habit of millionaires and the wealthy too. They teach their children the skills they need to be financially healthy whilst they are raising them so that they do not need to give them money once they move out.
Personally, I moved out of home at 17 in the middle of 2021 so that I could start my degree. I have always had everything I needed and so it was a bit of a culture shock for me to be worrying about rent and whether I could afford basic things. I hustled my way through that first semester, on no scholarships, I worked day and night.
University is something not everyone in my family goes to. Most of my family jump straight in to employment so I guess it is fair to say that despite their extensive support, the different struggles uni entails are not very well understood.
My first semester was hard mainly because I had gone against all advice to stay at high school and to secure scholarships before starting my degree. I independently decided to leave and so the responsibility for costs felt as though it was on my shoulders.
The relation this has to the Economic Outpatient Care chapter is that although different support options were available from my large family, I felt like I had to do things on my own so that I was not a burden asking for help. I guess though, this in itself did me some favors.
I am now 18 years old, living off of my own income and no longer a burden to my family. This concept of Economic Outpatient Care is what got me here. Although I did have support, I didn't want it and wanted to do this on my own. This allowed me to hustle until I could support myself.
Many of today's distributors of EOC demonstrated significant skill at accumulating wealth early on in their lives.
The book says that 46% of America donate at least $15,000 annually to their adult children or grandchildren. This blows my mind! This is a lot of money to be giving to adults. What the book also says is this:
Adults who sit around waiting for their next EOC are not very productive.
This aligns with the whakaaro of many people I know. The responsibility of gifting money is no longer in the hands of those that raised you, once you move out. It's a controversial topic as some are in low income jobs or some are in unique circumstances that require them to have higher levels of support. But, on a wider note - I agree that those who rely on their parents or grandparents to fund things are not able to learn the gift of hustling for the things that they truly want. This poses the question, then:
Are we doing our kids any favors by gifting them money?
I vote no. If you are able to raise your children to be functioning humans in society who can fund their own living then allowing them to use your money won't be necessary. On the contrary, by gifting them money regularly you are not teaching them how to get their own money, feed their own cravings, and to support themselves. *Disclaimer: Independent circumstances sometimes mean that financial support from parents once a child has moved out is necessary and does indeed do more favors than consequences. *Disclaimer 2: These are my independent thoughts and not facts.
Another interesting quote from within the book is this:
Gift receivers in general are never able to distinguish between their own wealth and the wealth of their gift-giving parents.
When surveyed, the Millionaire Next Door also found that gift receivers are also less likely to invest money. My thinking on this - It's probably true. Why? Because they don't truly understand the concept of working for money and so they don't feel the need to protect what they have.
Whatever your income, always live below your means - this idea flows from the first page to the last in this book and the reason: It's crucial to building wealth.
This chapter is really reminding me of the following quote:
It's all in the quote.
The more dollars adult's receive, the fewer dollars they accumulate. The fewer dollars adults receive, the more they accumulate. According to the book the relationship between these two things have been statistically proven.
Thanks for reading todays post,
Naku noa,
Te Kahukura
Affirmative action, family style is next up on our list of chapters to review. Remember to subscribe!