C
Much good has been said on both sides, though I find some chagrin in this thread, intended to be about the "failure to launch or failure to parent" has become a discussion on gender roles.
I would like to point out, however, that a boat cannot be resold to cover the initial investment within a single lifetime... boat depreciation is intense.
Learning to make sacrifices, be it not buying the boat, not buying the gun, not having cable or even high speed internet IS part of the process of growing up. These are the sacrifices that do not kill you but make you stronger. If you cannot deny yourself that soda pop or frap when you are scraping by to pay your cell bill since you started living on your own, then you will not be able to deny your own child - whom you may find that you do in fact love more dearly than yourself - the pack of Twinkies & a Happy Meal when you should be making beans and rice because you've just hit an unfortunate period of unemployment and would like to keep the mortgage paid for as long as possible. We are all charged to be good stewards of our resources. I will not go on a rant about people with dedicated off-road rigs and new diesel trucks and a meager 9.5% tithe. Nor will I say that one should deny all worldly goods so that one might better fund charity (I know a friend who makes good money but owns only 7 shirts because he feels more is an excess of goods.). I am, however, trying to say that part of being a grown up is knowing when to not buy more toys (for yourself or your family) and accepting it if life comes down to liquidating assets to maintain your family (ie, selling off the excess guns, project cars, diamond tennis bracelets, Lego's, or whatever sacrifice is needed when you have been making an HONEST effort to find employment in tough economic times... not sitting around playing xbox or posting on CC 24/7...if you've not been trying, don't make someone else sacrifice for the good of the family!).
I grew up with a relatively high standard of living. This was, in part, due to sacrifices my parents made for their children which I had been unaware of. When I began living on my own there were weeks where I did not have grocery budget enough for meat or any kind and had to learn how to get the protein my body craved through more frugal means. I learned over time how to have a large lifestyle on a small budget. I guarantee you that I have a higher percentage of home equity than most of my peers, and a lower paycheck than any comparable household in my neighborhood. My family's standard of living far exceeds the standard of my paycheck, and that is in part due to good stewardship, frugality, and the willingness to self sacrifice for the sake of my family.
Sure, we need film makers and artists, and musicians...and they need to be willing to accept the lifestyle they can afford doing that. If you can do those things and live comfortably, Here's to you! <doff's hat>
If you want to be a family person (mom or dad, or even a childless husband or wife), you need to be willing to work that factory job, take your device to McD's for the free wifi, and refill your fancy looking Starbucks tumbler that you carry (you know, second hand one that you typically use to keep the one you got as a present looking nice) with house brand coffee that didn't come out of a K-cup.
Becoming a responsible adult does prepare one for a better marriage and for the job of raising better children, but Truly, Honestly, at the Core of it... Becoming a responsible adult IS ITS OWN PAYOFF. We've just failed to teach the value of it.
Here's hoping that enough of us can teach the next generation differently, so that in enough generations we can turn this tide.
I would like to point out, however, that a boat cannot be resold to cover the initial investment within a single lifetime... boat depreciation is intense.
Learning to make sacrifices, be it not buying the boat, not buying the gun, not having cable or even high speed internet IS part of the process of growing up. These are the sacrifices that do not kill you but make you stronger. If you cannot deny yourself that soda pop or frap when you are scraping by to pay your cell bill since you started living on your own, then you will not be able to deny your own child - whom you may find that you do in fact love more dearly than yourself - the pack of Twinkies & a Happy Meal when you should be making beans and rice because you've just hit an unfortunate period of unemployment and would like to keep the mortgage paid for as long as possible. We are all charged to be good stewards of our resources. I will not go on a rant about people with dedicated off-road rigs and new diesel trucks and a meager 9.5% tithe. Nor will I say that one should deny all worldly goods so that one might better fund charity (I know a friend who makes good money but owns only 7 shirts because he feels more is an excess of goods.). I am, however, trying to say that part of being a grown up is knowing when to not buy more toys (for yourself or your family) and accepting it if life comes down to liquidating assets to maintain your family (ie, selling off the excess guns, project cars, diamond tennis bracelets, Lego's, or whatever sacrifice is needed when you have been making an HONEST effort to find employment in tough economic times... not sitting around playing xbox or posting on CC 24/7...if you've not been trying, don't make someone else sacrifice for the good of the family!).
I grew up with a relatively high standard of living. This was, in part, due to sacrifices my parents made for their children which I had been unaware of. When I began living on my own there were weeks where I did not have grocery budget enough for meat or any kind and had to learn how to get the protein my body craved through more frugal means. I learned over time how to have a large lifestyle on a small budget. I guarantee you that I have a higher percentage of home equity than most of my peers, and a lower paycheck than any comparable household in my neighborhood. My family's standard of living far exceeds the standard of my paycheck, and that is in part due to good stewardship, frugality, and the willingness to self sacrifice for the sake of my family.
Sure, we need film makers and artists, and musicians...and they need to be willing to accept the lifestyle they can afford doing that. If you can do those things and live comfortably, Here's to you! <doff's hat>
If you want to be a family person (mom or dad, or even a childless husband or wife), you need to be willing to work that factory job, take your device to McD's for the free wifi, and refill your fancy looking Starbucks tumbler that you carry (you know, second hand one that you typically use to keep the one you got as a present looking nice) with house brand coffee that didn't come out of a K-cup.
Becoming a responsible adult does prepare one for a better marriage and for the job of raising better children, but Truly, Honestly, at the Core of it... Becoming a responsible adult IS ITS OWN PAYOFF. We've just failed to teach the value of it.
Here's hoping that enough of us can teach the next generation differently, so that in enough generations we can turn this tide.
