We were shocked when our kids said we were wasting their fortune. We decided not to get mad at them, but to teach them some important lessons about money and life.
Tom and I have always wanted a simple life that we could enjoy. We worked hard and saved a lot because we were excited to enjoy our retirement. The other day, our doctor suggested that we take a short trip to rest. We were excited about our trip to a simple hotel by the beach, where we could relax.
Once we were sure of our reservations, the first people we told were our kids, Emma and Jake. I thought they would be happy for us, maybe even a little jealous. But their response was nothing like what I thought it would be.
They sighed and said, “You know, you should think about us too,” after I showed them a picture of our nice hotel. We will also get your money when you die. We won’t have any money left for us after you leave if you spend it all now.
Jake agreed and asked, “Do you need this vacation really?” You should stay home and save money. “I’m afraid there won’t be anything left for us.”
Tom squeezed my hand as tears started to come out. He clearly had a plan.
Tom and I talked about what had happened that night. Tom stayed cool and thoughtful even though I was still hurt. “They think our money is already theirs,” he stated. “We need to teach them a lesson.”
We chose to show them that we could spend our money however we pleased. In messages to Emma and Jake, we told them that we were going to give a big chunk of our savings to causes that were important to us. We planned to do something with our money instead of just putting it in a bank.
Jake called me the next day, angry, after we sent the letters. “What do you think?” Giving away our family wealth? That’s not funny!”
I took a big breath and said, “Jake, it’s our money.” We got it, so we can use it however we want. We want to have fun and help other people. The two of you have jobs and money on your own. “Everything will be okay.”
Jake asked, “But you’re just giving it all away?” after a moment of quiet.
“Not all of it,” I replied. “We have enough money to take care of ourselves.” We still want to make a change, though. And that means having fun on this trip.”
Jake said something about calling Emma and then hung up. The person talking on the phone, Tom, smiled at me. “You handled that well,” he told her.
After a few days, Emma called. She was still upset, but she was calmer. “Hey Mom and Dad, I got your letter. I don’t get it. Why now? “Why do you give away so much?”
I told her, “Emma, we’ve worked hard all our lives.” We want to have fun and help other people. We’re not leaving you with nothing. We just want to live our lives to the fullest and help causes that matter to us.
She sighed. “I understand, but it feels like you’re taking away our future security.”
“Emma,” Tom spoke up, “you and Jake are doing great.” You have your own money saved up. There’s no way we can take away your future. “All we want to do is live our lives and help people.”
She didn’t say anything for a while. “I believe I understand what you mean. “I wasn’t ready for this.”
I said, “We get it.” “It shocked us that you talked about our money like it was yours already.” Our goal was to show you that it’s still ours to use however we please.
Emma seemed to start getting it, even though she wasn’t totally on board yet. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders after we hung up the phone.
We felt more at ease during the rest of our trip with Tom. We loved our time together as we went on adventures and relaxed at the beach. It felt good to be in charge of our lives and choices again.
Emma and Jake came to see us a week after we got back home. They looked a little scared but motivated.
“Mom, Dad, can we talk?” When they got to the living room, Emma asked.
Tom said, “Of course,” and he sat them down.
“We’ve been thinking a lot about what you said,” Emma said. “We now see that we was wrong to think we had your money already.” We’re only worried about you.
Jake said yes. “Yeah, we just want to make sure you’re okay and not making rash decisions.”
Tom gave a smile. “We get your worry, but we’ve given this some thought.” We’re not paying too much. We’re having fun and doing well. We care about that.”
I also said, “We’re not trying to punish you.” “We love both of you.” We just wanted you to see things from our point of view. Focusing only on money isn’t as important as living a full life and making a difference.
She sighed. “Now we get it.” It’s just tough to give up the thought of inheriting something.
Jake agreed. “But we get it. “We’re sorry for how we acted.”
Tom and I looked at each other with relief. “Thank you for understanding,” I told you. “We’re glad we could talk this through.”
Rest of the night was spent having lighter conversations, and by the end, we all felt like we knew each other better. It wasn’t easy to teach our kids this lesson, but it brought us all closer together.
After a few weeks, things slowly went back to normal. Emma and Jake asked questions now and then, but they seemed to understand our point of view better. We kept having fun in retirement by going on short trips and giving money to causes we cared about.
We got a letter from a charity we had given money to one day. They thanked us for our kind gift and told us that the money would be used to build a new community center. Knowing that our gifts were making a real difference made us feel so good.
I gave Emma and Jake the letter at our next family dinner. Emily’s voice got softer as she read it out loud. She looked up with tears in her eyes when she was done.
“This is really cool, Mom and Dad. I’m sorry I didn’t get it before. “I can see why this is so important to you now.”
Jake gave a thoughtful nod. “Yeah, it’s incredible to see the good you’re doing.”
Tom smiled. “We’re glad you see it that way. We’ve always thought it was more important to help other people than to save money for ourselves.
I felt at peace when I looked around the table at my family. Our kids had learned important lessons about money and life, and Tom and I had renewed our promise to live fully and make a difference.
The plot of this story is made up to make it more interesting, but it is based on real people and events. For protection and story reasons, names, characters, and details have been changed. Any resemblance to real people, live or dead, or real events is just a coincidence.
The distributor and author are not responsible for any misunderstandings and do not claim that the events or characters are true to life. This story is told “as is,” and the actors’ thoughts are their own.
