Giving Gifts and a Lecture

Grandparents are filling only half their roles these days. They are providing financial help to their grand-children. In fact, they increased their financial aid as the economy worsened. Unfortunately, they are offering gifts and providing financial aid without much advice.

About 63% of grandparents say they provided some form of financial assistance to their grandchildren over the last five years, according to a survey for the MetLife Mature Market Institute, an affiliated organization of MetLife Inc., the insurance company. The assistance over the five years averaged $8,661. The survey was of adults over age 45 who have grandchildren under age 25. About 40% of the gifts went toward “general financial support,” while 26% was for educational expenses and 21% was to help grandchildren through major life events. Because of the declining economy, about 26% of grandparents said they increased support for grandchildren.

Despite the generosity with wealth, most grandparents are not generous with their advice and wisdom. About 68% of the grandparents said they provided no financial guidance to their grandchildren. Lower-income grandparents are more likely to give advice, with 83% of those earning $35,000 or less saying they warn their grandchildren to avoid large debts and to maintain financial security. Only 65% of those with incomes between $50,000 and $74,999 talked about finances with their grandchildren.

It is admirable that so many grandparents are willing to give now to help their grandchildren receive education and establish a firm financial foundation. But it is a mistake to give money or other wealth without some guidance, or ensuring the grandchildren receive good advice elsewhere. Financial literacy is taught in very few schools. Most high school graduates lack basic financial skills such as balancing a checkbook and understanding a mortgage or other debt instrument. If the parents try to provide lessons, the grandchildren are likely to ignore them.

Grandparents are more likely to be listened to, and they can provide a lot of hard-earned wisdom. Grandparents can teach with authority principles such as avoiding debt, starting to save and invest early in life, living within one’s income, working hard, and saving both for a rainy day and for specific goals.

Debt management is probably the lesson most grandchildren could benefit from. Their parents, like most of their generation, probably never learned the lessons of how to use credit wisely. Also, the credit picture is much more complicated than it used to be, with many different kinds of debt available but objective information about the credit hard to find.

Grandparents should not give only wealth. They should give lectures and advice. Even a simple request that the grandchild read a basic book, such as The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason, as a condition of receiving a gift can go a long way. The book is both entertaining and enlightening for most people, regardless of age. But the best advice would be direct from you.

On our web site Archive are helpful articles on compound returns, mutual funds for small investors, and financial lessons youngsters need to know. Share this and other advice with your grandchildren so they will remember it when key decisions have to be made. It also will make your financial gifts more valuable, making it more likely your wealth is well-used.

October 2009. RW