Author Topic: At what age were you making good decisions?  (Read 12230 times)

naners

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At what age were you making good decisions?
« on: August 06, 2016, 10:39:09 AM »
DH and I are having our wills drawn up since we're expecting a baby. One question is how old the child should be before they gain full control over the estate (in case we both die before them). How old do you think you were by the time you were reliably making good decisions? I'm kind of thinking 30. That also gives them the chance to establish good working habits before coming into a lot of money. And before that, the trustee could always give them money from the estate for reasonable expenses (education, maybe house downpayment). The trustee/guardian is my sister, one of the most stable/frugal/responsible people I know.

Gronnie

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2016, 10:49:14 AM »
I was a model citizen and student in high school, so of course I was expected to succeed right away in adult life.

Didn't end up that way. Started gambling, getting in trouble, skipping classes in college, etc. At one point I am pretty sure my parents had written me out of the will.

I didn't shape up until about 26. I got married, went back to school and got my Computer Science BS with a 4.0 GPA, etc. I am now 30 and doing great.

Point of the story is it is definitely not until they are about 25-30. Even if they are model citizens in their teenage years.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2016, 11:02:37 AM »
20, when I got with my wife. 25 is probably more reasonable than 30 but I get going either way.

Apocalyptica602

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2016, 11:06:32 AM »
I was also a 'model citizen' in high school. I went off to college and got my bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and ended up finishing with a ~3.5 and a job paying ~$60K right after graduation. Sounds good right?

I look back (not too far, I'm 28 now) and realize how easily I could've gone off the rails. College was filled with work hard / play hard, spend all night studying, take the exam then party oneself into oblivion and skip the next few classes.

I did full time engineering co-ops (kinda like internships but during the semester) in college for $15-20/hr but ended up totaling my car and spent every penny buying a new one, eating out, and drinking the remainder. Had to take a $9/hr telemarketing job during my senior year and put the shitty school meal plan on student loans so I could eat.

I graduated with $100 in my bank account and ~40-50k in debt.

Started furnishing my apartment, bought a big TV, built myself a new gaming computer, etc. Thank God during a slow time I stumbled onto GetRichSlowly and then MMM in 2011 when I was ~23.

Now I'm doing great, married, loans long paid off, net worth over ~$350k.

Long story short: I was doing 'everything right' in most people's eyes and I still had a series of fuck-ups and bad luck that a large inheritance would've "Fixed" but would've likely been squandered.

I figured it all out by ~23 and still feel that was an extremely early turnaround compared to my peers. ~30 sounds like a good safe bet.

meep

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2016, 11:11:24 AM »
Turning 30 this year and finally getting a bit financially responsible. Though I know if I won the lotto right now the majority will go to smart investments but I`ll probably blow 10% of it just because I`ve never dealt with such large amounts of money before. Depending on the amount maybe release them some money beforehand so they could make their financial mistakes then? Especially if they have an aunt watching over the money till 30, they might be screaming FREEDOM!

Laserjet3051

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2016, 12:12:45 PM »
For me? 48

:(

Fudge102

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2016, 12:53:43 PM »
I'm gonna go with 30 as well.

Stellar high school performer in both grades as well as sports/activities.  Joined the military, went to the Naval Academy.  Been investing since 2005.  Engineer by major, pilot by trade.  Other than one car, never any significant or on going debt.  Always pay off cards, never go crazy even when in places like Vegas and in port calls after being stuck on a boat for months at a time.

All that being said, it still took me until I was 30 to really realize anything about stocks, finances, managing money, and the responsibility for all of it.  When I was younger I was told to find an advisor, let them guide me.  Now (and with this community's help) I realize I'm better off on my own, taking charge, and actively playing a part.  It's not that I was ever bad or wrong when I was younger, I was just never as good and ready as I could have been.  Let them fumble around and make mistakes sure, but keep the egg safe until they are truly ready.

dilinger

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2016, 01:05:26 PM »

All that being said, it still took me until I was 30 to really realize anything about stocks, finances, managing money, and the responsibility for all of it.  When I was younger I was told to find an advisor, let them guide me.  Now (and with this community's help) I realize I'm better off on my own, taking charge, and actively playing a part.  It's not that I was ever bad or wrong when I was younger, I was just never as good and ready as I could have been.  Let them fumble around and make mistakes sure, but keep the egg safe until they are truly ready.

This.  In my 20s, I used an advisor because my grandfather told me I should.  I bought a condo in 2007 because I was told that I should buy property, and bailed on the market in 2009 (losing a fair bit of money).  In my 30s, I realized that when it comes to money, I need to stop listening to friends/family and do my own research.  That has given me much better results, to the point where I'm now FI.

Zikoris

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2016, 02:18:39 PM »
I've never really been one to make BAD decisions, so it's kind of hard to speculate. I was living alone without assistance from the Bank of Mom and Dad from age 18, though I was more concerned with staying afloat for the first few years than making smart long term money moves. By the time I was 24-25 I'd reached badass Mustachian level. Now I'm 29 and well on my way to FIRE. So it seems kind of crazy to me how many people are saying 30. Oh well.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2016, 02:21:03 PM »
35, when I got divorced.

I didn't make AWFUL decisions in my 20s and early 30s, but my soon-to-be-ex talked me into unwise decisions like ill-timed house purchases, car loans, and multiple long-distance moves.

But... there's only so much you can do to control that! 30 seems reasonable.

Congrats on new baby, BTW!

Spork

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2016, 02:23:05 PM »
This varies so wildly from person to person.

I've known 16 year olds that were investing and making good decisions.
For me... it was probably 30.
My sister is almost 60 and is still (and will forever be) a financial wrecking ball.  There is no amount of money that would ever solve her problems.

iris lily

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2016, 02:51:09 PM »
At least age 25 because our frontal brains are not fully developed until around then. That is impulse control central.

BlueHouse

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2016, 04:22:03 PM »
Only when I knew that my mistakes were my own and that my success depended entirely on my own actions.  I was always fairly mature and made decent decisions, but I was no where near to self-sustaining until I had to be. 

MrsDinero

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2016, 04:31:58 PM »
This is a highly philosophical question on what a "good decision" is. 

I've made good decisions at every age.  I also made bad decisions at every age.  In many ways I learned more from the bad decisions than I did the good ones. 

Choices

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2016, 04:45:09 PM »
Congrats on your new baby!

In addition to a particular age (30 is a good idea), what about also requiring some financial education. Your Money or Your Life, Bogleheads, and MMM might not be up to date then, so maybe your sister could make sure your child reads and understands the core information before any distributions take place.

marty998

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #15 on: August 06, 2016, 04:49:00 PM »
This is a highly philosophical question on what a "good decision" is. 

I've made good decisions at every age.  I also made bad decisions at every age.  In many ways I learned more from the bad decisions than I did the good ones.

Yes me too... you need to make your mistakes and learn from them at 21 rather than 41.

BattlaP

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #16 on: August 06, 2016, 06:32:55 PM »
Congrats on your new baby!

In addition to a particular age (30 is a good idea), what about also requiring some financial education. Your Money or Your Life, Bogleheads, and MMM might not be up to date then, so maybe your sister could make sure your child reads and understands the core information before any distributions take place.

The idea of forcing my orphaned child to hand in a 5000 word essay on Mustachianism: Blog Culture and the Rise of Modern Stoicism to my estate agent seems just hilarious enough that I would actually do it.

LeRainDrop

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #17 on: August 06, 2016, 06:39:38 PM »
LOL, pretty much ever since I got my hands on my first dollar!  I've always been a saver, and I loved depositing my baby-sitting cash into my savings account and adding the (what-used-to-be-good) interest each month.  I also started maxing my IRA contributions from my first years of having earned income.  That said, I realize I am lucky to have had that in my nature (and nurture).  I would not bet on my children making consistently good financial decisions until they were around 25 years old.

MrsPete

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #18 on: August 06, 2016, 06:42:21 PM »
Another "model citizen" here.  I made good decisions in high school and college. 

If I had suddenly received an inheritance at 18, I genuinely would've saved it and allotted out how much I could use for each semester of college + start-up money for after college (not a bad use).  I would have gone to a different school -- not a more expensive school, just a different one.  I would not have thought past that point. I genuinely would've been iron-clad in my discipline not to touch next semester's money 'til the next the semester; however, if I'd had more than enough to pay for tuition + living expenses, I would've lived in a nicer apartment, gone out to eat more often, etc.  I would not have seriously considered saving /investing past college.  I'd characterize "college me" as making good decisions, but not optimal decisions. 

I'd say I started to think long-term and make optimal decisions around 23-24 ... and I continued to improve in that way 'til about 30.  I don't think I've really improved since then. 

Here are my best suggestions for writing your will and taking care of your children:

- You're probably going to need two appointments to complete the will.  You'll first meet with a person who will talk to you about your circumstances and what you want your will to do ... and you'll go away with more questions than you had when you came in.  This person will bring up things you haven't considered and give you options to consider.  Then a month or so later you'll return and talk to the lawyer ... at that point you need to have decided on those questions, and he or she will write the will according to your wishes.  At least, that's the shape of my experience in writing our wills. 

- It's more complicated than you made it sound in your post; if you give control to your sister, it's hers.  If she passes it on to the children, they'll all have some tax/inheritance issues.  You can give your sister control of X amount.  You can give her control of your life insurance and your possessions (i.e., so she can sell your house), but at the same time put aside Y amount with the specification that it goes towards education only ... but then if she experiences an emergency, she can't touch the education money.  You can specify that your sister gets X amount, and each child receives Y amount only after he or she earns a bachelor's degree, or turns 30 ... or you can give the child X amount at 25, X amount again at 35, etc.  SO MANY CHOICES. 

- Ultimately, we opted to give our kids immediate control of all the money.  We went back and forth on it about a million times, and we decided that it would be wrong to try to "rule from beyond the grave".  However, we also wrote a long and detailed letter full of suggestions.  We pointed out that this money was not easy to earn/save, and we asked them to honor the sacrifices we made by treating it with care.  We asked them to make NO big decisions for six months -- no quitting their jobs, no buying a new Mustang -- until their emotions are stable again.  We made a list of our investments and people who manage them, and we told them very pointedly which family members to go to for advice.  I know my kids, and I know that they'd be much like I was in college -- no, not able to make decisions as well as I can with years of "adult" behind me, but also not the kids to blow my life savings in a year or two.  And I know they're the kind of kids who'd listen to the advice I wrote to them.  I hope not to test what I've put in place, but I feel secure about it. 

- Do talk to your sister about all this.  My sister-in-law and I discussed what would happen in one of us found herself raising the other's children, and it was an enlightening discussion.  We each laid out certain "must dos" that would really, really matter to us.  To give one example, she said that she would use my life insurance money to put my kids AND HER KIDS through college.  I balked at that, but she pointed out -- quite correctly -- that if she put in years raising my kids (and helping them through a difficult situation in losing us), she would feel entitled to some compensation for that.  And that if she divided her time among four kids instead of two, her kids would be losing something -- and she thought using a portion of our money for her kids college was a fair compensation.  Finally, she said she couldn't imagine raising all the kids as siblings, then saying to mine, "The world is your oyster; do anything you want for college" -- while saying to her own, "It's community college for you."  After we talked, I agreed with her. 

Typhoid Mary

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #19 on: August 06, 2016, 06:52:09 PM »
Between 30-35 for me.  I was a "late bloomer" in the good decision department.

okits

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #20 on: August 06, 2016, 07:05:26 PM »
Our kids will inherit half of the remaining estate at 20, the other half at 25.  One major consideration was the effort we were requesting from the trustee.  Was it fair to ask her to manage the financial affairs for as much as three decades (if we went with age 30)?  Was it fair to ask her to still be managing the assets when she was in her mid-to-late 60s?

We figured the half-and-half approach was good enough.  If kiddo blows it at age 20, there's a second chance at age 25.  If kiddo blows it a second time, 25 isn't too old to start again and learn to do it right (but earning your own way).

Edit: to answer your direct question, I think I've always made some combination of smart, sub-optimal, and stupid decisions.  I guess late 20s/early 30s?
« Last Edit: August 06, 2016, 11:16:14 PM by okits »

mm1970

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #21 on: August 06, 2016, 07:38:29 PM »
high school

frugalcoconut

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #22 on: August 06, 2016, 08:27:39 PM »
I really like the two-step approach with 5 years apart ... that way the child has a chance to learn how the world of money works and has a chance to recover from any mistakes during the second time around.  Spacing it out also allows for different market conditions so there's less risk of losing all the eggs from one basket.

(For me, I would say that I got pretty serious about money around the age of 23 ... then made a regrettable property purchase at age 27 ... and gradually started making smarter investments including an awesome real estate deal at age 30.)

obstinate

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2016, 11:30:02 PM »
I have been remiss in actually getting a will set up. But my plan is this.

I do not intend to ever give my son full control of the estate. It will pay out the lesser of $30-40k indexed to one of the CPIs, or four percent of its value, each year until he dies or until its value falls below some threshold. If the estate survives him, the remainder will be donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres or its successor organization.

Cottonswab

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #24 on: August 07, 2016, 01:31:02 AM »
I would suggest 4 years after they are expected to start working full-time (26?), so they have a chance to fail and learn from their failures, before getting access to the money. 

Primm

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #25 on: August 07, 2016, 05:04:34 AM »
The inherent assumption in that question is that I am.

So far I've managed to rack up 47 years without necessarily being able to adult.

MsRichLife

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #26 on: August 07, 2016, 05:21:40 AM »
I was making good decisions at 16. We've set up our Family Trust so my son inherits at 30 because he's only 4 and we aren't sure how he's going to turn out yet :)

Also, we've left my financially savvy best friend in charge of the money until he inherits so in theory he'll be educated appropriately before he gets the money.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2016, 05:25:43 AM by MsRichLife »

little_brown_dog

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #27 on: August 07, 2016, 05:24:50 AM »
Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but if I remember correctly there was some research done that shows that the human brain doesn't reach full maturity in terms of planning and ability to think through future scenarios until about age 25. The idea is that very young adults age 18-23 are still extremely impulsive because their brains haven't mastered the ability to consider the future and weigh consequences in the same way an older adult would. I think it is now widely acceptedthat the prefrontal cortex is still developing in the early 20s. As a result, even the most mature 18 year olds are probably alot more impulsive, irrational, and immature than what their 25 year old selves will be.

So I would aim for age 25, and certainly nothing less than age 21. Even though I was considered pretty mature/responsible for an 18 year old, I (like many others) did a vast amount of growing up between age 18 and age 25.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2016, 05:31:12 AM by little_brown_dog »

kite

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #28 on: August 07, 2016, 07:20:12 AM »
Are you having a boy or a girl?  Actuaries recognize a difference in decisionmaking maturity by gender which were reflected (historically) in car insurance premiums, so, there's that to consider. 

It's a crap shoot, though.  The promise of some future inheritance could be enough to stifle ambition.  "I don't need to work too hard, I've got money coming."

ETA:  I made some good decisions as a teen, opened an IRA at age 19.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2016, 07:26:05 AM by kite »

naners

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #29 on: August 07, 2016, 10:58:30 AM »
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! Sounds like my initial idea of 30 is at the high end. The attorney actually suggested half at 25 and the other half at 30, and that kind of fits with people's experiences, so maybe we will go with that.

icemodeled

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #30 on: August 07, 2016, 12:56:31 PM »
For me it was 25-26 but I would say 30 is best as some it takes more time. I had always been quite level headed in high school and early 20s but it wasn't until mid 20s I truely got more serious, even into late 20s. I am 28 now, we are debt free(including mortgage) and are focused on our goals in life. The financial decisions I make now are much different then I would of made at age 21. Priorities were completely different then.

ender

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #31 on: August 07, 2016, 01:23:44 PM »
What type of decisions are we talking about?

People can be brilliant at making some types of decisions and terribad at others.

undercover

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #32 on: August 07, 2016, 03:25:37 PM »
It really depends more on the person than it does age. I would say by 22-24 (year someone has graduated college or is working), you'll know for sure if they're a good decision maker or not.

Milkshake

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #33 on: August 08, 2016, 09:36:24 AM »
Another thought here, if the kid IS good at making financial decisions at a young age, and they can't get the money until 30, it could set back their FIRE date. If my parents passed away now (me at 23), their money would be MUCH more valuable to me now than at 30. My FIRE date would become several years earlier, but at 30 I'd be nearly ready to FIRE anyway. Perhaps that's my not-fully-developed frontal cortex speaking, but that's just another perspective.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #34 on: August 08, 2016, 09:48:08 AM »
25

ketchup

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #35 on: August 08, 2016, 09:50:32 AM »
Probably 20-22, but I'm only 25 now so ask me again in 10 years.

Ceichanski

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #36 on: August 08, 2016, 10:18:59 AM »
Just turned 33 a few months back, while I've always been good at saving, after getting married 6 years ago that changed. My wife is not a saver, because her family never had any money. They always lived paycheck to paycheck and lived thrifty. Not saying I came from money by any means, but my mother and father always worked hard to provide and gave the illusion of saving. Plus, my wife needs a goal to save towards, or it isn't possible. She has to see tangible activity in the account for a goal

I would say ages 21-27 was great savings, and then a period of 6 years for struggling and figuring out how to spend / save as a family. Before this last couple weeks, we lived well beyond out budget, with most of the extra money being spent on eating out. Now, we're talking about savings and learning through research about investing. Sure wish my high school offered a program about this information. Did calculations two nights ago with conservative savings that was readily available, and would have had about $340k right now with proper investments. 

Positive things are changing for the better! However, we're about to blow $14k (maybe less) on a new(er) side by side. We want something to ride around and explore Alaska with and cultivate memories. We may forgo this, but it has been tempting us greatly.

nobody123

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #37 on: August 08, 2016, 11:23:51 AM »
People make good and bad decisions all of the time, and there's no way of knowing if your child will make more good or bad ones 18+ years from now.  I don't get the point of picking some arbitrary age to hand them a pile of money.  I agree with other posters that they probably won't appreciate the financial windfall until they are much older and realize how hard it is to accrue substantial assets, but that shouldn't mean that you deny them the use of the funds.  I would have the trustee make them aware of the funds at 16 for college planning purposes, let them spend the money with the trustee's approval from 18 - 21 to make sure they get through college as close to debt-free as possible, and let them have whatever is left at 22.

Do you really want to burden the trustee with having to judge the worthiness of your adult child's purchase requests post-college?  What if they had some costly medical issue in their 20s?  Sorry, there's a big pile of money you get to have on your 30th birthday, but you get to go bankrupt in the meantime.  It sounds like the idea of splitting the money up so half at 25 and half at 30 is some way of providing posthumous financial bailouts.  If they really needed them, they'll probably need one at 35 as well.


acroy

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #38 on: August 08, 2016, 11:42:45 AM »
Haha, that is a great question!
I think the majority of my decisions became 'good' at about age 14 when I realized I wanted to get the heck through HS, through college, and into work. Started thinking long-term and had a plan, man. The decisions were not 100% good, but I batted maybe 0.75. If someone had left me a pile of dough I would have blown at least some of it.

I'd suggest, don't worry about it too much. Let the kid come into the money at 18, and let him make his own mistakes.

FLBiker

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #39 on: August 08, 2016, 12:54:47 PM »
Interesting question.  I agree w/ the 25-30 that folks here have expressed.

For me, I've actually been making good financial decisions all along.  I bought my first mutual funds in 7th grade, never carried a credit card balance, always lived well within my means and fully funded my IRA, etc.  I made lots of other terrible decisions (drugs, alcohol, etc.) until I was 29, though.

TheAnonOne

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #40 on: August 08, 2016, 12:58:53 PM »
I am "only" 26 now, but I never thought that I really ever made that many MASSIVE mistakes.

I bought 2 sports cars (one at 19 and one at 24) but my income is 170k(Plus DWs 50k making over 220k) and we've started investing around 2014...


My focus @17-19 was just making as much money as I could, it still is, but I am not as intense as I once was, but, I have the income now.

So... I am probably very similar to how I was when I was 18-20 now. Not as frugal as people here, probably won't be, I don't have the same pressure.

iris lily

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #41 on: August 08, 2016, 03:31:03 PM »
There was a massive difference in my outlook and amibion starting at age 25. I began adulting then.

i remember a study showing divorce rates do not change  much after the age of 25 at marriage. It didnt matter if you got married at 28 or at 42, divorce rates were the same. Getting married prior to age 25 is a big risk factor for divorce.

Spork

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #42 on: August 08, 2016, 04:53:50 PM »
There was a massive difference in my outlook and amibion starting at age 25. I began adulting then.

i remember a study showing divorce rates do not change  much after the age of 25 at marriage. It didnt matter if you got married at 28 or at 42, divorce rates were the same. Getting married prior to age 25 is a big risk factor for divorce.

Hi there.  (waves).  I believe my first marriage was around 23.  Second at 30 and holding strong for the last 22 years.

aschmidt2930

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #43 on: August 09, 2016, 01:52:24 AM »
24 for me, although I suppose that's subjective. For your purpose, I would say 25 is a reasonable number. 

catccc

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #44 on: August 09, 2016, 08:22:49 AM »
I was good at 23, but for will purposes and a future child or future children for whom you cannot predict personalities, I think 50% at 30 & 50% at 35 is good.  I would basically want my kids to be kind of set in their ways and not let any sizable inheritance really change spending behavior.  The likelyhood of them having a family or thinking seriously about it is probably far greater at 30 than 25, IMO.  Not that everyone gets married and has a family, but I think most people do, and it's a time to get serious about finances for some that haven't already.

MrsDinero

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #45 on: August 09, 2016, 08:33:47 AM »
one thing you can do is create a trust that will either give annual disbursement of money or choose age disbursement.

For example:
Age 18 and enrolled in college trust will pay 50% of educational expenses
Age 25 - child will get $xx
Age 30 - Child will get $xx
Age 35 - Child will get remainder

You should also factor in what happens to the left over money should your child not survive to the age you assign.  Will the money be divided between the other siblings?  If your child has a family, and your child dies will the money go to his family with the same stipulations?

dignam

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #46 on: August 09, 2016, 08:35:29 AM »
I've always been at least decent with my money, but not until 28-30 did I really start to hammer down what I want to achieve (savings, FIRE, etc.)

Easye418

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #47 on: August 09, 2016, 10:37:42 AM »
26.

I was making good decisions in high school, saved almost every paycheck from my part time job, thought I was on to something with penny stocks, lost about $5k in said penny stocks, college happened, acquired a lot of long term student loan debt, got my first job, got married, moved, got my second job and then it hit me.

Rollercoaster ride of "good decisions".  I'm on a better path now.

HeadedWest2029

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #48 on: August 09, 2016, 12:16:31 PM »
We just did our estate planning a couple years ago.  We decided on 25 for our child to get full reign.  I think the default was earlier, but I feel like with myself 25 was enough time for me to work, understand the value of time / money, and have a better understanding of personal finance.  Realistically I think 30, as others have suggested, is commonplace, but I didn't want it to be crazy restrictive either.

Helvegen

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Re: At what age were you making good decisions?
« Reply #49 on: August 10, 2016, 11:05:09 AM »
21-22. It was when I woke up an realized my mother was a terrible financial role model and never do anything she does. I made a commitment to never take on debt again and to this day, still haven't.

My mother will be 57 this year and still dependent financially on her mother. So some people never grow up in that regard.