A while back, my stepmother said something I’ll never forget.

My stepmother looked my brother and me straight in the eye recently and said:
“By the time I’m gone, there won’t be a cent left. I’ll spend it or give it away before any of you see a penny. I earned it not you. My goal is to enjoy every dollar while I’m alive.”
She wasn’t joking.
This is someone who came of age during an era of affordable homes, generous pensions, rising wages, and far fewer financial hurdles than younger generations face today.
Instead of seeing family wealth as something to help the next generation get a foothold, she’d rather make sure nothing is left behind.
It feels like some people climbed the ladder during the easiest economic decades, pulled it up after themselves, and then smashed the rungs so nobody else could follow.