Class of 2026 support thread. (1 Viewer)

[snellman]

Anyone else here have a senior this year. This one is hitting a little different for me because this is the last one left at home. The other 4 have been out of the house for a while now because after the wife and I got married, we decided to have one that was "ours" (2 of our others were "mine", 2 were "hers). Band camp started this week and every year a group of parents host the boys each night for supper. Tonight it was our turn so we had a house full of senior boys eating supper and hanging out before they went back to camp. My wife made the comment "this is our last band camp dinner" and I realized there are going to be a lot of lasts over the next 9 months. I can't believe the little guy in my profile pic is taller that I am and is going to be a senior in high school already.

 

[El Floppo]

Sending my oldest off to college in a week and a half. Its incredible how nostalgic i was this year with all his "last" things.

Still have a 14yo just starting HS, so we'll get 4 more years with her. Cant imagine the nostalgic lasts ill have when im in your shoes Plus the sons college is less than 2 hours away, so i know we'll be up there and he'll be home more than i was when i left going cross country.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Oldest will be a jr youngest in 7th so we’ve got a little while yet but yeah ill be going through it soon enough

 

[Jayrod]

Sending my oldest off to college in a week and a half. Its incredible how nostalgic i was this year with all his "last" things.

Still have a 14yo just starting HS, so we'll get 4 more years with her. Cant imagine the nostalgic lasts ill have when im in your shoes Plus the sons college is less than 2 hours away, so i know we'll be up there and he'll be home more than i was when i left going cross country.

You and I are similar. My son just graduated last year and my daughter is going into 10th.

We lived it up with his Senior year. It helped that he played on a football team that finished 2nd in state and a basketball team that finished 3rd in state. Tons of cool memories and finished it off with a big graduation pool party in June.

 

[Gally]

Tonight it was our turn so we had a house full of senior boys eating supper

Uh oh. Don't let @Dan Lambskin read this.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Tonight it was our turn so we had a house full of senior boys eating supper

Uh oh. Don't let @Dan Lambskin read this.

That’s what prompted my post

 

[Gally]

Our youngest graduated HS last year. We were slowly weaned into empty nest because he never really spent time at our house his senior year. The toughest point was when his baseball team lost in the state quarterfinals in a game they should have won (an error with two out in the last inning cost them the game). They had full expectations of going to the finals (they went the year before and had all but one player return). That was the toughest moment as it ended abruptly and unexpectedly.

My son wasn't big for celebrations and didn't even want a graduation party but agreed to a shared party with one of his buddies (his girlfriends brother). We did do a send off BBQ at the end of the summer where most of his teammates showed up and I cooked up 30 lbs of meat and made the mistake of waiting a bit and ended up with one small slice of tri-tip. They devoured it like they were locusts.

It's great seeing him flourish and grow so I have never really been sad over the transitions. I get more emotional due to pride in what he has become more than sadness of him growing up.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

I'm reminded of Sahil Bloom's 95% rule - "95% of the time you have with your children is gone by the time they turn 18."

I've got a 20 year old in college about 6 hours away. He's splitting his time between camp counsellor near our house and lifeguarding at the University. We bought him a $2,800 car at the beginning of the summer and he must have several thousand miles on it already. Most of the time I've seen him this summer has been pretty fleeting - stopping in with friends from camp for one night or a few hours - but we've managed to hang out for a few precious hours here and there. My daughter is 14 and heading into high school so that's a completely different experience.

 

[JohnnyU]

Sold all my kids off for pennies on the dollar years ago.


jk...only have a stepson that I claim. Never had any kids of my own, but I did raise my granddaughter from age 5.

 

[arrow1]

three kids, last one was the hardest.

 

[FarFromHome]

Don't need to put everyone in panic mode. I got two adult children and they still haven't left. Ha ha

 

[Gally]

Don't need to put everyone in panic mode. I got two adult children and they still haven't left. Ha ha

Not to be taken negatively but just wondering the reasons behind this. Saving money?, Lazy? bad luck?

Do you have a plan to nudge them on their way? Charge Rent? Have you set a deadline?

Luckily for me I haven't had to worry about this yet as my oldest is married and on her own and my youngest still has 3 or 4 years left of college. But I have thought a bit about how to handle this as my inlaws have allowed their adult son to stay at home and he has no prospects or drive to get out and that would drive me nuts if I was in that situation.

 

[FarFromHome]

Don't need to put everyone in panic mode. I got two adult children and they still haven't left. Ha ha

Not to be taken negatively but just wondering the reasons behind this. Saving money?, Lazy? bad luck?

Do you have a plan to nudge them on their way? Charge Rent? Have you set a deadline?

Luckily for me I haven't had to worry about this yet as my oldest is married and on her own and my youngest still has 3 or 4 years left of college. But I have thought a bit about how to handle this as my inlaws have allowed their adult son to stay at home and he has no prospects or drive to get out and that would drive me nuts if I was in that situation.

The hardest in the world is raising children. Knowing when to show love, nurture or let them stand on their own. My 25 year totaled 2 cars in a year and basically had no options but to move home. Day 1, I sat down and went over his finances. The wrecklessness was mind boggling. He basically ate out 3 times a day. He had everything delivered. Even when he bought groceries they delivered. His credit card debt was 19 grand. Smh. Just feel like we failed him. We paid off his debt and locked up his spending. Took him a year to get out of debt. Just praying he understands spending. I feel he is getting ready to give living on his own a shot. I got my fingers crossed.

My daughter, at 20, just finished her associates degree. That's good. Has show zero interest in leaving. Why would she? We pay for everything. Hell, we pay her car insurance, her phone, blah blah. Just feel we are making the same finance mistake. It's tough. You show them care and cross your fingers. Ha ha

 

[Gally]

We pay for everything. Hell, we pay her car insurance, her phone, blah blah. Just feel we are making the same finance mistake. It's tough. You show them care and cross your fingers. Ha ha

Luckily for me my daughter is a lot like her mom. Always looking for bargains and doesn't spend what she doesn't have. Always been good with money even though we have done that same as you (pay for everything which I am not a fan of). I am not sure how my son will be when it comes to that. He understands not to spend what he doesn't have but he hasn't been paying for things either.

Both my kids played sports through high school and got very good grades. Because of that they were always busy and on the go so we never really made them get jobs. Even now (son in college) my son is playing college baseball so it makes it really tough for him to get a job and stay up with baseball and school. He is doing well in each of those (all A's his freshman year of college and has gone from a walk on to earning athletic scholarship money as well as academic scholarship money) so it's hard to force him into a job when he really doesn't have time and has kind of "earned" money for school with his scholarships.

Both had credit cards that we paid and they were allowed to use for specific things (gas, food that we would have paid for if there, clothes - is asked first). Things that we would pay for as parents if we were with them. Extra stuff they had to use their own money (from b-days, graduation, side jobs, etc). I think they have an idea on how to not overspend.

I feel for your situation with a kid in debt. My daughter's husband has had a hard life and made some bad decisions (two failed marriages under the age of 30). Because of that he has debt but not due to frivolous spending. She decided to marry into this (would not have been my choice but she is an adult and made her choice). Legal fees (for custody etc) has put them in a hole. We have loaned them money to cut down on interest and getting in bigger holes and I wasn't a fan of doing this but my wife pushed for it. They are making their payments and doing mostly the right things but there are still some things that irk me. Very tough situation for me at times.

Overall I am proud of both of them for the kind of people they have become. I just don't agree with all their choices hahaha. Gotta let them live and learn at some point and just hope the lessons they learn aren't too damaging to recover from.

There is no right answer to these things. Just do the best you can and hope things stick. Eventually they are adults and have to make their own decisions and live with the consequences.

 

[FarFromHome]

We pay for everything. Hell, we pay her car insurance, her phone, blah blah. Just feel we are making the same finance mistake. It's tough. You show them care and cross your fingers. Ha ha

Luckily for me my daughter is a lot like her mom. Always looking for bargains and doesn't spend what she doesn't have. Always been good with money even though we have done that same as you (pay for everything which I am not a fan of). I am not sure how my son will be when it comes to that. He understands not to spend what he doesn't have but he hasn't been paying for things either.

Both my kids played sports through high school and got very good grades. Because of that they were always busy and on the go so we never really made them get jobs. Even now (son in college) my son is playing college baseball so it makes it really tough for him to get a job and stay up with baseball and school. He is doing well in each of those (all A's his freshman year of college and has gone from a walk on to earning athletic scholarship money as well as academic scholarship money) so it's hard to force him into a job when he really doesn't have time and has kind of "earned" money for school with his scholarships.

Both had credit cards that we paid and they were allowed to use for specific things (gas, food that we would have paid for if there, clothes - is asked first). Things that we would pay for as parents if we were with them. Extra stuff they had to use their own money (from b-days, graduation, side jobs, etc). I think they have an idea on how to not overspend.

I feel for your situation with a kid in debt. My daughter's husband has had a hard life and made some bad decisions (two failed marriages under the age of 30). Because of that he has debt but not due to frivolous spending. She decided to marry into this (would not have been my choice but she is an adult and made her choice). Legal fees (for custody etc) has put them in a hole. We have loaned them money to cut down on interest and getting in bigger holes and I wasn't a fan of doing this but my wife pushed for it. They are making their payments and doing mostly the right things but there are still some things that irk me. Very tough situation for me at times.

Overall I am proud of both of them for the kind of people they have become. I just don't agree with all their choices hahaha. Gotta let them live and learn at some point and just hope the lessons they learn aren't too damaging to recover from.

There is no right answer to these things. Just do the best you can and hope things stick. Eventually they are adults and have to make their own decisions and live with the consequences.

Good post buddy. One great thing about being an American is your never broke. The problem is the credit card companies know this and target the children. Just a brutal game. Bottom line class of 2026? Stay the hell away from credit cards.

 

[Gally]

Stay the hell away from credit cards.

I actually don't think this is necessarily the right answer. They need to be taught how to use credit cards. They aren't carte blanche to just spend. They are an extension of your bank account. Think debit card. Don't buy things you don't have the money for and pay off the card every month.

We have preached this to our kids from day one of talking about money. We didn't shy away from explaining credit cards and the proper use of them. They are a great way to get free money if you are disciplined and use it like a check book. Get the rewards and pay off every month and wallah.....free money. We drilled this concept into them. My daughter gets it for sure. The son hasn't had a chance to really know if he gets it or not yet.

Credit cards aren't bad in themselves but people need to understand how bad they can be and not just spend what they don't have.

 

[FarFromHome]

Stay the hell away from credit cards.

I actually don't think this is necessarily the right answer. They need to be taught how to use credit cards. They aren't carte blanche to just spend. They are an extension of your bank account. Think debit card. Don't buy things you don't have the money for and pay off the card every month.

We have preached this to our kids from day one of talking about money. We didn't shy away from explaining credit cards and the proper use of them. They are a great way to get free money if you are disciplined and use it like a check book. Get the rewards and pay off every month and wallah.....free money. We drilled this concept into them. My daughter gets it for sure. The son hasn't had a chance to really know if he gets it or not yet.

Credit cards aren't bad in themselves but people need to understand how bad they can be and not just spend what they don't have.

Agreed. Mostly. You give me 100 bucks and I owe you 125 or 130 bucks in 31 days. Reminds me of mafia loan sharking. Ha ha. Then at 32 days i put 1000 bucks on new tires. Now I owe you 1400 bucks within a month. I can afford 50 dollar payments. I'll never pay for the tires. Young people know basic good and bad spending. The problem is life happens and before they know it can't climb out of the hole. Imo