Generational Wealth: How it’s possible for first generation Americans
As a child of immigrants, I did not know exactly how generational wealth worked. My parents came to the United States with nothing. The concept of generational wealth or “family money” was unknown to them. They were too busy dealing with the immigrant life of battling to survive in a new country. My dad came over as a Filipino US Navy recruit. My mom came over as a Filipino nurse hired to help alleviate the ever present nursing shortage.
Now, that I’ve become a parent, myself, I have revisited this idea of generational wealth. How can I secure my daughter’s financial future? My daughter has a heart defect, truncus arteriosus, and kidney disease. She has had three open heart surgeries so far and will continue to have more surgeries and procedures in her life.
My fear is that as an adult when I am no longer living, she will struggle to be financially secure due to her health issues that may interfere with traditional employment.
In recent years, I’ve started investing, but those investments are under my name. They will, of course, go to my daughter, but I wanted something that was outright hers. She is seven. Many accounts I looked into are for teenagers. There weren’t many products out there for children under 13.
Then, I discovered EarlyBird. I opened a custodial account and now Ylvie has her very own investments!
I’ve tried showing her my investment accounts. The trending upward charts of my investments are not that interesting to her, but the EarlyBird app is kid-friendly with shareable videos and photos.
As she grows, her money grows. As a first-generation Filipino American single mother, I feel empowered to help my daughter reach financial security in her future.
What is the key to generational wealth? Start early.
