The Rachel Cruze Show - The Hidden Financial Challenges Wealthy Parents Face

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

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So when you hear people say, like, well, rich people have struggles too. Sometimes there's like an immediate eye roll, which I totally get. We're like, they're fine. They're fine. But listen, just stick around and hear me out because today I want to talk about the hidden money challenges that wealthy families face. And some of you might fall into this category without even realizing it. But first, make sure to like, subscribe and share this video with a friend. All right, a lot of millennials and Gen Xers are raising.

kids that have more access to financial security than they did growing up. And what can happen is there can be some tricky things within that. So just to clarify, I'm not saying baby step seveners out there have the same level of like financial hardship as people that are working three jobs to get out of debt, right? Like there's a season of sacrifice when you are living paycheck to paycheck and you're trying to get out of debt. You're trying to just build up an emergency fund in general, like all of that. Like that is hard grinding work for sure. But here's the thing. with money is money continues just to be a tool in our life. But as our life continues to change season after season, there are going to be things in our lives that we bump up against that are

a hardship. So whether it is, working extra jobs and it's like you're exhausted and tired and miserable. And then some other times, you know, you talk to people and they are building wealth, but their marriages are falling apart. Right. So like any, no one is immune to hardship in life regardless of how much money you have or how much money you're making. But listen, if you are in the grind phase, I see ya, that is not going to last forever. But again, on the other hand, even if you have margin in your budgets, there is something about raising kids in a household where you want them to learn hard work. You want them to learn the grind of life. You don't want them to be entitled. And maybe you've worked your butt off to get to this place where,

yeah, you have some financial freedom, but yet you don't want to screw up your kids, right? And so what that looks like with our kids of even having to manufacture, sometimes a harder path for them. But what does it look like when they're not seeing the struggle day in and day out? Because regardless of socioeconomic classes, every family has access to more debt, convenience spending, comparison, like all the things in our financial life look so different, regardless of where you are financially than it did like 20, 30 years ago. And when you think about the idea that basically anyone can get a credit card today, you have buy now pay later, you have social media that you're scrolling through and you're seeing people live their lives that you never would have seen 20 or 30 years ago. You got conveniences like grocery delivery.

Like our life just looks different financially today in 2025 than it ever has been. So how do you raise then financially resilient kids when money is scarce and maybe you're like, yeah, I need you to see that this is tough? or if you are in a season of abundance, how do you do that? Well, there are five things that I think are important to teach kids when it comes to money in general. Number one is gratitude. The emotion behind money that is so important to grasp as early as you can is gratitude. And I meet 40-year-olds that don't have this emotional capacity. But this is something in life, again, regardless of where you are financially, that's going to be huge.

Now, if you have your four walls covered, food, shelter, utilities, transportation, the truth is, compared to the entire globe, you are doing incredible. You really are. And so there is this idea of gratitude of where we are. And gratitude does not mean that you're just happy and complacence, right? You can solve goals and strive for things. But this heart of gratitude of being present of where you are is such a model of your character. And so teaching our kids that to be grateful.

And this is even like making them say thank you, right? and understanding where things are coming from and the fact that not everyone has, which you have, like whatever the verbiage is around your home, but making a point that we are going to be so grateful and they're watching you parents and your gratitude is huge. But I think this is one part of money that is so huge.

Now, I have a children's book out about gratitude caught I'm glad for what I have so I can put a link down below if you have little ones because I think this is, again, such an important topic. All right, number two is participation. So kids should start contributing to the home at a young age. There is something that happens when your kids have a level of responsibility. And it can be something small, like just keeping their room clean, right?

Or as they get older, it's like, yes, we're going to unload the dishwasher or you're going to help fold laundry. Like you're going to do things around the home that take a level of sacrifice. But when they complete tasks around the home, there is a level of confidence that actually gets put into your kids because they're not just, you know, sitting there not contributing anything, where to a degree that can create some level of emotional laziness, but to know, like, they can be effective. Like, they can do things. And what's great about chores is they get to see something that is not completed and then completed. And then as we're talking about money, like paying them on some of this stuff and letting them participate and understand where money comes from. But having responsibility around the home is so, so important. Now, before I share my

hot take on the word no. I do want to tell you something that is an absolute yes, and that is one of our sponsors Christian health care ministries. So when you lose your employer-sponsored health insurance, there may be a better option than Cobra. So consider Christian health care ministries. CHM is an affordable, biblically based alternative to health insurance that could be a third of the price of Cobra. Yes, CHM programs start as low as $98 a month. And CHM has helped hundreds of thousands of families take care of over $11 billion in medical bills since 1981. And CHM members are also supported spiritually with prayer when they have a medical event. So try getting that with COBRA because you're not.

So whether you're going through a job loss or a life change or maybe you just want to consider other options to save on health care costs, check out CHM. So learn more at CHMinestries.org slash budgets. That's CHministries. dot org slash budget. All right, number three for our kids is to hear the word no. Now, you don't have to be extremely wealthy to be able to give your kids what they want. Because sometimes it's like a $3.99 thing on Amazon that you're like, yeah, sure,

we'll just do that. Right? Like, you can find ways to just kind of like medicate their want in the moment. It's like, here, just take it, whatever, whatever. And when that starts to become the rhythm and the pattern, which, again, is easier in the present just to be like here we'll just fix it like get you what you want so you're not throwing a fit and we have to go through this whole parenting cycle of like learning all this stuff like sometimes you just have the energy for it and so it's easier just to give in but when you have the ability to say

no and to stand your ground get the repercussions of maybe like the tantrum or whatever the thing is it is so key because our kids have to learn boundaries the idea that money is just limitless is not an option because when that happens when that's their mindset then they're going to go into adulthood. When they actually bump up against a financial boundary, debt is right there to be like, oh, yeah, you can get what you want when you want it, and you don't have to tell yourself no.

So learning no and seeing that level of discipline from you as a parent, and also you displaying that to them as a kid is so key when it comes to money. Those limits and those boundaries are so, so important. Number four is patience. So patience is also something. Delayed gratification is something we are terrible at in today's world. Like, again, instant gratification is everywhere. We can get what we want when we want it.

Even information or buying anything. Like, you can just open your phone, do what you need to do, get the facts that you need from Google or chat GBT or look up the weather. Like, you can do whatever you want within five seconds because of our phones. And what that is created is that same level of instant gratification when it comes to purchasing and buying things. So having the patience to save up and pay for something is huge. And this is true as adults, but also your kids should do the same. So have the patience and have them have a goal of something that they're saving up for. Something that's kind of out of reach for them.

But it's good for them not to get it in the moment, but to do that. And then also we do no spend months as well because sometimes it's like even if they have the money to spend because they've done chores, sometimes it's just like they just want stuff all the time. You're like, y'all, stop asking, stop asking. So sometimes we just do a hard stop, no spend month. And for a few days, they kind of complain. and you're like, what is this, that, that, that. And then it's amazing.

After a while, they're fine. And they go back and play with what they have. So patience is key. Number five is to sit in disappointments. Because let's be honest, disappointment is the concept of real life. Like, in real life, we feel so much disappointment on so many things at different levels in life. But man, it is real.

And you have to know how to cope with that. And I've heard recently, I was reading a parenting book and they were talking about talking about how there used to be helicopter parents, right, where they would just hover and, like, take over and control everything. And now they're considering parenting. A lot of parents are snowplow parents, meaning they go through and pave the way. So there's no bumps. There's no grooves. There's no like, oh gosh, am I going to fall down? No, it's like this perfect slope for your kids to go down with no issues and everything's fine. And they fix everything. So there's no roadblocks. Everything is done for them. And you have to know, like, guys, listen, there are going to be bumps in the road.

happens, that creates resilience. And yes, there's going to be disappointment in life. And as a parent with little ones, like, I will sit with you in that. Like, we will talk about that. I will be here for you in that. But you have to experience disappointment because that is a part of life. So again, parenting is big, you guys, but regardless of whether you are parenting when you have the means to just fix things with money, or maybe you still are struggling, but you're exhausted. You're like, I just will throw money at the situation just to like get through the day. Like, these things are so important for our kids and no one's perfect. We're not consistent on all of these all the time. Like you're not going to be. It's okay. There's a lot of grace in this,

but the overall spirit and environment of the home as we're raising our kids is so key because money is something they need to learn from a tactical standpoint, but also an emotional standpoint. It's something that can be overlooked. Now, something else that can be overlooked when it comes to money is what everyone gets wrong about generational wealth. So that episode is coming up next. you can click here or if you're listening on podcast, click the link below. All right, guys, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.