Martin Cabina, 62, Yes.
Not just grandkids, but kids! Our kids are in their 30's now.
We helped the eldest (and her young family) by financing the 4 bed, 2 bath house they wanted to buy on 4 acres. They are paying less than 1% interest, and there are no fees, so we are saving them over 10k in interest. They have made every payment on time for almost 4 years, and have 5 years left to pay it off. It's a huge help to their family of 5.
We helped the youngest with a gift equivalent to the interest savings to the eldest. He started an electrical contracting business last June. We helped the middle child as well with some training and living costs that added up to 5 digits.
Our grandchildren are ages 3 to 13, so there's not a lot that we could help them with to this point. But don't think we aren't planning to help them.
We actually don't have a lot, with a net worth below 200k. But we have a low cost of living, and believe we can live on less than the social security and pensions we will start receiving in 5-10 years. Currently, we live on the $13.65 an hour that my wife makes in a retail hardware store. We could spend more on ourselves, but we are simple people who don't feel a need to travel. We would rather help others with their needs - including relatives.
Since we feel financially secure, then we can give to the next generations. For some, no amount of money is enough - so they need to keep gaining more money and not giving any away. There are plenty of scenarios where we run out of money, especially for expensive medical care. Just because it's possible, doesn't mean we have to plan for it. If we did focus on that, we would probably never feel secure if we look at what could happen.
Folks have generously helped us at various points, and so we do the same for others.
My folks are still alive, and I've been thinking of asking my parents to pass any inheritance that I would get - directly to our three kids (their grandkids). Then the recipients can help their kids (our grandkids) with education and with other expenses until they are financially independent.
