GENERATIONAL WEALTH, THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF INVESTING

My recent brush with mortality has me thinking about my investment goals beyond retirement.  We hear so much about creating a comfortable retirement and having enough money to last until we die, but I've been thinking more about creating an investment portfolio that lasts beyond my demise.  I'm talking about generational wealth.  While I have no children of my own, I come from an extended family, so I've been thinking more along the lines of what I will leave to family members after I'm gone.  Even more so after my recent heart attack.

While some of my family members have enjoyed a certain measure of success money wise, for the most part I come from a very poor family.  Most of my immediate family would now be considered lower middle class, but that certainly has not always been the case.  I grew up in a very impoverished household during the 1960's and 70's and my siblings and I have all faced a great deal of financial struggles during our adult lives.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for where we are now and for any future successes we may have.  However, it has all come from a lot of years of hard work and struggle and we've all paid the price both physically and mentally along the way.  That being said, I don't waste a lot of time feeling sorry for myself, I simply accept what life has given me and look for ways to make things better.

I've come to the conclusion that my retirement may not be as golden as I'd like it to be, but most likely I'll be in a lot better shape than most, so I'm content with that.  What I'm really more concerned about is providing a legacy for my family after I'm gone.  When I retire, my plan is not to draw from my investments until they're depleted, but to draw income from dividends to supplement my retirement income, while continuing to build my investment portfolio.  Ultimately the goal is to set up a family trust to provide for family members for generations to come.  I want their lives to be better, less stressful, than the life I've had.  So that is my ultimate goal as an investor, building generational wealth that keeps growing and providing income for my family long after I'm gone.