Boomer couple spent their son's $114,000 inheritance on luxury trips — they have valid reasons for it

Although boomers may not be able to keep up with the ideas as well as the lingo of millennials and Gen Z in the clash of generations, they enjoyed times when buying a house wasn't so difficult and inflation wasn't eating up savings. Over the next two decades, baby boomers, also known as the silent generation, are set to pass down a combined $84.4 trillion in assets to younger generations. But a boomer couple was called out for making a different choice, which involved spending the inheritance of their children on traveling the world.

Leanne and Leon Ryland from Victoria, Australia, also looked unapologetic about their decision when they appeared on an SBS program called Insight. “We’ve done all the right things by investing in property, boosting up our super, making sure that was healthy, going without a lot of things," Leanne said.

“And he said, ‘You’re crazy if you don’t retire when you can, because you’ll spend most of your wealth on travel or whatever in the first 10 years, and then after that it slows down," Leanne added. "It’s changing our mindset. You get into a phase now where you actually spend instead of save."

Then she pointed to her son and said, "Because if we don’t spend it, you know he gets it." According to reports, the couple has spent around $114,631 on exploring places such as Machu Picchu in Peru, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The couple also had a Facebook group called 'SKIclub', in which 'SKI' stands for 'Spending Kids' Inheritance'. "We’re not going to be able to spend all this money so let’s do it now because, in another 10 years, we won’t be climbing the Great Wall of China. We won’t be going up Machu Picchu."

Younger people still have a long way to go before becoming financially stable, especially in the current economy. This is why there's a good chance that many young people will only get to buy a home if they inherit money. According to Fortune, Boomers are the wealthiest generation to have ever lived so far. Property broker Knight Frank has said that there will come a day when the baby boomers will bequeath their wealth to their children and grandchildren. 

"Projections indicate that, in the U.S. alone, more than $84 trillion in assets will be transferred to younger generations by 2045, with over $53 trillion of that wealth originating from baby boomer households. This sets the stage for millennials to potentially become the richest generation in history—albeit not solely through their own endeavors," he said. 

But unlike millennials and older Gen Z, the younger generations are also in the race to make money, thanks to their ventures and better economic conditions. “Taking into account the end of the savings glut and the rising demand for capital to drive the green and digital transformations, Gen Z has a good chance to outperform all their predecessors—if they align their savings behavior to the new realities,” Allianz added.