[TrackerFF]

Do you give money to your parents because they need it (i.e poverty), or because it's a cultural thing?

Here in Norway, it's more or less unheard of to give money to your parents, unless they're financially screwed (in other words, debt) - but that's usually a very temporary thing.

But I've worked with people from all over Asia, and many of them would regularly send money back home. Especially Indian co-workers would send significant sums back home.

[cudgy]

Some families in India and other poor countries have pooled almost all of their assets to send a single child to a richer country and/or university. Giving back to them is a moral act of gratitude and love. Wouldn’t you do the same if Norway was a poor country and your parents did the same for you? I admire people like this, and it is a great signal of how they might potentially treat you as a friend, partner, or colleague.

[DoYOuGiveMoney]

I guess cultural? It's a way to make their remaining days easier and more colorful, if you will. We grew up below lower class and I say that because almost everyone I knew as "lower class" was hoarding cash and getting every benefit under the sun from the government in a major metropolitan area. We were making $1100/month and rent was $1200/month poor.

As I am their age when they raised me and am in the 1% of earners for my age bracket, I would like to do what I can to make their lives a little more extravagant for my own conscience.

[krageon]

I think often it's poverty or relative poverty. Your examples in Asia would probably fall under relative poverty, given that you are in Norway.