Thread Spin: Financially, Have You Done Better, Worse or the Same Than What You Had When Growing Up?

[CarbonCrush]

How wealthy was your family when you were growing up?

As a sort-of follow-up from this insightful thread, how have you done compared to your parents?

Did their wealth mean you are able to continue to live comfortably independently? Were you able, despite your relative poverty, to improve your standard of living?

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I was a com major and my wife has a degree in studio art.

Much worse.

 

[Ramala]

No one in here is going to admit to worse.

 

[Inugami]

Better, only just barely. My Dad was essentially the only source of income working in the navy. Now me and my wife both work essentially full time, so yeah... a lot more effort to reach that, but still technically better financially.

No one in here is going to admit to worse.

Click to shrink...

Why wouldn't they? Especially during a pandemic and economic down turn there is absolutely no shame in it, and even before this whole thing started it was looking like the economy was going to make a turn sooner versus later.

 

[HylianSeven]

It's a hard question to quantify as I don't know how much my parents made when I was growing up (and how much it would be equivalent to in today's money). They also were able to buy a house, but were also older then than I was now. I would guess slightly better? I'm not really sure.

 

[Transistor]

I'm doing much better than when I was growing up. That's not saying anything bad about my parents. They did everything they could and always provided for my brother and I. But I've just managed to get myself into a career that puts me in a better position than they were

 

[RedStep]

Immensely better. I grew up dirt-poor running to the store with food stamps. We are very comfortable now.

 

[zou]

grew up below the poverty line. have enough to retire early if I wanted to (<35y).

 

[effingvic]

Much better. My parents were super working class doing shit jobs to make ends meet. Both my brother and I are doing well and everyday I'm grateful for the sacrifices they made to give us a better life.

 

[Yams]

It goes better than worse than got better again not I'm worse off again

 

[thekonamicode]

We definitely didn't struggle when I was young, vacationed every summer, I would even go to say I was spoiled within reason.

My wife and I are building a new home this year. We both have great careers rocking along. We are able to fully fund voluntary retirement every year. We vacation out of the US every Christmas for two weeks. Of course we don't have kids, can't help but think things would be completely different financially for us. Is that selfish?

 

[Jag]

Grew up middle class, never wanted for anything. We lived in a wealthy town, but were on the low end of the average. My dad lost everything when I was in HS, so I worked my ass off to ensure I was financially secure. Took me to almost my 40s until I could comfortably say I did better than them.

 

[Spaceroast]

No one in here is going to admit to worse.

Click to shrink...

what? why not? typically people who are in this situation want to shed light on the fact that we have it harder, economically, than our parents did.

I never knew how much my parents made and I never asked, but based on the average salary of what my mom and dad did for work versus what I do, it's safe to say I'm doing worse. And I'm in this line of work because I had no better options.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Better. Probably make about as much as my parents did, but they had four kids... and I got a vasectomy. Not having kids seems like a real boon for your finances.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Better, for sure.

 

[Deleted member 4367]

Better. I don't have four kids.

 

[RedMercury]

Better, thankfully, though it took me a while given there were a lot of advantages I didn't have access to due to growing up the way I did. I got my first salaried position in my mid-30's, and it's not much and I'd have trouble trying to live off it on my own, but at least I can say I did it

 

[Bobbetybob]

I would say better but only by virtue of not having kids. My mom used to work part time and my dad probably earned about the same as me and my girlfriend combined.

 

[Vish]

I was so poor that the only way to go was up.

 

[808s & Villainy]

I'm sure if it's significantly different you can say, but I have no idea. Living in a household with parents who had to support 2 kids is different from living by myself. We have drastically different lifestyles and expenses. Like if my parents couldn't/didn't want to buy me a videogame then that I could easily get now, does that mean I'm living better?

 

[zero_suit]

Worse. I'm in my early 30s, so we'll see if that changes in a decade or two.

 

[infinitebento]

ive provided more for myself than my family was ever capable

 

[Failburger]

I'm doing better only because I'm not married with children. There's no way I can maintain this lifestyle with dependents.

 

[Jersa]

Worse than when I was growing up, but only because I was relatively fortunate as a child, and my dad set the bar pretty damn high to eclipse. Also, I was the last of six kids, so my dad was already really far into his career by the I showed up.

There are plenty of things I'd have thought I'd accomplish/acquire by my early thirties, like starting a family or buying a house, but even though I'm not sure if I'll ever feel financially confident enough to have kids, I'm really happy with the trajectory I'm currently on.

 

[BringBackSonics]

As with many, I've gone from wealthy to dirt poor. So I dunno 🤷‍♂️

 

[kalgore]

Worse as I detailed in the other thread. But not bad by any measure.

 

[I am a Bird]

Worse but my dad was the senior sales director for a popular truck leasing company for pretty much the Entire east coast. So I try not to compare.

 

[curiouscharles]

My Dad made 500K pre-tax growing up [family / emergency medicine].

My brothers and sisters all followed in his path but had to go to school longer and rack up way more debt and start earning way later.

I went to theatre school [undergrad in Canada, masters in UK], then got into a creative high fashion retail business.

I'll never be rich, or make money like my Dad, but I love my life.

 

[sphagnum]

Worse.

 

[Christian]

My father made a lot, back in the 80s and 90s. He was also a sociopath and a criminal. So while I don't make near that amount of money, my family life is a lot happier. My wife and I get along great (six year anniversary of marriage today!), we have a wonderful son. The only memories I can recall about spending time with my dad are when I was hospitalized from like 14 to 17 years old, him reading at my bedside when my mom needed to get away for a bit. I spend all the time that I can with my boy, and I make sure I'm always there for anything important. So I'm more than good with how things played out.

He pissed it all away, too, and what he didn't piss away, the IRS collected on when he finally got caught for dodging taxes, so it's not even like I'm living off of anything from him.

 

[Interested Observer]

I've gone from being raised in a family with one white collar professional salary to my wife and I both having that sort of salary, and I think there's still scope for our pay to go up so in absolute terms we're better off. But when my parents bought their house for example, you could do it on one salary. That isn't really possible any more, so the cost of living has gone up a lot.

 

[El_TigroX]

My mom was stay at home, but went back to teaching at some point. My dad was in insurance, we were frequently set back by recessions and job issues in the 80s-90s.

My folks had a lot of bad luck, but sacrificed a ton for me and my sisters to get good educations. Because of that, we are all set up much better than our parents - nurse, lawyer and marketing/PR. Generationally - We are very lucky and all acknowledge that. We work hard, and try to help our parents to help them in return.

 

[Powdered Egg]

Lmao I think the student debt crisis guaranteed that I would never make more than my parents. They went to college for free and bought a house by the time they hit my age.

 

[Pickman]

I'm currently lower class but about to move to lower middle class thanks to a new job starting tomorrow.

My childhood was in a state of flux because we started out poor/lower class, moved up to middle class, and then dropped back to poor before I eventually moved out. As of right now, I'm not doing as well as my family at its peak during my childhood, but I'm doing much better than my family when I was young.

 

[Nude_Tayne]

When my parents were my age (late 80s), my dad was making around $100k and my mom was making (I'm guessing) $60-80k. She soon retired but my dad made upwards of $120k-130k at his peak throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s. Goes without saying I'm not adjusting for inflation. Also around when they were my age they moved into their second house.

I make $50k and live in a tiny apartment. So you tell me.

 

[ascii42]

Better because my parents had three kids by the time they were my age and I don't have any. My earnings are probably in the same neighborhood of what my parents made combined over that time, but that's just a guess.

 

[Vanillalite]

Worse but my parents had me later in life, and my father was on an upward trajectory.

I'm worse for now, but I see us catching up in a decade or so.

 

[acheron_xl]

My parents lived in a house. I don't. Nuff said.

 

[Herb Alpert]

So far, better.
But now, with coronavirus, who knows what future will bring...

 

[Piston]

I put same level for now. I was upper middle class (we took family vacations and I never heard about money issues at least) and now I'm still upper middle class. I may be at a better point than my parents were financially at this point in my life though and I'm in a good spot moving forward for now.

 

[Cookie]

Voted Wealthy 200k-500k in the previous thread.

My wife and I don't earn anything close to that yet but I wouldn't say our standard of living is much worse, we're only 27 so we're still finding our feet but we will have our mortgage paid off by 30.

So we have a definite end date for when our standard of living will be pretty much on par even if we don't earn as much. I was never spoiled as a kid though.

 

[chezzymann]

So far, worse. Parents made 150K combined and we had a nice house. I just moved out and am 25 making 60K and my girlfriends still in school but hopefully we'll get there one day.

 

[TooBusyLookinGud]

Much better, than growing up poor.

I have a Software Engineering Degree with a minor in CS and almost done with my master's in Engineering Management from a very good school. My wife is a specialized nurse here in California so we are doing pretty well from where I came from.

I don't regret my past at all and I am not ashamed of it. I wear it proudly because being a poor black kid that is now a lead engineer for a tech giant makes a world of difference to little kids that are in the same situation as I was. I make sure I speak at low-income schools when I have the opportunity to do so so that they understand that they can do it too.

My values came from seeing my mom work so hard to provide for us. She is an amazing woman and I love her dearly for what she has done.

 

[Ramathevoice]

My dad was a C-suite guy, so growing up was a huge house, lots of traveling with good hotels, gadgets, toys for me, etc.

My wife works in a bookstore and I'm a college language teacher and translator, so much, much worse. We'll probably never be able to own a house, for one thing. Or at least until we inherit. There's no way we'll ever be able to amass the amount of wealth my parents are sitting on.

No regrets though. We're living life the way we wanna, and I'm honestly not sure my parents could say they did.

 

[Lumination]

My parents came to America and raised two kids on 20k/yr + govt assistance. I am fortunate to be doing much better. This is why I will never shirk from paying taxes.

 

[shaneo632]

Financially not hugely different but I don't have kids so my money goes a lot further.

 

[Gaf Zombie]

I started from the bottom now my whole team fucking here.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Similar, but maybe slightly worse. I have no idea the amount my mom actually made, though. QoL is probably better, though, due to tech advancement.

 

[OrangeNova]

About the same, but if you take inflation and how far money goes now, worse off.

My Dad made about the same as what my partner and I make combined, and we are nowhere near getting a house, we don't have a car... It kinda really sucks.

 

[TKM]

Different. Maybe better. We make the same salary inflation adjusted, bought a home at the same age. Mine is a condo and they have a 4/2 SFR in a good suburb on a single salary. My parents supported a household of six and I live alone. To buy that house now would cost $1000/month more than my condo, and out of reach.

My father will also have a pension waiting for him. OTOH, I am able to save more on my own. By age 40 my retirement account balance should be about where his was at 60. By 60, I am on track to have $2 million inflation adjusted.

They have a more secure life, and I have fewer golden handcuffs to bind me to a single employer.