“When Did It Sink In That You’ll Never Be As Well-Off As Your Parents?” (14 Answers)

While many individuals harbour hopeful outlooks regarding their future prospects, self-development, and advancements in technology, there exists a contrasting sentiment of scepticism among others. Particularly among younger generations, there’s a prevalent concern: the fear of never attaining the same degree of financial security and stability enjoyed by their older counterparts. This concern was recently highlighted in a discussion initiated by Redditor u/Asmothrowaway6969 within the r/Millennial online community. Participants candidly shared their perspectives on the disparity between their financial standing and that of their parents.

#1 My dad just retired at 76, he has a great pension was making 150k and they asked him to retire this year for a 1 years pay.

Image source: worktillyouburk, Fatma Gül

His replacement is making 45k, no retirement package and actually has more duties than my dad did, so overall is doing the job of 2 people that were paid 150k each…

So ya good luck with that.

#2 My wife makes more than her mom ever did working part time, from home. I passed my dad’s income at around 35 yrs old. Our net worth exceeds both sets of parents, put together. Our house is worth more than both of theirs put together as well.

Image source: NeoGeo2015, Charles DeLoye

That said, they invested in us. They paid for my college and her college, at least what wasn’t covered by scholarships. Her mom gave us cash to help with a down payment on a stater home (long since paid back). We plan on doing the same for our kids and invest heavily in 529s, and our retirement.

I watched my parents struggle at times as wife watched her mom work 3 jobs. Luckily for all of us, everyone turned out well (except for my dip s**t sister…). It’s not all bad out here.

#3 My parents had the typical middle-class lifestyle and I have had to earn double what they did to obtain it. Now I just need compound interest to do its thing.

Image source: Ok-Abbreviations9936, Breno Assis

#4 I was raised by my aunt and uncle. My uncle casually said he bought their house (valued at 1.5 mil now) when they were 28 at $28,000. THAT was the moment.

Image source: HellyOHaint, Curtis Adams

#5 My parents ask me for money. They brooooke.

Image source: Gazealotry, Karolina Grabowska

#6 This latest birthday, #37. My parents built a huge house on an entire acre of land, on 1 income in their early 30s. I just turned 37, have been renting since I was 19, have an education and a good career myself, and will probably never be able to afford a house. Sad.

Image source: MPD1987, Pixabay

#7 Mom was a dope addict and dad a career criminal. I was literally conceived in a federal penitentiary. I’m now a 38 year old software engineer, living with my wife of almost 10 years who practices anesthesia at a large and highly respected children’s hospital. We have a million dollar home in a MCOL area on over 20 acres of land, 6 figure savings, loaded retirement accounts, and everything we could possibly need. F**k my parents. I am and always will be better than them.

Image source: eddielee394, Ruthson Zimmerman

#8 I grew up on food stamps and now earn over 100k. I will never have this feeling.

Image source: little_runner_boy, TattooTito

#9 For me personally, it depends on what metric I’m using for a comparison. I’m 33 and make far more money than either one of my parents ever have. But because of vastly increased cost of living, I don’t “have” as much as they did at my age. Namely, a house. At my age, my parents had already been home owners for years whereas it’s still really not on my horizon at all. .

Image source: sts816, todd kent

#10 I’m 100% more well off than my parents. They are immigrants from Mexico and by going to the US I’ve been able to take advantage of more opportunities than I’d ever be able to get at their hometown.

Image source: Fart1992, Dennis Schrader

#11 Clawed my way out of poverty so I never had this moment.

Image source: cronicillnezz, Nicola Barts

#12 My mom is an addict and my father is stuck doing backbreaking work at a retail chain making half of what I do.

Image source: ProsePilgrim, Mathias Reding

My parents aren’t better off. They got cheated just like most of us. Despite my relative success life remains more challenging than you’d anticipate at this income level, not because of some personal failing, but because our society has simply changed so much.

We CAN do better. I think that requires us to be real about who is responsible for our challenges. I’ll give you a hint—it’s more specific than “boomers” or “parents.” .

#13 My mom pulled me aside when I was in college to be a teacher. But I knew it. I’m not dumb and my mom was a director at a Big Pharma Co. Before she retired, she was pulling in ~250k USD a year.

I have never planned on having kids or even pets and therefore plan to live generally smaller than my parents did. Smaller house, fewer cars, etc. I make decent money teaching (union state!) and I’m comfortably saving for retirement. That’s enough.

Image source: gunnapackofsammiches, ThisIsEngineering

#14 Yeah no, I am far better off than my parents. Biological mom died when I was young, step mom has a solid career so she’ll be fine when dad passes. But dad spent way too many years getting paid under the table (and saved none of it) before getting into an above board job so his Social Security is like $1k a month max. They’re doing okay-ish but only because stepmom still works.

Image source: Fr4nzJosef, Allef Vinicius