Anyone here grow up wealthy or well off but have not surpassed parents/grandparents/GG Parents wealth or earnings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

Wow my dh would be surprised to hear this.

[Anonymous]

Sure, that's where neoliberal economics have gotten us.

My mom was a SAHP, and my dad was a small town family doctor. No family money, just living below their means and investing. They are sitting on millions, and when they die, my inheritance will maybe bring me close to where they were at my age in terms of net worth.

We have two professional incomes and we're doing... fine. It takes twice as many working hours to get to 70% of the level they were at 30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure, that's where neoliberal economics have gotten us.

My mom was a SAHP, and my dad was a small town family doctor. No family money, just living below their means and investing. They are sitting on millions, and when they die, my inheritance will maybe bring me close to where they were at my age in terms of net worth.

We have two professional incomes and we're doing... fine. It takes twice as many working hours to get to 70% of the level they were at 30 years ago.

Are you living in a small town, living far below your means? If not, then

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure, that's where neoliberal economics have gotten us.

My mom was a SAHP, and my dad was a small town family doctor. No family money, just living below their means and investing. They are sitting on millions, and when they die, my inheritance will maybe bring me close to where they were at my age in terms of net worth.

We have two professional incomes and we're doing... fine. It takes twice as many working hours to get to 70% of the level they were at 30 years ago.

Are you living in a small town, living far below your means? If not, then

If I were living in a small town, my house would cost half what my city house costs, my other expenses would be the same (thanks to corporate collusion on consumer goods), AND my salary would be half what it is in the city-- assuming I could even get a job at my current professional level, and not be stuck as a bank teller or something. I'd still be behind where my parents were.

And yes, we live below our means. Been saving like crazy since I started working. First for a house, then for kids' education and retirement. All the calculators say I'm at about 70% of where I should be for retirement, but I have never not maxed out my contributions.

There isn't a single economic indicator that demonstrates any kind of status quo. The economy is objectively different than it was, and it requires more work hours for the same outcomes if you're lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

Men can also marry into it. I know 5+ couples where the woman is the higher earner.

Then why does every single, high-earning woman in the relationship forum say that marriage would only make sense if their potential partner earns as much or more than they do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

Well, maybe men should make a concerted effort not to marry down.

[Anonymous]

My dad made millions. He inherited a decent amount too. There were six kids. One outearned him by a lot. One other possibly did. The rest, no. I'm middle/upper middle class and fine with that. What I saw was that he spent a lot of time managing his money and properties and it seemed like a headache to me. I was executor of their estate and it took years to sell everything, too many accounts and so forth. I'm glad for a simpler, streamlined life and want to leave a simple estate for my kids. My kids will not outearn me either. But that's life.

[Anonymous]

My wife comes from an old money family. She went into public service where she earns significantly less than she would if she worked in the family business like her siblings.

She doesn't feel bad about earning less because she sees it as her way of giving back to her community. And also, she still has a significant trust, so it's not like she's scraping by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

Men can also marry into it. I know 5+ couples where the woman is the higher earner.

Then why does every single, high-earning woman in the relationship forum say that marriage would only make sense if their potential partner earns as much or more than they do?

DP
Because smart women (and men) marry their equals. I did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure, that's where neoliberal economics have gotten us.

My mom was a SAHP, and my dad was a small town family doctor. No family money, just living below their means and investing. They are sitting on millions, and when they die, my inheritance will maybe bring me close to where they were at my age in terms of net worth.

We have two professional incomes and we're doing... fine. It takes twice as many working hours to get to 70% of the level they were at 30 years ago.

Are you living in a small town, living far below your means? If not, then

If I were living in a small town, my house would cost half what my city house costs, my other expenses would be the same (thanks to corporate collusion on consumer goods), AND my salary would be half what it is in the city-- assuming I could even get a job at my current professional level, and not be stuck as a bank teller or something. I'd still be behind where my parents were.

And yes, we live below our means. Been saving like crazy since I started working. First for a house, then for kids' education and retirement. All the calculators say I'm at about 70% of where I should be for retirement, but I have never not maxed out my contributions.

There isn't a single economic indicator that demonstrates any kind of status quo. The economy is objectively different than it was, and it requires more work hours for the same outcomes if you're lucky.

So not living in a small town, not living as much below your means as you claim your parents did, and still complaining your parents had a better quality of life.

You could make the choices they made, you know. You don't want to. And yes the nicer lifestyle we're all enjoying costs more!

[Anonymous]

For folks building generational wealth for their children, how do you define generation wealth , what is the threshold per child that they may be inheriting or in lifestyle subsidies/extras over time? Is it $1M or $5M per child you are thinking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, yeah, probably the majority of all such people have not surpassed their parents. Haven't you heard that we're the first generation not to do better than our parents? That applies to all income brackets.

Neither me nor my three siblings have even matched our dad's income—and he only made like $250K/year, not millions. However, one sister is married to a high-earner and the other is dating a high-earmer (~$400K). Sucks that women can marry their way into wealth but men have to earn it.

Men can also marry into it. I know 5+ couples where the woman is the higher earner.

Then why does every single, high-earning woman in the relationship forum say that marriage would only make sense if their potential partner earns as much or more than they do?

No clue. Perhaps I just know smarter women, who are more confident in themselves and choose a partner based on love and them being a good person, with minimal focus on "how much can they earn"?

Now I'll admit, all but one of the men earn over $250K (the other works for a non-profit), so they are still have great careers. But their wives earn much more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep. I grew up UMC. I’m … bordering on middle class as an adult. That’s just how life works out sometimes.

+1. Divorced and struggling to provide a middle class lifestyle for my kids here in the DC area. My UMC Boomer parents help with things like travel sports and other activities. They also come help a lot when I have to travel for work. I make just over 6 figures, which feels poor at this point. It's pretty depressing but would be very hard to take on a more intense career with 2 elementary kids at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it’s hard for it not to impact your self esteem. But then, when I focus on helping others in my non-work efforts (teach Sunday school, give money to charity, volunteer or sign up for some good thing), my self esteem goes back up. A life worth living is not just about money, and your parents gave you flexibility. If could be your father works hard to fill a void. Have the conversations you need to have with yourself, your parents, and the higher power.

This is good advice. I will never out earn my father (not even close!) but my job provides me with a lot of meaning. He worked on Wall Street and has a lot of life regrets... missing out on family stuff, traveling all the time and ultimately not giving back to his community. He is trying now in retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure, that's where neoliberal economics have gotten us.

My mom was a SAHP, and my dad was a small town family doctor. No family money, just living below their means and investing. They are sitting on millions, and when they die, my inheritance will maybe bring me close to where they were at my age in terms of net worth.

We have two professional incomes and we're doing... fine. It takes twice as many working hours to get to 70% of the level they were at 30 years ago.

Are you living in a small town, living far below your means? If not, then

If I were living in a small town, my house would cost half what my city house costs, my other expenses would be the same (thanks to corporate collusion on consumer goods), AND my salary would be half what it is in the city-- assuming I could even get a job at my current professional level, and not be stuck as a bank teller or something. I'd still be behind where my parents were.

And yes, we live below our means. Been saving like crazy since I started working. First for a house, then for kids' education and retirement. All the calculators say I'm at about 70% of where I should be for retirement, but I have never not maxed out my contributions.

There isn't a single economic indicator that demonstrates any kind of status quo. The economy is objectively different than it was, and it requires more work hours for the same outcomes if you're lucky.

So not living in a small town, not living as much below your means as you claim your parents did, and still complaining your parents had a better quality of life.

You could make the choices they made, you know. You don't want to. And yes the nicer lifestyle we're all enjoying costs more!

Mom, is that you?? Please read any one of the many articles I've sent you. The evidence is incontrovertible, unless you're on a 24-7 Fox news diet and think that gold is a wise investment. Oh, but you didn't finish college, so you might not understand the data.