Are you richer than your parents?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I may sound spoiled and immature but it doesn't change the reality that my parents didn't stop me from pursuing a non-lucrative career.
I wish they had been more authoritarian when it came to this. Now at 41 and making only $80k, i'm a laughing stock in our friends circle.
I'm lucky that my parents help pay for childcare and put a 50% down payment on our home so we could afford to live in NW DC.

[Anonymous]

Spend some of that 80K on therapy. Take responsibility for your own choices. —A teacher who makes $70K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I may sound spoiled and immature but it doesn't change the reality that my parents didn't stop me from pursuing a non-lucrative career.
I wish they had been more authoritarian when it came to this. Now at 41 and making only $80k, i'm a laughing stock in our friends circle.
I'm lucky that my parents help pay for childcare and put a 50% down payment on our home so we could afford to live in NW DC.

OP, your problem isn’t your field. Your problem is that making lots of money was never your priority and for some reason you now regret that. As a fellow middle-aged designer who makes about 40k more than you and isn’t terribly ambitious, I think the “problem” is that you expect an upper NW lifestyle but for whatever reason haven’t been good enough to be a creative director. Do you think Paula Scher cries all day that she didn’t become a day trader? Do you think Jessica Walsh or Louise Fili or hell I could name a dozen female designers doing quite well here in DC and NONE of them think their problem is that they chose design. Maybe your problem is that you lack talent or work ethic.

[Anonymous]

Additionally, if you are a “laughing stock” among your friends, it’s way past time to clean house and get these assholes out of your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I may sound spoiled and immature but it doesn't change the reality that my parents didn't stop me from pursuing a non-lucrative career.
I wish they had been more authoritarian when it came to this. Now at 41 and making only $80k, i'm a laughing stock in our friends circle.
I'm lucky that my parents help pay for childcare and put a 50% down payment on our home so we could afford to live in NW DC.

LOL obvious troll is obvious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I may sound spoiled and immature but it doesn't change the reality that my parents didn't stop me from pursuing a non-lucrative career.
I wish they had been more authoritarian when it came to this. Now at 41 and making only $80k, i'm a laughing stock in our friends circle.
I'm lucky that my parents help pay for childcare and put a 50% down payment on our home so we could afford to live in NW DC.

Oh FFS. Grow up. And make sure you don't force your kid to be a lawyer or a doctor. The reality is that you are immature, not just sound immature, but *are* immature, and you won't take ownership of your own choices. The mistake they made is supporting you, then, and now.

Your parents are in a position of they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. I feel rather sorry for them and your child, not you.

[Anonymous]

PP here doing better than my parents, thanks to my hard-working, no-fun-having, money-managing DH. My parents let me pursue a dumb major and career -- journalism. I would never encourage my kids to pursue such a thing (nevermind their father would never dream of allowing it), but my parents were ex-hippie boomers who encouraged us to "follow our dreams" and be "whatever we want."

They also "let" me finish HS in the bottom third of my class because I preferred partying, waved me off to a lower-tier out-of-state flagship party school, move to the big city for an unpaid internship and wait tables...the list goes on. Were the negligent as hell? Oh yes, especially by DCUM standards. Could I have done better with their help? Sure. But the choices and mistakes were mine. I live with them.

They live with their own self-created problems.

[Anonymous]

I earn more than they did collectively, but I am not rich. I have accumulated more wealth than them because my mom wanted me to learn from their mistakes and got me started saving from the moment I earned income, plus I am a better steward of my finances.

You, though OP, sound like a piece of work. Your parents aren't the problem here, it's you. If you want more get out there and earn it.

[Anonymous]

Wait, OP is 41?! Man stupid is as stupid does

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I may sound spoiled and immature but it doesn't change the reality that my parents didn't stop me from pursuing a non-lucrative career.
I wish they had been more authoritarian when it came to this. Now at 41 and making only $80k, i'm a laughing stock in our friends circle.
I'm lucky that my parents help pay for childcare and put a 50% down payment on our home so we could afford to live in NW DC.

You are either a troll, or ridiculous, or both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My father was raised in an orphanage, got on heroin at 17, then became a plumber.

So yes, I am because I made different life choices

That is so not fair. Your father had an extremely tough life and yet you call your success better choices?! You are not a very nice person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I may sound spoiled and immature but it doesn't change the reality that my parents didn't stop me from pursuing a non-lucrative career.
I wish they had been more authoritarian when it came to this. Now at 41 and making only $80k, i'm a laughing stock in our friends circle.
I'm lucky that my parents help pay for childcare and put a 50% down payment on our home so we could afford to live in NW DC.

Is this a joke?
If you make less money, you have a less expensive lifestyle. If you don't, you are going to be in big trouble when your parents pass away.

We only started making more than our parents since we are in our 50s and will probably work much longer than they did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like a failure because I'm not as rich as my parents. Anyone here feeling the same?
My parents are both retired doctors and are what you would consider UMC or rich.
I cannot afford the same lifestyle I had growing up.
I partly blame my parents for this. They wanted me to go to medical school or law school but I didn't want it.
I was interested in graphic design and that's what I wanted to do. My parents were initially opposed but they decided to
support me in my choice. Now I wish they had forced me into law or medical school. I envy my friends who went to law school.
My job as a graphic designer doesn't pay enough and I couldn't afford living in this area without help from my parents.
I feel like a failure.

I make 5x what my parents made.

We are all happy about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like a failure because I'm not as rich as my parents. Anyone here feeling the same?
My parents are both retired doctors and are what you would consider UMC or rich.
I cannot afford the same lifestyle I had growing up.
I partly blame my parents for this. They wanted me to go to medical school or law school but I didn't want it.
I was interested in graphic design and that's what I wanted to do. My parents were initially opposed but they decided to
support me in my choice. Now I wish they had forced me into law or medical school. I envy my friends who went to law school.
My job as a graphic designer doesn't pay enough and I couldn't afford living in this area without help from my parents.
I feel like a failure.

You should. You have a loser mentality. Grow up and take some accountability.

[Anonymous]

I make way more than my parents. They don't even own a home. I bought my first home in NoVA at age 23. I've been building wealth since. I made 298k in 2018. DH 325k. My mom never worked, so those 2 never got ahead, especially since ine my dad didn't make much. Everything my parents did, I did the opposite.