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[quote=Anonymous]I'm the poster whose parents paid off their debt + then had a job loss and lost our house.  I know I'm not/wasn't as poor as other people on here... but my experiences have stuck with me in some very vivid ways.
I remember my mom as a compulsive cleaner.  She made her own cleaners and made them stretch- but she would scrub floors on hands and knees multiple times a week.  She would iron my dad's clothes and undershirts obsessively - so that no one at his job thought he was sloppy.  She would make everything in our house- from curtains to blankets.  She tried very very hard to make everything feel like home.  I'm grateful for that.  Because everything else was very tough.  To this day, I am a compulsive cleaner.  In some strange way I feel like it shows gratitude for what we have.  
My parents were terrible with money - even after they paid off debt, lost the house, received an inheritance and bought a new house.  They were like "new money" in a way... they custom window treatments, baby grand pianos, all new furniture, home theater equipment, etc... but never a penny in any savings.  And they never talked about money with me.  So once they divorced (I was in college/out of the house)... the truth came out about how little they had.  This also has stuck with me in both good and bad ways.
I think it's safe to say you don't necessarily "break" any cycles in one generation.  You may move upward, but there are/will be some dysfunctions that will stick with you.  And hopefully diminish with future generations.  (Ie. I don't ever want to have NOTHING saved for my children's college and yet go on vacations, etc.)[/quote]

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