Graduated with honors from a first tier law school after a lifetime of abuse and being taught I was nothing.

I worked my way through my associates degree with a full time job and a part time job, and graduated without debt. I almost have $200k in savings. This is the most money I've ever had in my life.

The reality is your mom did have helped. Nobody is without help.

Super proud of my accomplishments but also exhausted from it all:

- Had a single mom who never made more than $38k with multiple jobs
- Started babysitting early. Got first real job around 13 (it was the 80s, no one cared about the age).
- Paid for all my own stuff starting at that age, except shelter and food
- Put myself through college and grad school while working during both
- Have usually worked like a machine, nonstop (this is good and bad)
- Only real time off in over 35 years (longer than a couple weeks) was for maternity leave
- Earn $300k if you include the bonus
- Net worth of $2M
- Absolutely dying to get out of the rat race and retire as soon as possible financially

Anonymous wrote:I think between high school graduation and my masters degree, my parents gave me about $2000. This would also cover my train trips home. So I had to hustle.
I earned my BA and then MA in architecture. After years of piddling around in adjacent professions, then a stint as a SAHM, I became a licensed architect (and no, the parents didn't help with my exam costs either and I was a SAHM at the time so didn't have a company that covered professional development expenses, and no, my spouse didn't know about the exams and didn't pay for them because I didn't want to jinx myself).
I had some roles in elite firms so that was very gratifying and affirming. I also gut renovated two properties, either by hand or GC'd them myself depending on the trade.
There was some amount of luck involved, but then an older Irish friend corrected me on that and said "sometimes luck is something one MAKES for oneself".

Oh, asset values - about 800K in 401K, liquid & 529s. About 400K in home equity (half, husband owns the other half).
No debt, no student loans, no mortgage (I was our developer).

I think between high school graduation and my masters degree, my parents gave me about $2000. This would also cover my train trips home. So I had to hustle.
I earned my BA and then MA in architecture. After years of piddling around in adjacent professions, then a stint as a SAHM, I became a licensed architect (and no, the parents didn't help with my exam costs either and I was a SAHM at the time so didn't have a company that covered professional development expenses, and no, my spouse didn't know about the exams and didn't pay for them because I didn't want to jinx myself).
I had some roles in elite firms so that was very gratifying and affirming. I also gut renovated two properties, either by hand or GC'd them myself depending on the trade.
There was some amount of luck involved, but then an older Irish friend corrected me on that and said "sometimes luck is something one MAKES for oneself".

My DH was raised by a single mom who made just enough money to be slightly above the poverty line. He started working full time when he graduated from high school. His brother told him to put as much as possible into the company’s 401k. He started taking college classes at night. Fortunately, work paid for them. My DH finally graduated with a BA when he was 32 years old and most of the classes were paid via work tuition reimbursement. I am so proud with how hard he worked to get his degree: working full time, taking classes at night even after having a kid - our DS was at his daddy’s college graduation. Until recently, my DH was not a high wage earner but finally, this past year, his salary was $200k. And starting that 401k at 18 years old and $25k salary has turned into $1.7 million at 55 years old.

I had a ton of help and a lot of luck. At least I can admit it

Blue-collar parents lived paycheck to paycheck. As kids we would look at stores that didn't have the system that validated if there was money in your checking account and then wave my mom in if the sticker wasn't on the door b/c we knew she was going to write a check to get groceries b/c her next payday might be 2-3 days away. Me and all my siblings paid for our own college and all had jobs by the time we were 14.

Now we're not living super large by any means but have $250K in home equity, $1.1M in investments, cash and 401Ks combined. Three kids. $450-500K HHI. Generally very very happy. All my siblings also very successful.

I'm very proud of myself but will say the fear of economic insecurity continues to drive me, and I probably am super conservative with investments to our fault b/c it's scary to have cash and put it in the market. I need to work on that. But yes, proud.

I also recognize I'm a white woman and have a lot of privilege just in that alone. So I never think I broke crazy barriers.

Kudos to everyone who hustled.

No help here. In fact, I am still supporting my parents financially. NW $9m (not including DH‘s assets of approx. $3m).

I agree with PP that it can be hard not to be sad to not have the big parental gifts towards down payments, private school, etc. that I see so many peers get.

But I am proud to be where we are and to have gotten there on our own.

We’re not quite where you are but on the way. I must confess I get sad reading DCUM about all the generational wealth (even if they don’t think of it that way) but then I try to be proud of what we’ve achieved rather than comparing.

No accomplishment is too small to share. I really think we should encourage each other since our families didn't have the tools to do it.

Well, lol, after your post I am going to have to decline! Our achievements are much smaller than that, and we worked hard for what we have and are proud of ourselves.

I want to encourage people who didn't have help for college or financial gifts from family or inheritances to post here to brag about what they have accomplished financially. I will go first. My single mom never made $40K her whole life and wasn't able to help me financially. I now have a net worth of $3 million (with husband and kid) at 50. I know I am just part of the mass affluent, but this is more than I ever thought I would have. What about you?