Are you better off than your parents at your age?

[apotheotic@beehaw.org]

Financially? No
Psychologically? Also no
but I've actually got therapy and taken a step to breaking generational trauma so that's something!

[yerbouti@sh.itjust.works]

Gosh no, not in Canada.

They paid 170k for a great house in one of the nicest neighborhood of Montreal in the 90s. I'll be paying 3x more for a super basic house in a shitty neighborhood. I was lucky enough to buy a house before the pandemic so I made a profit selling it, but even with that I won't even come close to their way of living.

[2ugly2live@lemmy.world]

Yes! But it's because our situations are very different. I don't have a child, but I was already a preteen when my mom was this age. I didn't have a deadbeat, abusive, drug addicted, , money draining spouse. I've cut off people (family) that I saw take advantage of my mother growing up. I don't have a sibling who is a manipulative, selfish, lazy, money grubbing piece of shit. Fuck, I don't have a daughter (me) that I've had to help for years while she tried to get on her feet.

I also have a wonderful mother who did what she could to set me up for success, trying to correct the mistakes of her childhood. My great aunt left me some money that helped with school (I'm still in debt, but could have been way worse). I have a good friend that talks me out of reckless shit, bit egging me on to take advtage.

I'm also less social, so I'm not going out to lunch or parties and what have you. I live alone with one cat.

TL;DR: Yes, but is because I have less responbilities than my mother had at this age, and it's cheaper living a solitary lifestyle with one kitty cat.

[Guest]

Surprisingly, yes. I made some risky decisions between 2020-2022 that paid off significantly, though.

The pandemic turned my prior job to 100% remote and I got in writing from their HR that I could move anywhere in my province. This allowed me to find a house I was able to afford buying, so that's what I did with the support of my wife. About a year after that I got a much higher paying job local to my new home, which is when I beat or matched my parent's income at the time which certainly was more than when she was my age.

I lept into the unknown and didn't die, it's been great!

[elaine@lemm.ee]

Yea, because I have a little more money saved for retirement otherwise I am about the same.

[pandantic@midwest.social]

Yes, because I didn’t have kids.

[reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.ml]

No, not even close.

[djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone]

Well, I managed to avoid my mother's mistake of marrying one of the first guys I seriously dated, so I haven't had to go through a divorce yet like she did. However, she'd owned two houses by now, and I'll be lucky to get one before 40. Seems like no.

[hipstertenzero@dormi.zone]

hell no. At least they had a car, a mobile home, and prospects for the future

[whatsay@slrpnk.net]

Not really, but idc

[thebigguy@lemmy.ml]

The world was always a shitty place, we are definitely facing new and frightening challenges but they can be overcome it will just be difficult.

[pixellateddave@lemmy.world]

I cannot own my own house. Something about I don't earn enough.

I am allowed to pay rent at nearly double what a mortgage would be and this is financially allowed.

[Guest]

I am thanks to a combination of my learning how credit should actually be used and careful budgeting as well as an excellent choice to get into information technology. I can actually support my adult son as well as take care of his brother and my disabled wife and living what would’ve largely been considered middle class by their standard. At this point they were getting mortgage calls for juggling payments and spending wrecklessly while living in a double wide mobile home in the rural appalachias.

[korhaka@sopuli.xyz]

Better: I live near the sea so I can easily cycle to the sea for a swim in my lunch break. My PC is a lot better than the one my dad had at the time and relative to inflation costs a lot less, even without inflation it isn't that much more.
Worse: Pretty much every other way. I guess my job is safer but we both have to work while my mum didn't have to work. We don't have kids either.

[treczoks@lemmy.world]

Definitely. We lived in an old house without central heating, and I know what hunger is. My father died when I was a kid, after a long sickness, and taking care of him and us kids took a lot out of mum.

Now I can support my family from my income, with both kids at unversity without debts.

Yes, we are better off. But the way to here and now was hard.

[showmeyourkizinti@startrek.website]

I am very much so … but that’s only because both my parents were shithead drug addicts in their 20s. My mom got in AA and turned her life in to a better place but she was starting again from the bottom. My dad didn’t get help and was still using and dealing and struggling last time I heard.

[clif@lemmy.world]

I don't have kids, so yeah.

[Guest]

Part of me wants to think so; I'm making a lot more money than they did at my age, even accounting for inflation. Aside from my car note, I'm debt-free. All objectively good things.

They had each other though. I'm a few years older than they were when they had their first kid, and they'd been married for a few years before that. I'm alone, and after I had some bad experiences, I don't bother with dating. Whether that's "better" than what my parents did or not, I don't think it's fair for me to decide.

[horsey@lemmy.world]

Only because my spouse’s parents are both dead (early, accidents) and he inherited several hundred thousand dollars and life insurance money. I personally have a negative net worth.

[rebekahwsd@lemmy.world]

Oh, no. Hella worse. They were solidly middle class with two solid careers at this point. And kids, but I don't want that part so that's a wash. But nicer house, nicer stuff entirely. But me and my husband are in a better place relationship wise so I got that over them??