Are you better off financially than your parents were?

Bit of a strange question, but I'd be interested to hear your views.
I left school in 1983 when there wasn't a lot of anything going on especially up this neck of the woods with pit closures and the steel industry on its last legs.

My Dad worked in Ebbw Vale steel works from 16 years old until he retired. My mother worked part time, while looking after my sister and me.
They changed their car every three years to a brand new Ford Escort.... the original Ford Focus 3> and we went abroad every summer.

My circumstances are quite a bit different to my parents. I'm single and have no kids to look after (loser I hear you cry)
I'm working in skilled work (HGV) for just above minimum wage. There's no way I could support two kids, buy a new Focus and fck off to Majorca.

How about you?

In your case, if you had kids, you would make it work and crack on a afford it, you live to your means, dont really need anew cars or holidays, if you plan to afford kids, you dont have a clue on how much they cost :hehe:


My Dad Was a lorry driver, he used to deliver animal feed around Wales and the west country ( down as far as cornwall ) so he did some miles, he was home every night though, my mum was a dinner lady, we used to camp 1 week in the summer down in cornwall, used to always have older cars, never used to eat out apart from our last day of the summer holiday treat of curry and rice in Pillars ( on queen street ) ( but saying that, eating out seemed to be for the rich back then , they had 2 boys

Now consider my lifestyle, Hell yea I must have more money, i have 2 girls ( so the same kids )

The sad thing is, my dad used to work alot longer hours than me and make ends meet

I often think to myself, I wonder if he is looking down and thinking " my boy did ok ", not just my financial life, but my life in general, my time spent with my girls which i wouldnt trade for anything

Ironically, as you mentioned holiday, i know my mum and dad only dreamt of going to disney world, my mum has a photo of me and my brother as young lads in a " real disney baseball cap " that a friend of her brought back from disney and let us wear them for a photo , makes me smile now, she was so impressed they were " real disney caps " that she had to take a photo of us in them ( a different world back them though ), but back to holidays, I used to surf down in cornwall as a lad ( on foam boards ), Myself and the girls now surf, so maybe our holidays are not too far apart in some aspects

Nope. Dad was from Nantymoel and eventually became a head teacher. Still alive now at 91 but very frail. Mum was from Birmingham and became a teacher and passed away four years ago. Both from working class backgrounds. Their occupational pensions ensured they were very comfortable in retirement. Very doubtful I will be in such a strong financial position when I retire.

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Originally Posted by Pearcey3

Nope. Dad was from Nantymoel and eventually became a head teacher. Still alive now at 91 but very frail. Mum was from Birmingham and became a teacher and passed away four years ago. Both from working class backgrounds. Their occupational pensions ensured they were very comfortable in retirement. Very doubtful I will be in such a strong financial position when I retire.

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Very similar to this my father was a head teacher mother a secondary school teacher. Me and my wife jobs both aren't comparable to wage they were on. They are getting paid more now retired than what we are taking home .


I'm certainly not in a decent position but that's more because have always have been good with my money.

My elderly grandparents working class, but retired on big pensions at around 50-55 years old (and that was over 30 years ago) probably taking taking home more in pensions than my parents myself and the rest of the family currently earn.

the baby boomers certainly had it good.

Financially yes, lifestyle no. I'm in my 30s with a good job and a solid pension. Same goes for my wife. My wife and I probably earn more than my parents did (inflation adjusted) and they both had well paid professional jobs. So you might look at that and think its progress.

But my boy will grow up in a smaller house than I did and I'll spend less the with him than my parents did with me. And I grew up in a nicer place than my kid will. Realistically unless I get a significant promotion my wife will always have to work-my mum took years out when I was little. and then there is the pension. I'm lucky as despite us obvs being on DC schemes my employer is actually decent and pays in a solid amount but it's nothing like the luxury of DB schemes that my parents are on.

I'm not complaining and I recognise I'm very lucky to have what I have, but the world is getting busier and so you need to out perform your parents to have the same quality of life that they did. We travel more than the last generation because it's so much cheaper and I'm sure there are some other generational advantages but lifestyle wise, generally the last generation had it far better

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Originally Posted by Optimistic Nick

Financially yes, lifestyle no. I'm in my 30s with a good job and a solid pension. Same goes for my wife. My wife and I probably earn more than my parents did (inflation adjusted) and they both had well paid professional jobs. So you might look at that and think its progress.

But my boy will grow up in a smaller house than I did and I'll spend less the with him than my parents did with me. And I grew up in a nicer place than my kid will. Realistically unless I get a significant promotion my wife will always have to work-my mum took years out when I was little. and then there is the pension. I'm lucky as despite us obvs being on DC schemes my employer is actually decent and pays in a solid amount but it's nothing like the luxury of DB schemes that my parents are on.

I'm not complaining and I recognise I'm very lucky to have what I have, but the world is getting busier and so you need to out perform your parents to have the same quality of life that they did. We travel more than the last generation because it's so much cheaper and I'm sure there are some other generational advantages but lifestyle wise, generally the last generation had it far better

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What are DC and DB schemes?

Defined contribution and defined benefit (final salary)

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Originally Posted by Optimistic Nick

Financially yes, lifestyle no. I'm in my 30s with a good job and a solid pension. Same goes for my wife. My wife and I probably earn more than my parents did (inflation adjusted) and they both had well paid professional jobs. So you might look at that and think its progress.

But my boy will grow up in a smaller house than I did and I'll spend less the with him than my parents did with me. And I grew up in a nicer place than my kid will. Realistically unless I get a significant promotion my wife will always have to work-my mum took years out when I was little. and then there is the pension. I'm lucky as despite us obvs being on DC schemes my employer is actually decent and pays in a solid amount but it's nothing like the luxury of DB schemes that my parents are on.

I'm not complaining and I recognise I'm very lucky to have what I have, but the world is getting busier and so you need to out perform your parents to have the same quality of life that they did. We travel more than the last generation because it's so much cheaper and I'm sure there are some other generational advantages but lifestyle wise, generally the last generation had it far better

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I think you have summed up the working / professional lifestyle change perfectly

My Father started down the pit when he was 14 and spent 48 years doing that before "early" retirement due to ill health.

I effectively retired at 52 after a career in financial services largely as a Finance Director, but also as a Chief Investment Officer and a CEO.

I'm much wealthier and healthier!