Are You Financially Better Off than Your Parents?

Happy Steak! Home of the Golden Spud. And something about their rolls, too.

I actually found an obit for the company's founder:

Beryle Burns Obituary (2010) - Modesto, CA - Modesto Bee

 

I'm in my mid-40s and grew up with a dad who was a mid-level analyst on Wall Street and a stay-at-home mom. My dad didn't kill it, he probably never brought home a big bonus check, but he was frugal and saved every penny he could. He'd leave to go to Manhattan around 5 a.m. every morning so he could be the first guy at his desk and would come home when my mom was serving dinner. Drove a K car for most of the 80s and 90s.

Adjusting for inflation, I'm pretty sure my wife and I clear about 30% more at this point in parenthood than my dad did, but our quality of life is probably lower. I work three different jobs, one full-time and two part-time, and my wife teaches full-time and tutors on the side. We don't have a lot of time for each other. We haven't gone on a real vacation since our honeymoon. We save every bit we can, but have less put away for retirement than we should because childcare and summer programming isn't cheap, and the kids need to be somewhere during the day so we can work to pay those bills.

 

No- my parents had very good jobs. They overspent on education and didn't have much use for consumer items. They wanted to spend on experiences rather than just buy shit, and I've tried to do that myself.

 

Woody, your dad must have bought the one K car that lasted for more than three years. Pieces of total shit they were.

 

My dad had one that made it to around 1990 but it was utter ass. Had one of those early “talking car” modules that could repeat a handful of phrases, like “A door is ajar.” On really cold mornings it would not only refuse to start on command but would also go through its entire phrasebook.

 

We had two, a 1982 that he drove until 1989, and then the 1989 that he drove until my junior year of high school. They lasted because they lived in the garage and were driven less than 100 miles a week most of the time. I'd be surprised if either of them made it to 50,000 under my dad's ownership.

 

I once had a wife like that.

 

High school buddy had a K car. Just beat the hell out of it. Slow down at a rail crossing? Nah, hit the gas and jump that bastard.

I have distinct memories of riding shotgun on the highway with “85” going tilt on the digital mph display.

I think one day it just imploded into nothingness.

 

The Mopar Yugo.

 

I saw a Chevy Celebrity on the road yesterday. A true survivor car. No older than 1986 model because it had a high mount brake light.

 

Does that make the Neon MoPar 2.0?

 

Where my parents were at my age (late-30s), I'm doing better than they were. I own my own house, I no longer live paycheck-to-paycheck (sweating out if I'm going to be able to pay my bills), I have a side hustle for fun / disaster money. I'm unmarried with no children, nor do I want children. And I have already set up several accounts to retire on, hopefully before I'm 60.

I also know I have a few inheritances coming - the most unusual of which is a grove of walnut trees that my grandparents planted that will be harvested in the next few years and will pay out evenly to me and my two cousins.

My parents were better off than their parents, who were all farmers. Shortly after they married, Mom sat Dad down with an extensive explanation of why Dad's farmland would never turn a profit. Dad was sick of taking care of cows in the winter anyway, so they ran off to Texas and got into golf course management.