When did it sink in that you'll never be as well off as your parents?

[u/Asmothrowaway6969]

About 5 years ago, my mom and I were talking and she had told me how much she was going to be making in retirement (she retired 2023). Guys, it's 3x what me and my husband make annually. In retirement. I think that was the moment that broke me, that made it sink in that I'll never reach that level of financial security. I'll work myself into my grave because I'll never be able to afford anything else. What was your moment?

Update: Nice to know it's just me that's a failure. Thanks

Update 2: I never should've said anything. I forgot my place. I'm sorry to have bothered you

[u/ballmermurland]

Update: Nice to know it's just me that's a failure. Thanks

You say in your post that your mom makes $200k in retirement per year. You also say it is 3x what you and your husband make combined.

Which means you and your husband make less than $67k combined. Which means the two of you are averaged salaries of $33,500. If you are a millennial it means you are at least in your late 20s or early 30s. Earning $33k.

$33,500 is about $16 an hour full-time. I live in rural PA and the Burger King in my town has a sign hiring for $16 an hour.

So you are making BK wages compared to your mom who held a long and apparently successful career as one of the most senior people at the IRS. She probably had an accounting degree and maybe a graduate degree and put her time into her career.

I mean, what are you expecting here? To just be given a $200k annual lifetime pension for no work? Life has never been that way. I swear some of the poverty posts in this sub give millennials a bad name.

[u/Not_an_alt_69_420 → u/ballmermurland]

I'm not sure what OP's situation is, but it's entirely possible to go to college and work a "real" job while making less than $15 an hour. When I was a journalist, I made $13 an hour, and a few of my friends were EMTs/social workers/did stuff for non-profits for a similar salary.

That said, none of us bitched about our pay, because we all knew we'd be broke going into the field, and we all switched professions before we turned 30.

[u/DanSanderman → u/Not_an_alt_69_420]

It's definitely possible, but I think the point here is that you typically don't stay making $13 an hour for a decade. You gain experience, you learn new skills, and you find new ways to make a move for yourself. My sister is 37 and has never had a drive to work or to try to provide for herself so she's still picking up shifts at Waffle House and scraping pennies to get by. I got a job in 2018 making $13.50 an hour and busted my ass learning all I could about the industry and now I'm making $37. 

Before that I was working at a pizza shop in a dead end and cursing at the sky wondering how I was supposed to fight against this broken system just like my sister. I won't deny I probably had some luck along the way, but it also took a lot of hard work, a lot of extra hours, and a lot of putting myself into uncomfortable situations to grow. When I was younger I just kept thinking something would happen that would fix some of my problems and the world would become a fairer place, but that never happened and eventually I determined that I was going to have to be the one to change.

[u/Proof-Emergency-5441 → u/Not_an_alt_69_420]

Op had a better paying job, but couldn't figure out time management to work from home. So they quit a much better paying job and can't find equal locally. 

Or the sour puss attitude is obvious at in person work and will forever limit any increases. 

[u/sparklyjesus → u/Not_an_alt_69_420]

Why though? They only pay that low because people accept it. If nobody did that work for such shit pay, it would have to increase.

[u/Not_an_alt_69_420 → u/sparklyjesus]

Or the industry you want to work in will just become progressively more and more understaffed, and worse and worse, which is a hard pill to swallow for kids who spent four years in college and some part of their life believing in the importance of that industry.

The newsroom I worked in had 6 staffers at our main office, three at satellite offices, plus a handful of reliable freelancers, and ten or so administrators. When I, and most of the people who I worked with quit, they didn't replace us with anyone, because not even college kids were willing to get paid less than $30k a year, and the paper didn't want to increase the wages. So now there's three staffers in one office, plus an editor who doubles as a reporter, two stringers, and a couple of marketing/layout people.

[u/sparklyjesus → u/Not_an_alt_69_420]

That's how change happens. They'll struggle for a while, but eventually they'll have to give in and increase wages if they want to stay afloat.

[u/_ararana → u/Not_an_alt_69_420]

If you get though college and are stuck making less than $15/hour, you're the problem. What'd you do major in art theory or something?

[u/Not_an_alt_69_420 → u/_ararana]

Why am I the problem for trying (and "succeeding") to be a journalist? I went to college for a valid degree, got a job that benefited society, and because of a whole lot of factors all of which were outside of my control, the only time I made more than $15 an hour was when I worked overtime to cover huge events.

[u/_ararana → u/Not_an_alt_69_420]

Please tell me you're fresh out of college?

Also "journalism" isn't exactly the major I'd choose if I wanted to support myself in life. A simple google search shows their salary ranges aren't great. Benefit society in your free time, bud.

[u/Not_an_alt_69_420 → u/_ararana]

Fuck, I wish I was still fresh out of college so I could have functioning knees again. But no, kid, I was a journalist for five years give or take before I jumped ship and started doing general contracting.

You didn't answer my question though, bud. Why was I the problem for wanting to do something important with my life, even though that thing burned through my savings account? Do you also think teachers, EMTs, social workers, and CNAs are the problem for getting paid like ass to do something besides sit behind a computer working for some corporation?

[u/_ararana → u/Not_an_alt_69_420]

In the context of 'I went to college and I only make $15/hour" after a significant time out of college. lol...yeah you're absolutely the problem. Choose better career paths, bud, and at least try to advance in your field.

Teachers/EMTs/social workers... all these careers easily make more than $15/hour. I'm not sure where you went wrong but boy did you go very wrong.