CNN Poll: Are you better off than your parents?

[MissB]

16. Plain lucky, then. Not exceptional.

My dad didn't go to college, but he did steel detailing for most of his career. He never liked staying in one place, so the constant upheaval took a financial toll. A divorce took another chunk of money and stability out of our childhood. Mom worked as a waitress.

Both have remarried. Dad is retired and living with his also retired wife in Florida. Mom lives on a meager SS check and local food banks. She lives in a house owned by my brother.

I paid my way through college, earning an engineering degree and mid-sized student loans.

Dh's dad was a logger until a horrible logging accident crippled him. His mom worked as a bookkeeper. They are both retired, living mostly on his retirement.

Dh's parents paid for his college, where he too earned an engineering degree.

Our parents are able to live comfy and take an occaisonal vacation.

Dh is a bit more than 50; I'm a decade younger. We are better off financially but that's due to our choice of careers and plain luck. We will be more comfy in retirement than our parents.