I'm sure you guys have heard the news that most 20 and 30-year-old "middle class" Americans will never be able to attain the standard of living that their parents attained. Will we be able to afford three and four bedroom houses? Multiple cars? Two-week family vacations? Retirement at 60? (PS I realize that the American standard of living is slightly ridiculous and wasteful and that we use more than our fair share of the world's resources)

My parents were public school teachers all their lives, but we live in the second poorest county in Minnesota - so those paltry salaries went much further than they would elsewhere. I grew up in a four bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house on a lake, with three cars and long vacations every summer. That being said, the house is a very un-fancy 70s ranch, the cars are Fords and those vacations were mostly camping.

Unless I marry someone who makes a lot of money, I doubt very much that I'll be able to afford a life like that.

What about you? Will you be able to live a life like your parents?

It's the same here in the UK. My parents (a nurse and an engineer who now runs his own business) bought our wreck of a house almost 20 years ago, have done it up and now it's worth a lot of money. We live in a nice area, have 2 cars, used to go on family holidays abroad every other year (mostly camping or staying in fixed caravans on campsites). I don't think I'll ever be able to afford half of what they have. At my age they were both working, saving up. My last job lasted 6 months, and now I'm out of work again. I've got a Masters degree, but it doesn't seem to have got me anywhere.
My life will not be like my parents were able to give my sister and I at this rate. Which is a shame, it's been a nice life.

I grew up just outside the Scottish city of Aberdeen and was raised by psychiatric nurses, one of which took early retirement for health reasons. Aberdeen is a pretty expensive place to live so despite the salary being fairly decent living costs were much higher.

I no longer live in Aberdeen, but in Dundee which has a much smaller economy, and everything is dirt cheap from my point of view. I don't intend staying here forever and its hard to know where I'll end up; maybe Scotland somewhere. I'm also not entirely sure what job I want so that makes it even harder to know if I'll ever have a three bedroom house, 2 cars (albeit two very non-fancy cars) and the ability to raise one child comfortably whilst holidaying abroad most years.

My parents grew up poor and it was important to them to have nice things to show how far they'd come in the world. We lived in a large 4 bedroom colonial house in the best school district in the area in a relatively expensive region.

My husband and I have very different priorities - we like nice things, too, but only if we like them, not because they are generally considered nice. We pay way less than we can afford in mortgage because we'd rather eat out now and again and buy crazy things when we are in the mood and keep ourselves in tea. We'll buy a bigger house when we can afford it. My parents bought their house then lived on pb&j until they got raises.

my parents divorced pretty early in my life and lived in one of the most expensive places on the planet (sf bay area), so we were pretty poor growing up. we also lived in a 70's ranch - ish house, drove crap cars and "vacationed" on a ranch with an outhouse (to this day, i hate camping).

my husband and i still live in an expensive state, but in a much less expensive city. we're committed to living debt free (except the house) and love finding things second hand or doing without. we're both teachers, so we're not making a ton of money, but we're both stable in our careers.

staying married to my partner probably will be the best financial decision - good thing we still really like each other.

(I had posted this the other day but it seems to have been in the wrong place doh!)

I have lived in the UK my whole life – I’ve been elsewhere for a week or two here and there but that’s not really living elsewhere lol. Growing up my Mum was a SAHM till I was in Middle School (erm like year 6 or 7) we were a 1 income family. I remember my Mum working as a cashier when I was really little and then when I was pre-teen she started doing lots of ironing and bits for friends who were working. I know that me and my brother didn't have the trendiest clothes or the biggest expensive presents but thing is I think now being on the other side and earning the money I realise how much my parents gave us in the sense of a roof over our heads or the shoes on our feet - I know it probably sounds kinda silly but yeah they aren't presents in the normal sense of something you can wrap in paper and pretty ribbons but they show love and care.

That’s kinda where her own business started so by the time I was in 6th Form (Aged 16/17) she was in a full time job of her own. I moved out when I got married at 21 – at first I didn’t have a job but we found our way round it – I cleaned toilets for 3 months between leaving the temp job I got after uni and the first proper job I got as a graduate – yeah it sucked but it put some cash in my pocket.

We’re now in our own home but pretty much the whole (we’re talking like 80-85%) of my OH’s pay check goes on the mortgage mine then covers council tax, energy bills, car maintenance etc. We do get some treats in there like we can eat out maybe 2 or 3 times in a month and I have a subscription for the cinema so I can go and see as many films as I like for a set fee.
I know we can’t splash out on a super nice holiday or a brand new car but at the same time I’m happy with what I’ve got – I have a car that gets from A to B, I have a MacBook that yes is 3 years old and the CD drive is busted but it still works, I have a roof over my head that keeps me dry and warm – it’s somewhere I can call home.

When I was very young my parents were making just above minimum wage. They both worked as TV/Radio hosts (you don't make much off that here in Malta, I'm afraid) and we lived in a little maisonette decked out with lots of hand-me-down furniture.

Then dad opened his travel agency and that did really well so most of my childhood/adolescence was spent travelling throughout the summer - sometimes we'd visit five places in one year. By the time I was 14, I'd already hit three continents.

My parents bought a nice 3-bedroom, 4 bathroom terraced house with a basement flatlet and a roof garden.

My parents bought me my 3-bed apartment in the suburbs a couple of years ago, so I'm lucky I didn't have to pay rent. Now, though, I'm moving country. I worked for three years since uni and have saved up enough money to see me through the year while I do my masters, but I'll obviously not be able to afford many luxuries.

I know my parents are always there if I need them but I don't like having to ask them for cash now, after all they did for me. It's great to have a safety blanket but I'd like to go out there and earn my own living. Hopefully, this master's degree will mean I get a decently-paid job somewhere in the world and I'll be able to afford pretty things again.

I think my priorities are a lot different than my parents - they went straight into full time work after high school, got married and had kids early, bought the cheapest house possible in their early 20's and slowly built up wealth through working hard and careful money management.

At my age, my parents were having kids and buying houses and probably had more money than I do. However, I've been to uni, traveled the world and frittered money away on restaurants, bars and clothes.

I think I could've lived like my parents if I chose, but my life has gone in a different direction through my own choices

Growing up it was just me, my Mum and my Brother. We definitely didn't have a lot of money. Mum was really good with budgeting though, and while I knew we weren't loaded, I never really felt like I missed out on stuff. Instead I really cherished whatever I had. I remember my Brother buying me a Rolling Stone magazine for my 15th birthday and I don't think I'd ever been happier!

Now my husband and I earn good money and are on track to earn even better. I've enjoyed being able to buy new things whenever I want, but I find what I really want to is to go back to a state of appreciating the little things.