this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2024
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United States | News & Politics
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That's a common feeling among the children of well off parents when the parents are budgeting properly. What happens is that the parents do the smart thing and invest the extra and set aside an emergency fund. Having to dip into either one is psychologically a failure. They have a budget, and they only "struggle" because they want to stay within that budget.
That might mean having store brand mac and cheese for lunch and driving a ten year old Toyota Corolla. To their children, they don't seem well off. In fact, they're the only people who can be properly considered middle class. That is, instead of being one step away from being homeless, they're two steps.
If I had kids I could see how they misinterpret things I say and anxieties I express as implying we're struggling. I was unemployed for a while last year and had to dip into savings. My new job pays less and our savings haven't been noticably growing so it's making me say things like "do we need this?" or "can we spend less on Christmas?" We still have a very large buffer (and we're fortunate to have it). But I could definitely see a naive child thinking it meant things were very rough for us.