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How big of a role did joining the military have in your success?
I can't answer for the OP but I can for my circumstance, which is somewhat similar to the OP's story.
The military aspect for me was a tremendous help, but could also see that it would be a hindrance to staying longer than 9 years. I learned English, got a GED, and started College.
The best advice was from an officer who already had a degree and came back for additional education in the computer field. He said for me to switch from accounting to computer programming and anything else computer related. This was in the early 1960s and I followed his advice and retired from the field in 1991.
I think it takes very strong parenting in upper middle and upper class households for the kids to keep perspective. Unfortunately, most parents in that income range are so busy with that which brings in the money that their kids don't get the attention they need. Affluenza is real.
I'm from a small family with only 2 kids, and we were lower middle class when I was young, but solidly middle class by the time I graduated HS. I have great parents who were very frugal, and my dad had grown up legitimately poor. He taught me to value every dollar I earned, and they both modeled a work ethic that have served me well. They also encouraged/allowed me to work from a young age, and I was mowing yards at 14, mowing and throwing newspapers at 15, and got my first real job as soon as I was eligible at 16.
My wife grew up poor, raised by a single mother, and never went to college. However, she's devilishly smart and together we've leaned into our careers and marriage and have far outpaced anyone in our respective families in terms of financial success. Hard work is a lot of that, but raw intelligence is our greatest asset (and statistically the biggest predictor of financial success, even if the political left refuses to believe that).
I was born in a bamboo hut in a 3rd world jungle. No doctor, just a midwife. My parents survived attacks from the Japanese during WW2 and then grew up in the aftermath and rebuilding. My parents are college educated, but after moving to the US, their degrees didn't translate over so they got factory jobs to support the family. Since they grew up in adversity, they knew how to spend very little and make the most of what they had. They were able to buy houses, cars etc and used debt responsibly. While they did contribute to 401k at work, they had no knowledge of investing and so their savings didn't grow huge, but more than what they contributed.
From them I learned the saving, austerity and hard work. I learned about investing by reading books at the library, so with the money I saved by living well below my means, I was able to buy a rental property and cash flow. The renters paid down my mortgage and I'm now living in it with a 42k loan at 1.875%. PITI is about 750 and extremely manageable with my 6 figure income. I can pay it off at anytime but my money works for me in my brokerage account. I learned about stock investing from library books and blogs, along with podcasts as they became available. My mortgage is my only debt and all my vehicles are paid off. My net worth is over a million dollars and will probably hit 2 as the market recovers since I've continued investing. My income and our low expenses allow my wife to stay home to raise our kids and homeschool. My wife taught for 10 years so she's well equipped to be their teacher
The benefit of growing up in the higher class is that the parents have the ability to help their children and pass along the knowledge that got them there. Since I grew up poor, I had the advantage of being able to take risks as I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I've told my Dad I'm glad I was born poor as it's a lesson to not be back there. My parents were only able to help the oldest to go to college. I never finished school, but didn't take out any loans. I went to work, got certifications and moved up in my career.
I have UTMA accounts for my kids and I'm trying to teach them early what I learned on my own about investing. We include the kids in financial discussions and try to relate things to their level. My daughter has earned money through extra chores and bought a toy. She then realized she can't keep buying things or she'll run out of money. I'm glad she's learning things early when the stakes are low. Of course I'll help my children financially, but I also want to make sure they're not being frivolous. When I met my girlfriend, she had some credit card debt. I showed her the math on how to get rid of it in 1.5 years. She went all out, even canceling Netflix etc to get a little more money. She paid it off faster than planned and the extra income allowed her to open a Roth IRA. She's been upgraded to wife and that's the kind of help I'll provide if the kids got themselves in trouble financially.
So far the oldest at 6 wants to be a landlord too. The next oldest wants to open a pizzeria. The youngest is content in being adorable. Their living a much better lifestyle than I ever did at their age. They've gone in week long vacations at ocean front Beach houses. If we went to the beach it was for a few days and we were camping and cooking our own food. Anyways I'm now living the American dream of a house with a picket fence, complete with one polish grandmother and an Italian/Irish grandmother on my wife's side.
I also cannot answer for the OP but the military gave me a head start in life. My Dad was a school teacher and the single wage earner. We were not poor but other then the essentials we had little else. I joined the US Navy out of High School. I was a US Navy trained electrician in the Submarine Service. When I got of the navy I had a few job offers but one was a test technician at a major computer company. This was my introduction to the computer business. I advanced by changing jobs every few years. I got into Sales and Marketing and earned a very good living. At age 52 the company I worked for got bought out and I had to cash my stock options. I took the money and bought a small business. I sold the business and retired at age 62. I never looked back. I am financially comfortable and I owe no one any money. Had the US Navy not launched (pun intended) me in the direction I took, who knows what would have happened.
I grew up really broke as hell. Graduated high school, flipped burgers, joined the military, gained some skills, finished college, and became a contractor.
Yes, I would sum it up by saying it was all due to serving in the military. I do believe it is one of the greatest social mobility ladders in America. No question.
I think it takes very strong parenting in upper middle and upper class households for the kids to keep perspective. Unfortunately, most parents in that income range are so busy with that which brings in the money that their kids don't get the attention they need. Affluenza is real.
I'm from a small family with only 2 kids, and we were lower middle class when I was young, but solidly middle class by the time I graduated HS. I have great parents who were very frugal, and my dad had grown up legitimately poor. He taught me to value every dollar I earned, and they both modeled a work ethic that have served me well. They also encouraged/allowed me to work from a young age, and I was mowing yards at 14, mowing and throwing newspapers at 15, and got my first real job as soon as I was eligible at 16.
My wife grew up poor, raised by a single mother, and never went to college. However, she's devilishly smart and together we've leaned into our careers and marriage and have far outpaced anyone in our respective families in terms of financial success. Hard work is a lot of that, but raw intelligence is our greatest asset (and statistically the biggest predictor of financial success, even if the political left refuses to believe that).
If you come from an upper middle class ground, you're already at third base.
I'd also say where you lived growing up also plays an important part. I grew up in a small city in northeast TN. There isn't much of a professional/business class here. You don't grow up learning the ways of professional culture here. Life would have been much easier had I grown up in the suburbs of a major city vs. Appalachia.
I grew up in a blue collar town to parents born in 1920. They were wonderful parents and hardworking. I am the youngest and she went back to work when I was 12. They stressed that we should all live at home for free and go to college while working part time. They would loan the tuition with no interest and you could slowly pay it back once working.
Our vacation was renting a cabin up north and we never ate out until my mom went to work. They had my dad’s pension and saved for retirement.
My father worked for the power company and we were middle class in every way. Had nice brick home but drove older cars for the most part. Mom went to work in 1965 to send my sister and I to college.
My wife's father was a railroader making 2x what normal people made. But he was an alcoholic and drank up his money. They had 5 kids living in a 2 bedroom apartment. They got a hot dog with a bun 1x per year. No sugar in the house. No phone, no television and no car. No wonder my wife ran out and married at 17 to the first person that paid her attention.
Although we were middle class, my parents always had nice friends. And Mom was president of the state PTA and active somewhat in politics. She was close friends with judges, Congressmen and U.S. Senators.
I went off to college, and many of my fraternity brothers ended up movers and shakers in a big city. One friend's father was the governor of our state and he has now been on the State Court of Appeals for many years.
You can grow up poor, but it's what's between your ears that can take you to bigger and better places. Don't sell yourself short with your abilities. It's all up to you to make a better life. And often it's the people who have been placed in your path that make the difference.
If you come from an upper middle class ground, you're already at third base.
I'd also say where you lived growing up also plays an important part. I grew up in a small city in northeast TN. There isn't much of a professional/business class here. You don't grow up learning the ways of professional culture here. Life would have been much easier had I grown up in the suburbs of a major city vs. Appalachia.
You think it would have been easier. You might be right. But you might not be.
What Take a History Class said about kids from affluent backgrounds in major metro areas being neglected by their own parents is no joke. Lots of kids in Silicon Valley where I lived have parents too busy making money to actually be parents. Life in the expensive metro areas is a scramble, even for people in the upper middle class, as it typically takes 2 professional level incomes to afford a 3BR house in an ok school district.
However, if you're talking a mid sized metro area with a more reasonable cost of living, you might be right.
My family when born was poor with my mom single. She was actually just couch surfing at friends places with no permanent place to live after she found out about being pregnant we lived with my grandmother. When she was growing up from what I heard she and my grandmother were many times living with friends or the friends living with them.
She eventually married my stepfather who was in the navy and we ended up moving to CA. We lived in housing and on navy bases. I will say that because of all of that I lived a very safe child hood and didn't have a lot of the crime issues that others did. She never worried about my safety on the base.She was not very good with money but we always had food to eat and the other services.
Things later happened and we with my 2 brothers moved back home with my grandmother. While the place she lived in worked for her it was very poor and fitting all 5 of us in a 1 bed room duplex was a bit cramped. After a few changes in living we eventually moved back together with all of us contributing to a house hold fund to pay house hold bills. This allowed us to live in much better places than our individual jobs would have allowed.
i eventually went to community college and got a degree and started making the most money I have ever made which didn't need the degree. Getting the Associate degree opened some doors and the pell grants paid for the education making it free. I am also currently improving my education with certificates in IT and other interests to make me more marketable and for funall for very little or free.
I also got the house we live in owner financed and then refinanced into a normal loan. In the middle of that my grandmother died and my mom became disabled. For a time covered everything.
At the moment I have a paid off car, a job making great money, no debt except the house and my mom and brother is contributing to the house hold for rent and food.
I am building retirement saving, investing and finding good working investing strategies., My bills are very low taking about 1/4 of my net income.The household bills are very small and split 3 ways makes them even smaller. Also the house has a income property that I live in with mom and bro living in the main house so I have privacy. When I retire the income will pay all the house bills with the house paid off making it so I live for free. A true asset.
In case of job loss my bills will easily be covered by unemployment or federal minimum wage,although its not the going rate currently, if need be. Watching others handle their finances badly I learned what not to do and have become very good at it. The quicken software really taught me how to control my finances. i am now building my savings, retirement, investments and passive streams of income. With the house paying for it self I should be very set in retirement.
Current my next goal is to pay off the house lowering my bills even more. I hope to actually retire earlier at about 55 or so. I have 10 years left to pay off the house and build my investments to make me money.
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Family was middle income living
