# is your family poor?



## QuintinsMommy

yesterday in my sociology class are teacher told us teen pregnancy is a higher rate in low income familys..

so was your family poor? 

mine was more in the middle we were very poor when I was younger my mom was on welfare and worked but we didn't have many extras then my mom got remarried and we bought a house had nicer stuff etxra...


----------



## 17thy

Nope, my family was middle class ($65K income a year). But the amount of money you have doesn't have anything to do with the kind of people raising you. I think that has an effect on teen pregnancy rates more than income does. At least for me it did.


----------



## xCookieDough

*Lower working class*


----------



## JadeBaby75

Not really....my dad makes a very good living, then my mom and step-dad who has raised me did fairly well. While I do believe that TP occurs more in low income families do to education and oppurtunity a teen parent can come from any end of the spectrum! Look at Jamie Lynn Spears or that girl Chelsea from Teen Mom!


----------



## QuintinsMommy

17thy said:


> Nope, my family was middle class ($65K income a year). But the amount of money you have doesn't have anything to do with the kind of people raising you. I think that has an effect on teen pregnancy rates more than income does. At least for me it did.

yes but love isn't going to put food on the table,let your child go to private schools, some sports programs are very expensive , where you live ,if your mother/father has to work all the time to make ends meet she is less likely to be home ,chances are you will live in a poorer area (so you are more likely to be a wrong the wrong people..etc..


----------



## QuintinsMommy

JadeBaby75 said:


> Not really....my dad makes a very good living, then my mom and step-dad who has raised me did fairly well. While I do believe that TP occurs more in low income families do to education and oppurtunity a teen parent can come from any end of the spectrum! Look at Jamie Lynn Spears or that girl Chelsea from Teen Mom!

oh I agree that teen pregnancy can happen to any teen who has sex no matter what their parents make..just according to Canadian statics its higher in low inccome familys


----------



## Hotbump

TBH I've seen more pregnant teens in lower class than in higher class. I guess parents working 2 jobs,never being at home, bad friends, drugs, struggling with money ect. has an impact on their children. Im not aiming at lower class as I am myself OH makes about $17k a year


----------



## JadeBaby75

QuintinsMommy said:


> JadeBaby75 said:
> 
> 
> Not really....my dad makes a very good living, then my mom and step-dad who has raised me did fairly well. While I do believe that TP occurs more in low income families do to education and oppurtunity a teen parent can come from any end of the spectrum! Look at Jamie Lynn Spears or that girl Chelsea from Teen Mom!
> 
> oh I agree that teen pregnancy can happen to any teen who has sex no matter what their parents make..just according to Canadian statics its higher in low inccome familysClick to expand...

Oh I definitley believe that to be true in most places. Usually lower income families live in areas where the education system is poor and there are very poor and there are very few options for extracurricular activites. Some NOT all resort to poor decision making because of these things. The enviorment that you are raised in plays the most critical role in the choices that you will make. I have friends who have chosen to be teen moms purely because they said they had nothing else to do with thier life. Cycles such as domestic violence, TP, drugs, are very tough to break and a lot of people do, but at the same time most don't even realize that they are in it. :thumbup:


----------



## bumpy_j

we were poor when i was growing up as we lived soley on benefits and in a council house but my dad was a bit of a prick and spent all our money on solo holidays and prozzies (awkward) - my mum was studying full time so she didnt have a job and was in uni debt. now she's quite well off and has a pHD and my dad is still pretty poor and quite rubbishly tried to use me to get a council house not too long ago because I had a baby. there's a huge contrast between them.


----------



## rainbows_x

We got by, my dad has worked in the same job for 35 years, always very good with money and always tried his best to spoil us. My mum has done small jobs up until a few years ago, now she has a very well paying job. They are well off, can afford holidays when they want etc and they are really good with budgeting etc. I hope I am like them when I'm older :) - that sounded so childish lol.


----------



## princess_vix

my family is not poor,not millionaires they just have money for lots of extras holidays ect x


----------



## 17thy

QuintinsMommy said:


> 17thy said:
> 
> 
> Nope, my family was middle class ($65K income a year). But the amount of money you have doesn't have anything to do with the kind of people raising you. I think that has an effect on teen pregnancy rates more than income does. At least for me it did.
> 
> yes but love isn't going to put food on the table,let your child go to private schools, some sports programs are very expensive , where you live ,if your mother/father has to work all the time to make ends meet she is less likely to be home ,chances are you will live in a poorer area (so you are more likely to be a wrong the wrong people..etc..Click to expand...

My mother worked from 7am-6pm every night, my dad wouldn't come home until midnight sometimes. They had to work all the time to make that 65K a year too. It didn't just arrive in our mailbox while they were sitting at home all the time. My husbands family also had a pretty decent income. Which is how he had a motorcycle, which is how he drove it over to my house and got me pregnant. :haha: Had we both been from poor families we couldn't have even seen or met each other.


----------



## Tanara

_My Family is quite well off, Everyone owns their house, has harleys, boats, campers, brand new vehicles, summer vehicles lol. Not that that has anything to do with me getting pregnant, I was just a stupid girl who wasnt taught anything about sex._


----------



## unconditional

no we had it very well off. my dad worked very very hard for his money and he made a lot of it. my Mom worked very hard until something changed for her and she took a turn for the worst... but our family was very lucky to be where we were and we weren't left without anything. :thumbup:


----------



## AirForceWife7

My mom and dad were in the working middle class, we weren't poor, but we were always tight on money and budgeted as best we could.

I think statistics are bs :haha:

:flower:


----------



## xx~Lor~xx

Not particularly. Certainly not rich, but not poor either. We always did okay :) Probably put us working middle class. Both parents have always worked, dad used to work away a LOT.


----------



## amygwen

We are middle-class, my parents combined make like $60K/year, which really isn't much but they don't have many bills to pay out. I don't know about that statistic, my sister and her husband make $150K a year and my other sister and brother-in-law make like $90K a year, they're both quite young too (30's) so.. I'm probably going to end up like my parents though!! :(


----------



## divershona

my parents both worked really hard and we always had money for holidays, private school, boarding school etc. 

i went to a state school after i got kicked out of boarding school ... i wanted out so badly!!!!! but yeah in my year at boarding school there were 8 girls pregnant before they finished high-school (there were about 50 grls in the year) but in my state school there were only 2 girls pregnant before the end of high school and there were about 200 girls in my year then!!!!!

realistically i don't think it matters how much money your family has i think its more about the time you spend with your kids that makes a difference.


----------



## xforuiholdonx

We were never rich, but never poor either. My mom makes a decent living working for the state, and my dad was a heavy diesel mechanic, who wokred sixty hour weeks and brought home $60k alone. We struggled with things, christmases and such were never to outrageous, but we were happy. DH's family is the same. The first pregnancy was an 'o it wont happen to us moment' and the second pregnancy was planned.


----------



## x__amour

No. My dad makes more than 6 figures a year but with the way my mom controls his money and her gambling addiction, it doesn't leave much. :growlmad:


----------



## tasha41

I guess my parents are middle class- they make about $160k. They both always have new cars, they have a nice house, they have travelled... paid for all of my sister's education so far and helped with mine... I guess it's perception though, they were doing pretty well, but we didn't live in a nice new house in the suburbs and they didn't buy me a car as soon as I was old enough to drive like many of my classmates


----------



## vinteenage

We were lower middle class, Id say. We always had food on the table, my sister and I took dance/acting/singing lessons, but we shopped mostly at Walmart, Payless, Target and didn't take vacations.

Both my parents are struggling more now, but I didn't grow up like that.


----------



## annawrigley

No my family are well off


----------



## BrEeZeY

we got by, my dad worked days and my mom worked nights, there was always food on the table but my dad was in college when i was born, his local blood drive gave money to those who gave blood regularly and those who gave plasma and he did that for along time to buy diapers, and then after he graduated things got alot easier...

i am more financially stable now than what my parents were when i was even as old as 10-12 

where i live, the middle class families are the ones whose kids get pregnant young (i was like the first person in my school in almost 15-20 yrs to get pregnant)


----------



## EllaAndLyla

My parents are split up but were together for the most of my life anyway... Dad earns 60k a year (he's a banker lol!) and mum earns 18k a year. Out of all my friends I was the 'poorest' everyone seemed to beable to afford nice clothes etc but my family spent our money on different things like holidays etc.. We had a massive mortgage on our house too which is still being paid off so it takes away a lot of spare money, plus the two cars, food for four each week. We were well off but we didn't have many luxuries like designer clothes and that.. Primark is my hometown! Now I am a mum I am poor though, I live off benefits at the moment, hoping to change that in january though :D x


----------



## ONoez2010

^^ lol me too my dad made about $80-ish i think? he's a doctor and my mom is a psychologist XD

anywayy we were middle class i guess.. their income was about $140k i think but yeah we were definitely not poor.. then they got divorced but we are still middle class, if that makes sense xD


----------



## lauram_92

Not exactly well off, but we manage to get by.


----------



## rockys-mumma

My family were a working class family, my dad went to work and my mum stayed at home with me and my brother until we were both in the juniors and then she got a part time job within school hours. We never went without anything we needed but we were not spoilt. We had holidays but not many abroad. When my dad passed away he was obviously the bread winner so that was the end of that. He did have life insurance but most of the money paid for the rest of the mortgage on the house and then I guess me and my brother got a little spoiled for about 6 months then that was the end of that lol. My mum has continued to work part time but doesnt earn much and so thefore relied on pensions and stuff I have never just been given anything for no reason, even my first car I had to save up for myself. My mum did help me out but still it was just a £1000 car, not nothing amazing and she did this because she didnt want us to think everything was handed to us on a plate and given to us and that we had to earn things. 

I am happy with the way I was raised, we didnt go without but were not spoilt and I am glad we went without things like holidays abroad and brand new cars to have my mum at home with us, to pick us up from school and stuff. I work in a nursery and the kids are there from 7.30 am until sometimes 7 at night, the kids have more awake hours with their carers a week than they do with their parents and that makes me sad! :(

I dont want to work full time while Alfie (or other future children) are small and if that makes us poor then so be it, but I dont think it makes us like living in poverty or anything. Money is important but is not the be all and end all of having a happy child/family.


And also believe that teen pregnancy is more common within low income families but the statistics are taken out of the bigger picture, working class women are found to have different values, such as putting having a family before having a career (not in priority, chronologically.) Also they are also seen to have more traditional views of family such as the male breadwinner ect etc ugh i cant even be bothered to go into it, I could write so much about it I might aswell go back to a level sociology or uni lol :haha:


----------



## vaniilla

my parents combined used to earn well over £100k (its closer to 70k now as they were sick of London and moved and got different jobs) so were far from poor, I think everything effects it and income is only one slice of a big cake :flower:


----------



## bbyno1

My parents arnt well off at all.


----------



## rileybaby

no, ive grown up in a middle class family - who are also very strict, hence why half my family dont talk to me any more :shrug:


----------



## wishuwerehere

I think this thread says more about the demographic that uses this website, as a pretty high percentage of people have said 'not rich but not poor' or words to that effect lol.


----------



## annawrigley

rileybaby said:


> no, ive grown up in a middle class family - who are also very strict, hence why half my family dont talk to me any more :shrug:

:( That sucks. Some of my family are pretty snobby but thankfully are all fine with Noah.


----------



## Mei190

What an odd statistic. 

And short answer, no definately not poor. 
@rileybaby, that is a shame! I understand where you coming from as certain family members for me were the same but they are just about coming around to it now.


----------



## stephx

Nooo I grew up with a single mum on benefits with a huuuge debt problem. We didn't even have hot water, heating or a fridge :haha:

Then I moved to my grandparents who were middle class, I was 15 then so they didn't give me money or anything- I had a job and paid rent it was just a roof over my head lol so I wasn't actually raised middle class x


----------



## bumpy_j

I went to a same sex grammar school with tonnes of upper middle class & filthy rich girls and so many in my year have had abortions, 3 have had babies (inc. me) and 1 is currently expecting. :shrug:


----------



## kimmy04

I don't really believe this statistic. My dad was only 23 when I was born, and my parents are both well off. And OH and I are doing pretty well for ourselves.


----------



## Bexxx

I do have a wealthy family, but my parents have no where near the amount of money my aunts and uncles have. But they are also the only ones who had kids. I never realised it growing up though, I was the 'poorest' of my friends and honestly thought I had it so bad. 

OH on the other hand does come from a pretty poor background. His family is comprised of single mums as they've all divorced and are just getting by on benefits. They always joke about it, it's actually kind of weird. Like there literally isn't a couple together... He's the oldest person in his family to have a child (at 20!)


----------



## LauraBee

We've always been poor, but my mom managed to conceal that from us until recently, when I asked how much her income was. She's raised four kids (and three dogs) on less than £5k/year - used to be less and years ago we were on benefits. She's still entitled to a few different benefits but doesn't apply for them. We've never felt "poor" - like I knew we were on low income but I was really shocked to find out just how little it was. I guess that's why I'm always sceptical when people say they "have no money" for something they _need_ - there's always things you can spend less on :thumbup:


----------



## AriannasMama

We make an average amount of money, we don't have loads of extra to splurge or anything though.

OH's mom struggles a lot, she's a CNA and makes just enough to cover bills, OH's sister has to get food for the house with her food stamps but usually ends up blowing it on things that only last one meal and cost too much.


----------



## lizardbreath

My parents are not rich by any strech of the means but they try. My dads on disablity because he was a Thalidomide baby. So yeah I guess you could say we were poor but me and my oh do great.


----------



## we can't wait

We were lower class. We qualified for state help, but my dad had too much pride and wouldn't except it, beacuse he grew up very poor, and wanted to make something of himself. Instead, he worked three jobs. He's one of the hardest working men I know. The income level of my household had very little to do with me becoming a young mother. 

I loved my sociology class, though. I didn't agree with everything... but it is interesting.


----------



## airbear

My parents split when I was young. My dad owns his own company and is a contractor but makes enough to pay his bills and live comfortably. He doesn't have overly nice things and hasn't ever owned a new car. His house he bought before I was born and it was really cheap then. He still owns the same house and it is probably 1300sqft. My mom was a single mom who raised and supported us financially. My dad owes her over $40k in child support but has paid some as well. My mom worked for a small company as a bookkeeper for over 15 years and got to work from home. I would say she probably made under $40k/year. We didn't live off benefits but we were living paycheck to paycheck. We were definitely spoiled on our birthdays and chirstmas. We never went on vacation other than visiting family one state away. When I got a job at 16 I bought my own clothes and saved up for my own car. A year ago my mom was laid off and was unemployed for a few months. During that time she was unable to afford housing and moved into the basement apartment of my younger sister's boyfriends family. She's been there since about January and isn't close to ready to move out to her own place yet. I believe she is still living paycheck to paycheck and is also using food stamps. We were probably considered low to middle class growing up and I enjoyed my childhood and don't think it had an effect on me becoming a young mom.


----------



## 10.11.12

No we weren't. Both my parents have masters degrees and my dad is a surgeon and makes a better than average wage and my step mom owns a small flower shop. My mom and stepdad are both teachers and make quite a bit as well. My brothers and I were always comfortable and never really had to worry about "adult" things like money. All three of us held part-time babysitting/lawn mowing jobs from about 14 though for some extra cash. My parents worked hard to put us through private schools and sports and summer camps.


----------



## Strawberrymum

when i was younger and lived in the uk we were poor. when we moved to new zealand we could afford a bit more. then when i was 15ish my parents got back together and we were probably middle-upper class, still had to budget but got to go on regular family holiday etc


----------



## Desi's_lost

tasha41 said:


> I guess my parents are middle class- they make about $160k. They both always have new cars, they have a nice house, they have travelled... paid for all of my sister's education so far and helped with mine... I guess it's perception though, they were doing pretty well, but we didn't live in a nice new house in the suburbs and they didn't buy me a car as soon as I was old enough to drive like many of my classmates

Holy hell, 160k a year sounds like upper class to me.

Honestly, my mom was poor as she was a single mom, then she met my step dad and they made prolly 60k a year for a while as they owned a painting business until i was 10ish. BUT living in an upper class town, I always felt poor. Had they been smart and hired workers and kept the business as they should have, we'd probably still be middle class but as my dad has a thing for get rich quick shit, id say we're on the lower class/lower middle class line. 

That had nothing to do with me getting pregnant though. My lack of feeling loved and low self confidence led me to a foolish abusive relationship. FOB's family is upper-middle class if not more.


----------



## we can't wait

Desi's_lost said:


> tasha41 said:
> 
> 
> I guess my parents are middle class- they make about $160k. They both always have new cars, they have a nice house, they have travelled... paid for all of my sister's education so far and helped with mine... I guess it's perception though, they were doing pretty well, but we didn't live in a nice new house in the suburbs and they didn't buy me a car as soon as I was old enough to drive like many of my classmates
> 
> Holy hell, 160k a year sounds like upper class to me.Click to expand...

Shiiit. I'd have to agree.

I guess it depends on how you spend your money. :shrug:


----------



## Burchy314

Middle class. We never really struggled for money, but we didn't really treat ourselves all the time.


----------



## Mii

I think some people would think my family is more leaning towards the "upper-class" semi- middle lol and to add I was in alot of sport (Still am) and activities and well.. I still got pregnant :shrug:


----------



## mayb_baby

Middle class


----------



## bumpy_j

we can't wait said:


> We were lower class. We qualified for state help, but my dad had too much pride and wouldn't except it, beacuse he grew up very poor, and wanted to make something of himself. Instead, he worked three jobs. He's one of the hardest working men I know. The income level of my household had very little to do with me becoming a young mother.

that's awesome!


----------



## _laura

We were quite poor. My dad had money but he hid it from us and the only money we were left with was what we bought our flat with. Mum survived on her wage and benefits. Me and my brother worked from 14+ so we had our own money.

Me and OH are better off than my mum was.


----------



## Lauraxamy

When I was younger my parents didn't have much money, they were both young etc. They don't do too bad now but aren't really well off but they're comfortable and can afford nice things. My grandparents are well off though.


----------



## emyandpotato

Doing well now but parents started out poor. Definitely not a stereotypical lower class family though.


----------



## smatheson

Not poor but not rich. My dad majes 73k a year and my mom got very ill when she was 35 years old so had to go on disability so she cant work. She was about to be promoted to a project manager so she would have been making more than my dad if she had not gotten sick and was still able to work. But everything happens for a reason and my dad is amazing and always made sure we didnt go without.


----------



## lb

We didn't have a lot of money either. My dad is very hardworking, and when his company went under, my mom worked two jobs to support us. Now my dad has a very good job and is making good money, but the government is taking his money, so we have to live with some support from my grandparents, which is fine. I'm sure the IRS will stop taking my dad's money soon.
As for me supporting Kayla, I'm dirt poor and the govt won't help me. I'm trying my hardest to make enough money to get us by week by week.


----------



## Rhio92

When my parents were together, we had plenty of money, and used to go on 2-3 holidays a year, and stuff. Now, they're divorced, we barely have a penny, my dad doesn't pay maintenance for my brother (or me when I was younger) x


----------



## aidensxmomma

Technically, my mom (which is who I grew up with) is poor....like really poor. She works as a waitress. However, she's amazing at saving money and only spending it where she needs to, so my brother and I never went without anything. We've been able to take family trips, my mom has a pool, my brother and I always got to go on class trips, etc. So due to my mom's amazing money management we lived more like a middle class family than a lower class family. :thumbup: My OH's family is middle-class and he still got me pregnant, so income probably doesn't have that much to do with it. :shrug:


----------



## lily123

When we were growing up i'd say we were upper middle class? I went to private school for a while and had all sorts of dancing and music classes, but my parents are VERY hard workers, and sensible with money. My dad built up his business from nothing, and works his fingers to the bone, same with my mum, i'm really proud of them. We were by no means spoilt, me and my brothers had jobs from the age of 14/15.

Me and Esmee are doing alright, i do two jobs and my modelling so we're okay. By no means flush, but not struggling. I'm fairly sensible with money too :thumbup:


----------



## MissMamma

yes poor. even when my mum and dad lived together but my dad worked HARD for us and my mum does the same now, she does a job she should get paid twice as much for, at least!! but she loves it and her children are fed and clothed and loved and happy and that is all that matters.

i'm even poorer than my mum lol! single student teenage mother on the doll :dohh:


----------



## kittycat18

No my mum was a nurse and dad was a manager of a company plus was a cabinet marker so middle class. We always had nice things growing up. Too spoilt at times to be honest :hugs2:


----------



## tasha41

we can't wait said:


> Desi's_lost said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> tasha41 said:
> 
> 
> I guess my parents are middle class- they make about $160k. They both always have new cars, they have a nice house, they have travelled... paid for all of my sister's education so far and helped with mine... I guess it's perception though, they were doing pretty well, but we didn't live in a nice new house in the suburbs and they didn't buy me a car as soon as I was old enough to drive like many of my classmates
> 
> Holy hell, 160k a year sounds like upper class to me.Click to expand...
> 
> Shiiit. I'd have to agree.
> 
> I guess it depends on how you spend your money. :shrug:Click to expand...

Well firstly, it's not like they've made $160K since the day I was born. My dad got a big promotion when I was like 14, my mom hit her salary cap, my dad does work here and there for a large medical company in addition to his job. So I definitely grew up middle class, I have no idea what they made then, and I only know what they make now because I went to accounting school for a bit and I do their taxes now. They've always had good jobs- nice but small house, they never had major money problems like my OH's family, but we just didn't have a lot when I was growing up that the 'upper class' people I went to school with had. 

No pool, no luxury cars- and no cars for us.. no family vacations (my PARENTS have been to Europe, Florida, east & west coast of Canada, Japan), 1 TV in 1 living room that my dad neverrr let us 'have a turn with' lol, strict Christmas spending rules ($200 per kid), no dishwasher (they finally got one when I was 18).. no cottage, shared a bedroom until I was 17, we didn't have tons of clothes or anything... the vast majority of my classmates had all or most of the above. 

Cost of living is also high here- food, taxes, gas, everything costs more in Canada I SWEAR :wacko:... they paid into RRSPs and RESPs, employee health benefits, so that is a fair bit of your salary too..


----------



## Becca xo

*I wouldn't say we was poor or rich we where comfortable and happy.*


----------



## 17thy

Desi's_lost said:


> tasha41 said:
> 
> 
> I guess my parents are middle class- they make about $160k. They both always have new cars, they have a nice house, they have travelled... paid for all of my sister's education so far and helped with mine... I guess it's perception though, they were doing pretty well, but we didn't live in a nice new house in the suburbs and they didn't buy me a car as soon as I was old enough to drive like many of my classmates
> 
> Holy hell, 160k a year sounds like upper class to me.Click to expand...

I though the same thing TBH. My mother who is a head of a marketing corporation just said "160K a year is most definitely upper class."


----------



## 17thy

tasha41 said:


> we can't wait said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Desi's_lost said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> tasha41 said:
> 
> 
> I guess my parents are middle class- they make about $160k. They both always have new cars, they have a nice house, they have travelled... paid for all of my sister's education so far and helped with mine... I guess it's perception though, they were doing pretty well, but we didn't live in a nice new house in the suburbs and they didn't buy me a car as soon as I was old enough to drive like many of my classmates
> 
> Holy hell, 160k a year sounds like upper class to me.Click to expand...
> 
> Shiiit. I'd have to agree.
> 
> I guess it depends on how you spend your money. :shrug:Click to expand...
> 
> Well firstly, it's not like they've made $160K since the day I was born. My dad got a big promotion when I was like 14, my mom hit her salary cap, my dad does work here and there for a large medical company in addition to his job. So I definitely grew up middle class, I have no idea what they made then, and I only know what they make now because I went to accounting school for a bit and I do their taxes now. They've always had good jobs- nice but small house, they never had major money problems like my OH's family, but we just didn't have a lot when I was growing up that the 'upper class' people I went to school with had.
> 
> No pool, no luxury cars- and no cars for us.. no family vacations (my PARENTS have been to Europe, Florida, east & west coast of Canada, Japan), 1 TV in 1 living room that my dad neverrr let us 'have a turn with' lol, strict Christmas spending rules *($200 per kid)*, no dishwasher (they finally got one when I was 18).. no cottage, shared a bedroom until I was 17, we didn't have tons of clothes or anything... the vast majority of my classmates had all or most of the above.
> 
> Cost of living is also high here- food, taxes, gas, everything costs more in Canada I SWEAR :wacko:... they paid into RRSPs and RESPs, employee health benefits, so that is a fair bit of your salary too..Click to expand...

Holy crap! $200 was the budget for my entire 4 person family at Christmas.


----------



## kittycat18

17thy said:


> Holy crap! $200 was the budget for my entire 4 person family at Christmas.

No my parents are middle class and earn $60,000 ($95,406) a year without bonus's. The budget for each child at Christmas is £200-£300 ($318-$477) and that's normal here :shrug: Most children I went to school with and my brother went to school with got much more. One of my friend's got a jet ski for her 17th birthday... I'm not complaining. Just saying :flow:


----------



## LauraBee

If I'm honest, I don't think class comes solely from household income. It's the norms and values that come with it, as well as the "cultural capital".

If I won the lottery, I'd still consider myself lower class, because I know I'd feel and act completely differently from the people who were brought up in rich areas and who've always had money etc :shrug:

But, yeah, just for comparison's sake, we'd always get like a couple of videos for Christmases and birthdays - so like £10 per child....


----------



## TaraxSophia

Not at all, it had nothing to do with my pregnancy, not to sound bad or anything but my family are quite wealthy....both my parents are lawyers. Im not saying your background has nothing to do with whether you will have children young but it is just 1 factor, not the main one. People from all different types of backgrounds get pregnant at a young age every day! The only reason you think it could be just the lower classes is that upper class and middle class people are ashamed and try to cover it up as best as possible. Im not saying this is true to everyone though, as my parents were and still are very supportive :flower:


----------



## tasha41

kittycat18 said:


> 17thy said:
> 
> 
> Holy crap! $200 was the budget for my entire 4 person family at Christmas.
> 
> No my parents are middle class and earn $60,000 ($95,406) a year without bonus's. The budget for each child at Christmas is £200-£300 ($318-$477) and that's normal here :shrug: Most children I went to school with and my brother went to school with got much more. One of my friend's got a jet ski for her 17th birthday... I'm not complaining. Just saying :flow:Click to expand...

Exactly... I think when you are a kid you don't really understand what different jobs earn etc, and while I think part of my parents' thing was trying not to "spoil us"... I remember at Christmas when I was talking to friends hearing "Oh, that's it?" and them listing off way more gifts than I got. And I remember when I was a bit older lying saying I got more than I did etc. So, compared to the people I grew up with, we didn't have TONS, though we were always comfortable, fed, clothed, looked after.. 

I realize now how expensive clothes, groceries, etc are, I know people whose parents had to ask them for money to help with bills etc, who had to take PT jobs to help out rather than for spending money, but growing up I definitely did not feel well off at all. I hope that all makes sense somehow?


----------



## kittycat18

tasha41 said:


> Exactly... I think when you are a kid you don't really understand what different jobs earn etc, and while I think part of my parents' thing was trying not to "spoil us"... I remember at Christmas when I was talking to friends hearing "Oh, that's it?" and them listing off way more gifts than I got. And I remember when I was a bit older lying saying I got more than I did etc. So, compared to the people I grew up with, we didn't have TONS, though we were always comfortable, fed, clothed, looked after..
> 
> I realize now how expensive clothes, groceries, etc are, I know people whose parents had to ask them for money to help with bills etc, who had to take PT jobs to help out rather than for spending money, but growing up I definitely did not feel well off at all. I hope that all makes sense somehow?

I know exactly what you mean. I suppose it all depends on where you are from because that sounds just like where I live. Girls at my school had an argument one day about how many toilets were in their house and how many boats their parents owned :dohh:


----------



## we can't wait

Completely off topic, but Chloé, I love you siggy! Looks like it's Shannon's work? Cute! :D

Like I said before, I grew up poor... but my parents never let us feel poor on Christmas. They used to puts things on lay-away & pay them off over the course of the year. We also would get joint gifts. Like, instead of me getting a radio, it was for me and my 3 sisters to go in our room... and my brothers got one for their room... but it didn't 'belong' to one person, iykwim?

When I was little I just thought santa was really good to us... now that I'm older I realize that my parents saved up and worked really hard to make the holidays special for us.


----------



## BlackBerry25

In Canada, it is much more expensive. 400,000 buys you a shack here in Edmonton.
Me and B lived in a one bedroom apartment and we were making over 100k a year sans kids.


----------



## kittycat18

we can't wait said:


> Completely off topic, but Chloé, I love you siggy! Looks like it's Shannon's work? Cute! :D

Thanks. Yeah Shannon's handiwork is right :happydance:


----------



## AriannasMama

I'm not sure how much my parents made while we were growing up but I think our x-mas budget was about $100-250 per kid. We've only ever been on two big vacations in my life, three if you include flying out to Seattle for my brother's wedding. Now if I want to go visit him when my parents go I have to pay for my own plane ticket. 

After I get my certificate from school and OH and I are on our own we SHOULD be making about 50k a year, hopefully we can live ok on that.


----------



## bbyno1

My mum was always quite a 'big' one for christmas and birthdays.
She would always get provident loans out.
She is still paying them off now..and they leave her struggling for the rest of the year iykwim?


----------



## Mellie1988

My mum is a nurse and my dad is a HGV driver and between them they earn a pretty good wage, so we was always quite well off, we used to goto Disney land Florida every year/every other year through out my childhood, went on school trips, got spoilt at xmas.... 

OH family was probably around the same, maybe his parents earn a little more (his mum is a social worker and his dad owns his own letting agency..where I work :thumbup:) . 

So to answer your question, no I don't think that coming from a lower or upper class upbringing has much of a say in teen pregnancies. :shrug: 

In my personal circumstances, the reason I became a teen mum was because I thought "it will never happen to me" and took the risk of not using protection ONE time...super sperm :haha: it wasn't anything to do with how I was brought up, at all. 

x


----------



## trinaestella

Ugh, i hate sociology it's like everythings stereotyped.. but no, my family aren't poor.. we're middle classed :smug:


----------



## MissMamma

trinaestella said:


> *Ugh, i hate sociology it's like everythings stereotyped*.. but no, my family aren't poor.. we're middle classed :smug:

i agree, having to study a load of sociologists atm for college :|


----------



## annawrigley

trinaestella said:


> Ugh, i hate sociology it's like everythings stereotyped.. but no, my family aren't poor.. we're middle classed :smug:

Thats kinda the point of sociology lol


----------



## AriannasMama

annawrigley said:


> trinaestella said:
> 
> 
> Ugh, i hate sociology it's like everythings stereotyped.. but no, my family aren't poor.. we're middle classed :smug:
> 
> Thats kinda the point of sociology lolClick to expand...

Quite literally means the study of people and groups :haha:. Statistics will always come with that and whether you like them or not statistics are true, so no point in hating them:shrug:.

Sociology is really interesting to me.


----------



## annawrigley

AriannasMama said:


> annawrigley said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> trinaestella said:
> 
> 
> Ugh, i hate sociology it's like everythings stereotyped.. but no, my family aren't poor.. we're middle classed :smug:
> 
> Thats kinda the point of sociology lolClick to expand...
> 
> Quite literally means the study of people and groups :haha:. Statistics will always come with that and whether you like them or not statistics are true, so no point in hating them:shrug:.
> 
> Sociology is really interesting to me.Click to expand...

Me too :thumbup:


----------



## LauraBee

AriannasMama said:


> annawrigley said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> trinaestella said:
> 
> 
> Ugh, i hate sociology it's like everythings stereotyped.. but no, my family aren't poor.. we're middle classed :smug:
> 
> Thats kinda the point of sociology lolClick to expand...
> 
> Quite literally means the study of people and groups :haha:. Statistics will always come with that and whether you like them or not statistics are true, so no point in hating them:shrug:.
> 
> Sociology is really interesting to me.Click to expand...

Uh-huh. It's not the statistics you should be annoyed at, it's the theories behind the statistics - for example, Murray pretty much blames single mothers for crime :wacko:


----------



## Dragonfly

I came from middle upper working class parents, didnt get pregnant young but did have sex just was more careful or my mum would have killed me if I got pregnant at an early age. I was afraid to tell her at 27 I was pregnant.


----------



## MrsEngland

When i was born they weren't poor but they weren't well off either.

When i was about 10 my dad sold his company, and continued to work for them on the same slary he had been on so from that point on my family were well off, i never wanted for anything and they still help us out alot. They own 50% of our house (we own the other 50%) and my car was my birthday present this year. We always had great holidays i've been all over the world, i've been so lucky.

I don't remember there ever being a christmas where i didn't get everything that i wanted, they had a budget of £500 for me and my sister each. Its changed now like, they spend more on delilah now but thats fine with me!


----------



## AriannasMama

LauraBee said:


> AriannasMama said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> annawrigley said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> trinaestella said:
> 
> 
> Ugh, i hate sociology it's like everythings stereotyped.. but no, my family aren't poor.. we're middle classed :smug:
> 
> Thats kinda the point of sociology lolClick to expand...
> 
> Quite literally means the study of people and groups :haha:. Statistics will always come with that and whether you like them or not statistics are true, so no point in hating them:shrug:.
> 
> Sociology is really interesting to me.Click to expand...
> 
> Uh-huh. It's not the statistics you should be annoyed at, it's the theories behind the statistics - for example, Murray pretty much blames single mothers for crime :wacko:Click to expand...

But theories are just that, theories, they aren't real, they are peoples thoughts. I can't be mad at peoples thoughts, don't have enough time to care about it TBH, and you shouldn't let it bother you, as long as you know you are doing right who cares what someone that you've never even met _thinks_? I'm sure you think he's a douchebag/asshole/jerk etc and I doubt it makes it harder for him to sleep at night


----------



## LauraBee

Murray doesn't bother me, my teacher was desperately trying to get everyone to hate him with a passion (she was brought up by a single mother).

There are always criticisms of theories, even those based on statistics, so it's always down to where personal opinions lie anyway. But for my exams, I do need an opinion on all theories, so I'll have to care then and then pretty much get to forget about it later :thumbup:


----------



## leoniebabey

i wouldnt say we were broke, we got by and afforded meals out/nice clothes but werent rolling in either, but i lived with my nana and she was just on pension ect. 
now i am BROKE lol!


----------



## amygwen

leoniebabey said:


> i wouldnt say we were broke, we got by and afforded meals out/nice clothes but werent rolling in either, but i lived with my nana and she was just on pension ect.
> now i am BROKE lol!

You need to update your signature :D 7 days til Morgan's 2nd Christmas :)


----------



## Melibu90

We were never poor but only recently did they have money spare
We never had a huge budget at christmas £100 on main present and little ones but we had a good summer holiday every year.
My parents dont understand that i dont want to get married. To me its not a big deal as it once was :shrug: maybe ill change my mind


----------



## MommyGrim

We've always been well off, not really having to worry about food and such but within the last two years it's been bad. My mom lost her job last July, and was luckily picked up by another department so she had a job for another year, but in June she lost her job again and went on severance, which ended on Friday. So we don't have a second income, nor insurance :wacko: So at this point, yea we are poor.


----------



## leoniebabey

amygwen said:


> leoniebabey said:
> 
> 
> i wouldnt say we were broke, we got by and afforded meals out/nice clothes but werent rolling in either, but i lived with my nana and she was just on pension ect.
> now i am BROKE lol!
> 
> You need to update your signature :D 7 days til Morgan's 2nd Christmas :)Click to expand...

;) now changed although its now 6!!! :| eeeek how comes its sooo soon


----------

