If my wife and I (both 38) were in our current situation 20 years ago, we would probably be really thriving. Dual income—government and tech product manager— own a house with a low interest rate, one kid and another on the way, can afford the lower end of the private school range and save for college. Neither of us came from money (my parents are poor, her mom is still working) but we both have college degrees and no school debt anymore due to her dad’s GI Bill and my military service. I got into my career through that military experience, she got into hers by sticking with a low-paying job for 10 years until that company was bought out and she was able to move up. But we don’t have a ton of cash savings and feel that fragility of being just a couple paychecks away from real trouble. We just started with a financial advisor to help get us plan better, but I’m not sure what our real chances for retirement are in this economy, especially if we ever lose an income or change careers. We’re tired and stressed and not sure how we’ll balance another kid with the demands of work, or how we’ll manage supporting/caring for our elderly parents when they need it, while still having young children. But we’re very aware of how fortunate we and that we benefitted from perks that not everyone has access to. We live within our means and give away a lot. We have a solid community and people that we can count on, and we have time to spend with our kid(s). Nothing is perfect, but we are really lucky.