Poll--Did previous generations live on one income?

[Bootsie]

The discussion of whether an individual's income should be enough for a family of four to live on, made me start thinking about if this were easily done in the past.

 

My paternal grandmother did not work for wages, but she worked hard on the family farm, raising much of the food that the family ate. Therefore, I wouldn't consider that getting by on my grandfather's salary alone. The family of eight (4 sons and 2 daughters) lived in a two bedroom house without electricity for many years. She never had a car. They never ate out. I know of her going on one short vacation in her life (paid for by her kids).

 

My maternal grandmother worked at a paying job during the early years of her marriage and did not become a mother until her mid-30s. One of the reasons that she and my grandfather got by on one income once they were parents is that there expenses were low. They lived in a two bedroom house, never had a dishwasher, never owned a clothes dryer, and shared one car.

 

My mother did not work when I was younger, but did once I was older. So, my family history is not one of a stay-at-home Leave-it-to-Beaver mom with dad making enough money to support a family at a comfortable lifestyle. Was that really the norm in the past?

[Farrar]

All for of my grandparents worked at various times. The Way We Weren't, y'all.

[CroppinIt]

I'm not sure about my paternal grandparents. He died when my father was young and I have no idea if grandma got any sort of financial support from that. She did have seven kids to raise, so she had to have something serious from somewhere.....

 

My maternal grandparents lived mostly off grandpa's minister's salary. Later, grandma got a part-time job, but it was very part-time. My mother remembers being sent to the store to buy one egg as a child, so in any case, it was far from easy.

 

My parents both worked.

[Veritaserum]

My parents did while raising six kids in San Diego. My dad's parents did not: Grandpa worked full time and Grandma taught voice and piano lessons before and after school hours. She also played piano for ballet classes. My mom's parents did not: Grandpa worked full time and Grandma took seamstress jobs that she worked on at home.

 

My current family lives solely on dh's income.

[Crimson Wife]

I voted "my parents did" and "both sets of grandparents did" but it's not exactly the case.

 

My mom had a very part-time job as a reporter for the town newspaper, and my maternal grandma was an author. However, the money they earned was only a small fraction of what their husbands made and it was not used to support the household's basic needs. Basically it was just "gravy" and mostly a way to provide a bit of intellectual stimulation while raising 3 or 4 children.

[nukeswife]

I voted No, previous generations lived on one income but not at what I would consider a comfortable level

 

My grandparents were poor and although my grandmothers were SAHM the family didn't live in a way I would consider comfortable. I know that my mother's family ended up living with her Uncle quite often because her parents couldn't always make it work on one income with the family of 9 they had.

 

We are doing fine on dh's income. I've never worked since getting married other than a short stint (a year) of selling pampered chef, but we couldn't count on that income at all.

[elise1mds]

My mom was a stay-at-home mom until I turned about 15. She only got a job because she decided she wanted one. My mom's parents were a farming/ranching family; they did pretty well for themselves, so my grandmother did not work other than typical farm wife stuff. They didn't do a lot of canning or gardening and didn't have chickens, so I can't say she really worked. My dad's mom didn't work, either - he did things like owning the local Ford dealership, farming, realty, etc., but she didn't work. She did a lot of volunteer work when the kids got older, but she had 12 kids... raising them WAS work. And my great-grandmothers were farm wives. The end.

[SKL]

I honestly don't know about my great grandparents (never knew them). But both of my grandmothers as well as my mom had paid jobs and actually really needed to. This could be partly because their husbands were relatively unambitious. Also, my granny was divorced.

 

Working moms are certainly nothing new. I think what's relatively new is some people's need to feel superior about whether they have a career or not. And the whole "all or nothing" aspect to it.

[VeganCupcake]

My mom had a few part-time jobs when I was a child, but they didn't contribute a lot to the family income. Mostly my parents were a single-income family.

 

My paternal grandparents farmed, and both worked very hard to keep the family afloat. I guess that was multiple incomes (the main crop sales, plus selling eggs, chickens, turkeys, etc., which my grandma helped with considerably).

 

My maternal grandparents were both university professors.

[Element]

The women in my family love to work. Love it. Most of them have worked multiple jobs. One great-grandma taught in a one-room schoolhouse. Another great-grandma did bookkeeping for a car dealership well into her 80s. I don't think you could have paid her to stay home! :)

[KirstenH]

I voted "One set of grandparents did."

 

My parents have always both worked, except for the years between my birth and age 8, when my mom stayed home. We barely scraped by; in fact, I think those years are part of the reason they're in debt even today. When I was in third grade, she went back to work, and still works full time at 63 years old. I'm not sure she'll ever retire. Both my parents are terrible with money. We got lots of things we wanted, but not other things that most would consider 'needs.' (For instance, they'd pay for vacations but not braces. Cars but not college. Things like that. My upbringing was a little odd.)

 

My maternal grandparents were divorced, so they both worked to support their separate households. My grandfather remarried and his wife worked with him in their business (they owned a hotel), and my grandmother never remarried and maintained custody of the three kids. I don't know if my grandfather paid child support or anything like that. When he left her, he left this country, too.

 

My paternal grandfather was a prominent surgeon in a large city, and supported his family very well on his earnings. My grandmother had been a nurse, but quit her job to raise the children and focus on the considerable social aspect of her husband's job (giving parties, attending ceremonies and receptions, etc.).

Edited April 6, 2012 by KirstenH

[DawnM]

Paternal side.

 

Great Grandparents- farmers, both worked the farm.

 

I have no idea what my great-grandparents did to push education, but they had four boys. Two ended up as medical doctors and two ended up with PhDs and were professors.

 

Grandparents- Grandpa was a professor and Grandma was a nurse. (she didn't work when the kids were little but went back to work when they were all school age.)

Parents- Mom never worked really but did a lot of volunteer jobs. Dad is a surgeon.

 

Maternal side

 

Honestly, I don't know too much about many of them other than they were dirt poor and lived on next to nothing. Grandma was a widow. They don't talk about it much.

Edited April 6, 2012 by DawnM

[LibraryLover]

My p grandmother worked in New York City. She always spoke of it with pride, and what seemed to be longing. She did not work once she had children. My m grandmother worked during WWII, until she had my mother. She worked again later, when my g-father became ill. My mother worked p/t once we started school, and f/t later.

[kalanamak]

My mother didn't work outside the home, but they were really scraping along until my GM died, and my mother, her only heir, got enough money for them to be comfortable the rest of their lives (albeit hardworking, frugal "comfortable"). My mother told me her first big event from this money was to NEVER make creamed chipped beef again.

 

My mother's mother was the bigger breadwinner. She was a naturopath, although she did an apprenticeship in running a dairy in Germany prior to getting a ticket to New York.

My father's mother had a college degree, and when widowed with 4 young children, got herself elected Clerk of the Court, was court reporter, and did weekend work playing the church organ all over town. HER mother was elected mayor of her little town, and brought in income with boarders, renting stable space to kids who rode their horses into town for school, etc.

More great-grandmothers back in Germany worked due to widowhood and being abandoned with a pack of kids.

Edited April 7, 2012 by kalanamak

[LibraryLover]

All for of my grandparents worked at various times. The Way We Weren't, y'all.

 

yep.

[kokotg]

Well, sort of. My mom worked until my little brother was born, then she stayed home until my parents got divorced. So, you know, they WOULD have kept living on one income. My grandparents...hmmm....my mom's mom MOSTLY stayed home (she had 8 kids), but by the time I was around and my youngest uncles were 8 and 12, she was working at least part time with my grandfather in the family business. My dad's mom stayed home, but she also ran a "beauty shop" from her basement...mostly she permed old ladies' hair.

[momma2three]

My mom went to grad school and worked a few very part time jobs related to that when I was a kid, but they didn't bring in very much money, and then she never really did anything with her degree.

 

Both of my grandmothers were SAHMs. On my father's side, she was a secretary during WWII and that's how she met my grandfather (she worked for my great uncle's company) but quit working when the war ended and she got married. On my mother's side, to the best of my knowledge her mother never worked.

 

For my great grand-parents, I know that one never did while married (she had worked as a lady's maid before marriage, which family history credits with why her children were very cultured despite their blue collar situation), have a very strong suspicion that another never did (they were fairly well off) and have no clue about the other two. None of them ever went anywhere near a farm so far as I know: 3 sets were in NYC and one in Baltimore. Except for the fairly well off one mentioned above, they were all working class/solidly middle class. One had a husband who was a house painter and I'm almost positive another one was a high school teacher.

[Melissa in Australia]

My parents did, though my mum had 8 children plus fostered, My mother started working when my youngest siblings turned 17.

My grandparents on my mother's side both worked.

single grandma on father's side, she worked

 

Great grandparents single income.

[Joker]

None of mine did.

 

My paternal grandmother was a teacher, and grandfather was a plumber.

 

My maternal grandmother worked part-time in a local grocery store, and grandfather managed a large ranch.

 

My mom stayed home until I was about 14, then she worked full time as a secretary. Dad was a horse trainer.

 

 

I'm going to do what my mom did. I've been a full-time stay at home mom since my kids were born, but think I will start working part-time in about two years. Both dds will be in public school then and I think I will enjoy working outside the home a bit.

[MrsBasil]

My materna grandmother never worked, but she was seriously ill and had been abandoned by my maternal grandfather. She and her 7 kids got by on I don't know what. It's not talked about.

 

My paternal grandmother only stayed home until the kid were in school then she went to work.

 

My mom stayed home until my brother and I were in school and she cleaned houses and was home when we got out of school, she also cut her hours over summer break.

 

My parents and grandparents expect me to stay home with small children and get by on one income as best as possible and get to work as soon as they are in school.

 

My husband's mother stayed home until he was in school and she went to school and work herself.

 

My husband's maternal grandmother would have said she was a stay at home mom, BUT she helped run a farm, raised 14 kids, and her hobbies were catering, decorating cakes, and upholstering furniture all of which she did for money.

[FairProspects]

Neither my mother, nor either of my grandmothers worked and yes, they all lived at a comfortable level on one income. I do think this was much more common in the past, but real wages in the 1950s-1970s were some of the highest in American history, so I'm not sure recent history is the best example of whether or not this should or will be possible in the future.

[Mimm]

My parents did and both sets of grandparents did. My maternal grandmother became a nurse after her kids left the home. My mother became a nurse after she was divorced.

[LizzyBee]

I'm not sure how to answer the poll. I grew up on a farm and all of us worked hard. My dad always had a job in addition to the farm. My mom did sometimes, but not always.

 

My maternal grandmother worked as a nurse's aid after all of her kids grew up and left home. Before that, only my grandpa worked, but they started their family of 11 children during the depression, and they lived in abject poverty. We didn't have much growing up in my family, but we never went hungry. My mother did when she was growing up. So... I guess they had one income, but it wasn't enough.

 

My paternal grandparents died a long time before I was born, but I'm 99.9% sure that my grandmother never worked except on the farm. Before they were married, my grandfather worked cutting timber in Washington around the turn of the century. He went back to MD to find a wife with the intention of moving back to Washington, but my grandmother refused to move. So they bought a farm and stayed in MD instead. As far as I know, the farm was his only job after that. So... one income, but the entire family worked for it.

[myfunnybunch]

My parents lived on one income, and my father's parents did. My mother's parents did most of the time, though I believe my grandmother went to work part-time when they needed money. Both of my grandfathers did hard work to support their families. All of my grandparents grew up very very poor. My mother's mother often had no shoes, and some days all she had to eat was cornmeal mush.

 

BUT....their expectations were much lower than ours. For my grandparents, owning a house and having food to eat, clothes to wear, and a car to drive was enough. My parents grew a garden, canned, and raised chickens and cows for eggs and milk and beef so that we could stretch the grocery budget and still eat fresh healthy food. Travel was a camping trip in the mountains. Mom made our clothes and patched the holes in the knees of our jeans. It was a good life. We always felt like we had enough money. But there's no way, on that income, that a family have been able to afford even some of the things that we seem to believe are necessities now: dishwasher, smart phone, cable or satellite, iPad....

 

Cat

[Melissa in Australia]

Living standards have changed.

I grew up in a household where my mother didn't drive, she got her licence when I was 14. We ate mostly stews and soup for the main meal of the day, we had very few changes of clothes, and our house was very run down. This was the norm where I grew up.

 

Today people expect to have 2 cars, new clothes and furniture, flash houses, heaps of electronics etc etc etc. this takes 2 incomes.

[DianeW88]

I grew up in Ward and June Cleaver's house. Seriously. :D My mother never held a job outside the home after she married, although she did have a BA from Penn State University in "Secretarial Science". Yes...you heard right. Of course, back in the day, her choices were only teacher, nurse or secretary...and she wanted to work in an office.

 

Neither my paternal nor maternal grandmothers worked outside of their homes. My paternal grandmother did after she was a widow, but not while her husband was living.

 

None of my great grandmothers worked outside of the home either, but I feel like that's a bit deceiving, because they were essentially farmer's wives, and they did work....just not at a paying job away from their homes.

 

I have a strong heritage of stay-at-home moms in my lineage and I am proud to follow in their footsteps.

Edited April 6, 2012 by DianeW88

[Crimson Wife]

Living standards have changed...Today people expect to have 2 cars, new clothes and furniture, flash houses, heaps of electronics etc etc etc. this takes 2 incomes.

 

I don't buy this argument. My parents had a *BETTER* lifestyle when I was my oldest DD's age than we do now, and it was on a lower income in constant dollars. They had 2 cars. We only have 1. They used to take vacations to places like Disney World. We only visit relatives' homes. Our town didn't get wired for cable until I was a freshman in high school, but once it was available, my parents had it. We don't. They bought our clothes at the mall. We get ours at consignment shops or on clearance at places like TJ Maxx, Walmart, and Old Navy. Yes, we have cell phones, but we don't have a landline and the monthly cost in constant dollars is similar to what they paid for their two landlines & long distance.

 

The difference? Their first home (which was in the Bay Area) cost twice my dad's salary. Our first home cost triple my DH's salary. My dad graduated from business school with a debt representing 10% of his first-year salary. My DH graduated from business school with a total debt that nearly equaled his first-year salary. My dad had health insurance through his employer with no premiums, cost-shares, deductibles, or co-pays. We are paying hundreds per month just in premiums, and thousands more per year in deductibles, cost-shares, and co-pays.

 

It's not about having a more lavish lifestyle- it's the fact that housing, healthcare, and higher education has shot through the roof in the last 30 years. :mad:

[NASDAQ]

My mother was a lawyer but stopped practicing when my brother was a year or so old.

 

One set of grandparents lived on the salary of someone working in the grain mill. The other lived exclusively on my grandmother's income.

 

Great-grandparents -- one was a miner (wife at home), one an accountant (wife at home), one was independently wealthy, and the fourth I don't know about.

[LMD]

My mother always worked once we were school aged.

 

My maternal grandmother worked, part-time I think.

 

I'm not sure about my paternal grandmother, I suspect she did not work outside the home.

 

No idea about greats...

 

My DH's mother worked, his grandmothers on both sides worked. Great-grandmothers were peasants in the old-country - I daresay they worked their butts off.

 

We do fine on one income - though we do without many luxuries, 1 car, no dishwasher/dryer etc.

[WillametteMom]

My parents and both sets of grandparents lived comfortably (not lavishly) on one income.

My dh's parents and both sets of grandparents lived comfortably (not lavishly) one one income too.

Edited April 6, 2012 by WillametteMom
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[sagira]

Both sets of grandparents struggled on one income. However, during the Great Depression in New York, my grandmother did have a job at a textile factory, but only for a few years.

 

My parents both worked until I was four. My mom quit working after 24 years, and had a large amount of money saved, as she was a single woman until she was 37. It was easier because on them, though, and they lived comfortably, as I was an only child.

[jubilation]

My parents lived on one income (my mom worked PT at times, but quit whenever she wanted since they didn't need her income). However, my dad was making twice what my DH makes, 15 yrs ago, w/o even accounting for inflation. Dad started out as a telephone operator and worked his way up to computer security.

 

My grandparents lived on one income too. Grandpa worked his way up to middle management in an auto factory.

 

My dad, grandpa, and my DH are all HS grads with little to no college. The big difference is that DH works for a tiny family business that can't afford to pay him much (and is too loyal to his family to leave for better pay elsewhere), whereas the other two worked in large companies with plenty of room to work their way up.

 

Eta: I should add that both my parents and my grandparents lived more lavishly than we do. Both were able to afford extended annual vacations even when kids were small, larger houses, more than one family vehicle etc. DH and I will make room for lessons and such as much as possible, but the other items I listed, not so much, despite two incomes. And I promise it's not due to eating out and lattes.

Edited April 6, 2012 by jubilation

[Heather in Neverland]

Neither of my grandmothers worked. My mom didn't work until all of us kids were all in school full time and then it was only part time.

[jubilation]

Neither my mother, nor either of my grandmothers worked and yes, they all lived at a comfortable level on one income. I do think this was much more common in the past, but real wages in the 1950s-1970s were some of the highest in American history, so I'm not sure recent history is the best example of whether or not this should or will be possible in the future.

 

Agreed.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

My parents divorced when i was young so my mother has always had to work.

 

My paternal grandmother did not work.

 

My maternal grandmother still works. My maternal grandfather died 10 years ago and they owned a jewelry store, clothes store, and shoe store. I dont know if my grandmother needed to work but i couldnt imagine her not working.

[jubilation]

I don't buy this argument. My parents had a *BETTER* lifestyle when I was my oldest DD's age than we do now, and it was on a lower income in constant dollars. They had 2 cars. We only have 1. They used to take vacations to places like Disney World. We only visit relatives' homes. Our town didn't get wired for cable until I was a freshman in high school, but once it was available, my parents had it. We don't. They bought our clothes at the mall. We get ours at consignment shops or on clearance at places like TJ Maxx, Walmart, and Old Navy. Yes, we have cell phones, but we don't have a landline and the monthly cost in constant dollars is similar to what they paid for their two landlines & long distance.

 

The difference? Their first home (which was in the Bay Area) cost twice my dad's salary. Our first home cost triple my DH's salary. My dad graduated from business school with a debt representing 10% of his first-year salary. My DH graduated from business school with a total debt that nearly equaled his first-year salary. My dad had health insurance through his employer with no premiums, cost-shares, deductibles, or co-pays. We are paying hundreds per month just in premiums, and thousands more per year in deductibles, cost-shares, and co-pays.

 

It's not about having a more lavish lifestyle- it's the fact that housing, healthcare, and higher education has shot through the roof in the last 30 years. :mad:

 

Absolutely. I tend to get defensive on this topic. I work out of necessity (my PT job brings in almost as much as DH's FT job), and during my brief time as a SAHP, we didn't have enough money for groceries without using the credit card, despite having a mortgage that is quite small compared to most and no student loan debt. Our health insurance premiums take 30% of my gross income, and before I carried the insurance, we had high deductible insurance that covered almost none of our health care costs. My kids wear mostly garage sale clothing. We don't have a houseful of electronic gadgets or new furniture.

 

I get annoyed when I feel that it is implied that I only have to work because we're not frugal enough. Our situation varies greatly from that of my parents and grandparents.

 

Eta: we do have two cars though! The second car is almost 20 years old, has been paid off for 15 years, and not currently running, though. Ha!

Edited April 6, 2012 by jubilation

[MrsJewelsRae]

My parents most often lived on one income, though my dad owned his business so my mom would work for him from time to time, though financially they didn't need 2 incomes. Both sets of grandparents lived on one income- my grandmas were single moms. My maternal grandmother was widowed when her 3 children were less than 10, she worked to support them from that time on. My paternal grandmother left her very abusive husband in the middle of the night with her 7 children and worked like a slave at 3 jobs to care for them. Neither grandmother ever remarried. We live on one income fairly easily, dh is self employed, we live in a small town with low living expenses, shop used and sales, hardly ever vacation, and live a fairly simple lifestyle.

[Melinda in VT]

I voted that my parents did, but really that's only true up until I was 13. (The year my older sister went to college.) My mom worked full-time from then until after all the kids were out of the house, with a break the year I was a senior in high school.

 

Both of my grandmothers worked, one as a secretary and the other as a baker at a resort. (My grandfathers also worked full-time or more.)

[Carrie12345]

Going only on vague memories of stories... all of the generations I know about had periods of sahm-dom, but many stints as income producers, including my immigrant ggmother with 6 kids, before she learned English. Many times it involved family businesses. All of my grandparents were babies/preschoolers during the Depression.

[momma2three]

I don't buy this argument. My parents had a *BETTER* lifestyle when I was my oldest DD's age than we do now, and it was on a lower income in constant dollars. They had 2 cars. We only have 1. They used to take vacations to places like Disney World. We only visit relatives' homes. Our town didn't get wired for cable until I was a freshman in high school, but once it was available, my parents had it. We don't. They bought our clothes at the mall. We get ours at consignment shops or on clearance at places like TJ Maxx, Walmart, and Old Navy. Yes, we have cell phones, but we don't have a landline and the monthly cost in constant dollars is similar to what they paid for their two landlines & long distance.

 

The difference? Their first home (which was in the Bay Area) cost twice my dad's salary. Our first home cost triple my DH's salary. My dad graduated from business school with a debt representing 10% of his first-year salary. My DH graduated from business school with a total debt that nearly equaled his first-year salary. My dad had health insurance through his employer with no premiums, cost-shares, deductibles, or co-pays. We are paying hundreds per month just in premiums, and thousands more per year in deductibles, cost-shares, and co-pays.

 

It's not about having a more lavish lifestyle- it's the fact that housing, healthcare, and higher education has shot through the roof in the last 30 years. :mad:

 

Word.

 

The house I grew up in cost my parents 1x my dad's fairly low income. That same exact house costs now costs 3x my DH's income... which puts us is something like the top 8%. This is a 2 bedroom bungalow in a little town no one had ever heard of in the part of New Jersey that does not exactly put the "garden" in garden state. If we can't afford this not-very-nice house, who the heck can!? It's not a matter of being frugal, it's that housing, education, and health care costs have gone through the roof.

 

We can't even afford to go camping as a vacation. And no cable TV here, either.

[stripe]

For a chunk of my early childhood, my mother and I did live on a single income: hers. After she remarried, she continued to work. She has never been a stay-at-home mother. She has a flexible schedule because of her work, so she was able to work at home for a large chunk of the time.

 

I know plenty of men of my grandfathers generation (including, not surprisingly, my grandfather!) who worked multiple jobs to get by. Is that really one income? I don't think so.

 

I also think non-wealthy women who lived in times and places without electricity, running water, and/or helpful kitchen machines are not lazy housewives. My female in-laws have in the past spent hours of their day doing things like grinding grain...by hand, kneading bread by hand, washing clothes by hand, carrying water, and lighting fires. Even if they have household help to do some tasks, it is still very time consuming to run a household. The fact no one is paying them is, in my opinion, not relevant. Women in my husband's culture almost all have a source of income, however -- many work from home doing things like cooking and selling food items, or they have rental property. They are still considered housewives, because they don't leave the house to go to a job.

[Rebecca VA]

I'm 54, and my mom and stepmother never worked. My family was always well-off, but I distinctly remember how most kids wore hand-me-down clothes (and the moms would let down the hems as the child grew), many families only ate meat once or twice a week, and small, one-story houses were the norm.

 

Living within one's means was what respectable people did. People were far more resourceful than they are now, and I think their standard of living was higher because they were more content.

[Onceuponatime]

Both sets of grandparents lived on one income. It was far from easy. They all worked very hard. The women gardened and raised chickens, had a family cow, and sewed for the family. At one point they lived with their parents as well.

 

My mother worked part time jobs from the time she was in high school, taking breaks while we were little till we were in school full time. Even so, we did not have a very high standard of living. My father gardened and my mother scrimped and saved. She bought things second hand, made food from scratch and sewed a lot of my clothing. My father was enlisted Navy. When my mother was not working outside the home, she decorated cakes for money.

 

I have not had a job outside the home for 30 years. We currently have a standard of living higher than I did growing up. That is not saying much. :-) I shop second hand, have a garden, make food from scratch, and so some of my own sewing.

[Butter]

Previous generations for me worked, but it wasn't to survive or because they needed more than one income. My mom worked part time (8-12 hours a week) for fun once I was older. It was not to survive, it was just for fun. My maternal grandparents were killed in a car accident too young (my mom was 15), but starting when my mom was middle school age her mom worked part time at the store with her dad. Again, it wasn't to survive, it was for fun. My paternal grandmother worked full time starting when my dad was in high school. It was not to survive. In fact, they saved 100% of my grandmother's income and so were able to retire early. She worked because she wanted to. None of my great-grandparents had two-income families. They were pretty much all farmers (and one was a bootlegger, but that's another story).

[Zebra]

Everyone I know with "2 incomes" eats out, has cell phones, pays for daycare, has a cleaning person, buys new clothes and cars...etc etc etc....and my job is all about doing those tasks for free and/or living without. Therefore, saving money IS our second income.

 

So you have to have a pretty high first income to not have a "second income" of some sort. And that holds true for past generations too.

[rieshy]

My mother was raised without electricity or indoor plumbing. Her father was a farmer and a carpenter her mother was a full time farming wife- chickens, canning, gardening, sewing...

 

My paternal grandparents were farmers in the same town, but that granddad also worked for oil companies, a gas station, owned and ran the local pool, and grandmother worked part time for a local car dealership. They had extended family living on the farm that helped my grandmom with child care and household jobs.

 

The thing I think is interesting to note is that my mom's parents, in today's economy-, would/could be reported Health and Human Services because of their "poverty" .

[mytwomonkeys]

my mother has never worked. my grandmothers did not work. my 3 sisters and i do not work. and it isn't like we were raised to think that way. it just weirdly worked out that way.

[Scuff]

Parents did. Grandparents had to. GGP were farmers, so they both definitely worked, though i don't know that it'd be considered 2 incomes. GGM did work early on, but i was before kids and marriage.

[Karen in CO]

I really don't think the way my grandparents lived can count as one income. My grandmothers along with every child that could walk worked family farms to provide food and sold surplus whatever for extra money while grandfathers worked for income. Going back further, if we want to be nostalgic, I had relatives that lived and worked in railroad camps. I'm pretty sure that every able body worked.

 

I very proudly come from a long line of hard working people.

[DarlaS]

My parents did, sometimes comfortably, sometimes less so. They never had a mortgage or car payment though, and always had some kind of savings.

 

I believe both sets of grandparents did also.