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Comment by pmlamotte | Hacker News Reader

I received no financial help post-college from my family because I didn't need it. My starting salary was twice what my dad made at the time and my sister had just begun college. I had saved up money myself from working during college to pay for my first month's rent. It's not that they didn't care, it's that I didn't need it and was off to a far better start.

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Same here. My parents have given of their time (occasional babysitting), but haven't needed to give financially. The only thing in that report that I've received was a period of a few months of living with my parents after college before getting my own apartment. I worked during college to pay for the portion of that cost that wasn't paid for by scholarships, so I had no debt after college. It's not that they didn't want to help financially, it's that it wasn't needed. My wife is in the same situation with her parents. They support with their time, but financial support isn't needed.

Could I have done more, had an easier time starting out on my own, or gone on vacations with financial support from my parents? Probably, but I don't think that's necessary. My parents taught me what I needed to succeed on my own and that's what I see as important.

Ditto. I had a job lined up before graduation, and ended up living with my parents for 2 months before I started work. My parents were better off than yours, but I started pretty well myself. I had the money for the suits I interviewed in, a couple months of rent, some starter furniture, and my living expenses during that time.

Of course "post-college" is a key phrase. I wouldn't have been where I was if my parents hadn't paid almost all of my college expenses and bought me a car a couple years in. My mother had similar help during her college years, but my father didn't, and the two of them provided a similar boost to my 2 siblings, as well.

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