Not sure if anyone reads it, I posted similar answer around 1.5-2 years ago on question like this, but substantially a lot has changed since then.
Born in Eastern Europe in the middle of 1990s, our family of four lived in a 28m squared (that's 91 feet) in a little communist era block something like this. We were so poor that sometimes my parents wouldn't eat just so we could do. They always said that education is the most important thing in your life, and they pushed me to learn and get good grades.
Anyway, my father moved to the UK when Poland joined the EU in 2004, and the rest of our family moved after 3 years. Just before the financial crisis. I remember my mother working as a cleaner for mere £5 an hour, and my dad earning similar amount. Then 2008 comes, my father loses his job and we were in a hole for few months before we could dig ourselves out of it.
Years move on and my parents get increasingly better and more steady jobs -- mum went studying at the age of 40ish and became a pharmacist, dad went on to build a successful building company, and with London absolutely booming with construction at the moment; he's earning a lot of money after-taxes - roughly £500k when I last asked him that question, mum earns around £40k.
Recently however, they took out a big loan and started to buy property in London and renting it to people - the mortgages pay for themselves, yet the property our ours.
Heh, I should say that even though my parents are rich and me and my brother will inherit the fortune when my parents retire soon - they still tell me and my brother that they won't give us any disposable income and we have to earn it ourselves to experience hard work. So I work as a customer assistant in a shop earning about £10 an hour for 15 hours a week, I also run 3 very small businesses on my side, and my brother is still only 13 so he - like me years ago, just sits in books and reads all day.
I do believe in existentialism - meaning that you determine what you are by your acts of will. Nobody helped our family beforehand - we only achieved what we did through hard work, and maybe I'm a very pessimistic person, but I just don't believe in luck - only in hard work, dedication and good education are what make person successful
