Growing up in a modest family of five children in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, Hélène Larosée, 79, saw her parents leave a total inheritance equivalent to a little more than $36,000 in today’s dollars. Retired from the education sector, she calculates that today she could leave an amount approximately 10 times higher to her two children and her granddaughter.
His experience is typical of that of many baby boomers, who have managed to accumulate greater wealth than previous generations.
“My parents pulled the devil by the tail quite often,” says the one who now lives in a condo in L’Assomption, with her partner.
His parents had to leave school before he was 15, his father to support his family and his mother to provide help at home. They then raised their children in the midst of an economic crisis. His father went to work on boats and his mother took care of the household.
“My mother was self-taught, curious, interested in many things. She read a lot all her life, but in terms of education, she had only the beginning of fifth grade. Later, we valued education a little more,” notes M.me Larosée.
The youngest of a sorority of five, Hélène is the only one who had the chance to continue her studies at the higher level. “I had the support of my sisters, who were deprived of education because they were girls and married young,” she says, full of gratitude.
She became a teacher for 18 years and was a primary school principal for 16 years. With her first partner, she managed to acquire a small house on the South Shore, despite their tight budget. “It was easier at that time to accumulate the little nest egg you needed to buy a house,” says M.me Larosée.
From one resale to another, the real estate market is growing, she has managed to profit from it. “My semi-detached in Pointe-aux-Trembles, in less than 15 years, I sold it for double what I paid for it. I tightened my belt, but it was worth it,” she says.
“Your father would be proud of you”
Hélène remembers very well what her mother told her when she bought this house on her own. ““Your father would be so proud of you.” She saw that I was in a good general, professional and financial situation,” she comments.
The majority of her friends come, like her, from working-class backgrounds. They earn a better living than their parents. “I think of a friend whose father, a taxi driver, worked 70 hours a week. He is a chartered accountant and his sister is a doctor. »
This is also the case for Joseph Cavalancia, a 66-year-old Montrealer. His Italian immigrant father and Quebecois mother, who had very little formal education, instilled in him the idea that he absolutely had to go to university.
“We knew that our parents had no money, so we told ourselves that the heritage we had was the moral and educational heritage,” reports this father of three children.
Hélène was able to spoil herself with wonderful trips to Europe, but she says she has always lived soberly. With her public sector retirement pension, she is not at all worried about her old age. She has a few investments, some money in the bank and life insurance.
The L’Assomption resident is happy to think that she will be able to offer, through her inheritance, a more comfortable retirement to her daughter and son. However, she is concerned by the fact that access to property has become “an inaccessible dream” for young people.
“My granddaughter, maybe she will want to buy a house or travel. She will do what she wants with the money. The three are very responsible. I know it will be well used,” rejoices Mme Larosée. One of the most important legacies she has already given them is this sense of responsibility.