Boomers' Billion-Dollar Bonanza: The Unseen Hoarding Behind Millennial Struggles

[Anonymous]

The problem for millennials is that they are clueless about what their boomer parents went through when they were in their 20s and 30s. Drafted to flight in Vietnam, incredible inflation and interest rates in the mid 70s to mid 80s and then a stock market crash in 1987 that wiped out 25-40% of their net worth. At the same time boomers can never fully appreciate what it was like for their parents and grandparents having to deal with the Great Depression and WW2. But as boomers got older they gained a better appreciation of what their parents experienced because age does have its benefits in terms of reflection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Transferred from where to where?

Weren't mortgage rates 2% like 2 years ago?

Yes. How soon people forget.

Exactly! What a joke. When I bought my first home as a boomer in the late 80s the interest rate was over 10%. You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.

Yeah and your house was like 50k…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No generation is a monolith. In my family, millennials have done well professionally but did no receive much of any help with school or early finances, and thus carry a lot more debt than their parents did at the same age. They've also received less help with childcare. Meanwhile the boomers have enjoyed very nice retirements, travel extensively, don't help out much or at all with grandkids. And now those boomers are hitting their 80s and expect their kids to take care of them, to bring the grandkids around all the time, to drop everything for them.

It has produced resentment.

But I know from paying attention that not every family is like this. I think in my family it stems from the experiences and finances of prior generations. Boomers were the first in the family to have disposable incomes of any kind. They viewed their kids as so lucky to grow up middle or UMC, but didn't adopt the practices of other UMC families in terms of supporting the next generation. They just didn't know because they didn't receive that help. They don't understand how economic pressures shift over time but also as you move up in SES.

Someone turning 80 was born in 1943, and thus is not a “baby boomer,” Baby boomers were the kids born to the soldiers returning from WWII, so born 1945 and after.

People in their 80s are not baby boomers.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know why you millennials are always prattling on about boomers. I’m 38yrs old and have boomer parents. I live in a home way nicer than the one I grew up in, with a way lower interest rate, I make way more money than my parents ever did, drive was nicer cars, eat better food and my kids have passports, something I never had as a kid growing up. I’m certainly not alone. I live in NoVA and when I’m on the road the cars are nearly all luxury driven by young people. Homes are 7 figures and up all owned by young people.

If you are a millennial and didn’t take advantage of the last 13 years of insane wealth growth then I’m sorry. You missed the boat. Stop being salty. You simply lost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why you millennials are always prattling on about boomers. I’m 38yrs old and have boomer parents. I live in a home way nicer than the one I grew up in, with a way lower interest rate, I make way more money than my parents ever did, drive was nicer cars, eat better food and my kids have passports, something I never had as a kid growing up. I’m certainly not alone. I live in NoVA and when I’m on the road the cars are nearly all luxury driven by young people. Homes are 7 figures and up all owned by young people.

If you are a millennial and didn’t take advantage of the last 13 years of insane wealth growth then I’m sorry. You missed the boat. Stop being salty. You simply lost.

Uh NOVA is literally the highest income area in the United States. That you see a lot of millennials there with nice cars and passports is hardly a sign that millennials elsewhere are statistically far worse off financially than boomers were at the same age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No generation is a monolith. In my family, millennials have done well professionally but did no receive much of any help with school or early finances, and thus carry a lot more debt than their parents did at the same age. They've also received less help with childcare. Meanwhile the boomers have enjoyed very nice retirements, travel extensively, don't help out much or at all with grandkids. And now those boomers are hitting their 80s and expect their kids to take care of them, to bring the grandkids around all the time, to drop everything for them.

It has produced resentment.

But I know from paying attention that not every family is like this. I think in my family it stems from the experiences and finances of prior generations. Boomers were the first in the family to have disposable incomes of any kind. They viewed their kids as so lucky to grow up middle or UMC, but didn't adopt the practices of other UMC families in terms of supporting the next generation. They just didn't know because they didn't receive that help. They don't understand how economic pressures shift over time but also as you move up in SES.

Someone turning 80 was born in 1943, and thus is not a “baby boomer,” Baby boomers were the kids born to the soldiers returning from WWII, so born 1945 and after.

People in their 80s are not baby boomers.

80 year olds are the oldest boomers. My grandpa enlisted in 1941, came home injured in December of 1942, and had my mom in October of 1943. Most boomers are a couple of years younger than her but she’s a boomer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why you millennials are always prattling on about boomers. I’m 38yrs old and have boomer parents. I live in a home way nicer than the one I grew up in, with a way lower interest rate, I make way more money than my parents ever did, drive was nicer cars, eat better food and my kids have passports, something I never had as a kid growing up. I’m certainly not alone. I live in NoVA and when I’m on the road the cars are nearly all luxury driven by young people. Homes are 7 figures and up all owned by young people.

If you are a millennial and didn’t take advantage of the last 13 years of insane wealth growth then I’m sorry. You missed the boat. Stop being salty. You simply lost.

Uh NOVA is literally the highest income area in the United States. That you see a lot of millennials there with nice cars and passports is hardly a sign that millennials elsewhere are statistically far worse off financially than boomers were at the same age.

And all you people prattling on and on are DMV people. Gigantic whiners. Once again if you haven’t made hay in the last decade and a half you are simply one of the losers in life. We can’t all be winners.

[Anonymous]

The boomers will need the money to pay for assisted living and end of life care unless they bought LTC policies many years ago. This in itself is a gift to their children provided they have enough to cover everything. I watched my parents go through this with my grandparents- one set had very little money and eventually ended up in Medicaid beds, was a very stressful situation. My other grandmother was well covered due to savings/LTC, there wasn't much left by the time she passed on in her mid-90s but the peace of mind that she was well taken care of was priceless.

For most, the wealth will simply get transferred to industries, not kin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the dirty secret. The upper end of millennials and even younger, those in their late 20s, are doing extremely well, with salaries and HHI that would have been staggering by boomer standards at the same ages. The professional jobs especially law pays significantly more. And there's big tech, which didn't exist in the past. And the range of senior management roles in corporate America is much bigger now. And these people make money. There are people graduating from college today who will never make less than 100k for their entire lives while plenty of people in their 40s and 50s languish at upper five figures.

There are winners and losers in every generation.

Here’s a data point. My boomer brother graduated from college in 1979 and got a job at a Wall Street bank. Was rapidly promoted up and by 1984 was at a level just below VP. He was making 42K a year and living in a very mass market apartment in the crappy part of westChester. I remember the number because my mother was so proud of him and impressed by that massive salary. That’s equivalent to 123K in today’s dollars. You think there are Wall Street finance types with 5 years experience making that now and living in mass market builds in Yonkers? No. I remember the whole family was so impressed because he bought a new car. It was a Honda civic. A new car In his mid-20s seemed outrageously rich.
(PS he left Wall Street because he hated the people and took a public interest job. He paid for his kids to go to college and gave them an extremely comfortable upbringing and both his millennial kids are now way richer than he is.)

[Anonymous]

I feel like these threads always get started by someone who just hates their parents and is mad they aren’t paying for his/her vacations or kids tuition or downpayment or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://fortune.com/2023/10/28/great-wealth-transfer-baby-boomers-bank-of-america-millennials-government-policy/amp/

Wow, I just came across this shocking article from Fortune which reveals that the so-called "great wealth transfer" is not the $72 trillion we've been hearing about, but rather a whopping $129 trillion. And guess where most of it went? Yup, straight into the pockets of baby boomers, thanks to government policies over the last 40 years.

We've all heard about the economic challenges millennials face today, especially with the housing market and student debts. But to think that the government has been so instrumental in enriching an entire generation, predominantly boomers, is mind-blowing! This massive wealth transfer is arguably a result of policies from when boomers were in their prime working years. The research shows that two-thirds of the current U.S. household net worth (around $146 trillion) is held by boomers and "traditionalists."

What's even more shocking is that while millennials struggle with high-interest rates on mortgages, most boomers were able to lock in at a low 3% rate. We often hear about boomers giving financial advice to younger generations, but it's evident they had a huge leg up due to these policies.

It's time for a change. Millennials and Gen Z are battling a completely different economic landscape, one that has been significantly shaped by previous generations. While there's hope that a pending wealth transfer might offer some relief, current projections don't seem as promising as what boomers enjoyed.

Thoughts? How do we bridge this generational wealth gap? It's evident now more than ever that we need a system that supports all generations equitably.

Boomers paid 12 and 13% mortgage interest rates for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the dirty secret. The upper end of millennials and even younger, those in their late 20s, are doing extremely well, with salaries and HHI that would have been staggering by boomer standards at the same ages. The professional jobs especially law pays significantly more. And there's big tech, which didn't exist in the past. And the range of senior management roles in corporate America is much bigger now. And these people make money. There are people graduating from college today who will never make less than 100k for their entire lives while plenty of people in their 40s and 50s languish at upper five figures.

There are winners and losers in every generation.

Here’s a data point. My boomer brother graduated from college in 1979 and got a job at a Wall Street bank. Was rapidly promoted up and by 1984 was at a level just below VP. He was making 42K a year and living in a very mass market apartment in the crappy part of westChester. I remember the number because my mother was so proud of him and impressed by that massive salary. That’s equivalent to 123K in today’s dollars. You think there are Wall Street finance types with 5 years experience making that now and living in mass market builds in Yonkers? No. I remember the whole family was so impressed because he bought a new car. It was a Honda civic. A new car In his mid-20s seemed outrageously rich.
(PS he left Wall Street because he hated the people and took a public interest job. He paid for his kids to go to college and gave them an extremely comfortable upbringing and both his millennial kids are now way richer than he is.)

+1 not unusual for those times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why you millennials are always prattling on about boomers. I’m 38yrs old and have boomer parents. I live in a home way nicer than the one I grew up in, with a way lower interest rate, I make way more money than my parents ever did, drive was nicer cars, eat better food and my kids have passports, something I never had as a kid growing up. I’m certainly not alone. I live in NoVA and when I’m on the road the cars are nearly all luxury driven by young people. Homes are 7 figures and up all owned by young people.

If you are a millennial and didn’t take advantage of the last 13 years of insane wealth growth then I’m sorry. You missed the boat. Stop being salty. You simply lost.

Uh NOVA is literally the highest income area in the United States. That you see a lot of millennials there with nice cars and passports is hardly a sign that millennials elsewhere are statistically far worse off financially than boomers were at the same age.

And all you people prattling on and on are DMV people. Gigantic whiners. Once again if you haven’t made hay in the last decade and a half you are simply one of the losers in life. We can’t all be winners.

Do you recall that people were set back years by the Great Recession and wages have really never recovered after that? This includes all generations.

[Anonymous]

None of the boomers I know have mortgages except one who listened to Ric Eddelman on the radio back in the ‘90s. That mortgage has less than 10 years left and a rate of about 4-5%.

The inflation you are complaining about is what happens when the government prints money and sends it to people, which happened often in the last two presidential terms. Look up the Weimar Republic in Germany and you’ll see a much more exaggerated example of this.

[Anonymous]

I think your generation math is off. I’m Gen X and we’re the ones with 2-3% mortgages in our late 40s - 50s. My parents are boomers and they paid the 8-14% mortgage rates of the late 70s and early 80s - they don’t have mortgages now because their houses are long paid off.