Reply to I know why Millenials can't afford houses and pay off their student loans..

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I tend to agree with much of this. The millennials I know almost all live with their parents because (supposedly) they're saving up money,[b] but they lack for nothing (new iPhones, clothes, cars) and take ski trips to Aspen. [/b]I have a hard time imagining that their bank accounts are flush.

One is actively looking for an apartment -- with his mom, of course -- and has turned down every option for some reason: too small, too dark, the kitchen isn't updated, too loud, too close to public housing, too far from mommie and daddy. He wants to get a roommate, but he refuses to share a bathroom and his mother agrees that sharing a bathroom with "a stranger" is unacceptable for her snowflake.

Can't exactly weep for them.[/quote]

It's not just millennials. I know a lot of people who live like this.  I have numerous friends who have student loans or I'm certain aren't saving any money but manage to go on expensive vacations, have iPhones, take uber everywhere, dine out and order takeout frequently.  They don't seem to bat an eye at living like this.  [/quote]

I'm Gen X. [b]Graduated top 5 law school with $160k in loans.[/b] Did BigLaw briefly, hated it, have worked in more nontraditional and low paying jobs ever since.

I was 27 when I graduated. I lived in a terrible, affordable apartment. Paid off as much as I could of my loans. Now, in my 40s, I only get to live somewhere nice because my husband has a more traditional sort of job.

Even when I was $160k in debt, I ate out, I traveled, I did other things you'd probably turn your nose at, as beneath someone in debt. The reason is because life is for living - not just for saving and paying off loans. The loans suck, and aren't going anywhere whether I get Thai food for dinner tonight or not. You are basically suggesting that people whose parents weren't rich enough to pay for their tuitions or to keep them in well-appointed homes during their 20s and 30s shouldn't get to enjoy their youths in any way. Well, I'm glad I enjoyed my youth. I'm glad I got to do things, and experience things, even though I was also trying to make my own way in the world.[/quote]

Old Gen Xer here.  I have to say I really cannot fathom 160K in debt out of school.  Graduated in 88 with maybe 10K in debt - I was very fortunate with scholarships and parents that paid most of my tuition.  I can see the reaction of just throwing up your hands and saying to hell with it, I'm going to live my life and not worry about the mountain of debt.  It's a very natural reaction.  Having a good set of mentors, whether parents or others, to structure a way to address it is critical.  Otherwise you give in to that feeling of helplessness and the problem only compounds.  There was an article recently that people are starting to have their Social Security garnished for old student loan payments - that means that through a working lifetime, student loans were never paid off.  That is crazy.[/quote]

I'm the PP with the $160k in loans. It's been very hard, being in debt like that. I don't blame anyone for it - I turned down a scholarship at a state law school because I thought it was more important to have that impressive degree, and then deal with the debt. But yes, it's been $700-1500/month for 16 years now, and will be like that for another decade still.

But I've still gotten to live a great life, even with the debt. Some of that is luck, some of it is fecklessness. Some of it is that I've had to be resourceful and scrappy, to be able to pay my bills and loans, and also enjoy myself.

I just really resent and reject this idea that everyone you know who has a l[b]ot of school debt, and also has an iPhone,[/b] is simply a moron. Yes, there are things you can't do, if you have debt. But saying that you've got to basically not live for a couple of decades so that every available penny can be put toward Key Bank - I think that's bullshit. Great for you if you did that and it works for you. I hate the idea of looking back at my life and wondering where it all went, because I refused to go anywhere or do anything for fear of not paying off those goddamn loans more quickly.[/quote]

Iphones are rather comical devices.  Think of all the people who get govt benefits with iphones, northface etc.  Before deciding on a top 5 law school and taking on that debt , the PP should have worked at a big law firm.  Assessed the environment, hours, etc.

Perhaps the law is attractive but not firm demands so ...  then again many state law schools don't have instate breaks.

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