Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just accept it, narcissistic boomers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/12/03/precariousness-modern-young-adulthood-one-chart/

https://fortune.com/2022/10/27/millennials-versus-boomers-wealth-gap-doubled/

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/wealth-inequality-by-household-type.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/

https://trustandwill.com/learn/generational-wealth-gap

Etc etc.

Undeniable.

They are comparing aspirational lifestyle, what Boomers may have now, not what they had then. Nothing has changed, Boomers had it actually worse. Secondly, there is a LARGE age difference in Boomers. Younger Boomers are the parents of millennials, not the older Boomers whose kids are Gen X. There's so much nuance lost resulting in stupid threads like this from this generation. Bottom line- you have to go through same hoops. Sorry, no short cut.

No, that would be stupid. The studies literally compare them at equivalent ages. Boomers can’t be troubled to actually read the data before arguing that they are special and misunderstood!

I'm a boomer who struggled financially to a degree, bills were paid, but it was tight- until around retirement, and we are pretty middle class- no great wealth here. College, 2 grad degrees, professional job, same with spouse. There were literally zero breaks - stock market, mortgage rates, day care, everything. No hand outs. No large house, used cars, a beach trip to OC once a year. Not a lot of perks. All our peers are in the same boat, many are in higher paying fields,too, including law and medicine. This was a reality for Boomers born in the late 50s, early 60s- there was absolutely no big wealth going on unless there was a special circumstance- I have Iranian
friends who came here with a great deal of family money. We know 2 married dentists who did very well. A lawyer who traveled 80 % of the time, but was never home. Yeah, they were wealthy. But most? No.

We got a little boost in the last 2 years only with housing inflation due to the shortage, but frankly that made up for being completely underwater in 2008 , for quite awhile, with the recession. And, it's only about 100k more than in 2015. That's not a windfall. Inflation happens in every generation. How can we be lacking in self awareness when we actually lived it? Not every Boomer inherited wealth, and most didn't. I have friends who still have their parents who are in their 90s and older! There isn't any $$ left.

These metrics presented are very nuanced toward some bias, and skewed beyond belief. Most of this has to do with the generation before us, our parents, and the very oldest Boomers, not the parents of millennials at all. You are very misinformed but clearly are just mad at something. How about just grow up? An idea for you. Sorry, but you have to go to work. We did- 60 hour weeks most of the time. Nothing handed to us.

Oh gosh, I'm sorry you had it so rough....

Uh, aren't YOU the whiner here, sweetie? Get over yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't see millennials + Gen Z being as frugal and focused on saving as previous generations. My parents were just visiting and I got so much criticism for things they perceived as food waste, overconsumption, etc. My and DH's parents are both in the late 40s/early 50s and all grew up pretty poor and have always been very frugal, and both sets of them have managed to build up a lot of wealth over the past 20 years in particular.

DH and I rented until our late 30s because we could not afford to buy a home. When we did, we bought a small townhouse, knowing it would be our "starter home" and hoping that we could build up some equity and buy a larger home later - which we did just this year at ages 46 and 47. So, nope, not buying into millennial whining. You have to start small.

+1000

+1000

Many grew up with much more money and "stuff" than previous generations. They get out of college and expect to live in a 2500 sq ft+ home that is less than 5 years old, drive new cars, etc. They forget/don't understand that their parents lived when a 1200-1500 sq ft home was considered large, and if you had a full 2nd bathroom you were royalty. They grew up eating majority of meals at home, packing lunches for school and the office/job and if they got coffee outside the house, it was from the brewed pot in the office that they chipped in a quarter for each week. Going out to eat was a real treat and only happened once ever 2-3 weeks. Cable tv was a luxury and to change the channel on the tv someone (ie the kids) had to get up and walk to the tv to physically do it. That said TV was so big and bulky, once you got it into your house you were keeping it until it died (10+ years) and it was the only tv in the house---because remember there were not 3 families rooms/rec rooms, no space for that in a 1400 sq ft home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd just like to note that I am perfectly happy with my life as an elder millennial. I am not rolling in dough and live in a condo instead of a house. I am also still paying of school debt in my 40s, which isn't great. But I don't run around feeling like crap about my life. My condo is nice and in a good neighborhood. I'm married and have a kid, who is happy. Our local schools are not great but not terrible, and we've found that with a little determination you can get your kid what they need even in a mediocre school -- it's about parental support more than anything else.

You know who thinks my life is a travesty? My boomer parents. They are embarrassed that I'm not more professionally successful (I mommy tracked when I had a kid because I wanted to be present in my child's life), that my spouse doesn't make more money (I married a good person for love and didn't go hunting for a wallet). They are ashamed I live in a condo. They think we're too frugal and should spend more of our money on vacations (to visit them of course) and consumer goods that they could brag to their friends about.

I think my life is good but my boomer parents think it can't possibly be because I don't have a 4 bedroom house in the best school district and 2 brand new cars and vacations to Disneyland and Mexico every year and nicer furniture and clothes and my kid in expensive activities and sports. When we explain that our frugality is so that we can pay down debt faster and be debt free by the time we hit our 50s and before our kid goes to college, they scoff at this like it's a silly plan.

So sometimes I wonder, when I read stuff like this thread, how much of how Millenials feels frustrated about their lot in life is about externally imposed expectations of what their lives *should* look like at this point. I remember my dad looking down on me for living with roommates in my 20s, or buying a used car when technically I could have afford something nicer. My parents and their siblings are very invested in external markers of financial success, and not so concerned about personal fulfillment or happiness, the hard work of being a present parent, or focusing on the meaning in life instead of jumping from one milestone to the next.

Maybe the problem with millennials is that they have internalized their parents' backwards value systems. And if you are a boomer who doesn't think millennials should complain about stuff like the cost of housing or childcare, I hope you also tell your own millennial kids that it's totally fine to rent longterm or buy a condo or townhouse you can afford, that their value as people cannot be represented by their paychecks or the stuff they own. Might be worth looking inward a bit on this.

(Cue some boomer coming along to tell me that all her children are much more wildly successful than me, personal fulfilled and also stinking rich, blah blah blah)

You have lots of interesting and valid ideas here. My reaction as the Gen X parent of teenagers is the gentle parenting types with toddlers who tell me about “the hard work of being a present parent” sound incredibly judgmental of different parenting styles that raised perfectly fine young people for generations. Maybe your boomer parents don’t like you telling them that they did it all wrong and you should also be less judgy?

Anonymous wrote:I'd just like to note that I am perfectly happy with my life as an elder millennial. I am not rolling in dough and live in a condo instead of a house. I am also still paying of school debt in my 40s, which isn't great. But I don't run around feeling like crap about my life. My condo is nice and in a good neighborhood. I'm married and have a kid, who is happy. Our local schools are not great but not terrible, and we've found that with a little determination you can get your kid what they need even in a mediocre school -- it's about parental support more than anything else.

You know who thinks my life is a travesty? My boomer parents. They are embarrassed that I'm not more professionally successful (I mommy tracked when I had a kid because I wanted to be present in my child's life), that my spouse doesn't make more money (I married a good person for love and didn't go hunting for a wallet). They are ashamed I live in a condo. They think we're too frugal and should spend more of our money on vacations (to visit them of course) and consumer goods that they could brag to their friends about.

I think my life is good but my boomer parents think it can't possibly be because I don't have a 4 bedroom house in the best school district and 2 brand new cars and vacations to Disneyland and Mexico every year and nicer furniture and clothes and my kid in expensive activities and sports. When we explain that our frugality is so that we can pay down debt faster and be debt free by the time we hit our 50s and before our kid goes to college, they scoff at this like it's a silly plan.

So sometimes I wonder, when I read stuff like this thread, how much of how Millenials feels frustrated about their lot in life is about externally imposed expectations of what their lives *should* look like at this point. I remember my dad looking down on me for living with roommates in my 20s, or buying a used car when technically I could have afford something nicer. My parents and their siblings are very invested in external markers of financial success, and not so concerned about personal fulfillment or happiness, the hard work of being a present parent, or focusing on the meaning in life instead of jumping from one milestone to the next.

Maybe the problem with millennials is that they have internalized their parents' backwards value systems. And if you are a boomer who doesn't think millennials should complain about stuff like the cost of housing or childcare, I hope you also tell your own millennial kids that it's totally fine to rent longterm or buy a condo or townhouse you can afford, that their value as people cannot be represented by their paychecks or the stuff they own. Might be worth looking inward a bit on this.

(Cue some boomer coming along to tell me that all her children are much more wildly successful than me, personal fulfilled and also stinking rich, blah blah blah)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't see millennials + Gen Z being as frugal and focused on saving as previous generations. My parents were just visiting and I got so much criticism for things they perceived as food waste, overconsumption, etc. My and DH's parents are both in the late 40s/early 50s and all grew up pretty poor and have always been very frugal, and both sets of them have managed to build up a lot of wealth over the past 20 years in particular.

DH and I rented until our late 30s because we could not afford to buy a home. When we did, we bought a small townhouse, knowing it would be our "starter home" and hoping that we could build up some equity and buy a larger home later - which we did just this year at ages 46 and 47. So, nope, not buying into millennial whining. You have to start small.

+1000

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just accept it, narcissistic boomers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/12/03/precariousness-modern-young-adulthood-one-chart/

https://fortune.com/2022/10/27/millennials-versus-boomers-wealth-gap-doubled/

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/wealth-inequality-by-household-type.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/

https://trustandwill.com/learn/generational-wealth-gap

Etc etc.

Undeniable.

They are comparing aspirational lifestyle, what Boomers may have now, not what they had then. Nothing has changed, Boomers had it actually worse. Secondly, there is a LARGE age difference in Boomers. Younger Boomers are the parents of millennials, not the older Boomers whose kids are Gen X. There's so much nuance lost resulting in stupid threads like this from this generation. Bottom line- you have to go through same hoops. Sorry, no short cut.

No, that would be stupid. The studies literally compare them at equivalent ages. Boomers can’t be troubled to actually read the data before arguing that they are special and misunderstood!

I'm a boomer who struggled financially to a degree, bills were paid, but it was tight- until around retirement, and we are pretty middle class- no great wealth here. College, 2 grad degrees, professional job, same with spouse. There were literally zero breaks - stock market, mortgage rates, day care, everything. No hand outs. No large house, used cars, a beach trip to OC once a year. Not a lot of perks. All our peers are in the same boat, many are in higher paying fields,too, including law and medicine. This was a reality for Boomers born in the late 50s, early 60s- there was absolutely no big wealth going on unless there was a special circumstance- I have Iranian
friends who came here with a great deal of family money. We know 2 married dentists who did very well. A lawyer who traveled 80 % of the time, but was never home. Yeah, they were wealthy. But most? No.

We got a little boost in the last 2 years only with housing inflation due to the shortage, but frankly that made up for being completely underwater in 2008 , for quite awhile, with the recession. And, it's only about 100k more than in 2015. That's not a windfall. Inflation happens in every generation. How can we be lacking in self awareness when we actually lived it? Not every Boomer inherited wealth, and most didn't. I have friends who still have their parents who are in their 90s and older! There isn't any $$ left.

These metrics presented are very nuanced toward some bias, and skewed beyond belief. Most of this has to do with the generation before us, our parents, and the very oldest Boomers, not the parents of millennials at all. You are very misinformed but clearly are just mad at something. How about just grow up? An idea for you. Sorry, but you have to go to work. We did- 60 hour weeks most of the time. Nothing handed to us.

Oh gosh, I'm sorry you had it so rough....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just accept it, narcissistic boomers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/12/03/precariousness-modern-young-adulthood-one-chart/

https://fortune.com/2022/10/27/millennials-versus-boomers-wealth-gap-doubled/

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/wealth-inequality-by-household-type.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/

https://trustandwill.com/learn/generational-wealth-gap

Etc etc.

Undeniable.

They are comparing aspirational lifestyle, what Boomers may have now, not what they had then. Nothing has changed, Boomers had it actually worse. Secondly, there is a LARGE age difference in Boomers. Younger Boomers are the parents of millennials, not the older Boomers whose kids are Gen X. There's so much nuance lost resulting in stupid threads like this from this generation. Bottom line- you have to go through same hoops. Sorry, no short cut.

No, that would be stupid. The studies literally compare them at equivalent ages. Boomers can’t be troubled to actually read the data before arguing that they are special and misunderstood!

I'm a boomer who struggled financially to a degree, bills were paid, but it was tight- until around retirement, and we are pretty middle class- no great wealth here. College, 2 grad degrees, professional job, same with spouse. There were literally zero breaks - stock market, mortgage rates, day care, everything. No hand outs. No large house, used cars, a beach trip to OC once a year. Not a lot of perks. All our peers are in the same boat, many are in higher paying fields,too, including law and medicine. This was a reality for Boomers born in the late 50s, early 60s- there was absolutely no big wealth going on unless there was a special circumstance- I have Iranian
friends who came here with a great deal of family money. We know 2 married dentists who did very well. A lawyer who traveled 80 % of the time, but was never home. Yeah, they were wealthy. But most? No.

We got a little boost in the last 2 years only with housing inflation due to the shortage, but frankly that made up for being completely underwater in 2008 , for quite awhile, with the recession. And, it's only about 100k more than in 2015. That's not a windfall. Inflation happens in every generation. How can we be lacking in self awareness when we actually lived it? Not every Boomer inherited wealth, and most didn't. I have friends who still have their parents who are in their 90s and older! There isn't any $$ left.

These metrics presented are very nuanced toward some bias, and skewed beyond belief. Most of this has to do with the generation before us, our parents, and the very oldest Boomers, not the parents of millennials at all. You are very misinformed but clearly are just mad at something. How about just grow up? An idea for you. Sorry, but you have to go to work. We did- 60 hour weeks most of the time. Nothing handed to us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just accept it, narcissistic boomers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/12/03/precariousness-modern-young-adulthood-one-chart/

https://fortune.com/2022/10/27/millennials-versus-boomers-wealth-gap-doubled/

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/wealth-inequality-by-household-type.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/

https://trustandwill.com/learn/generational-wealth-gap

Etc etc.

Undeniable.

They are comparing aspirational lifestyle, what Boomers may have now, not what they had then. Nothing has changed, Boomers had it actually worse. Secondly, there is a LARGE age difference in Boomers. Younger Boomers are the parents of millennials, not the older Boomers whose kids are Gen X. There's so much nuance lost resulting in stupid threads like this from this generation. Bottom line- you have to go through same hoops. Sorry, no short cut.

No, that would be stupid. The studies literally compare them at equivalent ages. Boomers can’t be troubled to actually read the data before arguing that they are special and misunderstood!

Anonymous wrote:I just don't see millennials + Gen Z being as frugal and focused on saving as previous generations. My parents were just visiting and I got so much criticism for things they perceived as food waste, overconsumption, etc. My and DH's parents are both in the late 40s/early 50s and all grew up pretty poor and have always been very frugal, and both sets of them have managed to build up a lot of wealth over the past 20 years in particular.

DH and I rented until our late 30s because we could not afford to buy a home. When we did, we bought a small townhouse, knowing it would be our "starter home" and hoping that we could build up some equity and buy a larger home later - which we did just this year at ages 46 and 47. So, nope, not buying into millennial whining. You have to start small.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just accept it, narcissistic boomers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/12/03/precariousness-modern-young-adulthood-one-chart/

https://fortune.com/2022/10/27/millennials-versus-boomers-wealth-gap-doubled/

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/wealth-inequality-by-household-type.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/

https://trustandwill.com/learn/generational-wealth-gap

Etc etc.

Undeniable.

They are comparing aspirational lifestyle, what Boomers may have now, not what they had then. Nothing has changed, Boomers had it actually worse. Secondly, there is a LARGE age difference in Boomers. Younger Boomers are the parents of millennials, not the older Boomers whose kids are Gen X. There's so much nuance lost resulting in stupid threads like this from this generation. Bottom line- you have to go through same hoops. Sorry, no short cut.

No, that would be stupid. The studies literally compare them at equivalent ages. Boomers can’t be troubled to actually read the data before arguing that they are special and misunderstood!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so sick of boomers defending what is clearly an insanely unbalanced wealth situation in this country. And the more callous and "shrug, oh well, at least i got mine!" comments they leave on threads like these, the more millennials and Gen Z will feel determined to "right the ship" and pass laws and elect people into power who are going to do something about it. We are SICK of selfish older people who seem to have no concern for the lives of their offspring or young people. And people are just going to get madder and madder as it becomes clear that most boomers really dont give an F- they inherited the most successful economy in the history of the world and burnt it all down and ruined it. Young people are absolutely FED UP and i promise you- you're going to start seeing changes, especially as young people realize that it wasn't some kind of fluke that boomers are unhappy and sympathetic about- no, they really dont care, as long as they get to stay parked in their comfortable $1 million home they paid 40k for. Sit and watch.

Were you all under the age of 18 the past two elections when you voted, what, boomers into the White House??

Overwhelmingly young people do not choose to elect boomers.

Those MAGAs are from all age groups. Where are the qualified 40 year olds? Besides Reagan, boomers voted for age appropriate candidates. Carter, Bush, Clinton, Obama. After that there were no standouts for people younger than Obama.

The well known lawmakers of younger generations are George Santos, MGT, Josh Hawthorne (lied about education), Matt Gaetz (possible sex offender for sex with teens).

We can do better and every age voter wants a strong intelligent honest leader who is over 35. Where are they? Why is Trump winning while he flies from state to state answering to crimes he’s been indicted for.

It's not about just MAGAs- Joe Biden is one step away from the nursing home. Most young people desperately want younger politicians, hence the popularity of Alexandra Ocasio Cortez on the left or Matt Gaetz and other conservative figures on the right. Young people overwhelmingly listen to other young people, be it Hasan Piker for leftists or Ben Shapiro for rightists. And figures like Alex Jones or even Nick Fuentes have a MASSIVE amount of popularity somewhere in a less traditionally right space, as do Antifa figures in less traditionally left spaces. What almost all sides have in common is a shocking amount of contempt for older political figures and establishment politics. Gen Z and millennials are more and more angry and speaking to each other in online spaces made up almost entirely of other young people, and increasingly seeking to find ways to (metaphorically) burn it all down, regardless of party affiliation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just accept it, narcissistic boomers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/12/03/precariousness-modern-young-adulthood-one-chart/

https://fortune.com/2022/10/27/millennials-versus-boomers-wealth-gap-doubled/

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/wealth-inequality-by-household-type.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/

https://trustandwill.com/learn/generational-wealth-gap

Etc etc.

Undeniable.

They are comparing aspirational lifestyle, what Boomers may have now, not what they had then. Nothing has changed, Boomers had it actually worse. Secondly, there is a LARGE age difference in Boomers. Younger Boomers are the parents of millennials, not the older Boomers whose kids are Gen X. There's so much nuance lost resulting in stupid threads like this from this generation. Bottom line- you have to go through same hoops. Sorry, no short cut.

Anonymous wrote:I just don't see millennials + Gen Z being as frugal and focused on saving as previous generations. My parents were just visiting and I got so much criticism for things they perceived as food waste, overconsumption, etc. My and DH's parents are both in the late 40s/early 50s and all grew up pretty poor and have always been very frugal, and both sets of them have managed to build up a lot of wealth over the past 20 years in particular.

DH and I rented until our late 30s because we could not afford to buy a home. When we did, we bought a small townhouse, knowing it would be our "starter home" and hoping that we could build up some equity and buy a larger home later - which we did just this year at ages 46 and 47. So, nope, not buying into millennial whining. You have to start small.