Support NeoGAF

[Vault Dweller 111]

Definitely isn't, when you visit other countries and cultures where they likely never used a toaster, microwave or oven then you can feel it. Most western folks just don't realize how they spend money and burn power


If you only get my point as a toaster then you definitely don't get the overall idea or premise of random add shit peopoe buy and that goes far beyond a toaster

I'd rather have a PS4 than $400 in my savings for a house down the line. I get your overall point. But why can't I also enjoy my 20's? Is it so horrible to buy a few quality of life things while I live in a shitty apartment and get through school? Do I have to make every decision while looking 20 years into the future? The life I'm living right this moment counts too.

I don't buy a $6 coffee everyday, and I spend less frivolously than many of my friends. But sometimes I want to go eat a nice meal and not feel like scum of the Earth that rich people look down on for being dumb with money.

 

[Flo_Evans]

My problem is I can kinda afford all this stupid stuff. I kind if want to go super frugal (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com style) and retire early and not do jack shit anymore though.

 

[cubicle47b]

How do you know how he made his money?

Google. I agree with you for the most part, though. It's certainly harder to be successful today than it was 20 years ago, but if you know how to budget and make good life decisions you'll probably do okay. Unless you get really sick and live in the US.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

And stop purchasing smart phones if you want healthcare!

 

[Haly]

The "broader point" is a trivial statement about the benefits of good budgetary practices. It is not article worthy in the slightest, and, indeed, some form of this mantra has been repeated in magazines and newspapers and blogs in some form or another for the past 8 or so years. Guess what? It doesn't address the core problems plaguing "those darn millennials". At all. Not in the least.

People are focusing on the "avocado" because it's emblematic of how completely out of touch baby boomer "millionaires" are, and maybe boomers as a group in sum, and that parroting these "simple truths" is utterly inimical to addressing the systematic problem of rising income equality and social stratification. The statement about "avocado toast", and all similar statements, especially coming from boomer millionaires, is a reductio ad absurdum and my generation, the pesky lazy millennials, are understandably tired of this stream of nonsense coming from people born with silver spoons up their ass.

Jesus ever loving FUCK take a class on economics or at least read some literature on it. The main conversation in this thread is concerned with a much broader view of the problems of Western economies than personal finance. No one's ignoring your "sensible advice for personal finance". It's just pointless, and redundant.

 

[shandy706]

I know a lot of 20-30 year olds that eat out every day and blow money on stupid stuff....and live paycheck to paycheck.

Blows my mind how much some of them spend on food/drinks.

Granted, I build $1k+ gaming PCs and buy all the consoles that come out...and I collect autographed sports cards....and I collect movie memorabilia...and I collect gaming/movie figures....and I like high-end media hardware....hmmm, lol.

I guess we all have our poison. Anway, yeah...if you want a house do quit spending your money on overpriced stuff.

(I'm in the middle of trying to get funds to build a house...or buy..haven't made my mind up...I'd like to build though)

 

[Jack The Nipper]

People in this thread are focusing on the avocado part instead of the broader point. I have never had a large income(most was like $35k while still in the Navy) so I was never rich. But I could afford a down payment on a house right now if I wanted too because I didn't waste money on a new iPhone every year or buying a $4 cup coffee when you can get one at a convenience store for <$1.

I was able to save thousands in only 5 years because I had a budget. I didn't buy every brand new video game that came out even if I wanted too, didn't go out to the bar every single weekend. I paid my rent, my food, and my car payments every month while still putting a few hundred away in savings every month.

Now I'm back in school on the GI Bill and my income would qualify as poverty line, but I am still doing fine and not having to dip into savings, because I budget my money.

So many people in this thread are plugging their ears and saying "rich person doesn't understand my life" or "he's just super lucky that he is rich". How do you know how he made his money? I know a lot of of people who were poor as fuck in their 20's, but now live comfortably.

I realize people won't like this post and either ignore it, or try to downplay it with non-sequiters, but I felt that it needed to be said anyways.

No one needs the Internet that badly. It's fine and all that but the extra entertainment things is why people are so broke.

Just twenty years ago you didn't have a hundred dollar plus phone bill, with home Internet nearing 50 to 100 as well

Living in china for six years they freak out if thier power bill is over twenty dollars. They don't burn air and heard boiling and frying is common and hanging clothes to dry is the norm.

Consider what western people do, turning on an oven to heat up breakfast, how much more power and waste that actually just isn't needed

You start to realize how petty and how wasteful we really are, why.. Cause it's easy? Id argue against that as well. Just being accustomed. Also accustomed to blowing all our money and being addicted to buying in general.

I feel a little bad about myself to think about eating sugar filled fruit loops now.

 

[arts&crafts]

For every 1 frappacino and avocado eating "millennial" there are 10 average "millennials" that still cant afford a house.

 

[jfkgoblue]

I'd rather have a PS4 than $400 in my savings for a house down the line. I get your overall point. But why can't I also enjoy my 20's? Is it so horrible to buy a few quality of life things while I live in a shitty apartment and get through school? Do I have to make every decision while looking 20 years into the future? The life I'm living right this moment counts too.

I don't buy a $6 coffee everyday, and I spend less frivolously than many of my friends. But sometimes I want to go eat a nice meal and not feel like scum of the Earth that rich people look down on for being dumb with money.

Because your 20's are a very small part of your overall life. And going out for a nice meal or buying a PS4 is perfectly fine as long as you budget money to go into savings. Just don't spend all of your money on that kind of thing.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Another day, another case of an out of touch know it all not knowing what the Great Decoupling is.



But let's keep blaming people, not policies. Isolated entities, not systems-level cultivations.

Fuck off with this shit.

Fuck that's depressing.

 

[EviLore]

I'm not sure spending almost $200 a month on cappuccino is defensible as a coping mechanism for someone who's maxed out credit cards and can't pay them off.

If only you could imbue that dumbass coffee drinker with your special gifts at solving anyone's ambiguous crippling financial crises through sheer expert peasantry alone! Starbucks? Hah! They probably all have refrigerators, too. Craigslist, anyone? And do they even know how much perfectly edible food is in the nearest dumpster for a trend-setting freegan run at any moment? Those walking shitshows of fiscal ineptitude don't know the first thing about how to be poor the *correct* way: as joyless, hopeless, miserable automatons, with that credit card interest paid on-goddamn-time, every month, and appropriate gratitude expressed to the practically limitless supply of usually-not-poisonous tap water those dirty proles could ever want to gulp down, all a just few steps away right there in the toilet. Know your place, debtors: far, far clear of those Starbucks doors.

 

[Moosichu]

The economy is driven by consumer spending -
don't forget that everyone saving would also have other effects.

Also, just telling people that they should do a certain thing only works up to a point. The human brain sucks at long term planning, and just hoping people magically start saving won't solve the housing issues.

 

[Flo_Evans]

And stop purchasing smart phones if you want healthcare!

You jest but I've had people (in way worse financial shape than me) look at me like I was crazy for keeping my "old" iPhone 6 with a dying battery and broken GPS. Its kind of nuts that buying $500+ phones yearly is a thing now.

 

[arts&crafts]

You jest but I've had people (in way worse financial shape than me) look at me like I was crazy for keeping my "old" iPhone 6 with a dying battery and broken GPS. Its kind of nuts that buying $500+ phones yearly is a thing now.

I have a hand-me-down iPhone 4...it is missing the home button but it is serviceable for my 1-2 texts a day.

 

[Haly]

The economy is driven by consumer spending -don't forget that everyone saving would also have other effects.

This is actually playing out on a multinational level in Europe when the EU imposed austerity on all of it struggling member states.

With disastrous results.

But hey millennials just need to budget better amirite???

 

[Fewr]

Before getting the mortgage for my flat I spent a lot of time in absolute austerity.

I remember after the downpayment I was left with USD $0.5 in my account. I was living with my parents at the time, so not having to pay rent was a huge help from them.

 

[bomb]

we all have our poisons. A great tip I once heard was to never go in debt for a toy. I've seen guys "buy" brand new motorcycles with a minimum down payment and monthly payments. "If you had that 5-10K in the bank, would you spent it all on that bike? Hell no." Same thing with a 30K car. Buy it used in four years and let someone else take the big depreciation hit.

 

[Flo_Evans]

If only you could imbue that dumbass coffee drinker with your special gifts at solving anyone's ambiguous crippling financial crises through sheer expert peasantry alone! Starbucks? Hah! They probably all have refrigerators, too. Craigslist, anyone? And do they even know how much perfectly edible food is in the nearest dumpster for a trend-setting freegan run at any moment? Those walking shitshows of fiscal ineptitude don't know the first thing about how to be poor the *correct* way: as joyless, hopeless, miserable automatons, with that credit card interest paid on-goddamn-time, every month, and appropriate gratitude expressed to the practically limitless supply of usually-not-poisonous tap water those dirty proles could ever want to gulp down, all a just few steps away right there in the toilet. Know your place, debtors: far, far clear of those Starbucks doors.

You own significant shares in starbucks don't you

 

[jfkgoblue]

I have a hand-me-down iPhone 4...it is missing the home button but it is serviceable for my 1-2 texts a day.

I had to replace my 4 year old iPhone last year because the battery completely died and wouldn't work without being plugged in. I asked for the cheapest iPhone they had, and still feel terrible for spending that $400 on it.

 

[Jack The Nipper]

I'd rather have a PS4 than $400 in my savings for a house down the line. I get your overall point. But why can't I also enjoy my 20's? Is it so horrible to buy a few quality of life things while I live in a shitty apartment and get through school? Do I have to make every decision while looking 20 years into the future? The life I'm living right this moment counts too.

I don't buy a $6 coffee everyday, and I spend less frivolously than many of my friends. But sometimes I want to go eat a nice meal and not feel like scum of the Earth that rich people look down on for being dumb with money.

We are assertimg to the averages of course. Those people you see dropping forty dollars at the gas station after just t getting paid.

What do they commonly buy, lottery ticket, beer and other random shit. It's addiction and culture. Nothing going to change what they do anyways. Larger cities well those folks may not be like those above folks but they are paying so much in rent and likely ordering out a lot as well which is super expensive.

Nothing fits every person but there are large percentages that have the same issues in spending

Businesses only need to market to those percentages where they only care to sell and make money.

Would we all be fine with no cell phones or even ovens? Yes, of course. Would some people feel it's impossible? Sure, people are super messed up


Im definitely not saying they can't this, I'm simply stating what they do and why they have no money. The amount of junk in any given home in America is extreme

If people could stop themselves, they may be living better but again living better is also subjective and they want to do what they are doing... So in that way it isn't even necessarily a problem

 

[Philly40]

Rich, out of touch dumbfuck says stupid thing about how if the poors just stopped buying X, Y, or Z they would suddenly be able to afford everything their heart desires.

Stop talking, rich dumbfucks.

This article isn't about the 'poors' who struggle to afford food or healthcare,

It's about reasonably affluent young professionals who can't afford to get on the property ladder in certain local inflationary markets - millennials aren't the only generation to have encountered this.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

So again this is where I say more than anything that it's the education piece that has failed and that's without touching the $5 coffee.

Student loans were sold as a bill of goods that didn't translate into the expected results. I'm slightly older (basically nearly the youngest of Gen X) so student loans were still a thing for me too. For me, there was a stigma of going to community college and being 18 and thinking I had the world figured out meant I had to go to school a huge distance from home. I paid for that. It's also why I didn't buy my first house until I was 32. And even then, it was a $135k townhouse in the Philly suburbs because that's what I could swing. I could have set myself up so much better had I known then what I know now. We all could. But I was also the child of 2 bankers who, while not making things easy for me as I paid my own way, did teach me a lot about being pragmatic. And that pragmatism is where I feel like we as a whole fail miserably.

The car payment-- I didn't buy a new car until I was 30 and even then it was a car that I wasn't over the moon excited about but it was 0% at a loan amount I could afford. Hell, even now, I drive a fucking Scion iA because I needed something to handle the mileage I was driving to work.

I could go on and on. Again, and apologies if I sound like a broken record, but this isn't a bootstraps argument. I believe the deck was stacked against the generation and boomers were largely responsible. But more so than a criminally stacked deck, I don't feel that the game was even explained properly to begin with. How can you even compete if you don't know what you're supposed to do?

That's where we've collectively failed.

You likely aren't much older than me (I'm 35). I'm a gen X / gen Y cusper. I paid my way through college myself (my parents didn't give me any money; they couldn't really afford to at that point), both 4 years of a private undergrad school and 3 years of a private grad school, resulting in an advanced engineering degree. I have a well paying job. But I started life with nearly $150k in student loan debt and that's with a sizable amount of my college expenses being covered by grants, scholarships, work-study, and assistantships. I didn't buy my first car until I was 30. I have 2 children, one 3 and the other an infant, my 3 year old being autistic. As, I mentioned before, I pay upwards of a thousand dollars a month in student loans (and that's for a 30 year repayment plan), pay about a thousand dollars a month in insurance premiums, and am done paying off my car at this point but have significant medical bills and normal daily expenses outside of extraneous shit to deal with. All this leaves me with a modest amount to put towards renting our house each month. And I am in a relatively good position from an income standpoint. Imagine I was not.

This is the issue for this generation. The need to become indebted to get the degrees to ultimately make a good income sets you back in terms of developing a career, especially when you put the 2008 financial crisis into the mix, which has further stagnated people's career development. Young people are still not making the money their parent's made in their 20s, even as family-rearing 30-somethings with much more complicated life situations.

 

[jfkgoblue]

You likely aren't much older than me (I'm 35). I'm a gen X / gen Y cusper. I paid my way through college myself (my parents didn't give me any money; they couldn't really afford to at that point), both 4 years of a private undergrad school and 3 years of a private grad school, resulting in an advanced engineering degree. I have a well paying job. But I started life with nearly $150k in student loan debt and that's with a sizable amount of my college expenses being covered by grants, scholarships, work-study, and assistantships. I didn't buy my first car until I was 30. I have 2 children, one 3 and the other an infant, my 3 year old being autistic. As, I mentioned before, I pay upwards of a thousand dollars a month in student loans (and that's for a 30 year repayment plan), pay about a thousand dollars a month in insurance premiums, and am done paying off my car at this point but have significant medical bills and normal daily expenses outside of extraneous shit to deal with. All this leaves me with a modest amount to put towards renting our house each month. And I am in a relatively good position from an income standpoint. Imagine I was not.

This is the issue for this generation. The need to become indebted to get the degrees to ultimately make a good income sets you back in terms of developing a career, especially when you put the 2008 financial crisis into the mix, which has further stagnated people's careers development. People are still not making the money their parent's made in their 20s, even as family-rearing 30-somethings with much more complicated life situations.

Not everyone needs a degree now, and many that do choose an useless degree but that is an entirely different topic.

 

[DrROBschiz]

There is a balance between having as many life experiences as possible and building a family dynasty

weird how people are at odds.. but i never understood being crazy about saving money if you are die before you get to spend and enjoy it

the only benefit is having an OH SHIT fund of.... planning for taking care of a family.


I would say both situations are equally common

 

[Milly Osworth]

I will never get rich people talking down on poor people. Just be happy you are lucky enough to be in your position.

 

[jwk94]

From my experience, the students buying the MacBooks was just part of the college experience, and by that I mean they have the funds through student loans so they might as well spend it. Problem is they eventually have to pay it back, with interest.

Sadly, that makes sense. In regards to computers for college, I always try to sell people on Chromebooks. I went from a 2012 Lenovo Y570 (or something like that) to a Toshiba Chromebook 2 about two years later and it's so much better. If you don't need to do any intensive tasks, then the Chromebook is all you really need. Granted, I still use my Lenovo for capture card purposes, so it wasn't a total waste of money.

 

[SoRuffShoNuff]

People in this thread are focusing on the avocado part instead of the broader point. I have never had a large income(most was like $35k while still in the Navy) so I was never rich. But I could afford a down payment on a house right now if I wanted too because I didn't waste money on a new iPhone every year or buying a $4 cup coffee when you can get one at a convenience store for <$1.

I was able to save thousands in only 5 years because I had a budget. I didn't buy every brand new video game that came out even if I wanted too, didn't go out to the bar every single weekend. I paid my rent, my food, and my car payments every month while still putting a few hundred away in savings every month.

Now I'm back in school on the GI Bill and my income would qualify as poverty line, but I am still doing fine and not having to dip into savings, because I budget my money.

So many people in this thread are plugging their ears and saying "rich person doesn't understand my life" or "he's just super lucky that he is rich". How do you know how he made his money? I know a lot of of people who were poor as fuck in their 20's, but now live comfortably.

I realize people won't like this post and either ignore it, or try to downplay it with non-sequiters, but I felt that it needed to be said anyways.

It's a deflection tactic so they can avoid taking responsibility for their own decisions.

GI Bill huh. Must be nice to not be saddled with crippling student loan debt like a lot of melinnials. I was living in poverty while also paying for as much of my education as possible on top of needing a loan.

 

[WhiteRabbitEXE]

Man, if I just hadn't bought an avocado or an iPhone SE I'd be a millionaire with a house and health insurance.

 

[sn00zer]

Avacado toast is 20 bucks? Lol that's like my go to breakfast most days and costs around 75 cents.

 

[Zoe]

GI Bill huh. Must be nice to not be saddled with crippling student loan debt like a lot of melinnials. I was living in poverty while also paying for as much of my education as possible on top of needing a loan.

It's not like that GI Bill came free of consequence.

 

[AstroNut325]

Isn't that chart for newly built homes, not all home sales?

Good catch.

This might be more accurate: https://www.nar.realtor/sites/defau...e-prices-q1-2017-single-family-2017-05-15.pdf

 

[reKon]

Sadly, that makes sense. In regards to computers for college, I always try to sell people on Chromebooks. I went from a 2012 Lenovo Y570 (or something like that) to a Toshiba Chromebook 2 about two years later and it's so much better. If you don't need to do any intensive tasks, then the Chromebook is all you really need. Granted, I still use my Lenovo for capture card purposes, so it wasn't a total waste of money.

I wish I had these kinds of Chromebooks and the Surface 3 when I was in college. Would have made shit so much easier. One Note + Surface 3 + Surface Pen = brilliant

 

[johancruijff]

I don't believe for a second that people 20/25 years ago were more financially responsible

Also inherit 34k clean at 19 and tell others how dumb they are

 

[TheCochese]

Not everyone needs a degree now, and many that do choose an useless degree but that is an entirely different topic.

The fancy college degree fallacy could easily be addressed here as well.

 

[benicillin]

The fancy college degree fallacy could easily be addressed here as well.

Please spare us.

 

[TheCochese]

Please spare us.

Because then it won't exist.

 

[jfkgoblue]

GI Bill huh. Must be nice to not be saddled with crippling student loan debt like a lot of melinnials. I was living in poverty while also paying for as much of my education as possible on top of needing a loan.

That's what you take out of my post? It is nice, but did you have to be away from your family for months at a time in the middle of the fucking ocean? Or work 16 hour days after having to be up all night for watch? No? I made a choice to go into the military, so instead of having a degree when I was 22 or 23 like many of my peers, I am hoping to have a degree by the time I hit 30. That is what I had to do to get this privilege, I knew how much college would cost me and I knew that if I served in the military first they would pay for it, so that is the choice I made.

Don't deflect your problems on me cuz I made a different choice than you.

 

[Jack The Nipper]

There is a balance between having as many life experiences as possible and building a family dynasty

weird how people are at odds.. but i never understood being crazy about saving money if you are die before you get to spend and enjoy it

the only benefit is having an OH SHIT fund of.... planning for taking care of a family.


I would say both situations are equally common

This is another way to look at it, not having money and getting sick from bad living conditions is real.

The issue comes when that person doesn't want to be sick, doesn't want to die but has no savings, home or way to take care of themselves anymore. And they never got help out of their routine

I've said it before but you can't exactly blame people for what they become. It's hard to truly change who you are and what you do.

I'd suggest more families live together and get over the need and feeling to have to have your own. It isn't bad, doesn't have to be bad... It's like how I look at asset building in a way.

We can create a game and build cars and things from scratch. But why when someone has already took the time to build why not sure and use it between two or more projects. The selfish needs or ideas of people are such a huge down fall in this world to me

Many of this have this issue , it only benefits a few people and hurts most everyone else.

Why we all need our own car, our own game our own pc. It's like having a brother and buying the same games over and over in the same house. We should really strive hard to get rid of this very idea and way of life imo

How many of us here all buy cod, halo or something. We need more sharing where possible in our lives.


Then look at the very rich, the unused clothes, rooms, etc etc

I honestly wouldn't hate sharing clothes. I can't wear them all at once. People are simply living wrong and have wrong ideas to me.

 

[jwk94]

And stop purchasing smart phones if you want healthcare!

Not even that, just be smart about your phone purchases. Chances are, you probably don't need the latest and greatest. Even if you're a tech enthusiast, you can probably wait a few months for used ones to go up on Swappa or eBay. Just gotta be smart about spending your money.

Like, a few years ago, my S5 was dying. I did a few weeks of phone research and realized the Moto X was my best bet. However, I also knew Moto was gonna announce the Moto X Pure Edition soon enough. So, I bought a Moto X 2014 off eBay to keep me going for a few months until the Moto X Pure Edition dropped, then I sod my 2014 to help pay for the cost of the Pure Edition.

I fully acknowledge I could've gone without the Pure, but the point is that I was smart about my purchase. I bought a used phone to keep me going for a while, then sold that phone to help pay for the cost of my new one. In retrospect, I wish I had kept my 2014 just because it was a really, really nice phone.

 

[johancruijff]

Not everyone needs a degree now, and many that do choose an useless degree but that is an entirely different topic.

not everybody can be an entrepreneur, and many that try to be one fail miserably

 

[Ron Mexico]

You likely aren't much older than me (I'm 35). I'm a gen X / gen Y cusper. I paid my way through college myself (my parents didn't give me any money; they couldn't really afford to at that point), both 4 years of a private undergrad school and 3 years of a private grad school, resulting in an advanced engineering degree. I have a well paying job. But I started life with nearly $150k in student loan debt and that's with a sizable amount of my college expenses being covered by grants, scholarships, work-study, and assistantships. I didn't buy my first car until I was 30. I have 2 children, one 3 and the other an infant, my 3 year old being autistic. As, I mentioned before, I pay upwards of a thousand dollars a month in student loans (and that's for a 30 year repayment plan), pay about a thousand dollars a month in insurance premiums, and am done paying off my car at this point but have significant medical bills and normal daily expenses outside of extraneous shit to deal with. All this leaves me with a modest amount to put towards renting our house each month. And I am in a relatively good position from an income standpoint. Imagine I was not.

This is the issue for this generation. The need to become indebted to get the degrees to ultimately make a good income sets you back in terms of developing a career, especially when you put the 2008 financial crisis into the mix, which has further stagnated people's career development. Young people are still not making the money their parent's made in their 20s, even as family-rearing 30-somethings with much more complicated life situations.

You're spot on with the age-- I'm 37. So if you don't mind me using you as the example here (and I'm sure it goes without saying but you totally have my respect and admiration for juggling all that), would you have made any other choices, say college, or what have you, had you known that your likely income would be $X and your likely debt coming out of school would be $Y?

I don't think that we as mid-30 somethings now, truly grasped the magnitude of our choices when we were 18 and I think that has only gotten prohibitively worse as the years have gone by. I know not everything in life can be boiled down to a simple risk vs. reward calculation but I think there needs to be more pragmatism woven in to how we educate our young. I can't begin to tell you how many times over the years I've had an 18 year old (hell, even some college grads) come into my office and not even know how to fill out a check. Now, if we're not teaching the absolute basics like that, how are we supposed to help that same kid make an informed choice as to how they're going to create the foundation for that future?

Not everyone needs a degree now, and many that do choose an useless degree but that is an entirely different topic.

I also agree with this and yes, totally different topic, but I think college is going to look a hell of a lot different in a generation or two.

 

[H.Protagonist]

Avacado toast is 20 bucks? Lol that's like my go to breakfast most days and costs around 75 cents.

$21!

 

[jfkgoblue]

not everybody can be an entrepreneur, and many that try to be one fail miserably

There are way more options than that, tradesmen are in high demand right now, i.e. a master plumber can make upwards of $40/HR. There is also the military.

 

[TheCochese]

not everybody can be an entrepreneur, and many that try to be one fail miserably

Or consider saving $50k or more by doing the first two years at the community college where the credits will all transfer. Not even bringing up technical schools, etc.

 

[hipbabboom]

I'm barely able to afford the home i'm in the process of buying and I don't even eat that much avocados! He must have a point here. If you drop health insurance and live out of your car, you can probably even afford great home with a nice low interest flex loan. It's clear millennials don't have a home because their entitled lazy-ass guacamole-in-cup-fucking cucks! Maybe if more people like me and this guy tell it like it is, we can make America great again.

 

[Hollycat]

I spend about $10 a day on on food, usually less. I dont have any consoles or computers and I dont go to any events. I have the lowest car payment I've ever heard of and I work 45+ hours a week. Even without making payments into the massive debt I accrued while bedridden and then sleeping on friends couch for months. I still have trouble making ends meet.

I guess the richest among us just think because things were easy for them that they should be just as easy for us.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

You jest but I've had people (in way worse financial shape than me) look at me like I was crazy for keeping my "old" iPhone 6 with a dying battery and broken GPS. Its kind of nuts that buying $500+ phones yearly is a thing now.

I can't say yearly phone upgrades are the norm with people whom I interact.

People probably spend too much money on phones. But it's also a common talking point among the rich to talk down to the poor.

 

[Team Alucard]

would you have made any other choices, say college, or what have you, had you known that your likely income would be $X and your likely debt coming out of school would be $Y?

Doesn't help when the universities themselves heavily skew or outright lie about their placement statistics.

 

[hypernima]

That's what you take out of my post? It is nice, but did you have to be away from your family for months at a time in the middle of the fucking ocean? Or work 16 hour days after having to be up all night for watch? No? I made a choice to go into the military, so instead of having a degree when I was 22 or 23 like many of my peers, I am hoping to have a degree by the time I hit 30. That is what I had to do to get this privilege, I knew how much college would cost me and I knew that if I served in the military first they would pay for it, so that is the choice I made.

Don't deflect your problems on me cuz I made a different choice than you.

I was about to join the Navy but I would have been either full out denied or red tagged. I wish I knew a lot more sailors who budgeted though. 35k aint bad though, at least where I live. Would kill to make that much. Is that sad? lol.

 

[Parch]

So many people in this thread are plugging their ears and saying "rich person doesn't understand my life" or "he's just super lucky that he is rich". How do you know how he made his money? I know a lot of of people who were poor as fuck in their 20's, but now live comfortably.

The assumption that most boomers were born with a silver spoon in their mouth is so false. Their parents were recovering from a world war. No silver spoons involved.
Boomers poor as fuck in their 20's was much more common, but it is fair to acknowledge that bootstraps don't stretch as far as they used to. It's still no excuse to ignore bootstraps completely. Personal finance is still the one thing you can control.