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I’m Gen X and I really get irritated at Boomers not realizing how the world is different now.

I got married young. No student debt. No car payment. We still can’t afford a house, let alone the crazy rents in our area.

I'm 30. I'm single. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't party. I work a regular job in Italy. I can save a little bit of money each month but not much at all. It is beyond my comprehension how someone like me could ever afford a house or even just a car (I don't have a car) . We basically work out asses off just to cover food and rent It is a rotten world we live in. I can't even imagine how people my age are doing in poorer countries. And I can't even imagine how people who must provide for their family can get by these days. I hate all this, that's no life man. Time to go off grid and say goodbye to this rotten system.

I can’t find a job anywhere. Everybody is hiring but nobody is hiring anyone on.

My father is a boomer, me and my brothers and my sister are millennials. He helped each one of us to buy our own apartment even with everyone of us having full time jobs. That's because, in he's words, "since the 90's I had this feeling" that in the future the younger generations wouldn't be able to afford the same things as him when he was an common adult. Untill this day I thank my father and feel blessed that back then he figured out what is happening nowdays. Love you dad!!

Have to love the fact that I passed 30, have no accidents on my record and my car insurance continues to go up

Well, I remember asking my grandma about the good old days, and she said “there was no such thing as a good old days.“ Probably because she lived through the great depression.

Growing up my mother never helped me with money or taught me how to use money because shes a boomer and selfish when it came to money. I am a millennial and worked harder than my mother to try and put a roof over my children heads. Mind you my mother had the money to help us but rather took her money and gave it to the people she taught needed her help other than helping her children or grandchildren children. My mother was never part of my life growing up and its 5yrs no contact. I still made it in life without her help or her. She has no relationship with me nor her grandchildren and she has lost everything and its her fault because baby boomers are the most selfish generation youll ever come across. Its their way or no way.

The worst part is that the majority of people paying rent pay almost double what a mortgage loan costs per month, but cannot get approved for a mortgage because we cannot save due to the rent being so high

Something I thought about that I hardly see anyone mention with the generations as well: Companies used to hire new people and teach them the skills needed to perform the job they just got hired to do. Now in the modern era, people take on that debt themselves by attending college for said jobs.

I think it also has to do with companies trying to squeeze us out of money too. Go to a restaurant (Fast food restaurants) you’ll get guilt into giving more money for an organization or tips. Highway fees, event fees, Camera Red light violation fees, etc. I think back then you had a more simple and basic way of going through the day without having all these companies trying to grab your money.

Multi generational households were common during the depression. When times get tough you have to live with family sometimes.

As someone living with his parents in London, it’s nice to know that the data shows I’m officially screwed and it’s not just me being lazy Edit: I’ve noticed some people getting very triggered by this and going off on some Rocky Balboa speech about working hard and ‘taking what’s yours’ - you all need to calm tf down and look at the data. I should mention, I have a good amount of money saved. I have a high paying salary in comparison to most people in my field in London. But there is no denial that inflation has absolutely decimated the middle class. What someone in my position would have been able to afford 30 years ago isn’t possible today. I don’t drink, smoke or go out so I’m not wasting money on crap. I’m not saying that it isn’t impossible to break out - I’m working my arse off everyday to get ahead I have every faith I will someday - but I am saying it’s much harder than it was before and the data proves that. So calm down Rocky Balboa’s of KZfaq and save your rants for the mirror.

As an old boomer I feel for todays kids. I grew in NYC during the 50s and went everywhere via public transport. Movies museums and concerts were always affordable. The crowds were civil and the only security to be aware of was not losing your ticket to the show. Now to go to any public event you have to be wary of everybody and everything. We boomers screwed up Please forgive us and do better Love and blessings to all

I hopped jobs with that exact strategy and I can say that it works for a while but you hit a brick wall. Companies see exactly what you’re doing and they might decide they don’t want to be used as another rung on your ladder. You also might get stuck working at a place you don’t particularly like. Proceed with caution if you decide to do this and good luck.

Im over 40, single, from Europe and have so many debts, its horrifying. Not because of the costs of life, but because of a disease who destroyed my life. I would have never imagined my life this way at this age. Life can change in weeks, always remember.

the reason avocado toast became a thing is because its the only luxury food younger people can afford nowadays

It's crazy to think how MUCH purchasing power boomers had. We always had a nice house and cars, but my mom always acted like we were poor. She spent a lot on herself, though.

This is sad. I'm a 40 year old man. I live in Southern California. Single. No kids. No debt. Live alone. But I rent an apartment. Currently investing in a Roth IRA etc, 401k and trying to do what I can to earn more income

Inflation and taxes are easily outrunning wages so you need to create a business or revenue that doesn’t rely on an hourly wage.

As an early millennial, the one trend I’ve noticed in my lifetime is a dramatic shift toward ordinary people no longer owning ANYTHING. We don’t own our music media, our film media, our devices. The housing market is the same phenomenon. A Renter economy only benefits the ruling corporate class. They have all the power, they can perpetually raise prices on what you already “have” because you’ve never actually had anything! Marx talked about the “means of production” but we’re transcending that into an almost feudal system. Sad thing is, it can only get worse because we’ve handed over all the economic power to a consolidated group of billionaires. Our governments are owned by the them with no easy way to claw that back.

To ask if we have it harder than boomers is overwhelmingly understated… I think I speak for a lot, and I mean A LOT, of people in my generation, but we’re tired, broke, overworked, underpaid, under appreciated, depression, hopeless and all we do is get blamed for everything. So yeah, I would say we have it much worse - and it’ll continue until later generations starting retiring or passing away. Greed, money for that matter, really is the root of all evil. You sabotage a whole generation of people and emancipate yourself, then blame an already broken generation for your woes.

Can't wait for another big shift in our economy and culture just to end up homeless or poorer than I already am. This is a sad and depressing world we have created for ourselves. A world moving so fast everything gets left behind.

The “Nice” got my like for the video. Thank you for that.

Dad was a welder. Mom was an engineer. Neither had degrees. They were learned on the job. They were able to raise a family and build 2 homes and have a second home for vacation. They always bought new cars every 7-8 years and we’re able to save for my college and their own sizable retirement. They never had money issues. My mother was a great money manager. Here I am today. 2 degrees making a very good salary with my wife having no degree making a mediocre salary. We can barely afford one child a home and paltry retirement savings. My parents are always asking me when I’m going to fix my fence or build a nice detached garage or go travel with them. The money isn’t there. Households need to make 200k to live what was once the attainable middle class lifestyle. I’m in the Midwest.

I just want to be happy, man. Life doesn't need to be a walk in the park but people act like we have it so much easier when EVERYTHING literally points to the contrary. It feels like I'm being constantly gaslit.

I got married at 21, my wife was 18. We both have good paying jobs 55-65k a year. We cannot buy a house where we live in Ontario Canada. In the past 3 years house prices in our area have gone up almost 300%. Now with cost of rent and groceries and everything going up, the future of owning a house is grim. Also with the Canadian government bringing in so many immigrants the housing crisis is just getting worse. We are still saving for the day we can buy a house and hoping for a change in the market.

My advice to young people: find and buy cheap land (yes it won't be prime location), and start building, DIY if need be. Most likely off grid. It will pay off immensely.

We are literally just trying to escape the reality that we live in because it's not pleasant. The online world has given us an escape and for a lot of people it is the only thing keeping them sane

As a married gen z who got married at 22 my husband and I have no children we both work full time, earn just as much as my father did and yet we still can’t afford even half of what he has. I’m still wearing clothes from 7th grade and I was able to buy socks for myself last month had to dip into the savings a bit to do it but I needed them. We earn 80k a year and with all the costs of our area having the down payment for a home the size of what I grew up in would take us about 10 years. We just don’t earn enough to keep up with anything and frankly I don’t care anymore. Just gonna wait for my father to die of old age and take what he leaves behind. Boomers had it way easier and the gas lighting they constantly Do with the work harder BS just makes me angry.

Company wage merit increases never keep pace with inflation. The longer you work a position, the lower your buying power. The only way to work for someone else and make it is to quickly get promotions or job hop.

I really appreciate the stats graphs and facts from this video. For years I’ve said it’s not commiserate when the expenses grow but the wages don’t grow at the same pace.

I'm 32, my favorite comment from people my dads age is "i paid off my student loans, interest and all, they don't deserve any help!" well Dad, your loans were like $5000 tops. How's 65k - 100k look to ya?

Im 23, graduated college last year with my B.A. and the amount of jobs I’ve seen that actually want you to have a degree and experience do not pay anywhere near the work they ask of you. I’ve seen postings of jobs paying less than $18 an hour wanting 10 years of experience and positions that even want you to work voluntarily(aka free) for a period of time before actually paying you an hourly wage, it’s sad and crazy how jobs just don’t pay enough to afford for people to live.

We are in fact screwed. 10% of my income on a car? 30% of my income on housing? Amongst my peers, we all spend above 50% of our income on housing and about 30% or more on a car. The cost of living is beating out most career opportunities financially.

I think one of the biggest issues in our early educational system is the push for college and not trade schools. I live in oregon and was always told to go to college, trade schools weren't even brought into the equation. There are many trade jobs that make very good money and are in constant demand. Take a look at becoming a hygienist. The make at least 50 an hour and its a 2 year program. We got to start offering trade schools as an option. College isn't for everyone.

My Grandfather - Salary $4000 a year 1 job. Bought his house for $5000 dollars. My Father - Salary $70k a year 1 job. Bought his house for 75K Me - 50k-60k a year from my 3 jobs doing 50+hrs a week.......Cost of a house that I don't own $700k Also me - Gets told I'm lazy and don't work hard enough.

What crazy is that it used to be a family could get by with one income, unless your a very high earner there is no way that is happening now

This is the kick in the butt I needed.

Companies just don't value work anymore.

we are poorer and poorer but the ones who do make good money are getting richer and richer in our generation.

Boomers had it easy, its funny that they dont want to accept that.

As an older millennial 1985, my dad always warned against job hopping. He had two pensions and stayed at one of those positions until the company went bankrupt. The other lasted until retirement. I made several moves for money and am currently at my longest employer 3+ years. If you leave for > 9% increases in wages, you completely beat the system of 2% increases or less each year, and like the video said, can garner new/better skills and reach management faster. Just be prepared to explain why you left in an interview. The life we are living is not that of our parents. Man do I miss the 90's.

It is more than home prices. As a boomer I remember the 70's and what we had to pay for. We had housing, power, water, phone, and food. No school debt, cable, yearly new phones, mandatory medical, required insurances (auto and home), and higher taxes. The younger generations have had big brothers hand in their pocket for two generations. That and failing to plan for the future and living for the moment. Also back then you got your parents stuff when they passed and that is now either taxed or drained by the homes taking care of them, nothing is left to pass to the next generation.

That job switching thing is true and ridiculous. It shows that companies aren't looking for loyalty but just someone to fill in a gap and pay at a minimal amount based on their work history.

I remember my sociology professor said 1950’s being the most financially advantageous time period for opportunities and financial growth and the worst was between 2008 and now, and it’s only getting worse. My grandparents bought three houses in Santa Barbara, CA in the 1950’s, he was a barber who retired at 30 due to muscular dystrophy and she was a part time teacher’s aide. The American dream is dead for average family.

Great video !!

My favorite arguement to why young people arent successful is "youre lazy" or "not working hard enough." Absolutely laughable. I and my girlfriend, both of us at 23, can work jobs that pay 20+ and hour, and STILL not afford a house. But its MY fault for not working hard enough. Its MY fault that I have to spend money on outrageously priced groceries so i can, yknow, keep living. And its MY fault that we live in a world where everyone tells me to break MY body and MY mind to afford to retire, to take care of my broken body THEN, and not now.

Whenever I feel stressed, anxious about not being able to afford a house, a month's worth of groceries, rent going up, bills, etc I always say to myself, "Thank God I don't have or want children."

I'm a millenial. No student debt. I worked ~30 hours per week all through college. I also didn't start at college until I was 22, I spent 4 years working and saving everything I could before I started. Since I was poor, I qualified for pell grants and I had a small scholarship of $500 per semester from the state since I started a 2 year Community College and transferred to the closest 4 year school in the area. Closest so I didn't have to move to a city with higher prices. I commuted to campus for class and worked nights and weekends the entire time. No college, I did it. But at what cost? Between the early years spent working and the the years in the degree working and studying it took me 9 years to do what other people do in 4 years. Still, I'm better off than most people my age, I guess. I have no college debt, no auto loan, and bought a house. All my needs are comfortable met and I can save a little bit. I made it, so what? It is doable, but the reduction in standards of living is insane. I work as engineer. I do decently. However, if I had simply been born 30-40 years earlier and lived the same frugal and disciplined lifestyle, my job and income would have purchased a home twice the size. I have a modest 1100 square foot home that is 60 years old in a rural community. My income is just enoughto pay my mortgage and utilities and give me cushion for emergencies. I don't travel or take trips. I've never been on a plane in my life. I "eat out" just 2 or 3 times per month. My father and grandfather worked similar engineering jobs (my own father with only a 2 year degree). They afforded a house 50 years newer, twice the size, supported a wife and 3 kids, cars for people. I'm unmarried still. No way I could support a family of 3 in a large 2500 sqft middle class home with what I do. And I'm doing better than virtually everyone I know, save for the white collar zoomers and millenials I work with who were already rich and had their degrees payed for them and jobs handed to them through nepotism. No one else in my job area came from a working class background and broke through into white collar work. They came from wealthy families already.

Average car payment $716?? If you’re buying a car that expensive and can’t afford it that’s on you!

There’s a lot of chatter about what they can, and can’t afford. The problem starts with what they can produce first. They take their first 4-5 years as an adult producing nothing, a degree isn’t worth the paper it’s written on when it’s weighed against the damage caused by university thinking. They are all at the gym instead of work, have you been there between 10am-2pm, when they are rolling out of bed? They have no valuable skills, have too much screen time, and assign no value to things that do not produce wages or skills, and prefer to stay single much of the time and not get married so all fixed costs are never shared costs.

That 30 percent rule for rent is impossible in the days of rapid inflation

I worked at a crappy job with low pay for 2.5 years. All my coworkers would work a month or two then find something else and I just kept hoping to make more than $10.25. It’s crazy that if you’re good at your job and are loyal, you’re punished nowadays

My grandfather bought his home in NY for 42k in the 60's. He sold it a year ago for over 2 million. My dad bought our house in the 90's for 200k today it is worth 1.5 million. I rent a house despite the fact that I make more money than both of them did....

I am a millenial and I own a small business that makes 130k I can’t qualify for a fixer upper mortgage in CA… I can’t easily switch jobs as I am invested in this brick and mortar business. I spend 40% of my income on rent and I am not at a high end rental just the median because I have 2 kids and don’t want to be in a dangerous neighborhood to save $200 a month. At Age 40 this year and I have 0 retirement savings and 20k in the bank. Boomers with huge equity gains over the years and cheap money until recently have thrown their kids under the bus and then constantly talk down to us… frustrating and bitter is an understatement for my feelings

That's the thing, sacrificed so much for the degree and now it's not paying. It's a hard mental decision to leave and start at a retail or other department.

It's worth remembering that quite a few in the Boomer generation (and older) were running on single incomes and STILL doing well. Single income families with stay-at-home moms was quite common. Since the 90s, multi-income families has become far more common, practically necessary in most cases. It's reflected in home and rent costs: working minimum wage, you'd need 2, maybe even 3 incomes for rent in most cities.

I remember some years ago there was a commercial with the theme "Be Stupid". Says a lot

Watching from the UK 🥲

The cost of living was 50% Less in decades past. It is completely unaffordable to save anything beyond basic necessities.

$1,250 rent for a 50k income 🥹 As a realtor in miami, I'm seeing people lease 2,200/m with 50k incomes. A 1,250 rental is literally just a shed or a room.

The government lacks awareness on inflation, cost of living, immigration.. Gen Z and Millennials are gonna have to think real hard on who we elected etc.

Great video that highlights valid, and you're definitely right about the UK. This is likely to decide whether the centre-right political party continues it's existence into the future of our country. As a xennial or early millennial, I've had to realise if I want a pay rise, being your own boss is the only way forward, no way to live being an employee to loser.

Won't lie as a millennial having lived through 2 recessions I can't help but feel behind and I'm tired of trading time for money (how do you put a price on your time) it doesn't matter what I do I can't get ahead. Thanks for reading.

I'm a millennial who graduated college in 2008. 2008 they ruined my life. My degree was for nothing. Alot of us were forever screwed in 2008 and 2009. And everytime I start to get back on my feet we end up with another phucking economic crisis and I AGAIN have to start over.

This is a great video that explains things for people who don't already know the dire situation the current generations are in. I appreciate also the end of the video where you give some practical advice. Subscribed

Something not mentioned is there are increased utility costs (Internet, Cellphones), higher taxes, and increased regulations. Plus there are fewer opportunities for younger people to work, the cost of things people need the most outpaced inflation, globalization, increased national security costs, and a border crisis that has been going on for decades causing all sorts of mayhem.

There is a very important part missing from this analysis. The way that a Household Income was achieved is VERY!!! Important! All the way to 1990 the majority of household income was achieved through a Single Wage. And this the whole difference.

We are screwed, especially those of us who didn’t start planning and being conscious of this at 20 years old. Travel, partying, poor decisions, just being uninformed - boom! You’re screwed!

I don't know why but I am feeling motivated by watching your video. It really helps analysing finances and scenarios of all the generations and how current generations are toughest from them all 😅and as a Gen Z'er myself gives insights and hints of what we are doing wrong and what to do next. Thanks Humphrey 😃

My stepmom is a real estate agent in the toronto GTA. A couple had around 800k for a downpayment and were unable to find a house!! They could only afford condos or to move out of the city if they want to own a house.

I believe the cost of living crisis partially explains the generational gap of job hopping vs staying at the dame company. Previous generations could stay at a company for 20+ years because it was actually affordable. Younger career professionals who are saving for a house/being financially comfortable job hop out of necessity.

The issue is a lot of commodities are being bought as investments by massive corporations, especially housing. The median income has stayed pretty much the same relative to inflation. We need to stop large investment groups from buying out literally everything you need to live

Everything feels so hopeless. I fucked up as a child and chose to chase my dream rather than business and politics. Besides my dream job..all I’ve ever wanted was a home and family. I work minimum wage, I can’t even pay for health check ups. I’m scared by the time I have enough to buy a house it’ll be too late. I’m scared as I’m getting closer to my 30s that I may hit that infertile point. I don’t even have a car, my boyfriend is in the same boat with his dream job. I have to rely on him for a ride and everything outside of work. It hurts that two people can’t even pay for a single room apartment without the sacrifice of all their money and their beloved pets.

To have more, we have to create more. Government prevents creation in so many ways across so many sectors. The vast majority of the issues you identified can be explained by one or more government policies.

So the advice basically boils down to: Don't live in a city because then you won't be able to find somewhere to live that fits within your 30% budget. Don't live in a rural area because you need to have job options so you can hop jobs for better pay. Don't have outrageous debt so don't buy a car unless you can afford it, even though you'll need it to commute to work. Did I miss anything?

Wife and I made 120k a year. The only debt being student loans. Rent took over half our income. A single bedroom apartment outside the city. Moved back home to Montana built a yurt instead of a typical house. Best thing we ever did. Homes are stupid expensive. We still are poor but happier.

ah man I haven't seen one of your videoss in so long, I forgot to sub!

As a gen z with a decent paying job, it is about imposible for me to live on my own, in a town of 12k. You would think housing would be cheaper here, but you’re wrong. Middle of Wisconsin, and apartments are 1k per month. Then I have 350 per month in health insurance, I have food and gas and other expenses. At that point I’m close to spending all my money each month

my mind is always blown when people say things like your auto loan should be under 10% or your housing costs should be under 30% when most people i know have rents that cost them around 70-80% of their income and have to steal food from where they work to live. And that's the cheapest rent possible

I’m British and I feel this hard because when I was born my mother owned a 10 bedroom property which at the time was worth £112,000 in 1992. She sold it in 2000 and bought a smaller 4 bedroom house. The 10 bedroom house just sold this year for £2.4 million 😅 the house I grew up in would’ve set me and my siblings for life lol

I got to ride my bike with my friends. We could go wherever we wanted. A scope of ice cream was a nickel. We played outside without fear until moms called dinner. Paper routes and mowing lawns. Friday night dances at the community center and no shots fired. Summers at the beach holding up score cards with 9 and no arrest. Cruising and necking until our 20s called us away. I don't think I had it worse. I thought it was magic. I am so sorry for what young people are going through. They have been robbed of their futures. Sold out for votes.

I think part of the reason that car prices (or most everything) costing more was that people cared less about the total price and more about the monthly cost (or borrowing). Less people paid less of the total cost with cash (saved up for things) and the availability and willingness of buying things just based on the monthly amount drove up prices over the past couple of decades

My husband is 26 and I'm 24 living in a small house with his 64y mom that helps with the house bills. It's really frustrating living with a parent in law as a married couple(for the obvious reasons) but we have no money to afford renting a place or buying a house. His mom had to co-sign for him to be able to get a car and he makes 40k an year, it's just not being enough to have anything in savings at all. We live in the woods and I stay home all day because I don't have a car and for not having any experience or worked before it puts me all the way at the bottom, I've been applying for jobs online and in town like crazy and I don't even get called for interviews. It's making me suicidal being in this situation and what is going to save me is someone giving me a change to work somewhere so I can start saving money and buy a cheap car for myself and then go from there but I can't even get a job.

I’m going on 33 this year, live with my mom all my life and I know financially I couldn’t ever do it without her. When I graduated high school so many were happy to live on their own yet a year or two later they are back living with their parents or other family members because they can’t financially do it. So glad there are facts to back all this madness up.

No matter how hard I work, I can never buy a home. I hope my lifespan ends when Im 65 so I dont have to be old and homeless.

Just live like the boomers did and this problem goes away. Homes were smaller, less ornate and college campuses weren’t the resorts they are today. Buying luxury with debt was not the boomer experience.

Annoying to see others calling the generation lazy but the truth is that majority of jobs salary only cover rent and food expenses with little to no room for savings.

I don't even care about money or possessions anymore, I also don't want to work 40 hours a week every week for 50 more years. I'm much happier living in an rv, working only when I need to, and traveling and enjoying nature. It's all I need to be happy.

Making 6 figures (which really isn’t much btw), no student loans, no credit card debt, a credit score over 800, no car payments, put nearly 3K a month into stocks… still living with parents 😎

British and screwed by the housing market. Thanks for seeing us mate! ☕️ 🫖

I was 30 when I bought my first house in 2018 at $210k. I used a VA home loan that saved me around $30k from fees and other costs while buying a home. In 2018, I was maxed at $250k for the home loan. Now my house is valued at $309k. I would not be able to afford my house if I bought it today. I did refinance in late 2020 or early 2021 when the loan % went low. I refinanced my home at 2.25% today my mortgage is $1001 a month.

Im a nurse, ive been working full time since i graduated for, lets say 4.5 years. I am still nowhere near being able to afford a small home. And renting would take about half my income. I save about 95 percent of my income. The residents i work for have no clue of how hard it is for people, they are all out of touch and do think its our problem

For me as a European it is ridiculous to think about that a house in the US costs about half a million dollars. Since the build quality in the US is just so bad, I mean these houses are basically made of wood. Here in Europe houses are made from cement and steel and cost about the same.

stop buying crap you do not need what you want is not a need

Man, all of this just makes me want to give up, cease my existence and rot.

Browsing the comments on this video... it's really easy to discern between the newer generations actually trying to afford housing today and the older generations sitting comfortably screaming from their perches.

Who’s feeling French