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Post by sideways on Oct 5, 2023 19:40:58 GMT
You might not be a boomer by age, but you sure are by attitude. Well then it’s served me well. 🤷🏼♀️ I’m not disagreeing that the cost of things has skyrocketed and pay has not kept up. I just don’t believe living is impossible like most in this thread do. Where we disagree is on are the sacrifices millennials and Gen Z (if that’s who comes right before them) need to make to live in reality. They want it all and want it now and that’s just not realistic. I mean just look at the threads on this board asking for tshirt recommendations. I click on the links and people are buying $40 tshirts! WTF! If that’s what these kids are being taught by their parents, then no wonder they don’t know what a sacrifice is. So, one comment on Reddit about wanting to live near the water and recommendations on this message board for $40 T-shirts are proof that Millennials and Gen Z are entitled brats that have terrible parents. 🙄😂🤦🏼♀️ Good grief.
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Post by belgravia on Oct 5, 2023 19:41:01 GMT
Good lord you’re strident. I didn’t share an anecdote in an attempt to solve a systemic problem. So you just shared it to shake your fist in the air while saying “damn these kids these days”? That’s helpful /s Ok, Ms. Bus Kids are Bad 🤣🤣
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Post by supersoda on Oct 5, 2023 19:41:23 GMT
I was having coffee with a former student who got a "job offer" of this: you can work here unpaid for a year, and at the end of the year, we will consider hiring you into a position. We only hire people who work first unpaid for a year." This was a student with top grades, and I won't name the employer here but it employs a lot of people, and I personally know people my age that worked there straight out of law school in regular paid positions. Things have gotten nutso. Unpaid “internships” are horrible. They’re to the complete detriment of kids who don’t come from means. If you are paying your own way, it’s impossible to make work. My recent college grad kid got a prestigious position that pays minimum wage in NYC. No one can afford to live on minimum wage age in NYC. I’m am very aware that my kid can only take advantage of this opportunity because we can supplement their income. I put myself through school and absolutely could not have taken that kind of job, much less one that paid nothing. I just hate it for the kids who grew up like me.
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Post by Merge on Oct 5, 2023 19:41:28 GMT
Is that how the boomers did it? No. When they started their adult life, you could buy a decent family home on a factory worker’s salary. No roommates required. That sure as hell is they way I did it. And you can’t see any reason why that might be an unreasonable expectation for a generation as a whole in the wealthiest country in the world where corporate profits are soaring? None at all?
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Post by padresfan619 on Oct 5, 2023 19:44:14 GMT
I’m a millennial and I just typed up a huge multi paragraph response to a lot of the “I’m so ungrateful, I need instant gratification, I should live in a sketchy part of town with 8 roommates” claims and I’m just so tired. When I was growing up it was hammered in to me that if I just went to college and got a degree in anything I would have a job waiting for me! And then I graduated into one of the worst economies in history.
I’ll get back to the avocado toast I made for lunch. Don’t worry, I bought all of the ingredients and made it at home!
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Post by MichyM on Oct 5, 2023 19:45:09 GMT
Thank you! I literally laughed out loud when I read that line. Pensions don't exist anymore. If you have a pension, good on you. But I would say the Boomers are the last generation that really do have pensions still. Some Gen X'ers might depending on if they got into a job early enough in their career and stayed there. But pensions are long past for most employees these days. In doing some googling it appears that if you have a Government job, you might be lucky. Also Union jobs. The rest of us have our 401k and a dying hope on Social Security. My husband actually started with his company managing their pension fund. They got rid of it years ago for new hires and gave existing employees the choice if they wanted to stay with it or not. My husband wasn’t planning on staying with the company until retirement, so he opted out to invest the money himself. Well, hindsight is 20/20 and life happens. He ended up staying with the company and is looking at partial retirement within the next 5-7 years. We’d have been a lot better off if he’d stayed with the pension. But, yeah…pensions don’t really exist anymore. That’s just another out-of-touch assumption by those that think they do. My ex was lifelong employee of (insert name of aerospace corporation). He retired about 5 years ago and his pension is effing insane. It is so large that I cannot wrap my brain around it. Coupled with his SS and 401k, he will live out his life in luxury. And no, I didn’t touch any of it when we split ten years ago. I hope he realizes how incredibly fortunate he is to have that, and to have it all intact. I know decades ago during bargaining (he was a member of SPEEA), they finally nixed that benefit to new hires. To add insult to injury, those young people are paying into a SS system that likely will not exist when it’s their turn to use it. I feel terribly for the younger generations. Truly. Signed, a very young Boomer.
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Post by Merge on Oct 5, 2023 19:47:57 GMT
You cannot start your own pension. Yes you can because I did through Jackson. If you’re the only one contributing to it, it’s not the same kind of pension (employer- or state-funded) that we’re talking about here.
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Post by MichyM on Oct 5, 2023 19:49:52 GMT
By definition, pensions are employer paid. Do you mean you started a 401(k)? No, I have a pension that I rolled over from my Colorado PERA when I worked for the University. I am self-employed now. I’m confused as to how someone who is self employed can have their own pension. Would you care to link the program if you have the time? A quick Google for “Jackson pension” didn’t do the trick for me. Thanks!
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Post by h2ohdog on Oct 5, 2023 19:50:28 GMT
Alternatively, DO read Reddit to understand what younger generations still working are dealing with. They're paying your social security once you outlive your own contributions. They'll be taking care of you in your old age. They don't have anything close to the financial potential and security that you enjoyed. They face the real and terrible effects of climate change in their lifetimes. They face a neo-fascist future in which they and their children will not enjoy the rights and liberties that we have taken for granted. LISTEN. Terming them all as entitled brats only proves their point. Forgot the /s. I *do* read Reddit (for many years in fact), and *do* understand where these kids are coming from. I forget you all don’t know me, so I have to explain things. I apologize for the misunderstanding.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,647
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Oct 5, 2023 19:52:07 GMT
I keep reading how people should buy a house and rent rooms out to afford their starter home. I just want to mention that some places are making this difficult. Some of the cities around me are limiting the number of unrelated persons who can live in a residence in order to target rentals and "too many cars in the driveway." Just another way to make things harder for people to get started.
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samantha25
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,931
Jun 27, 2014 19:06:19 GMT
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Post by samantha25 on Oct 5, 2023 19:54:31 GMT
No, I have a pension that I rolled over from my Colorado PERA when I worked for the University. I am self-employed now. I’m confused as to how someone who is self employed can have their own pension. Would you care to link the program if you have the time? A quick Google for “Jackson pension” didn’t do the trick for me. Thanks! I think I may be using the wrong term. I think my financial guys said it's like a pension. It's a Jackson National Variable Annuity.
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Post by busy on Oct 5, 2023 19:55:31 GMT
Yes you can because I did through Jackson. If you’re the only one contributing to it, it’s not the same kind of pension (employer- or state-funded) that we’re talking about here. It's most likely an annuity. You can rollover employer pensions into a variety of options but private pensions... eh.
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Post by padresfan619 on Oct 5, 2023 19:56:51 GMT
I keep reading how people should buy a house and rent rooms out to afford their starter home. I just want to mention that some places are making this difficult. Some of the cities around me are limiting the number of unrelated persons who can live in a residence in order to target rentals and "too many cars in the driveway." Just another way to make things harder for people to get started. A lot of first time home buyer mortgages also stipulate you aren’t allowed to rent out your property for the first year of the mortgage. I’m not sure what that means for individual rooms, though.
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Post by busy on Oct 5, 2023 19:57:52 GMT
I keep reading how people should buy a house and rent rooms out to afford their starter home. I just want to mention that some places are making this difficult. Some of the cities around me are limiting the number of unrelated persons who can live in a residence in order to target rentals and "too many cars in the driveway." Just another way to make things harder for people to get started. A lot of first time home buyer mortgages also stipulate you aren’t allowed to rent out your property for the first year of the mortgage. I’m not sure what that means for individual rooms, though. As long as it's also your primary residence, it's generally fine.
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Post by epeanymous on Oct 5, 2023 19:59:20 GMT
I was having coffee with a former student who got a "job offer" of this: you can work here unpaid for a year, and at the end of the year, we will consider hiring you into a position. We only hire people who work first unpaid for a year." This was a student with top grades, and I won't name the employer here but it employs a lot of people, and I personally know people my age that worked there straight out of law school in regular paid positions. Things have gotten nutso. This is illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Someone needs to report them to the Department of Labor, and an investigation will probably result in a lot of fines and payment of back wages. A legit unpaid internship is tied to academic credit (like student teaching) and has a pretty limited duration. I have worked with the office that coordinates internships at my university, and we were constantly getting students who wanted to do "unpaid" internships for credit. They had to submit a proposal for specific learning goals and objectives that would be met through the internship before we would allow them to register for internship credit. My DD needed an internship on her resume, and she did a one-credit unpaid accounting internship with our local minor-league baseball team (that she worked for in the summers as a bat-girl), and she had to submit weekly reports to the instructor regarding what she was doing so she could get her grade. It also only lasted 6 weeks and was for limited hours during the week. She ended up being a remote internship because she started the position in early March just as COVID got started, so she honestly didn't do that much, so the team pretty much got what they paid for LOL. Oh no, like many such positions, it's not an unpaid internship.
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Post by MichyM on Oct 5, 2023 20:00:38 GMT
I’m confused as to how someone who is self employed can have their own pension. Would you care to link the program if you have the time? A quick Google for “Jackson pension” didn’t do the trick for me. Thanks! I think I may be using the wrong term. I think my financial guys said it's like a pension. It's a Jackson National Variable Annuity. Gotcha. That is a different animal than a pension.
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Post by epeanymous on Oct 5, 2023 20:01:48 GMT
Well then it’s served me well. 🤷🏼♀️ I’m not disagreeing that the cost of things has skyrocketed and pay has not kept up. I just don’t believe living is impossible like most in this thread do. Where we disagree is on are the sacrifices millennials and Gen Z (if that’s who comes right before them) need to make to live in reality. They want it all and want it now and that’s just not realistic. I mean just look at the threads on this board asking for tshirt recommendations. I click on the links and people are buying $40 tshirts! WTF! If that’s what these kids are being taught by their parents, then no wonder they don’t know what a sacrifice is. Yes, you should definitely judge a whole generation of young people based on the shirts worn by a group of mostly affluent, middle-aged women. My cocktail-napkin math tells me that a starter home here costs approximately 20,000 $40 t-shirts.
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Post by nightnurse on Oct 5, 2023 20:15:23 GMT
Fit what picture, exactly? Does that “different perspective” change the facts that the COL is much more expensive, housing is prohibitively expensive, wages are down, and it’s harder to get a job now for kids starting out? No, it doesn’t. But, thanks for your “different perspective.” My perspective is my reality. My reality is that my husband’s income has doubled in the last 10 years ish. My daughter’s university education is paid for. She will not struggle. That’s my reality. Sorry you’re so offended by it 🤷🏼♀️ That’s the boomer mentality encapsulated right here : my husband’s salary doubled so too bad it offends you. We aren’t offended that your husband is well paid and your daughter won’t struggle. We’re offended that you think that because you don’t struggle, anyone who does just isn’t as smart or as worthy as you. We’re offended because you can’t see that you’re lucky and not everyone has had the same opportunities. The whole “I got mine so too bad you can’t get yours without an imaginary starter home and a roommate or six and two jobs” is the epitome of entitlement.
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Post by MichyM on Oct 5, 2023 20:21:08 GMT
My perspective is my reality. My reality is that my husband’s income has doubled in the last 10 years ish. My daughter’s university education is paid for. She will not struggle. That’s my reality. Sorry you’re so offended by it 🤷🏼♀️ That’s the boomer mentality encapsulated right here : my husband’s salary doubled so too bad it offends you. We aren’t offended that your husband is well paid and your daughter won’t struggle. We’re offended that you think that because you don’t struggle, anyone who does just isn’t as smart or as worthy as you. We’re offended because you can’t see that you’re lucky and not everyone has had the same opportunities. The whole “I got mine so too bad you can’t get yours without an imaginary starter home and a roommate or six and two jobs” is the epitome of entitlement. Very well said. Please take note peas.
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Post by belgravia on Oct 5, 2023 20:22:54 GMT
My perspective is my reality. My reality is that my husband’s income has doubled in the last 10 years ish. My daughter’s university education is paid for. She will not struggle. That’s my reality. Sorry you’re so offended by it 🤷🏼♀️ That’s the boomer mentality encapsulated right here : my husband’s salary doubled so too bad it offends you. We aren’t offended that your husband is well paid and your daughter won’t struggle. We’re offended that you think that because you don’t struggle, anyone who does just isn’t as smart or as worthy as you. We’re offended because you can’t see that you’re lucky and not everyone has had the same opportunities. The whole “I got mine so too bad you can’t get yours without an imaginary starter home and a roommate or six and two jobs” is the epitome of entitlement. You know, believe it or not, I don’t disagree with what you’re saying.
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Post by aj2hall on Oct 5, 2023 20:26:27 GMT
This isn't about cost of living, but it relates to being out of touch. This guy is 51, so Gen X, I think. Does he really think that TV and radio stations are sufficient in an emergency? If the power goes out, even if you have a TV with cable or radio, how are you supposed to get the alerts? I realize there are battery powered radios and some people have them, especially if you live in a hurricane or tornado prone area, but that's expecting a lot for everyone to have one. Especially when almost everyone has a cell phone.
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Post by sideways on Oct 5, 2023 20:27:42 GMT
My perspective is my reality. My reality is that my husband’s income has doubled in the last 10 years ish. My daughter’s university education is paid for. She will not struggle. That’s my reality. Sorry you’re so offended by it 🤷🏼♀️ That’s the boomer mentality encapsulated right here : my husband’s salary doubled so too bad it offends you. We aren’t offended that your husband is well paid and your daughter won’t struggle. We’re offended that you think that because you don’t struggle, anyone who does just isn’t as smart or as worthy as you. We’re offended because you can’t see that you’re lucky and not everyone has had the same opportunities. The whole “I got mine so too bad you can’t get yours without an imaginary starter home and a roommate or six and two jobs” is the epitome of entitlement. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Brava. All I’m waiting for now is something to the extent of “BUT WE WORKED HARD FOR WHAT WE HAVE!!!” or something akin to referencing bootstraps if not doing it outright and we’ll have the proverbial boomer bingo card.
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Post by MichyM on Oct 5, 2023 20:28:54 GMT
This isn't about cost of living, but it relates to being out of touch. This guy is 51, so Gen X, I think. Does he really think that TV and radio stations are sufficient in an emergency? If the power goes out, even if you have a TV with cable or radio, how are you supposed to get the alerts? I realize there are battery powered radios and some people have them, especially if you live in a hurricane or tornado prone area, but that's expecting a lot for everyone to have one. Especially when almost everyone has a cell phone. That is insane. When was the last time anyone under age 40 watched broadcast TV or listened to old fashioned radio? TOTALLY INSANE.
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Post by epeanymous on Oct 5, 2023 20:32:38 GMT
This isn't about cost of living, but it relates to being out of touch. This guy is 51, so Gen X, I think. Does he really think that TV and radio stations are sufficient in an emergency? If the power goes out, even if you have a TV with cable or radio, how are you supposed to get the alerts? I realize there are battery powered radios and some people have them, especially if you live in a hurricane or tornado prone area, but that's expecting a lot for everyone to have one. Especially when almost everyone has a cell phone. That is insane. When was the last time anyone under age 40 watched broadcast TV or listened to old fashioned radio? TOTALLY INSANE. I mean, I am 51 and use streaming services for viewing and Spotify for listening to music. I'd have to go out and buy a regular radio for my home because I just have bluetooth speakers. I don't have a landline either at home *or at work* (they took out our landline phones this summer and we now get calls through Teams on our computers). People need to live in reality.
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Post by belgravia on Oct 5, 2023 20:32:42 GMT
That’s the boomer mentality encapsulated right here : my husband’s salary doubled so too bad it offends you. We aren’t offended that your husband is well paid and your daughter won’t struggle. We’re offended that you think that because you don’t struggle, anyone who does just isn’t as smart or as worthy as you. We’re offended because you can’t see that you’re lucky and not everyone has had the same opportunities. The whole “I got mine so too bad you can’t get yours without an imaginary starter home and a roommate or six and two jobs” is the epitome of entitlement. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Brava. All I’m waiting for now is something to the extent of “BUT WE WORKED HARD FOR WHAT WE HAVE!!!” or something akin to referencing bootstraps if not doing it outright and we’ll have the proverbial boomer bingo card. So are people supposed to discount the fact that hard work plays a part in their success? As does luck? Luck is a part of it. Sometimes a big part. Being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the right people. My husband worked, and continues to work hard. Is that a bad thing? Not everyone has equal circumstances or opportunities.
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Post by sideways on Oct 5, 2023 20:35:00 GMT
This isn't about cost of living, but it relates to being out of touch. This guy is 51, so Gen X, I think. Does he really think that TV and radio stations are sufficient in an emergency? If the power goes out, even if you have a TV with cable or radio, how are you supposed to get the alerts? I realize there are battery powered radios and some people have them, especially if you live in a hurricane or tornado prone area, but that's expecting a lot for everyone to have one. Especially when almost everyone has a cell phone. That is insane. When was the last time anyone under age 40 watched broadcast TV or listened to old fashioned radio? TOTALLY INSANE. I can confirm that my Gen Z kids don’t listen to the radio ever and only watch broadcast tv when certain sports are on. Even that is rare. My youngest will usually find a way to stream games on the computer. Unfortunately, there are plenty out-of-touch Gen X.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Oct 5, 2023 20:35:25 GMT
My Chloe has always been thrifty and she has always had a good work ethic, even when she was drinking every day. She's been out on her own for 3 years now. And her and her fiance make ends meet. But I know they struggle. She's too proud to let me help her. And I try to respect that.
She's always been a thrift store shopper for economic and environmental reasons. But I've just got to say that she has been so busy juggling bills, that she hasn't shopped in a long time and generally looks like she's a hobo. I picked her up a couple of weeks ago to take her with me to the symphony. She had on a pair of black leggings, some beat to hell black converse high tops, and an old red wings jersey.
I asked her if I could buy her an outfit for Christmas. Just one nice outfit, including a pair of shoes, that she could wear when she goes out with me or anyone else (she doesn't go out with anyone else though). I thought that by offering it for Christmas, she would actually feel no shame in taking it. And she said to me, Mom, we really need a new set of sheets and a bunch of black unisex sport socks. I must have looked at her strange because she followed it by saying, we need a lot of socks because we share. Her and her fiance don't even have their own socks!
I came home to Jeremy and I said that I wasn't sure if I did something right in the way I raised her or if I did something completely wrong. I said to him, it's like she's completely lost her ability to dream, to wish, to want. I just am not even sure how to react to that. The socks just stunned me so bad.
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Post by epeanymous on Oct 5, 2023 20:36:58 GMT
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Brava. All I’m waiting for now is something to the extent of “BUT WE WORKED HARD FOR WHAT WE HAVE!!!” or something akin to referencing bootstraps if not doing it outright and we’ll have the proverbial boomer bingo card. So are people supposed to discount the fact that hard work plays a part in their success? As does luck? Luck is a part of it. Sometimes a big part. Being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the right people. My husband worked, and continues to work hard. Is that a bad thing? Not everyone has equal circumstances or opportunities. Literally no one has said that hard work doesn't matter. What people have said is that hard work and achievement is a less certain path to things like homeownership, job security, and a livable wage than it was a few generations ago because of structural and economic changes. And that as a result (not that this hasn't *always been the case for many people*) you have plenty of people now doing exactly what their parents or grandparents did and yet having a much more difficult time getting to the same place in life or getting to the same place at the same age.
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Post by sideways on Oct 5, 2023 20:37:20 GMT
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Brava. All I’m waiting for now is something to the extent of “BUT WE WORKED HARD FOR WHAT WE HAVE!!!” or something akin to referencing bootstraps if not doing it outright and we’ll have the proverbial boomer bingo card. So are people supposed to discount the fact that hard work plays a part in their success? As does luck? Luck is a part of it. Sometimes a big part. Being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the right people. My husband worked, and continues to work hard. Is that a bad thing? Not everyone has equal circumstances or opportunities. Nobody is discounting hard work. But way to miss the joke/point.
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Post by heckofagal on Oct 5, 2023 20:38:28 GMT
I am really concerned about the future my DDs face. My 28 year old just finished her Master's in Social Work. She already completed her year of unpaid practicum, though she was lucky enough to be selected by the only employer who pays a small stipend. Of course not enough to live off of, but helped with gas money. She's just started her first post Masters Degree job and is ready to look at apartments but I cannot imagine how she could swing one yet.
My 26 year old graduated from college and has a job in HR. She is now making more money than me (after working so hard the past 33 years). I'm not saying she makes a lot, I'm saying I'm embarrassed I am not making more. But she also has a car payment and student loans.
I think they both will be living at home for a bit longer, and this house seems to be shrinking.
I've preached to both of them about contributing to a 401K but I honestly wonder how many kids their age contribute to one as it's such a struggle to get by day to day tht i'm sure retirement seems like a pipe dream.
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