Pinochet said:

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Nothing new about investing being a required part of living comfortably. It's not someone else's fault.

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As expected you did not understand but rushed to white knight for CEOs. Let me try again.

In 1955, 1 income gave you a comfortable life with family.
In 2005, 2 incomes gave you a comfortable life with family.

In 2025, 2 incomes are NOT ENOUGH. You need a few more incomes but it is not possible. The only way is TO INVEST TO SURVIVE.

Back in 1955, investing was optional for survival. From 2025 onward, it is MANDATORY to survive.

Get it now?

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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Quote:

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That seems to be the only way to keep one's head above water and have a decent life. My friends with 2 incomes but no investing are struggling with mortgage, bills, loans, kid's college tuition etc.

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So it is someone else's fault your friends are probably living beyond their means and likely financially illiterate?

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Lot of illiterate and clueless assumptions in the post above pulled out of thin air.

Fishing Fools said:

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InfinityAg will be here shortly to blame the Boomers. Sad way to live each day.

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CEOs are more at fault than Boomers.

It is worse if a CEO is a Boomer. Like Jamie Dimon.
I'd say Boomers are just clueless and think they are in 1980 when they were young. Hence the "open an HVAC business" type advice.

At 25 I was working my ass off, but still broke. Could barely afford my 400 sq ft apartment in NW Austin. I had to depend on my mileage money to make ends meet. Finally got a weekend job for a year to just help supplement. At that point in my life I had resigned myself that I would never own a home. That's just where a lot of us were at when we were 25.

By age 27 I had a new job, a wife, and we bought our first home. Still we're dirt poor living paycheck to paycheck, but making slow progress.

At 52, I'm able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. But it took a long time to get here.

LOL same here!

I did Junior Year Abroad in 1992 at Hebrew U in Jerusalem.

literally the "beds" were a small mattress placed on a piece of wood. and we would have to hike a mile up to upper campus to use a pay phone to make calls to the USA!

and there were no real televisions anywhere.

and we loved it!

When I graduated from A&M, I sorta felt like that for a few days, but it was mostly because all of a sudden there was this gaping hole in my life where school had been, and everything in front of me would be new challenges.

But I quickly got over it and went on with my life.

my response was directed specifically to yours and I was very intentional in using the word probably.

You stated a "decent life" and then said struggling with mortgage, bills, loans, etc.. What loans to they still have given they have a mortgage and are apparently paying for their kids college? Car notes?

The fact that they didn't save for their kids college or they're not having their own kids take out their own loans given their own debt, is pretty telling...

51 yo gen Xer here

Maybe I was weird, or maybe kids these days are more mature/better at planning than I was (highly likely). That said, at 25, i was like tramp: living in a crappy 1 bedroom, working construction, but I was happy as a clam. Couldn't afford to go out, but could afford a couple of sixers of cheap beer on Friday to sit on the porch with my roommate. Maybe pitch washers. We were young, dumb, but pretty happy.

Life is what you make it. I acknowledge kids these days have different experiences than I did, but stuff doesn't equal happiness.

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Social media is to blame for comparison and unrealistic expectations. Cut it out of your life.

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Not only social media, but these crazy reality shows cause unrealistic expectations.

Tramp96 said:

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At 25 I was working my ass off, but still broke. Could barely afford my 400 sq ft apartment in NW Austin. I had to depend on my mileage money to make ends meet. Finally got a weekend job for a year to just help supplement. At that point in my life I had resigned myself that I would never own a home. That's just where a lot of us were at when we were 25.

By age 27 I had a new job, a wife, and we bought our first home. Still we're dirt poor living paycheck to paycheck, but making slow progress.

At 52, I'm able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. But it took a long time to get here.

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At age 27 you arent buying a first home while being dirt poor. That is the difference. Especially with more and more jobs being located in urban areas.

Is it something you can overcome sure, but it is a different challenge.

The issue likely captured here is that 25 year old arent able to get a foot in the door.

Put it this way. An intern in houston 10 years ago, could find a place to live reasonably safe and close to their job for maybe 50-70% of their monthly salary. Now renting options are either an hour plus commute away or are 100% of the monthly intern salary.

Deerdude said:

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I think it was same segment that colleges are offering "Adulting" classes and they are heavily attended.

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Because we've watered down HS so much. My inflated property taxes hard at work!

ETA* But at least our ISD just got an awesome Golf Simulator! That'll really help! Still waiting for my thank you note in the mail, as I homeschool my kids out of my own pocket.

Saltwater Assassin said:

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51 yo gen Xer here

Maybe I was weird, or maybe kids these days are more mature/better at planning than I was (highly likely). That said, at 25, i was like tramp: living in a crappy 1 bedroom, working construction, but I was happy as a clam. Couldn't afford to go out, but could afford a couple of sixers of cheap beer on Friday to sit on the porch with my roommate. Maybe pitch washers. We were young, dumb, but pretty happy.

Life is what you make it. acknowledge kids these days have different experiences than I did, but stuff doesn't equal happiness.

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Just something to keep in mind, as a guy that was a more reasonable option. Women will generally need to pay more to get into safer areas.

Deerdude said:

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More opportunities for my kids. Carry on

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That's what always say. My twins graduated college last year and are already off to a fast start. Of course, they grind every day, and have goals set to where they want to be down the road. They know there are dues to be paid right now, and are gladly paying them in the grind.

It's called life. Guess what, my life wasn't all roses at 25 either.

Suck it up.

TheCurl84 said:

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AgBQ-00 said:

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They grow up thinking they should start with what took their parents lifetimes to build. It is the stress of unrealistic expectations. Instead of looking at reality they look at what they think should be.

Not discounting current difficulties, but this generation is not the first to face challenges. You can clearly see they never knew anyone who lived through the 30s

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Most of the kids now live in very nice apartments or dorms. Some of these apartments are like living on a cruise ship.

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And drive very nice cars as well. Probably spend a good pile on Spring breaks and over Christmas on trips and such. All fine and dandy, but parents and grandparents are most likely footing the bill for all that, plus the costs of college. Once they get out and have to start paying their own way, it is quite a change for them.

My kids are grown and in their own homes. And tighter than ticks. It's awesome.

Smart phones did Irrepairable damage to this generation.

Tailgate88 said:

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Smart phones did Irrepairable damage to this generation.

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could not be more true. in time i am sure we'll start seeing reputable studies about this.

we dont let our kids use technology. i guess we'll start the switch in next two years when we start high school.


what i am witnessing now is that kids that have had phones since 1st or 2nd grade are not addicted to them. kids that just started getting phones in 5/6/7 grade...are fully addicted and have no clue how to put it down.

captkirk said:

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The irony here is that we are at the top of this cycle, but many on this board refuse to see it.

Post WW2 America was literally the best time to be alive in human history. If you grew up in that era...you are the weak men it produced.

All in all things are still pretty damn good and there are still whiny, spoiled people. But there are fewer of them than a generation ago; you just get to see them all now that the internet can put them on blast.

AgBQ-00 said:

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They grow up thinking they should start with what took their parents lifetimes to build. It is the stress of unrealistic expectations. Instead of looking at reality they look at what they think should be.

Not discounting current difficulties, but this generation is not the first to face challenges. You can clearly see they never knew anyone who lived through the 30s

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Yep. It's called entitled...and it's the millenials and Gen Z's biggest identity.

Tailgate88 said:

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Smart phones did Irrepairable damage to this generation.

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Poor parenting...did this...good parents can manage smart phones in their kids hands...

Logos Stick said:

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The problem is these lazy idiots have to carry society in the future.

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and THIS is why I am taking my Social Security payments the day I am eligible in 2032!!

WestAustinAg said:

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AgBQ-00 said:

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They grow up thinking they should start with what took their parents lifetimes to build. It is the stress of unrealistic expectations. Instead of looking at reality they look at what they think should be.

Not discounting current difficulties, but this generation is not the first to face challenges. You can clearly see they never knew anyone who lived through the 30s

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Yep. It's called entitled...and it's the millenials and Gen Z's biggest identity.

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They learned from the best!

As a country we need to normalize multi-generational households again.

Kids who grow up in master-planned communities and newer suburbs grow up in a world with resort style neighborhood pools (many in their backyard), golf carts for joy riding, and big screen TVs with the latest video game system in their bedroom. The pantries are full of food and snacks, the family pet cost $1000 and may have its own health insurance. There's a maid twice a month to clean the toilets and vacuum the rugs. Etcetera, etcetera. These are the kids struggling to reconcile current reality with the life they had, and that struggle creates anxeity and stress.

Look at the kids who grew up poor in small towns or inner cities who graduate college and start their careers. Still a lot of stress and anxiety, because that's life. But they don't have the burdon of feeling decades behind because they don't drive an Acura or have a 3,000 s.f. house filled with new furniture.

infinity ag said:

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Pinochet said:

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Nothing new about investing being a required part of living comfortably. It's not someone else's fault.

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As expected you did not understand but rushed to white knight for CEOs. Let me try again.

In 1955, 1 income gave you a comfortable life with family.
In 2005, 2 incomes gave you a comfortable life with family.

In 2025, 2 incomes are NOT ENOUGH. You need a few more incomes but it is not possible. The only way is TO INVEST TO SURVIVE.

Back in 1955, investing was optional for survival. From 2025 onward, it is MANDATORY to survive.

Get it now?

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This is not as universally true as you make it out to be. I graduated from grad school in 2015 and entered a new career field just like the 25 or 26 year olds. So not 2025, but also not that long ago either. I did not have investment income. Even now my investment income is only 10% of what I earn. I am diligently working on that but progressive income taxes take a huge chunk.

10 years post grad school, we have lived on a single income the entire time. Now we are in the top1% of earners on a single income.

It is certainly doable. Our entire friend circle is similarly situated and they are all 35 or 36 because that is the age of attorney I graduated with and partnered with.

Owlagdad said:

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LMCane said:

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definitely more stressful in 2025 than in 1944 for people in their twenties!~

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I tell college grad kids who are struggling to go join the service, go to OTC, become officer if you want.
Their Mommas step in and say no, "he might get killed". I say, join the Navy or Air Force then, they say "No, he might be stationed far away".

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21 yr old stepson is 2 yrs into his first 4 (and probably more) in the USAF. He was working with me for a bit, living with me, too. He got tired of just kind of lounging and signed up. He's living his best life on a Space Force base in Florida. Soon to be going to cybersecurity school.

Couldn't be prouder!

Muktheduck said:

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WestAustinAg said:

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AgBQ-00 said:

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They grow up thinking they should start with what took their parents lifetimes to build. It is the stress of unrealistic expectations. Instead of looking at reality they look at what they think should be.

Not discounting current difficulties, but this generation is not the first to face challenges. You can clearly see they never knew anyone who lived through the 30s

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Yep. It's called entitled...and it's the millenials and Gen Z's biggest identity.

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They learned from the best!

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Gen X wasn't entitled. Neither were boomers. They didn't have cell phones or lots of wealth by their parents. Boomers were all dirt poor as kids. Their parents worked two jobs and they were the latchkey generations. Nothing easy was given to them.

But both gens gained wealth and let the kids have too much too soon and easily.

From my view its a mixture of both comparison of "influencers" and also the fact that a dollar does not go as far as it used to. I'm 41, I bought my first house three years after I graduated college and was able to add on roughly 600 sqft to it. That same home today would have been waaaay out of my price range and I would have either had to continue renting or purchased a cookie cutter house that did not have nearly the same ROI.

I see two kinds of young adults, ones that show up, work hard, and have goals and then ones that have obviously never done anything resembling physical labor. So, while I understand saying "kids these days just don't want to put in the hard work." I also see hard working young men, that aren't driving brand new vehicles, aren't jet setting around to Cabo, and who have an added burden of very high housing costs that are preventative to them being able to purchase a home, especially one with a high ROI.

Muktheduck said:

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captkirk said:

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The irony here is that we are at the top of this cycle, but many on this board refuse to see it.

Post WW2 America was literally the best time to be alive in human history. If you grew up in that era...you are the weak men it produced.

All in all things are still pretty damn good and there are still whiny, spoiled people. But there are fewer of them than a generation ago; you just get to see them all now that the internet can put them on blast.

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We are not at the top of the circle yet. We are at still at the weak people stage. The hard times are still to come.

WestAustinAg said:

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Muktheduck said:

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WestAustinAg said:

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AgBQ-00 said:

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They grow up thinking they should start with what took their parents lifetimes to build. It is the stress of unrealistic expectations. Instead of looking at reality they look at what they think should be.

Not discounting current difficulties, but this generation is not the first to face challenges. You can clearly see they never knew anyone who lived through the 30s

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Yep. It's called entitled...and it's the millenials and Gen Z's biggest identity.

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They learned from the best!

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Gen X wasn't entitled. Neither were boomers. They didn't have cell phones or lots of wealth by their parents. Boomers were all dirt poor as kids. Their parents worked two jobs and they were the latchkey generations. Nothing easy was given to them.

But both gens gained wealth and let the kids have too much too soon and easily.

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That's just a myth you cling onto so you can bash younger generations to feel good about yourself.

The kids can do the same. Instead of posts about spoiled college girls, they post Karens, and holy **** are there a lot of extremely entitled middle aged women.

Maybe the old weren't entitled growing up but they sure as hell are now. You're talking about the generation that self righteously sells out their progeny's economic future just so their 401k will continue to go up. The general attitude is "I'm going to live in luxury as long as I can because that money is MINE and I earned it!". I can scarcely think of a better definition of entitlement

Tramp96 said:

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Muktheduck said:

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captkirk said:

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The irony here is that we are at the top of this cycle, but many on this board refuse to see it.

Post WW2 America was literally the best time to be alive in human history. If you grew up in that era...you are the weak men it produced.

All in all things are still pretty damn good and there are still whiny, spoiled people. But there are fewer of them than a generation ago; you just get to see them all now that the internet can put them on blast.

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We are not at the top of the circle yet. We are at still at the weak people stage. The hard times are still to come.

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We've recently entered the hard times. Covid kicked that off. And it's already starting to show in the younger generations, the men especially

males have always had a higher suicide rate than females

they usually use guns or jump off a bridge while women use pills.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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This is a product of spending the majority of their lives on social media and having an unrealistic expectation that everyone their age is a millionaire and enjoying their annual vacations to Fiji and Dubai in their 20s. People are a lot happier when they're not constantly comparing themselves to some instagram "model" (OF model more likely) or some dude that is 6 figures in debt telling you how to "get rich".

Work hard, make smart decisions, and understand the payout for your efforts may be 5-10-20 years away. Can't always get it now.

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Exactly. I'm 54 and was vacationing in Dubai last weekend. That was a trip I've been planning for 5+ years and have been saving for a decade to do it.

While I was on the Palm Jumeirah, the number of girls I saw doing it for the Gram was ridiculous.

Heck, even walking my dog this morning on the Galveston Seawall, I saw three little Latina chubbies out there on one of the Jetties posing in their bikini tops - at 7am. Gotta get the lighting right, I guess.

CheeseSndwch said:

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As a country we need to normalize multi-generational households again.

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You dont know my in laws.