Tom Fox said:

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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.

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It is doable for 10% of the pop. That isn't good enough.
And calling the rest lazy or of low IQ isn't going to fly.

Muktheduck said:

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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

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I'm afraid that we will be looking back fondly on these times in a few short years.

infinity ag said:

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And calling the rest lazy or of low IQ isn't going to fly.

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Porque no los dos?

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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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...

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Most people here live paycheck to paycheck. For various reasons. Not all of them are stupid, they just didn't get the education as their parents were clueless or poor as well. Now with all jobs sent to India/China, things just get worse.

Get ready to put your money in the market. That is what we all will do in a few years.

Owlagdad said:

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Heard exerts on radio, might have been Laura Ingram show. Some gal was talking about stress 25 year olds have: Student loans! High Housing Costs! Not moving along fast enough!! Oh the horrors!!
Baaahhhaaaaa... hey guys, chill. All the above is called life .Find a way to deal with it......you got a lot of years in front of you!!

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It's about the choices we make......

Asking 20-year-old women how much they have in savings pic.twitter.com/Af4VMhZFfE

— Financial Dystopia (@financedystop) May 30, 2025

Parents don't parent anymore, most families have both parents working and someone else is taking care of their kids. That or they throw them in front of a screen all day since it is easier for the parents. Most parents don't challenge their kids either, let the kids do what is fun and not what can develop them to be a productive adult.

People that don't know us think we are hard on our kids which compared to today's standards we are. But their kids come over and like the structure and/or freedom. Take them to our property and let them do their own thing as long as they show they are responsible. Kids like and need the structure and responsibility, it takes parenting to get them to that point.

If you never challenge a kid they will fail when the real world hits

WestAustinAg said:

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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...

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I agree. That is why I did not give either of my kids phones until 10th grade. And no instagram/Tiktok even now. Banned.

My 16 year old daughter thanks for this today.

25 year burnout is basically, 'The lies I believed about the world in my teenage and college years are crumbling around me.'

Even as someone who saw through a bunch of the BS at that age I still have about 2-3 years in my life that I could've just skipped and been better off moving straight into getting married sooner and having kids sooner. I believe that is just called experience though.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Nothing new but 25 is about right. I've just been through this with my youngest kid.

Especially for girls, 25 is about when they figure out that all that college didn't result in the lifestyle they've been watching on Instagram.

Paying bills sucks, having to support yourself sucks. Especially now after Covid, relationships suck, meeting potential mates sucks, nothing is as good in reality as it appears online.

The one thing I will give girls credit for is that they don't seem to be killing themselves at the rate that young men are committing suicide. Now maybe that's always been the case, I've never looked into it. But, I just got done watching one of my friends last weekend, celebrate the life of her son because it's been two years since he killed himself.

Nevermind the news media's nonstop spreading of doom and gloom about the future - Global Warming, Donald Trump, etc., etc.

It's tough for them out there right now.

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Females have a much higher incidence of suicidal ideation, but they are usually cries for attention with half hearted or implausibly ineffective "attempts".
Males that resolve to commit suicide are typically brutally effective about it. The male "success" rate is far far higher.

one MEEN Ag said:

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25 year burnout is basically, 'The lies I believed about the world in my teenage and college years are crumbling around me.'

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This is true...except for a small slice of time from ~2020-2024.

What happened during covid with masks, dei BS, 3% interest rates on loans, and everything else was the closest I've come to clubbing everyone within 100' of me with a bat.

There was nothing wrong. Life was just fine, and then for a few years society decided "hey let's manufacture a crisis, and play along!"

Pizza said:

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one MEEN Ag said:

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25 year burnout is basically, 'The lies I believed about the world in my teenage and college years are crumbling around me.'

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This is true...except for a small slice of time from ~2020-2024.

What happened during covid with masks, dei BS, 3% interest rates on loans, and everything else was the closest I've come to clubbing everyone within 100' of me with a bat.

There was nothing wrong. Life was just fine, and then for a few years society decided "hey let's manufacture a crisis, and play along!"

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These kids use covid as their excuse for everything.

It is along the same lines as 2008 bust being used by many millennials that were entering the job market at that time.

rocky the dog said:

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This cliche is so true.

They're complaining about being broke in their 20s with stagnant dreams. But that mindset means it only gets worse with age.

Midlife they will never have as much time for their family as they would like to give. That fancy boat/cottage/pool/motorcycle/vacation, etc never gets used as much as they hoped for and they will long for the time they squandered in their youth.

Then their hair will turn gray and their body starts failing and they will notice the grains of sand in the hourglass are finite and they still have unfulfilled dreams.

Comparison is the thief of joy and life is going to hit them like a truck if they can't change their mindset.

You've got to plan for the future and live in the moment or every stage of life will bring stress and heartache.

These folks have it so good and they dont even know it.

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. I acknowledge kids these days have different experiences than I did, but stuff doesn't equal happiness.

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Dude you were like that at 35

thank God you met your wife

How can you look at people on welfare weighing at least 3 bills and not think of The Grapes Of Wrath?

This all bleeds into that victim / oppressor narrative that is so prominent in our society and educational systems.

Philo B 93 said:

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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.

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Agreed. And don't forget travel ... many young people today are sophisticated travelers with lots of experience both domestic and overseas.

Yet no matter how much they travel, they don't feel it's enough because social media makes them feel they are falling behind.

My own kids have traveled WAY more than I have ... because we never had the money to do so while they were growing up.

infinity ag said:

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ttha_aggie_09 said:

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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...

---

Most people here live paycheck to paycheck. For various reasons. Not all of them are stupid, they just didn't get the education as their parents were clueless or poor as well. Now with all jobs sent to India/China, things just get worse.

Get ready to put your money in the market. That is what we all will do in a few years.

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So you're upset because I said someone might be financially illiterate and then proceeded to confirm that with this post. Got it, thanks

It's not their fault they were born into whatever situation they were born into but you can't blame their financial decisions or lack their of on some sort of systemic problem.

When I was 25 it was 1999. I lived with my girlfriend (future wife), career was going great, we had a pretty nice apartment, nice vehicles (within reason), and I was investing like crazy (relative to my age/income). I worked my ass off every day and we had fun every night and weekend.

It was f'ing great honestly. Highly recommend it to young people. Work hard, invest like crazy, find a good mate, be happy.

NSIAP

Ryan the Temp said:

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Pizza said:

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one MEEN Ag said:

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25 year burnout is basically, 'The lies I believed about the world in my teenage and college years are crumbling around me.'

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This is true...except for a small slice of time from ~2020-2024.

What happened during covid with masks, dei BS, 3% interest rates on loans, and everything else was the closest I've come to clubbing everyone within 100' of me with a bat.

There was nothing wrong. Life was just fine, and then for a few years society decided "hey let's manufacture a crisis, and play along!"

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These kids use covid as their excuse for everything.

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As an excuse for clubbing Karen's like a canadian fisherman with a baby seal on the eastern coast? Yes, you might actually be correct for once.

ETA: still not over it, never going to get over it, and it's a data point I keep as a reminder that ~90% of EVERYONE ALIVE is a complete & total idiot...wish I could find some of you ...people... out there that screamed at me for not wearing a mask so I could pull the valve stems out of your tires.

Just wonder if we will add several thousand disillusioned ex NIL recipients who dont make it to the pros, dont pan out and are asked to leave, and have no degree.. They are basically turned out with no skills because they didnt have to meet University scholastic standards, all the while having money in their pocket, and quite wonderful living arrangements.

The generation that was never allowed to fail suddenly realizes it takes sacrifice to build up to the nice things you want. Cry me a river.

Cromagnum said:

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The generation that was never allowed to fail suddenly realizes it takes sacrifice to build up to the nice things you want. Cry me a river.

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Wouldn't it be the generation that didn't allow them to fail fault because they selfishly wanted to live vicariously through the success of the Aydens and Bradyens?

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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Wife and I could survive on one of our incomes alone. Wanna know the secret? Neither of us have useless skills and don't live beyond our means anyways.

Urban Ag said:

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Sal****er 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. I acknowledge kids these days have different experiences than I did, but stuff doesn't equal happiness.

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Dude you were like that at 35

thank God you met your wife

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Facts!

infinity ag said:

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Tom Fox said:

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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?

---

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.

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It is doable for 10% of the pop. That isn't good enough.
And calling the rest lazy or of low IQ isn't going to fly.

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I'd say 20%. Hard lessons are going to be learned about being average.

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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5 years?!?!

more like 35 years for retirement.

I will take the side of the 25 year old......

To some level, we all "Felt" this way at this age.

Now I did not open the link and read the article so this particular individual could have been over the top victim....

Krombopulos Michael said:

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Owlagdad said:

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Heard exerts on radio, might have been Laura Ingram show. Some gal was talking about stress 25 year olds have: Student loans! High Housing Costs! Not moving along fast enough!! Oh the horrors!!
Baaahhhaaaaa... hey guys, chill. All the above is called life .Find a way to deal with it......you got a lot of years in front of you!!

---

It's about the choices we make......

Asking 20-year-old women how much they have in savings pic.twitter.com/Af4VMhZFfE

— Financial Dystopia (@financedystop) May 30, 2025

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Thats actually pretty damn good for that age. I think I had between 1 and 10k at 26, with 100k in debt. Regardless, you don't need a huge net worth in your 20s. It's your 30s where you really start to build up, if you take risks and work hard. That took my negative net worth to 2-3 million within 10 years. But I had to work hard for it, take massive risks, and live like a homeless person for the first few years out of school (and during school). It really wasn't that hard in your 20s, especially if you lived poor through college. As mentioned earlier, thats a huge part of the problem nowadays. A certain upper class lifestyle is built into their mindset through college, and there is no way they'd be willing to step down to a more practical level once in the real world, even if that sacrifice allows you to succeed at ridiculous levels down the line.

It also helps that my family was basically lower middle class when I went to college, but most of my younger years we were dirt poor. So it was easy to appreciate what we had and more importantly, what you can build up from there. Starting at the top means it's mentally difficult to start over at the bottom in the "real world." Most kids aren't willing to make that sort of sacrifice. Bring back the cinderblock **** hole dorms and make students required to live in them on campus for at least the first couple of years, and kids would be much better prepared once they hit adulthood. Living in resorts for 4+ years is very harmful for them, especially when it comes to expectations and preparation for working up from the bottom and actually earning your place as you get older. Thats how it always used to work, but that is now not an option apparently.

Muktheduck said:

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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

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Your definition of entitlement sounds like just normal every day self responsibility. The older generation doesn't owe you anything. They built this economy and country. Try not to screw it up with your socialist fever dreams.

AgBQ-00 said:

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It is along the same lines as 2008 bust being used by many millennials that were entering the job market at that time.

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That's when I graduated, and I hit the ground running kicking ass. Living like you're poor (even if you're not) early on gives an incredible jumping off point within a few years. Otherwise, you set yourself up for excuses for stagnation or failure. Like now.

EclipseAg said:

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Philo B 93 said:

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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.

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Agreed. And don't forget travel ... many young people today are sophisticated travelers with lots of experience both domestic and overseas.

Yet no matter how much they travel, they don't feel it's enough because social media makes them feel they are falling behind.

My own kids have traveled WAY more than I have ... because we never had the money to do so while they were growing up.

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Yeah but their travel is not the same. Nowadays, you can fly around the world and only make two stops.

Technically, my last round the world trip was Singapore - LAX - Houston - JFK - Frankfurt - Singapore.
It could have easily been only two stops from SIN - LAX - FRA - SIN

With roaming cell coverage, data plans, Google translate, credit cards being accepted everywhere and European countries giving up their currency for the Euro, they don't have the same level of skill that we had to learn.

So they might go more places but it doesn't mean they know any more than we did. They might have had more photo ops in front of the Eiffel Tower or Trevi Fountain.

I guarantee you they would die if they had to do what I did last Saturday and drive from Riyadh to Dammam in a 3 cyl. Toyota Corolla when it's 115F outside. Stopping for gas at Saudi roadside service stations where the guy tells you to come get in line using "Halla!" and tells you the price of your Red Bull, Coke and water is "Khamstash" (YouTube videos aren't going to get you there).

That was pretty good. They had more money than I thought. At 25, I was in law school. I had a little bit in savings but not much at all. Used the last of it as a down payment on my first house after I got a job.