Millionare: Millenials can't buy houses because they spend too much money on Avocados
05-16-2017, 12:33 AM
As a working class milennial (aged 27), I thought I'd offer my perspective. I really like doc holiday's summary on the previous page.
When I started college in 2008, there wasn't much information out there about the true realities of taking out gov't loans or the student loan debt crisis. By the time I finished school in 2013, though, conversations like this one started popping up more and more frequently. I was regretting my decision to major in anthropology (yeah, I know, I know . . .) before I finished school. In retrospect, the decision to take a useless social sciences degree might've been excusable. "I just didn't know," and the "truth" on the realities of debt-job market were a little harder to pin down back in '08, when many thought Obama would fix everything.
But now -- these young kids heading off to school do know. It's impossible to miss these conversations.They're everywhere. And yet kids are still lining up to take the same bullshit year in and year out. Grads are signing up to fork over $60,000 to study a public administration Master's or something, knowing full well the financial realities that will face them when they graduate. Some people just don't want to be helped, or maybe can't be helped.
As a working class person, I've managed to put away over $50,000 in the bank over the last 15 1/2 months of saving aggressively. Yes, I've got loans, and I've also got non-negotiable medical expenses as well. I work an entry-level blue collar job for my state, and, up until recently, worked part-time as a fry cook, dropping fries and chicken tenders by the bagful. For you coastal guys, $50,000 is laughable.
But, for me, this means I could lose my job, not work for 3-4 years at all, and still have money. This is enough money to disappear back to the developing world for half a decade and not really worry.
I'm thinking about trying to switch into a janitorial position at my job -- or maybe an admissions gig at the front desk -- so I can get a second full-time job for a cleaning company or at a grocery store. I don't own a car, and walk 2 1/2 miles to work everyday. When it rains, I'll get dropped off after my shift by a co-worker. I live in a family member's spare property with my brother and his wife.
When I eclipse six figures in savings, I'll expatriate, teach English (continuing to grind and build my savings), while pursuing what I want to be my life's work.
Point is, these jobs all suck, but with some grit and tenacity, you can make it. (I have a disability, do you think I want to be doing this shit?) But, obviously, 99% of people with a degree don't want to work these sorts of jobs, don't want to pick up overtime, consider this stuff below, them, whatever . . . Sure, milenials are under-employed, but, grind at the bottom for a second, build some savings, build some leverage, and when you see some daylight, use that leverage to move on to something that is more appropriate given the supposed value of your dogshit college degree.
And then there's attitudes towards money and savings in this country. People on the bottom I work with live check-to-check, not because of the rent/loans, but because they gotta have that $150/month smart phone plan, Starbucks, eating out all the time, hundreds spent on alcohol at the bar and on recreational drugs.
A girl I work with took out a Payday loan because her abusive ex-boyfriend didn't pay their rent the month their lease was up. She then proceeded to buy a puppy. And, because she's got the puppy, she needs to move to a more expensive 1-bedroom apartment that's "dog-friendly." She couldn't pay the rent at the more expensive place the first month because of the Payday loan. She's doesn't have the cash, and doesn't know what to do. I tell her to go to her bank, explain the situation, and ask for a small, low-interest personal loan. She didn't even know such a thing was possible. She didn't know that banks loaned money to people. She attends an extremely expensive online university. '
Another time, a group of colleagues were misrepresenting the income tax to each other. They didn't know about the tax brackets in this country. Now, I'm no Einstein (I willingly decided to study anthropology, after all) and I know enough to know I know absolutely nothing, but what the hell has gone wrong in this country when it comes to money? These people are all smart, reasoned, kind people. I like them all, and genuinely.
My best friend lost his job here in the Midwest, earned an $8,000 severance check, and decided to try his luck in California. For the first time in his life, he had over $10,000 in his checking account. He managed to secure a higher-paying position out there, and is only paying a bit more in rent than he was here. The results? He's got a couple hundred in his bank account. Why? Gambling in Mexico, weed, beers . . .
When it comes to buying houses, well, all the people I know who are hovering just above 'check-to-check' level are trying to figure out how to buy a home. People I know who did secure good positions (nurses, engineers, etc.) immediately buy a home shortly after landing a good job. It's as if these people, most of whom finally have their heads above water for the first time, can't wait to drown themselves in mortgage debt. All of a sudden, as soon as they gain a little leverage, paying $XXX to the mortgage lender is seen as a much better option than paying $XXX to some landlord who has suddenly become "evil." Never mind the hundreds of thousands of dollars of mortgage debt, "I own this, man."
I agree with what others have said -- the people at the top have only tried to widen the gap in the last 50 years, but people in my generation are doing everything in their power to ensure they stay down here by not exhibiting one iota of foresight, restraint, or control.
The most important lesson I've learned from all of this is that nobody's gonna save you but yourself. Not mom, dad, friends, colleagues, your priest. Only you. And when you're in the process of trying to save yourself, people around you aren't gonna understand the process.
![[Image: biggrin.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
