Well, those of us who have survived 3 - 4 recessions know what it is... The younger generations are listening to the chat bots that talk all the way around reality / common sense. Like everything else in history, the day will arrive when "the light bulb comes on".
From an Xer:
You sound like that guy sounding off to your friends about how your kids or grandkids "just won't listen." Hmm, let's take a look at that for a minute.
It's hard to believe that "younger generations" wouldn't ask for advice from older generations...
From the comments following the presentation by the American Enterprise Institute:
"Boss is a boomer, has 2 houses paid off, a timeshare at a resort, a Jaguar, collecting social security. My parents bought their home in 2001 for 200k, my father is an immigrant who has not even a HS diploma, he was able to afford a home on a 40k income. I make a decent 60k but live in their garage because it's $1800 for a 1 bedroom apartment in my area and I have 40k in student debt. Average home price here in Southern California is now $737,000. I have friends making near 6 figure incomes that are living with multiple roommates. Home ownership will likely never be in the cards for me and most in my generation unless we become rich or leave this state. I find it laughable that boomers try to talk down to us. Many did drugs and partied all through the 60s, 70s and 80s. First as hippies, then at the discos, then in the club scene. Yet jobs were still a plenty and they could buy homes on a minimal income. They claim millennials are lazy yet research shows we work far more hours for much less actual income, in fact making 20% less at the same age although far more educated and working more hours."
https://nypost.com/2020/08/08/why-millennials-distaste-for-baby-boomers-is-justified/
Additionally, at least according to VISA, it's not like any one generation is really buckling down in the face of strong financial headwinds...From 2018 (pre-pandemic): "Baby boomers, compared to generations that preceded them, are retiring later,
holding on to more debt and maintaining budgets for travel and other discretionary treats."
Baby boomers spent more over the past decade than any other generation.
usa.visa.com
More recently (2022), it has been noted that:
Baby boomers increased their spending on new clothes by
28 percent compared to before the pandemic.
Baby boomers
spend $11,159 annually on housing on average,
which is less than Gen Xers and millennials.
Baby boomers planned to spend $7,800 on travel in 2020 prior to the pandemic.
Only 26 percent of baby boomers have a backup plan for retirement if they’re forced into retirement sooner than they thought.
Only 55 percent of baby boomers have money saved for retirement.
Average debt for baby boomers rose by 6.7 percent to $140,887 throughout the pandemic while debt held by other generations fell.
33 percent of baby boomers say student loan debt has prevented them from buying a car.
All of this despite:
Baby boomers in the gig economy make an average annual salary of
$43,600, working 25 hours a week.
Baby boomers hold
51 percent of all wealth in the United States.
Total pension entitlements for baby boomers are
more than $15 trillion, more than any other living generation.
Baby boomers hold
more than $20 trillion in stocks and mutual funds.
Now, you might say that you're not represented by all or even part of these statistics. You certainly post as someone who lives a frugal and deliberate lifestyle. That's why it's disappointing to see you, or anyone, make sweeping generalizations about "younger generations" or that eventually "the light bulb [will come] on."
Your posts make you look like you are
hoping, maybe praying, that you will finally have that "I told you so moment" to justify your actions and choices. Yeah, it's hard to believe that younger generations aren't in to listening to you. I hope you never have that "I told you so moment" and so should you. We are all getting too old to enjoy it.