👉🏻 https://x.com/tgrammie2/status/2011915331460350348
👉🏻 https://nitter.net/tgrammie2/status/2011915331460350348
I’m worn out hearing people moan, “Our grandparents could buy a house on one paycheck, but now we can’t even afford rent on two!”
Yeah, maybe because Grandma wasn’t dropping half her income on $14 iced lattes and avocado toast shaped like art projects. Back then, if they wanted coffee, they boiled it at home in a dented pot. It tasted like burnt rubber and regret — but it woke you up and cleaned your pipes.
And Grandma wasn’t “out to brunch.” You think she had time for mimosas and hashtags? She was making something called whatever’s left in the fridge and feeding six people with it.
Don’t even start with Uber Eats. You think Grandpa was out here paying $38 to have a burger delivered three blocks away? Please. He grilled mystery meat on a rusted barbecue, and everyone called it dinner.
Now people cry about being broke while sitting in a house full of gadgets. Two SUVs in the driveway, six streaming services, three air fryers, and matching tattoos that cost more than their light bill. You think Grandpa had a tattoo? He did. It said “Korea, 1951,” and it came with trauma, not Instagram likes.
And the kids—Lord help us. “We can’t make ends meet, but Brayden needs the new iPhone!” No, he doesn’t. You’re handing an $1100 device to a child who still eats crayons and forgets to flush.
When we were kids, there was one phone. It hung on the wall like a family relic. The cord stretched just far enough for you to whisper secrets before someone yelled, “Get off, I need to make a call!” And guess what? We lived.
The TV? One. In the living room. With three channels and a dial that clicked like a safe. And if Dad wanted to watch bowling, you were a fan of bowling, end of story.
Now there’s a flat screen in every room, the baby’s got an iPad, the dog’s got a camera, and everyone’s wondering why they can’t afford rent. Because you’re living like rock stars on retail salaries, that’s why.
Grandpa wasn’t leasing Teslas or buying $12 smoothies called “Green Zen Awakening.” He drove a truck that coughed smoke, rattled like a storm, and smelled like oil and hard work.
They lived within their means. Whatever Grandpa brought home on Friday — that’s what they had. They weren’t keeping up with the Joneses; they were keeping the lights on.
So yeah, Grandpa bought a house on one salary. But he also didn’t have a gym membership, three delivery apps, and emotional support crystals on his nightstand. His only support system was Grandma, who told him to quit whining and mow the yard.
Nowadays, everyone’s broke, anxious, and “manifesting abundance” while ordering tacos on DoorDash for the fourth time this week.
It’s not the economy — it’s the lifestyle.
Wake up, turn off your subscriptions, make your own coffee, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll smell the truth.
Credit to original author, unknown
Wait. Isn't the whole point of leave in a better future for the next generation is you can have fancy coffee and nice items, good tech, and a home with a family?
I know it may seem spoiled to want both and yes reduce if you cant make it and then work to being able to afford it. But now if you make 100k in some places way more than our ancestors ever were and still have to live like them or worse depending on what area you live? Its more than just frivolous spending. I have cut my life down to ramen, sandwiches, cheap foods that arent good for me. And it lets me make it through a month and still be able to put some away from my future, if the food doesnt kill me first.
But yes keep telling people its the spending, your fault, you arent doing enough. Im not going to apologize anylonger for this, if you know someone like that blame them, dont say thats why everyone complains, and everyone is frivolous.
Also the "So yeah, Grandpa bought a house on one salary. But he also didn’t have a gym membership, three delivery apps, and emotional support crystals on his nightstand. His only support system was Grandma, who told him to quit whining and mow the yard." Is rich.
Grandpa also had a house that was built better for cheaper and lasted longer, on a salary that had more buying power that anything today and interest rate thay didnt steal a good portion of your payment. Food that was priced for those salaries. Also the tvs, gym membership all of that. Well you can argue it down farther. Why a gym when you can mow. Why mow when you can farm and grow your own food, why 3 tvs when you can get 1 actually none just read books forget that too you can save money by staring at nature and enjoying its beauty. Delivery apps, go to the drive through, skip eating out, cook at home, actually the food you are buying is too expensive, just eat cheap processed foods. He had his wife, well most men today struggle to find someonw who isnt another man, or will take him money after a few years with the kids. It was always done differently before, doesnt make it bad to have nice things, and im sure grandpa wanted nice things too. Im sure those tvs were expensive as is any new tech
Hard to pull up the bootstrap when they are frayed and unraveling. 250k+ for a small new home built sub par is unexceptable, especially when everything else raised in price around it. Reminder $5 dollars in the 60s is $55 in todays money. And the only thing that has gone down in price in comparison is the TV (maybe thats why people have three not one anymore, a $300 tv today would cost $28 in the 60s. $300 back then was $3.3k today)
The society is cracking while the older generations who benefited still think its just like when they grew up, looking down on the younger generation and saying ugh the financial mess is your fault. Not the fact that in less than 100 years the money has lost half or more of its value. This isnt to say budgeting is bad or dont try to save money where you can. But if there is struggle when cut to basics yeah there is a problem.
This is well said: "Hard to pull up the bootstraps when they are frayed and unraveling."
Again
Houses were out of reach for me at $5.00 and hour income raising two children. I didn't have the newest inventions, toys, etc. I lived very meager. Eating out was a treat we did few and far between.
Back in the 50's and in the 70's when I raised children we didn't blame others for our situation. We dealt with it and moved on with our heads held high.
I didn't buy disposable diapers I used cloth diapers.
Quit the damn blaming and justifying while you have expensive vehicles and phones.
Blame the DEMONrats who let Illegal Aliens in and sold this country down the river.
Ask the Somalians for a loan on your tax dollars.
Have you noticed that the children of this era are very gentle, timid, and conflict averse?
I promise that speaking this way to them is ineffective. There is blame in multiple generations and on multiple nations for this situation, but casting it internally and pointing it at them won’t fix the situation. The goal is to repair this nation, “nation” being “the people”.
We all helped make this, let’s all work on routing it out.
I helped make this problem. You helped make this problem. They helped make this problem. Let’s just fix it
I am tired of them blaming everyone for everything.
We never imagined doing this to our parents.
The problem is simple. When you were handed everything it means nothing.
They don’t have parents.
Huge difference.
(Not my downvote, I +1ed)
They also aren’t getting handed everything. Lots of toys, sure, but anything of consequence is very hard for them to get. Pay close attention to relative prices on different things.
I watched the door get slammed shut on them to enter a lot of courtyards we are in.
They aren’t upset for no reason.
I agree we are all in a mess together we all have some sort of blame, lets make it better, I just hate to see gen z say all or most boomers made it all worse and i cant do anything about it, as much as I hate to see boomers saying all or most gen z is lazy and frivolous, as if everyone from those generations complaining is exactly like that, we need to listen to the grievances and move forward, Millennials/Genz lock in you need to be wise with money and get out from debt were you can as soon as you can.
Boomers understand that the younger generation isn't as bad or lazy as you think and that just because it was hard for you too doesn't mean it hasn't gotten worse, or that others younger than you are necessarily doing something wrong, there are plenty who work hard and still struggle while others spend lavishly when they don't have it.
So don't write someone off as complaining and lazy just because they are young, and that's how you see a whole generation not the individuals in it, just like how many gen z shouldn't write off the advice a boomer has on how to save and make it in hard times.
No doubt. Everyone needs to understand that this mess predates us all, and while it’s possible that some of us could have handled it better, it’s also true that none of us “started the fire, which has always been burnin since the world’s been turnin”, and we are all going to have to work together to recognize and work on fixing the problems.
I try to push both parties toward meeting in some presently unknown middle ground.
Im not blaming others, I apologize for it coming off that way, my point wasnt to say things were not hard back then, It was simply to say, while there is blame on younger generations to handle finances well, the previous generations while trying to keep their heads down and just make it through life arent able to see how much things have slipped today, where even being financially responsible still means a very low quality of life, even though we are making more money than those before, not that it wasnt hard ever before but it has gotten very difficult, and we are seeing it, and we are just now trying to get established, those who came before them are just putting all the blame on politicians they elected to get us into this place, this didnt happen over night, and genz couldnt vote till roughly 2015-16 era, that means the cracking we see so obviously today happened under the watch of the adults before us, its not to blame but just to hear that "hey maybe we didn't realize this would effect the future generations, we might have made some mistakes too," would be nice.
Apology accepted.
Here is where your thinking becomes skewed.
How much of a quality of life did I have with two children and making $5.00 and hour, which was a little higher than some, and stuff was out of reach? People were buying $100.00 tennis shoes. My daughter complained she had to wear cheap Pikway shoes.
This is where things went off the rails. People were cow towering to their children and putting themselves in debt. The children were running the parents.
To wear the Jordache jeans or Calvin Klein clothes.
The so called boomer generation gave so much to their children they didn't have to work or earn it so now they sit around and complain.
well isnt that kinda on the adult for letting it get that way? you blame the kids for how they were parented or not because the parent didnt stand up and teach the value to the kids and gave them everything they wanted instead of teaching them those lessons? and not everyone is sitting around and complaining, yes some express frustration because despite working hard, after bills and normal life expenses (water, electricity, groceries store brand and no eating out, a phone line to reach out for job opportunities, insurance for the car, gas, and then rent/home payment, no health insurance, doctors visits at a minimum for emergencies only ) you cant really put much back for savings because there is taxes coming too. that's just a single home if the person has good income, before marriage or kids.
"The so called boomer generation gave so much to their children they didn't have to work or earn it so now they sit around and complain." - how is this not the fault of the so called boomer generation, if they didnt pass down those lessons and just let their children get away with it? did you not raise those who are now adults? its almost like its not about the whole generation but that a good amount were there that got us to this point just like there are enough gen z to blame for having the latest gadgets, $14 coffee, designer clothes and spending crazy on stupid stuff. but not everyone is like that, some who aren't that kind of gen z are feeling the hurt too, and maybe would like it to be acknowledged and not scoffed at as I had it hard too and no one helped, so get over it and work harder lazy.
Just like how you dont like to hear that hey maybe some in your generation allowed it to get worse, not you but enough to make a impact today.