Do You Think It's Tougher to Get Ahead Now?

[Fishindude77]

See and read a lot of stuff about how difficult it is these days to get ahead, how expensive housing, automobiles, education, etc. are and many of the younger generations are pretty bummed out about their situation. Some don't think they will ever get ahead and many claim to be suffering from related anxiety and depression. I could see this being a serious problem in high cost of living areas on the coasts, etc.

Having said the above, I'm not too sure it's ever been easy to buy a home, nice automobiles, educate yourself, etc.

Also see a whole lot of opportunity out there for just about anyone willing to bust their tail. There are tons of unfilled, well paid jobs and tons of underserved areas and services where a self employed individual could really make hay.
Getting away from the high cost of living areas could also improve conditions considerably.

[ua_guy]

It is harder these days. But the young generation will find their way just like the Millennials have. But we can't expect them to conform to the old ways of thinking about and doing things. In many ways they have a more honest outlook about how things work and people's motivations than we do. They don't want to become victim to these broken concepts. I can't blame them.

There's sense in moving closer to opportunity but the fact is, the middle of the country still doesn't have a lot of that. You can spend less, but you generally make less, too, and you have to put up with a lot of crappy weather and other undesirable things. Why be as relatively poor as the people around you in a crappy place when you can be in a nice place instead?

[myrdale]

Serve others and create value. That is all anyone has to do to succeed.

House prices here are insane, but if you go out a little bit further they are more reasonable.

[disneysteve]

There are definitely headwinds that make it tougher than in the past but the past wasn’t so rosy either. My dad’s generation got shipped off to WWII. For my FIL it was Korea. Then Vietnam for the next generation. People who finished school in 2007 were delivered right into a housing crash and recession. Every generation has faced challenges. Every generation has found their way eventually. This generation will too.

[myrdale]

People who finished school in 2007 were delivered right into a housing crash and recession.

I graduated May 2005. Started working June 2005. Purchased my house September 2006 for $108k. A year prior the house across the street from me sold for $30k (I wish I knew that then). Around 2011 or 2012 when I refinanced, the market had crashed and my home was estimated be be $50k. Now it is +$250k.

People will have to adjust, but if they are smart about it, hold off a couple of years before purchasing and wait for the next crash.

[kork13]

I don't know if it's tougher ... just tough in different ways. My parents graduated into sky-high inflation & interest rates in the early 80s. Their parents entered adulthood in the late 50s/early 60s at the height of the Cold War. I left college in 2008 in the midst of an economic crisis & a world changed by terrorism. Kids today are dealing with high inflation again, political unrest & extreme divisiveness, and the latent social effects of a pandemic.

They'll be fine, and will handle themselves just like every generation before them has ... struggle through it until they get their feet under themselves, just in time to watch the next generation start struggling through their own unique challenges. Growing up is never easy. But those who work hard & pursue their own goals will tend to find success.

[ua_guy]

Depending on what the OP "sees and reads", that should probably be tempered with the idea that media focuses a lot on the negative and may have a certain tilt. And temper that with the fact that older generations seem to always look down on younger generations. I agree, there are headwinds today, and they are different than what my generation faced, not for the weak! But we seldomly hear about all the young people out there being creative, given some of their challenges, and still crushing it every day. There are plenty.

[bjl584]

Things have always been hard. Every generation faces some sort of challenge. Lots of young people are achieving huge success today though. There is plenty of opportunity out there for people who are creative enough and willing to put in the work.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Gen Xer here and it wasn't easy graduating with the bubble pop in 2000. Our generation was the hardest hit, pretty much everyone else I've met or known went into foreclosure during 2007/2008 recession housing. They were prime age for buying with the LEAST equity to survive. And the first generation to fully be without expecting pensions and told we need to save for 401k.

So I think every generation has challenges. But all this whining from milleneals about jobs. Most graduating in 2007/2008 hadn't survived a 2000 bubble pop = lose of tons of job that were "signed" or "started" and got reneged or fired. Then buying your house and walking away and starting over. The timing of the "bad" economy hit those in generation X very hard. Poorly timed.

[kork13]

I will say that although simultaneously challenging, entering the workforce in 2008 during the housing crisis & associated market slump was also a financial boon for us (long term) ... I was able to start building my retirement & other investments at a steep discount, which I've gotten to ride upward for the last 16 years. Likewise, a few years later (after saving everything I could for a 20% downpayment), I was able to buy my first house at a still-relatively-low purchase price -- I still own that house as a rental (clearing >$10k/yr profit for the last 8 yrs), and its value has almost doubled since purchase.

So every cloud has a silver lining, and every rose has its thorns.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I will say that although simultaneously challenging, entering the workforce in 2008 during the housing crisis & associated market slump was also a financial boon for us (long term) ... I was able to start building my retirement & other investments at a steep discount, which I've gotten to ride upward for the last 16 years. Likewise, a few years later (after saving everything I could for a 20% downpayment), I was able to buy my first house at a still-relatively-low purchase price -- I still own that house as a rental (clearing >$10k/yr profit for the last 8 yrs), and its value has almost doubled since purchase.

So every cloud has a silver lining, and every rose has its thorns.

I think millenieals who were smart managed to get ahead with the decreased housing and the opportunity to invest low. Xers who jumped in before the bubble lost their homes and their investments if they managed to secure something after the 2000 internet stock bubble popped which caused a lot of job loss.

[crazyliblady]

See and read a lot of stuff about how difficult it is these days to get ahead, how expensive housing, automobiles, education, etc. are and many of the younger generations are pretty bummed out about their situation. Some don't think they will ever get ahead and many claim to be suffering from related anxiety and depression. I could see this being a serious problem in high cost of living areas on the coasts, etc.

Having said the above, I'm not too sure it's ever been easy to buy a home, nice automobiles, educate yourself, etc.

Also see a whole lot of opportunity out there for just about anyone willing to bust their tail. There are tons of unfilled, well paid jobs and tons of underserved areas and services where a self employed individual could really make hay.
Getting away from the high cost of living areas could also improve conditions considerably.

I had an interesting conversation with a college student recently. He was bummed because he had violated the terms of his apartment lease (had a pet in the unit when it was not allowed), but said he thought it was allowed. He asked me what he should do and thought he should be able to stay. I told him that there is nothing to do except that he still has rent to pay for 2 more months, and also to find another place to live. Then, he said something that was absolutely nuts. He said he wanted to buy a house, so, then I asked, "How old are you?" He said, "23" but did say he has a 20 hour per week job (earning a little above minimum wage). I then laid out the facts for him in a real, easy to understand way. I told him that 1) he is earning an income a little above minimum, 2) still a college student with about 2 years left, 3) do not have any significant savings and probably not a lot of credit, 4) do not know where you will be living two years from now. I told him that now is not the time to buy a house, because you can't afford it. I said you need to concentrate on getting through college with as little debt (including student loans) as possible. I also told him that he should save up some money so that when he graduates and has a job that he can move there without debt and that he should account for a moving van, rent and deposit on a place to live, deposits on utilities, and other moving necessities. I told him that some day he probably would buy a house, but now is not the time, but he seemed bummed. I can't figure it out.

[srblanco7]

I think every generation has/will face challenges and will also have opportunities. We survived the lost decade, the great financial crisis, and the covid crash amongst other events. I could also point to each of those as opportunities since we were still in our accumulation phase during each of those events.

[ua_guy]

I think it's harder to identify things as opportunities in the moment versus from a better vantage point down the road. A lot of things look like risks in the moment, and then we change the name of those things to "opportunity" in hindsight when they work out favorably. Using the word "opportunity" in the now is also a way to goad someone into doing something, and not necessarily for their own benefit.

We have a Gen Z in our family, my niece, who is struggling. I think she'll figure it out, she just needs more time following her own tune and answering to only herself. I have to be careful around her mom and grandma. I try to be like Canada and not offer too much opinion or take sides because I'm actually on the kiddo's side. I see kiddo discovering that others' expectations aren't necessarily personal obligations for her, and I think that's a crucial step to growing up and being independent.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Maybe it's harder because we've sheltered our kids more than we were sheltered. I had a startling realization that at 16 I flew cross country myself multiple times. I made my own reservations on flights. I left for college at 17 so I did my college applications at 16 myself. My mom did not do anything. I even wrote my own checks since she gave me a checkbook. I mailed it myself at the post office that I drove too since i had a license at 15.

I can't believe how mature I was at 16 and I look at my 14 year old and shake my head. Where did I go wrong? She's a good kid and responsible and pretty easy going. But nowhere like me or even my DH. I know I was early but at the same age my DH was working at 16 at night with his dad. At 20 he moved out on sabbatical from school to figure it out. He went on an internship and found his own place and moved. His BFF did it at 18 and backpacked throughout the middle east all through college (he was sad the year he missed his flight out of pakistan on christmas day and was sick and called DH crying). But he figured it out including how to stash money in his shoes and body and bribe border guards. He and DH biked through canada at 20 just with backpacks and a tent and no cell phones. BFF dad' was worried he hadn't heard from them and called the ranger station of the national park to make sure they were okay (they were!). Chatting with other friends who at 16 just went on weekend school trips in NYC to DC/Boston/Upstate/PA, etc and her parents didn't do any of the applications or even drove her to the station. She packed a bag and took a few trains and was off and saw them on Sunday night! It's crazy.

I am struggling to see how we were so free at a very young age doing stuff and our kids seem so immature and sheltered.