yes..I think you are right..I was in australia a while back..cost of living is cheaper there than it it here..housing and food costs less there..you can see that in the exchange rate of the dollar..in the current exchange rate..73 cents in american money will get you 1 australian dollar..younger generations have not been taught to save money..they live for the here and now..and many are hoping for that trickle down inherited wealth..they want their cars..credit cards..cell phones and pocket spending money..around 1979-1981 you could get 12.5% interest on money in a 5 year CD savings account..but 30 year home loans were at 17.5% interest..but the cost of living was cheaper..people spend less..and wasted less..cell phones werent around..living was kinda easy..it was a less hectic world..and the 60's..to me..was even better..cars were cheap..a loaf of bread was cheap..people would sit on the porch and relax..not so much today..
I just don't understand how you can say things like "the younger generation doesn't save money" and then in the same breath talk about how everything costs more now and living was so much easier back then. It's just so absurdly conflicting. How would you save your money if you had to spend more of it now for basic necessities? You just come off as crotchety and ill-informed.
The cost of living in Australia on average is actually higher than it is on average in the U.S.. Obviously there are exceptions specific to location.
The younger generation has decent saving habits from what I've seen. I work with a lot of people even younger than me (I'm 35) and most of them are investing into 401k funds and things like that. And I don't work in a wealthy area. These guys aren't making enough to have heaps of pocket money. These guys are making sacrifices. None of these people, myself included, are hoping for trickle down inherited wealth... Not even sure what that's supposed to mean, except maybe an entitlement jab?
Now about "wanting credit cards, cell phones"... 9 out of 10 people on this board likely have a top brand cell phone right now in their pocket with a data plan and probably use it to post pictures on a social media website. That kind of thing spans ALL AGES these days, so let's just put the whole "cellphone generation" to bed. If you go to any concert these days, Steely Dan or Ariana Grande, there will be a massive percentage of the attendees taking cellphone video of it.
Credit cards? Unless you live under a rock you should realize that credit score is one of the most important numbers when it comes to purchasing anything that goes beyond cash purchases. Not many of us are buying houses or cars with cash. You have no choice as a younger person these days. You absolutely have to begin establishing good credit early and often. No credit history is almost as bad as poor credit history.
If the 60's were an easier and less hectic time, than consider yourself lucky and stop assuming the people who don't have it that easy are just lazy. More is expected of the younger generation these days and not nearly enough help is given to achieve it. Coursework across high school to college is far more intense and time draining, and everything costs more. Stress levels are through the roof for the younger generation because we have an incredible amount of stuff that we worry about, yet have very little control over. Our healthcare costs and education costs have skyrocketed. Back in the 60's you could go to college, and work part time to pay off a good portion of your education. That's simply not feasible any more. I'm not even exaggerating, law school tuition has gone up 1000% since 1960. And if we don't go to college, we have to combat the rising cost of living with the stagnant rate of pay.
I've probably just had too much caffeine this morning and I'm probably ranting and I apologize now. I had two cups of coffee this morning instead of one. I just get tired of hearing this rhetoric. There are bums of all ages.
Not all youngins are lazy, many of them just can't find out how to do 25 hours of work in a 24 hour day.
They even have a geriatric choir that is freekin world famous.
but the math as you see is really quite simple, and not much different than many other choices the rest of us make in everyday life (fix the 5 year old car or replace it? Get the high efficiency furnace or regular one? Drive 12-15 hours to the vacation destination or fly?) Owners like that one are more common in many business settings than many people realize. Business owners aren't necessarily smarter than you or I... they just own businesses for a living.
