Gen Z is rich, contrary to popular belief

[iris lilies]

Gen Z has the best economic advantage of previous generations in a long time. Change my mind.

https://www.vox.com/politics/468772/...rs-millennials

This article published by Vox using Federal Reserve statistics from the year 2022 flies in the face of all the doom and gloom we hear about young people not being able to afford anything. They’re too poor to pay off their student loans. They are too poor to buy a house. They just don’t have any economic power!

I had to laugh when I saw one of the explanations for this mindset is they spend too much time on the Internet. No kidding, doomscrolling does a number on your head.

from the article:
“…By most metrics, zoomers are doing better materially than past generations were at the same age.

Take annual income. According to an analysis from the US Federal Reserve, the median 25-year-old zoomer made over $40,000 a year in 2022, after inflation, taxes, and transfers are taken into account. That is 50 percent more than the typical boomer earned at the same age.

Wealth data tells a similar story. As of 2023, Americans born between 1990 and 1999 — in other words, young millennials and older zoomers — had a median net worth that was 39 percent higher (in inflation-adjusted terms) than previous generations boasted at the same age.

Likewise, the median wealth of Americans under 35 in 2022 was the highest on record…”

[LDAHL]

So let them quit whining and pay their own college loans.

[Rogar]

"...As a result, it is much harder for a 25-year-old zoomer to afford a home than it was for boomers at the same age — at least, if the former lacks family money".

What are the expectations for home ownership? I don't know of anyone among my boomer peers that got out of college, worked for a couple of years, and then had enough for a down payment and house payment. Maybe a little different for skilled trades that start saving earlier. And I could get going on work ethics. And get off my lawn, too.

Some of the so called futurists I've read think with AI the day will come when work is optional. I hope my predicted actuarial life span is shorter than those predicted expectations.

[Alan]

What are the expectations for home ownership? I don't know of anyone among my boomer peers that got out of college, worked for a couple of years, and then had enough for a down payment and house payment. Maybe a little different for skilled trades that start saving earlier. And I could get going on work ethics. And get off my lawn, too.

We bought our first house in 1979 with a VA loan while attending evening college under the GI Bill, no down payment required on the mortgage. House #2, #3 and #4 were each purchased using regular mortgages and cash down payments from the sale of the previous house. A little sacrifice up front can go a long way.

[frugal-one]

"...As a result, it is much harder for a 25-year-old zoomer to afford a home than it was for boomers at the same age — at least, if the former lacks family money".

What are the expectations for home ownership? I don't know of anyone among my boomer peers that got out of college, worked for a couple of years, and then had enough for a down payment and house payment. Maybe a little different for skilled trades that start saving earlier. And I could get going on work ethics. And get off my lawn, too.

Some of the so called futurists I've read think with AI the day will come when work is optional. I hope my predicted actuarial life span is shorter than those predicted expectations.

We worked for 2 years to scrape up a 20% down payment on our first house….. a definite starter home. We barely had enough for groceries the first few months though. Made a whole lot of things with eggs as I remember. I agree it would be impossible now to afford a down payment.

[Rogar]

We worked for 2 years to scrape up a 20% down payment on our first house….. a definite starter home. We barely had enough for groceries the first few months though. Made a whole lot of things with eggs as I remember. I agree it would be impossible now to afford a down payment.

I assume "we' implies a double income, but not always. Two working spouses has advantages. I suspect the average age for males to get married is around 30 these days, a little less a few decades ago.

[bae]

I bought my first house in 1993, when I was 30 years old. I had already been part of several successful Silicon Valley startups, and I had scrimped and saved for 8 years, and I cashed out enough stock from the company I was working at to come up with the down payment for what was to me at the time an outrageously expensive house in Silicon Valley. I believe the house price was $350k. So, the "Boomers had it easy on housing" meme does not resonate much with me. When I took my first job in Silicon Valley in 1985 right out of college, I was receiving a salary of $22k/year or so, at a very good startup, with an Ivy League degree in the field I was working in, and 4+ years of experience in the fields already under my belt.

I almost lost the house later in the year when Clinton rammed through his retroactive tax increases. I had withheld enough money from my stock sale to properly pay the income tax on the sale when my taxes were due, only to find out that in the new, retroactive(!!!!) tax change, I had to come up with more money for the taxes. Which I didn't have, I was already scraping things together to buy the house. Several of my co-workers lost their homes for the same reason. I still believe the retroactive tax change was unconstitutional, but the courts did not agree.

The house I purchased required 7 years of hard work to turn from the dump it was when I bought it, into a decent place. I probably plowed another $300k into the renovations over that time.

[Rogar]

I had room mates after college until my late 20's. We were friends from school and the house was referred to as the home for unwed geologists as a couple room mates were geologists. We were all saving up for a house that none of us cold afford. I rented a small house and lived there for many years with the delusion I could save enough to avoid a mortgage and be debt free without the black hole of interest expenses. I ended up liking renting for some of the home care freedoms and worries it afforded. I travelled a lot. Owning a home and being debt free is the still best of all worlds, other than cleaning the gutters in the fall. My house was a fixer upper when I moved in and is much improved but may still be a fixer upper when I get hauled out.

Lately any little empty lot or space or useless areas are have slightly upscale apartments built, some for sale. There are some city ordinances limiting the number of stories and set back, which are pretty much taken to the limit. I've sent some complaints to the commissioners. That is where a lot of young people are moving that can't afford a real home with a lot. If I were a young person, the freedom and smaller living space might be good. The proposal of a 50 year mortgage was interesting.

[iris lilies]

Roger, when we moved to a one and a half story house we put Gutter Guard on our gutters. It has helped a lot.

[Rogar]

Roger, when we move to a one and a half story house we put Gutter Guard on our gutters. It has helped a lot.

Thanks, IL. It's on my list to check into it with a friend who has them and ask about cost, installer, etc. It wasn't too bad this year, just one of those chores that is unpleasant, but there may come a time when climbing on the roof is a safety issue. I have a lot of leaves and need to run a hose down all the downspouts to clear out the blockages and usually end the day cold and wet.