Boomers and/or Young People Suck

Remove this Banner Ad

But but but the interest rates!
Boomers have been gifted the best of the best and yet think it's all because of how amazing they are.

Interest rates were double digits thru 1980’s (got to 17%) and 1990’s.

As a boomer myself, I bought a one bedroom fibro house with barely a serviceable bathroom in Semaphore Park in the late 80’s and lived in it for 3 years before demolishing it and building a brand new house.

I will categorically state that no-one under the age of 40 would choose to live in a property like that for 2-3 years if offered that today, it would be beneath them to do so.

I understand things aren’t easy to buy a house nowadays however you need to temper expectations. You can’t have it all at once - started travelling once I paid the majority of the house off. Got a new car every 7 years.

Just on that, cars are actually cheaper as a % of salary nowadays.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Interest rates were double digits thru 1980’s (got to 17%) and 1990’s.

As a boomer myself, I bought a one bedroom fibro house with barely a serviceable bathroom in Semaphore Park in the late 80’s and lived in it for 3 years before demolishing it and building a brand new house.

I will categorically state that no-one under the age of 40 would choose to live in a property like that for 2-3 years if offered that today, it would be beneath them to do so.

I understand things aren’t easy to buy a house nowadays however you need to temper expectations. You can’t have it all at once - started travelling once I paid the majority of the house off. Got a new car every 7 years.

Just on that, cars are actually cheaper as a % of salary nowadays.
So what you're saying is, it took 3 years to save enough money to afford to demolish a house and build a brand new one? Must have been tough back then.
 
There’s just a shitload more these days that people need to and can spend money on these days.

Its a choice tho.

Everything comes down to choice.

For example I don’t go to restaurants, Fringe, theatre etc other than special occasions but my $$$ go on flights etc to see Crows and accommodation.

It all comes down to the choices.

I’m mentoring a millennial and his wife (plus two kids) and they are on jointly $200k+ a year but haven’t saved a cent. Their rent is $580- per week (up from $450- two years ago). The first thing I said was do you have a budget spreadsheet? Answer no. So do you know where all your money is going? Answer no but we don’t have any spare cash. So finally, they are doing a budget and saw expenses they could cut out. We are slowly getting there.
 
So what you're saying is, it took 3 years to save enough money to afford to demolish a house and build a brand new one? Must have been tough back then.

I’ll didn’t pay the whole house off and I borrowed 100% on the new construction. During that first 3 years, I saved every penny and barely went out. Would you do that?
 
Reckon my 9 weeks USA/European trip way back in 2001, cost me just shy of $35k and trust me, no first class travel or 5 star hotels either.
We just did a family of 4 trip to the UK for just shy of 2 months a couple of years back and flights, self catering, food, sightseeing and car hire - for 4 people cost us just over $30K
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

So what you're saying is, it took 3 years to save enough money to afford to demolish a house and build a brand new one? Must have been tough back then.
What? You just smack it around a bit and then put up the rubble on one of those free giveaway sites, and someone will roll up with a trailer and take it away for you.
 
I’m going to say one nasty thing and one nice thing about Boomers. Brace yourselves.

1. Boomers, try as they might, just can’t seem to get it through their heads that doing what they did will not make a person wealthy anymore.

2. Let’s be honest, Boomers are probably the last competent generation. When they were in charge, things weren’t perfect, but they were okay. Now that Gen X is mostly in charge at the government and corporate level, it’s an absolute f*cking disaster.
 
Its a choice tho.

Everything comes down to choice.

For example I don’t go to restaurants, Fringe, theatre etc other than special occasions but my $$$ go on flights etc to see Crows and accommodation.

It all comes down to the choices.

I’m mentoring a millennial and his wife (plus two kids) and they are on jointly $200k+ a year but haven’t saved a cent. Their rent is $580- per week (up from $450- two years ago). The first thing I said was do you have a budget spreadsheet? Answer no. So do you know where all your money is going? Answer no but we don’t have any spare cash. So finally, they are doing a budget and saw expenses they could cut out. We are slowly getting there.
It’s not all a choice though, you expect a family to put kids through school and not have internet?
That’s a cost that was not around even 30 years ago.
In my business more things have to be inspected and serviced than even 20 years ago due to regulations.
It’s impossible for someone to believe that life isn’t a shit load more expensive in comparison to wages these days.

I can guarantee no one that owns a house these days would want to be looking to buy these days.
I know I wouldn’t and I fear for my kids in 15 years time.
 
And how many times your wage was the amount borrowed? I'll bet not a lot.
I think you missed his point, He actually lived in a fibro shitbox for 3 years with a barely functioning bathroom or kitchen in Semaphore (yuck back then and PORT area) to be able to get his foot in the door to be able to do what he did.
 
I just think older generations don't realise how decently waged jobs are so much harder to get these days

My partner and I only just in December stepped into the mortgage game - repayments are not much different to rent, it was just the $90k in deposit/settlement/ etc that is the kicker

But that's with the two of us being on above average incomes, and not widely accessible - I have one of the few fully unionised jobs left in the country and my partner works for the state - super lucky and not available to everyone

Meanwhile 40 yrs ago stick around the factory long enough and you had your deposit
Which back then was at least 30% deposit required (yes I know house prices have gone up)...

Our first house we bought in 1991.....interest rate was in fact 17%. Was only allowed to pay our mortgage payment monthly and no redraw option available.
 
I think you missed his point, He actually lived in a fibro shitbox for 3 years with a barely functioning bathroom or kitchen in Semaphore (yuck back then and PORT area) to be able to get his foot in the door to be able to do what he did.
The point is that to buy a fibro shitbox in Semaphore would now, relatively, cost a lot more than it cost him to buy, demolish and rebuild.
 
I seriously do feel sorry for the millennials - the housing issue is due to a number of poor policy decisions made in the early 2000’s.

The average housing price as a % of income is at historical highs.

The problem now is how to unscramble it all.
I don't begrudge the older generation making the most of what they got. I'm sure the generation to come after me will be saying how easy I've got it also.
 
And how many times your wage was the amount borrowed? I'll bet not a lot.
My first house was around 9 - 9.5 times (a bit more in fact) my single wage as a first yr out teacher, as I've posted before, for a modest (tiny) 3 br 1 bath single carport house with nothing but floorboards and a stove LOL, on the edge of southern suburbia. A house I could buy now in an equal wage/cost situation to that would be a luxurious mansion by comparison.

But who's interested in a real life factual situation?
 
Don't see too many young people driving around in "öld bombs" these days like you did in the 70/80's or even 90's. Back then most young people were prepared to to that until they could afford to pay for something more modern or new.
That old bomb you saw people driving in the 80s was probably from the mid 60s.

Plenty of people driving cars from 2008 and earlier on the road today.
 
I’m going to say one nasty thing and one nice thing about Boomers. Brace yourselves.

1. Boomers, try as they might, just can’t seem to get it through their heads that doing what they did will not make a person wealthy anymore.

2. Let’s be honest, Boomers are probably the last competent generation. When they were in charge, things weren’t perfect, but they were okay. Now that Gen X is mostly in charge at the government and corporate level, it’s an absolute f*cking disaster.
Wait. Wut?... Who the **** is wealthy?
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top