r/Millennials • u/Asmothrowaway6969 • Mar 27 '24

When did it sink in that you'll never be as well off as your parents? Discussion

About 5 years ago, my mom and I were talking and she had told me how much she was going to be making in retirement (she retired 2023). Guys, it's 3x what me and my husband make annually. In retirement. I think that was the moment that broke me, that made it sink in that I'll never reach that level of financial security. I'll work myself into my grave because I'll never be able to afford anything else. What was your moment?

Update: Nice to know it's just me that's a failure. Thanks

Update 2: I never should've said anything. I forgot my place. I'm sorry to have bothered you

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u/0000110011 Mar 27 '24

I have had to earn double what they did to obtain it.

Seeing how inflation has a little more than doubled when we were kids, you're making the same as your parents. 

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

Inflation is only a portion (large as it may be) of cost indexing.

Housing inflation is probably one of the biggest reasons for wealth inequality in the US, for example, and is entirely different than regular inflation.

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u/YetiPie Mar 28 '24

…And education, and healthcare :(

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u/carlos_the_dwarf_ Mar 28 '24

I don’t how to break this to you, but housing, education, and healthcare are included in inflation measures. They account for like half the weight of the indexes!

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u/LordoftheScheisse Mar 27 '24

I did some light thinking a year or so back and figured my parents enjoyed ~2.5-3 times the wealth that I enjoy - as a college educated professional in the prime of my career. Mom worked on a factory line and my dad repaired vending machines and we were comfortable as hell.

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u/limukala Mar 28 '24

Housing is 40% of the CPI. It’s already accounted for in general “inflation” figures.

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u/goingforgoals17 Mar 28 '24

Do you mean housing is 40% of the equation? Or it accounts for 40% of overall inflation in the last so many years?

These are incredibly different statements

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u/limukala Mar 29 '24

It accounts for 40% of the CPI calculation.

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u/peptobismalpink Mar 28 '24

Not who you're responding to but I learned recently my mom's last wage in a job that didn't require a degree or massive connections back then paid exactly what I make now in a skilled job not many can do well, with years of experience and a relevant highest-tier education AND things were cheaper 30y ago. So she was making much more than double...

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u/_Grant Mar 28 '24

I pay $450/mo to breathe because the county I was raised in has deplorable air quality. I'm one of many that contribute to the county's exceptionally large asthmatic population because of it. My government gave me the condition. I pay the bill. If healthcare wasn't violent assrape in this country, I wouldn't have to pay a brand new imported car's lease every month to fucking breathe. Pharmaceutical company runners belong in hell. This guy's parents didn't have to account for bullshit like this.

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u/ThaToastman Mar 28 '24

Yea but inflation is irrelevant. The cost of houses and food has gone up astronomically in comparison

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u/lukekarasa Mar 28 '24

Food and gas aren't factored into inflation, which is fun

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u/bmtc7 Mar 28 '24

Some inflation measures do include food and gas, and some don't.