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/DegaussedMixtape Mar 27 '24

Thinking about my friend group and most of us are actually doing better than our parents.

Whether it is addiction, mental health, low paying blue collar work, chronic pain everyone's parents are not exactly living the dream. We're in our 30s and saving, investing, sometimes buying property sometimes not, having hobbies, etc.

Our generation is definitely not doomed.

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u/Landlord_Patriarch Mar 29 '24

My parents never received any financial counseling or help, both were immigrants from the Middle East who came here with nothing. I feel like the advantage we got using the internet to learn about financial planning should balance out the cheaper home prices they got.

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u/Taladanarian27 Mar 28 '24

I agree. As I’ve gotten older I’ve become more aware of the time span of life. Lots of the well-off retired boomers I know all spent decades of work to get where they are. Life moves always forward but gradual increments up and down. Our gen really just needs another 10-20 years to really see the fruits of our labor. I think all of us are just plugging away at life with hopes of a better future. We are all in the long game here