Totally agree on avoiding the mindless spending! It's important to budget for treating yourself. The avocado toast soundbyte forever gets on my nerves. The investment example still kinda proves the point of why millennials really can't buy houses-- even if you put away your latte and avocado toast money AND your investments did well (which is a big IF), you'd have to wait 30 years to have a solid downpayment. Not to mention you'd have to hope that you didn't run into any financial trouble in the interim that required you to sell any investments (eg medical issue, extended job loss, caring for a family member). And of course inflation would erase a lot of that purchasing power at the end of 30 years anyway.
Ugh, the avocado toast thing drives me nuts because exactly as you pointed out, we are not mindlessly spending our way out of homeownership. Even folks who have the means are getting iced out of the market! It's still insanely competitive in many areas.
Oh yes the dreaded Latee habit. And the "theory" as to why my generation would never be homeowners. It's the high cost of renting that is keeping many of my generation in gridlock. And many due to the high cost of rent have given up their cardboard cup latee habit. I always make my coffee at home and going out for a latee was only after my then fiance got paid at the end of the week. But all that asside. Financial literacy is so important. Sticking to a budget and actually seeing where all of your money is going is vital. also the pain of paing rent that is very high is crushing many of my generation. I wonder is the only way out of this mess is to get a second job on top of the one you allready have and just put as much money from the second job int asavings so you can have a savings for the accidents that life throws at you like, car repairs or heaven forbid payment for a doctor if you are isck or the worst of it loosing your job? I think the real question that just has evaded everyone is the reason why the rents are so high. Do the ladlords and corporations that ow own mostof the real estate need all that money? Ask yourself how can I leasten the burden it might be working to jobs or having to move back in with your parents or if that can't work getting a room mate who is on the game enought o make good to share the expenses? I feel bad for my generation who may never be allowed to save up for a downpayment on a home or even a rainy day fund because of the current state of our economy. But knowing where every penny goes is vital because you need to see where you can cut your spending to start saving, and for many of my generation there is no place left to cut, between the rent, paying for a car and your basic necessities, the money is all gone and mostly because "the rent eats first" The only way some of my generation made it out of th e cycle of renting was moving back in with their parents and saving for that down payment on a modest home or just surcumbing to renting and saying well this is all i can afford, until the land lord raises them beoynd their means, then where do they go the st4reet? We have to ask ourselves when is the rent just to much? My husband and I changed our entire way of living to keep from being homeless, we moved from the north east where the rents every quickly took all of hismonthly salary with no stop in sight. To an hour and 1/2 away in to a rental that we could afford and it was a no frills apartment but it was a roof over our heads. All to soon his job dried out and we where faced with another challenge, we could die waiting for public housing or take everything he had including his pension and buy a small in need of repair home down south. We chose to move down south. The house is far from ferfect and he's making 1/2 of what he use to but atleast we are not homless. And this was all while keeping a very tight budget and even forgoing the lfancy latee's even on paay days. Every moring in our home i make instant coffee and i thank god i have a place to call home.
Totally agree on avoiding the mindless spending! It's important to budget for treating yourself. The avocado toast soundbyte forever gets on my nerves. The investment example still kinda proves the point of why millennials really can't buy houses-- even if you put away your latte and avocado toast money AND your investments did well (which is a big IF), you'd have to wait 30 years to have a solid downpayment. Not to mention you'd have to hope that you didn't run into any financial trouble in the interim that required you to sell any investments (eg medical issue, extended job loss, caring for a family member). And of course inflation would erase a lot of that purchasing power at the end of 30 years anyway.
And, congratulations on the new book launch!!!
Ugh, the avocado toast thing drives me nuts because exactly as you pointed out, we are not mindlessly spending our way out of homeownership. Even folks who have the means are getting iced out of the market! It's still insanely competitive in many areas.
And thank you for the congrats!!
Oh yes the dreaded Latee habit. And the "theory" as to why my generation would never be homeowners. It's the high cost of renting that is keeping many of my generation in gridlock. And many due to the high cost of rent have given up their cardboard cup latee habit. I always make my coffee at home and going out for a latee was only after my then fiance got paid at the end of the week. But all that asside. Financial literacy is so important. Sticking to a budget and actually seeing where all of your money is going is vital. also the pain of paing rent that is very high is crushing many of my generation. I wonder is the only way out of this mess is to get a second job on top of the one you allready have and just put as much money from the second job int asavings so you can have a savings for the accidents that life throws at you like, car repairs or heaven forbid payment for a doctor if you are isck or the worst of it loosing your job? I think the real question that just has evaded everyone is the reason why the rents are so high. Do the ladlords and corporations that ow own mostof the real estate need all that money? Ask yourself how can I leasten the burden it might be working to jobs or having to move back in with your parents or if that can't work getting a room mate who is on the game enought o make good to share the expenses? I feel bad for my generation who may never be allowed to save up for a downpayment on a home or even a rainy day fund because of the current state of our economy. But knowing where every penny goes is vital because you need to see where you can cut your spending to start saving, and for many of my generation there is no place left to cut, between the rent, paying for a car and your basic necessities, the money is all gone and mostly because "the rent eats first" The only way some of my generation made it out of th e cycle of renting was moving back in with their parents and saving for that down payment on a modest home or just surcumbing to renting and saying well this is all i can afford, until the land lord raises them beoynd their means, then where do they go the st4reet? We have to ask ourselves when is the rent just to much? My husband and I changed our entire way of living to keep from being homeless, we moved from the north east where the rents every quickly took all of hismonthly salary with no stop in sight. To an hour and 1/2 away in to a rental that we could afford and it was a no frills apartment but it was a roof over our heads. All to soon his job dried out and we where faced with another challenge, we could die waiting for public housing or take everything he had including his pension and buy a small in need of repair home down south. We chose to move down south. The house is far from ferfect and he's making 1/2 of what he use to but atleast we are not homless. And this was all while keeping a very tight budget and even forgoing the lfancy latee's even on paay days. Every moring in our home i make instant coffee and i thank god i have a place to call home.