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They paid for their own college instead of going in debt for Women's Studies degrees and International Human Rights majors.
They lived within their means and didn't stop by Starbucks twice a day.
They didn't have the technology available to waste their money on to have the latest iPhone the minute it came out.
They didn't have the unnecessary money sucks like cable and Wi-Fi to pay for, so they could put their money away.
They didn't buy new cars every three years for loans that go on for 8 years and are worthless when they own the car. They didn't lease cars.
They didn't apply for and run up every single charge card available and then just keep transferring their debt between cards every time they hit the credit limit.
They paid for things BEFORE they owned them. They did lay-a-way or 30-60-90 programs to purchase items like furniture.
They cooked and ate at home.
Their vacations were to visit family, not family cruises or annual family trips to Disney.
Baby-Boomers were the grandkids of the depression era folks, so they were raised with an understanding of what deprivation and delayed gratification meant and the value of money!
Don't blame the baby boomers! We are the ones you keep wishing would die off, so the people that got you to where you are now can take over!
Great post!! Wife and I both worked our tails off, sacrificed for our kids, delayed and deprived gratification, took difficult international assignments, we couldn't afford a soft drink never mind a Starbucks latte when we were young. Wife recently retired at 54 and I expect to retire in a few more months and we are set and plan to leave our 3 kids a sizable fortune one day.
My grandmother only attended school till the 8th grade. That was the norm for her region and her peers at the time. But that wouldn't have even gotten her son, my dad, into the military (which is what he wanted to do) even as an enlisted soldier.
Expectations, jobs, the market, the TYPE of work - all that is fluid over the generations. Just because more education is now required doesn't mean anyone is getting screwed over.
It does though, in a way -- you get less return on the same level of educational investment, at all levels. A HS degree, a BA, and a PhD all mean less than they did 30 years ago, just more people higher up the chain. Your family was part of the group moving from a little to a lot and so you perceive growth, but try to understand that puts you in a distinct (and favorable, good for you) minority, with most people running at their parents' pace, albeit with the treadmill under them moving the other way.
It does though, in a way -- you get less return on the same level of educational investment, at all levels. A HS degree, a BA, and a PhD all mean less than they did 30 years ago, just more people higher up the chain. Your family was part of the group moving from a little to a lot and so you perceive growth, but try to understand that puts you in a distinct (and favorable, good for you) minority, with most people running at their parents' pace, albeit with the treadmill under them moving the other way.
Well, actually, no.
My husband has an associate's degree and makes much more money than his brother with his bachelor's degree from Baylor, or his mom with her two degrees (an associates and a bachelors). I have three years of college and made more money than my mother ever did with her three years of college.
None of us, by the way, ever accrued any college debt. We did, however, all work nearly full time while attending college.
My husband has an associate's degree and makes much more money than his brother with his bachelor's degree from Baylor, or his mom with her two degrees (an associates and a bachelors). I have three years of college and made more money than my mother ever did with her three years of college.
None of us, by the way, ever accrued any college debt. We did, however, all work nearly full time while attending college.
Fair enough I'll take your word on your personal experience, but please do try to consider that of others if you want to understand the broader mood of the bulk of people who don't share it.
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
I wonder how many BBers are having to take care of one or more elderly parents (Silent Generation parents) while simultaneously paying for kids to go through college (raises hand here).
*raises hand*..... In our family we've taken care of one with pancreatic cancer (lost several years ago) and lost M-I-L last year. We're still trying to help the two we have left. And yep... put kid through college at the same time. Sure..... I'm wealthy.... LOLOLOLOL....
*raises hand*..... In our family we've taken care of one with pancreatic cancer (lost several years ago) and lost M-I-L last year. We're still trying to help the two we have left. And yep... put kid through college at the same time. Sure..... I'm wealthy.... LOLOLOLOL....
You know what's sad? Most BBErs I know have done or are still doing this song and dance.
I have four kids. One of my daughters - who had a very successful career but chose to stay home to take care of her four kids (her choice and I support it) and whose income is consequently cut significantly - is eaten UP with jealousy regarding our financial status. I mean, so "et up" that if I buy new throw pillows for the sofa I don't dare show her. She is bitter about the fact that we don't struggle to pay our bills while she and her husband are late on the rent so often that they've been threatened with eviction. And get this - she has somehow figured out how to blame ME about their financial woes. That's right - my husband and I helped her husband find a job - which no one forced him to take - and she doesn't like the schedule so she's mad at me about that.
I know - it makes no sense. That's what I get for trying to help. I guess she thinks what my husband and I SHOULD have done is support their family financially till her husband found his dream job making $100,000 a year working 35 hours a week.
She seems to have conveniently forgotten several key elements to my story:
1. When I was a young mother of four in my thirties, I didn't have any extra money and we lived in in 1300 square foot house - and the kids qualified for reduced lunch tickets! Oh, and I was working full time, instead of voluntarily staying home with my kids.
2. After taking care of my two very elderly and very sick inlaws for three years, we did inherit some money - but it was at a very high cost to us emotionally and physically. And guess what - my inlaws inherited money too. So did my parents. So will my kids. Their kids? I'm not so sure. We'll see. Well, I won't - but time will tell.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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The average Baby Boomer isn't rich. A large percent is wealth is held by a tiny number of people and most of them are Baby Boomers. If just a couple super rich people were not Baby Boomers that wealth gap would go away.
Would've been nice to grow up in the 50s. Didn't have to spend 90% of your money on education, health care and housing, like people have to today. An average Joe could afford to live in an area with nice views and good public schools. Now the Boomers own all the nice neighborhoods. Many of them own 2 or 3 houses! "Elites couples" in my generation can't afford 1 housee. We nneed to end this gerontocracy and make room for the next generation.
Would've been nice to grow up in the 50s. Didn't have to spend 90% of your money on education, health care and housing, like people have to today. An average Joe could afford to live in an area with nice views and good public schools. Now the Boomers own all the nice neighborhoods. Many of them own 2 or 3 houses! "Elites couples" in my generation can't afford 1 housee. We nneed to end this gerontocracy and make room for the next generation.
Pardon me, but I did grow up in the 50's (born in 1950), and you don't have a frickin' clue about the baby boomers. I would venture to guess that most, like me, grew up in solidly middle-class neighborhoods, went to college or attended trade schools, maybe went into our parents business, and worked hard for a good long career. I know that I didn't buy my first house until I was 35 years old, at a 12% interest rate (and it was only that low because I financed it through my base credit union). A lot of the reason that some baby boomers are able to own 2 or 3 houses is that they saved their money along the way - we were encouraged to do so by our Depression-era parents who were desperately afraid of ending up poor and homeless. The baby boomers are also the generation that frequently takes care of their parents as well as raising their kids and paying for their college degrees; that's why we are the "sandwich" generation. We didn't "seize" any wealth - we created it through hard work and thoughtful investing. You might want to try it.
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The Baby Boomers seized all the nation's wealth
