Young people in their 20s don't understand how expensive everything is (savings, spouse)
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I would not assume they will learn by just getting a job and making money. There are plenty of people with jobs and are still broke and in debt up to their necks.
Teach them, guide them...dont just let them figure it out on their own.
Way to generalize an entire group of people. I was very frugal in my 20s. Perhaps it's just your kids.
To be fair, the world has changed since we were children. (Of course, the world has changed between we were children and the time our parents were children.) While older generations have always complained about younger generations in this way, each generation faced different realities. For example, today's older generation, when it was the younger generation, faced a better situation than their parents faced, when their parents were the younger generation. And that had been the case generation after generation for centuries.
It isn't true for today's younger generation. Instead, today's younger generation faces a situation with less promise, less degrees of freedom leading to success, and less overall cause for optimism. And they are the first generation in recent history for which this has been true. That shapes the way they should be expected to see the world in a manner similar to how a terminal diagnosis shapes the way someone would see the world, or how losing one's nest egg to a market downturn shapes the way someone would see the world.
I care because I am their father and they always complain about being broke and ask for money now and then. When I try to give them advice they tell me all their friends spend that type of money when they go out and it is required to be part of the group.
Every time they ask for money, refuse to give it to them, but put whatever you would have given them into a savings account. Once they hit the ropes, this account will be their bail out fund, and they'll appreciate it a lot more then.
If you give them money every time they ask for it, it'll just take longer for them to realize what they're spending.
Of course this assumes they're not racking up massive amounts of CC debt delaying the eventual "day of reckoning" because if they wind up $50k in debt from bar tabs... well I don't think there's anything that would have stopped that.
I would say if you want to give them money then give them $200 in a checking account with a debit card and let them manage the money for the month. No overdraft protection.
Once they run out before the month ends and they ask for money...then its time to go over their spending habits and help them manage their budget. Give them control but give them guidance as well.
My kids, who are in their 20s, don't think twice about spending $25 for lunch or $50 for dinner on a regular basis. If they go out to lunch they always have to get an appetizer, the main course, a desert and a few mixed drinks or beers. They don't think that is expensive or extravagant. That is just what all their friends spend.
Then if they go out to a bar on Saturday night, they don't think spending $50 on a cover charge and alcohol only is that unusual or extravagant. $12 drinks and a cover charge. That is what all their friends do.
Back when I was their age, we did not have access to credit cards and it was more painful to pull money out of our wallet, so we spent less, adjusted to inflation.
The younger generation is just use to spending lots of money with friends when they leave the house. Agree?
$50.00 cover charge??? $25 for lunch? $50 for dinner? where on earth do you live? Whatever area you live in sounds like Hollywood lol.
That being said... I was frugal in my 20's, probably too frugal. I rarely ran to mommy n daddy for a handout. I had a JOB and supported my wants.
I'm slightly older than 20s and think this is a problem with what you taught them growing up, not how all people in their 20s live. I certainly didn't spend money like that. I saved for a house downpayment and bought a house when I was 25.
It's nurture, not nature in this instance.
"Young people in their 20s don't understand how expensive everything is "
Plenty of them understand!
And because they are among those who understand, my kids spend nowhere near like your kids do.
And even YOUR kids know the expense... I mean, they ARE paying for it, right?
Why is this an issue for you?
I feel I have no say about how my kids spend their hard-earned cash.Do you feel differently?
So parents, or others, aren't supposed to make an observation on the younger generation's spending habits?
Your "hard-earned cash" comment says it all and reflects the entitlement mentality of many young people today. Those who don't see it or haven't read about it, should tune in to Suze Orman's show: I work hard. I deserve the ring, the SUV, the gym club membership, the mani-pedis...--the things they should be giving up before crying "poor mouth" and looking for a student loan bailout.
I'm guessing the OP is around 55? So that means he was most likely around 30 in 1990. Based on the numbers in link below, seems to me when he was in his 20's-30's, his generation was even more terrible than people in their 20's are today. Also, young people may be more likely to spend on things like dinners and outings/vacations with friends than in the past, but they also aren't into cars as much.
Brunch in DC will hit well over $50, but that would include all you can drink Mimosas/Bloody Marys for two.
Boozy brunches are one of the things we like about the East Coast
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$25 for lunch? $50 for dinner? where on earth do you live? Whatever area you live in sounds like Hollywood lol. 
. I deserve the ring, the SUV, the gym club membership, the mani-pedis...--the things they should be giving up before crying "poor mouth" and looking for a student loan bailout.
