Young, Dumb, and Broke
- Thread starter The Cooterpoot
- Start date
Sometimes I don't know how younger folks just starting out make it, month-to-month. I guess middle age and older folks have always felt this way but man it looks difficult for them today.
ETA: and this chart is literally showing a lot of them aren't making it
ETA: and this chart is literally showing a lot of them aren't making it
It's because we still telling errrrrrbody that you need a college 'experience' and that any degree is a good one
But hey, this benefits the apartment contractors in Starkville
But hey, this benefits the apartment contractors in Starkville
My daughter is facing that. She graduated high school last year and didn't want to go to college so she went out and got a pretty decent full time job at a bank here in town. She's already gotten one promotion, and at 19 now, was interested in moving out on her own. She started looking at apartments here and then I was listing off all her other expenses and it rapidly became apparent there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell she could move out on her own now which really discouraged her. I know what some of you are thinking...19 years old and no college degree what does she expect? But when I was making what she is making now I had built my first house and was out on my own. She can't even get a 1 bedroom apartment in this town today. It's crazy.
The ROI for college is a scam for most degrees with the cost of college today. There is absolute zero reason to take out loans for 4-5 years on elementary education, basic business, history, poly sci, psych, etc… If you don’t have your college paid for, go juco first to limit cost & it makes more sense. Graduating to a degree making $40-$50k with $50-$80k of student loan debt is insane. Even private law JDs at 6-fig debt is stupid as hell.
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When you factor in the cost of cars, apartments, & houses, the young crowd is in a bad spot. And I feel for them.
There are a few hacks, that I tell myself to keep it positive:
- Obviously work and save money, even live at home but absolutely must have a plan if you are doing that;
- Military has some good options for getting yourself additional money now and later, if you go into it eyes wide open and not trying to be G.I. Joe;
- Give up on the idea of some college 'experience', that's totally made up, you can have fun anywhere, and college can be done cheaply, and of course, avoid debt.
There is a ton of work available for young people now, to get ahead, from fast food to minor construction. But you have to willing to make sacrifices and save.
Nothing you said is wrong but just 20 years ago in MS you could rent an apartment for $750, buy a reliable car for $6k, $100 in groceries filled the kitchen for 2 weeks. Now that apartment is $1,800, car is $20k, & 2 weeks of groceries in $200. The math just doesn’t math for young folks anymore and it’s why you see so many bad ideas politically from them (frustration). And my parents generation chastising them for buying Starbucks and “not working hard like they did”. It’s a bad recipe
social media has exacerbated the issue profoundly. they see unrealistic expectations every day.
I have kids in the late 20's to early 30's demographic and I feel like they just barely got started in time to have a shot. There's actually a huge difference in my early 30's kids vs my late 20's kids in terms of house affordability, etc. My early 30's got in before things got crazy my ones trailing by just a couple of years have been facing a very different housing market. Fortunately they all have found a way to make a good living, but none of them have it as easy as I did getting established in the mid-90's.
Social Media has taken keeping up with the Jones to ridiculous heights.
Plus every town has a Walmart. They have a program you can get into that pays 100% college. Now, it's online and somewhat limited in degrees but it's 17'n free....while you work and make money. Also, you don't even have to be working to get the benefit; you can technically be on leave.
Where there is a will there is a way. Is it harder today probably but not impossible like a lot of people claim.
Doesnt this just support the reality of inflation?
A quarter century or more of time passing will do that.
My 19yo kid had a summer job that paid per hour the equivalent of what I made right out of college. Heck, her job right now has a higher per hour pay than the equivalent of what I made right out of college.
You can still get relatively reliable cars for cheap. The problem is they have made them so expensive to repair. That's sort of a stupid point for me to make. A $6k car with a reliable engine but minor repairs are likely to run $1k isn't really cheap. But just a gripe. I'm actually getting rid of cars at lower mileage now than I used to, even though the engines could go for another 100k miles, just because the ******** repairs are ridiculous. Making cars where headlights no longer have bulbs and you have to replace an entire assembly is my favorite, but there are lots of examples. Not having a dipstick is another good one. Always fun to play the guessing game of "is my car going to blow up because of lack of oil or is my oil level sensor bad". That's assuming they at least have it set up where it will reliably throw a fault if the sensor is bad and not show plenty of oil when it's empty.
Yes and no. We have made housing, healthcare, and inflation inflate way faster. CPI reflects what a basket of goods costs without being the actual inflation anybody experiences. Young people are getting pretty screwed on two things that hit them much harder, and then they get screwed on the thing that they use the least because we use tax policy and insurance regulations to socialize that cost so that young people pay more to keep it affordable for older people.
Some of their complaints are overblown just like every generations (and some of the complaints about them are overblown just like every generation), but they are getting screwed on some pretty significant things, and in a way that it would not be crazy to prefer being someone in the 20's or 30's a couple of decades ago, even if it means giving up some of the technological improvements that occurred in that time.
If I was an admin, your posting privileges would be taken away from here. Oh wait…..
All I was saying is that $20/hour now obviously(to some, I guess) doesnt provide the same buying power as $20/hour 25 or 30 years ago.
Housing costs have increased in that time, as well as other costs.
Because of this, it shouldnt be surprising that a person making $20/hour now isnt able to afford the same housing as a person making $20/hour 25 or 30 years ago.
^ this shouldnt be controversial, it is a well accepted reality and historical data supports it.
Not sure this comment is appropriate for this but people love to say " when my grandpa was young he could buy a 69 mustang for $3200 and now I have to spend $52000. Its just not fair". Grandpa was making $100 a week. Plus he was not buying $1400 phones, $7 coffees, $120 internet, $130 DTV, or going out to eat 4 times a week.
How does that change anything about housing being completely out of reach for many in this generation? I get that there is always some aspect of newer generations wanting what their parent's had but not wanting to wait to get it but this is a different level. We are talking about can't afford the 1br apartment that we all easily afforded.
I think this is a pretty bad time to be unemployed as well. There are estimates that 70% of jobs listed on the job sites are fake.
I had a young woman in my office recently tell me she was over $100,000 in debt for a marketing degree that she's making $45k. I thought there is no way she could make it - then I found out that $75,000 was a Parent PLUS loan that her parents were making her pay back.
I had a young woman in my office recently tell me she was over $100,000 in debt for a marketing degree that she's making $45k. I thought there is no way she could make it - then I found out that $75,000 was a Parent PLUS loan that her parents were making her pay back.
I was replying to a post that mentioned social media or did you miss that?
I've got a 28 year old and a 24 year old. My oldest son hated school so he slung tires and changed oil, then moved up to be a mechanic. Kept learning and got a job at GMC. Kept learning and got a job at Mercedes. Now he's one of 33 qualified EV techs for Mercedes in the nation. He bought a house for $100k. A real POS in a crappy neighborhood. He and I renovated the whole house over a year and a half. He sold it for $275k and bought another one for $410k. He's almost completely renovated it over the last year and a half. Kids that don't go to college can make it if they want to work for it. But you've got to work really hard at work and at home.
My youngest son got an AstroPhysics degree. He got a job at a defense contractor and has lived with us for two years and saved almost $90k. He just bought his first house and will own over 20% of it. Again, they can make if they make good decisions and focus on delayed gratification.
My youngest son got an AstroPhysics degree. He got a job at a defense contractor and has lived with us for two years and saved almost $90k. He just bought his first house and will own over 20% of it. Again, they can make if they make good decisions and focus on delayed gratification.
I have a degree from State and I am compensated well. My son asked me should he go to college I told him if I was coming out of Highschool now I would go get a trade. He went to work with Toyota dealership as an oil changer. He is now a full Toyota Technician. He's not six figures yet but will be there. He is making way more than most college graduates.
There, fixed it for us. I hear the young girls in our office talking about INFLUENCERS almost daily.
and the MILF clientele so I'd advise TARGET in that situation...............
I'm willing to bet most of that default percentage is people whose intention was to fraud the system anyways.
Mississippi has a problem with young fraudsters enrolling in JUCO. Applying for grants and loans, going to class just long enough for the checks to drop, then not returning to classes.
Mississippi has a problem with young fraudsters enrolling in JUCO. Applying for grants and loans, going to class just long enough for the checks to drop, then not returning to classes.
What can't you do both? I don't understand so many of you intentionally saying to not get a college degree.
I get if the kids are head-headed, sometimes they have to learn, but to actively guide them down that path? I hope you're also telling them to save money and buy assets, so when their bodies start breaking down in their 40s and 50s, they'll have income.
Yes, its definitely an issue. I've seen many of 35 year olds that did this when they are 18 and they are blacklisted from Federal Student Aid and can't believe it.
It's not controversial. I was just pointing out that the impact to a young person is bigger than CPI would reflect.
CPI is 26.8% owners equivalent rent. Well cap rates have been on a long term decline. Which means rent has not escalated nearly as much as the cost to own. My house if I tried to rent it out might get $4,000. Financially, the only reason to ever rent it would be if you're upside down or you are just going to be gone for a year or two and want to keep the house, because you'd need at least $7k for month to make sense financially compared to selling it. At some point, the numbers for house value and rentals were roughly related. Over time, cost to own shot up and the OER increased slowly, as nicer homes just stopped being available for rent.
On the one hand, it's fine to say just rent. There's nothing wrong with renting. But on the other hand it's a pretty significant change in the cost of a typical basket of goods that the CPI doesn't capture. Which was my point. Yes, it's obvious that $20/hour now isn't what it used to be. But if you just look at $20/hour and CPI, you miss just how much worse it is if you want to own your own home.
ROI is fine for most degrees. Plus college is a great place to meet women and women who will be good moms and stay married to you. There are a number of benefits to attending college as long as you don't go deeply into debt. You don't see elected leaders hoping their kids get into trade schools and junior colleges. https://educationdata.org/college-degree-roi
I was listening to a podcast the other day and am trying to find it, his comments were that only 2 things, adjusted for inflation are out of whack. Unfortunately they are housing and healthcare. His contention was that based on current wages, everything else is actually more affordable than previous generations, but we are certainly in a housing crisis.
The link if you are interested.
Getting Rich
He makes a lot of money, and they will always need mechanic but not necessarily someone who spent 100K for a humanitarian degree and maybe find a job making 40K. I have been with my company for 24 years. When they hired me, you had to have a four-year degree. Not anymore. Unless you are going to be a accountant, lawyer, engineer, doctor something along those lines there is no need. Get a trade and you will never be unemployed and don't think mechanics are below you. They make money. Way more than a college graduate. Work 8 hours and get paid for 14. So many people with college degrees and they are useless degree having to live at home with parents with no job and 1000's of unpaid student loans.
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Women and black Americans have the highest student loan default rates. White male and Asian males have the lowest. I agree that too many Americans are attending college, loans are too easy to get and university profs and admins have an incentive to enroll and retain students to keep the gravy train going.
educationdata.org
Student Loan Debt by Gender [2026]: Men vs Women
An analysis of student loan debt by gender and sex, including male and female as well as transgender and gender variant student borrowers.
I agree with all that, but none of it is my point.
My question to you is, why is going to JUCO and then to a state school, to get say, a business degree, quickly and cheaply, in any way a bad thing? Maybe even working while in college. Wouldn't that help your son one day open his own mechanic shop? There is a LOT of gray area between a trade job and a humanitarian degree. Let's be reasonable here, I'm not talking about the idiots. We're talking about the baseline education of economics or something.
I'm all for trades and entrepreneurism in general. Just have a plan for the long term.
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