“Denying yourself all pleasures won’t lift you out of poverty but it will make you want to kill yourself” - the most succinct explanation of this topic that I have ever seen.

I think it depends where you live and the type of lifestyle you want to live. I live in the Midwest and there are affordable houses here. I own my own home, however if I lived on the east or west coast, I'd definitely not be able to afford even a studio apartment.

We saw this in minorities through the 1960's and maybe 70's. Those that had money had big fancy cars and tiny houses in a bad neighborhood. Why? They could not buy houses in a better neighborhood because of segregation. The car dealers were happy to sell to anyone with money. As a boomer from the end of the boomer years I am sad that my children will have it harder than their parents or grandparents, and wish I were wealthy rather than lower middle class. That way I could help them more.

I'm a Boomer and have and have had all the things this post says later generations can't afford. Having raised three children to adulthood, I've got to agree that the post is correct for the most part and I think I know the reason why. Ever since at least 1913 the US government has enlarged itself by consuming ever larger chunks of America's productivity until today it has a debt growing beyond $34 trillion, requiring interest payments that consume even more of America's productivity. Working for no return, just to pay the interest plus indebtedness is the definition of slavery and the slaves (taxpayers) may have instinctively realized this and have gone on strike. Yes, they are refusing to work as hard as previous generations and why should they? Work won't get them anywhere. Promising to "tax the rich" won't help anything because anyone with enough wealth to make a difference already knows how to escape taxation. The only solution I can see is starving government.

Here's why houses are so expensive. After the Mortgage Crash, banks (with all their new money from govt) started investing in actual property. They buy up property, wait for the prices to go up, sell. ONLY, suddenly they had billions in bailout money. This allowed them to buy more and wait longer. So what they did was buy up huge numbers of houses and apartments creating an artificial shortage (like the diamond companies do with the diamond market). Only, now they're playing musical chairs with it. The prices keep going up and up and up, and they've all got stars in their eyes for all the billions they're about to make if they sell at the right time. I've seen little shifts, little panics, where someone starts to sell, but the others jump in and buy it up before it the real collapse begins. It's completely unsustainable, and once the collapse begins and all the panic selling starts, it'll make the last financial housing collapse look insignificant.

Sounds like me. I work two jobs and have a masters degree in biology but I can't afford a house or an apartment. Even the most run down dangerous apartment buildings in my area require a base salary that is more than I make. Landlords won't even talk to me until I'm making that salary. I'm living with my parents on a chore-for-rent basis and after 20+ years of saving and trying to get my own place, I've given up. The market keeps going up beyond my raises and savings. But my car is paid off, I was able to buy new brakes last month without going into debt, and my cats all went from homeless strays to living a life of luxury, so it's not all bad.

F**king right wing boomers have annihilated the American "dream" for the next 75+ years thats all it'll be a delusional fantasy

Delayed gratification is a complete mystery to these people.

My younger family members all complain they can't save enough to buy a house, but I see the biggest TV's with all the cable channels, fingernails and hair salon appointments, shopping at expensive malls, not Gabe's or big lots, eating out, door dash instead of meal planning, only work one job, always expecting older family members to finance their lifestyle, 2 new cars when only one person works...I mean, come-on!! The excuses never stop, and every single generation has dealt with economic depression, wars, incompetent president, etc...live how you want but don't come whining to me about how hard it is when my car is 21 years old with 170k miles on it. And I will drive it as long as possible to keep away from car payments.

I do know that many of today's younger generations are expecting and waiting for inheritances that include money that they are not saving themselves and houses they cannot expect to afford on their own. I am leaving my daughter's expected and counted on inheritance to my cats. I refuse to watch her spend all her money on lavish and wasteful things that I could never have afforded.

I doubt anyone is overspending because they are concerned about foreign affairs. Also, kids don't really cost that much. Turns out that you don't actually have to buy them the most expensive version of everything.

Thanks I'll edit out my thoughts, they are not valid because typos and dyslexia.