My parents are high school graduates, worked in manufacturing until the jobs were shipped off to mexico and vietnam, don’t own their houses (they’re divorced), drive used cars as a rule, and probably will never retire.

I’m 31, am a college graduate, work in an IT job that will never be outsourced and is very secure, own a mortgage, own my car I bought new, and have a substantial amount in my 401K

I really do hope social security takes care of at least one of them, because I don’t think I can take care of both.

I don’t regard the social security system as benifiting me personally, I just hope it keeps my parents well provided for. They are big spenders now that they are old and I don’t make enough to bail them out. So long live social security!

I have far transcended my parents and grandparents. My dad was a career army soldier and my mom was a housewife. Later my dad retired and my mom worked retail. Through all of their marriage up until retirement, their combined income never exceeded $35K. We never went hungry and always had a roof and clothes, but my mom went without new clothes so I could have new clothes for school and cooked lots of beans and cheap cuts of meat. It’s only in full retirement that they finally seem comfortably off — mostly thanks to living in a paid-off home (that they bought in the early 70s) and having managed to save little tiny bits over the years. And they always, always avoided debt.

On the surface, I’ve always had it much easier — which isn’t to say I’ve had it easy. But I do make a lot more than they ever did and I have more in savings at my age than they did. I also really missed the boat with avoiding debt.

I think the biggest difference is the overall sense of entitlement young people (myself included) have in contrast to older generations. When I was driving my first car, a beat-up Subaru, I couldn’t wait for a new car. My parents have NEVER expected to be able to drive a new car.

DB

Housing is perhaps the one thing that _is_ more expensive. But imagine if you didn’t have a cable TV bill, your phone bill was only $15 a month (vs. $90 for the two-line cell phone and $45 for the telephone with all the features and unlimited long distance), you only had one car that was 10 years old and cheap to insure, your kids only had one activity a week that they would bike to on their own, no one had iPods, stereos, TVs in their rooms or computers, meals were made in the home most nights, lunches were brought in paper bags, etc, etc. There is a lot of money tied up in those things that could be used to help significantly with the offset in housing costs (this coming from someone in the LA housing market, which is among the top 10 most ridiculous markets.)

As for comparisons — very interesting & informative, but also very dangerous (that’s what gets us into so much trouble with those darned Joneses). I recently had a 20-something friend comment on my new little Toyota: “Wish I had a new car…” Wish he could’ve seen me in my $250 1974 Dodge Dart when I was his age…

I abhor my job and have been going to school to change careers from sales to something else. It has not been easy, but the best thing ever was getting out of the rat race of doing jobs I hate because I had to pay the mortgage. Now, I can walk away and still be good for a while. The prospect is tough for people our age. Especially, the difference bewteen values and work ethic from Baby boomer to the Gen X and Y’s. I learned the hard way that credit is a tool like a hammer than can either build you a home, become a useful weapon or can kill your self with it.

It really is not too late. It’s takes the vision and guts to make the changes and try NOT to follow the Joneses.

I don’t think the twentysomethings today are any different than the twentysomethings were when I was twentysomething back in the early sixites in San Francisco. I thought I was immortal.

However, when I did get serious about my life financially, I can say today’s twentysomethings are at a advantage to some degree – they have choices. My father was from the depression generation and everything was cash. He did very well in construction and land developement, but it was always a mystery to me how he achieved what he did without investing in the market or ever borrowing money. Also, we never, ever had finacial discussions at home.

It wasn’t until my early thirties that I discovered personal financial management shouldn’t be a mystery. The IRA came along and with the IRA came an explosion of mutual funds, personal finance magagzines and books, and brokerage houses opened their doors to the “small investor.” Hard to believe that prior to the IRA, there were very few mutual funds avaiable and the ones that were available had five to ten thousand dollar minimum deposits, very little information in the way of books or magazines, and nothing taught in the school system.

I played catch up in my thirties and by the time I reached 46, I had more money invested in the stock market and mutual funds than I had earned working for a living. I retired at 57.

The twentysomethings today are faced with something I never had to contend with: the paradox of choice. Thanks to the internet and 401ks and IRAs, everyday financial decisions have become increasingly complex. And they’re marketed in such a way, they tend to set unrealistically high expectations on the one hand, and you’ll “never have enough to retire” on the other. Your financial life doesn’t have to be that way. Invest in index funds, reinvest your dividends, and ejoy your life. Keep it simple.

Today, I am retired and comfortable – not rich – and I donate all my time to helping young people and “the working poor” with their financial lives. I’m a firm believer in “Each One, Teach One”.

Wow. From my humble start ringing up groceries at 14 to now, working to improve and grow the company I work for has always resulted in monetary benefits (not to mention societal benefits which are my real motivators at this stage in life). If you own company stock or options (as even most low-paid Starbucks employees do) suggesting improvements, new products, new revenue streams can make a huge difference in your 401K, personal investments and compensation.

I don’t disagree that you should take advantage of all the perks to improve your knowledge, and your other advice on avoiding credit etc is excellent. But not everyone needs to go start his or her own business to be truly fulfilled and successful. There are a lot of pretty frivolous small businesses out there that contribute a lot less to the good of society than some big corporations. And those established companies can be very rewarding and fulfilling if you are willing to be an engaged employee.

I disagree with this. I have always worked hard at my job, because it’s the right thing to do. It has the side effect of benefiting the company, too. Then, when I wanted something (I wanted to work at home so that I don’t have to put my baby in daycare), they were willing to work something out, because they didn’t want to lose me as an employee. I don’t work for a megacorporation, but I don’t work for a small company, either.

The previous generation isn’t totally blind to the fact that things are different – I’ve had lots of conversations with my 40-50 something friends (I’m 28) in which they reflect how much harder it is now to live a standard middle class lifestyle than when they were growing up. I guess my thought is that lifestyles have changed just as much as the rest of the world – and I’m not talking exclusively about frivolous indulgences, instant gratification, and irresponsibility, though heaven knows the Boomers should know about that too (joke). Think of now compared to the 60s – we have smaller families and live in bigger houses; second cars are the norm (and generally necessary to support a second income) and we all have tons of things – very normal things, microwave ovens and color televisions, let alone the cell phones and computers – that didn’t exist when my folks were small children. The (developed) world has changed so drastically in the last several generations that any fair comparison takes subtle consideration. So, good call, Trent.

They had/have good retirement plans and what appeared to be a secure (single) income. Of course they were as poor as church mice because they had children, but not as poor as I would be if I were supporting 3/4/5 people on my income.

I agree though, that I may have less money, but I have more opportunities to be happy thanks in part to the beauty of the internet/web and the rise in cheaper travel. Having no kids helps.

In some ways it’s more responsible to wait until you’re established. Indeed, I am made to understand this is why in 17th century England the upper crust married at 15 and the regular working guys waited until they were in their mid 20’s. However, it does seem with the way we are so age- and class-stratified and suburbanized that there is no sense of the process.