Boomer parents

[Freesamples]

Anyone else got a boomer for a parent that a) has no idea how the world currently works and b) loves to put the boot in and c) is absolutely delusional about how much things cost.

me, I love to sniff out a bargain, crowning glory the summer hols I’ve booked for me, dh and dcs. 4 star+ AI, 2 adults 2 kids, package £2k and in summer holidays. Absolute belter. All to be met with a chorus of how expensive that is and how much we’re over paying and how they’d spend no more than £1k on holidays for us (in the mid early 00s). Plus, don’t want to go there, they hate brits, it’s too hot. (All places we went as kids btw)

it can’t be just me

that’s not a ‘good return’ inflation has only just come down to 2%. It won’t last. When people were saying I’m getting g a good rate on my savings at ~5% when inflation was 6%+ don’t seem to understand inflation

@Uricon - for historical perspective.

Is it my wording "career choice" that you object to? Ask my dear friend, who works as a cleaner and carer on minimum wage while her daughter picks up twice as much from the state for her 5 children, who are not properly fed, clothed or cared for.

Yes, that's what I objected to. Your friend's daughter is one single mother. You are doing exactly what the "anti boomer" squad on here are, choosing an egregious example and generalising.

ETA if that is the case with those children, someone needs to notify social services.

5.5% on savings is a lot better than ~2.5% which it was for ages so in comparison it is a good return. Not as good as if interest rates went back up to 15.2% though 😉

i never said my parents were awful because they were boomers. I asked if other boomer parents had those traits

Duh. You directly related their age to their behaviour.

You can scoff all you like, but people frequently came into the office/retail business where I worked and dropped off their CVs. It's a perfectly legitimate way to look for work. People who do that are often seen as showing initiative and drive.

My current washing machine is nearing 20 years old and still going strong!

@Fizzadora

Yes you will😏

I think it depends on the person.

Boomers often didn't learn not to be awful old people because their parents died much younger.

We are hopefully learning how not to be awful old people

But some people are just awful people at any age.

@HucklefinBerry "Boomers often didn't learn not to be awful old people because their parents died much younger. "

Excuse me? I'm presuming this is satire? Tell me it's satire!

It's certainly strange logic, especially as the people they are "hopefully learning how not to be awful old people" from are their awful boomer parents.

What are you talking about? I'm a boomer, as are my friends, and most of our parents died in their mid-80s to 90s - one even has a DM who is 101. How is that dying "much younger"??

Well for some, that could be because they retired just before they reached 60, when they expected to receive their state pension which subsequently got moved along 6 years! Or perhaps their workplace pension kicked in at 60?
Or perhaps they just got fed up with taking crap from people like you.
I'm sure your 63 year old work colleague recognises how ageist you are, I'm older than her and still working and in fact following an interview, I've just been appointed to a higher grade. Goodness how did that happen to such "an old person" thank goodness I don't work in your team, you come across as not a nice work colleague!

That’s how I remember it too. And the term ‘baby boomer’ was generally confined to books/newspapers/magazine articles or perhaps mentioned on TV documentaries and news programmes. It was used in a benign, factual way to present information. The term has now been contracted and formed into a slur. I’m just three years outside that demographic and imagine so-called ‘Gen X’ is up next for ageist type criticism. No doubt someone on TikTok will come up with a more snappy moniker. Because it seems to be acceptable, in fact almost de rigueur, to mock and stereotype older people.

I agree with @scenicgirl. DH and I are still working full-time at 62 and 64. We are both in professional jobs. We have worked a total of 37 and 38 years respectively. Neither of us will receive the state pension until we are 67, neither of us are eligible for a bus pass until we are 65.

DH's parents: b 1928 and 1936 retired at 55 and 58/9ish. Funnily enough it's our 87/8 year old mothers who tut and shake their heads at the fact we are still working.

Personally I think working and having children in our mid/late 30s has kept us younger. Our DC are 29 and 26 and I think we are aware of young people's perspectives.

Increasingly our friends are giving up work.

The attitude on here about the "incompetence levels" of parents in their mid/late 60s never fails to amaze me. Mothers in particular who can't drive, catch a train/plane, manage their money, etc. I don't know anyone like it but am often told that I don't behave like the average person in their mid sixties, whatever that average is. All my friends of similar age are capable of hopping on a plane (alone), managing their finances, having a game of tennis, or similar, and generally enjoying life - and some continued to work.

People here love to throw out accusations of 'ageism' but only ever when it's directed at the older generations. Generalising younger people as lazy, frivilous and entitled is always okay though.

Older people pick up on ageist slurs and rightly criticise them.

If younger people see ageist remarks directed at them why don't they challenge them?

I haven't noticed lots of threads claiming that it's fine to generalise about younger people, but if there are any, object to them. It's not hard.

As a boomer can I say that this is not typical of our generation. Your parents are shits.

Age/generation plays no part at all in this.

My Dad is older than your parents (I've just Googled it - post war generation) and he's not like this at all. He's aware of how expensive houses are and he was extremely worried that his children might not afford to get on the property ladder. Now he probably worries about how his young adult grandchildren will manage to get on the property ladder. He goes on a foreign holiday with his children most years, so he knows how much holidays cost.

My in-laws are Boomers. MIL tended to buy everything (including FIL's clothes). She would book all of their holidays. She would buy all of the birthday and Christmas presents. She commented a few times that FIL was clueless about how much things cost and on the rare occasion he enquired, he expressed amazement and disbelief. So she tended to gloss over how much things cost.

Your parents sound annoying OP and it must have been disappointing to have them rain on your parade and disparage your holiday (I'm assuming you had done a lot of research and spent time looking into the cost of flights/accommodation etc. and were happy with the cost of it). But it's not a generational thing, it's an individual thing.

I can really relate to this.

My parents (early 80s) likely have upwards of £2.5m in wealth. However they have decided not to share or pass on any financial help through my adult life.

No house deposit, no wedding help, no financial help with the kids. No gifting of £3k a year or whatever that amount is. Absolutely nothing through my adult life.

That’s fine, their choice I guess, but they have also had minimal involvement with their grandkids as well. Mine and my sister’s kids. “We have our own lives…”

My parents retired in their early fifties. As I approach this age I know I will need to work at least another 10 years to help secure my future.

I plan to inherit nothing. I can’t do anything else. If I do receive something then I will pass it down straight away as a nice chunk of cash earlier in life is life changing.

I understand the grandkids will get £2k each from their wills. It makes me so angry.

Sorry they sound plain nasty.

We've paid everything for three kids to go through university, including masters. We've paid deposits on their first homes. We've set up a trust they will inherit when DH dies. At the moment we're living on it but still helping out at times because we don't need it all.

DH does worry with this gov that we'll be hammered with unearned income so we do have a nest egg just in case.

Not all boomers are selfish.