Anyone other Gen-Zers on here sick of daily life

[lorrisandthesnowman]

Just that really. Endless bills, no hope ever of getting on the property ladder as the mummy and daddy bank wasnt an option, paycheck to paycheck living. The fruitless thought cycle of if we should have children/can we/ what would that future even look like.

Or is it just me and im in a bit of a negative slump

@reformNotReform

If you don’t understand how the housing landscape has changed for younger generations I’m not sure what to say. I can link you some articles but I feel it may be pointless.

Keep saving. 2k is a great start. Even if you buy in your mid 30s and choose to have a baby a year or two before. Don’t give up!

Yes it is and not only in the UK either.

This!

Pre 2008 100% mortgages were common & offered by many high street banks.

Omg they really weren’t! Maybe more readily available than now but they were extremely expensive, totally unattractive - and I know so many bitten by them after 2008. You do NOT want to be them. Or the generation before them with negative equity, paying back a loan on nothing. I’m not saying the young don’t have it tough now - of course they do. The UK is no longer a top tier economy, everything is shit unless you have money. But if you don’t like it, change it. And you can only do that if you start with the facts.

Agree.

I'm Gen X and living paycheck to paycheck still. Managed to buy for the first time age 34 after a promotion at work and relocating to a much cheaper area. Would never have been able to buy in the South East.

Why the endless obsessuin with ‘Gens’?
Could just say - ‘anyone else in their 20s… ?’
I know hardly anyone who has/had a house in their 20s.
I bought a flat when I was 31.

Each generation faces a specific situation. Denying this is both ridiculous and unhelpful.

Gen Z live in a different context - society, the country, the world is not the same.

Some of it is a now issue.
Some of it is the same frustration as other generations experienced too.

It's natural to feel frustrated, worried etc. But talking about it here always results in the same nonsense conversation.

Ultimately you only have three options - find a way to improve your individual lot, campaign with others for systemic change, or accept the status quo and find a way to make peace with it.

But your feelings are valid, there is lots of writing about the different problems faced by each generation. Comparing doesn't really help, but understanding is good.

It’s normal unfortunately, I’m a young millennial and the people I knew who bought houses in their 20s either lived in areas with cheap housing, were in very well paid jobs, given money by their parents for the deposit or lived rent free with parents to save. Or in many cases more than one of the above. And all bought with a partner, it’s partucularly hard on your own.

many people have to wait until their 30s to buy these days, so just keep saving! And for kids, average age of first time Mum is 31 so you’re definitely not behind.

I agree with this. I am Gen X and I didn't buy house until I was 38, 9 years ago. I did try to buy a house that I would stay in. It is harder if you aren't born into money or can't rely on parents. I don't have children, mainly because I didn't have the money at my prime and this is a source of sadness. I think maybe prioritize what is important to you. Good luck.

I'm one of the despised boomers and I only managed to buy a flat in my late 20s because of an inheritance. Interest rates were sky high when I did buy (I'm not in the UK and they were higher here than there).

Forgot to say, I also lived paycheck to paycheck for most of my life. This idea that all generations except the current one were rich and had life easy is nonsense.

It absolutely is a generation thing.

If you take how many average paychecks you need to buy a basic home, the number is higher now.

People don't like to attribute their success to luck/priviledge, but it absolutely plays a role.

It’s absolutely shit for Gen Z unless you have parental help or a very good job.

I don’t have the answer but I hear you.

I've just turned 40, when I was 28 no-one I knew owned property, had kids or had significany savings. By late 30s, almost everyone I know was married with kids and had bought a house. 20s is for establishing your career and having fun and as you get into your 30s payrises and things mean you should be able to save a bit more so that by mid 30s your ready to buy property and have kids.

I think it’s tough for every generation - unless born into wealth.

I’m gen x and consider myself comfortable after being born into poverty (real poverty - think foster care etc). I teach but I still have a “poor mindset”. I drive an 08 plate small car and all our furniture is still what DH bought when we moved in together in 2007! One of our sofas is broken and plumped up with old cushions! I know I’m sounding like an old fart here but I honestly think it’s why we are financially comfortable. Neither of us had family help - and still don’t. Me, as I have no family, him because they too aren’t wealthy.

I was lucky that I did get a graduate mortgage but I bought a house in a shitty area and only one room was furnished - is that an option? DS’ siblings only bought their houses in their mid to late 30s.

I would speak to a financial advisor - we do regularly. (I’m a bit obsessed with not being debt due to my start in life).There are advisors who give free advice too.

I would say it gets better but i now have the worries of uni fees for DD, saving for my ASD son so he can be self supported, pensions - and we’re still paying mortgages at nearly 50. This isn’t “woe is me” though. Just to prove if you dwell it can seem insurmountable. Do what you can so you fee in control.

I think whatever generation you were / are there will always have been people who seem to be doing better and those who struggle. What makes it harder now is the bombardment of social media, your friends posting the best bits of their lives (of course it's never the full story) or just lifestyle influencers suggesting that everyone aged 30 should live in an immaculate new build, own every modern appliance known to man and be able to spend all day spritzing purdy and fig around their enormous bespoke kitchen extension whilst their immaculate children play nicely in the garden. It's not reality.

It is most often not possible to have achieved it all and have your forever home before you start a family and often you don't have much disposable income in your 20's and 30's. Obviously this is compounded by our long standing economic slump and the slow down of the property market. So I have huge sympathy for people stsrting out these days.

My advice op is to make a 5 year plan, a friend suggested this to me when I got into a similar 'nothing is achievable slump' and ever since it has helped me work my way out of a rut several times. You need to be realistic but first you need to decide the most important change you want to make you happier in the next 5 years, is it the house, the kids, move area etc.

Then consider what will the finances look like? Where you currently live and work what do rents vs salary look like. Could you afford mat leave? Could you keep saving for the house deposit? Would you work part time if you have kids? What would the days look like if you are full time with a commute etc?

It might be that if you carry on your current lifestyle cost and job wise it won't work and you might need a new plan. What could work? Where could you move/ work that might help move things forward. There are still opportunities to work abroad and build up funds, my brother did that.

Sadly that isn’t true. I took out my first mortgage 29 years ago and simply got a £5k unsecured loan from the bank and used that as a deposit on my first flat, which cost £86k. Then further loans to pay for furniture and white good. Single woman, no savings, just a 28yo secretary in banking on about £30k pa.

I sold it 5 years later for £130k. Today it is back on the market for £680k. There is no way either of my DC can ever get on the property ladder if DH and I don’t help when the time comes, simply because the 5% deposit is now a minimum of £30-35k for a comparable property. More than a year’s salary for most people.

@canklesmctacotits I haven’t said they were good idea just that they were commonly offered by high street banks. That is a fact.

You are saying they aren’t but yet know so many bitten by them 🤔

It's natural to feel frustrated, worried etc. But talking about it here always results in the same nonsense conversation

Yep, utterly pointless

How old are you? I’m in my 40s and we had F all money for saving until in our late 20s, and then bought ourselves a wee ex-council in our 30s once our earning potential had grown and were ready to move to a cheaper part of the country. We were the first of all our friends to buy.

I’m not saying it’s not tough, I’m just saying don’t imagine it’s always been the norm to be able to buy a house in your 20s on close to entry level wages up until now.

Millennial here, we were 30 and 35before we bought our first house (south east). Get yourself on Reddit’s ukpersonalfinance, and make a 5 year plan as suggested. It’s not possible without a proactive approach and not knowing exactly where your money goes.

I think 28 is too young to worry about not owning a home and your eggs drying up to be honest. I’m millennial (I think? I’m 31) and I got married at 28, I felt like a child bride because I didn’t know anyone else my age who was married or had kids!