The economy has shafted millennials: now it wants their offspring too

[CarryOnNurse20]

AIBU to ask your opinion on this article?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/23/economy-millennials-children-low-birthrate?CMP=fb_cif&fbclid=IwAR1C57OgCdGCGhSr5uVLI5tRVeMCq-eNtyyxEuUiYOjYgSn5P2w3yMHQeTM

As a dreaded millennial and a mother I find it very sad and very true for a lot of people I know.

I never said it was all millennials just there’s a lot who haven’t take responsibility that they were frivolous with money and acted like z list celebs or couldn’t turn down/stand up to/let down the friends/family members that did. Like I say social media has a lot to answer for.

You can’t generalise about any generation. My friend and I have five millennial kids/stepkids between us.

Two of the five live in rented properties and one of those had to have their rent paid by parents for nine months because they lost their job last summer. The other is separated and has three kids.

One is married with two kids and has just bought a four bed house. One lives in a small mortgaged property with their partner and is planning to buy a bigger house, marriage and a family. The last is married, planning kids and to buy a family house and let out their central London flat.

Two families. Five vastly different circumstances. Every generation has these vast disparities.

[quote Samuraisammy]@PattyPan that’s great but you must be the exception because my social media has been flooded with this Tom foolery for over a decade and you only need to look at Mumsnet trending threads.. peeved off bridesmaid robe buying.. brothers destination wedding.. to see it’s a thing.. my 12 year old has already got 32 consoles what else can I get him for Christmas this year? My grandparents went on U.K. holidays, family holidays to Butlins, think they had reception in a pub and married just the pair of them. Birthday celebrated at home. Non of this bar crawling, or long weekends in Prague. Everyone wants to be someone and the problem is at the end of the day and there’s nothing to show for it put a daft photo, and even that isn’t ‘real’ because it’s on a bloody phone!! I can assure you that is it wasn’t for social media, all of these lavish or expected ways of celebrating, holidaying and the like would be drastically cut down.[/quote]
I’m not the exception - I’m 26. No one my age is getting married or having planned-for children. If it’s been on your SM for over a decade then it’s presumably more likely that you’re talking about people from Gen X…

Things that weren’t around 40 plus years ago which are now easily available - Gym membership, personal trainers, cars on credit, holidays with friends, weekend weddings, hotel stays for weddings, stag dos and hen dos abroad, long weekend stag or hen dos, city breaks for birthdays, BRUNCH, world travel for elephant harem pants, R O A D T R I P S, baby showers, especially baby showers with vomit induced balloon arches) fecking ridiculous sized birthday cakes, Really ‘wacky’ weddings with tents like a mini glasto lolz were so different guyz. Honestly, mini z celebs I’m telling you is what’s ate away your bank balance along with no back bone for letting these mini z celebs galavant around.

...after works drinkies and AFTERNOON SODDING TEA.

Calm the fuck down. I was having afternoon sodding tea 40 years ago. That post is utterly deranged.

Wow @Samuraisammy that’s quite a list!

A lot of Generation X also CHOSE not to have children. A lot of people my age are child-free as we were the first generation where women had far more opportunities, particularly with careers, and the option to choose a different path to our parents (marriage, house kids). So I think the reduction in birth rates has been the case for a while.

@Samuraisammy

Before Covid most 18 year olds take the route of going on group holidays, world travelling, big feck off birthday celebrations which then get turned into even bigger hen, stag, weddings, baby showers, gifts. It’s only become ‘cooler’ and more acceptable now to have smaller weddings and holiday in England. It’s not been the willingness to de-scale your everyday it’s a willingness to lifestyle living and events that’s the main thing that’s dripped out millennials extra cash at the end of each month. If anything good has come out of Covid it’s that people will feel less pressured in living like Z list celebrities and that IS coming from a millennial myself. Whatever you think.

Kind of feel sorry i didn't grow up in UK 😂 we had none of that! Travel with mates was an exciting trip to mountains few hours away😂

I see @Samuraisammy is still pulling out crap from her arse handbag!

Oooh. We had afterworks drinks! So did my parents and grandparents tho.

Fun fact time! My relative apparently had DURING work drinks. They worked in steal works and company had weak beer brewed for their staff to keep them hydrated (and happy-ish i guess). That's how the story goes

@Blossomtoes that’s fine, I know this it’s a joke but these days it’s at a hotel restaurant with a deal where you get a ‘free’ glass of fizz and you split it with ‘the girls’, if you say no you’re cast aside as the bad guy!!! Don’t think that was your afternoon tea 40 years ago... millennial problems lolz

@wellards nicely played ;)

@wellards

I see *@Samuraisammy* is still pulling out crap from her arse handbag!

Sounds more like a chip bag tbh...

after work drinks are not a new concept

[quote Samuraisammy]@Blossomtoes that’s fine, I know this it’s a joke but these days it’s at a hotel restaurant with a deal where you get a ‘free’ glass of fizz and you split it with ‘the girls’, if you say no you’re cast aside as the bad guy!!! Don’t think that was your afternoon tea 40 years ago... millennial problems lolz[/quote]
It was actually. The Ritz has been offering champagne afternoon tea since the 1920s.

Okay but that’s my point exactly, these yearly group holidays with chums weren’t a thing 40 years ago.

I don't think annual holidays abroad with chums is normal is for most?

I went on a few holidays with friends in the late 90s, paid £25 for a return flight.

I don't know why "abroad" is painted in bad light. It's actually a saving in most cases, compared to holiday in UK.🤷🏻

It's also about where you live. We are up north bought at 23 when we had DS for 115k with a 7k deposit the house is now worth 150k in 8 years!! We are looking to upgrade if we stop getting beaten by first time buyers, we will then look to start saving DS house deposit for around 15 years time even if we put away 1k a year 15k would get in a 5% deposit on 300k

@jesusmaryjosephandtheweedonkey

I bought my house in "92" for 16k . It has rotting windows, no central heating, no inside bathroom, no fitted kitchen and woodchip on every wall. We sat on my aunts conservatory furniture for 2years and the first winter in the house was bloody freezing. We didn't care though as we owned our home. Very few people would live like that now days

I think you have not experienced what some rentals and council homes can be like on the lower end. We rented a flat in London with no central heating and we had to all sleep in the lounge in winter and another house with an appalling mold problem and the sting in the tail was we were paying someone good money to live there.

After works drinks isn’t a new concept, neither is afternoon tea, but the cost to do those things now is extortionate (in comparison to 40 plus years ago) but people carry on because socialz. That’s just a small drip of all the other cost addled things that mount up that people feel compelled to partake in.
Yea exactly you went on holiday in the 90s when it cost you £8 for 5 days, that’s not what I’m on about. You didn’t have pressure of social media then, Donna down the road thought a balloon arch was something you kept in your chest of drawers. The 90s was still about not giving a comparison shit to those around you, at least you didn’t have 3 friends and 2 work colleagues that cared far too deeply about putting on a show for the cameras.
For the past ten years it has been possible to save but far too many who have stayed at home and don’t live in London just blame inflation. That’s my point.

I think you need some new mates @Samuraisammy 😳

After works drinks isn’t a new concept, neither is afternoon tea, but the cost to do those things now is extortionate (in comparison to 40 plus years ago) but people carry on because socialz.

Yes exactly costs have increased. Should people not socialise?

You didn’t have pressure of social media then, Donna down the road thought a balloon arch was something you kept in your chest of drawers. The 90s was still about not giving a comparison shit to those around you, at least you didn’t have 3 friends and 2 work colleagues that cared far too deeply about putting on a show for the cameras.

Perhaps you need to come off social media?