Are things harder for millennials?

[squidwid]

Many of my friends don't own houses and they're in their 30s. They did everything that society asked of them and still they're not making headway.

I know so many elderly people that live in 4 bedroom homes worth £400k plus. Obviously there is nothing wrong with that but families should be able to afford those houses so things can move on. No one can afford to buy them...

Most of you achieved this before you were 30 because you were able to afford it in those times. The average age of first time mums now is 30, do you not think that is directly related to the stagnation of wages and the increase in house prices?

Also not everyone can live in their parents front room, there are whole towns in the UK with crippling unemployment and people have to move to find work. Large local employers have closed, and a lot of sectors became very London-centric. People commuter a lot further for work these days for this, and the lack of affordable housing in high employment areas.

If everyone goes to buy "somewhere cheaper" then that somewhere gets more expensive. In my parents day "cheaper" was Leyton, Walthamstow, South of the River. Now it's probably Luton where the annual season ticket is £5k (more if you can't get a season ticket loan and have to pay monthly).

People aren't surviving with no furniture in the house they've just bought because they bought basic furniture for their years of unfurnished rentals and have kept it going. It's much more difficult to buy usable second hand furniture and clothes now too - so much is built/made cheaply and often paying more gets a 'name' but barely better quality.

A smartphone isn't a luxury now, it's cheaper than home internet and broadband/computer and so many bits of modern life need you to apply online.

As for car use, so many jobs require a car, out of town industrial and retail parks aren't served by useful public transport, Beeching killed rural railways and you will likely need to drive to access a lot of basic services like post offices and hospitals. Or to get your child to your parents' house in the area you can't afford to live...

I'd also say it's hard to be motivated to save if you know full well you won't reach the goal... If you would need 50k deposit to buy a house which is commutable from your work and you are paying most of it to survive but can have a dull life and save £100/month (assuming the car doesn't break down and cost you 5 months of savings, that's around 45 years of saving. Professional salaries have stagnated, it's much harder to work 2 jobs because fixed hours are not a thing and it seems pretty pointless to scrimp and save with no end in sight. 5 years might be doable but over that is so tough!

Sorry, replied to the wrong post.

You can’t categorically say that at all - or at least not with any truth. There’s currently a thread running where a 23 year old wants to get married and crack on with having kids asap. Que the responses of why do it so young, why not travel and see the world, you’ve got years to have kids, etc. MN hates young parents, looks down on them and does its utmost to discourage them.

This assumes that one of the sets of parents has a front room that isn't already their bedroom or a shared bedroom with a sibling... And that the parents live somewhere there are career options for both children...

The other issue is moving somewhere cheaper as a southerner makes you very unpopular! Cheaper for us means moving north or west and then we get accused of gentrification or forcing locals out of affordable homes...

@HoneyBeen
I think the 'bought a cheap house' is the main flaw in your argument there.

There are no cheap houses. Most jobs require degrees so you start out with £50k debt. Jobs don't pay enough to let you save up a deposit. Every year house prices go up and up.

Sure, it didn't just fall into your lap a few decades ago, but there's a difference between 'somewhat challenging to buy a house' and 'absolutely impossible to buy a house without money from parents'

So, to answer your question, the vast majority of boomers will pay/have paid NI for circa 50 years.

Is there any statistical data to back that up?

One thing that stood out here is the wording "households" ...so in that would include adult children still living at home who want to but can't afford to buy their own home.

Hang on, I though that this thread started with someone whingeing about the elderly living in 4 bedroom houses? They wouldn't have bought their 4 bed house once they retired would they? Far more likely, they needed the 4 bed house for their children to grow up in, so that kind of suggests there was room for some of their children to marry or partner-up but continue to live at home whilst saving by not having to rent!

@1offnamechange same. Admittedly things will probably be harder still for Gen Z in that regard but where I am the wage to house price disparity isn't anything like as bad as London/SE and it's the norm for couples in their thirties to own.

I actually find it strange to think about, how some people are quite badly off and in insecure, poor-quality rented accommodation in the SE yet on a lower salary elsewhere one can be quite comfortable, a home-owner with some spare money for luxuries.

Well the majority starting work at 16 and retiring at 66 or 67 is a bit of a clue, wouldn’t you say?

Most people won't have paid anywhere near enough NIC to cover the cost of their pensions. Lots of people paid little or no NIC yet still qualify for full state pension because of "earning" credits for years of unemployment, part time work, staying home looking after children, etc. The whole NI system needs to be scrapped.

Boomers and Gen X really did a number on us with the lies they fed forward!

If you or your friends are in their early 40s then you are Gen X yourselves.

Yep. We live in an impoverished Northern seaside town with serious deprivation and a very low local average wage. Housing is VERY affordable. The likes of teachers, nurses, etc are the ones with the "nicer" houses in the "nicer" areas because their wages are higher than the local average. (Not saying such people don't deserve "nice" places to live, just comparing a perfectly comfortable lifestyle with what seems to be an impoverished one for nurses/teachers who choose to live in a very expensive area like London).

I feel sorry for many young people I see with very good degrees unable to find decent jobs and working zero hours contracts. This is a Govt level problem and easily solved, as is housing, if only there were the political will.
It seems a fundamental misunderstanding of Capitalist economics is leading some posters to hate on their parents and grandparents. When the older generation's wealth does finally come to you - will you share it with your friends who don't have intergenerational wealth - I very much doubt it.

Nothing wrong with that at all, but don't then whinge when you find yourself in your 30's, with no money for a deposit to buy a house, at the bottom of your career ladder, and with time running out to start a family. We all make choices, but choices have consequences.

Well the majority starting work at 16 and retiring at 66 or 67 is a bit of a clue, wouldn’t you say?

I don't actually know any boomer who started at work at 16 & worked straight through to 67. Buts that's anecdotal hence why I asked if you had data but you don't.

Perhaps those with good degrees should have done more research as to which jobs/careers are in short supply, which have the best pay/conditions, etc. then there'd be fewer graduates working in hospitality, retail and warehouses on zero hour contracts!

There's another thread on here at the moment about people choosing to go to Uni "because their friends are going" and choosing a subject because they like it rather than the employment opportunities it may or may not bring.

If you choose to go to Uni, and then choose a degree course, without properly thinking about where it will lead, what career doors it will open, then don't be surprised if you end up in a zero hours contract job.

Not even the men? I don’t know any men who had career breaks. I know several who started work at 16 and continue to work past pension age.

Whereas loads of boomers are travelling the world on cruise ships with the lovely final salary pensions and mortgage free houses...

This is a lot to expect an 18yo to understand. It’s the sort of guidance they need from parents. Who may not have gone to uni themselves and have no idea about the employment market for graduates.

@Itsbytheby exactly

And loads of boomers are badly getting by on pensions so low they qualify for other benefits

The boomer generation is very split

And future generations also will be very split - between those who get a nice inheritance from their boomer and gen x parents and those who get nothing from their benefit reliant families

Most people won't have paid anywhere near enough NIC to cover the cost of their pensions. Lots of people paid little or no NIC yet still qualify for full state pension because of "earning" credits for years of unemployment, part time work, staying home looking after children, etc.

I suspect this is true.

Conversations around young people often refers to bad choices & not being sensible. Are pensioners who rely on pension credit or don't have a private pension also accused of being irresponsible?