Real Estate Salesman Calls Out Older People for Dismissing Millennial Concerns About Rising costs

A common response to millennials and Gen Z prioritizing things like work-life balance and being open about the stress they deal with, is older people countering those with their own struggles. Freddie Smith, an Orlando real estate salesperson, gets upset with older people who dismiss the difficulties that today's young adults confront. He has heard far too many analogies between the challenges that today's youth face and those that existed in the past, particularly concerning exorbitant housing and living expenses. Smith wants people to realize that millennial complaints aren't entirely tantrums or laziness but are justified. Some people miss the mark when they say, "In my day, we could buy houses for $3.10 an hour." They don't realize how much life has increased in cost over time.

Justified millennial complaints

Smith is saying that the young people who can't afford homes also include those earning minimum wage, between $60,000 to $90,000 a year. It's worth mentioning that many young Americans get money from their parents even though they earn good wages. A Pew Center survey found that 44% of young adults got financial help from their parents last year. Also, 36% of parents who helped said it hurt their finances, especially if they didn't have much money.

Disparity between lifestyle and income

What then is the reason for this discrepancy between lifestyle and income? Smith examined the figures in a well-liked TikTok video while sharing some eye-opening facts. Smith found that despite the expectation that they will make more money, college graduates today spend the same proportion of their income on rent as minimum wage workers did in 1980.

Back then, minimum wage earners made $3.10 per hour while the typical monthly rent was $243. Their monthly income, assuming 40 hours worked each week, came to $496. This indicated that their rent accounted for close to 49% of their income. Fast forward to today. Smith says the average monthly rent is around $1,747. College graduates today typically earn around $24 per hour, according to ZipRecruiter. So, their monthly earnings come to about $3,840. This means that today's college graduates are spending about 45.4% of their income on rent.

Inflation and financial struggles

Given that they went through difficult times themselves, you may think that older generations wouldn't understand the financial struggles that today's kids confront.

At the same time, young people saw their fair share of troubles during the 1980s, having gone through two recessions in three years. To put things into perspective, let's look at inflation rates, which reached an astounding 14% in 1980. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve reports that in June 1981, interest rates reached an all-time high of 19.10%.

Few viewers were happy that finally someone knew how illogical it is to expect people to build homes at such high living expenses. 

A Gen X mother's perspective

Nonetheless, a lot of parents nowadays are aware of the challenges their kids are facing. On TikTok, a Gen X mother expressed how tough it is to watch her adult children struggle to become homeowners and financially secure. She remembers her struggles in her 20s when even earning less than $10 an hour, she could make ends meet. She notices a sharp difference now. You seem to need a six-figure wage to afford even a modest place to live. Those who watched Smith's video are aware of the irony. Some said it's odd to see people who made decent money at minimum wage jobs in the 1980s suddenly harboring college-educated children who are unable to pay rent. A contributor said, "My son still resides at home despite earning over $100,000 annually. It's crazy."

You can follow Freddie Smith (@fmsmith319) for similar content.