It seems no matter how dire things get and how many facts are routinely bandied about, some Baby Boomers simply cannot let go of the notion buying a home is as easy nowadays as it was in the 1960s and 70s—or even the 80s or 90s.
Case in point?
A story in the UK's The Times asked Boomers to offer their "advice" for millennials unable to afford a house.
What were the older generation's hot tips? "Cancel Netflix" and stop ordering take-out.
Yes, that is actually the advice they gave, as seen below.
\u201cBaby boomers have some advice for millennials struggling to buy a home: cancel the Netflix subscription and stop ordering takeaways\n https://t.co/iLhEq7HzgW\u201d— The Times (@The Times) 1655127096
It's become a cliche by now but cliches are cliches for a reason, so say it with us: Okay, Boomer! After all, didn't we *just* have this conversation about the supposed financial evils of avocado toast a couple years ago?
The Boomers definitely missed that whole conversation. As The Times reported:
"More than half of baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, believe that 'luxury' lifestyle choices made by young people are to blame for their inability to save enough money."
What constitutes "'luxury' lifestyle choices," you ask? Get ready to laugh yourself to death.
"Among the lifestyle choices identified by baby boomers in a study by researchers at King’s College London were takeaway coffees and food, mobile phones, Netflix and foreign holidays."
You heard them, millennials--you have no business even having a telephone. That's why you're poor. You're welcome!
Of course, the actual facts paint a different picture.
For starters, the cost of a house has skyrocketed since the Boomers' were out shopping for their idyllic cul-de-sac tract homes in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s--so much so you should get ready to choke on these prices.
The average house cost $17,000 in 1970, $47,200 in 1980 and $79,100 in 1990. LOLOLOLOLOLOL.
But surely when adjusted for inflation those numbers look a lot more normal, right? Ha ha ha, you sweet summer child. In 2022 dollars, those amounts come to roughly $128,000, $167,000 and $177,000 respectively.
And we wish you the best of luck finding a house for that amount because the average home price is currently--wait for it--$507,800 and rising rapidly.
That's approximately 32,782 months of Netflix fees--which incidentally is about 2,732 years. Easy peasy!
As you might guess, The Times' deeply absurd Boomer advice went over like a lead balloon and Twitter has spent the better part of the month dragging everyone involved.
\u201c@thetimes Lecturing people from the house I got for fifty bucks and a signed frank sinatra picture at a time when only whites could buy homes\u201d— The Times (@The Times) 1655127096
\u201c@thetimes I don\u2019t have Netflix, but my bank are still asking double my salary to get a mortgage on a studio flat. What\u2019s their advice now?\u201d— The Times (@The Times) 1655127096
\u201cFood $200\nData $150\nRent $800\nGardening supplies $3,600\nUtility $150\nsomeone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying\u201d— taddy mason (@taddy mason) 1652562654
\u201cSaving $15 a month is definitely gonna help me afford that $800,000 1 bedroom no bath shack in Parma Ohio\u201d— Ayden Canavos (@Ayden Canavos) 1655389904
\u201cYou would have to cancel Netflix for 2,300 years to save enough to pay for the average home price in the US.\u201d— Feminine Miss Geek (@Feminine Miss Geek) 1655143259
\u201c@AudiSun07 @WhatEvil @everysongsung @thetimes The best thing is looking at Zillow and seeing how ppl are selling houses for 300k USD more then they bought it in 2020 \ud83d\ude43\ud83d\ude43 \n\nNothing added. No new roof or anything. Just 300k more then what they paid 2 years ago.\u201d— The Times (@The Times) 1655127096
\u201cCancel my parents\u2019 Netflix subscription? That seems rude.\u201d— Christina Cress (@Christina Cress) 1655208958
\u201c@thetimes Hey young people, it's easy as that. Save \u00a3100 a month by cutting Netflix and takeaways and in 41 short sweet years you will enough for a deposit on your very own flat in Swindon!!\u201d— The Times (@The Times) 1655127096
\u201c@thetimes Ever since I canceled my Netflix sub, I am rolling in $. Just bought a mega yacht, a private jet, and a few mansions. Looking at picking up an island or 2. I wonder if Greenland is available.\u201d— The Times (@The Times) 1655127096
\u201cmost Baby Boomers can\u2019t even afford prescription drug coverage once they retire? \ud83e\udd74\u201d— Mischief Managed \ud83d\udc63 (@Mischief Managed \ud83d\udc63) 1655218056
Anyway, it turns out Boomers themselves are the actual reason younger generations can't afford houses. Thanks for the advice, though!
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Dunning-Kruger Times