Are You Richer Than Your Parents?

00:00 Intro
00:30 Launching
02:03 Perception
04:06 Housing Affordability
05:30 Disposable vs Discretionary Income
07:03 Knowledge & Access To Financial Education
08:59 Financial Plan
Some of my favorite books: amzn.to/3KF3tlr
Camera & equipment I use: amzn.to/3Z20lof
Disclaimer: Please note that this video is made for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken as financial advice. Always make sure to do your own research.
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Thanks for watching, I appreciate you!

[@mattmathai]

I'm far wealthier than my parents could have dreamed of being. And it took me a lifetime of being boring (but steadfast) in my financial decisions.

[@joethecomputerguy1]

I'm Gen X and started at 22. Retired at 52. My parents were both blue collar workers. I talked to my dad one day when he wanted to pay for dinner about how much I made. He was in shock. He just could not conceive that amount of money. Needless to say I paid for dinner. I told him to spend every penny he has and that I don't need a penny left to me. I think he took this to heart and he did spend more to enjoy the remaining part of his life.

[@supercrazydesi]

Your dad must be so proud of you and must be still sending his blessings to date.

[@Tialian]

My dad is almost 80 and keep telling him to spend his money while he can, but he has been such a saver his entire life I don't think he knows how to spend money...its basically against his nature. I'm frugal but I still spend money on the things that matter (while trying to get a discount of course), especially when its something I'm going to use every day or often. Recently my wife and I replaced our S8's with S24's, which were overdue for replacement; these phones are normally $800 and we were able to get them down to about $650 plus get a free storage upgrade to 256GB. I'm 42 and looking to retire at 58.

[@pgppe9488]

I have tried to tell my parents the same thing, and that is enjoy your life.

[@davidbundesen5867]

Good son!

[@Bob-yh7ir]

Awesome ! That is a good feeling to have. Our parents are entering their late 80s and really starting to slow down now and I hate to see it because they have been so active in life. Many years ago I threw a surprise bday party for my wife and my parents tried to slide some money my way at the event to "help out with the costs a bit" I had to politely decline and pulled them aside to tell them what we had and our net worth. My mothers jaw hit the floor. Since then I have been telling them to spend it and have fun, don't worry about leaving us a big chunk of money, go and enjoy some of it. They gave me so much already in just being my parents, no money can ever replace that. Now when I pay my dads golf membership for a present, he isn't worried about it hurting our finances or future . I think giving them piece of mind is a great gift in and of itself.

[@Jimwood-tt2je]

My wife and I are Boomers, married for 51 years and started investing in our late 20’s. With a net worth over $5 million, we are both much richer than our parents were. Our Gen X daughter purchased her first home at age 21. Her and her husband upgraded the home after having our two grandsons. In their mid 40’s now, they presently have a net worth well over $2 million and I suspect they will eventually exceed our net worth in the future. Especially when they end up inheriting our money and homes when we pass away. It has always been our goal to leave as much money as we can to our daughter so she and her husband and our grandson’s are taken care of when we aren’t around anymore.

[@Azel247]

I'm 10x richer than my parents when they were my age. They are immigrants and made great sacrifices to give me a chance at a better future in this country. They gave up their friends, family, and business and had to start over again. They are multi-millionaires now and I hope to far exceed their wealth in the future.

[@kirklandphil]

I was 19 back in 1977, I got a log book and started charting every penny I made and spent, my Dad said I was nuts. When I got a computer I really went nuts charting. But I tell you I enjoy it and still do it in retirement. Knowing where your money is and goes is so important. Thanks, Erin hope all is well with your family.

[@justinofboulder]

I started doing that in 1993, when I was 20. For several years it was pen and paper, but it really helped me start developing better wealth growing habits.

[@JBoy340a]

You may be nuts but some of us are worse. I spend my days building ML models to help me pick. However, I wonder if they are biased. Lately they say to buy AAPL, MSFT, and NVDA... Hmmmm.

[@rahilaaminu6109]

I'm favoured, $22K every week! I can now give back to the locals in my community and also support God's work and the church. God bless America.

[@AirCourier-u1q]

As a beginner what do I need to do? How can I invest, on which platform? If you know any please share.

[@ByungCraig]

Investing in crypto/forex is a good idea, a good trading system would put you through many days of success.

[@walterben47]

YES!!! That's exactly her name (Mrs Anna ) so many people have recommended highly about her and am just starting with her 😊 from United States

[@ArmaniKholer]

Please who is Mrs Anna

[@ArmaniKholer]

Please who is this This sounds so good andI would like to be a party to this, is there any wayl can speak with her?

[@BardWannabe]

I’m financially better off than my parents at my age, but they had three kids while I am single with no kids.

[@Ethan-bu2zy]

I earn much more than my parents ever did and have more than they did at this stage in life. Completely agree with your comment about today’s young people having more access to financial education/information. If they capitalize on this information and start investing early, they have enormous potential to do very well. Choices matter folks!

[@jdgolf499]

I guess it depends on what you consider "wealth." My Dad just passed away in February at 99 years old. He retired in 1980, at 55. I retired last year at 62, and financially, I have more than he did when he retired. He did have a pension from his 30 years in the auto industry, but his investments consisted of one mutual fund, 3 individual stocks, and a lot of cd's and money markets. He wasn't concerned with a lot of growth, he was comfortable knowing his money was safe. My wife and I raised two kids, where my parents raised seven. When we moved from my childhood home, he left that house to his Mom and sister, so he built a new house without selling the old. Growing up, we had a LARGE garden of about 1 1/2 acres, and a 50 tree orchard. My parents canned everything, and us kids got to sell extras along the road! So, financially, yes, I am wealthier at this point, but looking at overall comfort level, life in general, he was far richer in overall life! By the way, he grew up in the depression, and lost his Dad when he was 14, having just come through the depression. That set his lifestyle, and financial style in place.

[@bryanwhitton1784]

Wasn't sure if I was going to make a comment or not. But decided to do so. My parents were pretty much broke all their lives. When they retired they had a combined SS payment of about $1200 / mo to live on, about $3500 in today's dollars.. That was in the early 80's. They relocated form California to southern Missouri so they could survive. They had income but had very bad money habits. Compared to them I am much better off. I am retired and have decided to delay taking SS until 70. I have a considerable nest egg to live on. My wife is still working and we are still buying our home. We never planned on paying this home off. We planned on selling it and taking the proceeds and relocating from California to my wife's home state of Texas upon retirement. That seems less likely given the political environment now. But we are fine being here financially. We have options that my parents could have had but didn't.

[@StormGod29]

A crucial point you glossed over regarding housing affordability is the median *SIZE* of homes across the years. When you correct for that, things look a lot more sane. Boomers were buying much smaller houses than today's consumer and yet somehow they managed to raise families. If you Millennials and GenZs want to get ahead, go find a 1,000 sq. ft. starter home and make it work for the next 10 years. You'll destroy your peers in the long term! It worked for the Boomers. Bonus tip: they didn't have 2 cars, 2 cell phones, high-speed internet, international vacations, Uber eats, etc. There is so much crap we waste on money on and claim it is needed but you don't have to to survive.

[@ErinTalksMoney]

Good points! I was recently reading an article on housing size and that builders are continuing to build smaller homes these days because of affordability issues

[@vulpixelful]

They have to build the homes you're talking about for people to buy them! They are not.

[@StormGod29]

@@ErinTalksMoneyNaturally builders will build what people want to buy; they're smart. But overwhelmingly what people are looking for is 2,400+ sq ft homes. The median house size in 1960 was 1,500 sq ft! If there was a huge segment of people shopping for starter homes, the builders would be out there aggressively filling that niche before someone else could.

[@StormGod29]

@@vulpixelful this is true but buyers are not powerless. Buy a lot, get a construction loan, and build a starter home if there are none existing. Or buy a lot and order a Boxabl home for $50,000. There are options other than buying a house you can't swing just to get on the property ladder.

[@vulpixelful]

@@StormGod29 Building a home from scratch is a much higher bar than just buying a home, get real 😂 You pay more build a smaller home when you might as well just bought the bigger one. I know because we actually looked into it. People obviously know they can do this so that info isn't practically helpful.

[@Tialian]

I'm frugal while my dad has always been a real penny pincher (hes on another level), can't even get him to buy a proper water bottle and he is almost 80 years old (likes to ride his bike around town several hours a day). He has always been good about saving but I don't think he understands how the stock market works because over time he decided to take his money out of the stock market and put into safer low interest accounts (not that there is anything wrong with that as one gets older, but his reason for doing it was due to not understanding the market goes up and down, not for stability). He still does more than okay in retirement, gets more take-home income than I do every month, but I also surpassed his net worth in recent months and still have another 15 years of investing/saving ahead of me. So yes I am richer than my parents, and I think a good part of that is growing up in the age of internet where there is so much knowledge available at your fingertips.

[@ricerocketrider4243]

lol, yes. I’m 31 and richer than both of my parents (they’re divorced). But it’s in large part thanks to them. Thanks mom and dad!

[@scottmcmullen6782]

It was pretty customary for my parents to pay $20-40 commissions on stock trades in the 1960-1970's.

[@johnnyfive1412]

Plus they had to call a broker and speak with someone to place an order vs doing it all on their iphone now

[@rebeltheharem7028]

Thank god for automated broker systems.

[@Random-ld6wg]

even in 2009 and a few years after , i had commissions with vanguard. initially $50 per order so i put in 10k per order to make it worthwhile. eventually 50 then 25 and then faded away. i still am limited to 25 trades per year i think but i haven't come close to that ever.

[@JBoy340a]

And you had to buy 'lots' of 100 shares or more or pay extra fees. That was a chink of change when shares were over $100.

[@vernshird711]

Unfortunately I'm the wealthiest in my family and in my extended family. The one common denominator is that they aren't smart with money. My better half and I live within our means and are debt-free. My motivation through the years was to not develop the bad financial habits my relatives had.

[@todd2456]

My parents, in their early 80s, have a net worth around $4M. We, in our early 50s have a net worth around $4M as well.

[@CJ-re7bx]

Are either of those numbers adjusted for inflation?

[@todd2456]

@@CJ-re7bx They are both current net worth numbers.

[@Interestingenough4]

Yes and no. My parents are now multimillionaires in net worth, and I probably won't get to their level in my lifetime if I remain single. However, despite working a lower-wage job, I am better off financially than they were at my age (low 30s). It took them years of hard work, sacrifices, some lucky breaks and big pay raises, and a big inheritance from my late grandparents to get them to the level they're now enjoying in their well-deserved retirement.

[@scottmuench6855]

Great content, and your graphics are now next level 😊

[@justinofboulder]

When my father was my age he had just started to save for his future again, after loosing everything in a business and going through bankruptcy. It impacted me deeply and as a result, I chose to take less risks (including not taking on college debt, auto debt, having pets, children or a partner). For much of my life I have worked in construction (never earning more than 40K "taxable"), have three rental properties and am hopefully in a much better position than my parents. Since I am on a slower track than some, I prioritize eating well and regular exercise, over putting in more hours or taking on more stressful work.

[@Shane-et6zv]

The thumbnail picture you chose was pretty cool!

[@2anonymous]

Once inflation adjusted wealth is considered, plus the impact of pensions or no pension availability, I'm not so sure the generations after the boomers are wealthier.

[@nicolasgirard2808]

Yeah the data I've seen shows that the median millennial is poorer than their parents were at age 30. However the top 20% of millennials are richer than their parents were at age 30.

[@H2R5GSXR]

I watched until the end before leaving a comment. My parents paid cash for their home and bought a new car every other year but never went out for dinner. They never discussed money with us. I am now age 65 and live in a paid-for home but drive a 2001 Toyota Camry, it is reliable. We are about equal to our parents. IMO.

[@dougwidger2356]

Great job as always Erin. One topic which I don’t recall seeing you address is that of generosity, giving, care for community, church… to me the goal of wealth accumulation is being able to bless others. Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. DW

[@christiansailor2880]

Great video!

[@homersimps335]

One thing that is constantly missed is how much the size of homes have increased. The ratios in the video skipped over the fact that homes were much smaller in the 70s & 80s. As one that grew up in that era. I never had my own room. I always shared with either an older brother or younger brother. Today's homes are much bigger. That should be in the chart as part of the reason costs of home are also greater. But I do agree housing has gotten more expensive.

[@galens2543]

Interesting point about investing being more accessible for the younger generation. Thanks for the thoughts and insights Erin.

[@galens2543]

@ErinTaksMoney Yes! I’m a huge fan of Vanguard. Primarily their range of Target Retirement accounts, but more and more lately VTSAX. It’s a minor tragedy that I was SO risk averse in my youth and just now more accepting of financial risk as retirement is around 10 years out… Thanks for all of your thought provoking content!

[@biblioholic7139]

Even if you have the same or less money as prior generations, people today have access to everyday things that were unattainable for any but the wealthiest in the past. 50 years ago home PCs were nearly unheard of and today most of us walk around with computers in our pockets, even homeless people can access the Internet at the library. Once upon a time certain foods were a sign of wealth and now you probably buy them at Walmart without a second thought.

[@slmunney7760]

Great video and interesting topic as can be expected from Erin. I should preface my response by stating that I'm in late 40's because the answer would be different when I was in my 20s. The short answer is yes, I am objectively wealthier than my parents to a great degree. I have more wealth than they have now or ever had at any age, even when adjusted for inflation. That short answer is important because that is generally the case for most Americans of my generation and is inconsistent with much political rhetoric we hear today. The longer answer is that my parents' generation seemed to live better than we do today even with objectively less means. For example, it was not uncommon growing up for a middle-class family to have a vacation place and boat 40 years ago. That is reserved for the very wealthy today. My thoughts anyway.

[@Fishfood007]

This is not a comparison that should be made. We have bigger homes and more in them now than even existed in 1970. Have you ever been in a 54 year old home few lights few outlets and nothing fancy if it has not been updated.

[@Lycan3303]

My mom worked 1 job and was able to house and feed 3 kids by her self back in the 90's.....I have 2 jobs work 12hrs a day and I can barely keep a roof over my head .... yes Boomers were and are richer than us

[@g.t.richardson6311]

I am not… yet.. but within striking distance, my dad was very successful and my mother far outlived him and at age 91 lives well and still active.

[@user-ix5qd1bp4q]

Good Topic .

[@HarryCearnes]

Thanks!! do you trade currently?

[@bgoode652]

I hate the median home price to median income comparisons that are constantly thrown around. It completely leaves out mortgage rates which is a huge factor in housing affordability. Housing is probably still more costly than it was in previous decades but it's nowhere near more than 2x.

[@JBoy340a]

Paid 11% on first home. And that was discount from the prevailing rate of near 13%. Refied a few years later for the sweet low rate of 8%. Bought investment property in 2021 and paying 2.75%

[@Christian_Villanueva]

Like you stated, the simple fact that's the knowledge is so easily accessible gives us a huge advantage over our parents, and so is everything else like the simple ability to invest in stocks within 10 minutes which includes downloading an app and setting up a brokerage account. P.S. i LOVE your bloopers at the end it's cute 🤣

[@chessmaster1115]

The economic boom post ww2 was a significant economic growth period and between 1974-82 was a very high accumulation of inflation so the timing matters also in the economic factors.

[@rarelycares8416]

My parents were frugal savers and it rubbed off on me, but not on my brother or sister. So while my parents were comfortable, I am more well off. But my brother and sister will probably struggle to retire comfortably.

[@rarelycares8416]

@ErinTaksMoney Nice try scammer...reported

[@hogroamer260]

This should be a lsndslide fir babyboomers. Most of our parents were single income families while most of us were dual incomes. We had fewer children, on average. I had more in retirement accounts than my parents (adjusted for inflation). And my wife had 80% of what I had. We also both have our own social security which are currently 3-1/2 times their amount.

[@laundrygoddess4]

In my whole family, only one uncle is wealthier than I am. But I live modestly and they don't

[@BekeeChisomaga]

I like your videos❤

[@joedessenberger2048]

It takes years of investing steadily to reach explosive growth. When your investments make more than 2X your average annual salary each year, you begin to feel very thankful that you had the discipline in your younger years to stick with the plan...even when it appeared that there was nothing happening.

[@Random-ld6wg]

as an immigrant, i certainly am richer than my parents. i am not sure if my son will be wealthier than me since i had a good paying job and i aggressively invested and saved. given my field i could only start at 31 but was able to retire at 55. my son is likely not going to have a job that pays similarly in his career and that is ok so long as he lives below his means, allows him to save and invest and is enough to support him and a future family. i did open a utma for him at 17( most of the money was mine including the child tax credits handed out during the pandemic but he depleted his old bank account to put in as well ) and at 19 i had him open his roth ira(funded by me to match whatever he earned). He's only had $613 in earnings for 2024 and instead of waiting for the end of the year we put in the $613 in his roth 2 weeks ago. i am currently having him transfer the balance of his savings to me so I could put it in his settlement fund in the utma with it's 5.28% apr and it can still act as his emergency fund instead of 0%. his utma is still under my control as the age of majority in our state is 21. i have been getting him interested in investing and saving since he was small but i am not sure how much of it is sticking but hopefully i have jumpstarted his wealth creation by having these accounts opened early. he is now enthused as we play around with online compounding calculators projecting the growth even without any further savings which of course is not going to happen.

[@Peace-ju9us]

We made more $$$ in 1 year than our parents did in 3...did it on our own, said parents never helped us...not even 1 cent. We are professional, healthcare, our parents never completed HS, disliked us for our education and independency.

[@galens2543]

Well done. Sounds like a success story despite some adversity. 👍

[@gdelacruzjr]

I'd like to see the numbers on discretionary income

[@beachguy007]

I think technology and online tools makes it easier now days!

[@andrewdiamond2697]

Yes, because they were Beatniks/Hippies. But my maternal grandparents on the other hand were possibly better off than me. I will retire with 10x my mom's parents' net worth in nominal dollars, but they retired when the DOW was closer to 1000. To be arguably better off, I'd have to hit a number between the inflation rate since then (1980)( about 4x) and what the DOW has done (about 40x) so it depends on perspective. I'll actually be about 10x, but it feels to me like they were more solid than I feel about myself. As far as my parents go, they felt that money was made to be spent / blown.

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@thomaschew2191]

I'm a boomer. My parents did fairly well considering they raised 6 kids and lived mostly on Dads paycheck. They inherited their home so never had a mortgage. They invested some on a regular basis and as we kids got out on our own they had more to enjoy life with. At the end they had 50% of their net worth in the home and in addition to the home they inherited a significant amount of their non- real-estate worth and another home they sold right away. They purchased a lot that they wanted to build a home on, they paid $2000 for it in the early 1960s, they sold it undeveloped 40 years later for about $40K and used that to pay off a home improvement loan. On debt in general and the % of net worth in our home we differ from my parents, we are not done accumulating our nest egg and even now our paid for home is 35% of our net worth, want to get that to 25% I think that if my parents were alive today they, at least my Dad, would ask us how we manage our money. They were aware of personal finance but it played a smaller part in their lifestyle than it does to us. Our kids, both millennials, are more serious than we are which is fantastic.

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@thomaschew2191]

@@HarryCearnes Mostly index and mutual funds. We have a few mutual funds in our old IRA, same in our ROTH IRAs and Sue's 403B My 401K is mainly FXAIX S&P 500 index. Our brokerage account which we auto fund holds two single stocks & 2 ETFs SCHD (us dividend) and SCHF (international) and Mutual fund SWAGX for bonds plus we have an account with Treasury Direct and we buy 10 oz silver per month and 4 oz gold per year. Plus of course cash in a HYSA. We just sold off all of our Schwab money market and will put that into the ETFs mentioned. I'm partial to index funds. One of our investing/retirement goals is to have enough retirement income that will allow us to continue to invest after employment ends. We got a late start on all of this but are working hard to put together a well-diversified portfolio that will allow us to weather the storms. It is somewhat exciting to see it all come together.

[@CalmerThanYouAre1]

The housing data you used doesn’t account for the large increase in the average home size over the last 50 years. You’re not required to buy a 2,800 square foot home… When you use price per square foot data, the picture changes a lot. Granted, affordable smaller homes in nice areas are increasingly difficult to find. But that’s because people keep financing and building bigger homes, so builders continue making them to meet the demand of the market. Similar to driving a reasonable used car instead of a new Mercedes, buy a smaller, older home instead of a newer, bigger one and you’ll feel less squeezed and build wealth much faster.

[@MOTrav]

Don’t forget inflation! Lately it’s been eating our lunch.

[@ChristineMeier963]

Start early with diversified investments in stocks, bonds, and real estate. Maximize contributions to tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs. Regularly review and adjust your strategy to ensure security....

[@whatchis1120]

Age wise to my parents to back then they were certainly way better off, after they divorced I am the better off 25 years later. I've made as much as my parents individually since I was 23, now I make more than double, neither are in a good spot financially and one still owes 7 years on a house they bought for $70k in 2002 they used it as an atm. My mother is really just now making decent money but wasn't until 5 years ago when I made her move out to where I live vs dead low paying corrupt KY. Up till then she never made more than 40k now she makes double and is able to unbury herself from the debt she has amounted before she quits full time work. I have always been a saver growing up the way I did, it will certainly allow me to retire early if I need to, I'm going to buying my 1st house soon which will be way more than I ever expected to have to spend.

[@yhckelly]

This is an impossible measurement. My parents had more with less effort, but my wife and I have more overall with a significantly greater effort. Pound for pound, My parents standard of living was close to mine when adjusted for the standard in the decade with significantly less stress. It was easier to have it "good enough" with less far less effort.

[@garlandofbooks4494]

I’ve heard that in 1970 the median sq ft in a house was ~1300, while today it’s ~2600. The number of children per family has also decreased. So, maybe there’s a problem with trying to get too much house for a first house, which also adds extra living expenses as you heat and cool twice the area inside, and likely with higher ceilings because old builds are often 8 ft, while now 9ft seems most common.

[@jburch1544]

Also, no central air, 1 car garage, no granite countertops etc. etc. They would be shocked to live in a 1970 house

[@CJ-re7bx]

Also higher property taxes and repair costs, as well as the cost to buy more stuff to fill the house. There are so many hidden costs to owning a bigger home that people don't think about.

[@Allegan49010]

Very good topic and commentary!

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@Fishfood007]

I am far more wealthy then my parents were at my age and that is thanks to what my dad taught me. He never gave me money or anything I could sell. If he was still alive his wealth is great then mine through my mother who is alive.

[@pc24681]

Most people don’t even start thinking until in their 30’s 40’s

[@Goodchicken_lameducks]

31. And I guess it depends. My parents are divorced but my mother was a nurse for 40 years. She recently retired and is definitely set for life because her retirement plans from being a nurse for 40 years. However, money was tight growing up and we didn’t have much. At this point in time, my wife and I live in a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood and have more money in savings and more income than my parents did at our age. We definitely have the potential to be much more wealthy than our parents are in our later years since we are already light years a head of where they all were 30 years ago.

[@Goodchicken_lameducks]

@ErinTaksMoney we have a brokerage account that we have money allocated towards each money but that mostly goes toward index funds. We have never traded single stocks ourselves. All the investing we do is into our retirement savings/529s and that brokerage account.

[@chrishart8548]

My parents are 83 and 78 probably woth half a million. Right now I have about 9p and a 13 year old car that gets an engine malfuncion every so ofter the a/c doesn't work and it's never had the cam belt done. And I rent.

[@exqueue3813]

It is not easy to build wealth. It is SIMPLE to build wealth, but it is difficult to do. That's kindd of the whole point of this video.

[@Scalp269]

Good info as all ways Erin! I gave you a like as all ways also! HOWEVER, how old were you when you started investing? I am sure Schwab or Scottrade were around when you started. You do not look any where near old enough to have had to call the broker for a trade!!! I suppose I could be wrong. If I am, take it as a compliment.

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@MarcPage]

Instead of comparing median homes, you should probably compare sq ft. Home sizes have increased over the decades

[@NovelNovelist]

I suppose Millennials might be inflating the number in large part due to the "messy middle," but I also think they've been burned a lot more than other generations due to the economic factors that were in play during pivotal periods of their lives. I think it's sort of like how the people of the Great Depression era always carried some financial trauma and never felt like they had enough. Millennials have seen how quickly things can crash and how dramatically fortunes can turn. Obviously Gen X and Boomers lived through that too, but during more insulated periods of their lives; meanwhile Gen Z might have seen it as children but weren't personally carrying the responsibility.

[@alanyoung159]

This is why the previous generations have pushed to invest in real estate so much, because investing in stocks was much more difficult. But now with the internet and innovation in making investing in stocks with low fees, it makes it much more as a viable option

[@jlo64578]

Hey Erin? I couldn’t reply to your comment asking me if I’m trading currently. Are you referring to stock trading?

[@ErinTalksMoney]

I never ask people if they are trading stocks - please know that must have been a slam comment that was trying to impersonate my account. Always ignore any comment like that! Thanks so much for watching the channel 😊 I work hard to remove those spam comments whenever I see them!

[@jlo64578]

@@ErinTalksMoney thank you for your quick reply!

[@nathanrice7352]

Great video, Erin! I don't think I've heard anyone call out discretionary and disposable income in this conversation before.

[@funguy1086]

Should i change my 401k investment from 2050 target date to s&p500? I feel like the s&p is overvalued right now. I feel like a big dip is around the corner. If s&p drops 30%, my target date fund would probably only drop around 20% max. I can't decide what to do

[@galens2543]

Some of each. Steer your monthly contributions to the one you feel is best each month. That is what I do anyway.

[@gwenhidwy]

I'm wealthier than my parents, for sure, by any measure. However, they both have pensions, which few people in my generation have

[@EverydayKindaGuy]

Yes. Yes I am.

[@TheFirstRealChewy]

My parents are broke.

[@LeducFamily-e1f]

I have more wealth than they ever did, but their lifestyle was better than mine.

[@rudyardganuelas6254]

At my age, my parents had 2 paid houses, a paid lot and halfway paid 3rd house and a halfway paid lot. With 4 kids in private school. And a new car. On one income. I have 28 years left on a mortgage, with no kids, and a 21 year old car. I have a substantial retirement account but not nearly equivalent to multiple houses.

[@johnny2003]

I am. Because I overcame the generational disadvantage and mine fell into the boomer trap of too many kids and not enough saving trusting in social safety nets.

[@HarryCearnes]

That's amazing do you trade currently?

[@KeeptheChange41]

Ideally , each generation does better than the last.

[@Ethan-bu2zy]

Motivation and choice are the X-factor. Both matter a great deal!

[@goldstandardaviation1667]

Yes

[@eddenoy321]

I started investing in the S&P when I was 5 yrs old in 1940. I am nearly 90, but worth 35 million. I would not change a thing.

[@benwhitnell]

17 years before it started, huh? You’re one wise 5 year old to have that foresight.

[@eddenoy321]

@@benwhitnell WRONG... you middle class sniveling , struggling wanna be ! Poor's Publishing Standard Statistics was founded in 1860 by Henry Poor. My grand dad sat me on his knee and had me recite the names of America's millionaires everyday. He gave me a dollar for every name I could remember at the time. This is why you are a lowly member of the money grubbing unwashed rabble without a Bentley to call your own.💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰

[@takethecurseOFFwashingmachine]

This made me laugh

[@theprogressivemichigander6588]

My dad has a much higher income on an inflation adjusted basis. And he's saved much more money than I ever expect to on an inflation adjusted basis. But if the stock market performs remotely similarly over the next 30 years as the last 30, I will ultimately end up with slightly more in retirement.

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@ld5714]

Another great video Erin and I agree with your comments and observations. My background is very similar to @jdgolf499. Dad grew up during depression, retired at 52, very small pension from his time as Police Officer. My mom disabled so single income household very modest and no extras. I aquired many of their values honestly. Very conservative and faithful savers, not investors, built his own home and left a modest legacy. I started working at 15 and paying my own expenses, including putting myself through school. I was also the single wage earner in my household and started investing at 25 in small amounts, increasing over time, and in mutual funds like you Erin. I retired at 62 and am very blessed and have a comfortable retirement enabling me to gift and help my family member when needed and appropriate. There is no question that I am wealthier than my parents were. While very similar backgrounds I took a different approach and invested all my life, although it too, by todays standards we aren't whai I would call rich but we are very comfortable. For comparison, my 34 year old son is divorced, owns a home and bought out his former wife's interest in the divorce to keep the house. I built a 1500 sq ft shop at his house which cost me $100k to build and equip. His house is now appraised at $615k. He is currently making more money than I ever did, well into 6 figures. He will max out his 401k and Roth IRA this year and hopefully open up an HSA as well to lower his taxable income, and invest the rest into a taxble brokerage account. I will be leaving a legacy to my children and grandchildren yes, but regardless, I am absolutely confident that my son will be much better off financially than I am; hopefully all of them will be as well. Larry, Central Valley, Ca.

[@michiganabigail]

When you said "the more mature Gen X members," I thought you said "the Mormon Church and ex-members!" 😅

[@ErinTalksMoney]

Haha!

[@johnrusso4943]

Comparing the ratio of average housing costs to average incomes to compare generations is misleading. The average home size has exploded. An accurate comparison would factor in the price per square foot. The younger generation expects much more in a home. Homes are larger with much more luxuries and amenities.

[@vchap01]

What about large cities? New apartments keep getting smaller (on average) but they are still subject to the same type of inflation. Houses do get larger but not the lot size.

[@erinames7783]

You can barely even find a house in Canada for less than 500 000. Sadly most of those need a full gut job to be livable. The difference in housing costs from Canada to the US are easily doubled. Most average houses in Ontario are around 600 to 700 000.

[@JBoy340a]

600K sounds cheap. Are you talking about GTA? And CAD or USD?

[@erinames7783]

@@JBoy340a I am talking about Southern Ontario. CAD and I was being conservative

[@user-gj2yt2ef2b]

Erin, can you do a video on frugal pet care? Specifically, grooming Peanut would be helpful to me. Thank you for sharing, I appreciate your videos!

[@USCarolinafan13]

Yep by a long shot. But i wouldn't be here today without their good parenting

[@charleshaman1782]

I make about 3X what my Dad did... but my house (roughly comparable to my parents') cost 7X. So... no, I am not richer than my parents were. Of course, I do have other (discretionary) spending habits that differ from my parents' but housing is the biggest factor.

[@nicolasgirard2808]

Housing is definitely way less affordable for us than for our parents, but lots of other stuff has gotten cheaper. For example, the amount of travel I can afford to do at age 29 is way, way more than what my boomer parents could afford at the same age.

[@Yetiforce]

The only people I know who might genuinely be able to say they are better off than their parents are those whose parents helped them tremendously with housing, transportation, and school costs. Older generations have the power to dramatically shift a younger person's life solely based on their own generosity.

[@ArchIVEDCinema]

I've basically accepted that I'll never be as rich as my parents, lol (I have rich parents)

[@expensivefreedom]

At 30 and 31 years old, wife and I have a net worth well over double what both our parents have combined. If things go as planned, I’m actually working on building a $1m trust fund for each of them to benefit from once they’re closer to retirement. Once they don’t need it anymore, the assets would revert to me and my wife. Still in the early stages of that though, unfortunately.

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@expensivefreedom]

@@HarryCearnes yeah I’ve traded for almost ten years total and full time for just over three years. After the first year of full time trading, I pulled my initial investment and made a down payment on a starter house for our little family. Everything since then has been trading with profits. It’s my dream job and it’s that much sweeter since it took seven years of misery to get here.

[@MrPizzaman09]

I think the range of wealth people have will be greater than past generations. Which means that I think that doing little to no investing like many in past generations is going to hurt you more since the wealthy people and big corporations will keep prices of things very robust and have a higher rate of inflation.

[@MeltingRubberZ28]

I probably am, however much of that is thanks to my parents helping me get started financially well (what they taught, help with first mortgage). But my parents also had 2 kids and a paid off mortgage before I even met my wife.

[@buyerclub2]

Sometimes I think Millennials dont understand that a 7% mortgage is not that off the norm. My first mortgage was at 18%. Unfortunately I think the under 3% rates are likely behind us. And in today's $ I suspect while the price of housing is higher than it was in the 80s. It depends greatly on where you are looking. Yes we do have an affordable housing problem. But its not as unique as some think it is. And yes, there are some places where home purchasing doesnt make a lot of sense. Do I think my kids have it better than we did. Generally no. But productivity now is vastly greater And many things that were very expensive in the past are very reasonable now., Remember when long distance was a $ per minute? Now it is basically free. Airline travel? Even non local fresh fruits and vegetables. Televisions? Those frequently cost many months salary. Now they are disposable. I could go on. So while now my kids are not "richer" than I am now. I think at their age, we had different about basically equal issues we had to deal with..

[@MeltingRubberZ28]

You also probably either now: don't have a mortgage, or refinanced at 2-3% while downplaying others that aren't happy with a 7-8% mortgage.

[@buyerclub2]

@@MeltingRubberZ28 Its not a question of happy or unhappy. it is just reality. You likely will see them drop a little sometime in the future. But don't expect it to go back to around 2%. (And yeah mine is paid off, but never had one close to 2%. Think the lowest mine ever was, was around 4%)

[@EricMoore790]

I think I have more cash saved but I think my parents had more stuff like a house.

[@whorhaydelfuego7190]

Definitely poorer than my parents were at my age by every monetary measure. Though that is in large part because they were making a killing in the 80's and 90's. By the time I hit retirement age I should be doing better than them as their wealth has pretty much stagnated while I plan to keep mine growing until the day I die.

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@sneakyquick]

Yes but my parents had no money

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@trackguy4038]

Back in the mid 1980s, 2/3 thirds of mutual funds were selling at 8.5% commission

[@joeriveracomedy]

I am not married with no kids(correct order)so I have flown miles past my poor parents. *illing it.

[@user-ix5qd1bp4q]

Calculations of years 18 to 62 .

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?

[@kay203]

As a millenial, luckily I am richer than my parents. But overall looking at my friends, I'm an exception....

[@HarryCearnes]

That's amazing do you trade currently?

[@duanejahn2368]

The question lacks intelligence, IMO. How does a yes or no answer make any difference in any respondent's life?

[@JBoy340a]

I am way better off than my parents. A lot of that is because I am better educated and selected a high paying field, tech. But, also the times are different. As Erin points out, my parents could not easily invest. They would have had to first meet with an broker at a trading firm. Then go to the bank and get a bank draft. Then take the draft to the broker. The broker would deposit the draft in the firms account. After 2-3 days the draft would clear and the firm could buy the equity or other asset. Then my parents could have read the paper the next morning and track their stock's performance on a piece of graph paper. Now I can purchase or sell stock from my phone will on a nice walk in the park. And that purchase or sale will close in a milisecond or so. Then the site or app will show me that stock as part of my protfolio immediately.

[@HOC242]

😂closing comments…. 👍🏾 Your research is very informative……

[@ErinTalksMoney]

Thanks for watching! 😊

[@bn9161]

You're ignoring the fact that a boomer investing $250/month back when they were 35 years is old (1990) is a lot more money than a Gen Z person investing $250/month today. $250 in 1990 is the equivalent of $600 today.

[@bn9161]

@ErinTaksMoney No I don't trade. I just max out my 401k and Roth IRA every year which comes out to about 2500/month in investing into total stock market etfs/mutual funds. Even so I doubt I'll have more money than a boomer who invested 250/month starting in the late 80's or early 90's.

[@anniealexander9616]

I agree investing is so much easier today. Each generation should leave more wealth for the next generation. My Mom helped me buy my first property when I was 19. I house hacked to make the payments. Mom helped me to become wealthier than my parents. Love you, Mom! ❤

[@HarryCearnes]

That's good do you trade currently?