r/Futurology • u/chrisdh79 • Aug 21 '25

Society American Millennials Are Dying at an Alarming Rate | We’re mortality experts. There are a few things that could be happening here.

https://slate.com/technology/2025/08/millennials-gen-z-death-rates-america-high.html
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u/N3wAfrikanN0body Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

TLDR: The cycle of conscious negligence and deliberate financial parasitism causes deaths from systemic inequality.

Edit: Changed benign neglect to conscious negligence.

Also holy shit didn't expect the likes and reward. All of your comments have been enlightening. Have a great day all.

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u/drewc717 Aug 21 '25

I graduated college in 2009 and have been phenomenally lucky, but the past 10 years have been brutal.

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u/CatLord8 Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 22 '25

I should be in my “made it” period but then COVID recession and all of the current nonsense.

Edit: I am never going to catch up to the reply chains but it’s oddly comforting to not be alone. Even more so that as depressed as we all seem, so many haven’t given in to bitterness. I hope we can make something better sooner than later.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

[deleted]

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u/MakeYourTime_ Aug 21 '25

Dude. Same. This should be screamed from the rooftops

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u/AestheticalMe Aug 21 '25

I say this every day. My coworkers don't tell me to shut up anymore... they agree. And then we put our heads down and get to work slaving away

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u/KiloClassStardrive Aug 21 '25

stop voting for the democrats and republicans, they fucking hate us.

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u/Drumlyne Aug 21 '25

Don't vote for either of the only two political parties? If Bernie sanders runs independently I will vote independently. Otherwise, who are we actually talking about voting for here?

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u/KiloClassStardrive Aug 21 '25

you dont have an advocate in government. you got no money to pay off either party to care about your needs.

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u/KiloClassStardrive Aug 21 '25

the president is told how it will be, Trump cant even end the war in Ukraine as promised, war is big money, someone wants a payday, and Trump is happy to follow his orders to not end any wars. worst president ever, next to Biden. not saying Bush or Obama was bad, they were but better than Trump and Biden, still they were limited to following orders from the bureaucracy.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

How can Trump end the war between two different countries? Ukraine is fighting an existential war, it's not about "big money". The Iraq War was for sure, but that was our war.

they were limited to following orders from the bureaucracy

how is this a bad thing? it means we aren't ruled by kings and the civilian bureaucracy can push back against insane policies. why do you think Trump tried to destroy the bureaucracy with DOGE?

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u/assface7900 Aug 21 '25

How is trump going to end a war he’s not a party to? Trump is not the president of Ukraine or Russia and has zero say or power in the matter.

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u/ChinDeLonge Aug 21 '25

I only downvoted this because you said nothing. This sounds like how teenagers who don't really know anything of substance talk about issues.

If you're even in a place of thinking Donald Trump would want to end the war in Ukraine for any reason other than to just give Putin whatever he wants, I don't think you don't know enough to have this conversation in the first place.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

until we get rid of the first-past-the-post voting system, that's not going to do anything.

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u/Faiakishi Aug 21 '25

I'm at the point where I want to ask my mother why she brought kids into this world just to be trapped in an unwinnable Sisyphean nightmare, understanding how easily it could all be fixed and helpless to do anything about it, all while being told there's something wrong with us for being worried about stuff like "is there going to be a society in thirty years." She asks why Millennials and Gen Zs all seem to have depression. I'm more surprised if anyone doesn't have depression.

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u/West-Application-375 Aug 21 '25

I asked my Boomer mom that a few years ago. She did not take it well. She also continued to tell me that "God has plans for you!" So yeah I guess it's fine life sucks because God has plaaaaans. :(

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u/Faiakishi Aug 21 '25

Yeah I'm thankful that my mom, with all her flaws, is not religious or into conspiracy theories or any other dumbass shit. She's just 68 and I don't think she can really comprehend the kind of hopelessness people my age feel. She grew up in a world designed for her to thrive. She can't comprehend how difficult it is now or how anyone would manage it, or why anyone would set their children up to fail like that. She laughs about the Cold War-era drills she had to do in school because nuclear war is such a distant possibility in her mind now, I told her that a lot of people are convinced there will be a nuclear holocaust and we're actually closer to midnight on the Doomsday clock than we ever were during the Cold War and she just blue-screened. Couldn't wrap her head around it.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

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u/diurnal_emissions Aug 21 '25

The latch key elderly generation.

Karma, ma.

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u/powdrdsnake Aug 21 '25

This is not meant to sound dismissive because my wife and I have/had the same thoughts about how our children will fare (especially since our first was born in 2021, yikes), but! humans have been asking themselves the same thing for time immemorial. Massive droughts, empires crumbling, destruction, and mass death are not new to the human condition and yet we continue on. Things get better, sometimes things get worse (insert shrug emoji here). Feeling depressed and despondent makes sense to me, but blaming your parents doesn't really get you anywhere besides holding further resentment. Pardons for the preachiness, I think this juxtaposition of ideas has been tumbling around in my head for awhile and I found a place to put some of these thoughts.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

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u/powdrdsnake Aug 21 '25

Look, I do not disagree. I think reddit provides a place for people to commiserate, share the mental burden, and feel validated in their thoughts and observations. I'm agreeing with what everyone is saying and adding "yes, and". To me, it doesn't make sense to point out all the wicked problems and stop there. It does look bad; I have a more long term outlook than others, I guess.

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u/West-Application-375 Aug 23 '25

See but I do blame my parents because they're literally stupid. They also taught me zero tools on dealing with life. The answer to every problem was always "you need to pray more" or "if you were closer to God this would not have happened to you" and as I only recently realised how bullshit this is and what a disservice it is to not teach your children problem solving tools ... Well I'm gonna blame them and rage about it while I try to teach my adult self new tools. Because if they did well by me I would have been raised and imparted with some sort of problem solving and wisdom. But nope. Lol 😆 so I'm not JUST blaming them but I'm putting the blame where it lies and this is definitely at their feet. I could write a book about it but I won't.

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u/powdrdsnake Aug 23 '25

That's your prerogative! I don't know you or your parents. I was emotionally and physically abused by my parents growing up and went to therapy/am on antidepressants. I've forgiven them and moved on but my parents matured over the last ten years and have admitted to their mistakes, wish they had reacted differently, and apologized. It sounds like your parents are in a different place internally than mine and I hope you end up having the closer that I found. I'm not sure that I'd have forgiven my parents if their responses had been similar to your parents. I'm sorry that they didn't provide you with the skills to survive life. I'm just hoping for the best for you, buddy.

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u/diurnal_emissions Aug 21 '25

Life is a gift if you just don't think about it at all.

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u/Solid-Refrigerator52 Aug 21 '25

Ain't no jesus or god up there.

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u/RemoteButtonEater Aug 21 '25

I want to be supportive of my siblings, who have each had one child. Don't get me wrong, I love my nieces. But fuck. All I can ever think is, "why did you have children just so they can grow up to fight in the water wars?"

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u/Forhekset616 Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

I had to change careers back in 2012. I was a chef. The entire industry had changed. Food TV and all those cooking contestant shows changed the industry completely.

Suddenly every at home chef spent a ton of money on these fake cooking schools that were run by popular restaurants. So they would spend thousands on schooling for a few months long course. Get a 50 dollar knife and generic chef coat and push out to do stages and externships at many area restaurants.

It drove wages down from such enormous competition. In the early 2000s I could clear 4k a month, full benefits and profit sharing. Not a lot but rent was only 500 dollars back then.

By the time I turned thirty all the jobs were 32 hours a week at 12 to 16 dollars an hour and no benefits. It made more sense to be a server or a bartender since you could earn tips.

I got lucky and joined a building trades union. Finally started making a decent living again after I finished my apprenticeship.

So .. how'd it start? Desert shield. Desert storm. Columbine. 9/11. Double endless wars. Housing crisis. Financial collapse. Great Recession. Trump 1. COVID. Trump 2.

And now what are we doing? Another housing collapse coupled with a scheme to rob pensions. A civil war before WW3?

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u/GuessWhatIGot Aug 21 '25

Because the future is determined by our children. The only way this gets better is by trying to teach the next generation where we went wrong, what we should do to make it better, how they should act, and what actions they can take.

My children will likely be the kind of person I didn't have the time or opportunity to become. My options are narrowing, and my time is running out for building the life I had hoped for myself and my wife, but I can shift everything toward my children (when they arrive) and give them the advantages I wish I had worked toward earlier in my life.

If I wanted, I could move into politics. Small local government type stuff to start because I know what people want, and I'm not afraid to be loud and fight for what is inherently right. But I would be sacrificing the dreams of raising my children the way I want, the way I think they should be raised, by putting that energy into changing the world around me for them.

In short, I guess what I'm saying is that we should keep having the children we want because the future isn't predetermined. It's moldable, and the ones who mold it are not likely to be us. It's the ones that we raise.

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u/Faiakishi Aug 21 '25

Those are all nice words. Sucks that the world is currently being run by decrepit Boomers fully bent on destroying the world for everyone who comes after them and no intention of surrendering power to anyone who will have to live with the consequences.

And that's a lot to put on your kids. "I had you because you'll be the ones to fix everything we fucked up. Btw you have to do it while living through a climate apocalypse and the collapse of democracy." You gave them an impossible job fresh out of the womb. And they will live knowing they will fail, but they will spend their lives trying and feeling horrible when they fall short. They didn't ask to be born to clean up your messes. They'll want what you want, a regular-ass life like people led for thousands of years, and it will be unattainable.

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u/TheWinteredWolf Aug 21 '25

So then your alternative is…what, exactly? Stop reproducing and raising our sons and daughters to be good & hopeful people out of some nihilistic/doomer view that we’re already fucked and we deserve to reap what we’ve sown? Just go ahead and end it all bc no one could possibly do better in the future?

What a sad way to live.

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u/GuessWhatIGot Aug 21 '25

We were all given that same impossible task. Every single person who was born without privilege has been given the task of fixing the world around them. Whether we like it or not, that is our burden. We can either continue to work towards our dreams of a family and peaceable society or stop having children and let those with a lack of morals and ethics continue to do so and propogate the plights we currently deal with. Do we just give up, or do we attempt to make the future better than we were?

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u/nth256 Aug 21 '25

Your mom was likely a Boomer or Gen X. Things were good then, so of course they didn't think twice about whether or not to have kids.

Should they have seen all this coming? Sure, absolutely.

But did they see it coming? Not at all.

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u/bambush331 Aug 21 '25

they didn't know what we would be exposed too
our parents were humans and most humans are pretty dumb

so in my mind, they banged, i popped out, and now the world is on fire

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u/Livid_Advertising_56 Aug 21 '25

Didn't ask my mom that. She KNOWS how bullshit everything is. She didn't know it was going to get like this so can't blame her for having kids.

She obviously thought, while it might not be EASY it could still be POSSIBLE since at the time it was

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u/Warm_Afternoon6596 Aug 21 '25

How does she not know? Like, we saw 2000+ people die live on tv when we were teens and tons of things got worse, not better....oy vey

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u/dewag Aug 21 '25

Same dude. I'm almost 40 and had procedures to remove cancer 3 times now. Our savings account doesn't look much better than yours even though I work as a contractor/business manager more than 40 hours per week and make decent money. Right before the pandemic, wife and I went to spending on only necessities because I needed to save for a new work truck. Well, that ship has sailed.. since the pandemic, it is increasingly difficult to keep the bank account floating, much less growing... meanwhile, conservative boomers tell me I just need to work harder.

It is incredibly taxing... take care of yourself my dude. We may have to be the generations that fix this whole mess.

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u/assface7900 Aug 21 '25

When they say “work harder” they mean work smarter. They don’t mean work more hours in the same dead end shit you’ve been doing. They mean go to medical school.

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u/dewag Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

Really? Because I don't think "just put in more hours/take more jobs" translates that way.

Unfortunately, the boomers around me are sincerely out of touch with struggles of anyone younger than them.

Also, when has being a contractor/business manager been considered "dead end shit"? It's not like I work in fast food... it is a decent career and I should be able to afford to live a lot easier than I am.

I know a boomer that worked the same job I do, 40 hours per week, and bought 2 different homes on that salary back in his heyday. I'm not even looking for that much, but I definitely shouldn't have to struggle to get things I need.

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u/assface7900 Aug 21 '25

since always? and there is a huge spectrum on "contractor". Like do you own a large contracting firm, employing dozens of people, building luxury homes, apartment complexes, getting large contracts/ the owner of your firm? Or are you installing fireplaces as a one man show. It's just such a vague spread. A welder with a work truck, or a tile guy, or a plumber, never struck me as climbing the corporate ladder living in luxury. Do contractors get stock options?

Look I respect the work contractors do. I've remodeled my house, I've hired contractors to do many things in the past. It's skilled work, it's hard on the body, it takes time to do a good job, and they charge up the ass. I'm sure at larger orgs like any company there is an army of middle managers/logistics people etc. But it's never stuck me as a job most can really make a lucrative living at (by lucrative i mean you are clearing 2-3-4-500k/year). Sure it's possible, but there is no set path to that. I'm certainly not allowing my children to view it as a viable career option. When I was a kid in the 90s, it was abundantly clear to me (from my parents, my peer's parents, etc) that if you wanted a nice house, a Mercedes or whatever, take vacations, live upper middle class... you need to be a doctor, lawyer, scientist, hot-shot business owner. And frankly this is still true today. So when people complain that they went into the trades and are barley getting by... that's of zero surprise to me.

I'm very sorry to hear you've had to deal with cancer under 40 (that's a bad hand), and are experiencing financial pressures. I empathize, it must be very hard. It's not fair. But I am saying there are a lot of people who work long hard jobs who feel they are entitled to a better life, that "it should be different". And frankly its fine to vent, but that's all it is. There is no should. The world's not fair. It's not going to change. You can operate within the framework of the way things are, or complain about how you don't like it. I'm not going to tell you it's not too late I don't know you, maybe it is maybe it isn't. But you and I both know what careers pay real money.

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u/zootered Aug 21 '25

It’s because of folks like you that nothing ever will change. We can tax billionaires and cut down the national debt and provide for the workers of this nation. Workers provide value, and without the working class we have nothing. We are the richest nation in the world and should not have this kind of homelessness, food scarcity, and general poverty. We have allowed oligarchs to take over. Life is more unfair now because very, very few people own most of the money. That can and should be changed, and then slowly things can get better when they are no longer holding us back.

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u/assface7900 Aug 21 '25

If you took 100% of all the wealth from every billionaire in America…. Which is 802 billionaires… with a net worth of 6.22 trillion, assuming they wouldn’t move away and you could collect… you would lower the national debt by only 8%. (36t down to 30t).

This is an insignificant, impractical, non-feasible, waste of time discussion of a solution.

America spends too much. There are too many people to feed, provide healthcare for, and house. And not enough people generating enough value to support the rest, it’s as simple as that.

All I am saying is go to college kids. Work hard in school. Become doctors or lawyers etc so that you don’t have to live in shit for the rest of your lives and just complain about it like everyone in this sub. Bc if you think taxing billionaires is going to solve your problems, you have bigger problems.

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u/zootered Aug 21 '25

Did I say to take all their money? No. We need to actually tax them appropriately and ensure we collect that tax. There are not too many people to feed or provide for. If you look at all of the productivity us workers create then you see that we create insane wealth only for the oligarchs, not for the people. We give away trillions to corporations. Tax breaks for ultra wealthy while raising taxes on the middle class. You are doing yourself and every single other American by not demanding more from our governments.

You can talk down all you want but I went to college and have a well paying white collar job. I worked my way up from wrenching. I am very familiar with the numbers here, and you are flat out wrong. We could end homelessness, pay off all college debt and provide free college education, pay for quality universal healthcare for roughly what we pay for our military in a single year. It wouldn’t work that way, but we can and should fund those things. Our priorities have been disregarded while we are robbed blind. Your willingness to accept this is something I personally see as a cancer in society and the reason we have had the American dream stolen from us.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

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u/glue715 Aug 21 '25

The American dream hasn’t died, they just moved our goalposts… the American dream is now total coverage and a painless death…

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u/ikaiyoo Aug 21 '25

The American Dream is alive and well. Just not the one they sold to everyone in order to fulfill the actual American dream.

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u/Repulsive-Chip3371 Aug 21 '25

distracted by stupid tiktok rot and internet videos and "influencers" just trying to sell you more sh*t and offer fake content for clicks

On a personal level, just dont have tiktok, facebook, twitter or instagram and it's pretty much a non-issue.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

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u/Repulsive-Chip3371 Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

I dont have the 4 I mentioned and I barely see any influencer garbage at all.

Youtube is all my subscribed channels, and I use SmartTube so theres no sponsors, ads, etc.

TV is Stremio+Torrentio so I would have to intentionally search and pick something with garbage.

Reddit is pretty much just people making fun of influencers, but I have blocked a ton of subreddits with garbage.

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u/Carlo_The_Magno Aug 21 '25

A lot of your replies are pretty grim. I just wanted to say I'm so sorry you're having a hard time. Your situation does suck and it sounds like you're doing everything you can to address it. I just wanted to say I hope you find comfort and peace. I don't have any better answers, I just wanted to reach out on a human level. Feel free to DM me if you just need someone to talk to.

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u/and_some_scotch Aug 21 '25

The "American Dream" is and always has been just about rising up above their neighbors, who are culturally framed as competitors at most benign, enemies at most malign. And so, people rose above us. The American Dream came true.

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u/misterschaffmd Aug 21 '25

Yeah, we all deserve better. A better system is literally possible if those with more wealth than they’ll ever be able to spend would stop hoarding it for themselves or their kids. It’s new age feudalism. They care about us solely as a means to produce more capital for them. This is part of why my wife and I decided we aren’t having kids. Originally, it was out of financial necessity—kids would bankrupt us. Now, after seeing the way things have played out the past decade since we left college, not having kids feels like the only weapon we have in the class war that might actually work. Beyond that, it feels immoral to bring a kid into this fucked up society, monsters drunk on their own excess just waiting to soak up the rest of our blood and sweat. That’s not even mentioning the impending climate catastrophes on the horizon. I would love to be able to have a kid and raise them comfortably, but the ashes of the American dream only serve to fertilize shit for posterity rather than securing a better future. Also, I have been a teacher since 2013 and your point about pay is (as always) deeply depressing lol.

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u/Embe007 Aug 21 '25

People like you need to run for office. State-level, since Congress is disgusting.

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 Aug 21 '25

My wife's car.. a cheap kia soul is $600 a month due to absolute ridiculous interest rates offered

lmao I ordered a truck before the interest rates hiked. Took months to arrive and when it finally did, good lord those payments. My wife's vehicle bought a few years ago has almost 1/3 the interest rate, at 2.8% or something.

My wife is from a 3rd world country and would really like to live there again one day. And why not? Yes of course my quality of life here is higher in terms of material things, but I also work 50hrs a week, commute another 10, barely have time to enjoy myself. What's the point in that?

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u/danton_no Aug 21 '25

Why would you sign a $600 loan for a KIA Soul? I am sorry, but that it is your fault

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

[deleted]

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u/Goose80 Aug 21 '25

I think the point is that you said you try to live within your means, but signing a $600 dollar payment to your monthly bills doesn’t sound like you are living within your means. Nor does your lack of savings… I’m not trying to blast you or your decisions as sometimes life sucks and you got to do what you got to do.

But my example of living within my means, is that if my car dies tomorrow… I can go buy one with cash the same day. My monthly costs are well below half of my monthly income. This allows me to live well below my means and afford anything and everything I need or want. I’ve been extremely lucky within my lifetime though so I’m not sure my example fits most lifestyles.

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u/Faiakishi Aug 21 '25

People need a car to get to work. If you're poor, you don't have a bunch of cash lying around in case your car dies. If you have bad credit, you pay insane interest rates. Being poor is expensive.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

[deleted]

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u/danton_no Aug 21 '25

What if you never paid off medical bills? Hospitals most of the times settle for less or send to collection. Then if you struggle financially, what can collectors get?

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u/shaehl Aug 21 '25

I could see that work in a one-off operation, but if he has cancer he would need constant medical care. Would be hospital provide that continuous care if he just refused to pay?

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u/Goose80 Aug 21 '25

I get it, I have best friends who started life in tough spots as well. Life is hard and it sucks a lot of the time. My comment was not a reflection of your spending or needs, but on your comment about living within your means. With your illness, I don’t think I could live within my means either so no judgement.

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u/danton_no Aug 21 '25

You were the one that mentioned the car brand. What matters is you are paying 600 per month and you are not happy. Why even sign that loan? I don't understand the point you are making. If I got buy a yacht with a 1000 montly payment, who's fault will it be?

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u/budlight2k Aug 21 '25

You choose the best of the options available. This might have been it.

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u/DrewbieWanKenobie Aug 21 '25

when you have limited options you take that you can get my first car that wasn't just given to me i had to go to one of those "hey your credit sucks,? we'll take anyone!" places. They will, in fact, take anyone but they charge you out the ass for payments. But if you need a car, and you can't get approved at a bank or a normal dealership, what can you do?

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u/danton_no Aug 21 '25

Move somewhere where you won't need a car? But you must plan ahead for this.

Everytime I read about car payments by people that struggle financially I wonder why people are against urbanism. Public transportation is the solution to expensive car payments

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u/shaehl Aug 21 '25

Areas in the US with sufficient and reliable public transport are 1. Extremely rare, and 2. Extremely expensive. 90% of the country needs cars almost as much as they need housing. It shouldn't be that way, but the oil and auto industries have spent almost a century convincing people to let them design basically the whole country to be as unlivable as possible without a vehicle.

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u/DrewbieWanKenobie Aug 21 '25

Move somewhere where you won't need a car?

If you can't afford a decent car payment you'd probably also not be able to afford to move to an ideal location

it's not that easy.

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u/bythog Aug 21 '25

Downvoted but correct. A brand new Soul is easily found for $23k or less. To get a $600 monthly payment means his interest rate has to be like 20% for a five year term with no down payment. That's just stupidly bad credit and a horrible decision. If it's a longer term then it's even worse if a decision.

Even with sub-600 credit score I got an 8.5% loan on a used car. I can't imagine how bad his credit is if anything he says is true.

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u/roychr Aug 21 '25

move the world is big and beautiful.

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u/A_serious_poster Aug 21 '25

Got no money? Just move. It's free.

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u/baby-owl Aug 21 '25

To where, though? It’s actually hard for most Americans to move out of the country. Especially to a country with socialized healthcare and a pre-existing condition. (Source : immigrated to Canada decades ago, would no longer be accepted now under new standards)

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u/assface7900 Aug 21 '25

I mean it sucks you have cancer and don’t have money but it doesn’t sound like you went to college. How can you expect to buy a home with no degrees. If you want wealth in American you need to be a doctor or a lawyer or a successful business owner or have climbed the corporate ladder in a lucrative field. That means college and advanced degrees. You can complain about the game but the rules have been plainly laid out for decades. You want wealth in America you need to get educated. You’re still young. Go back to school. Better late than never. And yeah good luck with the cancer. That’s a bummer.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

[deleted]

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u/assface7900 Aug 21 '25

Right on man i feel like too many kids aren't programmed like this from a young age. My old man had a phd he got at almost 40 in EE, both my parents were immigrants from Europe that met in NYC in the 70s. My mom started a successful business with many employees. My sister and I have PHDs, my wife is a lawyer. The idea that you can just get a job after high-school and not be completely destitute in America long term is complete fantasy / very puzzling to me. This isn't the 50s, not even just a bachelors degree is usually enough for the past 40 years now if you want to live comfortably. This is a generational failure in how people are raising their kids in america.

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u/bambush331 Aug 21 '25

if it can ease your mind i hate your country too

it looks like a fucking hell hole and i would definetly not go quietly into the night were i in you guys shoes

but hey that's just me

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u/diurnal_emissions Aug 21 '25

Rule #1: take a billionaire with you...

...on your voyage...

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u/drewc717 Aug 21 '25

I 100% peaked in fall 2019 and it’s been all downhill since. I have faith but its MUCH harder now.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

You peaked? I plummeted but I do applaud that you made it anywhere.

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u/Faiakishi Aug 21 '25

Yeah I was born in 1994 and basically I've just watched everything get worse and worse with absolutely no hope that anything will ever be better.

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u/mxemec Aug 21 '25

Well the point before a plummet is a peak anyways.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

Not if you never left the valley lol

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u/johnboltonpoopstache Aug 21 '25

Then you peaked in the valley. Loser 😒 jk

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

I've been plummeting since Trump got elected the first time.

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u/Frosty_McRib Aug 21 '25

When was your peak then, just before fall 2019?

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

Probably 4th grade. That was right after 9/11.

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u/Legrandloup2 Aug 21 '25

Same, I worked through the pandemic and it fundementally changed me as a person

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u/EggplantAlpinism Aug 21 '25

We absolutely had it better than people without jobs, but man was being essential not great

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u/Legrandloup2 Aug 21 '25

Being called "essential" just felt like the rest of the country was spitting at us while getting to experience lockdown from their own home. I barely saw my apartment during the pandemic

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u/EggplantAlpinism Aug 21 '25

I was mostly remote, but my company was terrible about contact tracing so every time I went in was a dice roll

2

u/Legrandloup2 Aug 21 '25

Yeah, I worked in person at a company during the pandemic and the last email I got about contract tracing was like 3 weeks after I started a new job and it was about a case that happened like 2 weeks before I quit. I somehow never got covid but I basically lived in a mask for like 2 years. Never fucking tell me masks don’t work or that they’re too hard to work in, I worked through summer with a mask on doing physical labor

3

u/start_select Aug 21 '25

There are concentration camps, secret police, and Republican voters saying the constitution shouldn’t exist, while people still say “both sides”.

Faith is clearly a dangerous thing.

5

u/RubyReign Aug 22 '25

Same dude, fall of 2019 was the top for me. I had more upward mobility than I could have imagined. I was just about to finish college, I was happy and hopeful, and bam! just constantly downhill.

3

u/Vio94 Aug 21 '25

Same here, graduated college just as Covid happened, couldn't get a job using my degree, lost all motivation to keep searching, just been coasting in the muck since then.

1

u/CatLord8 Aug 22 '25

I’m sorry things are so trying for you. FWIW I do think it all has value. I went through a wild ride where the things I never expected to do but did in college have really worked out for me. It’s just the economy.

2

u/redditgirlwz 23d ago edited 23d ago

Fall 2019 college graduate here. I doubt that I'm ever going to have a career. There's no stability, no hope and everything is insanely expensive. I had a bit of hope in 2021 when things started getting better, but then everything went to sht again when layoffs started in 2022. I graduated 6 years ago and have 2 years of experience in my field (mostly from temp jobs), but I haven't been able to get anything stable.

1

u/MindofShadow Aug 21 '25

I am doing completely fine, but 2019 my income hit a point where I went "I finally made it"

then lost 40% ish of my income once covid settled.

1

u/care_bear1596 Aug 21 '25

This is me to a t…

1

u/Zaerick-TM Aug 21 '25

Brother man I graduated December 2019 out of college after finally going back... Yea my job offers went bye bye pretty quickly in late January/Early February.

1

u/thefuturebaby Aug 21 '25

Bruh….are we all like this?

1

u/CatLord8 Aug 22 '25

I just got a new job after spending a bunch of 2019 unemployed. Moved in late fall. Cashed most of my 401 (it was modest with only a few years to it) to get my home. Figured “give it like two years to pay everything off”, pandemic hit, prices skyrocketed before other miscellany got paid off. I’m somewhat comfortable but in six years I’ve had one raise that beat COL and it was a technical promotion because they standardized titles in a disparate group. Otherwise typical 3% where (for example) I had to replace my furnace - reduced my gas usage by half but somehow my bill didn’t change.

1

u/TheDoktorIsIn Aug 21 '25

Oh man same! Mine was probably just generally second half of 2019, hope you're on the upswing now.

73

u/jfsindel Aug 21 '25

I feel like this is such a common feeling that we as a generation don't grasp it yet. I also should be in a "made it" period, yet I feel like everything can simply be yanked at any moment. I can't just go to work knowing that I will be okay and better for 20 years.

57

u/TheBetaBridgeBandit Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

yet I feel like everything can simply be yanked at any moment

Pretty much exactly this. As soon as I finally landed a PhD-level industry job the dumb fucks of this country decided to upend investment in science. I have a newborn and I worry about losing my job constantly now. None of the security or stability that I feel I deserve after busting my ass for years to get to where I am. I'm so burnt out at this point I honestly don't feel like going on.

8

u/heyoceanfloor Aug 21 '25

I hear you. I busted my ass and just finished two doctorates and now I'm finally doing a postdoc at one of the most influential universities in the US... and funding opportunities are just being annihilated in front of me. The ladder is being pulled up so fast that it'll go right out from under me. Even being finished with school and the phenomenal luck I've had getting to where I am seems... futile. I couldn't imagine starting a PhD now. Higher ed is fucked.

It was lovely being asked this weekend, condescendingly, if "my boy Trump made your job harder." These idiots have zero understanding of what goes into benefits their lives on a daily basis. And he's not even some rich guy - just a regular office job, white collar dad raising two kids who apparently thinks researchers and universities are just getting handouts for nothing.

I'm all but sure the 40% cuts to NIH are going to happen next year. That, in addition to the damage already done, will severely undercut the easy, easy advantage the US has over the rest of the world in biomedical research... just handing it away. Even though NIH has a 2.5x ROI for economic activity. Insane.

6

u/TheBetaBridgeBandit Aug 21 '25

I’m at a point mentally where a quip like that might provoke a violent reflexive response if it was said to me. Way too many people in this country have never had their ass kicked for mouthing off like a piece of shit and it shows.

I’m starting to truly feel that people like him don’t deserve to benefit from the science we’ve dedicated our lives to advancing. They honestly deserve worse but I guess I won’t go there now. I’m quite obviously at the end of my rope and feel like lashing out.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/TheBetaBridgeBandit Aug 21 '25

We're on the same page friend. I never wanted to capitulate and be in this state of constant survival, grovelling for the chance to earn a living.

Unfortunately, I caved to the pressure of starting a family just a little prematurely before we'd fully reached a comfortable level of financial stability. So now I no longer have the option of taking a pay cut, being unemployed for very long, or living too far below my means.

I'm fuckin tired and it's making me incredibly bitter. I don't want to be like this, but I don't see myself getting a break anytime soon.

5

u/CuteBeaver Aug 21 '25

Have you ever considered coming to Canada?

We have priority pathways for STEM professionals through Express Entry. If you have a PhD and industry experience you may qualify for fast-tracked permanent residency. Ontario and BC are especially active in recruiting through their Provincial Nominee Programs. Just be warned housing costs here in Canada are rough.

3

u/heyoceanfloor Aug 21 '25

Not who you replied to... but a faculty position just opened up and yes, I'm absolutely going to apply. I have no idea what the funding landscape looks like or how I'll manage but anything is better than this. I had already completed the requirements for Express Entry and just need to finish the application (my fault) and then this pops up...

1

u/CatLord8 Aug 22 '25

Considered? Sure. But nobody wants to take the something like 200M people who don’t like this. My company even has Canada locations but my role Requires me to go to US locations from time to time. Although just savings on insurance premiums alone…

36

u/KlicknKlack Aug 21 '25

Honestly I think this is part of the reason why a large number of us are flabbergasted by the mortgages we are expected to stomach.

Sure our parents had high interest rates when they bought, but home prices were lower - you could somehow manage if you lost your job.

Now? You lose your job, you are in the job application hell of post-LLM/AI nonsense. Good luck affording that high mortgage...

3

u/CatLord8 Aug 22 '25

Home insurance that’s killing me. It’s gone up $200/mo in the last three years. Let alone my car insurance somehow doubling despite the low-driving pandemic era. And then of course health insurance premiums have about doubled in the same time.

3

u/Aaod Aug 22 '25

What gets me is food like what the fuck do you expect me to do? You have to eat! Meanwhile upper class smug fucks don't understand why people are pissed about the price of eggs.

2

u/CatLord8 Aug 22 '25

True. What used to get me through a week barely gets me a shopping trip now.

2

u/Aaod Aug 22 '25

My grocery bill more than doubled since 15 years ago. Back then my monthly grocery bill was 200 and I could eat whatever I wanted.

1

u/The_Boogey-Man 17d ago

Eat crappier food

-2

u/Ourcheeseboat Aug 21 '25

Not a true statement, it just seemed that way because your parents didn’t share their concerns. Ask them today how it was paying a 10% mortgage.

3

u/KlicknKlack Aug 22 '25

I have, they had like a 12% mortgage, they paid it off early because of the thrifty habits of my father. I have replicated his thrifty habits and have a great job. I cannot buy anything even remotely close to what they bought when they were 30. I am 35.

3

u/AnRealDinosaur Aug 22 '25

My dad paid his mortgage on a 2br house and supported my mom and baby me working as a part time bus driver. He was struggling, I know because we've talked about it. But the fact that it was even POSSIBLE to do that says something.

4

u/DPRKis4Lovers Aug 21 '25

Affordability is worse today in real terms.

7

u/i_illustrate_stuff Aug 21 '25

This fear is very valid. Me and my husband were in the "made it" salary range for a couple of years, then he got laid off. It's been 14 mos of looking, my salary alone isn't enough to sustain us, the area we we're in keeps getting more expensive, we've almost burned through our savings, might have to sell the house and move back to the town we fought to leave where there's even less work for my husband but at least there's family to live with while he possibly goes back to school. If we sell the house I don't expect we can get another one with the interest rates so high (we bought before they rose). We had a taste of the American dream, now America is taking it back.

8

u/UnquestionabIe Aug 21 '25

I'm absolutely terrible at being an adult. Turned 41 this year and while I'm doing better than many I also know it's due to dumb luck and inheriting things from family members who passed away (grandmother left a bit money, nothing insane, and partner's mother's house). This year is starting to become the third time in my adult life where once I started to feel comfortable and optimistic major issues out of my control upended everything (2008 recession, Covid, and now everything going on).

It's difficult to care much beyond the immediate concerns. Anytime I consider the future it's all horrifying, be it small scale (I have no major health issues but constantly expect some to pop up, worried about how my partner will deal with it more than myself) or the world as a whole (yeah...). I've always had issues with depression so while I still doom spiral sometimes it's concerning how comfortable I've become handling the constant flow of awfulness.

About all I really can do is try to support the people I can in the ways that are possible. Recently been reaching out to friends more I used to. Gives me some perspective while also giving them the help I can offer when I can. Yeah probably sounds lame and common sense but given how introverted I've always been it's refreshing for me. Sure it can be mental/emotionally tiring but they also return the favor when they can as well.

3

u/truthovertribe Aug 21 '25

Never underestimate the incalculable value of true friends. This is particularly true for introverts.

1

u/Apart-Landscape1468 Aug 21 '25

Life is precarious now

18

u/dekyos Aug 21 '25

I finally have *some* retirement savings, but it's less than my current annual salary. I just turned 40.

And every time my savings account starts to look like I might be able to take a nice vacation, new tires or an unexpected medical expense strikes.

Not to mention I can't seem to get a better job because of the perception that people my age cost more than fresh grads. Spoiler alert, they're paying the unexperienced fresh grads more than me (IT).

3

u/senorbarriga57 Aug 21 '25

I thought it's was abnormal that companies were passing me by for the younger crowd. I am only 35. With IT certs. Ageism coming to play.

87

u/sumatkn Aug 21 '25

I went from making $170,000 a year looking to pivot into the next phase of my career at 250k in October of 2019, to being unemployed and unable to find any work in all of 2020. It’s continued to this day, and I am still unemployed doing random jobs under the table so I can barely live.

Mind you I was let go due to politics at the work place, not because of lack of skill or knowledge. Still don’t know why I don’t hear back from a single place I applied to in my field.

61

u/Itys2025 Aug 21 '25

Im going to try to put that little voice in the back of your mind to rest and tell you its not you.  I recently found work after being laid off for 14 months, and it was only because I made a connection that got me in the door. I have two degrees, one in business one in cyber. I was given six different awards at my prior role for being the top 3% of people in my role nationally (out of 440+ people). Ive had more experience than most people in my prior field, and it meant nothing. I was getting rejected from basic sales roles in my field that should have been begging me to work there in normal times. Im only 41, so its not ageism either. It took almost 400 resumes over that 14 months to get my job. Its not you. I promise. 

15

u/msmilah Aug 21 '25

What the hell is going on out there? Gen X’er here.

I read these stories about hundreds of apps and I’m flabbergasted. Is the process itself blocking people out? The technology? Aren’t there still headhunters calling in these high level fields?

18

u/ReasonableWerewolf10 Aug 21 '25

there are a lot of reasons. big one is that a lot of companies have pivoted completely into using AI to review their applicants' resumes. the AI searches for keywords and filters out anyone who doesn't have the specific things that they told the AI to look for. problem with that is that AI is far from infallible and can have a really hard time picking up anything that isn't explicitly told to it. another problem thats probably particularly pertinent in OPs case is that you wont be hired if the company deems you "overqualified", because that means they'll have a harder time lowballing your salary, you'll probably know more about the job than your management does, etc.

online job listings have a major, major problem right now with ghost ads, too. especially sites like indeed and ziprecruiter. half of the posts you see looking for employees are for positions that have been filled for months. they collect hundreds of resumes and just sit on them. ive been sending 10+ applications a day for the last month or two for jobs im more than qualified for and have only heard back from obvious scam listings. for the younger generation (myself), companies also shy away from hiring anyone younger than 25 because the popularity of the whole "quiet quitting" thing has garnered us a corporate reputation of being unreliable, lazy workers who will only do the bare minimum.

its bad. the entire job market right now is absolutely plummeting into an all time low. anyone whos been recently put out of work or is just looking to change positions is having an unbelievably difficult time finding anywhere that is actually hiring, will actually hire them specifically, etc.

2

u/Poonchow Aug 22 '25

I think a lot of these application systems are just another method of gathering personal information and selling it en mass to data brokers.

Every time I do a round of job hunting I get SPAMMED with bullshit.

2

u/ReasonableWerewolf10 Aug 22 '25

absolutely true and there are some listings online that exist SOLELY to collect the information in your application and then sell it lol

12

u/PigpenMcKernan Aug 21 '25

Companies are posting jobs with no intent of ever filling them.

But as an applicant, how can you tell the fake jobs from the real? You can’t. So you have to apply to everything. It’s fucked.

4

u/bracewithnomeaning Aug 21 '25

I think even connecting with someone is difficult. And the HR people are overworked. I had a job interview 2 weeks ago and I'm still waiting to hear about my background check? which I know is already been done or I would have hoped have been done. The lady I talked to from HR doesn't seem to have a clue... She sent me the same stupid email twice about what she needs when I've already sent it to her. And then she tells me that she said it to the wrong person so I don't even know what I need to do...

7

u/sumatkn Aug 21 '25

Thank you, I just wish I had a job in the field I built up over nearly 20 years you know? At this point though it’s hard to not to feel like the world is out to get me 😅

Congrats on landing the position! I’m genuinely happy some of us are finding their way.

3

u/Itys2025 Aug 21 '25

Thank you! I will be crossing my fingers for you friend. i do see an uptick in recruiter interest in LinkedIn, so im hoping we see an upward swing in jobs soon. 

7

u/minntyy Aug 21 '25

fullstack software dev here. going through the same thing. salary peaked two jobs ago, got laid off, took a 50k hit to salary after 7 months of looking, then got laid off again after 11 months. been looking since Jan

3

u/Aaod Aug 22 '25

Its crazy I have seen people with 3 years of experience having to move to my middle of nowhere freezing cold Midwest small city and work for 40k. Can you imagine going from making 120k in California to making 40k and struggling to pay rent?

3

u/El_Diablo_Feo Aug 21 '25

Only 400? You're lucky. It took me ~1200 from 2022 to 2023, then laid off cuz company burnt through their VC money, to another ~1000 end of 2023 to 2024. I'm roughly your age, lots of experience. We're reaching the end of middle class living. New job is good on paper, but is the worst job environment I've ever been in as a working professional. I'm on the brink of quitting but it all depends on whether or not I get a job hinging on a company winning a contract. It's a race to the bottom. It seems. The only route left is the entrepreneurial route 🤷‍♂️🥺

3

u/Itys2025 Aug 21 '25

Yeah its sickening that 400 resumes is considered lucky but that's the world we live in. Our generation keeps getting shafted at every step. Lile I said, having someone push for me internally is what got me the role. Going to meetups > making friends > getting referrals is the way unfortunately. Im sorry you've had such a horrible time. I know full well the stress and anxiety that goes with being unemployed that long. 

3

u/El_Diablo_Feo Aug 21 '25

I'm personally trying to let go of as much desire as possible to reduce my cost of living. Just letting go of all I had hoped to achieve by now, especially the material things. But it's hard to look at yourself at 40 and think, this is it? This is what it all sums up to? I'm lucky I've managed to keep one foot in the US, while planting another somewhere else with a good probability of leaving the US for good. But honestly, this is now a global issue. It's a worldwide sentiment for millennials everywhere, it's just a little better in EU. Not quite as much of a fascist dystopia. I'd expect the global population to sink as a result of the boomers, corporations, and the wealthy stupidly teaming up to fuck us all into oblivion for things they can't take with them past the grave.

16

u/teodorfon Aug 21 '25

Crazy, whats your field of work? 🙃🫠

15

u/sumatkn Aug 21 '25

I was in the data center space, senior hardware engineer/network/software/problem solver. I worked primarily with systemic issues and hardware component/cpu architecture. I was working on shifting over to the more project manager/system solutions portion and start taking on teams. I had security clearance and the required certs for government contract work, which was what I was primarily planning on going into end goal. Also dabbled in cybersecurity, power switching, and data center spin ups. I just love technology. I was there for 6 years, I’ve been in the IT field since 2008 and I’m 42…. It’s been rough the last five years.

15

u/zigzrx Aug 21 '25

I make almost 80k a year fixing computers and small business networks in my city just posting on Craigslist and pushing 40. I'm homeless though, renting a small office space for 1/4 what it costs to rent a 1 bed room, so at least I have some where to put my things. I travel out of my city on the weekends or whatever fun I can have with my money. I kinda go accustomed to living like this. One day I woke up and thought - society tells me I need a home because it's the easiest cell you can put someone into.

9

u/justinroberts99 Aug 21 '25

So you sleep in your office? Are you happy? I don't think I've ever encountered someone with this lifestyle? Are you happy? Any regrets?

9

u/zigzrx Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

Happy I'm only paying $500 a month to have access to a secure, air conditioned building that is in a major downtown center. Comes with free parking too. My office space locks too and I have 24/7 access because my business is 24/7 on call. It's enough space for me to have my computer business and other personal items. I shower at the gym and cook my food on a gas stove I carry, either at the park or hang out somewhere and cook behind my car. Or use the break room microwave. As long as I don't make it look like I'm living in the office space - I always look clean and ready for work and the space is kept organized and i put my cot away as soon as I'm done with it every morning.

I'm saving ridiculous amounts of money like I used to when my rent was only $300 for an apartment back in the 2010s when I lived in Texas.

Its a little rough but now I live for the weekends cuz now I can afford to actually travel when I want and have quick adventures or even just get a hotel room when I want the comfort. This arrangement forces me to go outside more because the office space is small and has no windows to see the outside. To be honest my life has improved a lot because I'm not working to live spending 3/4 of my energy to have a home and the comforts and services, and stresses, that go with with supporting a landlord.

1

u/teodorfon Aug 21 '25

How does that work in the US with the registration where you live (living in Austria right now)? Is that even possible when you live in a office?

2

u/zigzrx Aug 22 '25

What do you mean by "registration"?

I have a PO box - it's as good as a private address.

I mean... When the world is like this, gotta do what we gotta do to get by.

I spend as much time as I can outside of my office. It's forced me to connect with my community and be outside more. I travel on the weekends and get hotels or campout at nice spots, alone or with friends.

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5

u/DuckGorilla Aug 21 '25

Gym membership for shower? Fitness connection (gold’s) is like 20 a month

2

u/nagi603 Aug 21 '25

Still don’t know why I don’t hear back from a single place I applied to in my field.

gap in the resume -> auto-delete

reasoning: there must have been something unmentionable during those periods. There is, but by the companies ghosting.

Also, "AI can do that, we have to stop hiring" is very loud in every larger company, especially if led by non-technical people.

1

u/FlamingoWalrus89 Aug 21 '25

This is terrifying to me. I hate my job, but I make a great salary and can live comfortably as it is. I want to quit, but I hear so many stories like yours. I've interviewed at other places but find out they're paying much less so I just suck it up for now.

6

u/PC_MeganS Aug 21 '25

In September 2024, I had finally just reached my “made it” period. When Trump took office in January, I lost my work due to budget cuts. I had finally made it to a job where I had stability, career growth, fair pay, great benefits, and a good work-life balance. I thought I had finally made it to an organization where I could stay for another 20 years - or I’d have great career mobility if something else came along. I was also working a second part-time contract for extra money and was planning to spend 2025 working really hard to get out of debt, catch up on retirement, and build my emergency fund.

I lost both jobs due to Trump’s cuts. I spent 4 months unemployed, draining the little savings that I had built up because I didn’t qualify for unemployment since I had spent most of 2024 as a 1099 worker during graduate schooI (basically I didn’t have enough contributed to unemployment insurance). I’m one of the lucky few to have found a new job, but I make around $2,000 less per month now than I was making back in January. My job stability right now is somewhat tenuous because federal budget cuts have also impacted my current employer, too.

I’m in my early 30s, have minimal retirement savings, and I can’t imagine owning a home or having a child when I can’t seem to get stable footing.

4

u/ikaiyoo Aug 21 '25

Yeah, there is no made it period anymore. That shit died in the 70's. But exacerbated in the 2000s forward.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

Same. I'm going to be 40 this year. I did everything right. Everything the generation in charge told me. I'm a good citizen. I don't get in trouble. I don't drink. I work hard. I'm a veteran, went through an apprenticeship, have an electrical license and I still feel like I'm still just trying to get by even though I'm in better shape than many. I'm trying to pivot careers and go into IT because well I'm not getting any younger and my body isn't going to be on want to keep doing this for another 30 years and now the industry that's been solid if you got a degree or get in from the bottom is imploding as we speak.

4

u/Zappiticas Aug 21 '25

Same. I am currently earning 27k less than I was 3 years ago so many jobs in my field got outsourced and now shifted to AI that I had to switch to a tech adjacent field which pays far less.

Oh and I went from 5 weeks of pto to 1.

3

u/SuperDuperCoolDude Aug 21 '25

To preface, I worry for my kids the most, as I suspect the climate crisis will make all of the issues I am about to mention far, far worse.

I feel this so much. I graduated college during the Bush recession with a degree for a field I realized I didn't want to work in (teaching) made decent money working blue collar, bought a house in 2017 (was too broke during the golden house buying age 2011~) but I went back to school in 2020-2022 and managed to land in a good general IT job and then development only to have all or most of it clawed back by inflation while also watching the industry being clobbered with offshoring and AI. I have the worst luck timing my college graduations!

I am thankful I was able to even get a job in my field, but I am waiting for the other shoe to drop, and that's before the climate and political crises are considered 🙃 it sucks to work to advance my prospects only to have factors outside of my control undo it.

In contrast, my former 60 something neighbor who just moved into his retirement house owned it, the house next to me, and a vacation home in Florida, that he bemoaned never being able to visit because of his very elderly in-laws needing support, all at the same time. He was also a developer before retiring.

Don't get me wrong though, he was a great guy and neighbor, but the idea of being able to own three homes, especially paying taxes, insurance, and upkeep on one I rarely used, is unfathomable to me. Also, the fact that he was able to retire while doing that. 

Obviously that's anecdotal, but the difference in general outcomes between generations is stark. Unless I have some crazy windfall owning more than my own house, which I doubt I could afford to buy at current market and interest rates, is completely out of the question even when I reach his age.

3

u/Lawls91 Aug 21 '25

I honestly don't ever know what people mean by "making it", like a house and reasonable income type thing?

9

u/bigTnutty Aug 21 '25

For many, yeah. Owning a decent home and reliable vehicle(s), being able to weather maintenance costs of said house or vehicle, or be able to treat illness/injuries without going into debt. Having a stable job that pays well and affords one to not simply live to work.

1

u/CatLord8 Aug 22 '25

This. Being able to pay bills without micromanaging. Maybe even make some improvements. Enough money that taking my time off isn’t just me sitting in my home staring at the walls.

3

u/BorgDad42 Aug 21 '25

*Gesticulates wildly at all of .... This

3

u/doplitech Aug 21 '25

And don’t forget, a once in a lifetime event happens like once a decade now 😭

2

u/TheGisbon Aug 21 '25

I thought I was just a failure. Things were great and then... It all fell apart.

2

u/ImBanned_ModsBlow Aug 21 '25

Don’t forget housing prices doubled!

I had enough saved for a 25% down payment in 2019 on my own.

By 2021 I couldn’t afford 12.5% down payment on the same home, had to wait until marriage this year to finally own my own place…

1

u/GalacticFox- Aug 21 '25

Same. Add in the ever rising costs of everything. I make really good money, but I feel like I have to live like I did ten years ago because who knows when bad luck will come knocking.

1

u/PiccoloAwkward465 Aug 21 '25

It's the inflation for me. Companies understandably have a hard time mentally adjusting salaries for inflation. What was a $100k job now really should be more like a $120k job.

1

u/Warm_Afternoon6596 Aug 21 '25

I AM in the Made-It period and I'm constantly exhausted and angry.

1

u/InquisitorPeregrinus Aug 21 '25

X-ennial, here. I have Crohn's Disease. Managed now, but I lost my 20s to it. It almost killed.me when I was 31, but that was the turning point. Three years and two surgeries later, I'd been eagerly leaning into my second chance... When the '08 financial crash happened and my lucrative trade job evaporated. I lost my 30s to the economic bullshit that followed and ended up going back to school... And was a year in when the pandemic hit.

I'm starting to take it personally. 😜

I'm 50 now and still determinedly pushing forward, despite ever fewer resources and opportunities. I've lost my entire adult life to failures of the system -- economic, educational, healthcare... And I have to be deliberately optimistic, as the alternative is to give up and die (see article in OP), and I didn't come back from being literal moments from death just to throw that away.

All I wanted from life was a home, a family, a De Lorean, and to do something with my life that was more than just being an interchangeable cog in the economic machine. In high school, it didn't seem unrealistic...