Older generations say “we all struggled in our 20s.”
No, you didn’t.
You didn’t pay $2,200 for rent and $7 for eggs.
You didn’t graduate into $50K student debt and $0 job security.
Gen Z isn’t dramatic.
They’re drowning.
Boomers: I bought my house at 24
Gen Z: I’m 29 and split rent with 2 roommates and 4 side gigs
This isn’t generational laziness.
It’s generational robbery.
You make $25 an hour, work overtime, have a side hustle, and still can't afford chips for your kid’s lunch.
That’s not a budgeting issue.
That’s a broken economy.
And no, telling people to stop eating out isn’t the answer.
“Cut Netflix and stop eating out.”
People already did.
Now they are cutting therapy and Thanksgiving.
There is nothing left to trim but hope.
This is NOT how America should be.
Pizza chains are collapsing.
Not because people hate pizza.
But because the middle class can’t afford it anymore.
The $18 pie is now a symbol of a broken system where even junk food is priced like steak.
Bachelor’s degree? Credit score? 3x rent?
None of it matters when rent is $2,400 and paychecks are $17/hr.
People are skipping the paperwork and going straight to hotel extended stays.
Because they don’t qualify for poverty anymore.
Middle class used to mean security.
Now it means:
2 jobs.
5 side hustles.
No savings.
Medical debt.
Praying your 15-year-old car doesn’t break down.
All while being told you “have it easy.”
The fastest growing homeless demographic is seniors.
Not teenagers. Not addicts.
People who worked low wage jobs, paid taxes, and lost it all to one illness and a rent increase.
$72,000 salary is paycheck to paycheck.
$4,000 disappears every month.
Where’s it going?
Chaos. Debt. Inflation.
Just a few years ago this was enough to have a great life.
Boomers had pensions, affordable homes, and jobs that paid a living wage.
Gen Z has student loans, unpaid internships, and roommates instead of families.
We didn’t kill the American Dream.
It was sold for parts.
You’re not bad with money.
Rent has doubled. Wages haven’t.
Housing isn’t expensive because you're irresponsible.
It’s expensive because landlords, investors, and zoning laws made it that way.
But sure, just cancel Netflix.
And stop eating out.
That will be enough for a
If your a millennial, your parents bought a home on 3x their income.
You’re being asked to buy at 8x, 10x, even 15x.
And when you can't, they say:
“You're just not saving enough.”
No.
The game is rigged.
You’re not buying a house.
You’re bidding against Blackstone.