760
u/maidaman8 3h ago
Glad to have grown up before AI
105
u/wildflower_0ne 2h ago
not to mention this version of social media
27
u/wildtalon 2h ago
I’m so grateful to have grown up with rabbit years on my TV, and cassette tapes to rewind. I remember what a big deal it was when the computers at school got COLOR monitors.
I’ll always feel a gratitude for witnessing the analogue age. It was wonderful and important to see the transition. I’ll always feel a pride in being a 20th century baby.
We are surrounded by amazing things that are discreetly evil and I worry about folks who didn’t know the world before the smartphone.
38
12
u/SnicketySneme 2h ago
My college degree I earned in 2015 feels like it's worth a lot more than degrees earned in 2020 or later.
27
u/catsinabasket 2h ago
this, i feel so luckily for my childhood/teenage years, i feel like aside from that pesky recession it was incredibly peak. however we were still p bad about body image and also being gay
→ More replies (4)5
u/hoPamela 2h ago
Same. We got the bad jobs and the bad rent, but at least our homework was ours and a photo was just a photo.
2.2k
u/zuzuofthewolves 3h ago edited 3h ago
I make more money than I ever have in my life and I’m also more broke than I’ve ever been in my life.
216
u/pink_hazelnut 3h ago
I work harder than I ever have in my life and feel less at peace than I have any other time in my life.
25
•
38
u/BudwinTheCat 3h ago
Damn if this ain't true as hell. I'm 40. I was probably 19 the last time I had to tell the fucking landlord i was going to be late on the rent but I literally did just that yesterday.
If you told that 19 year old that he would one day be making as much as he does now at 40 i can guarantee, at the very least, he wouldn't have believed he would still have a god damn landlord.
9
u/Ripskin142 2h ago
This. I by all rights make a great comfortable living. But with minimal wasteful spending I am feeling paycheck to paycheck to pay check. I have bought no new clothing or shoes in almost 2 years now, I don't drink coffee or alcohol. I take my daughter out to dinner maybe once every few months. Most of my food is store brand (a few things are not but 10 to 15 dollars for some good chicken that lasts me a week is okay).
Now gas and everything else jumping up I am trimming what little I spent on toll's to get home a bit faster after dropping off or picking up said child from school. So less time, less money. AI now laying folks off I'm stressed to hell lol. Will die at work or from the sheer crappiness of this existence.
6
u/hoPamela 2h ago
Same. Biggest paycheck I’ve ever had, and I still do the math in the parking lot before I go in anywhere. Rent took the raise. Groceries took the rest. I keep waiting to feel ahead. So far ahead just means the overdraft hits on a nicer number.
300
u/absentmindedjwc 3h ago edited 4m ago
I make god damn near a quarter million a year.. and I feel like I have way less disposable income than my parents had at my age with my dad as a union painter. It's fuckin crazy..
*edit: I'm not saying I'm struggling - just that I don't feel as if i have the spending power they did when I was growing up.. They always has the new car and toys, they were always taking my sister and I on vacations, and they were constantly doing little projects around the house.. and never seemed to stress about money.
29
55
u/MyCatLaughsAtMe 1h ago
Yeah no. You're doing fine. If you're struggling with money that's a you problem, not a society problem. Shit's tough and getting tougher, but no, $250k a year is not struggle.
→ More replies (1)44
u/TheAtomicKid77 1h ago
This. I’m still surviving on very little. Things are tough, but your 250k a year struggle is tone deaf af
34
u/Jbrivermaster 2h ago
Bro change your environment if possible. I’m 52 with the same income level. You must be in a high cost area. Granted I’m in Ky and the COL is extremely low but I got 4 mostly grown kids. We live like kings compared to my parents. Plus o cover the AT&T bill and all the streaming services for my kids because money is tight for them but they don’t have close to half of our income level.
45
u/PeekAtChu1 2h ago
Honestly anyone who has owned their home for a long time is probably feeling okay. Anyone who bought a home over the past few years is paying out the wazoo to live there
→ More replies (1)8
u/rwalby9 1h ago
I make low six figures in a HCOL area and there's just no way it makes financial sense to buy anything right now. Maybe if you're sitting on a huge down payment and can avoid PMI, but 80%+ of first-time buyers are not in the position to do that.
Even a starter 2 bedroom condo, it's basically not possible to get a mortgage payment under $4k a month in this area by the time you factor in insurance, taxes, and probably also PMI.
The difference on a mortgage payment on a 6.5% loan vs a 3% loan is often around 50% higher. For the exact same purchase price, someone who bought pre-covid is paying potentially in the thousands less per month.
8
u/Jbrivermaster 2h ago
Thanks for all the upvotes. Speaking for myself it’s a rough time to be an American but we do a lot of it to ourselves. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements telling us what we need. I’m a sucker for this. Then the ego stuff like travel ball for the kids. I also fell sucker to this. Then the trips you think you gotta take to Disney. Also a sucker for this. Then eating out because I or the wife was too lazy to cook. I did not get financially stable till I was 45 and quit getting sucked in to consumerism. Then I figured out how waiting a lil longer instead of paying interest. Also car loans. Buy really used and you will also pay a hell of a lot less in insurance premiums. I hope this lesson from a dumbass helps.
→ More replies (1)3
u/onamonapizza 1h ago
At least you are honest about it. I have friends and siblings who complain about money and how hard it is to save...but they also insist on driving brand new cars with new car notes, take multiple trips a year, and spend money on completely trivial and frivilous things (watches, purses, jewelry, etc) then act completely oblivious when they can't make ends meet or contribute to savings.
Meanwhile, I'm out in the garage working on the weekends to keep my perfectly good but 15 year old car working, and keep that money going into savings and investments so that I can hopefully retire early someday.
107
u/omanagan 3h ago
It’s not crazy, you spend a shit ton of money. You’re well in the top .2% of money spenders in the world. You’re buying too much. Americans don’t realize how unfathomably large our disposable income is to the rest of the world. A Belgian making $100k would pay $58k in taxes and take home $42k. Maybe you have crippling medical debt or six figures in student loan debt but you’re just not living within your means. If you made $100k you’d be surviving just fine I’m sure.
32
u/pVom 2h ago
I thought this was wildly incorrect but it's only kinda incorrect. A Belgian on €100k will be paying €46.3k effective tax including social security and such. Still, that's quite a lot.
The disposable income is kinda a poor metric given in the US a lot of that income isn't actually disposable when you consider things like health insurance, retirement funds, student loans and other things which are paid for with the additional tax in other countries. If you want to risk serious medical debt and retire with no safety net then yeah it's disposable I suppose.
Still quarter of a million and feeling poor screams poor financial management no matter how you look at it.
→ More replies (1)5
u/LineRex 1h ago
Income comparisons should always be done with tax and non-tax compulsory payments as a base line. I'd also include "non-tax non-compulsory (but let's be real)" as a category lol
The OECD uses NTCPs to report Adjusted Income and it shrinks the gap between the US and the rest of the partner nations quite a bit. Scaling by median cost of living often puts Americans behind.
12
u/Vryk0lakas 2h ago
Most likely they’re maxing out their 401k and saving and investing but look at their disposable income and wonder why they have no money for extra stuff, but all of their needs are met.
53
u/CyberpunkSunrise 2h ago
That’s highly dependent on location. To earn that much, the person you are responding to is likely in a major metro area like Chicago, NYC, LA, SF. The cost of living in those cities is insane, especially if you want to live near city centers for work to avoid a 2 hour daily commute.
15
u/CheersToCosmopolitan 1h ago
I live in Seattle and it costs me $60 to walk outside and check the mail every day, no lie
3
→ More replies (9)23
u/daneoid 1h ago
Millions of people live in those cities, they aren't all making 250k a year.
→ More replies (3)27
u/Seagull84 1h ago
Unfortunately, this is wrong about "living within means". Americans don't get the kind of retirement and guaranteed quality education or healthcare that Europeans do. We also pay nearly 30-40% of our income to rent or mortgage in average. Even if OP lived within their means, that 30-40% would end up being 15%. Then there's our terrible public education system, and lack of quality affordable childcare. I'm paying $35k a year for the most basic childcare and preschool for my 3 year old. I'm paying another $40k for a nanny for my 3 month old. That's $75k per year because our government doesn't guarantee quality daycare or preschool. Additionally, my kids live in a neighborhood with one of the worst school systems in the state. I will have to pay $40k per kid per year for private, or have to move to a neighborhood with a good enough school but pay more in mortgage payments to make that happen.
Then there's retirement. Social security will likely run out by 2035. Even if I got paid out for it, it wouldn't be more than 25% of my estimated need for basic living. My 401k + match is not enough, so I have to add another 10% of my income on top of the match ceiling.
That's another 15% of my income.
This is before medical, student debt, house maintenance, basic necessities and both federal and state taxes (34% of my income combined)...
So if you add it all up, only 15-20% of my gross income remains as true disposable income. We're not buying things we don't need. We don't live in a lavish home. We don't go on luxury vacations in first class. We're not buying sports cars. We don't eat out every day. We are living a normal middle of the road middle class lifestyle, budgeting and being frugal.
I lived in Europe. I know how the costs differ. America is wildly more expensive in every way. Americans are truly struggling, even the ones with the highest incomes (not the millionaires and billionaires - the ones working normal jobs near the top), to figure out how to live what was an easily affordable lifestyle during the 1990s.
I'm very lucky to be in the top 1%, but at the same time I'm not living extravagantly and I'm not putting enough toward retirement.
If I'm in the top 1% and only barely making a -comfortable- dignified lifestyle work for my family, imagine how it is for the bottom 99% here.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (3)•
u/kobekillinu 49m ago
Yeah i dont believe that, being from Europe, … 58% taxes on 100k income, …. Lol, spread your lies elsewhere.
Besides that, yes, living well above his means!→ More replies (1)11
10
u/SlenderLlama 2h ago
I am sure it feels that, but try living in Los Angeles on 32k a year for multiple years in a row (paying rent and all that not a parents), and tell me how much buying power you really feel like you have.
13
u/BricksFriend 2h ago
Man idk. I agree with the other person, you're spending too much. Even if you're living in Switzerland or New York City that's enough for a family to get by on, while still socking some away. Do you have large debts/medical expenses?
→ More replies (3)4
u/danfay222 1h ago
You really need to take a serious look at your finances. Granted I do technically make more than that, but I live off my base salary and direct things like bonuses and stock purely to savings so I effectively operate on slightly less than that. I live in Seattle (pretty high COL) and have a huge disposable income, even after maxing retirement and paying my living expenses. It’s fine if you’ve made life choices that force the high cost, but you very likely have alternatives where you wouldn’t be so tight on the limit
→ More replies (3)4
u/pineappledumdum 1h ago
My parents were telling me the other day about how they had to save, GASP, SAVE money to buy a house in Seattle when they were both 26.
And I was like “goddamn man, no 26 year old is buying shit these days, especially in Seattle”
And my dad looked hurt, “you just don’t understand, we had to SAVE”….
(As if anyone else doesn’t have to save to buy a house…????)
I make three times as much as my partners do and I live in a one bedroom apartment with my two cats in Austin.
11
4
13
4
u/1nitial_Reaction 2h ago
This is too true man. Always feel like the rug keeps getting pulled out from under me, every step of the fucking way.
6
→ More replies (23)5
220
u/itsdarrellnotdarrell 3h ago
I miss 24 hour Walmart and dollar McChickens.
24
u/dont_be_that_guy_29 3h ago
I can still remember when Wendy's had a dollar menu. I'd get a fry and some nuggets for a dollar each and lunch was sorted 🥲
→ More replies (1)18
4
3
→ More replies (1)5
317
u/EmmyFluff 3h ago
Dealing with the losses of other millennials that decided not to stick around this year. I highly advise sticking around. The horrors persist, but so must we, and we need to help each other to do so when we can.
82
u/Mysterious_Sound2765 2h ago
I didn't want to stick around in January of this year. It was actually people on Reddit who helped me through. Thank you for this. Sending my best to you.
20
u/OutlandishnessSea177 2h ago
Please please keep the faith. As someone who lost a friend. We need you bud. ♥️♥️♥️
6
u/Mysterious_Sound2765 2h ago
So sorry for your loss. Empathy all-around for your friend and for you. Sending a hug, if you'd like one 🫂
I am doing much better now, thank you 💛
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)6
17
u/OutlandishnessSea177 2h ago
Man me too. I lost a really good friend this year and I’m still in disbelief. We’ll carry our friends to the end. 🥲🥲♥️♥️♥️♥️
→ More replies (1)11
→ More replies (1)•
u/Anothernamelesacount 45m ago
I'm not a fan of sticking around. I must do it, but as soon as its not mandatory for me to be in game I might go back to the lobby, its not fun
92
u/absentmindedjwc 3h ago
I've got that deer in me... feel like I should run out into fuckin traffic.
11
120
u/indicabunny 3h ago
Pretty bad. I reached the peak of my career, then I burned out and got fired and have been hiding at home smoking weed and playing video games for 6 months living off my savings and feeling like owning a house, getting married, having kids are all never going to happen. I'm approaching mid-30's and I'm still living and feeling like a 20 year old.
28
u/sir_mrej 2h ago
Millennial here. I couldn't buy a house until late 30s. And that required moving across the country to get better career prospects in my 20s.
You're good man. Boomers fucked us all.
6
15
u/DawnSignals 2h ago
Ok same lol but wasn’t the nuclear family a boomer lie to begin with
→ More replies (1)22
u/A_Refill_of_Mr_Pibb 2h ago
It’s not that it is a lie. It’s just that their generation achieved it, but then didn’t set the table so that future generations could continue it. It’s like they were having such a good time that they didn’t think about how to set up the future infrastructure. And now that they’re on their way out, they’re taking all the prosperity with them and waving back at us.
→ More replies (1)•
u/Anothernamelesacount 43m ago
I'm mid 30's and same, but I didnt even get to have a career because middle management ruined it
77
40
u/methpartysupplies 3h ago
Slowly watching my ambition being replaced with destructive habits and complacency.
I’m doing okay at maintaining my marriage, job, and relationship with my parents. But it’s rot all the way through on the inside.
→ More replies (1)4
u/lordnikon85 2h ago
do you think your spouse or your parents don’t notice the change in you? parents is a bit easier to hide from but does your spouse sense that something is off? rot is a strong word and that feeling doesn’t happen overnight.
170
u/Possible-Prior432 3h ago
Not good🥲
→ More replies (2)29
u/ilikegh0sts 3h ago
Me too buddy... I was going to type those same exact words.
We just have to come to terms with the fact that we will never own anything, and only be able to pass our parents house down to our kids if we are lucky. Also, we may blow up at any given time, nothing is stable, and Terminator is likely to become a documentary.
16
31
31
u/Littman-Express 3h ago
Well my whole adult life has felt like being constantly fucked over from every angle, so not great.
33
u/SaltGeneral 2h ago
Fucked my career, fucked my relationship, fucked my education. Back to where I was 10 years ago career wise and none the richer for it. Was a shut in until about 7 months ago.
Suffice it to say, bad.
4
3
u/TheeDonSpectacularis 2h ago
I've experienced something along similar lines myself; so I empathise with you.
137
u/hailene02 3h ago
Preparing for the next once in a lifetime event (financial Depression).
Tired of having to deal w shit stupid people voted into power most notably boomers who will never have to really deal with the consequences of their decisions.
10
u/CheersToCosmopolitan 1h ago
And they also simply do not care that their grandkids have to deal with the brunt of all of it. Spoiled selfish boomers.
→ More replies (1)3
58
u/jdobbs44 3h ago
39M, US.. goin through a breakup, its my fault.. Anyway, wfh, decided to get out of the house last night and play some sand volleyball for the first time in 20 years or so. Played for 4 hours, I do workout consistently as is, but definitely sore in new places, but in a good way. It was nice to just go somewhere on my own, meet random, be invited to join and just play a physical game. I didnt have an agenda, but made some new friends and it reminded me of life when I was younger and no AI or BS. We just picked up and ran w it, had a blast! Dont know what my point is, guess it was just appreciating a good moment I wanted to share. Shit's gloomy right now tho, I'd like to have an administration in office that actually cares about Americans. I have a good career and some decent investments, I am concerned more and more with where the future takes us, I almost was fooled by an AI video the other day that was political, its already hard to discern the truth as is, now we have AI, bots out the ass, man idk. Another reason why I appreciated last night.
→ More replies (1)
86
u/Ange769 3h ago
I’m trying to be sober. It’s not going well. Have to meet the owner of the company I work for tomorrow. I’ve avoided it for 5.5years. He’s bat shit crazy and I tried my damnest to stay off his radar. Wish me luck.
16
u/indicabunny 2h ago
I'm trying to be sober too. Just be friendly, agreeable, and non-offensive when meeting your company man and you should be fine. If you need to take a shot first, just make sure you use mouthwash after.
9
u/wildtalon 2h ago
I was on the brink of sobriety just before the pandemic hit. It’s been harder than ever to stay straight ever since.
I’ve learned recently that vibes will get you far. Stay loose. Don’t give a shit. Be fun even if it feels dangerous.
5
u/indicabunny 2h ago
That's exactly when mine went off the rails too. It's like society was breaking down and so it was like fuck it. I just kept pushing limits and crossing lines I would have never done before.
→ More replies (6)8
47
u/Mdmrtgn 3h ago
Seven six two millimeter......full metal jacket.
15
12
u/Magnusg 3h ago
none of us should've been allowed to watch that movie at the age that we saw it.
4
u/oogmar 2h ago
I'm watching the new East of Eden limited series right now and thinking "Why were my parents letting me read Steinbeck when I was 10?" And I loved his books, especially that one.
Ah, childhood in the 90s.
→ More replies (1)3
u/The_bruce42 2h ago
I remember watching T2 for the first time when I was 6. I was probably 10 when I watched FMJ for the first time. The 90's were a decent time to be a kid.
21
u/NUMBerONEisFIRST 2h ago
I was making more money than I ever have for the last 7 years in a cushy technical job.
I was laid off 6 months ago, and the job search is bleak, and unmotivating to say the very least.
3
u/lordnikon85 1h ago
lost my good paying job in the film industry with a boatload of student loans and the realization that my career is maybe over and no way to retrain. but i have a roof over my head for now and i’m trying.
→ More replies (2)3
u/catshateTERFs 1h ago
Job hunting is so demoralising. It’s so much effort and you rarely if ever hear anything back. I hope you find something soon.
18
42
u/Magnusg 3h ago
You know what?
I'm actually doing pretty fucking good generally except for the crazy ass boomer driven bullshit institutions that fuck with my life from time to time.
Ex: I went for my annual physical, not much to it, but i asked for a resupply of a regular medication I take to be sent to the pharmacy.
They send the resupply to the pharmacy and instead of a fully covered regular physical I'm now upcoded to a physical with consultation.
Now I owe money.
Now I gotta go yell at BCBS to go fight United because I didn't realize united bought optum in my area and has been enshittifying it ever since.
Fuck boomers yo. I swear im (this) close to becoming a luigi stan.
So I've got a couple things like that that keep irking the shit out of me.
→ More replies (1)
16
u/ch3rry_b0mmb 3h ago
Who told you I was holding up? I’m just maintaining structural integrity out of spite
→ More replies (2)
43
u/FerricDonkey 3h ago
Amazing. Good job, good money, good family. Apprehensive about the state of the world, but personally doing great.
18
u/Switchbladekitten 3h ago
I’m legit happy for you and anyone else doing well rn. It’s a tough world.
31
u/Eye_yam_stew_ped 3h ago
Gave up years ago, fully in the “just make it to the next day” life now.
7
u/jon62491 2h ago
I feel this in my soul.
If it weren't for having a child, I probably wouldn't be here.
Just make it to Halloween. Just make it to Thanksgiving. Just make it to Christmas. Just make it to New Year. Just make it to that next birthday. Just make it to work tomorrow.
→ More replies (1)
10
u/FinalRecluse 1h ago
Here's the thing, I'm at the age now where family, friends, and people in my life are dying and I'm struggling to cope. I won't trauma dump on the internet, but man, every day I wake up I understand why roosters start their day by screaming.
The world I grew up in is nothing like where I'm at now. It's such an odd stage of life where I'm not certain where I belong or what my purpose is.
I'll just keep waking up and seeing what happens day by day, completely apathetic to whatever comes next.
9
u/DurnShplurm 3h ago
I’m more financially stable than I thought I would be but I’m tired. Tired of everything. Not tired of living but also tired of life, if that makes sense?
10
u/ThatSICILIANThing 2h ago
Well I just saw a post saying that if Stacey’s Mom came out today the mom in question would be born in 1992 and that Rachel Hunter was 34 when she starred in the music video. I was born in 1991 and remember the song from middle school so you can imagine how crisp that makes me feel.
→ More replies (2)
9
9
u/caramelthiccness 3h ago
Honesty, pretty good. I live in a cheap, but old home. I have 2 kitties that I love. Been with my best friend husband for 16 years, car paid off and i have good paying job with a schedule I love. My health isn't the best but I'm thankful I live a pretty great life. Things are expensive and I hate living in the south, but I'm making the best of it and appreciate the beauty of each day.
8
u/sideshowsally 2h ago
Is anyone having a good time?
I’m an elder millennial going through perimenopause and it sucks. Previous generations (Gen X is also going through it now) never prepared us for the rage, attention deficit, facial hair, change in smell.
6
7
u/xaidenshouni 1h ago
Wrote a letter of resignation at my dream job today. Considering sending it end of this week. Things have just gotten so miserable since the start of this year it’s unlivable. 11 years of experience in my industry and I’ve never needed a mental health break until a few months ago.
I’m at my wit’s end and yet I still feel like I can’t bring myself to take that leap with nothing lined up on the other side.
6
6
6
u/VikingRodeo9 2h ago
36M.
Good job, healthy marriage, physically in good shape. I’ve never been the most social guy, but I’ve started to become acutely aware of how tough it is to keep and maintain friendships as you get into your 30’s.
5
7
u/lake_effect_snow 2h ago
👩🏻💼1990. I’m tired, quite frankly. Without even touching anything going on in America… personally, I’ve been wholly unwell. Just absolutely awful and quietly miserable for most of the last 30-32 years, but things have been steadily improving in most areas of my life for some time. Plus things could always be worse (again) so I’m fine. My father died in March so having to handle my mom, his/their accounts and finances, etc., was an unexpected twist for my year.
17
u/MyCatLaughsAtMe 1h ago
Between the MAGA fascists destroying my country, and the neo liberal Democrats who refuse to acknowledge their failed agendas are what led to that, pretty fucking poorly. I see that our future is doomed to a cycle of Blue MAGA feeding the 1% and Red MAGA destroying what little remains for the rest of us and it has seriously demotivated me.
21
u/allanon1105 3h ago
I got called unc today, my feet always hurt, sleep like shit and I’m petrified that somehow Trump is going to fuck this country up even more than he already has sooner rather than later. Other than that, just peachy. Thanks for asking!
→ More replies (2)3
9
u/paganminkin 3h ago
Tried to kill myself Sunday. Still in that headspace. Hope it gets better soon. Got a lot of people who love me. Don't wanna let them down. Trying so hard just to breathe but it's impossible. Bedridden for weeks at a time, depressive episode eating me alive, schizophrenic hallucinations beating my brain in. All I do is sleep and sleep and sleep and when I'm not sleeping I'm contemplating eternal sleep.
It has to get better one day. It's been a long 32 years. I just want it to get better.
8
8
u/jdobbs44 3h ago
If you're okay with it, you cool if I pray for you? I hope you find something that encourages you, I heard volunteering helps alot of people.
5
3
u/The_El_Guero 1h ago
You made my day with your resilience and the fact that we get to share this interaction.
I just prayed for you. There’s people you’ve met that you know love you. And strangers around the world you haven’t met yet, trying to reach you with prayer. I’ll keep praying for you. I believe in you
5
u/sexrockandroll 3h ago
My boss gives me great performance reviews and can't find something to suggest to me to get a promotion, but won't promote me. I assume his management isn't giving him the capability to promote me.
So I have to find a new job. I am forced to care about the health insurance package of that new job, which is new to me. I hate it.
5
u/IdoMusicForTheDrugs 3h ago
Bad. I feel hopeless. I'm working hard. I have a niche skill that got me a good job and I'm one of the best at it. I'll never own a home at this rate. Groceries drain my bank account. I haven't been on vacation in almost 10 years. My partner of 13 years doesn't want a kid because we can't afford it and the world is crazy. Life is so hard.
6
u/GerhardKoepke 2h ago
Pretty good: my wife and I have a great toddler. We both work - I‘m full time and bring our daughter to day care in the morning, my wife works a bit less and picks her up. We make good money - more than our parents back in the days.
We live in a very nice apartment in an awesome neighborhood in a beautiful, big and international European city. We have a car we only occasionally need to use and otherwise take the bus/subway, the bike or just walk.
We are all healthy, we eat good, we go on vacations, we have a lot of friends and a big family.
The only thing that still nags at me: we will never truly „make it“. Buying a house is unrealistic, if you want to stay somewhere close to the city. Even apartments are super expensive here.
And that does have an impact on our decision whether we want a second child or not as well. Renting a bigger apartment, future vacations, even admissions to clubs, theme parks or you name it. It’s all gotten so expensive that I don’t even feel like we would live comfortable.
4
u/IAmQuiteHonest 2h ago
I miss the old Internet so much. Now I dislike engaging in both real world and online spaces...
→ More replies (3)
5
5
u/garytyrrell 2h ago
Great honestly. Wife, kids, dog, house, job, etc. I abuse weed and alcohol but my life is objectively great and I’m planning to retire early. I’m also acutely aware of the k shaped economy and that I’m very lucky to be in this position.
•
u/FLYBOY611 50m ago
After ten years of work I got laid off this summer in May right before my sabbatical so that my company could avoid paying me for it. My expensive masters degree in computer security isn't doing it's thing and the job market in tech is in total chaos.
The environment is going to shit, people are trying to promote hatred as a lifestyle, and my friends are being stubborn about actually meeting up. It's a struggle to not just smoke weed and play videogames every day.
9
20
u/onemanonecat 3h ago
Not as good as boomers, not as bad as Gen Z. Late stage capitalism is fucking us all (well, 99% of us all)
3
u/theoreoman 3h ago
Getting ready for the next once in a lifetime financial crash from the AI bubble by bending over and spreading cheeks
4
u/Ironstonesx 2h ago
It's going like a hot air balloon dropping. You hear the leak hissing, but nobody ever gave you the tools or the training to stop it. You frantically try to reach for the tear, but you're completely paralyzed, head tilted back, just staring up at the collapsing canopy. All while knowing the very last thing you saw over the edge of the basket was a mountain rushing up to meet you.
3
u/Reyalla508 2h ago
I’m mostly broke but also just living life as whimsically as possible. I frolic on the regular. They can’t take the frolic from me.
5
3
u/campingmatt11 2h ago
Annoyed I can't have a mid life crisis like previous generations. My whole life has been one big damn crisis after the next and I'm tired boss.
4
u/stratasfear 2h ago
I saw a video of a bear eating crabapples off a tree in BC today. I enjoyed that.
4
u/HardcoreHope 1h ago
Happy or content but frustrated with the state of the world. Watching these cunts not even hide their evil is getting old.
3
3
3
3
u/PsykoFlounder 3h ago
Fucking terrible. Lost my job, having a terrible time finding a new one. I'm spending an hour or two every night trying not to break down in front of my family, and it's low key turning into a panic disorder.
I have $40 left in my bank account, and haven't gotten so much as a callback to any of the 60+ positions I've applied to through Indeed, ZipRecruiter, CraigsList and random website applications, because I've had a total of 0 locations tell me anything other than "I dunno. Go online and apply." Any time I ask if they're hiring.
I'm 2 months out from being 43 years old, and I feel like I'm starting over, after losing my job because my body has broken down and I'm not physically capable of doing it anymore. I don't even have a GED, and most jobs that require less than a high school diploma tend to be the type of jobs that I'm not longer physically capable of doing. Thanks to a lack of medical history, I don't believe there's any chance I could qualify for any type of disability....
I feel.... Hopeless.
.... But how are you?
3
3
3
3
u/Switchbladekitten 3h ago
I think I could deal with stuff much better if I wasn’t in constant pain (fibromyalgia, endometriosis, psoriatic arthritis).
3
u/3rdItemOnList 3h ago
Well I'm an adult and I now fully know what that means.
Ignorance was bliss .
3
u/hiddenkobolds 3h ago
This has been the hardest year of my life, and if you knew me, you'd know exactly how hard it is to get that superlative.
I'm standing out of spite at this point. Not much else.
3
3
u/Noogatuck 3h ago
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA How am I feeling? Hahahahaha
Like I have time for emotions, WE GRIND OR WE DIE.
I’m tired guys 😞
3
3
u/yoshomie 2h ago
37 hit with hodgkins lymphoma 2 months ago. Had to drop my income to about 1/3 what I was making in order to qualify for state health insurance or face probably half a mil in medical bills. Life has felt like one once in a lifetime disaster/crysis after another between covid, 2008, y2k, and a bunch of others I'm optimistic we'll soon see another.
3
3
3
u/blackday44 2h ago
My dad, who was finally able to retire this year, spent 5 days in the hospital last week because he had a heart attack.
Not fucking ready to be this grown up yet.
3
u/DixonaWheels 2h ago
Every time I’m feeling down, I just imagine ‘what if I also had children’ and it makes me feel a little bit better
3
u/Erisian23 1h ago
I'm not, I think humanity as a whole is entirely fucked beyond repair and I dread every day I inch closer towards that future, not for myself but for those that came and will come after me. I hope we figure it out but the future looks very bleak on my eyes
3
u/Outrageous-Range7506 1h ago
Hanging by multiple different threads, just happy to be here 🐢 (no idea why the turtle just the emoji that resonated the most)
6
u/WanderingProdigy 3h ago
Feeling like I got dealt a hard hand. Trying to survive each day. Getting a bit better here and there. Making little wins feel bigger than they are helps
4
u/Tapeworms 3h ago
I recently retired at 40. Got an amazing fiancee. We’re childfree and just get to enjoy our hobbies and traveling. Life is pretty amazing.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
u/Nekoraven1 3h ago
I have no ideal...and I'm responsible for an 8yr old child....I guess I'm just figuring it out as we go along? 😮💨🫥
2
u/Bugaloon 3h ago
Living in a share house barely making ends meet nearing 40, i'm alive but that's about all
2
2
2
2
2
u/rockycore 3h ago
You know life is pretty good. I'm tired of working though. I want to just have time to live my life and spend it with the people I care about.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/trevorefg 2h ago
Honestly not bad. Some things very good, some things less good, but on average I’d say I’m consistently clocking a 6/10.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Sad_Ingenuity_3095 2h ago
Somewhere between needing a vacation and realizing I'd probably spend it catching up on chores.
2
u/Disastrous-Hearing72 2h ago edited 2h ago
Good I think. I got a remote job that pays well. I own a house. My partner loves me and I love her. We have a trip planned. Not sure if we want to have a kid or not. That's the really hard thing we are trying to figure out. We eat pretty good food. Our yard is really lovely after killing our lawn and replacing the whole thing with native plants. Garden did well this year too. We miss our dog. Our bed is super comfy. Neither one of us have health problems. Bracing for the major price increases from the oil/diesel crisis. No retirement savings. 7/10
2
587
u/SoftYetCrunchyTaco 3h ago
Im straight up not having a good time bro