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Person Starts A Thread Asking If He’s Missing Something About Young People Having So Much Money, And People Delivered Their Answers
There are many things in our world that cause us to wonder. Why do birds fly? Why is 42 the answer to everything? What's the secret ingredient to Krabby Patties? These questions remind us that there are no silly questions, only silly answers.
For this very reason, a subreddit called r/NoStupidQuestions was made. Just recently, a Reddit user by the name of No-job-no-money created a thread wondering why are there so many young people flaunting their money these days, and how do they manage it, and the question sparked a vigorous debate that reached 9.3k upvotes and generated 1.5k comments. And below you'll find what people had to say about the subject.
Though the thread originally started on Reddit, you can also add your answers to this post too!
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The US is grossly unfair in terms of starting wealth. I don't hate rich kids: they didn't choose to be born rich. But we lived on different planets, and I hate the society that punishes kids for not being born rich.
I grew up on the bottom end. Single mom, with no child support, no job, but with untreated mental health issues. One bedroom apt for three people. Evicted every couple of years. Never enough money for food (not even the unhealthy kind) or clothes without holes. Beg, borrow and steal. No money for doctors, dentists or other fancy services. Sometimes no money for electricity. No fancy luxuries like a shower or AC - so you perpetually look dirty even if you take a bath daily. And kids were mercilessly cruel about things like that.
For school, if it wasn't free, it wasn't happening. Extra curriculars? $10 to join a sport team wasn't happening. Gym clothes? No. Running shoes? No. Want to play ball? Go look around the park and ses if you can find a lost ball. Want to take an AP class or SAT? Better go beg for someone else to pay for it. Want to do science fair? Posterboard and markers are too expensive.
You're 12? Old enough to work under the table. You're 14? You can now get government program jobs with a waiver. You're 16? Now you can step up to legit minimum wage jobs. Just get a passing grade and fuck homework so you have time to do paying work. Graduate as fast as you can to get out of here.
You want to go to college? Ha. Who's going to pay for that application? Who's paying for the bus ride just so you can look at a campus? Who's going to accept you with that shit GPA? I'm lucky I got a waiver on SAT fees and a good score so I still had a chance.
You're 17? Now you can join the Army and get away. A legit paycheck, with legit food and a legit shower and legit work clothes without holes. I put on 20 pounds in basic training because food. Nothing to be scared of from a foreign army compared to the shootings Saturday night in the hood. Dentist had a lot of work to do to catch up. And that poverty-line salary made me the richest I've ever been. Even got a computer.
Turning 18 I had no monetary debt, but years of catching up on basic expenses just to catch up to middle class high schoolers. In another 5 years, I'd even be rich enough to get a 15 year old car. Living off student loans and ramen was heaven, even though the other kids bitched about living off $1000/mo, I was living off $500/mo on food and a room and that was finally the best years of my life. I lost a few years going to wars, but by 25 I caught up to where those middle class kids were at 18.
But of course I hadn't really caught up. After 18 some kids got a cheap room at their parents place, or their parents paid for a cell phone bill, or even paid for their car or college. And after college, some parents helped kids get jobs or down payments for mortgages.
Grad school was great until the scholarships dried up. Interviewing is hard when you've never interacted with corporate white collar employees. Be yourself is terrible advice when they can't relate to your life. Many, many cringeworthy career limiting interactions. Laid off? At least you had a parent with a couch you could crash on. I had that old car that was just getting older to sleep in.
But it got better. I'm still a straight white American male who never got caught up in crime or drugs and did well on standarized tests. I had a chance. I got out of the hood, figured out how to pretend to be middle class, and kept finding work. Hopefully by retirement age I will catch up to the kids born rich who spent most of their adult lives in jail and rehab.
Congratulations on making things happen for yourself and by yourself. In our society, what you have accomplished is admirable, and I wish you all the best the world has to offer...you've earned it.
Sounds like instead of claiming the "victim" status, you made the right choices and chose to live grounded in reality instead of believing someone owes you something because they have more than you. Nope, you didn't ask to be brought into this world but you worked with what you got and have a very healthy outlook on life. My firm belief is that it will always be about the choices we make in life. Kudos!
I feel his pain. Had to wear my older brothers clothes (I'm a girl) a lot of hand me downs, shoes that didn't fit and caused me a great deal of pain. No extra curriculars. One time I went camping with friends and all I got to take with me was a roll of crackers, when i got to the camp site i found my mom had taken the crackers back so i just starved the whole time. On top of all that my dad beat the sh*t out of me whenever he felt like it and mom ignored it all. I left "home" as soon as I could and lived in a terrifying apartment in a nightmare neighborhood, took out student loans and went to a college for a 1 year course. Lived off a cup of soup and one bun a day for a year to get by. Finally got a good job at a hospital and I'd never had so much money in my life. My husband and i didnt know what to do with all the money so just saved it and life got better from there
Be yourself is terrible advice when they can't relate to your life- this sums up so much of life, way beyond classes. This statement alone speaks to the truth of trauma: poverty, single parent homes, mental injury, abuse, generational cycles, etc.
BTDT. Wealthy kids are not immune to serious challenges in life. I grew up dirt poor in a very affluent area. More kids born into wealth had behavioral issues than the poor kids. The stressors of being raised by ultra-successful arrogant shallow alcoholic parents did them in sooner. Poor kids had issues mostly related to stealing and that was usually out of necessity. By my high school graduation half of the super wealthy kids were in rehab and those who had managed until then were starting to slide. By my first 10 year reunion, even more had issues. So sad what money does to otherwise good people. I never went back to another reunion and never will.
So true. Most rich kids I knew never did a damn thing with their lives. I try to hire the people who did not have those advantages. They're smart and motivated. And the jobs I hire for are a whole lot more than entry level.
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It has honestly never occurred to me that any of this was something to complain about. I grew up in New Zealand on the cusp between working class & middle class. I was given the best upbringing my parents could manage, but I never had anything that was frivolous or unessential. I experienced many of the things mentioned above. I had some poor friends and some wealthy friends. But I never thought of it as unfair; I considered my rich friends lucky, but never thought of myself as deprived or disadvantaged in any way. I just saw it as life. We all play the hand we're dealt.
I´m 41, worked since I was 12 and my husband is angry at me for not having saved enough to buy a house together with him. I´ve lived from paycheck to paycheck, never enough to save. All the savings I´ve had have been eaten up by the inflation. My first paycheck as a 12yr old was 25 rubles. The ruble was changed to kroon for 1:10 so it was 2.5kr. At the currency exchange only 1500 rubles were allowed to change into 150kr. That´s it. Any other money you had was useless. I as underage was not allowed anything. On the day of currency exchange was my birthday. My mom bought me a wristwatch that was previously 70rbl (expensive!) and now 7kr. On the next day the price was 40kr. So we couldn´t afford to buy a second one as a gift for grandma. The kroon was changed into euro for 1:15. In 2010 I had a full lunch for 30kr - 2€. After the exchange in 2012 the same lunch was 50kr - 3.33€ and now at least 15€. I was 29 when I could afford to rent, had to borrow from a friend for 2 months security.
I lived that life for so long, thank god things are a lot better now..
I’m crying. This was my life to the T except for the military part and white male (I’m female). Mad respect.
The appearance of "having so much money" is often an illusion created by "spending so much money" rather than making sound, forward-thinking investment, financial and spending decisions. Don't believe all the hype (but I get it - most of the people I knew when I was younger who did this are still living just to pay interest on their mountain of debt. Don't fall into that trap)
Wow. I am so incredibly proud of whoever you are. Well done sir, my respects
Read this and tell me again how opportunities don't exist to break the cycle of poverty. They do exist, you just have to be willing to do the work and make the sacrifices. Been in very similar situation myself. This guy's kids will be role models, guaranteed.
Good for you for being honest and hardworking. I hope your admirable traits bring you happiness, health, and prosperity.
It does seem as though some people have a book of cheat codes for life. A lot of my school friends were driving cars shortly after leaving school, all of them new, whereas I'm on my bike. Incredibly, I still am even though I've been working over 20 years now. Wish I knew the secret.
Similar circumstances. Hell you did better than I did. I took the GED to join the Army. Got my education while I was in. Keep going. You will make it but stop comparing youself to the rich kids. They have wealth accumulated over generations. Start your own business. You can build a very comfortable life and be able to pass something down to your kids and grandkids. Many of those rich kids are a waste of oxygen. Count yourself lucky enough to not be a s**tbag like that. You'll do just fine. Just remember what it was like to go hungry and having to work at 12. Share what you learned with your kids. You'll be amazed at where you'll end up and how your kids turn out.
Also different priorities.
In Germany there is a stereotype that young guys from migrants from the south east (Turkey / Afghanistan / etc.) always have big expensive cars. Brand new Mercedes in their twenties. Conservative Germany see that and can only wonder how someone can have something at that young age. It must be stolen, from money laundering in those weird shisha bars. Must be something illegal.
The thing is, Germans prefer other things in life. They don’t show pride in owning something expensive, they don’t want to make someone else jealous. Your neighbors won’t congratulate on your brand new Porsche. They will envy you and probably think you didn’t deserve it. Thing is, those migrants don’t think that way. They are not jealous if you show up with a Mercedes.
So when young men spend the money on a risky loan for an expensive car, it doesn’t make sense to conservative Germans, therefore those young boys didn’t do it and therefore it must be stolen or somehow illegal. In addition I recently learned that to own such a car people will also share it with close friends and instead of having 3 shitty cars they share one luxury car instead. Not many people see your house/flat but wherever you go, people see your car, or cloths or jewelry therefore those things are more important to other cultures than to yourself.
Different priorities, different choices. For you it’s a fake facade, for their circle it is a sign of pride in their belongings. Don‘t project your expectations on others.
Lots of people have family money, but very few are honest about it.
Not paying rent is the primary. You know how much money I would save just by not paying rent. I could pay my mortgage that's how much money.
Tbh I am working just to pay rent :(
Don’t compare your life to someone’s highlight reel on social media.
You see what they want you to see, but you never get to see their problems.
I highly doubt that individuals in their young 20s have the means to live that kind of lifestyle without some kind of support such as their parents. There are exceptions im sure, but the point being is that you should always take what you see with a grain of salt.
Different priorities. They probably don't have an investment portfolio or long-term strategy. Most are spending all their money on high-depreciation items (cars, clothes, night-life) and accruing a lot of debt, thus setting a pattern of living beyond their means. Look after your own money and don't follow their bad example.
Don't even get me started. I was the only one in my ex-friend circle doing literally everything I could to financially educate myself fresh out of high-school.
Those same people are in crippling debt today because they were so busy with building this ridiculous image of themselves as being rich JUST for social media.
One of those guys fucked up real good. He took out a loan for a BMW M3 at 16% interest over 7 years with $3000 down. How he was even approved for that loan is beyond my understanding.
People will do anything for clout, man.
"People will do anything for clout." Truest damn thing I'll read today.
I'm grew up in a pretty rural area and most wealthy young people I know are in Factory/manufacturing and work 60-70 hours a week and have virtually NO free time. They'll have a 50k truck and 200k house in their mid 20's but are stuck in a brutal 12-14hr workday lifestyle.
I know very few wealthy kids that have lots of free time, maybe in that case they would probably have come from wealthy families? Trust fund kids maybe?
Personally Ill take free time over money any day (well to a certain extent I guess) I'm not lazy, I just believe that your TIME is the most valuable currency that you own, not the money in the bank.
I've been in *poverty*. Food, clothign, shelter, money to buy a book? *WEALTH*
My aunt and uncle are loaded. Some years ago, my younger cousin would tell me he bought his expensive car (for a 17 year old) all by himself.
My uncle told me that he had bought both cars for his kids with his own money. Wanted them to save their money.
Totally fine with this. But lying just makes him look desperate for attention.
Also the rent economy - people can rent almost anything these days! Fancy clothes and handbags, cars, property... hell, even friends. So often we only see the surface of people, not the reality.
This is super common in the "influencer" world.
I only recently learnt a mate has a dozens trust funds & stock handed down generationally. They spend most of their time in a constant state of decorating. I always wondered how they afforded to do it considering they don’t do much or anything else.
I've been poor and felt just like you. I'm 31 now and my expenses are literally 600 a month. The rest of my money is spent buying gifts, traveling, and basically doing whatever I want. My friends get annoyed that I "do whatever all the time" but the truth is im almost living day to day like a 14 year old. I eat fast food, leftovers, live with 5 roommates. My actual life is really gross. But I put up with that because I get to have way more freedom and adventures pretty often.
I'm not married, have no kids, hell I haven't owned a car in 5 years, but if you look at my social media it looks like all I do is travel, skydive, party, eat well, kayake, etc.
I'm not posting me sitting at home.
Also, I'm not in debt at all but lots of people are.
This is pretty cool. Not an option for all I must say though. I live at home but I also help support my parents, I'm paying for graduate school and where I live I don't have a choice when it comes to owning a car (public transport is horrible). My expenses aren't extremely high but I still can't really afford so much extra stuff.
Also - If you're a natural "life of the party" type of person. If you have a likable and interesting personality. People are drawn to you and opportunities can heavily turn to your favor.
Yes, but if you are too much into being the life of the party but not enough into knuckling down and doing some actual work, those opportunities will dry up. Quickly.
A lot of people like that are actually in debt. They go into debt to sell the "perfect IG lifestyle." I have plenty of classmates from high school who moved to LA right after graduation (no rich parents btw) and continuously post photos of them showing off cars, going on luxury shopping trips, etc. and most of them are in so much debt it's crazy. One of my classmates left LA last year during the pandemic because she couldn't afford to keep up with her fake lifestyle anymore. Now she has a job working at Target to pay off some of the debt she's accumulated and moved back in with her parents.
I'm young (23) and make way more than I need but if I ever posted a video on a boat or drove a nice car or went to clubs 24/7, it's safe to say it is either my parents vehicles, or I was able to afford it due to the position my parents put me in. No 23 year old who didn't come from a nice upbringing could afford an Audi (I don't drive an Audi, but you get the point), even if they make six figures. Most 23 year old's have a negative net worth. The ones that flaunt anything either are 1) coming from nice backgrounds or 2) are digging themselves into debt. I can confidently say this because I come from the first scenario.
I guess my point is that it is all noise. Don't get distracted by it and pulled into the lifestyle of impressing others. If your life revolves around impressing others, you will not be happy regardless of how much money you have. The future super wealthy people who are currently your age are probably moving silently, without broadcasting their endeavors for the world to see. With that being said, it is nice to try and achieve the highest earning potential you can. An example of that would be me leaving engineering and going into an MBA program that later became a project management gig. Make double as I did as an engineer. Just don't get sucked into the noise. Even someone who makes 300K but can't budget will always be broke. Infinite spending is an illness.
Also the miami/fort lauderdale area is its own beast. You have to take everything with a grain of salt there. I'm sure there are people living in mansions down there who are struggling to make ends meet. I know a few.
Beware of debt.
I make what most would consider a comfortably large amount of money. I drive older cars, have a modest house, and an constantly fixing my broken things.
My neighbors have brand new cars from nice manufacturers, sometimes boats, a second house maybe, and all this and that.
Why? Because they over leverage liability debt. Besides my home, I have none. It's my choice, cause I don't give a fuck about what any one thinks.
It used to be called “keeping up with the Joneses”, it was ridiculous to do back in the day, and it’s ridiculous to do now.
I come from a pretty well-off family, and I have made it very, VERY clear that my parents are not to help me unless I ask. I have my own bank account, I'm setting up a life map.
And I probably won't be as rich as these people, because-ngl-some of them are REALLY spoiled.
So. My answer? Rich family. Boom. But hard work is always the answer.
Hard work and luck. I've always worked hard, but hardly anyone wants things done thoroughly, just quickly. Lots of exhausting overtime (especially in the culinary section) usually unpaid, and then get laid off. Being an immigrant (UK->EU) sucks.
That almost always is the result of rich parents. Either their parents just directly give them money, their parents hooked them up with a job they didn't deserve that pays way better than it should, or their parents cover major bills (car payments, rent, etc) so all of their money can just be spent on "fun time" stuff .
Couple of options:
Wealthy parents
Still living at home - even a poor paying job can let you live well if your main expenses don't exist
social media effect - you only see the BEST days you don't see the other 6 days in the week.
EDITS to add from other comments:
Debt - especially a way to have the "nice car" they really should not be buying
Luck - there are people out there who get super lucky and fall into the right job that gets them wealthy, or get lucky on Crypto or stocks
Life of the party - Some people get invited to cool events because they are good fun
EDIT 2 Because this blew up more while i was sleeping:
Drug Dealing/Crime - a way to get a lot of money fast
Vacation - this is more for the people around your friends but people will be there for a good time and spending their money.
Hard work - At age 21 this usually going to have be in concert with a bit of luck or parental help, but hard work will take those advantages further.
Possible reasons: family money, credit card debt, illegal activities, "morally ambiguous" activities, rich friends and/or suckers. There are plenty more, and everyone's circumstances are different. Some have planned and budgeted for whatever it is they do. Money isn't everything. Keeping good people around you is. Live within your means, or ideally below it. r/personalfinance is a great repository of information and guidance if you ask for it to get you on track. Flashy clothes and cars aren't everything you think they are; mileage varies with the people who possesses them. The great thing about being 21 is you get to experience that all for yourself and find out. The fact your asking these questions, and hopefully sincerely seeking answers is a great start. Follow up.
I’ve known 25 year olds who graduated high school at 18, immediately got themselves apprenticed to master plumbers/electricians/HVAC specialists, and worked their way up to become masters in their fields themselves by the time they were 25-28 years old. There’s good money in those fields if you’re good at them, and good at running a business as well (evening business classes at the local community college can help). But those young folks were also very mature, responsible, and committed to learning their trades at a young age. Rare gems, it seems.
Adding to this: If your wealthy parents pay your rent and give you a monthly allowance. Mine pay my rent currently and while I’m too much of a homebody to really ever want to show it off, I am putting 90% of the money I’m earning at my job into savings for when I get an apartment I’m paying for after I graduate. I’ve gotten $1600 in my savings for two weeks just because I don’t have to pay for anything, including school debt.
My parents are great and it pisses me off to see other kids in that situation taking it for granted
This. I'm advising both my kids to live at home until they've saved enough money to make a down payment on their own place. Renting is a scam & you end up with nothing.
I wonder if it's a different family dynamic, my friends from SEA, India, etc seem to keep money in the family so to speak, and pool money/accommodation/cars. Until people get married they live in the family house and sometimes even carry on living at home once married or at least in another family-owned home.
This pool of cash/wealth means it's easier to have a nice car. My friend at university (20 years ago) was driving a brand new civic fancy edition something or other. The rest of us couldn't afford cars, but he mentioned it's technically a family car (one of many) that he uses.
Used to be that way in the US too, especially amongst immigrant families. My father’s parents had him and my aunt (their only two children) living at home even after they both got married. Once they saved enough for a house and furniture, plus enough money in the bank and savings to cover emergencies, they moved out. It was their parents’ way of giving them a house without actually buying it for them, and helping them get a good headstart in life, instead of having to dig themselves out of a deep hole by going into debt. I wish more parents did this—-as long as the kids understand it’s a chance to work and save without being buried under expenses, not a license to lay around the house all day and freeload.
I know a lot of girls that are wealthy because they do "lewd" content in various sites. Others do pr0n. Both are lucrative endeavors if you have the discipline to be entrepreneurial. These friends grew up poor, decided to capitalize on their looks while they are still young and can and have been doing extremely well for themselves. Some are smart with their money others not so much
Yes, but what are they going to do when that runs out? The internet isn’t written in pencil, so it will follow them forever, including if they decide to get a college degree and go into another line of work. You can’t just think in the short term, unless you know for a fact you’ll be dead by 30. Since most of us are going to live til three times that age, or even close to four, long term thinking is what we should all be doing way more of.
Also another option. Some people just get extremely lucky.
My cousin went to work in a local factory in high school. He was making 80K by the age of 21. Likewise a guy I knew from high school, got a degree that landed him a tech job betting $125,000 after graduating from college.
Not saying these situations are common, but they do happen.
My parents had ever said to me: doesn't matter how smart or how hard working we are, they are nothing without luck.
Rich Parents and Credit Cards
Correction: rich parents, who are also paying their kids’ credit card bills.
I swear I ask myself this all the time.
I see other teenagers on TikTok, and when I say teenagers I really mean it like not even 20.
They have trendy clothes, a never ending wardrobe, a bunch of books, music albums or whatever they like to collect, have expensive phones etc
And I'm just looking at that like how!??
Outside appearances are honestly more of a sign they don’t have as much money as you think, but also could he explained in some ways.
A nice car and nice clothes are not good indicators that they have money. Almost anyone can get a car on loan but what you don’t see if their 16% interest car payments on their 6 years loans, equating to likely double the advertised cost of vehicle, which is depreciated by half once it’s finally paid off.
Nice clothes depending on the brand can still be found for cheap or even at thrift stores. I’ve found lots of great clothes this way.
Also they could be buying these but the rest of their life is crap. My neighbor for example (not hating) doesn’t have to pay for his house because his parents paid for it. So he spends his money on a brand new, big feature truck. Okay fine. But doesn’t have much else - no investments, savings, or any preparation for the future.
Some people just spend money on outside materials - sometimes even to impress others - but have nothing else.
Of course come people have rich parents are might be doing okay for a season. But you can look rich without being rich.
Also in my experience the higher middle class to slightly wealthy people show rarely any signs that they are.
Im not rich my any means but I drive a 16 year old car that is literally worth only a couple grand and has rust. I don’t upgrade because I don’t need to and rather have the money in investments.
That being said, the best way to start having free time and make good money is to start looking at options like starting a business, investing opportunities, etc.
For me, I have a good job that I do 14 13 hours days straight with 14 days off to rest.
Medical job, like nurse or doctor (intern)? Offshore oil rig? Commercial deep sea fishing?
Also - DEBT. In particular for Cars.
Beautiful expensive luxury car. Parked in the driveway of a f*****g tumbledown shack.
I didn't get this either, until I got close with someone whose family had a long legacy of wealth, literally dating back hundreds of years. Once you get to a certain level of wealth, you live off interest. The money literally makes its own money for you.
Serious wealth is just a whole other ball game. Made me pretty mad when I first found out about this.
These are definitely likely options.
A lot of people are also just living beyond their means. Not saving at all, always in some debt, not investing.
A friend of mine worked in a trendy neighborhood in NYC, always serving these types of people, wearing designer clothes and she said in all her jobs she never had more people's cards get declined.
Ive also been in more than one situation where someone was having a bad time in front of me, but from the posts about the day you would think they were having the time of their life.
Another option, is service work. They tend to work odd hours, and in many cases much fewer hours. I used to make $50k working three days a week at a bar. It was 6-9 hour shifts of non-stop running around, no time for a break. You also meet lots of people and can often leverage perks, people taking you on yachts, buying you bottles, fancy rich bar owners paying for "learning/bonding" trips to food meccas, free or discounted drinks/food. Ive had $500 meals comped completely as industry. A good looking friend meets really rich older guys at her club job and they casually date and will invite her on expensive vacations, buy all the food, drinks, and drugs for partying, when she gets bored she moves on to another guy. She also gets tipped extremely well. Makes six figures. Eventually you have a network of "friends" who have more money to throw around and like to so they can have "friends" since they shallow.
But it's all dependent on age, personality, looks, and stamina. It is hard work and can wreak havoc on your body and mind. And the environment can encourage or exacerbate substance abuse and/mental health issues. Its also rampant with sexual harassment and abuse from customers and coworkers.
Ill never go back to a job like that but it was definitely fun sometimes when I was younger and I'm kinda jealous of all my old coworkers making amazing summer bartending money. But my body is forever wrecked and I wouldn't be able to put up with the toxic employer relations after this crazy year of covid and self-care.
I have also felt comfortable living paycheck to paycheck because I am broke not poor. I have so many safety nets, a good college education, reasonably well off parents, very well off in-laws, and no major debt. Sadly im better off than a lot of people. Not true of lots of people who would be incredibly stressed to have negative money sometimes in the name of fun.
And now that I am starting to take money more seriously and dont want to party as much ill still pass many people who have tried a lot harder because i was born with privilege and the 9.9 percent usually stays in the 9.9%. This is a great article about the class of people everyone forgets when talking about the 1%. It's not equitable or fair but it's true.
Years ago, I had a friend who worked in the finance department of a BMW dealership. She said she learned really quickly not to be taken in by appearances. The flashy person pulling up in a high end car and wearing designer clothes wasn’t necessarily the person with money. In fact, they most likely were already stretched so thin that one emergency expense would topple their whole house of cards. She said she started to put way more faith in the old farmer/rancher/plumber/working man driving up in a battered old pickup truck and wearing work clothes, and coming in to buy his granddaughter a nice car for her graduation from medical school. She said you’d be amazed how often that was the kind of person who could pull more than enough crumpled up cash out of his pockets to buy any car his granddaughter wanted.
Full agree on the living at home. I went from a hefty savings and basically spending money whenever I wanted Willy nilly. Now that I live in a house I own, I actually have worries about having money to pay the bills. A raise coming at work makes me feel a bit better but I definitely have credit card debt I’m just waiting to pay til the money comes in, which is new for me.
Wealthy parents. I have had such a big net below me to fall in. I failed a study once and now I'm still able to attempt another and then study more after that. Insanely grateful
Debt. Getting a loan for a $45+ car is super easy actually. You’d probably be surprised how many of those people have less than $1000 to their name.
To start, I came from poverty. I joined the US Navy at 17 years old in 2012 with a 14k enlistment bonus (it's up to 40k now). At 19 years old I reenlisted for 100k bonus. I used some of the money to purchase my first home and from there invested heavily in real estate (rentals). The rest is history, made a big amount of money with minimal effort and eventually started buying stocks. My best buys were Tesla, Microsoft, and dogecoin. I'm 26 now and I just bought my 4th house.
In short, i joined the military and was responsible with my money and now I have more money than I can reasonably spend and I am very content in life.
Getting a job in tech can be lucrative
Yes. Being from Seattle, tech office workers are paid absolutely obscene amounts of money, while the people in the warehouses and delivery (read: those who make it all possible) can't afford to live in the city and are further exploited by other gig-economy tech giants to meet their financial needs.
I can definetly relate that what you’re saying. I think one thing to keep in mind is you don’t see the behind the scenes. These people might drive nice cars and eat out all the time, but they probably don’t have any savings as they most likely blow all their money immediately. Also keep in mind that many people probably do many activities in one day, but spread out the pictures they took over a week online. So it looks like everyday their doing something else but they might all just be pictures from one night.
A younger bloke (28, I'm 41) who works with me (lets call him Dave) always comes in with designer clothing and drives a quite new BMW. It always confused me how he afforded all this stuff as he earns less than me and I certainly couldn't buy all the stuff he does. Then on a work night out (which he also attended) I happened to notice he had been nursing the same pint of beer for well over an hour. I asked another colleague (who knows him better than me) why Dave wasn't drinking. He laughed and said "because he can't afford it". The colleague went on to explain he lives at home and his parents don't charge him any upkeep. Also he was financed up to his eyeballs for the car he drives and was in huge credit card and loan debt and had zero savings and had no plans for any financially secure future. Basically something like 95% of his salary went towards the trinkets he buys simply to project an "image". So a lot of these people who, on social media and in real life, seem to be living an extravagant lifestyle are only able to do so by completely disregarding their future financial security just to project said image.
Sales. Great salespeople make great money
Until it dries up, and the commission checks shrink. Sales is a feast or famine gamble.
One thing about escaping the hood is to leave the resentment in the hood. Otherwise you've not really escaped. Don't bother measuring yourself with these folks and just accept the world isn't fair. Easier said than done, I know I've been there. Build your own world with what you have. That in itself is a luxury a lot of people do not get.
I don't know about other countries, but in the U.S., credit card companies start bombarding kids with credit card offers as soon as they turn 18. They all charge ridiculously high interest rates, but the minimum monthly payment is low enough that people can just keep racking up more and more debt every month. And as long as they keep making their monthly payments, they'll keep getting offers in the mail for more credit cards. People end up with tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt that they'll probably never be able to pay off.
Even worse is when these kids eventually hit retirement age with nothing in the bank and no pension either...what then?
What is the point of these fancy material items? If people buy all these things they go in debt. You just dig yourself a deeper hole.
Hubby's parents were really well=off compared to 90% of Americans. He refused any help after college. (Note: No student debt was freaking well a huge bonus! even 30 years ago.) His siblings got everythign paid for till they were 35. THAT is how they "got ahead". Not hard work. Their dad's hard work and good luck. Living off Daddy till 35, even when married, etc. Different world from mine and Hubby's, and we're fine with that.
Umm is this thread just shaming kids?? and parents who are just trying there best?
One thing about escaping the hood is to leave the resentment in the hood. Otherwise you've not really escaped. Don't bother measuring yourself with these folks and just accept the world isn't fair. Easier said than done, I know I've been there. Build your own world with what you have. That in itself is a luxury a lot of people do not get.
I don't know about other countries, but in the U.S., credit card companies start bombarding kids with credit card offers as soon as they turn 18. They all charge ridiculously high interest rates, but the minimum monthly payment is low enough that people can just keep racking up more and more debt every month. And as long as they keep making their monthly payments, they'll keep getting offers in the mail for more credit cards. People end up with tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt that they'll probably never be able to pay off.
Even worse is when these kids eventually hit retirement age with nothing in the bank and no pension either...what then?
What is the point of these fancy material items? If people buy all these things they go in debt. You just dig yourself a deeper hole.
Hubby's parents were really well=off compared to 90% of Americans. He refused any help after college. (Note: No student debt was freaking well a huge bonus! even 30 years ago.) His siblings got everythign paid for till they were 35. THAT is how they "got ahead". Not hard work. Their dad's hard work and good luck. Living off Daddy till 35, even when married, etc. Different world from mine and Hubby's, and we're fine with that.
Umm is this thread just shaming kids?? and parents who are just trying there best?
