Honestly, most of the time I feel out of place here. I'm a millennial, one that's been quite lucky in life. One could say privileged, but really, it's all been dumb luck. I have a great job, wife has a great job (both W2 corporate jobs, frontline, non management, so no hate please), and in general live a (mostly) frugal but enjoyable life with several kids. My kids are why I'm actually subbed to antiwork – things are going well for me personally, but I have definite concerns for my kid's futures…
My parents… well, they are the typical boomers. I love them, enjoy spending time with them, but sometimes… talking to them is frustrating. Right wing political advocates. Normally we don't talk politics, which lets us all get along great.
They came over today. Not unusual, every few weeks they stop by after they go to church. Everything is normal, until they mention they just inherited $500,000 from my Dad's parents, who recently passed away. Then ask what they should do with it. I give the typical “save it, take a vacation” and such type answer. Apparently nothing really applies to them. They have enough money saved up (well, more of they have multiple significant inflation adjusted pensions, but same point). They don't really need more for vacations they already have planned. They then proceed to ask what I would do with it. Queue typical “pay off house, put some in 529 for kids college fund, save the rest for our own retirement”. To which they say “yeah, none of that applies to us either. Maybe we'll just donate some it to the church, and think about what to spend the rest on”.
All of this, I truly didn't care. Their money, good for them. Even tolerated the repeated “we just don't know what we are going to do with all this money” for what felt like hours (really probably only 10 minutes). Really seemed like they just wanted to brag about it for some reason. But cool, whatever, probably safer and smarter to brag about it to me than their friends, so didn't care. Didn't really care, until the same jokes they alway make start back up, along the lines of “yeah we've just got to spend all of your inheritance, can't leave you anything lolz”.
After the inherited half a million from their own parents. Not even needing it.
WTF happened to that generation? I want to go to college, I have to pay for it (literally no support from them). I want to buy a house, I have to figure out downpayment. Pretty much as soon as I turn 18, I'm out of the house, on my own, have to figure things out. They are fine with visits, especially now that there are grandkids involved, but if I needed a place to stay between places back in college? Nah. Rack up college loans? Must be doing something wrong, they didn't need loans to go to college (guess why?).
Even with all of that, here I am, doing quite well, saving up for my kids college, still putting money away for retirement. Maybe can even “retire early”, if the healthcare system every gets unf**ked. Really, I don't want/need anything financially from them at this point. But then to find out their parents helped pay for their college, helped them with a down payment on their house, and now left them an insane inheritance. While they joke about how they definitely aren't going to do the same for their own kids?! Or grandkids even (really if they offered anything, I would just use it to fund each kids college fund anyway). But nah, can't do that, their advice is to let our kids figure out college on their own, and not provide any support for them.
Sorry, just needed to rant. That went a bit long… Something definitely went wrong between “the greatest generation” and us millennials to create such a selfish group of people :-/