I’ve spent the last few weeks seeing my two aunts post on Facebook about their lovely week + long vacations in foreign countries. They’re 72 and 77, both were school teachers that retired at 60ish with an amazing pension. One is unmarried with no kids, one is married with one kid and no grandchildren. They went to community college 50+ years ago, my grandparents barley made any money. My grandma never even learned how to drive. But they have enough to take multiple vacations every year and lease/buy a new car every few years.
I’m 24. I moved across the country during the pandemic because I had a chance to pursue a dream job in an art field. It’s not like I expect handouts from family or anything, but they genuinely have no idea how expensive it is just to survive rn. My fiancé and I share a two bedroom with a roommate, my rent this month was still $580. I’m a manager at a grocery store and make $1000 every two weeks.
They literally think I’m not saving on purpose and pissing away money. In order to get my dream job, I have to pay a $1,700 fee to join a union first. If I’m able to save even $100 from one paycheck I’m lucky. God forbid I try to buy a house someday or something. If I could’ve made the kind of money they did back in the 70s, I would’ve just been an art teacher.