• SirSamuel@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    On Reddit there was a thread along the lines of “Millennials, what’s your retirement plans?” and the thread was locked with a message from a mod saying they had to shut the thread down because of all of the comments about suicide.

    Quite frankly, I get it.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      So much of it is just Boomers passing the buck with a “personal responsibility” trope that doesn’t pan out for anyone with even a modicum of misfortune. What are your real options?

      Age 10: Be in the top of your class. All of you. Everyone needs to be in the top 10% or you’re not allowed to go to a good high school / college

      Age 15: Have a job, but also dedicate all your time to studying, so you can save up to go to a good college. Also, don’t let your grades slip, even a little, because you all need to be in the top 10%.

      Age 20: Don’t take on any college debt. But go to a good school. But also hold down a part time job. But studying is a full time job, so make sure you’re getting As in all your classes. But take challenging classes, because no employer wants to see a bunch of fluff on your resume. But also join lots of clubs so you don’t look boring. And make sure you find a partner, so you can start spitting out babies before you turn 30!

      Age 25: Get an upwardly mobile job! Maybe even two jobs! And don’t you fucking dare live with your parents, you loser. Have a career and a partner and don’t forget your network is your networth, so make sure you do lots of socializing. But don’t get into debt! Just own a car and live in a nice apartment and go on lots of dates and earn lots of money and DON’T SPEND ANY OF IT WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!

      Age 30: Did you invest your savings? Pull out! Pull out! The current investments are all scams! You should do this other thing that’s much more lucrative instead. Real estate is a scam, do stocks! Stocks are a scam, do crypto! Crypto’s a scam, start your own business! Businesses regularly fail, what were you thinking?! You’re a homeowner now, right? Because real estate is about to go up astronomically.

      Age 35: Oh boy, hope you didn’t experience any amount of burnout, because this is the most critical point in your life for career growth. You’re already married and own a home and have at least six figures in the bank and own a car and have at least two kids by now, right? Because that’s what your employers are going to want to see before they give you a promotion.

      Age 40: How’s it going, buddy? Ready for retirement yet?

    • retrospectology@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Buy a small plot of undeveloped land in a swamp -> buy a pot -> cook soup in the pot -> repeat step 3 until dead

      Ambitious I know, but it’s important to have goals.

    • undergroundoverground@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Don’t forget the “I’m a millionaire and I was on my way to spend a billion dollars on my big business deal when I thought to take some time out from my 26 hour work days to tell you all that the reason other people can’t afford a good retirement plan is because they ALL suck. If you don’t beleive my claims of wealth and their suckyness, then its because you can’t handle reality” comments from a statistically improbable number of people.

      • SirSamuel@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Wouldn’t an economic incel be someone who lives on their parent’s dime and doesn’t really engage with the economy to any real degree? Someone who works, buys, but isn’t making a living wage isn’t an incel, they are being involuntarily screwed by society at large.

        I’m sure there’s a word for a person that’s being penetrated against their will…

  • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    Maybe if Peter was paid a living wage, had rent that wasn’t price fixed, wasn’t at the mercy of artificial inflation, could afford to buy a home without an outrageous interest rate, a retirement age and pension that could support his retirement, and had all the economical advantages the boomers had… he wouldn’t be in a bar drinking himself into an early grave.

    But, let’s blame Spider-Man.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      had all the economical advantages the boomers had

      Spiderman was born in the 50s. He absolutely got all the economic advantages the boomers had.

      • orrk@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        there is “easier” and then there is just mathematically impossible.

        a house used to be less than 5 times your yearly salary in any region, now we are looking at halt a million+

      • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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        6 months ago

        I just don’t want to participate in a society that literally doesn’t care about it’s future or it’s children enough to actually help them.

        It’s not giving up it’s just a refusal to add to the problem and fight against a community of individuals trying to take as much from everyone else as possible.

        And unfortunately that means dying young, poor, and unable to help myself.

    • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I hope this is a wakeup call.

      I had this call when I turned 30, and spent a long couple of years to finally get my shit together. Im nearing 40, got a family, retirement fund and feeling like I see a finish line.

      My buddy is the same age, and he’s still living paycheck to paycheck with roommates and recently asked me what a IRA was. I’m pretty sure I’m his retirement.

      • el_abuelo
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        6 months ago

        You can see the finish line at nearing 40? Man that’s a sad thought…what’s the point of life if you can see the end already?

  • Cracks_InTheWalls@sh.itjust.works
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    6 months ago

    I just turned 35 a couple of days ago, and this is currently on my mind. I need to make some serious changes, 40 cannot be the same as ages 25 to present.

    Like, not even talking financially (though that’d be nice) - I mean like finding people who aren’t family to hang out with once and a while, smoking less weed/other means of being clearer minded more often, broadening my horizons and participation in meatspace, that kind of thing.

      • Asafum@feddit.nl
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        6 months ago

        It’s a plan for yourself for where you want to be 5 years from now so you can figure out what you need to do to get there.

        I want to own a home, so my plan includes figuring out where I need to move to make that possible because where I live right now it’s literally impossible as a single person.

        • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          If you don’t mind living in the middle of nowhere, and you live in the US, save up for a mobile home. You can get a used one dirt cheap, (<$10,000 in most of the middle of the country,) and it will be perfectly functional. Look up land that is still covered by the homestead act, put the trailer on the closest available land. Fence off up to 500 acres, depending on jurisdiction, and improve the land for five years. Apply for a deed from the Federal Government. Enjoy your free land. Make sure you survey the land, not all of it is actually desirable.

          Edit: bonus if the land is forested. Get a chainsaw sawmill and build “additions” to your mobile home until the mobile home is no longer needed, and you have a house. Also clear at least 300 feet from your house in case of forest fires.

            • Seleni@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              The issue there is ‘middle of nowhere’. I remember in an episode of Top Gear they bought a house in Detroit for like $5000. But that was because it was in one of the worst parts of Detroit, which has virtually no jobs, no industry, and high crime rates.

              Houses are cheap where there’s nowhere to work nearby. Land is cheap if you want a 5-8 hour drive to the nearest store. So if you want to buy a house, you need a remote job. And you won’t even get that probably in the middle of nowhere unless you have Starlink.

  • Mister Neon@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I’m going to be 40 next year. My entire adult life was struggling to find stable work. I never had romance let alone a family to call my own. I’m so worried about the future and my age damning me to poverty.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Everything gets harder and social expectations on you just grow and grow. By your 40’s you’re expected to have a set of skills and work experience that would qualify you for being hired for specific roles and positions, so it’s hard as hell to get an entry-level job literally anywhere, when there are younger and more energetic people applying for the same positions, people who are willing to work for less and put up with more.

      Ageism is real and it’s everywhere and nobody really talks about it because everyone shares the same attitudes. It’s one of the last socially acceptable discriminations.

      • OsrsNeedsF2P
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        6 months ago

        If someone is willing to work for less and put up with more, that’s not ageism (as far as the law is concerned). Ageism is when the employer selects a younger person over an older person, due to their age, when both applicants agreed to work for and put up with the same amount

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          No, I’m saying that people see an older candidate and assume that they won’t be as willing to work for less as someone younger, it’s biases and it has a lot to do with age; employers select different demographics for different roles, because there are innate assumptions about what kind of hire someone will be based on their age. Older hires are more often brought in for specific skills and high-value type contributions, and younger candidates are generally assumed to be looking for that same experience and expecting to start lower on the chain.

  • LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    No worries, I found a way out of this conundrum, no savings or retirement needed… JUST GET CANCER & PERISH 😄👋