Wednesday 20 September 2017

"We didn't waste all our money on mobile 'phones. We rolled up our sleeves and paid off the mortgage."

From the Resolution Foundation report, emailed in by OnTheOtherHand:

Crucially, we show how barriers to entry have increased dramatically, not least from rising house prices: with the average young family today having to save for 19 years to accumulate enough for a typical deposit compared to just 3 years a generation ago, it is small wonder that home ownership rates have tumbled...

On average millennials spend 23 per cent of their income on housing compared to the 17 per cent baby boomers spent at the same age, and the 8 per cent of the silent generation [those born between 1926 and 1945].


The dig about mobile 'phones is stupid anyway. They keep inventing new stuff and making stuff cheaper, and people keep spending money on what's now available/affordable. From our grandparents or great-grandparents' point of view, the generations after them "wasted" their money on televisions, washing machines, fridges, cars, holidays abroad etc.

4 comments:

jack ketch said...

We didn't waste all our money on mobile phones.We rolled up our sleeves, daubed some placards and stood around a picket line brazier whinging.

Lola said...

My first 'econonic' argument was with my mother who said that fizzy lemonade was a soecial treat in her youth as it was costly. Ineed, quoth I but it is not now.

mombers said...

All these young people wasting their time developing 'apps' and other modern day goods and services when they should be in the famously labour intensive and value creating operation of rent collecting????

L fairfax said...

My wife is from Colombia and there young people have mobiles etc, they also can afford similar housing to their parents. In fact people looked at me if I was weird when I asked "Do you think your children will able to afford housing like yours?".("Of course " they said).
Sadly my experience is useless there.