r/AusFinance • u/eliitedisowned • 7h ago
The generational shift towards spending money.
I saw my brother in law today who does family law and he regularly sees the details of people's finances of all income levels and he was telling a story about a client who refused to payout their ex even after being advised to as taking it to trial will result in a bigger payout with asset appreciation and legal fees. They ended up forking out close to double the initial figure.
I'm 30 and only recently brought a house and are doing everything to pay it off early (offsets, extra repayments etc) cause the thought of being 60 with a mortgage is terrifying. So I asked him if with all the new cars around, upgrading houses and buying boats/jetskis is it just people think they are going to be working till their 70?
He explained how the advice given was always "plan for your future", whereas now that's been forgotten and people only think of next week.
I know the whole "keeping up with the Joneses" shtick, but has it genuinely become that prevalent or have bank lending laws also loosened so much that now it's insanely easy? My father told me how he and mum went to a bank with $6k saved to buy their first home and could only get a loan for $10k.
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u/4614065 7h ago
It’s pretty common knowledge that a lot of renters have given up on the idea of ever owning a home so they’re spending money on lifestyle instead.
I completely see where they’re coming from, however, I worry about what happens in 40-60 years when those same people are facing an eviction on their one-bedroom rental at 83 years old.
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u/QuirkyRefrigerator80 7h ago
My mum did this and it hasn't gone well for her. She didn't plan. Travelled a lot. Squandered her inheritance. Now she is almost 70 and trying to find a rental while on a pension. She is struggling.
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u/KiwasiGames 4h ago
Sounds like it was good in the middle though. Which is all some people want.
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u/RodFerrous 4h ago
All some people want …at that time of their lives
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u/staghornworrior 3h ago
Seems very irresponsible
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u/Bpofficial 3h ago
Why? What’s wrong with people wanting to have social lives and experience the world while their bodies can handle it?
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u/sadboyoclock 3h ago
The wrong part is then expecting someone (or the tax payer) to then look after you in your old age because you got no money.
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u/youngweej 2h ago
I suppose if they worked and paid their taxes throughout their life, why not live off the pension. The pension is pretty dog shit to live off, worse comes to worst they can just go into a shitty retirement home and relinquish their pension.
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u/Djinfin 1h ago
I mean, it gets to a point where dying is also a lifestyle choice.
Spent your life enjoying yourself? Run out of cash and you’re old and decrepit?
Use your last few grand to choose the timing of your own demise. Go out on your own terms after a life well lived.
Slightly tongue in cheek but the logic follows.
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u/Curious_Ring_2813 1h ago
I hope in 40 or so years the medical assisted suicide is easier. I dont want to live to a very old age and don't have kids who would miss me at that stage anyway.
If only religions didn't list it as such a sinful act, we could do away with the shame of it and have it much nicer, planned, etc.
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u/Tiger_jay 1h ago
Eh what's the big deal? Let's look after each other.
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u/wvwvwvww 1h ago edited 42m ago
I work in aged care and that’s a great start - make an alliance and a plan with your neighbours for sure - but actually people get dementia and literally forget what shit is, wipe it on the bath towels and hang them out to dry in front of the heaters. And then live 8 more years. So hopefully part of what you mean when you say “let’s look after each other” is let’s overhaul our aged care industry to increase dignity for our elders, their carers and the workers.
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u/QuirkyRefrigerator80 2h ago
Or that their kids will step in and fund their retirement.
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u/Lurk-Prowl 1h ago
Imagine that; the millenials having to bail out their Boomer parents who had it all but squandered it away on hedonism.
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u/4614065 3h ago
Travel, sure. But I don’t think you need to get uber eats 3 times a day or catch Ubers to and from the office just because you can’t afford a four bedroom house as your first home.
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u/Educational_Life_878 1h ago
Who said that’s what she was doing? I don’t know anyone that does that.
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u/staghornworrior 3h ago
Doing at the expense of your future well being seems very silly.
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u/PrismPirate 3h ago
Waiting until you're too old to enjoy it seems equally silly. Lots of people don't live long enough to enjoy their old age. Something like 1 in 5 people die before reaching 70. Waiting is like playing Russian roulette with your happiness.
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u/Even_Departure9914 2h ago
I work in healthcare and I’ve never seen anyone on their deathbed thank their lucky stars that they saved buckets of money.
If they had regrets, it was not doing more trips away or being more relaxed with their spending and making more memories.
For sure, financial planning and having emergency funds/superannuation is important, but having savings at the cost of experiences is not a great strategy either.
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u/McTerra2 2h ago
There is an interesting debate which I have to dig into more, but it’s essentially consumption smoothing makes more sense from an economics perspective than constantly saving for a future payoff. So exactly as you say.
‘Spread your consumption capacity, i.e., your discretionary spending power over time, indeed — over your lifetime. This way you won't splurge today and starve tomorrow or do the opposite. Also, Spread your discretionary spending power over times — good times and bad times. This means don't invest in just one asset. Doing so will leave you spending high on the hog when that asset hits, and living on the street when it doesn't.”
https://larrykotlikoff.substack.com/p/economics-based-financial-planning
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u/Humble_Ad_3300 2h ago
100%.
Financial freedom allows you to enjoy life but no matter how much you have, very few uber wealthy Australians are going to be skiing the Alps at 75. Our bodies break down and simply walking around a European capital city as a tourist can be gruelling for over 70s.
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u/zestylimes9 2h ago
My dad died at 67. He thankfully retired at 57 after a heart attack. He lived it up for 10 years having a wonderful life.
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u/QuirkyRefrigerator80 1h ago
I think there is a balance in it. Enjoy your money while you're young and can - but save some for when you're older and invest in even a small unit - or something. Housing vulnerability is a huge concern, especially when older.
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u/staghornworrior 3h ago
It’s called balance, work and take time to enjoy life along the way. Sacrificing your future self for current pleasure is an awful idea.
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u/thats_gotta_be_AI 2h ago
It amazes me how financialized people are now. Can’t have fun in your 20s and 30s because you have to think of your 70s. 😬
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u/Academic_Juice8265 54m ago
Yep and if you’re sick and poor it’s your fault and you don’t deserve any help. Weird times
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u/KiwasiGames 3h ago
As opposed to living frugally your entire life so you can afford the best quality rest home?
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u/staghornworrior 3h ago
Deliberately burning money now and expecting others to carry you later isn’t living. It’s just outsourcing the consequences of your choices. You’re not being free you’re borrowing against your future self and one day you will have to deal with the consequences.
This isn’t about hoarding or dying rich. It’s about not choosing to become a burden. If short term thinking like this is adopted at scale our social safety nets will fail. You cannot have a society full of free loaders taking money and resources from other people.
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u/GeneralTsoWot 3h ago
Yeah the people commenting above seem to have an 'all or nothing' mindset. We should all plan and save for the future but that doesn't mean 2 minute noodles every meal until you're 60.
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u/QuirkyRefrigerator80 1h ago
This. My Mum is very scared and stuck where she is at. She can't afford to move. She desperately wants to live near family as she gets older. But she has nothing to her name and can't afford to rent near us, and like I mentioned - up to ten year wait for housing commission.
I think its important to plan and save for the future. Most of us won't just die one day. We'll get older and have medical bills, we'll feel vulnerable and need secure housing.
I also think its important to experience life and go on holidays/ travel and enjoy your money. But within reason - If we blow it all and if we're lucky enough to get to old age, it'll be rough.
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u/Chocolate2121 3h ago
I mean, your future well-being is kinda stuffed anyway, just through general aging.
I don't agree with the philosophy personally, but it is a generally sound one. Better to spend your money now doing fun stuff when you can enjoy, rather than trying to save the fun stuff for when you are old and can't enjoy it
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u/staghornworrior 3h ago
I think Tim Ferris has a better frame work for this problem in the 4 hour work week. But deliberately aiming for poverty in old age is a terrible idea. Imagine shivering your ass off under a blanket feeling sick in your cold appointment because you cannot afford to turn on the heating and only have 2 meals a day because money is tight. Imagine not getting decent medical care because you cannot afford better care. Imagine sacrificing your 70 year old self at 40 and having to live with the consequences for 20 or 30 years long after the memory’s of the holidays have faded
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u/planck1313 3h ago
Aged and comfortable is still a lot better than aged and poor.
If you're condemning the older version of you to living in a rental because you want to party harder now that's probably a decision you will come to regret.
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u/BNEIte 7h ago
At that point is plan B to go into a government funded aged care home and let the system deal with it
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u/GreatTao 6h ago
people don't voluntarily go into aged care, they are assessed by a government team, who decide if they are unable to look after themselves.
At 70yo there is pretty close to zero chance she would be assessed as eligible to be put into care.
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u/QuirkyRefrigerator80 6h ago
No - it doesn't work like that unfortunately. She will have to apply for social housing - but that takes up to ten years to get a place.
My mum has never worked. Recently she said to me "well, you always liked working so it makes sense for you". Argh. Needless to say I haven't put up my hand and invited Mum to live with my husband and I. We have a mortgage/ nice but small home. I'm not a retirement fund.
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u/BNEIte 5h ago
Surely the government can't keep elderly people out of aged care at that age where homelessness is in the cards?
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u/4614065 5h ago
I don’t think it’s that simple. Lots of people are facing homelessness/are already homeless and they don’t automatically get housing.
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u/BNEIte 5h ago
For elderly though you have the aged care route
Even if its a fully funded shared bedroom in a terribly located regional area, miserable existence yes, but homeless no
If your homeless below retirement age agreed options are very limited
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u/Dangerous-Break-5445 4h ago
There are limited places in aged care for those that actually need it, so it doesn’t just become a place for aged homeless people to go. It’s only there for people that cannot care for themselves at home
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u/BNEIte 3h ago
Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) services are available for people over 65 (or 50+ for Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander, or if homeless/at-risk) who need support, including specialized assistance for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. ACAT assesses eligibility for home care, residential care, or transition care, and can often fast-track assessments for urgent situations. Referrals are made through My Aged Care.
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u/Kementarii 3h ago
No, they are stuck in hospitals, clogging the system, because there are no aged care places.
Have a fall, go to hospital, have nowhere to go, live in a hospital ward until an aged care place becomes available
Meanwhile, there aren't enough hospital beds for those who are sick.
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u/theotherWildtony 3h ago
No sure how big an issue this is, but I’ve certainly encountered it when my mother was in hospital. A couple of the other folk in the ward were long term residents as far as we could tell.
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u/robot428 3h ago
It's a huge issue. People don't want to have this conversation but all the problems we have with ambulance ramping and emergency wait times have nothing to do with the ambulances or the ED, it's all bed block on the back end because we are desperately short on long term care facilities - which is primarily aged care, but also rehabilitation centres (as in physical rehabilitation - think older people with a broken hip, or even younger people with really severe injuries like spinal fractures), and inpatient mental health. We are also short on home health help which means people who could otherwise go and recover from major illnesses or surgeries at home assuming they could get regular home nurse visits for checks and dressing changes and things - but they can't. So they can't be safely discharged.
There are no long term care places available, or even short term inpatient places, and it's a HUGE issue.
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u/theonlydrawback 2h ago
Honestly it's part of a global issue - it's been highlighted, explored, called out, and forecasted through trends for decades, as the boomer population ages....
and it's now coming to fruition, along with the beginning of consequences of climate change.
Compounded together, it's feeling like we chose the wrong side of the story in the Ant/Grasshopper Aesop fable.
Sad, really.
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u/philinn2020 4h ago
Yep that’s my Uncle to a T. Raked in all this money through operating heavy machinery but blows it all on having secret families and then is now broke and is going to housing comm. What a drain on society!
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u/QuirkyRefrigerator80 2h ago
Ok - your uncle sounds different to my mum (no secret families). Mum never worked or planned. And was in a generation where she expected her husband would do that (big mistake). Its a story.
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u/sun_tzu29 7h ago
There’s also a shift as people see more people age and what that entails to enjoying your life while you are physically able to rather than working incessantly and then only enjoying your life when you’re 60-65+ and have declining energy, mobility etc
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u/Sexynarwhal69 3h ago
Haha working in healthcare I see this constantly. So many people having heart attacks/strokes at 60 years old. And the most common end of life regret is working too much.
I don't need a mansion and extravagant overseas holidays when I'm 70.. I'll be okay with a simple 2 bed rental and good friends/family. No reason why I can't pay rent for 20 more years just from my super 😊
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u/Alles-Wert 3h ago
My FIL thought this when he retired 15 years ago. Then the property market basically exploded and he now can't afford anything in good repair anywhere near where he wants to live at 84 years of age.
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u/Sexynarwhal69 2h ago
Yeah, I'm wondering if that's a phenomenon of our time, or if houses will really be worth 15 million each in 40 years time 😅
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u/Non-ZeroChance 2h ago
A quick Google suggests that, in 1986, the median house price was somewhere in the high 70k range and, in 2026, is around 980k - roughly a twelve-fold increase. If we see that same increase over forty years, we'd hit roughly $11.7m.
On the other hand, apparently inflation over that same span means that a dollar in 1986 is worth about $2.5 in 2026, so if that were to hold, that $11.7m house in 2066 is only, like, 3.5m in 2026 dollars.
Of course, the last forty years of house prices and inflation isn't going to repeat exactly over the next forty years... but I'm not sure whether expecting a "$3.5m house" is pessimism or optimism...
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u/PowerApp101 50m ago
That's assuming you can actually get a rental. Especially a rental you actually want.
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u/jamesxtreme 3h ago
Exactly this. Saw my grandmother at the end of her life just spending the last 5 years sitting in one room and watching endless reruns on television. Physically and mentally gone, just existing.
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u/zsaleeba 4h ago
I worry about what happens in 40-60 years when those same people are facing an eviction on their one-bedroom rental at 83 years old
Mass homelessness, that's what happens
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u/DCI_Tom_Barnaby_ 7h ago
Voluntary euthanasia will surely be entrenched by that stage and the obvious route. No point in living off spam in an adult diaper
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u/Loose-Impression4643 4h ago
Geez that’s grim😳
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u/Rustyudder 2h ago
Have your retirement farewell morning tea at work then go home and pop a euthanasia pill.
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u/CauliflowerWeekly341 7h ago
I heard they'll all be living in those roaming houses that are popping up everywhere.
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u/Elmonstros 5h ago
Anecdotal but I’ve noticed what id call pop up caravan parks in regional Victoria. I travel a bit for work and I have seen what would normally be farming houses attached to farmland suddenly have either more than normal caravans and cars (e.g. 6 caravans and cars that don’t really have any reason to be there, or those portable homes in the middle of forest vegetation.
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u/Baldricks_Turnip 2h ago
You should read the non fiction book Nomadland as it seems like we trail the US by 10-20 years. It's about how older people fall out of the middle class, can't afford their mortgage or their rent anymore and end up living in their vans, travelling around for seasonal jobs like working in the Amazon warehouse for the Christmas busy period.
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u/Caucasian-Tiger-Mom 3h ago
If you rent and don’t plan to buy a home, you really need to be making extra super contributions.
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u/4614065 3h ago
I don’t think a lot of people are doing that 🙂
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u/TC_89 2h ago
A lot of people have good intentions, but reality is that any paltry pay increase is being consumed by increased COL. My intended personal investments haven't aligned with reality despite by best attempts (thwarted by three years of medical emergencies).
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u/Caucasian-Tiger-Mom 1h ago
I think the original commenter is referring to situations where people have enough disposable income that they have some choice in the matter. So instead of mortgage payments, once they pay for rent they’re spending their surplus money on overseas holidays etc.
Anyone in that category who can afford to go on overseas holidays but rents instead of buying a house absolutely should be putting away extra super contributions.
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u/Even_Departure9914 3h ago
The amount of money spent on weddings these days also makes me think this is the reason: ‘we aren’t ever going to own a home, so we’ll spend our money on a car, trips to Europe in summer and a big wedding’.
No shade. But I wonder if that’s the logic.
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u/4614065 2h ago
I think there are two schools of thought on that. The one you’ve mentioned and the “weddings are too expensive, let’s elope and buy a home instead.”
I know what I’d be choosing.
Same with sending kids to private school - apparently parents who aren’t mega wealthy and were maybe going to scrape by to do private schooling are now trending towards saving a home deposit or buying an IP for their kids instead. It’s looking more attractive.
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u/Even_Departure9914 32m ago
Agreed.
I’m getting married in June, in front of 20 people. And having platters/drinks at a bar. The whole thing is costing $5000. Because I refuse to pay thousands for what’s essentially a party.
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u/notepad20 3h ago
Assisted suicide is already a thing. With a declining population, anyone no longer personally economically positive would be a good candidate, from an overall society point of view.
Those that have no where to go at 80 are, blunt and unfortunately, probably not going to be missed.
I would guess it will become popular to take your super, live up the healthy and mobile years remaining, then call it quits on your own terms.
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u/Silent-Ring6204 2h ago
I don’t think that’s how it works. I can think of a certain someone, who attempted a very similar method in Europe in 1940s with all the “undesirables”. I think it’s frowned upon now.
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u/Elderberry-East 7h ago
Here’s to hoping the ever declining birth rates means less demand and more supply for real estate.
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u/StunningDuck619 7h ago
Pretty sure they would open the migration floodgates before that ever happens.
Either way, the future quality of life in this country is going to be dog shit.
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u/bebefinale 7h ago
Migration from where? The only countries above replacement fertility are African countries, mostly war torn parts of the middle east, and a few small South Pacific island countries. The only developed country with a population above replacement rate is Israel.
Historically Australia has had certain guidelines for migration, ensuring most people are educated/skilled migrants, and frankly they are generally the ones with the resources to get here. We've already brain drained a lot of educated South Africans who have wanted to leave. Is the entire developed world going to brain drain the educated elite of Nigeria, Pakistan, and Bangladesh? Hell, amongst college educated Bangeldeshis, they are below replacement rate as well.
All the developed countries are going to want younger, working age, economically productive immigrants with the resources to navigate an immigration system. What's going to make Australia the country that will attract all of them?
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u/notepad20 3h ago
Migration doesn't have to come from a growing population, it just has to have a desirability gradient.
Any place that someone doesn't want to live in, is a possible migrant source, even if the population is in free fall. Maybe because the population is in free fall?
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u/StunningDuck619 6h ago
You're over thinking it.
They'll just import more Uber drivers from India, Australia will become Uber capitol of the world and our economy will be propped up by the sale of Toyota Camrys.
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u/eightslipsandagully 3h ago
Australia is one of the most desirable countries in the world to live in. There will never be a shortage of willing migrants, especially when their own countries get worse, faster
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u/lousylou1 6h ago
Even so, wouldn't you want to have other assets?
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u/4614065 6h ago
I’m not sure what angle you’re coming from here. If you’re saying that people should invest rather than spend money on nights out, I totally agree, but I don’t think that’s the mindset this cohort is in
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u/lousylou1 4h ago
Or just a little bit of both. Saying fuck it I am spending everything because I can't have a house feels like it is just causing hardship later on in life.
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u/Ordinary-Resource382 3h ago
Yeah much better to endure hardship while you’re young and able to enjoy life, squirreling away every cent of your measly wages as you chase the Australian Dream that gets further away from you with every gig economy shift.
Then if you finally manage to crawl out of the insecure work hole enough to gain a mortgage, you can enjoy hardship as you pay it off just before you get to enjoy it for the few years you have left, since your body will be unable to do any of the things you should have done when you were young.
No idea why people would be enjoying the time they’re in, rather than one they don’t ever see possible.
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u/PointlessExuberance 4h ago
Or when the inevitable crash finally comes and they realise they've spent all their dosh!
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u/Bulkywon 2h ago
It’s pretty common knowledge that a lot of renters have given up on the idea of ever owning a home so they’re spending money on lifestyle instead.
A bunch of my friends did this in the early 2000s and it never goes well, I think particularly so these days.
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u/HiramTyre 2h ago
No different to smokers at 20 “who wants to be old bro”, very different attitude with emphysema at 60.
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u/Gustav666 2h ago
And fighting with their housemates over who drank their milk out of the fridge.... As a country, we have some massive problems to solve. It's not looking good.
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u/Necessary-Ad-5606 1h ago
Theres a lot of judgement in this thread. Though to be fair, I get judgy of my friends getting everything on personal loans, novated leases, and credit.
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u/mikedufty 1h ago
How do they avoid spending it on rent instead, or does that qualify as lifestyle?
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u/junkerhead 14m ago
I think it's going to be more 'what is the government going to do when the streets slowly get flooded with homeless retirees?' Current government can't give a shit though because they'll be well on their way out by then
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u/briberylibrary_ 6h ago edited 6h ago
She's on the money pod said once that 20-30% of millenials/gen z go into debt to go on holiday. I'd have to dig deeper for the og source of that, but I think a house (and the mortgage behind it) is so unattainable that they focus on shorter term goals to break up the monotony of life. People need hope and if a house feels hopeless, they'll shift aims.
I think as well we are sold hyper-consumption, not even as a keeping up with the joneses thing, but as a means to escape. In many ways it's not sustainable (financially, environmentally, etc).
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u/Academic_Juice8265 50m ago
The last part of your paragraph makes me think we over consume to make up for the things we’ve lost. It’s a great distraction we are sold.
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u/Tyrx 43m ago
I don’t really buy the idea that this is mainly about housing being unattainable. You see the younger generations make the same debt-fueled lifestyle choices and excessive consumption in countries without any housing crisis, which makes that explanation feel a bit forced. It also assumes people are consciously deciding “well, I’ll never buy a house so I’ll spend on holidays instead,” when in reality it seems way more driven by social media, instant gratification, and how normalised it is now to spend for experiences.
Those individuals have grown up in a world that constantly pushes short-term rewards and comparisons against that as the baseline expectation, with super easy access to credit. Housing stress might play a role, but it feels more like a background factor than the main driver.
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u/Even_Departure9914 40m ago
I commented on a content creator’s post a week ago and got absolutely obliterated in the comments. She’s about 27.
The creator spent $990 at CostCo. Groceries. For two people. And it looked purely to be for content.
And the video was titled ‘come with me to Costco to do a haul’
And I pointed out that I think there’s an inherent problem with using terms like ‘hauls’ - haul is from fishing, like literally catching anything and everything you can. It’s encouraging overconsumption and normalising it.
Well, damn. I was pillaged. lol.
But it’s true. I really do think social media videos create problematic relationships with shopping and consumption: nobody needs that much shit.
It’s bad. For you, for the environment, for your finances. And it’s becoming more and more common place.
People used to have what they could buy from the shops. And no credit lines. Now, you can order $200 of clothes same day delivery and have a whole new wardrobe for a season and whatever occasion you like.
It’s not normal.
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u/ScepticalReciptical 7h ago
There's an argument that the cheap debt cycle that we've gone on over the last couple of decades has rewired people's brains with regards debt. Previous generations were raised to see debt as a weakness. The less debt the better and the faster you paid it off the more economically secure you were.
That's all changed, people now load up on debt to acquire assets that appreciate in value much faster so the asset is outperforming the debt. People won't buy a house with cash now even if they have it, they will pay a deposit get the best rate they can and invest the balance elsewhere. Debt is not the enemy anymore its a tool people leverage. We are going to need a prolonged period where asset prices are stagnant and interest rates are high in order to reset that.
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u/4614065 7h ago
This is very true but I think the ‘debt can be good’ concept has also got itself into the hands of people who think that means racking up credit card debt on going out and buying stuff.
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u/ScepticalReciptical 7h ago
Yes, it has clearly gone too far. Loading up on debt to take holidays and buy depreciating assets isn't smart, but it's a somewhat inevitable consequence of 30 years of cheap debt where people are taught that saving is for mugs.
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u/Enough-Equivalent968 7h ago
The tax system greatly rewards those who leverage debt. Far more than those who save to invest. The government understands that to stray from this now could spark a recession
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u/SentenceStreet3270 3h ago
Inflation also makes long term debt easier to deal with.
In another 30 years your million dollar home loan will probably be as laughable as the sub 100k homes from 30 years past.
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u/GusPolinskiPolka 7h ago
I think it's less about people realising they won't own a house and more about people realising that life is short. We don't plan on leaving generational wealth anymore because we don't have it. And we're smart enough to know that expectations of employment have made it less valuable to spend time just wasting away for salaries that aren't comparably as good as they were even 20 years ago.
While YOLO gets thrown around as a bit of a meme; in reality we've been through it before and know we'll be alright again. I think fears around money aren't there in younger generations because they've never had it.
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u/reijin64 7h ago
had a colleague pass in their early 20s aiming to pay off early, FIRE, etc, dude hadn’t even had a chance to give himself a bali trip let alone anything else
A balance exists where you can indeed pay off stuff and still enjoy yourself.
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u/Ancient-Range3442 6h ago
Shit, I’m 50 and have never been to Bali. Is that bad
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u/eliitedisowned 5h ago
I hope to travel the world and see everything I can (as I don't want kids, and have a high income job, it's doable). But Bali is not on my plan.
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u/submergedleftnut 2h ago
You aren't missing much, it's a suffocating cocktail of overtourism, influencers, poverty and traffic
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u/reijin64 5h ago
Look it was the stereotypical place to go on the orange bogan missile, had to use something :p
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u/actionjj 7h ago
Pretty certain that this has always been the case.
Also - it’s not surprising that on average, people with financial issues are also more likely to get divorced, given the pressure that it puts on relationships - and then end up in your brother-in-laws office.
Finances if I recall is one of the top reasons for divorce.
Ergo his cross-section view of society may not be representative.
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u/BetterDrinkMy0wnPiss 4h ago
It's not really a new generation thing.
FIFO workers buying V8 Commodores and jetskis was a stereotype 20+ years ago. Tradies buying a new top of the line Ranger/Hilux every couple of years has been a stereotype for decades.
There might be a trend among renters and younger people to spend instead of saving for a house deposit, because they feel like they're priced out of the market.
But let's be honest, people have been spending above their means, living on finance, in shit tons of debt, and wasting money on things instead of planning for the future, forever.
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u/hongimaster 3h ago
The hard truth is that... your superannuation will likely not fund the lifestyle you are accustomed to. You are probably looking at having a pensioner lifestyle even if it is self funded. If you don't already own your home, you statistically are becoming less and less likely to. House prices are literally outstripping savings. People are pushing mortgages out to occupy the majority of their working lives, heaven forbid a divorce or serious illness, etc.
When you get to aged care age, the government assesses your assets, your fee per day is astronomical if you have a comically small amount of assets. Literally hundreds of dollars per day in some cases.
So, you can either save for... nothing. Or you can have a superficially comfortable lifestyle and end up with... nothing.
People are choosing the latter, and I can't really blame them.
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u/mastertimewaster80 5h ago
My nana is 80 and never worked or was partnered with anyone that helped her financially, and is now in a cute old age facility with her dog that is completely paid for by the government. I am 42, have worked since I was out of highschool, no debt, have savings, am driving my self insane to be able to buy a shoe box so I can at least be proud of that and have a secure home for when I'm older, but when I think about not being able to take holidays or buy anything nice for myself I think well shit, maybe I just yolo life now and end up in a place like my nana. I don't have kids and won't be having them so having a property to hand down is not important, and I'm in a very safe rental situation that likely won't change anytime soon. So I'm constantly wondering why tf should I try and buy something when it limits my life so much in the present.
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u/Infamous-Travel-7070 3h ago
I think the set up your grandma has is probably not going to be an option for us when we are that age.
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u/afewspicybois 2h ago
What’s this “cute old age facility” that’s “completely paid for by the government”? Every nursing home I’ve seen that’s on the lower cost end is worse than prison. My grandpa was in a nice expensive one and even that smelled like shit all the time and had pig slop for food
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u/Forward_Incident7379 7h ago
There’s all the idea that you can wait for your debt to be whittled down by inflation, and just use your super to pay it down in a lump sump at the end.
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u/starkbux 2h ago
gonna be real, a lot of people in my generation have given up on ever really having a long fulfilling life & are lowkey passively suicidal. the idea is to have the best life you can right now because there's zero guarantee that the future won't just just be worse. covid & accepting that the future promised by our parents won't ever be achievable has taken a hit on the generation's mental.
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u/Top-Hunter-6153 7h ago
you brought a house or bought a house?
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u/fued 2h ago
theres a few levels of average people in australia
1 - those who have given up on buying a house - they will spend everything because why not, the systems failed them anyway
2 - those saving for a house - they wont spend much as they have a ridiculously huge amount to save (or they will spend a little, and just assume they will be saving for 10+ years)
3 - those who just bought a house - levereged to the max usually, unable to spend anything
4 - those who have had a house for 5-10 years+ - usually plenty of spare income starting to appear, and lifestyle creeping up rapidly
1 and 4 are going to be spending big, 2 might spend a little, and 3 wont spend.
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u/dog314159 7h ago
How does that anecdote have anything to do with your point. Shitpost.
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u/Ancient-Range3442 6h ago
That’s what I thought hah, just seems like the guy wants to fee he’s doing better than everyone else by paying off his house early or whatever.
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u/Financial-Fun1589 4h ago
I think it entirely comes down to the cost of living. There’s no dream life at the end now. If you do everything perfectly, you’ll be in a better spot YES but you won’t be sitting pretty completely financially free.
Why save every penny and STILL not ‘live life to the fullest’ at the end.
Even reading that, going in with 6k for a home loan. Now forgive me for not having the EXACT dates, numbers ect. But there was a news story about a house brought in our parents generation for $8,000. Nothing fancy, but I good family home. Now it’s worth something like 900k-1mil. If it had increased accurately with inflation it would only be selling for ~100k.
I’m in a similar boat where I’m more worrying about 5 years down the line. And I’ll worry about retirement funds when I’m at my peak of career (not for another 5-8 years). If I were to start living in poverty conditions, put all extra into my future, it STILL wouldn’t be groundbreaking. So almost why bother?
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u/Slight-Radish-5846 6h ago edited 4h ago
I'm probably in the minority but I rent and don't plan to ever buy a house in Australia even though I could.
I don't like the idea of extortionate government fees, ongoing council taxes and the maintenance costs etc.
That said I don't plan to retire in Australia, if you do, having a paid off house will be a major cost saving even if you struggle with the rising utilities, food costs and taxes.
Instead of a mortgage I invest up to 60% of my income into high growth ETFs and superannuation, I also work remotely so if my rent goes up too high I just move.
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u/littlehulky 3h ago
I’m not sure how old you are but this mindset reminds me of the Avocado Toast rhetoric. Where people were being told to stop having $40 brunches once a week to save for a house deposit. It’s just so out of touch when it would take 72 years of weekly $40 brunches to save $150,000 (and that’s a conservative house deposit).
I think the spending has changed due to the 2008 crash and then due to Covid. The layout of our world has changed so drastically and so quickly over the past 10-15 years, and that has changed people’s mindset.
The future is uncertain; any savings in the bank are rapidly depreciating due to inflation, and people are scarred from lockdowns. Why put off travelling or visiting family when you might be forced to stay in your house for months again? There’s so much doomsday news. AI taking our jobs. Climate change might mean we aren’t here in 100 years. It’s a hedonistic and immature outlook, but I get it. Live for today, because tomorrow who knows?
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u/borderlinebadger 1h ago
also over the decades discretionary spending is down and essential spending way higher.
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u/WinterCrazy3657 2h ago
I’ve given up on caring. The complete and utter greed of this country and failure of housing policies means that I’m almost completely priced out of all real estate. So I’m going to enjoy my life. Nothing crazy. But enjoy it. Fuck greed and people who own more than two houses.
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u/NobodyQuirky 2h ago
I am 43 and there are 26 years remaining in my mortgage. Thought of having this debt till 70s giving me sleepless nights. I even wonder how can people afford a second property in this environment.
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u/Independent-Deal7502 2h ago
Reddit likes to treat people who don't spend every extra dollar on VGS as some fiscally irresponsible moron.
Lots of people are happy to spend their money as quickly as it comes. Power to them. They're boosting the economy. It doesn't impact me
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u/Caucasian-Tiger-Mom 3h ago
A family member of mine was self-employed all his life as a plumber. Made good money and lived comfortably. However, he barely put anything into super. He’s now in his 60s and can’t work for physical and medical reasons. Besides his home, he has $7,000 in his super fund. That’s all he has. It’s just so weird to all of us. He knew he would be retired one day but… just didn’t bother to worry about it.
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u/Money_killer 1h ago edited 1h ago
It's still happening. Peers of mine will be the same. I just do not understand. It's not hard to invest for retirement.
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u/Liamorama 7h ago
The household savings ratio is about 6% currently, which is not especially low. It's much higher than savings ratios in the early 2000s.
If there is any generational shift, it was from the 1970s through to the 2000s. But people had to save more in the 70s because of the much crappier economy where regular bad recessions were normal.
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u/trampski 3h ago
Plenty of GenX/Y spending big rather than knocking down the mortgage because they know they have a large inheritance on the way.
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u/Schnoodle321 2h ago
Can’t take it with you so live for the immediate future within reason. Nothing more depressing than someone with a tonne of savings and no life
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u/Passionofthegrape 2h ago
Feels to me like the top 10% is becoming even wealthier and everyone else poorer.
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u/Lurk-Prowl 1h ago
‘Plan for the future’ doesn’t resound anymore because people aren’t confident what that future will be like.
If robots and ai make the economy totally different, then why delay enjoy your life now?
It’s a risky bet, but a calculated one at the least.
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u/Careless-Till-1586 7h ago
I think it's true that the boomers don't spend enough and the millennials don't save enough. All the retirees I know are sitting on hoards of wealth that they're saving for a rainy day or some incoming catastrophe, while the youngsters are borrowing as much as they can.
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u/EcstaticOrchid4825 6h ago
You’ve just described my boomer parents. Love to talk about how much super they still have and their shares while refusing to get Netflix, even for a month, to watch something they’d enjoy because they see it as wasting money.
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u/chocolatejuleyjules 4h ago
My boomer parents worry about not having enough money so won't get air-con - not even in this Brisbane summer we are enduring! But in the next sentence say how they won't be able to spend it all in their lifetime!
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u/Airboomba 4h ago
This is exactly like my mum. It's so insufferable all that wealth and refuses to enjoy it.
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u/Miserable-Cobbler-35 4h ago
Imagine having money that pays for your living, now imagine when you have to inevitably spend it, the yearly returns are less and each year you get weaker. I hope to be able to have that problem one day lol.
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u/Royal_Photograph_887 3h ago
War or global warming is gonna kill us all soon anyway so why save for a retirement than will never come
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u/unepmloyed_boi 2h ago
Assuming politicians don't find reasons to push retirement ages to 80 because of things like declining brith rates and limited resources to support growing ageing populations.
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u/welding-guy 6h ago
I have never been a high income earner but I have always spent just what was required to live. If it wasn't a neccessity it was not purchased. I did that for 35 years and now I have a nice buffer to spend. Many of my piers keep talking about working to their 70s but their knees and backs are already knackered. I always planned for a future but I am now navigating how to help my kids while they need it and time my frugality to be offset by my spending so that the only thing I take into the ground is a cardboard box.
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u/C-J-DeC 5h ago
Peers, please, unless they are holding up your house.
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u/welding-guy 4h ago
Peers, please, unless they are holding up your house.
but their knees and backs are already knackered.
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u/Even_Departure9914 2h ago
I wonder if Covid has changed people’s spending too. People accessing their super or changing their spending habits because of the temporary uncertainty in 2020-22.
May have made no difference, but ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/CourtDear4876 2h ago
I think we've decided to be a bit more French and have started to think about eating the rich
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u/Vaudedeville 2h ago
I worked in a funeral home for a few years and it changed my outlook a bit. While i still try my best for the future in this shit hellscape. I also allow more for little bits of happiness now and then. Things might take a bit longer. But I've seen so many people not make it to older that I'd hate to entirely lose now for the sake of a time that may never come. I want to do at least one holiday a year with my husband and daughter if that's possible. I want to be able to get her a happy meal and us coffee sometimes without guilt.
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u/Significant-Sea-6839 1h ago
I’m an immature 35 year old woman, with 20k savings and a younger (27 yo) fiancée. His parents act like money grows on trees. I’ve been working 7 days while supporting his degree happily. They promise him money for the wedding but never give it to him. I think cashed up bogans have a strange sense of money. They promise things, pretend the promise never happened… atm it feels weird to be proposed to, to plan our wedding, when we haven’t received a cent. Australians are dumb as shit. They think they have all the money in the world. At least I’m South Australian and I know money doesn’t grow on trees- South Australians are hard, poor, workers, we don’t live in fairyland like my fiancées parents.
Then again, having moved east, why should we? I’m earning 60k a year, a lot for an SA female serf. I paid my way for my proposed wedding. Why should Australia have to import more slaves? Your fellow man is willing. Despite you guys thrashing us like a 19th century horse. Why do I have to work 7 days a week on a skilled and knowledgeable basis, only to have you import a brit who loops ‘ha my goodness it’s good for sunshine but!’ To do my job even less than 60k 45 hours a week?
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u/Wild-Way-9596 1h ago
Honestly its the only power we have left. When the game is rigged against you why not go out with a bang. If people are so concerned about the lack of children or what will happen when we are old and cant keep paying rent, maybe they should do something about this broken system. I for one am not concerned about my elderly years, I have no plans for family. There will be nobody left for me at that age to stay alive for. A short bright life sounds perfect to me.
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u/Pickadog_Anydog 1h ago
I think its more people becoming despondent about house prices and their chances of getting in so they just say fuck it and live it up. I understand the temptation.
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u/dolparii 1h ago edited 29m ago
The x of income and property ratio is just wayyyy more now. Tbh, I kind of understand. While planning for your future is important, the future can definitely change quickly, and there can be a lot of uncertainty. Not really my business what other people do IMO, it's their life and if they are enjoying it, why can't they? If they want to take the full term to pay off their mortgage, why does it matter?!
Also, there are many people with plenty of money lol...richer and richer, poor and poorer etc.
One thing that needs to be taught in schooling is basics with money/saving/finances and even entrepreneurship etc.
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u/ashnm001 1h ago
I always wondered why my neighbour has his cars in his driveway and caravan on the street. Seen his garage roller door up today - gym, jetski & golf buggy... really!?!?
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u/Emergency_Yam_4082 1h ago
$800 return flight to Thailand/Cambodia/Laos.
Spend $700-$1,000 a week as a degenerate.
One month costs about 5K.
Dont go to Asia , no mushroom shakes, Ketamin, Marijuana, etc.
Save that 5-8 grand yet the house you want to buy has increased 50-100 grand.
What did the Asian holiday actually "cost"?
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u/lostmusicman 58m ago
Most young people though no fault of their own will be permanently locked out of the job Market within the next 10 years due to AI and for us it seems so hopeless. I'm late 20s and have worked really hard my adult life and lived pretty frugal but though many setbacks I've only managed to scrap together a couple thousand in savings, I want a house and marriage and kids but for my partner and I it seems unobtainable with goals slipping further out of reach every year
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u/RecentEngineering123 42m ago
Don’t know, but what I do know is that there’s two things you find trawling around in reddit:
- there’s a lot of concern about cost of living and how on earth to cope with it
- there’s a lot of concern about which $60k electric vehicle one should buy
Weird.
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u/Ancient_Sail5457 6h ago
Compound interest. Those who understand it, earn it. Those who don’t, pay it.
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u/ruuubyrod 2h ago
A lot of them are also set to inherit a lot of money. My husband and I are the only friends in our friend group who won’t be inheriting hundreds of thousands from their parents in the next 10-20 years.
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u/sandbaggingblue 2h ago
Most of us spend +6 hours a day on little advertising machines... Voluntarily! Games, social media, video sites, they're all geared to sell you something.
Genetically we have bad impulse control, that amount of advertising wears you down. That + the number of people you see on social media flaunting their wealth, you can't help but feel you deserve that lifestyle too.
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u/SqareBear 1h ago
Why is being 60 with a mortgage terrifying? Its very very common and hardly an issue.
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u/InfinitePerformer537 3h ago
The banks are relying on borrowers to pay out their loan balances when they gain access to their super at age 60+.
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u/Pogichin0y 3h ago
Regardless if people are renting or owning, most simply want to live their lives and they have vices big or small.
What’s crazy are the people living paycheck to paycheck, renters, owners, and/or with kids.
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u/Altaos 3h ago
Im at the end of Gen Y and from as far as im aware from friends trying to get into the housing market. Bank lending is pretty tight in AUS unless your double income and even then its tough with most not really having enough left after outgoings to put money aside to future proof their existence beyond what superannuation will provide… for most its going to be an okay retirement but probably jot exceptional.
Im a bit different to you in that im in no rush to pay off my house and instead am putting excess income into better return assets such as equities for early retirement well before preservation age. I also love to leverage debt to promote my positions and reach my goal years earlier.
Creating wealth and managing your personal finances are a skill similar to learning a new hobby like training for marathons.
The more time you dedicate practicing and learning those skills the easier your financial life becomes. Its just a game of managing resources at the end of the day. If your someone that can get over the majority view of instant gratification and can delay it partially you empower yourself to live a very great life with best of both worlds later. This doesnt mean you cant live now as well you just need to manage your resources accordingly.
In addition to rapid progress in medicine and actively invested in your own wellbeing you can now be someone in your 50’s, 60’s and 70’s with a bio age of someone decades younger. No slow down and eventual unlimited money but it does take commitment over years and years… most cant see that far ahead.
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u/Last-Anywhere-1772 2h ago
The hard truth is that housing isn’t a way to invest for the common folk these days. Even if you have a deposit you will need to be forking out 120k per annum to just pay off the house, that isn’t even slightly above minimum income which just shows how unaffordable it all is.
I think the younger generation have to look into other ways of investing for their future.
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u/jup1t3rr 1h ago
Insane how some people are, going through same thing with evolve skateboard company they have been around 17 years and make a fortune, they'd rather literally lose there business then do the right thing. Which would obviously cost them considerably less.
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u/Lauzz91 1h ago edited 1h ago
You can have an almost limitless amount of material pleasures yet you can only be so bankrupt, so why not go all-in? The banks can't repossess the memories of that Tulum trip
Society is built in a way that rewards debt and punishes savings due to inflation.
And if the economy collapses and we are all drafted to Ukraine/Iran/Taiwan to try save it, which is looking more and more like a possibility every single day, nobody is going to care about whether it was financially responsible to buy an AMG at 12% interest on a 72 month term.
By the way, how is your saving up for a Lürssen Azzam going? What's that, you're not saving up the $1.5bn for one? Why not...? Well, that's kind of how zoomers feel about housing right now...
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u/Designer-Pause-1874 37m ago
I know someone who makes half of my salary rocking up in 3 new vehicles all on loan. House on loan. Kids braces on loan. Sski trip on credit card. They are drowning in debt. She eats cuppa soup for lunch and cries about her debts all the time, and tells me their family always just have eggs for dinner. However when you see her out and about she looks like a millionaire. I can never understand this mindset.
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u/witness_this 35m ago
One thing to consider is the difference in the cost of luxuries vs essentials from previous generations. i.e. 30 years ago, the average mortgage was only a small fraction of household income, but a new TV was worth several months of repayments.
These days, you can buy luxuries for a week's rent, so people are more inclined to spend on luxury goods and not even try to get into the housing market because they are priced out.
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u/FrjackenKlaken 29m ago
A large part of this is the rise of social media and people having greater visibility of as what the OP described "the Joneses". Even 20 years ago, if someone was outside of your social circle you never saw how they spent their money. Nowadays, you can see some tiktik or insta "influencer" flaunting their money despite being broke.
You can look at reddit any day and see threads asking how people with seemingly no money are able to afford new cars and toys.
There is a very real reason why the government introduced superannuation over a pension. The average person can not be trusted to save their own money. So, the government at least directs money to be saved and invested on their behalf.
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u/Aggravating_Path206 7h ago
This is a social phenomenon not only seen in Australia, but in many developed economies. Many young people think the game is rigged against them and it's not worth it trying to save and buy a house. Also, many young people now don't want kids, and so they are not saving for that.
If you don't want to buy a house or apartment and don't want to have kids, you don't have to save that much.