https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/comments/wyp44r/millennials_and_genz_cannot_afford_to_have/

60-plus comments so far.

One of the more popular comments:

KittiesB4Kids
"It's mind-blowing to me that in the fifties you could have a house and children on ONE income. I was born in 1987. I didn't go to college and therefore don't have student loan debt. I never wanted children and my husband is sterilized, thank God. We don'
t drink Starbucks or blow our money on alcohol or tattoos. We are trying to be frugal, but with inflation of everything and having car repairs, this is really tough on us. Education cost is through the roof. Housing costs, gas prices, grocery prices,
utility bills - everything is horrible. The boomers are saying we need to live simpler: not buy $800 phones and so many streaming services. Okay. Except literally our whole system is technology dependent. I don't agree with it, I think it's risky and
stupid, but it is what it is. We have to adapt to keep up. And I pay for Hulu and nothing else. And that doesn't change the fact that pay wages have NOT kept up with inflation. They had an easier path than us. Plain and simple.

"Basically you have to learn a sought after trade or get a CDL or you're screwed."

And the long response from bifuriouslypersist is even better:

" 1985 here, and even my single mother, poverty born and frugal, believes that bullshit line. She says 'what are you spending all of your money on???'

"I literally showed her my bank account. Gas, car payment (reasonable, and allllmost paid off... but also now about to be without a warranty), insurance, gas, rent, utilities, food, gas... school loan/medical bill payments, and also, gas. I wear my
clothes until they're shreds, my phone is 6yrs old, I don't wear makeup, get my nails done, and cut my own hair. I only buy Starbucks (drip, not fucking lattes) and cheap prepared food when I've been so busy working/stuck in traffic that I'm literally
starving and too exhausted to also go to the grocery store and make food that was just as expensive to buy and now I have to cook..."

(snip, but do read the rest, please!)

Me - I didn't actually post at Reddit; I never do:

I didn't even turn my heat on last winter, something that may well happen often, in the future, so my home gas bill was $200 for the whole YEAR. I don't have cable or my own computer, but there are 1,000s of free movies at the library (not to mention all
the free music). I use their free laptops as well, but I want to cut back on that. Screen time is depressing anyway, especially as you get older. I buy maybe $20 worth of clothing per year, at thrift stores and yard sales. I cut my own hair too.

I have only two current monthly expenses I could possibly cut back on - my landline and my sweet tooth (the latter costs me $20 a month or less - if I want a takeout meal, I cut back on sweets). However, aside from the much-appreciated security of a
landline, I like being able to keep my cell turned off 95% of the time, so it doesn't need much charging. For the most part, only telemarketers would call my cell anyway - and for that reason, it's not set up for voice mail, as my friends know, so of
course we have to rely on my landline. I carry my cell in public only when truly necessary and I use it at home for long-distance calls, since my landline no longer does that. (Not to mention that many - most? - employers aren't happy if they can't text
you for emergencies, at least.)

More advantages of landlines:

https://www.lpcconnect.net/landline-benefits/

And I still can't afford even a dog. Or a car. (Luckily, I don't need/want either.) At least, not if I want my savings account to increase every year instead of decreasing.

Btw, a neighbor's pickup truck was stolen a couple of weeks ago - I just found out. To me, that suggests a certain level of desperation - i.e., not something that some rotten teenager would do for fun.

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