re: The Average Retirement Savings By Age

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Our $100k home in 1996 is congruent with $250k home today at 3ish % inflation. However, the actual home price was $340k. I feel the point some are making about home affordability.

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Indeed. Except your daughter is Gen Z. Had she enjoyed the advantages of ZIRP that GenY did (the reason home prices escalated), the "algebra," would be VERY different for her.

The current market is tough though, and I'm not sure houses hold their prices at current levels, which is a double whammy for your daughter, unfortunately.

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Go to the poli board if you want to make things political and wrongly assume people’s political stances

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If you don't think "boomers stole our prosperity" is political, you are achingly clueless.

My son got married recently. Here’s what the whole wedding “process” cost, or at least the pieces that I have familiarity with:

- Engagement ring (3 carat) – $28K
- Engagement party, catering, alcohol, venue, DJ – $5K
- Wedding dress – $4K
- Total for bridal party dresses/tuxes – $7K
- Bachelor/bachelorette party (weekend in San Diego, rented beach house, day on yacht, in-house chef, alcohol) – $15K
- Rehearsal dinner catering and after-party and venue – $6.5K
- Wedding venue w/ catered reception – $22K
- Bride party-dress – $4K (custom made)
- After-after-party bus to night club + night club expenses – $3.5K
- Video and photography – $5K
- DJ – $1.7K
- Honeymoon (10 days in Greek resorts) – $13K

Total – $117K

When his mother and I got married in 1985, here’s what it cost:

- Engagement ring (.5 carat) – $1.5K
- No engagement party
- Wedding dress (wore her mother’s)
- Total for bridal party dresses/tuxes – don’t remember but it couldn’t have been much more than $1K
- Bachelor party was a kegger in the hills – maybe $200
- Bachelorette party – $200
- Got married in a church – $100
- Reception (church basement) – $700
- Honeymoon in Hawaii - $2K

Total – $5.7K which is $17K in today’s dollars

Millennials: “In 2026 dollars, it costs 5 times as much to get married today compared to when boomers got married. Boomers had everything handed to them. They stole our prosperity!”

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the low cost of home financing millennials enjoyed for the preceding decade, meaning home purchase was far less expensive than their 30 year comparator.

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This is huge! Very low cost of money mortgages tends to be conveniently forgotten.

Our daughter (Gen Z) got hit with high housing prices and high(er) cost of mortgages. Still achieved ownership through lifestyle adjustment to build down payment.

The breakeven of home ownership and renting was questionable. In hindsight, so glad they now own. There are some amazing real estate investments being made around them. They should experience significant home appreciation in next 3-5 years.

Housing is a tough one nowadays. Daughter and SIL now own and are living 90% of means, emergency fund properly filled and are actively investing in their 401ks. Proud of them! Where there is a will, many times there is a way (blessings are counted in here).

Whining about it just gets in the way.

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Total – $117K

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Hope you didn't pay a penny for that

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No, your son just paid out the arse for their wedding shite tier comparison and outing your parenting

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I didn't say anything about who paid.

And the argument I make in that post is 100% the same argument you self-identifying conservatives make about housing (one example) when you're toeing the Leftist line on this topic.

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Sure people are doing more extravagant things but everything is way more expensive now than it was back then. The value of the dollar doesn’t come close to touching that difference.

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That goes to my point about priorities changing. David's son and bride prioritized the wedding and in the process spent more than enough to put a 20% down payment on a half million dollar home. They aren't the only ones. I don't know if they will now complain about not being able to afford a home, but sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

My daughter is 26. She's venting, but she's only 26. She's saving money, and she'll get there eventually. She may end up getting a condo, to start with. That's fine for a single woman.

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She may end up getting a condo, to start with. That's fine for a single woman.

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Buying a home is tough.
It is exponentially more difficult for a single person.

Good luck to her. I hope she reaches her dreams.