Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

boston.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 147 posts

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#81

Post by dpark »

charlesdm wrote: post #66
reloop wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To keep it polite and short, that's really not how the world works anymore. These days your (at least financial) success in life is very much correlated with the wealth of your parents. If you're from Sweden (as your username would indicate) you can take Stockholm as an example. My non-independent friend (and their parents) there are millionaires from housing appreciation and savings, while my independent friends are…

Just because you inherit some capital doesn't mean you are actually able to use it to make more. Actually, most people can't, meaning the only thing they can do is spend it. How pathetic is that? If you count success in life as buying a house with money you were given, great. But that isn't success. I don't even know what that is honestly. The middle class is disappearing. Either you know how to make money (and that'…

> Just because you inherit some capital doesn't mean you are actually able to use it to make more. Actually, most people can't, meaning the only thing they can do is spend it

It really depends on how much you inherit. If you inherit a million dollars, yeah, it's easy to spend it all. If you inherit a billion, it's not hard to sit on that money and live off a fraction of the earnings. Which is why major familial wealth tends to stick around for generations. (That and the connections that major wealth can provide.)

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#82

Post by dpark »

charlesdm wrote: post #80
dpark wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your wealth has always been highly correlated with your parents' wealth. The fact that you think this is a new development makes it look like your worldview is really narrow. If anything the correlation has weakened significantly over time.

Very true. An extreme example: as someone who knows someone who is part of the aristocracy, it is mind blowing how some of these families have held onto wealth generated from massive plots of land they acquired in the 12th century (or earlier). BUT: there has never been an easier time in history for someone to make money on their own.

Yep. Competent aristocratic families seem to mostly maintain existing wealth. You don't need to earn when you have wealth to support your family for generations hence. You just need to not be incompetent.

Edit: I fully agree that it's easier than ever to build wealth from limited means.

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#83

Post by ClassyJacket »

qstyk wrote: post #76

If you were taking a woman on a date to a place where women are objectified, I'd be open to the possibility that money isn't your only obstacle.

I was not taking a woman on a date to a place where women are objectified, and I didn't say that I was. She and her friends (women) decided to go to a strip club, and invited me at the last second.

How could you POSSIBLY have interpreted what I said as that it was my idea to go there, let alone that it was a date? You've also assumed it was a strip club of only females.

Regardless, I'd be open to the possibility that you should mind your own damn business. Nobody involved cares for you to judge them for their job or the way they express their sexuality.

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#84

Post by johnchristopher »

KurtMueller wrote: post #75
johnchristopher wrote: post #2

Been there. As one of the 20-something whose parents didn't help with the rent. Two consequences: - really tough discussions with some friends and acquaintances once I realised their parents heavily subsidized their way of life while they were putting the social persona of young working adult being independent and nagging me about when I was going to buy my first car or why I was always the one who made it through th…

> really hard to move up in the adequate social circles and no care-free attitude which led to a much harder job hunt, grimmer prospects in relationships (partly cost me the love of my life) and way too much stress to be healthy Seems like s/he's not actually the love of your life if s/he's willing to ditch you because of lack of money.

More complicated than that. I held out on some common projects because money was a concern for me. At some point it's straining the relationship and the capacity to project ourselves in the future. Which sucks the life out of the party after some time.

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#85

Post by ClassyJacket »

charlesdm wrote: post #73
ClassyJacket wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"grimmer prospects in relationships (partly cost me the love of my life) " I'm sorry for that. I can sympathize slightly. Rich people really don't get it. Yeah. Me last week on the way to a strip club: 'Who's paying for this taxi? Are we going far? Do we have to pay to get in?' Fried (girl I ALMOST dated): 'Oh my god you're SO cheap, you're such a killjoy, just stop worrying about the money blah blah blah.' Yeah, I p…

Screw working for someone? This personally took me a while realise: the world does not owe you anything. Start making your own way.

Can you quote the part where I said that?

What I said was:

"Seriously, screw Melbourne house prices and screw the politicians and lazy rich leeches that made it this way".

I think it's pretty clear I'm talking about housing prices being driven up by laws that favour the rich, and landlords who buy up houses, contributing nothing to society.

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#86

Post by charlesdm »

dpark wrote: post #81
charlesdm wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because you inherit some capital doesn't mean you are actually able to use it to make more. Actually, most people can't, meaning the only thing they can do is spend it. How pathetic is that? If you count success in life as buying a house with money you were given, great. But that isn't success. I don't even know what that is honestly. The middle class is disappearing. Either you know how to make money (and that'…

> Just because you inherit some capital doesn't mean you are actually able to use it to make more. Actually, most people can't, meaning the only thing they can do is spend it It really depends on how much you inherit. If you inherit a million dollars, yeah, it's easy to spend it all. If you inherit a billion, it's not hard to sit on that money and live off a fraction of the earnings. Which is why major familial wealt…

Sure. But not many people in the world are worth a billion. There aren’t THAT many UHNWIs globally (~187k). But there are a lot of millionaires.

My personal opinion is that most people should be able to make $100-200k on their own online, doing something they love. If you actually start looking with what people are making money with, it's pretty interesting. This can range from a recipe subscription to a newsletter, or something completely different.

Will it be easy? No. Will you be able to live a free life? Yep.

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#87

Post by charlesdm »

dpark wrote: post #82
charlesdm wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true. An extreme example: as someone who knows someone who is part of the aristocracy, it is mind blowing how some of these families have held onto wealth generated from massive plots of land they acquired in the 12th century (or earlier). BUT: there has never been an easier time in history for someone to make money on their own.

Yep. Competent aristocratic families seem to mostly maintain existing wealth. You don't need to earn when you have wealth to support your family for generations hence. You just need to not be incompetent. Edit: I fully agree that it's easier than ever to build wealth from limited means.

Yep, and that's what I love about software. If you build and sell something on your own, pretty much everything is profit. You don't have that in many industries.

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#88

Post by charlesdm »

ClassyJacket wrote: post #85
charlesdm wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Screw working for someone? This personally took me a while realise: the world does not owe you anything. Start making your own way.

Can you quote the part where I said that? What I said was: "Seriously, screw Melbourne house prices and screw the politicians and lazy rich leeches that made it this way". I think it's pretty clear I'm talking about housing prices being driven up by laws that favour the rich, and landlords who buy up houses, contributing nothing to society.

It was more of a question: Why don't you just screw working for someone?

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#89

Post by colanderman »

johnchristopher wrote: post #2

Been there. As one of the 20-something whose parents didn't help with the rent. Two consequences: - really tough discussions with some friends and acquaintances once I realised their parents heavily subsidized their way of life while they were putting the social persona of young working adult being independent and nagging me about when I was going to buy my first car or why I was always the one who made it through th…

> I don't blame people for being helped though, that's not my point.

One can always refuse help.

Re: A secret of many urban 20-somethings: Their parents help with the rent

#90

Post by nonsince »

It's disgusting that this is necessary. I'm outside the US and I've been financially independent since I was 20. My parents couldn't afford to pay for me much longer, and we're a not-bad-off white suburban family, about what americans would call "middle-class" I guess. I can't imagine how a poor family in the USA could hope to have social mobility with it being so necessary to have parents support you who might not even be able to support themselves.
Post reply on HN