Why boomers struggle to make sense of the millennial world – the ratios of prices for fundamental goods have changed radically

>When it comes to income and day-to-day spending, Jess lives like royalty compared to her mother. She earns more money, the price of food is effectively halved relative to her income, and the range of food available is unimaginable to someone in 1985. Jess’s clothes are cheaper and her house is filled with better appliances. Her electricity bill is slightly higher at £773 to Linda’s £640 but again that’s nothing compared to the rise in income. So far, Jess is on a completely different level.

>Until we get to housing.

Submission statement: This is an interesting post I ran across on substack, which breaks down why some boomers struggle to empathize with the economic realities of younger generations – the relative cost of many basic things have changed so dramatically. This article is UK-focused and so relies on British historical prices, but the principle is generally valid across much of the western world which has seen a decrease in the cost of food and consumer goods in tandem with a massive increase in the cost of housing. Seeing it in real prices is very stark.

For boomers, the message of “don’t eat out at expensive places for a year or two, and then you’ll be able to afford a house” is not some ridiculous sentiment. *It was the reality they lived*. They simply do not realize that reality is very different now.