Whatever happened to Generation X?

[brewer12345]

Shift from government/corporate pensions to 401k's and self-regulated savings... depending on your choices the outcomes can be vastly different.

Ah, never seen the word patriarchal in that context. Wondered if it was a political thing of some kind.

As far as all that goes, it would be nice if the boomers didn't break ss. After a lifetime of paying into the system the projections for when the reserve fund is empty are around when I am eligible.

 

[Music Lover]

I think that those of us at the tail end of the boomers (I was born in '62), for the most part are among the last of the DIY crowd. A lot of people my age still pride themselves on their DIY and handyman skills, but it doesn't seem that many younger people share that philosophy.

Part of it is that younger people grew up with more complicated products that aren't DIY friendly...cars are just one example. You can't fix something on your car with a few wrenches and a screwdriver any more, and most other products have some sort of electronic technology that when it fails, it can't be repaired. People grew up never having the opportunity to fix anything and so never learned how.

 

[Reach]

The "enjoy it all now" would be more in line with Boomers, not Mellennials. The young people I know are sceptical and cautious when it comes to financial matters. Much more so than even our generation was at that age.

That's good to hear and bodes well for them.

 

[MichaelB]

I think that those of us at the tail end of the boomers (I was born in '62), for the most part are among the last of the DIY crowd. A lot of people my age still pride themselves on their DIY and handyman skills, but it doesn't seem that many younger people share that philosophy.

Part of it is that younger people grew up with more complicated products that aren't DIY friendly...cars are just one example. You can't fix something on your car with a few wrenches and a screwdriver any more, and most other products have some sort of electronic technology that when it fails, it can't be repaired. People grew up never having the opportunity to fix anything and so never learned how.

A shrine in Japan is torn down and rebuilt every 20 years, one of the objective is to ensure that the building process & knowledge is learned by each new generation.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...very-20-years-for-the-past-millennium-575558/

 

[Reach]

I hear you!

BTW, I got back into this forum thanks the nice weekly newsletters listing current threads, which started showing up in my email. Don't know if that was a new feature, but I like it and this group.

 

[JoeWras]

I hear you!

BTW, I got back into this forum thanks the nice weekly newsletters listing current threads, which started showing up in my email. Don't know if that was a new feature, but I like it and this group.

Yes, the admins added the newsletter recently.

 

[happy2bretired]

I hear you!



BTW, I got back into this forum thanks the nice weekly newsletters listing current threads, which started showing up in my email. Don't know if that was a new feature, but I like it and this group.

Aww...powers that be... I unsubscribed. Can u put me back on?

 

[omni550]

Aww...powers that be... I unsubscribed. Can u put me back on?

On the ER.org home page, on the bar in the top section, you can go to "Quick Links">> "Edit Options" and check the box(es) you want.

omni

 

[Koogie]

On the ER.org home page, on the bar in the top section, you can go to "Quick Links">> "Edit Options" and check the box(es) you want.

omni

Son Of A Gun !!!!!!!!....

over a decade on this forum and I've never seen that edit preferences stuff hidden away there !!! .....

can you believe people have been thanking me for posts and I never got notice and therefore have been rudely not replying to them ?!!

can you believe i've said anything worthy of thanks... ha

 

[aja8888]

I think that those of us at the tail end of the boomers (I was born in '62), for the most part are among the last of the DIY crowd. A lot of people my age still pride themselves on their DIY and handyman skills, but it doesn't seem that many younger people share that philosophy.

Part of it is that younger people grew up with more complicated products that aren't DIY friendly...cars are just one example. You can't fix something on your car with a few wrenches and a screwdriver any more, and most other products have some sort of electronic technology that when it fails, it can't be repaired. People grew up never having the opportunity to fix anything and so never learned how.

Humans build the cars and components and humans fix them. It's just getting the techniques, tools and skills. I still fix our family's autos and seem to be able to do most everything. IC engines still have valves, pistons, crankshafts, cylinder heads, etc. The electronics are either sensors (emission control use) or circuit boards. Brake systems have become less complicated with disc and caliper design.

On small appliances and other solid state devices, one can generally troubleshoot problems and find parts and circuit boards to do repairs. Utube has tons of videos on repairing stuff.

It's not a hard as you think and all it takes is some personal effort.

 

[michelek]

the key to happiness is low expectations.

 

[NW-Bound]

I am a boomer. But I grew up listening to Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Connie Francis, Dalida, etc..., and not the Beatles. Generally, my kind of music was the hits when I was still an infant or in grade school.

 

[Oz investor]

i was born in 1954 , discovered Alice Cooper , Led Zeppelin and adrenaline as a teen , rediscovered heavy metal in 1991 in Hong Kong ( of all places )

i was happy to anywhere those goddamn Hippies weren't

i was briefly 'fashionable ' during the grunge period but like all fashions the herd moved on ( and i didn't bother )

 

[ncbill]

Humans build the cars and components and humans fix them. It's just getting the techniques, tools and skills. I still fix our family's autos and seem to be able to do most everything. IC engines still have valves, pistons, crankshafts, cylinder heads, etc. The electronics are either sensors (emission control use) or circuit boards. Brake systems have become less complicated with disc and caliper design.

A lot of "fixing" nowadays is just swapping parts.

I don't have anywhere to work on my vehicles, but thanks to online resources I can usually figure out the problem, order the parts, and have my independent mechanic install them.

 

[l8_apex]

I enjoy the conversation about the different generations, but to be honest I find it difficult to really accept the basic premise. As a landlord I see all kinds of people, and do my best to anticipate/predict their habits. If I chose to rely on whether they're boomer, x'er, millie, my track record would be pretty poor. (and it's not all that great as it is!)

I guess I'm an outlier myself - ER'd with nothing in the stock market, my investments are all real estate and notes payable.

Seems to me that most of the differences in the generations can be explained by external factors, such as pensions fading into the sunset now that 401k is available. If iphones were available 50 years ago, wouldn't those folks be just as prone to the habits of folks we see now with their phones?

 

[JoeWras]

Generational talk is mostly in fun. "you kids today, back in my day..."

At the same time, we share things and that makes it cool. We also share generational issues. For that, I think it is helpful. Of course, there are shades of experience and nothing is ever absolute.

My parents generation (Greatest) grew up without TV, yet lived much of their lives with it. Boomers always knew TV, starting with B&W. Gen X grew up with color TV. Millenials started with TV, but threw them away for devices. iGen will say "what is TV?" That's fun stuff.

Pensions and retirement strategies are a different matter. For Gen-X, our issue is the switcharoo. For millennials, no switcharoo, so hopefully they are planning from the start. For iGen, I suspect it will be a new political system. Just guessing.