Is ‘Boomer’ now a pejorative term?

[PlayerHader]

Also, many people in those trades end up making it their own business. Sometimes just for themselves, other times they start doing so well and it becomes bigger and bigger and next thing you know you're the owner of a fairly legit business with several employees. Being your own boss is a huge perk. The stigma needs to go away.

 

Absolutely. It may be the cleanest path to self-employment.

[homer]

Also, many people in those trades end up making it their own business. Sometimes just for themselves, other times they start doing so well and it becomes bigger and bigger and next thing you know you're the owner of a fairly legit business with several employees. Being your own boss is a huge perk. The stigma needs to go away.

 

Side story....I read an article about a 40 year old guy in Cleveland who owned his own car repair shop. He decided he needed to learn more about running a business so he went back to school to get his degree. One of his required classes was a biology class which he pushed off until the end because he thought it was useless and he wasn't really into science. But he had to take it to graduate and ended up loving it. In fact, he loved it and his teacher so much that he ended up going to medical school after graduating from college. He's now a 47 year old resident. Crazy inspiring story and also shows how a well-rounded education can open up eyes to career paths you didn't think were attainable or within your skillset.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/2019/07/car-mechanic-shifts-gears-becomes-a-doctor-at-age-47-and-helps-address-shortage-of-black-doctors.html

[FVBrewerFan]

I get it now. Gen X is clearly better than either Millennials or Boomers. After all, we gave you drive- thrus and the USFL. You're welcome.

[homer]

I get it now. Gen X is clearly better than either Millennials or Boomers.

 

yes. This was established on page 1.

[pacopete4]

All I know is I’m tired of HS kids saying “okay boomer” to anyone that is older to them as a snide remark.

[homer]

All I know is I’m tired of HS kids saying “okay boomer” to anyone that is older to them as a snide remark.

 

 

Hence the title of thread! We've come full circle!

[PlayerHader]

All I know is I’m tired of HS kids saying “okay boomer” to anyone that is older to them as a snide remark.

 

Hasn’t made its way up to the northwoods schools yet. We are usually several months behind.

[PlayerHader]

All I know is I’m tired of HS kids saying “okay boomer” to anyone that is older to them as a snide remark.

 

Hasn’t made its way up to the northwoods schools yet. We are usually several months behind.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Take solace in the fact that they very likely don't know what boomer means and just took it from a meme.

[LouisEly]

I think part of the "pushing college" thing comes from parents who watched the local factory jobs dry up and move away and thought that they were trying to help their kids avoid being in that situation. The trades weren't thought of as being that lucrative because of the volatility of booms/busts in the economy and 20+ years ago more people could do basic plumbing/electrical/drywall/etc.

 

The statistics say that the unemployment rate for college educated people is much lower than those with just a HS education. It's fear of a worst-case scenario.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

My boomer father was a carpenter and drywaller. When the recession in the early 80's hit the interest rated skyrocketed. There was no work, and I remember my father standing in line for government cheese. There was no way I would ever go into the trades. I would make sure I put myself in a position, so that would never happen to me. I'm not against the trades, but I want people to know what could and might happen when there is an economic slowdown.

 

Right or wrong... I chose not to save any money for my kids education. I work extremely hard to pay off my house, dump as much money as I can in a 401k, and be completely debt free. I've haven't had any credit card interest or car loan interest since 1997. My 1st daughter will graduate high school in 5.5 years and my 2nd in 7.5 years. My house will be paid off in just less than 5 years. College bills scare me... my oldest wants to be an early education teacher and my youngest a pediatrician.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I've never thought not paying for kids' college is "wrong." The expectation that you should is kind of silly to me. They have a lifetime to pay for it, you don't.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Right or wrong for me meaning do I start a 529 account right away or pay my debt first. I don't know which would have saved me the most money in the long term.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'd probably say all non-mortgage debt takes priority. I opened two of them while still paying my own student loans but I just wanted to get it rolling. I was paying $1k a month on a loan with a $233 payment though so I was already fairly aggressive on it. I got lucky with my mortgage being 3% so I've never been in a hurry to pay it off. I'll likely live there forever and it's a modest house so I never really worried about it.

[PlayerHader]

I think we put like $50 a month into both of our children’s 529 accounts. It’s not much, but we started early enough where at could very well be $15k our more by the time they’d need it.

 

I don’t think anybody has to pay anything for their children’s higher ed, but I KNOW I will end up helping them in some way simply because I will want to, so I might as well let tax free growth maximize that.

[PlayerHader]

Right or wrong for me meaning do I start a 529 account right away or pay my debt first. I don't know which would have saved me the most money in the long term.

 

Dave Ramsey would say debt first. Numbers would say it depends on the debt.

[homer]

This probably belongs in an investing thread but for those with excessive student loans that are still with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or Bernie Mac or whatever the Fed program is these days, I recommend refinancing with something like SoFi or LendKey (I got quotes from three different places). My interest rate was cut by more than 50%. Obviously there's a little less leeway if you need to freeze payments but if you have a good job certainty it can save you 10's of thousands of dollars.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

SoFi is legit. I just missed all those programs but Credible seems to be the same; I know you get SoFi when you search via Credible...I don't think Credible actually does any of the banking. I think it's like an Expedia for loans but I'm not super well-versed on this.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Also, interesting/useful note...you CAN open a 529 even before you have kids, just do so in your name, and change it when they're born. I did it with my 2nd.

[MrTPlush]

I’ve mulled refinancing my student loans and cutting the repayment time in half. Just not sure the savings are really worth nearly double the monthly payment. I can’t really save anything simply refinancing under the same length terms as 5% isn’t terribly high as is.

 

As far as a 529, I recently started one. I think that is more valuable than trying to pay down my loans faster. The growth and all the little quirks that save money should outweigh the interest you pay on your own student loans. As someone mentioned you can start one without kids and you can transfer it between kids too. It only locks up money when they hit 18 and it becomes theirs.

[nodakfan17]

I have a young son. It’s my aim to pay for every dollar of his education, but I haven’t started a 529 yet. Instead, I’m focused on paying off our mortgage early. Once we own our home free and clear, those mortgage payments will turn into tuition payments. I figure he can always borrow for college, but I can’t borrow for retirement.

[nodakfan17]

Elizabeth Warren* wrote a personal finance book in 2005 called All Your Worth. She has an interesting hypothesis that states (and I’m simplifying) a lot of the financial trouble folks run into these days is a result of a change in banking laws, which eased restrictions on the amount of interest banks could charge. 50 years ago, people couldn’t borrow more than a year’s salary to buy a vehicle because banks didn’t want a customer to overextend themselves and default on an auto loan. However, today, banks aren’t quite as limited and are much more willing to make all kinds of loans (auto, boat, ATV, etc.), provided they are compensated for the added risk in the form of higher interest rates.

 

* this book is apolitical (and a recommendation for fellow personal finance nuts)

[nate82]

Elizabeth Warren* wrote a personal finance book in 2005 called All Your Worth. She has an interesting hypothesis that states (and I’m simplifying) a lot of the financial trouble folks run into these days is a result of a change in banking laws, which eased restrictions on the amount of interest banks could charge. 50 years ago, people couldn’t borrow more than a year’s salary to buy a vehicle because banks didn’t want a customer to overextend themselves and default on an auto loan. However, today, banks aren’t quite as limited and are much more willing to make all kinds of loans (auto, boat, ATV, etc.), provided they are compensated for the added risk in the form of higher interest rates.

 

* this book is apolitical (and a recommendation for fellow personal finance nuts)

 

It is far more complicated than this. The federal reserve has been messed with so many times that the interest rate is artificially low which allows the banks to lend more at a lower rate. Take housing interest rates for example in 1980 the average interest rate for a home was something like 20%.

 

We could go back to the 1980 or even the 1990 interest rates but that would crash the economy and put us in a far worse depression than what happened in the 1920's.

[Samurai Bucky]

We have three kids in college (one still in HS). Over 25 years ago, we decided to invest in two areas: our retirement and also for our children's education. We pay for 1/2 of our kids' college education? Why half? The goal is to have the kids learn how to value a dollar by working towards their education. It also helps them to choose careers in which the are passionate and will allow them to a job right out of school. So, we have one future pharmacist and two nurses (hopefully).

 

In my experience, I have seen many cases where kids had their higher education paid for by their parents, etc., and they would party all the time, and not really care about their education. Of course, there were those that still valued the education.

 

A friend of mine told his children that they have to fully pay for the first year of their education. After that, he would pay for all of it. That seemed to work well, too.

 

My dad, a boomer, was a teacher in a small school district in rural Wisconsin. My mom chose to stay at home to care for my brother and me. Many times, we had powdered milk and powdered eggs. I also remember wearing bread bags in my shoes during the winter. We had very little money and my parents gave me nothing towards my education. Every summer, I worked and didn't have a social life. I didn't want the same type of experience for my kids, so we are meeting them half-way in a manner of speaking.

 

It helps my wife is a Financial Adviser, too

 

Regardless of financial status, my Boomer parents taught me to work my ass off. I have to go out and earn things. I have tried to teach my kids that same ethic whether it is in school, playing softball / baseball, or life. Seems like it is working so far, thankfully.

 

Story at 10... film at 11...

[FVBrewerFan]

Elizabeth Warren* wrote a personal finance book in 2005 called All Your Worth. She has an interesting hypothesis that states (and I’m simplifying) a lot of the financial trouble folks run into these days is a result of a change in banking laws, which eased restrictions on the amount of interest banks could charge. 50 years ago, people couldn’t borrow more than a year’s salary to buy a vehicle because banks didn’t want a customer to overextend themselves and default on an auto loan. However, today, banks aren’t quite as limited and are much more willing to make all kinds of loans (auto, boat, ATV, etc.), provided they are compensated for the added risk in the form of higher interest rates.

 

* this book is apolitical (and a recommendation for fellow personal finance nuts)

 

Sorry, but that doesn't check out. Interest rates are at historic lows, and have been for some time.