Amid financial challenges, younger generations, particularly Gen Z and Millennials are facing issues in affording basic necessities. A viral video by Maria Melchor, sheds light on how young workers cope with affordability issues. Melchor coined the term ‘doom spending,’ explaining why some invest in luxury goods and travel rather than essential investments. She highlights the discouragement faced by young adults as they are unable to afford traditional milestones like homeownership or starting families. Instead, they redirect funds meant for such goals towards ‘nice things’ for temporary relief. Melchor, a 27 year old New York City based financial content creator, elaborates on this trend and reveals how unreachable aspirations lead to unconventional expenditures.
She explained, “When older people ask me, how young people are affording nice things, that they wouldn’t even buy for themselves, I tell them it’s because we can’t afford anything else. Homeownership or starting a family is so out of reach that we’re using that down payment or kid money on whatever we can afford that’ll bring us a semblance of the kind of adulthood we were promised. When houses are a million dollar plus and an older couple will likely outbid us anyway, we’re going to relinquish any lingering delusions about home ownership and instead use that money to give our dogs the most enriched puppyhood they can have.”
A post shared by Maria Melchor | Financial Content Creator (@firstgenliving)
Social media users shared their perspectives, with some acknowledging that they have also adopted the practice of doom spending, however, not all viewers support Maria Melchor’s viewpoint.
A user wrote, “Sadly this is so true. Yet politicians are forcing females to have children they cannot afford.”
Another asserted, “Bought my house for $225k. Just don’t aim to buy the biggest home, small homes are perfectly acceptable.”
“It’s simple. We’re broke and no one cares. If you are single, have no kids, or are not married, the government doesn’t care about you because they can’t benefit from you in any way. The government has gentrified LIFE and we can’t afford it. So here we are,” a comment read.
An individual mentioned, “Very true. The American Dream is just that, a dream. I’m Gen X and I have a great home, nice vehicles that are paid off, and two kids. My younger cousins don’t have any of that yet they’re traveling the world, going to concerts and generally enjoying themselves. I think that’s great because I never got to do that as a young adult. Too busy chasing the dream.”
A user added, “I’m 30 and yeah definitely not gonna be able to buy a home where I’m at unless my income increases significantly.”
In just a week since the video was posted, the video has garnered over 1 million views.
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