I ran across this article by Lachlan Brown. I don’t know Lachlan, but this is a great article that got me thinking. Particularly when he started talking about personal finance and housing.
Lachlan brings up 8 interesting traits he attributes to “boomers” that don’t resonate with younger generations.
- Complaining about people being “on their phones all the time”
- Paying bills with checks and waiting in line at the bank
- Thinking hard work automatically leads to success
- Treating mental health like a weakness
- Believing home ownership defines success
- Dismissing new forms of work as “not real jobs”
- Expecting everyone to share their exact moral and cultural values
- Talking about “kids these days” while ignoring their own contradictions
OK, I’m not a boomer, but if I honestly look at this list, I kind of resonate as a boomer! I’d likely align with Boomer Values on more than half of these. You can guess which ones.
Let’s look at #5. Does homeownership define success?
YES!
Absolutely, homeownership is an amazing accomplishment, and anybody determined enough to qualify for homeownership is to be commended.
Can you be successful, and not a homeowner? Yes. There are so many variables to success, but I fear what may be happening to our next generations is that homeownership has become so expensive that people are giving up. Don’t give up. Learn the formulas: 1=5, and 2=1,000.
Is homeownership for everyone? No. Homeownership is a huge commitment (with huge potential rewards). You need to be ready to put down some roots, and you need to be ready to make some payments, and you need to be ready to make some tough cuts.
Does homeownership guarantee success? No, certainly not. To the contrary, without a good strategy in today’s economy, homeownership can be more of an anchor than a boon.
Those qualifying factors being said…. Make a goal of owning your own home! Make some cuts if you already are a homeowner and turn your home into your life’s best investment. And look forward to the mathematically guaranteed benefits of homeownership.