I found my twenties experience as a broke hippie poet sustained my ability to save when I started making money as a programmer.

I still do most of my cooking and don’t spend much. It’s not hard to live within my SS.

This may be relatively hard or easy at different times in your life, it may be easier or harder for you than for your peers, it may be easier or harder for you over an extended period than it was for other generations. None of that changes the essential fact: if you don’t live within whatever your means are, you won’t have savings. For nearly everyone, that means choosing not to consume some things you’d very much like to consume, and that seem tantalizingly available, particularly if you’re willing to go into debt.

Again, it’s not a question of whether this is fair, or welcome, or easy. It’s just a consequence that you can’t avoid.

Elon is generation X, so what does that have to do wth Boomers,

*he seems to have gone straight into the propaganda ngo racket, where like Soros every kisses his pinky, he helped deep six the Weekly Standard among other influences

piker like certain landowners sons in caribbean countries has produced little,
also in the Southern cone, say with the architects daughter who was slumming as a bar tender,

I’d question the ROI on him putting that money into tuition… and LLMs aren’t going to be mixing drinks any time soon I imagine. But he could definitely save for a down payment on a very modest house from that one year of tips.

“Taken them to municipal parks”. Nope, nope, nope. Won’t find any needles in my yard nor be accosted by some low life.

I was thinking the same. The way things are now, there is no community that can’t get its parks taken over by bums. Just a few have to show up really, and before long it’s taken over.

Had that experience unexpectedly in a small town in British Columbia. Oh, look, here’s a nice park, beautiful day, parking lot is empty…. get down the hill and see the tent city. Mystery solved.

“Taken them to municipal parks”. Nope, nope, nope. Won’t find any needles in my yard nor be accosted by some low life.

Boats and yards… I was thinking along Art’s line. I think things are somewhat different now compared to 25 or 50 years ago.

For example: We older people think a car is essential (especially in CA), but if you live in a town or very near a commercial area, one could just take an Uber or Lyft on occasion.

I like to kayak some. So I drive about 30 miles to a perfect spot and rent one. My neighbor had a lovely kayak and I didn’t realize they were giving it away until too late. Had I taken it, I’d have to buy a car rack, store it somewhere, and lug the thing some distance to get it into the water.

Counterpoint: I visited Maui some months ago & my friend & I went on a sailboat cruise. Ages ago, I used to crew on a lovely 30ft. keel boat for Wednesday evening races and I kinda wanted that sailing experience again.

There were many cruises to choose from with a sailboat in the picture. But are they actually going to sail?? I picked one that mentioned sailing a few times in the verbiage. Sadly, it was whale watching season so the cruise focused on that. All under motor power.