young adults + financial responsibity[split] from 250 a month for years Lisa on youtube with Bob

[Elbear1]

Agreed.

I want to add that most of the younger people i meet are not "surviving" they all are having a generally great time and glad as hell to not be stuck on a dead end job with a mountain of debt. They go rafting and mountain biking and rock climbing. They do photography and hiking, etc. This notion that if youre not spending $1000+ youre living in misery is just absurd and frankly the antithesis of the fundemental philosophy of alternative living. It is mainstream society that tells use happiness is consumption; Work to live live to work.

It reminds me of a great little town that gets discovered and everyone starts moving there. It doesnt change the people who moved there, the people change the town......youre not letting this life change you, youre bringing your old sensibilities into this life.

 

[Elbear1]

problem is when they hit their 60s and have med troubles who pays for them.....me probably  thru all the assistance thru my taxes maybe and they will have to take from society when they haven't worked for what they need to survive in later years.
oh well
fun when younger and don't care about the future cause you can suck off the system or maybe just work when younger to provide for your own future?   are either right or wrong?


final thoughts are do what ya wanna, it all works out in the wash of it all LOL  it all makes the world go round

The young people working seasonally and living in a camper opens up a labor market that is versitle to commerce and leaves them with more money than a 9-5 and a mortgage. A win-win. Never have i heard, especially on a "cheap rv living" forum that spending less-working less is somehow an afront.

Think about how miserable of a society where youre not allowed to have a life because of "my tax dollars" you must slave!!!

Its like all these federal campgrounds going to private leases. Prices skyrocket because everyone didnt want to pay a lousy nickel extra in april. So now youre paying for a guy to pocket millions to stay in a campground you paid for 30 years ago and everyone ends up paying wildly more in the end.

 

[CityWoman]

. . . most of the younger people i meet are not "surviving" they all are having a generally great time and glad as hell to not be stuck on a dead end job with a mountain of debt. They go rafting and mountain biking and rock climbing. They do photography and hiking, etc.

At some point, usually, those apparently footloose and fancy free young people get bailed out by their parents. If they're blogging, you can always find a few statements in their posts that reveal how dependent they truly are. "My parents let us stay with them while we fixed up the van." "My dad helped us with the down payment." "My partner's mom made our curtains."

I see those young people all the time in NYC. The only way they can move here and afford $2400 to $3000 per month for a small apartment is by getting money from their parents. And, so they spend their salaries on the fun stuff and take great vacations!

It's nothing like when I first moved here in 1982 in my early 20s -- with no help from family (ever), only $40 in my pocket, and a job paying a hair above minimum wage. I remember thinking, "$500 a month rent? I'll never be able to make it!" But in the 60s and 70s, everyone I knew sought to be independent as soon as we could, and that goal was ingrained in me. I struggled here on my own and somehow did okay for a long time, until my life was turned upside down a few years ago, but today every single 20- or 30-something I meet here is being supported by a parent. Without exception.

For example, there's a guy who lives in my building who looks like the crunchy granola type, early 30s I think, cycles everywhere with his backpack and guitar, works at Trader Joe's -- yet once a month his mother visits from Pennsylvania and brings him boxes of homemade food and household supplies. I'm pretty sure she bought him all his furniture, too.

But yeah, so he's got this high-tech bike, high-tech bike helmet, goes hiking and camping upstate, gets shipments from Patagonia, and outwardly looks like he's making a great, fun life for himself. But I don't think he really understands what independence is. And he's verrrry typical of his people in his age group. A young woman just moved in on my floor and her parents stayed with her for the first three weeks - bought her furniture and helped set it up. I highly doubt she's paying her own rent!

 

[txmnjim]

  And he's verrrry typical of his people in his age group.  A young woman just moved in on my floor and her parents stayed with her for the first three weeks - bought her furniture and helped set it up.  I highly doubt she's paying her own rent!

i know many like that from work (i work in a call center with mostly young people) but there are
also some exceptions. the "maybe 25" year old young man a couple of seats down from me had to
move in with his parents when he broke up with his girlfriend. he wanted to move out so bad that
he recently put down his semi-aggressive dog when he couldn't find an apartment   he did move
out a couple weeks ago and now he seems happy...

 

[CityWoman]

i know many like that from work (i work in a call center with mostly young people) but there are also some exceptions.

Yes, there are always exceptions and I didn't mean to stereotype 20- and 30-somethings. It's just that I see this so, so often. It's much harder to get out on one's own now than it was for me back in the day, and full independence seems less of a priority nowadays. I'm not saying people shouldn't accept help when it is offered. However, it's hard for me not to assume that most of these young adults blogging and YTing about their vandwelling and recreational adventures are either from well-off families who will come to their rescue if needed, or have at least one parent bankrolling their endeavors. Maybe it's a little bit of jealousy on my part, since I never had that kind of support to rely on, but I do root for the ones that find a way to break free and make it.

 

[WanderingRose]

Personally, I believe that as parents one of our primary responsibilities is to get our children fully launched into adulthood/self sufficiency.

This means teaching them responsibility and not enabling dependency.

If they choose not to work full time so they can play, they still need to find a legal way to finance that lifestyle that does not include handouts from parents.

It’s all part of preparing the next generation.

My two cents.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

At some point, usually, those apparently footloose and fancy free young people get bailed out by their parents. If they're blogging, you can always find a few statements in their posts that reveal how dependent they truly are. "My parents let us stay with them while we fixed up the van." "My dad helped us with the down payment." "My partner's mom made our curtains."

A lot of people don't know this, but Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, is probably the first example of this. He pretended he was out living in the wilderness all on his own, when really he was only a couple of miles outside of town and his mom brought him muffins and did his laundry. And people have been trying to live up to that false ideal ever since.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

 

[CityWoman]

Henry David Thoreau . . . pretended he was out living in the wilderness all on his own, when really he was only a couple of miles outside of town and his mom brought him muffins and did his laundry. And people have been trying to live up to that false ideal ever since.

Hahaha!!!

Yeah, those parents who still do the laundry for their adult offspring just KILL ME. My mother made me and my sis start doing the laundry for the household when I was 12 (at the laundromat, mind you - we didn't have our own washer). After that, she never did laundry for us again.

And when I started working at 16, I was required from then on to contribute part of my pay to the household as long as I still lived at home. I remember at one point I was giving her $40/week out of my total weekly take-home pay of $90.

 

[Dingfelder]

But yeah, so he's got this high-tech bike, high-tech bike helmet, goes hiking and camping upstate, gets shipments from Patagonia, and outwardly looks like he's making a great, fun life for himself.  But I don't think he really understands what independence is.  And he's verrrry typical of his people in his age group.  A young woman just moved in on my floor and her parents stayed with her for the first three weeks - bought her furniture and helped set it up.  I highly doubt she's paying her own rent!

I wish it weren't so, but lucky kids have always been like this, I'd guess. When I was going to a state university in the 80's, it was amazing to me and might be hard to believe how many people you could bump into who claimed they were self-made men at 18 or 20 years old.  They had never done an interesting thing in their lives, much less breached the waves of any hardship and come crashing down none the worse for wear and exhilarated from the experience.  They were living off nothing but daddy's credit and thought they actually earned it.  Like someone once said of the first George Bush, "He was born on third base, but thought he hit a triple."  Working at the UCLA Law School Career Counseling Center, it was the same thing ... such an overwhelming percentage of the kids there thought they were shining superstars, but had never held a job.  Or only a fake job, like, our folks say you have to do something instead of hanging around, so they got a job at McDonalds and quit after two months and their parents said whatever.  Or some charity gig operated by their friend's mom.  

These folks have no ideas who they are, who their folks are or were, who they are probably going to end up being.  They're just really high on the lot.  I sometime think of them as almost handicapped, not just because they are so far from reality, but because they will never have to learn to be any different or better.  

Oddly enough of all, that doesn't mean that whether you're rich or poor, they might not be brimming with confidence that they are much better than you.

 

[Cammalu]

Smart Mom. Sounds like she really cared for you and taught you early.

 

[RoamerRV428]

opposite here, my parents took care of us thru college and we weren't required to work and we all 3 got the best knowledge from them on finances and what it takes to make it in life and all 3 of us have done very very well and our parents gave us everything....yes lucky us and our life lessons were not trashed on the fact we were given such great support, we learned that support was for a reason and we took full advantage of that lesson learned My kid will also be raised that way, asking not much of her for financials ever but teaching her and her seeing and hearing what we do to make it in life down a good path. but not worried cause at 14 she gets it already LOL so happy as a parent to know she will come thru financials in life on a good start from us. family takes care of family in our world and not saying it is anything about being spoiled or asking nothing from kids, it is ALL about them learning what is necessary thru life without taking from them. Anything she makes working in the future will be 1/2 hers and 1/2 banked for her later, we have taught her this from all monies she has gotten thru b-days and all. So far we are seeing good results in her 'future' path thru life and just keeping fingers crossed this next group of kids becoming adults can weed their way thru it all.

just showing another side of it all LOL

 

[WanderingRose]

It all comes down to responsible parenting, and more than one way to slice that.

Maggie

 

[RoamerRV428]

very true great post on that

a lot of angles to come at a parenting issue and get the same good results

 

[bullfrog]

Wait! What! I started working at 9 years old and if I was lucky got some watermelon after a full day of weeding with a hoe, got lucky and got a morning paper route at 12 years old, at 14 years old was on a wrecking crew and any money I made went for traveling or transportation, at 15 years old traveled to New Mexico and got a job guiding pack mules, at 16 years old I was working as a tow truck driver/mechanic and any money I made went for food and tools, two weeks after my 18th birthday I went into military service. Until then every penny went to surviving pretty much, and even then I sent money and vehicles home. Most of my life I have made it a point to spend every extra penny that it didn't take to survive to enjoy life, not collect material things. I provided a house and home with my wife for our children for 25 years got tired and was able to semi-retire. I agree with both the above posts but the main point for me has been to teach my children to survive and if you are lucky enough to do that appreciate and enjoy what is left.

 

[CityWoman]

Roamer, I have known people who were raised similarly - my ex being one.  The key difference is that you, your kids, and my ex were taught valuable life lessons about finances while also being taken care of, enough to truly make it on your own without trepidation when the time comes.  

But what I see so often are adults who are still dependent upon their parents well into their 20s and sometimes 30s or even older.  They get into unmanageable debt and rely on parents bailing them out time and again.

My ex's parents worked hard, coming up from meager circumstances, to become fairly well-off. They could afford yearly family trips to Europe and two homes, but my ex was never spoiled. He appreciated everything they gave him and taught him. They did occasionally help him financially after he was grown up and out on his own - but always with loans he had to pay back. My ex was great with personal finances.

A friend of my sister, on the other hand, is in her 40s and has gotten handout after handout her whole life. Her rationale is that since she never got married, her parents didn't have a wedding to pay for, so they owe her. Seriously. She's had cars and even a house in her name, all paid for by her parents. She spends her salary on designer clothing. She'll probably never know what independence is.

Cammalu,
Yes, my mother was smart but she was also struggling as a single parent to raise us while also coping with serious health problems. Making sure we paid our fair share as working people in the household as soon as we could really was the only way for us all to survive.

 

[rvwandering]

I split these posts because they've veered off of the original topic. Sorry about the thread being a little disjointed now.
CityWoman - I had to remove your last post in order to change the title.

 

[WanderingRose]

I think many of our children would lean on their parents financially well beyond the age where they should be responsible for themselves, but for we parents taking a firm position that they need to live within their means, not our means.

That doesn’t mean we don’t help in a true emergency, but it’s a balancing act, and sometimes it’s really hard.

 

[winterwanderer]

At some point, usually, those apparently footloose and fancy free young people get bailed out by their parents.  If they're blogging, you can always find a few statements in their posts that reveal how dependent they truly are.  "My parents let us stay with them while we fixed up the van."  "My dad helped us with the down payment."  "My partner's mom made our curtains."

Often, that is true. In the park resort circuit, lots of young people blow through their meager seasonal paychecks like nobody's business. Sure, they have a blast, but they never get anywhere. But at least they are better than those who trumpet about their freedom from the "grind" while having parents or relatives drudge away without compensation to pay for their lifestyle.

My dad was willing to support me as long as I was keeping to his path of college and career. But when I decided to drop out and go my own way, I had one summer to work and save money to buy his old truck. Then, I was free to figure out how life works on my own. Since then, I have lived a highly frugal lifestyle, bumbling my way into various temporary and seasonal jobs, with varying degrees of success. The lack of relevant advice and guidance has been the most difficult aspect of this lifestyle, but that's the price of breaking your own trail.

 

[Elbear1]

The "get off my lawn" thread

 

[cyndi]

At some point, usually, those apparently footloose and fancy free young people get bailed out by their parents. 

Most of the younger folks that I have met are working remote tech jobs.