> Every generation appears to become more hedonist and think less about retirement. Many of my friends(millennials) make six figures and barely save any money for retirement.
Well, maybe I am too unimaginative but not being an American, I am curious where does all the money go. Reading Paul Graham's article about Ramen Profitability, I get the idea that a bare minimum lifestyle can burn as low as ~$1000 - 1500 / month [1]. Now a person is earning 6x this figure, how you don't end up saving something. Bars, clubs would only be fun to a certain extent. The only reasonable explanation I can think is, people buy everything that they don't need.
Unfortunately, most people don't have minimalist lives.
With a 'humble' example:
$3000/month SF/NYC apartment,$1000/month on clothing(specially bankers), $1500/month on food(no time to cook, so $50/day), $2000/month on entertainment($500/week), $1500/ month on a decent car +gas. That's already ~110k a year. It's really easy to go beyond that.
Suppose I'm dropping $3000/month on a spacious 2 bedroom east village flat. If I'm spending $1000/month on clothing, I'll very quickly run out of space to store it in my second bedroom. $50/day on food is quite a feat even eating eggs and kale on artisanal toast 3x/day. Maybe if you are eating bodybuilder type meals at only the finest restaurants?
I'm trying to imagine how to do $500/month on entertainment. Fri/Sat/Sun bars with a $25 cover charge, plus 42 $10 cocktails every week? With that kind of a drinking problem, money is the least of one's worries.
Spending both $3k/month on a flat in NYC and $1.5k/month on a car makes no sense (the whole point of the flat is to never drive).
Well, maybe I am too unimaginative but not being an American, I am curious where does all the money go. Reading Paul Graham's article about Ramen Profitability, I get the idea that a bare minimum lifestyle can burn as low as ~$1000 - 1500 / month [1]. Now a person is earning 6x this figure, how you don't end up saving something. Bars, clubs would only be fun to a certain extent. The only reasonable explanation I can think is, people buy everything that they don't need.
[1]: http://www.paulgraham.com/ramenprofitable.html