Why Millennials and Gen Z Are STRUGGLING Making $20 an hour

[bluzfiddler]

Don’t forget about needing 2-years of experience before landing that entry-level $20/hr job. How??

[palepants]

It's wild how 20 bucks an hour sounds like a lot and it's really not.

[Little_bane]

I'm making $35 an hour, licensed master electrician, worked my ass off to get a foreman position running ten man crews on multi million dollar jobs. Still just holding on. I genuinely hurt for the kids with me making $20 an hour. None of them are getting married, almost all of them live with parents. I don't judge any of them, it's the only way that makes sense. I love my wife and kids, but they were all a poor financial decision.

[glaxmogmail]

It's the entire work force, ever since 2008 after the collapse, it seems companies are reluctant in offering 20$ hour you get 16& and 18 $ hour if you're lucky

[Josh-]

My wife and I have a combined household income of just over $110, 000 annually -- pre-tax, of course. No children. No mortgage or rent (the house is paid off). No car payments. We don't go out to eat much -- maybe once a week to Cava or Chipotle. We don't go to the movies or concerts or events. We haven't taken a vacation in years because she got a cancer diagnosis in 2022 and only recently recovered from the treatment.

If you look at our budget, we aren't spending on anything but essentials; and if it wasn't for the fact that we are literally living rent-free and have paid off cars, we wouldn't be able to live on our income.

Just think about that: two older people with no children and LITERALLY ZERO DEBT making 6 figures of household income are living a frugally comfortable life because we bought our house in 2005 and paid it off in 13 years.

[PracticalLifeSkillz]

I work two full time jobs clocking in around 90 hours a week. I rent, have no savings and am paycheck to paycheck. It’s crazy. The price gouging and rent touching as well as corporate greed is where we need to begin.

[homesteader]

And they wonder why people are homeless. 6 years being homeless and refuse to rent. Struggle and save everything. Buying something you own is the only way to have any chance at a future.

[Kwijibob]

$20/hr will only get you $2750 take home pay in the few states that don't have income tax. More realistically $2500/month

[Imsoconfusedthesedays]

And that’s without medical insurance which is criminally priced in the US. Pushing you have an underlying condition like diabetes, you’re effectively screwed unless you’re in the top 5-9% of earners

[thereseember]

…and the average car in America is 16 years old…

[sugargamer]

This is why budgeting is no longer a thing. When you live pay check to pay check, there is no room for budgeting cuz you have no money left to budget

[amandalarizza]

I'm beyond struggling at 67, 500.

[tbeare]

Health insurance is a scam too, I pay $380 a month yet when I go to the doctor I end up paying over $200 out of pocket just for a regular checkup. Insurance wont cover a damn thing until I rack up nearly $10k in medical expenses. Can't afford going to doctor with insurance or without, its absurd.

[zsmorr]

It was only like 5 years ago I thought $20 an hour was decent. Now im not far from $30 and my quality of life has not improved.

[SoulGryph]

18 dollars an hour is a premium where Im at. Life has truly lied to millennials since the beginning. Then others wonder why we have trust issues.

[tlomofficial]

The plan is if in the most dire circumstances i need to go to the hospital, im dumping all my identification in a hidden location before going, faking amnesia after/while im being cured, and as soon as the coast is clear im escaping out.

[theviewer]

Yes, and my friends wonder why i dont want to go do shots at the bar and go to the casino 😂

[DougOfTroy]

Now everyone is complaining because degree holders are in the same position that everyone else has been in……

[roycereinhart-brown]

It’s stupid to me that most places are still offering $16-18.50 an hour to start . . . As if we can live on that.
Idiots!
People need to wake up.
If we all need to “pay to live” we better receive pay that we can live on!

[knightchels]

We are a single income household. My husband works 70 hours a week making about $28 an hour. We live frugally and within our means. I am a stay-at-home mom. My kids are in school so there's no child care thankfully and there's also no college that either since neither of us went to college. We bought our house in 2015 so our payments are nowhere NEAR the numbers you see nowadays.

We have a used car. He drives an hour to work. We live in the countryside.

This is my house. I completely understand that this isnt the norm. But I wanted to share.