People absolutely love giving us millennials unsolicited financial advice. Anyone from your parents, relatives, news anchors, journalists to now millionaires.?
Case in point? A?35-year-old?Australian millionaire?and property mogul Tim Gurner told?Australia's?60 Minutes?that millennials?would be more likely to be able to buy a house if they keep in check their spending on avocado and indulging in brunches.?
¡°When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn¡¯t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re at a point now where the expectations of younger people are very, very high. They want to eat out every day; they want travel to Europe every year. The people that own homes today worked very, very hard for it,¡± he said, adding that they ¡°saved every dollar, did everything they could to get up the property investment ladder.¡± But that's not it.?
He also said: "This generation is watching the Kardashians and thinking that's normal ¡ª thinking owning a Bentley is normal."
And of course, Twitter tore his advice to shreds as it quickly spread across social media. Naturally, some found the statement impractical or insulting.
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The real issue with millionaire Tim Gurner's advice is that it just doesn't make sense. Here's why:?
First,?millennials are doing okay when it comes to buying a house, pretty much without his advice. According to 2018's?TATA?Group Consumer Housing Trends Report, our generation makes up more than half of all home buyers today and 56% of first-time home buyers.?
I also went ahead and did my own math.?
A serving of avocado toast on an average costs about Rs 575.?If I bought it once every single day of the year -?which no one does -?it would cost me about Rs 2 lakh. If I make it a once a week habit, the cost then comes down to Rs 31,000. And the last time I checked Rs 30,000 was nowhere close to a down payment of a house, let alone a car.?Of course, I'm spending money on more than just avocado toast? but every single time I eat out, it lets me spend more time getting ahead at work, hanging out with people I love, reading books, and planning trips. I'd rather take a few more years to buy a house than miss out on any of that. No wonder they say millennials?value experiences. And that's also why we'll continue to spend our hard-earned money on brunch.?