Fermsy

Boomers hold $78 trillion in wealth.
That’s more than half of all wealth in America.
Held by 20% of the population.
Millennials hold $9 trillion.
That’s a smaller share of wealth than boomers had at the same age, adjusted for inflation.
Boomers bought homes averaging $25,000 in the 70s.
Same homes average $420,000 today.
Boomers paid $500 a year for college.
Same degree costs $35,000 a year now.
Boomers retired with pensions averaging $2,800 a month for life.
We get a 401k and a prayer.
It’s not that boomers worked harder.
It’s that they worked in an economy built to reward the work.
We’re wor

Nobody tells you what a mortgage actually costs until you’re already in it.
I borrowed $280,000.
My monthly payment is $1,847.
Over 30 years that’s $664,920.
I borrowed $280,000.
I’m paying back $664,920.
That’s $384,920 in interest.
To live in something I already call mine.
And that’s before:
Property taxes — $7,200 a year.
Homeowners insurance — $2,400 a year.
Maintenance — $3,500 a year average.
Realtor fees when I sell — 5% of whatever it’s worth.
The bank gets paid first.
The government gets paid second.
The insurance company gets paid third.
Then maybe.
After 30 years.
After $664,920.
Af

In 2019 my car insurance was $98 a month.
Today it’s $262 a month.
I pay $3,144 a year for something I’ve never once used and every year the letter comes.
“Due to market conditions your rate has increased.”
Market conditions, just market conditions.
I am being charged for other people’s accidents.
Other people’s fraud and other people’s bad decisions.
And I have no choice.
Because driving without insurance is illegal.
So they can charge whatever they want.
And I can pay it or walk.

Nobody warns you about Sunday evening.
That specific feeling that starts around 5pm.
The weekend isn’t over yet but your brain already knows it is.
The anxiety creeps in quietly.
The emails you didn’t check start mattering again.
The meeting you have Monday morning parks itself in the back of your head.
The freedom you felt Friday at 5pm evaporates in real time.
You’re not even back yet but you’re already gone.
And you sit there trying to enjoy the last few hours of your weekend knowing the whole time that the clock is running out.
Sunday used to be a day.
Now it’s just the waiting room before

My boomer aunt told me to just invest in the stock market.
I make $62,000 a year.
Take home: $3,900 a month.
Rent: $1,800
Car: $380
Insurance: $260
Groceries: $550
Student loan: $350
Utilities: $180
That’s $3,520 gone.
I have $380 left.
She said “just put $500 a month in an index fund.”
I said “from where.”
She said “cut back on unnecessary spending.”
I don’t have unnecessary spending.
I have a budget with no room in it.
She started investing in 1989 on a single income with a paid off car and a $450 mortgage.
Then looked me dead in the eye and told me I need better financial discipline.
$380 l

My 401k went up $40,000 on paper last year.
I didn’t sell anything.
I didn’t withdraw anything.
I didn’t receive a single dollar.
It’s just a number on a screen.
But if I withdraw it to actually use it?
Federal tax.
State tax.
Early withdrawal penalty if I’m under 59½.
They’ll take 30-40% of money I haven’t spent yet.
On gains I haven’t realized yet.
On a retirement I haven’t reached yet.
Meanwhile hedge funds have accountants who ensure they never actually trigger a taxable event.
Billionaires borrow against assets instead of selling them.
Pay zero tax on billions in wealth.
Legally.
But a re

The average American carries $6,000 in credit card debt at 21% interest.
Minimum payment: $120 a month.
At minimum payments only that $6,000 takes 6 years to pay off.
Total repaid: $10,800.
You borrowed $6,000.
You paid back $10,800.
$4,800 straight to the bank for nothing.
And that’s if you never use the card again.
Most people do.
So the balance never moves.
The interest compounds.
The minimum payment barely dents it.
The bank books it as profit.
Credit cards aren’t a convenience.
They’re a subscription to debt designed to never end.
And the people who need them most are the ones who can lea

My electric bill went up $47 this last month.
Same apartment. Same usage. Same appliances.
I called to ask why.
Then I looked at the actual breakdown.
Delivery charge: $38
Grid modernization fee: $12
Renewable energy surcharge: $9
Fuel adjustment charge: $22
Meter reading fee: $6
Actual electricity used: $47
I paid $87 in fees to receive $47 worth of electricity.
My bill wasn’t $47.
It was $134.
They don’t charge you for the product anymore.
They charge you for everything around it.
Check your utility bill. Every single line.
The number at the top is never the real number.

My electric bill went up $47 this last month.
Same apartment. Same usage. Same appliances.
I called to ask why.
Then I looked at the actual breakdown.
Delivery charge: $38
Grid modernization fee: $12
Renewable energy surcharge: $9
Fuel adjustment charge: $22
Meter reading fee: $6
Actual electricity used: $47
I paid $87 in fees to receive $47 worth of electricity.
My bill wasn’t $47.
It was $134.
They don’t charge you for the product anymore.
They charge you for everything around it.
Check your utility bill. Every single line.
The number at the top is never the real number.

$100,000 salary sounds rich.
Until you see the math.
Take home after tax: $5,800/mo
Rent: $2,200
Car payment: $450
Insurance: $430
Groceries: $600
Student loan: $400
Utilities: $200
Gas: $180
Total: $4,460
Left over: $1,340
For savings.
Emergencies.
Retirement.
Everything else life throws at you.
$100,000 a year.
$1,340 a month of breathing room.
That’s not rich.
That’s one emergency away from broke.

A cashier told me my total was $8.55.
The screen said $8.51 and i pointed at the screen.
She said they round up because of the penny shortage.
I handed her $8.51 exact.
But let’s do the math nobody wants to do.
The average fast food chain serves 1 million customers a day.
Round up 4 cents on every transaction.
That’s $40,000 a day. $14,600,000 a year.
On pennies.
On a shortage that conveniently always rounds up and never down.
These companies post billion dollar profits every quarter.
And they’re skimming your change to pad it further.
This isn’t a penny shortage.
This is a corporate policy di

A student spent 6 months writing a 30 page senior thesis by hand.
The university’s AI detector flagged it as 98% AI generated.
He brought his laptop to the hearing.
Showed them his Google Docs edit history.
Every edit. Every revision. Every typo fixed over 6 months of real work.
The disciplinary board refused to look at his screen.
Said university policy is to trust the software.
The result?
Failing grade.
Academic suspension.
$45,000 scholarship revoked.
He can’t afford to finish his degree without it.
A machine made the accusation.
Humans refused to question it.
And a student’s entire future

No paid maternity leave.
Most of Europe gets 6 months to a year. Paid.
Norway gets 49 weeks at full salary.
We get 12 weeks unpaid if your company is big enough to qualify.
So a mother has a baby.
Takes 12 weeks unpaid.
Goes back to work because she can’t afford not to.
Pays $1,500 a month for daycare because there’s no public option.
Works to pay for childcare so she can go to work.
And we put a pink ribbon on everything and call it supporting mothers.

My boomer aunt pulled me aside at Thanksgiving.
“You know what your problem is?
You spend too much on rent.
When I was your age I bought a house.”
I smiled.
Didn’t tell her the house she bought in 1987 for $79,000 is worth $620,000 today.
Didn’t tell her the down payment she saved in 18 months would take me 11 years to save now.
Didn’t tell her mortgage rates were 5% when she bought and they’re 7% now on a price that’s 8 times higher.
Didn’t tell her the starter home in her neighborhood sold last month for $580,000.
Just said “you’re right aunt Carol.”
Cut my turkey.
And did the math in my hea