Baby boomer’s dig at Millennials and Gen Zers struggling to buy property amid cost-of-living and housing crisis

A baby boomer has lashed out at young Aussies struggling to buy a house, telling them to stop relying on government subsidies and waste money on take-out meals.

Diane, 59, launched the scathing attack, saying the younger generation thought it was “more important” to eat out, own a new car and travel than save for a house.

“If you want a house, you have to save and not depend on government subsidies,” she said.

Once hailed as the Great Australian Dream, home ownership has become out of reach for most young Aussies due to rising inflation and interest rates.

The topic has led to an ongoing battle between generations over who had it harder: Baby Boomers or Gen Zers and Millennials?

Baby boomers remember the sacrifices and tough decisions they made in the 1980s and 1990s to make ends meet while paying off their homes when interest rates rose as high as 19 percent.

Inflation is currently at 4.9 percent, while cash rates are at an 11-year high of 4.1 percent, having risen 12 times since May 2022.

They believe that today’s generation can do the same if they cut back and save instead of overspending on luxuries such as dining out, nice cars, expensive handbags and holidays abroad.

There were no government subsidies or rebates when Dianne and her late husband bought their first home in Western Australia in the late 1980s.

The couple later moved back to their hometown of Melbourne and bought a house on the outskirts of the city, where the family survived on an income of just $38,000 at a time when interest rates were at 17 percent.

They owned one second-hand car, had minimal furniture, used boxes as bedside tables, rarely ordered takeout or red meat, and paid for store purchases through parking spaces.

Rare holidays were spent at a caravan park or friends’ holiday homes.

“We always paid our bills, which came before luxuries,” Dianne shared news.com.au.

Author and public speaker Tracey Horton also joined the debate by recalling how she and her husband survived on a single income after buying their first home on the Gold Coast in 1993.

Her husband brought home $450 a week, $200 of which was for the mortgage.

They were often left with only $40 to feed their young family for a week.

Eating out was a special treat limited to birthdays and holidays consisted of camping.

“We were very careful with every penny, we didn’t have any discretionary spending,” Ms. Horton recalls.

Although Ms. Horton admits that buying a house now cannot be compared to 30 years ago because the world has changed so much, she believes she and her husband were better off, despite the 18 percent interest rate.

She was able to take time off from work to stay home and raise her family, unlike her daughters who were forced to go back to work when their babies were six months old so they could pay the mortgage.

But Ms. Horton pushed for some blunt advice to young millennials: “Stop spending.”

“Stop eating out. Start barbecuing at home. Review your discretionary spending. It’s misplaced because it’s like they just have a ‘damn’ attitude,” she said.

She claimed that her adult daughters, two of whom are homeowners, now eat out four nights a week and go to Bali “every two years”.

Earlier this year, Sydney retiree Kerrie Boylett caused a storm online after she suggested young people stop eating out and upgrade their mobile phones

She recalled how it was “virtually impossible” to get a mortgage as a single mother in 1995.

Ms Boylett said she hadn’t had a holiday in four years, had done her own kitchen renovation and dropped nights out to pay off.

But it was her advice to millennials that sparked online outrage and was forced to

“They (millennials) want, you know, the latest cell phone, the latest iPad, they want a nice car, they want to go on a vacation, they still want to go out to dinner — they pay $20 or $30 for a drink when they go out, have a good time,” Ms Boylett told the ABC.

“You have to say, ‘Okay, am I willing to keep my phone for four years? Am I willing to cut costs?