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A retired boomer unleashed an online firestorm after suggesting young people stop eating out and upgrade their mobile phones as she recalled the sacrifices she made to buy a home during the sky-high interest rates of the 1990s.
Sydney retiree Kerrie Boylett, 68, said it was “virtually impossible” to get approved for a home loan in 1995 as a single mother.
She said a lender eventually agreed to lend her the money to buy her first home in the Sydney beachside suburb of Coogee for $150,000 with a 15 per cent deposit.
With a variable interest rate of 19 percent, Ms. Boylett said she struggled to make ends meet on a low income and once had her electricity cut off because she couldn’t pay the bill.
She said she had no vacation for four years after buying her house, did her own kitchen renovations and gave up party nights.
‘I would have dinners at my house for friends, instead of going out, buying two kilos of meat and making a salad and spaghetti bolognese and a cake. And that’s how I had friends and entertainment: at home,” Ms Boylett told the abc.
But it was his advice to millennials that reignited the debate over which generation of owners has had it harder.
He suggested that young people too could own their own home if they made sacrifices by forgoing vacations, going out to eat and buying the latest gadget.
Kerrie Boylett made many sacrifices to make ends meet after buying her first home in 1995.
Kerrie Boylett reignited the debate over which generation of homeowners fared worse
‘They [millennials] they want, you know, the latest cell phone, the latest iPad, they want a nice car, they want to go on vacation, they still want to go to restaurants – they pay $20 or $30 for a drink if they go out, have a good time,’ he said.
“You have to say, ‘Okay, am I ready to keep my phone for four years? Am I ready to cut it down?’
Ms Boylett’s views sparked fury on social media among younger Australians struggling to get their foot on the property ladder. The median home price in Coogee is now $3.7 million, while units sell for an average of $1.32 million.
‘My heart is now in pieces for this woman who struggled for five years in the 1990s after buying a $150,000 home in Coogee at 19% interest rates,” journalist and author Amy Remeikis tweeted.
“She’s absolutely right: my phone is the reason I can’t afford to buy and not because houses are around $1 million.”
Another Twitter user pointed out that Ms Boylett, a former managing general manager at hotel giant Merivale, received a $2 million inheritance from founder John Hemmes in 2015, likely contributing to her property portfolio later in life.
Kerrie Boylett’s comments and advice to millennials have sparked backlash online
Ms. Boylett’s advice for millennials also sparked discussion on Reddit.
‘Literally everyone in this country has been making sacrifices for the last two years, it should be rich. Somehow I think how much money I save has more to do with my rent nearly doubling than the amount of coffees and meals I cook at home,” wrote one.
Another argued that they still can’t afford to buy even after removing the luxuries.
A Sydney retiree sparked controversy after recalling her struggles to make ends meet as a home-owning single mother in the mid-1990s.
‘I can’t afford a house because I’m paying close to $600 a week to the owner who bought the house so I can benefit from it. Maybe it’s the people who do this who need to make sacrifices, like stop buying houses to profit from people, they wrote.
Others pointed out that the 19 percent interest rate would have only been for a few years.
‘These people continue as if they paid 19% over the life of the loan. Interest rates were at their peak for a short time, then fell sharply,” one commented.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Boylett for further comment.
Kerrie Boylett (left) was previously the general manager of administration at Merivale