Two years ago, an Australian billionaire named Tim Gruner had an interesting advice for millennials who wanted to buy a house but could not. "Stop buying avocado toasts," he said.
Well, we all know the price point at which restaurants usually sell avocado toasts; as if that smear of green softness came straight out of some exotic land, half-accessible from humanity. According to Gurner, people who own homes have worked very, very hard, and saved every dollar they could. This is especially true for the baby boomers from the middle class with very moderate incomes, who managed to buy their houses mostly in their 40s, or even 50s. Gurner goes ahead and adds lattes to the list of indulgences young people should ideally forgo. Now the internet is divided on this one. According to me, the guy makes sense. In a way, he is not pointing fingers at just the toast and the coffee, but every single indulgence that doesn't make economical sense for the younger generation. T
Let's talk about the indulgences of our generation. It doesn't stop at avocado toasts and Iced Coffee. The list includes breakfasts of all kinds, weekends bar bills, Uber Sedans (UberGo doesn't cut it for most people), weekend gateways, online shopping, products for nine-step skincare regimes, frequently changing mobile phones (an iPhone at that!), and the endless number of shoes.
Now let's see if we can live without any of these. Surprise, surprise, we can. The pandemic has reinforced the fact that we can live without anything that is a non-essential. But can we? And if we can, for how long can we stretch the minimalistic lifestyle? I tried asking a few of these questions to people of my generation.
"I won't move to an android, that's for sure."
"No, no, no...I can't cook, I won't cook. Can I cook? Let me think."
The lockdown just got lifted and you are asking me if my two-year quarantined ass wants to go to a pub this weekend? Oh, that was a question. Okay.
The resistance was unanimous, even when most agreed that savings are important. I, for one, understand that not buying avocado toast alone won't allow me to buy a house. But I have another theory. If you start saving, wherever possible, without looking like a maniac, your brain will constantly tell you you are saving for a house. In a way, you will be preparing for the day you buy one. You will start to hold on buying things that make perfect sense at your current place, but have no place in your dream home. With time, without you even realising, you would have ended up working towards your goal, simply because it has been on your mind. Every saving you decided in the name of something bigger, would have triggered the same thought, and hence action.
I hope I am making sense. Thanks for reading a non-fashion blog post. I will go, have my coffee now :)
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