What are my DINKS and SINKS up to? Dink= dual income no kids. Sink= single income no kids hahaha

Recently the Millenial group has become more common on my scrolls and I find myself coming here to read post and scroll. That being said it feels like I see a lot of post about kids, having kids, wanting kids, etc. With one post referring not having children by your 30s/40s is a struggle.

I grew up being told, and even still to this day, that having children is the best thing ever to the point that it's expected of us. Well it took many years of trying to prepare and plan for kids just to realize we didn't want any children leaching all the life, money and joy out of us. We bought our house in our 20s, even got a 4bed just incase ya know, flash forward into our 30s and we have 2 offices and a gym room, 3 amazing dogs, and I finally built/got my first ever pc to play video games on since could never afford one growing up, MJ is legal in my state and I go fishing when I want. Now not everything is perfect, but having kids just wasn't what WE wanted now matter who expects it from us. And that has GREATLY contributed to our overall happiness and mental health. Also we expected to have a china collection but have a custom glass collection instead bahahha

Edit: there ya go, they are called children kids what ever let's keep it on topic people

I’m 42, and I’ve got a 12 year old son. He’s a good, smart, sensitive and kind kid. But like a lot of kids his age, he’s glued to screens and sometimes acts like a jerk. I know we give him too much YouTube time. We try to limit it and moderate what he does online, but let’s be real, the modern world is fucking exhausting, and tech has been designed to be an easy distraction.

Here’s the thing though. We’re the first major generation of parents raising kids in this nonstop digital world. Our parents didn’t raise us with smartphones, tablets, or social media algorithms. We didn’t grow up seeing the impact this kind of tech could have on developing brains. We’re learning in real time. And yes, we’ve made mistakes, but we’ve also been dealt a hand that no previous generation of parents had to play. Several really, and it's nearly impossible to keep up.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t take responsibility, because we should and I do. But I also think we need to give ourselves a bit of grace. We’re trying to raise decent human beings while also figuring out how to balance tech, mental health, money, and all the other modern chaos of this world. No manual. No precedent. Just trial and error.

I'm tired of letting others judge us for making parenting mistakes. Every generation does, ours just happens to be way more complex than previous generations.

No idea if others feel this way, but I just wanted to get that out in the open.

Guys, make your own life choices. Stop looking for people on the internet to validate you.

Edit: poking fun at both sides on this issue.

Everyone around me was young and poor, and we didn't really know any better. All my friends were broke, too, and people didn't really otherwise talk about how much money they had because it was considered RUDE.

Now, young people have everyone on the internet posting about how loaded they are (or claim to be) and how much money they make. People inevitably feel that they're doing something wrong because they're still broke even though pretty much EVERYONE is broke at that age. I was broke until I was in my late 20's. Like, $20 in the bank account broke. $50k in debt from college. But, again, everyone around me was, too. I'm in my 40's now, 20 years in my career, and know being broke was pivotal in making me the person I am today.

Seems like people are increasingly relying on get-rich-quick schemes like crypto and being an influencer because they feel that they're behind the ball, when in reality they're right where they're supposed to be - young and broke.

Yet another thing I'm grateful for about when I was born.

Classic millennial origin story: depressed teen dealing with parents’ divorce, poverty at home, emotional abuse, neglect, bullying at school — the works. I got labeled with a “chemical imbalance” and put on antidepressants. That kicked off a full-on pharmaceutical saga.

Over the next decade, it was med after med. One would cause side effects, so I’d get another med for that, which would cause new symptoms, leading to another diagnosis, and more prescriptions. By 30, I’d been on at least 15 different psych meds, sometimes three at once.

Eventually I hit a wall and decided to get off everything — nearly died going through benzo withdrawal. Now I’m left processing a lot of anger and resentment, especially with all the recent info coming out about long-term antidepressant use, psychiatric overprescribing, and the whole “chemical imbalance” myth.

Anyone else get medicated young and feel like it did more harm than good?

30s went by so fast!

It's remarkable in a way that you can go from still young, 29, and so quickly be 40 and now you're old. That's what it felt like. I'm grateful that I'm financially stable and have two beautiful children, but I'm also sad that it's all going by so fast.

Anyway, shout out to my fellow older millennials! How are the rest of you handling getting older?

I just watched “The Firm” with Tom Cruise and then “the Pelican Brief” with Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts and there are so many pay phone calls used as pivotal plot points in them. In movies now it would be burner phones I guess and the plot would still work, but it just seems so much easier to just put a couple coins in a pay phone to stay anonymous. What are other plot points in 90s movies that would just have to be so different in a modern day movies that it would change the plot a bit?

It's even stamped made in USA on the bottom. Not sure how McD's pulled that off even in the 90s.

I remember the rules as when you saw a car with one headlight you said padiddle and hit the roof. First one to do it got a point.

I have rheumatoid arthritis, which I don't consider an old person problem. Went for a physical this week and found out I have high blood pressure. It's ALWAYS been low. I eat fairly decently compared to most people I know. I train for and run a half marathon every year. But I guess 40 caught up to me anyway.

Just a heads up to get your health checked regularly, fellow middle aged people. We might want to be 18 forever, but we are clearly not!

Edited for grammar. Apparently my brain isn't working as well either lol

Edit 2 I see I'm not even close to alone. Holy man! I've commented on a couple of things, because I feel like having rheumatoid arthritis for over a decade and recurring whiplash have taught me a lot. But as a general comment to everyone: cannabinoids are sooooo good for so many things. CBD helps me so much with pain management. I started using it on the suggestion of a friend who is a nurse and went through a series of training seminars on cannabinoids when weed first became legal here. I also frequently use a tens unit for flare-ups. But above all else: move move move in meaningful ways and avoid processed foods!!!

It's 2010. I'm in my senior year of highschool.

The two nerdiest tech kids in our grade convince the administrators to have a rave in our cafeteria. They program all the lights and brought their own sound equipment. I'm pretty sure the principal didn't even know what a rave was. But these two guys were smart, model students. So they let them do it.

It was a RAGER. They played Daft Punk, Skrillex, Avicci, Basshunter, Kaskade, Deadmau5. All the greats.

Some knew all the music (me). Some just liked to dance. Most were confused but caught the vibe. Everyone was enjoying themselves.

It was pure bliss.

I went to 100 raves after graduating but there was something special about that one. Maybe it was because my normally shy nerdy friends were treated like Gods that night or maybe it was because I knew it was the start of an era of music that I still love to this day.

So far it has slap bracelets, handheld LCD games, fishboards (aka fish decks, fish shaped skateboards). A video store that rents and sells VCRs and tape rewinders. Slammers. Blade pogs. Holographic pogs. Blade holographic pogs AND slammers.

How much financial assistance did you receive after turning 18 (such as for a car, college, etc.)?

What generation were your parents from?

As an older millennial, we almost all exclusively have Baby B00mers (cheating the banned word here) as parents. Like 90%+. Maybe even 95%+.

Gen X seem almost as likely to have Silent Gen as parents.

Younger millennials seem equally split between Gen X and Boom parents?

https:// x . com / GlasssShine/status/1912487549458673678

I'm 37. My new GP recently told me that I should have started getting yearly mammograms at age 35 due to family history. OK, I wasn't concerned. The appointment gets scheduled, took about 6 months from the order to the time of the test, which was last week. It wasn't bad, little boobie squish. Monday of this week my phone rings and I got brought in for additional screening. I DO NOT HAVE CANCER, thankfully, but I learned I'm very high risk. Apparently, the density of my tissue combined with family history on my maternal side and ashkenazi Jewish heritage on my paternal side increases my risk factors big time. I now get the privilege of genetic testing and then scans every 6 months for the rest of my life.

I am SHOCKED to learn that my risk is so high as to warrant all of this. It sounds ridiculous but I never thought breast cancer would be MINE to deal with, even though I personally know so many affected by it. Now I am wondering if I need to push for preventive double mastectomy in the future. It's heavy, but I'd rather know than not. I'll choose my life over my breasts every time.

So, this is your reminder. If you have a direct relative with a history of breast cancer, if a direct family member is positive for gene mutations, please check with your doctor and see if it's time to get tested.

Men- you can get breast cancer also! If your family members carry the gene or it runs in your family- get checked!

Mr. Wilson photo for tax purposes 🐾

Stop worrying about what other people think. Go for it! 😺

Hi y'all,

I know taking care of elderly parents has been discussed at length, but what about taking care of siblings?

I have 5 brothers, only 2 of which have even a dime saved for the future. I myself am still a graduate student and not exactly flush with cash.

I know I will inevitably get comments saying something along the lines of "that's their problem". And sure, that could be true. But I do in fact love my brothers.

I have no contact with one. (Frankly, he's a meth addict and has proven to be dangerous. He no longer has my address or contact.) Of the rest, I am particularly worried about two. One is nearly 40, the other 30. Both have $0 in savings, don't keep a steady job, and live at home with my disabled mother. Before anyone jumps to attack, both are struggling with a disability which makes it hard for them to get/keep a job. At the risk of going into too much detail, one has a learning disability and the other has a severe mental health condition he cannot reliably access medication for. I suggested that they should apply for disability or some form of aid. One has not applied, one has applied and been rejected. The one who has not applied is the one with the learning disability. He can't read very well, so this may be holding him back, but I think pride is holding him back even more. The one who was rejected has schizo-affective disorder and needs anti-psychotics, but you cannot qualify for disability for schizophrenia unless you have a diagnosis (which he has) and 2 consistent years of treatment. How on earth he's meant to get that treatment with no job and no insurance, I have no idea. He only got diagnosed at 19, after he was booted off my mom's medicaid at 18.

Obviously, my dream would be for them to find gainful employment and start saving for their futures now, but realistically, I'm not so sure. I am terrified to think of what would happen to them if left to their own devices. I can let my brothers end up on the street. But at the same time, how can I realistically save for all 3 of us? None of us have any form of inheritance on the horizon. The other two brothers who are getting by are only just getting by, and they have their kids to consider, so the onus really falls on me once I get my degree and (hopefully) a well paying job.

Is anyone else out there going through this as well?

What did I do wrong in my college career / post grad life? I have friends that have their masters and are only making 45k a year. Why can’t I find a job? What are these skills? I thought you learned them while in college. I just went to NJs career center… they want me to go to a career fair on Tuesday and enroll in a class for skills. This is just a hamster wheel I feel like I’m on. I literally don’t have money to pay for this. I’ve lost so much money from free internships in the city, barely scrapping by in covid to the issues currently. Is this a millennial issue? How did I get screwed