My youngest starts debate club this week, and honestly, I couldn't have scripted a better fit. That boy has been arguing with me since he could talk, so this feels less like a new activity and more like him finally getting credit for a skill he's had all along.
My orchid lanai extension officially passed final inspection, which has me pretty ecstatic. Now comes the fun part: lighting, fans, hangers, and all the little touches that make the space actually work for the collection. I will say, these inspectors do not mess around. We had our stairs built at an 8-inch height, and apparently code caps the maximum riser height at 7 and 3/4. And they actually gave us a hard time about it.
Senay made it out to the Florida Gators football game, and since the Gators happened to be playing a team nobody wanted tickets for, she ended up with seats right on the field. She also managed to get herself on the jumbo drone shot, so if you were watching, you may have caught a glimpse of her. Below, you can check it out. She's in the middle with the glasses on her head.
The Quiet Privilege of Stock Ownership
If you own stocks, you are one of the lucky ones. I want to show you just how lucky, with some real numbers.
The richest 10% of Americans own about 93% of all the stock owned by U.S. households. The bottom half of the country owns just 1%, worth about $540 billion. That's a huge gap.
Now look at age. Americans 55 and older own about 80% of all stock market wealth today. Twenty years ago that number was 60%. If you're in your 60s, 70s, or 80s, you're very likely part of that group. You didn't just get lucky with timing. You built this over decades, and it's real wealth working for you right now.
It's much harder for young people today
Here's the part I really want you to sit with. If you were saving and investing in your 20s and 30s back in the 1980s or 90s, you were doing it in a very different world.
Rent has gone up 169% since 1993. Income during that same time rose only about 90%. So rent grew nearly twice as fast as paychecks. Half of all renters today spend more than 30% of their income just on rent and utilities. Many spend 60% or more.
Add in student loan debt, which barely existed for most families a generation ago, and you can see why. Back then, a young couple could often set aside a little each paycheck for the future. Today, many young people can barely cover rent and groceries, let alone put anything into a brokerage account.
Homeownership tells the same story. About 80% of baby boomers own their home. For millennials, it's under half.
Why this should change how you see your own portfolio
When the market drops and your statement looks scary, I understand the fear. But I want you to remember something. You are sitting on an opportunity that fewer and fewer young Americans can even access right now. That's not something to feel guilty about. It's something to be grateful for.
You worked hard for what you have. You also had a runway that today's 25-year-old doesn't have. Both things are true.
You can now live in retirement based purely on the money your portfolio is making. Your money is working instead of you. Isn't that the idea? Isn't that what retirement planning is supposed to look like?
And I think that's exactly why gratitude matters here. Every dollar you have working for you in the market is a gift, one that came from decades of effort in a system that, for a long stretch of your life, made saving and investing more possible than it is for your grandkids right now.
What you can do with that privilege
This is where it gets hopeful. You can be part of the answer for the younger folks in your life.
Teach a grandchild how a Roth IRA works. Help a young adult in your family open their first investment account, even with just $50. Talk openly about money instead of keeping it private, the way many of us were raised to do. A little guidance from someone who has already walked the road can save a young person years of confusion and fear.
Have them go to www.Robinhood.com and set up an account; for many people, it's worth investing the money in an S&P 500 ETF or other low cost ETF's.
Markets go up. Markets go down. But you being in this market at all, after all these years? That is a real privilege. Fewer people your age understand just how good they have it. Even fewer young people today will get the same chance without help.
Be Blessed,
Dave