Rent, household items, cost of external activities, and health insurance (sometimes, see parents' insurance plans) are still subject to that group - which my sources show clear outpacing for - even with youth's increase in wages.

For someone that lives with their parents and works full time, yeah - they've probably never had it better. But a lot of youth right now have expenses drawn out in such a way where, even if they're making more than their predecessors, they have less upwards mobility for today, let alone any potential to invest in assets that afford them any upwards mobility in the future.

But what you are claiming is contradicted by the data you shared. When you weight the categories you listed by how much that age group spends, they still have more money (young people spend much much less on healthcare, you'd be shocked at how little they actually spend. You have to look at out of pocket costs, not provider charges which mostly not paid in full)

It doesn't, and you’re slicing a narrow cohort and using a generic basket. Under-25/25-34 spend a much bigger share on housing, and rents ripped; that combo compresses “real” gains even when wages tick up. If you match the cohort to the basket, the situation looks tighter for young renters. Unless you'd want to come from the position or angle that young people AREN'T renting or buying groceries that these data points support?

I don't think what you're saying is true actually, do you have data? I assume young people actually spend a smaller proportion on rent because older people spend a very large portion (65+ spend around half)

I mean partly, but it's because you’re mixing up aggregate vs within-group numbers. In this BLS table [1], the housing tenure lines do the work: 85% of under-25s rent, 58% of 25-34 rent, and only 22% of 65+ rent, while 53% of 65+ own outright. That’s exactly the exposure I’m talking about: young adults are mostly renters, so the rent surge bites them first.

1 - https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables/calendar-year/aggregate-group...

Maybe I am misreading but it looks like young people spend less than average

Copy it into ChatGPT and ask "how much does each age group spend on housing"

???

You're going to have to share with me what that means. Are you using GPT to come to your conclusions? Did you read the BLS table and literally CTRL+F the data percentages I gave?

CPI inflation adjustment accounts for this, that's the purpose of it. You're trying to bend the data to your pre-existing beliefs.

While correct, CPI-U is still an average. The spending mix of a young adult runs differently, and recent Fed work shows inflation isn’t uniform by group, with younger age groups often higher post-2021. So CPI-adjusted can still overstate how far a young renter’s paycheck goes.

Of course it's an average, again, that's the point. Thats how you make generalizations about what's going on.

Saying:

>"Thats how you make generalizations about what's going on."

Right after saying:

>"You're trying to bend the data to your pre-existing beliefs.

Is a little funny, but fair play.

I don't see how. You are engaging in a discussion about what is generally happening, meaning aggregating data is required.

If you want to have a conversation about specific people, then yes, you can find some young renter that is having problems. But that does not make it generally true.