Millennials are crazy about fancy food, but can we afford it?
According to “The Emerging Millennial Wealth Gap,” a recent report from the nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank New America, millennials earn 20% less than baby boomers did at the same stage of life. We are less wealthy than our boomer elders were and we are spending more than ever on luxury goods.
Take, for instance, avocado toast.
This ultimate luxury breakfast food was coined in 2017 as the reason why millenials can’t afford homes.
This scapegoat food continues to get a bad rep even today. Most recently, I saw my favorite personal finance YouTuber’s take on avocado toast:
Graham is right: if we invested our daily $14.10 toast in a mutual fund with 7% interest and dividends reinvested, we’d have about 2.4 million dollars in 50 years.
Don’t kick yourself yet, though….
I love avocado toast, and I am also passionate about personal finance. After a night in the restaurant, I will relax to some ‘Tube and tinker with my finance excel sheet. I am diligent about investing, and I look forward to maxing my Roth every year and watching it grow.
This being said, I can’t seem to wrap my mind around how little guilt I feel when splurging on avocado toast, pour over coffee, and tasting menus.
Maybe it’s because I’m a restaurant industry professional.
Maybe it’s because I want to make food writing my career.
Maybe it’s because eating out is like theater.
Maybe it’s because I’d rather eat the damn toast than pay for a car.
Excuses aside, the reality is that I’d rather splurge on a theatrical night of entertainment than deal with the ongoing financial pressure of recurring costs from physical goods.
I value travel, free time, quality time with friends, and digging into culture through food.
And, above all else, I’d rather eat the avocado toast now AND invest my money than live like a hermit (sorry, Graham).
Avocado toast is a symbol of our times and it also reflects how our values have shifted as the result of technological, economic, and societal changes.
Let’s all take pictures of our 14$ avocado toast with our high quality micro-cameras, share them with friends on social media, and head off to the next destination.
Let’s also do this while keeping the savings account healthy.