Woman's Boomer Neighbor Owns a Plane, but She Needs to Cut Back on Expenses
The mom of four isn't asking for a whole airplane at her house, she is merely on the hunt for affordable daycare.
Updated March 29 2024, 12:06 p.m. ET
I think about money a lot. I'm definitely someone who has had to check their bank account before making any significant purchases. By the way in this scenario, significant can be anything from dinner to a concert ticket. There has rarely been a time in my life when I haven't mostly lived paycheck-to-paycheck. Let's just say, I know how to budget and cut a corner. My corners have been so cut I am living in a circle, baby!
My situation has often been exacerbated by the fact that my mother, who is a well-meaning and supportive member of the Boomer generation, doesn't always understand my financial struggles. Despite the fact that she is now retired and living on a fixed income, a luxury I doubt I will ever see, she often thinks I've spent money incorrectly. This is why I understand the frustration felt by one TikToker who doesn't need advice from Boomers when some of them have planes parked in their driveways.
Despite what you think, it's not OK, Boomers.
Paige, who goes by @sheisapaigeturner on TikTok, is tired of explaining the ridiculous cost of living to a generation who kind of had a hand in making things bad. It seems as if any time Paige dares to express her concern over the astronomical price of childcare, some Boomer swoops in and demands she needs to "learn how to live within her means."
It's funny what kind of advice a person will give when they don't have all the information. For example, if I wasn't in possession of Paige's entire financial portfolio I wouldn't tell her that she's spending her money incorrectly.
On a personal note, I do see that my mother is usually out of the loop because she doesn't live almost exclusively online like I do. If or when the television is on, it's turned to HGTV or something on a streaming service she's watching at the moment. She has Facebook and never logs on. All this to say, I kind of get when Boomers have no idea what is happening outside of their own world.
Still, if you don't know what's happening then please don't give unsolicited advice. And don't filter someone else's experiences through your own. This is the same kind of thinking that gets us the "I had to pay for college, so should you" crown when it comes to student loan forgiveness.
Paige then pulls from her own life to show just how out of touch Boomers are. Looking around her neighborhood, which she says is mostly members of that generation, Paige is able to deduce that they might not be on the same rung of the financial ladder.
The house across the street from Paige has three cars in the driveway, which isn't so bad until she explains only two people live there. Other than Jay Leno, who has an extra car? One of the cars is a collector's item. When someone casually collects something I use for utilitarian purposes, that's how I know they have money.
That's not the craziest part of this driveway. There is also an airplane in the driveway which begs the question, does Paige live across the street from John Travolta? Either that's a big driveway or a very small plane.
Paige isn't asking for a whole airplane at her house, she is merely on the hunt for affordable daycare. Gosh, maybe the neighbors can open up a facility in the plane. That would kill two birds with one stone.
In what feels like some sort of prank, Paige then moves onto the house next to the plane place. They have four cars and a boat. I'm now thinking she must live by some sort of dealership.
I'm going to say one thing in defense of these people. Unless I missed something, Paige is responding to other people who have told her to "stop being so materialistic." A different group of Boomers have told Paige to curb her spending enthusiasm.
We have no idea who they are and how they reached such great heights, one of them literally. At the end of the day this is a systemic issue. Sadly, we can't control where we are or how we got here. We can only control, honestly nothing. Things are bleak!