Millennial Mom Compares Her Life to Boomer Parents': 'Math Ain't Mathin''

A millennial mom has tried to work out how her parents could afford an upper-middle-class lifestyle with six children on a single income, while she has two children and two incomes but has to save for half a decade for a family vacation.

In the video, shared on Instagram by @honestly.kaitlyn, Kaitlyn Nilles compares how her family lived when she was growing up to how she lives now. The on-screen text says her parents "lived in an upper middle class neighborhood, had two cars, a boat, took multiple family vacations a year and my mom did not have to work."

According to a Bankrate survey shared with Newsweek, almost two in five (38 percent) Gen Zers and millennials (aged between 18 and 43) thought it was easier for their parents to accumulate wealth than it was for them. The New York–based consumer financial services company found that 17 percent of respondents believed they had it easier than their parents.

The latter belief does not ring true for Nilles, who works for a technology company. She captioned the video, "The math ain't mathin'." At the time of writing, the video, posted on March 7, had received 682,000 views.

Newsweek reached out to Nilles for comment via email. We could not verify the details of the case.

Newsweek discussed the clip, which has over 14,500 likes, with Stephen Kates, the principal financial analyst at Annuity.org.

"There are numerous factors that have impacted family size today, including higher education levels and later marriage age—both of which limit the length of time that many couples are able to have children. However, some of the most significant factors are financial and economic limitations or perceived limitations. There are many large and small factors that contribute," Kates said.

He continued: "Student debt is a tremendous burden on millennials and Gen Z. Both generations have far exceeded their parents in educational attainment, and with that comes added debt burden. These heavy monthly expenses further limit many couples' abilities to begin or expand their families for fear of difficult financial circumstances.

"Housing affordability is at an all-time low, which makes many couples plan for fewer children or delay having children until they feel secure in purchasing an adequate home. Even though the average house is larger than in the past, Americans today expect more room and more household amenities, which can limit the usable bedroom space within a home. Home offices are one such requirement."

Kates also said daycare costs can be financially challenging for couples today, whereas in most older generations, women stayed at home to care for their children.

The video of Nilles seems to have resonated with millennials who see their own struggles reflected in its message.

Speaking from experience, one user wrote: "Tell me about it. My mom worked Saturday mornings at a Benjamin Moore paint store and my dad was a bartender in our small country town of 5000 people ... we had a sailboat and yacht club membership, a horse, 3 dogs, 2 cars, each our own kayak, a beautiful house, and lived in a town that was otherwise full of rich CEOs or retired people ... I'll never understand how the 90's worked!"

"Everything was paid cash, (credit card and interest [is] killing people), there wasn't social media telling you you need more and more, staying home mom would cook everything from scratch saving so much money, you [didn't] need a new iPhone every year ... now we work far from home, food are so expensive, housing, cars cost way more," another user wrote.

Another commenter added: "Inflation is real."

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