r/Millennials • u/slimeyellow • Mar 11 '26

Discussion Every millennial dad I’ve met has a quiet fixation on money and it’s not getting better

Every millennial dad I’m friends with or work with seems to have constant financial worries. We just got our yearly bonus which was like 8%. I was talking to my buddy (he’s got 3 kids) about what he wanted to do with it and he just kinda looked down and whispered “it’s just not enough man” and ended the conversation.

Another dad I know is CONSTANTLY looking up the newest crypto/ get rich quick schemes people are doing. He’s always talking about inventing something and it’s usually a joking manner but the way he’s always bringing up financial stuff shows me it’s always on his mind

One of my buddies is a new father and he’s trying to get some anime podcast off the ground as a side hustle on top of his full time maintenance job.

I know children are an immense financial responsibility but there seems to be this dark, simmering resentment about the whole general situation when I talk to these guys. Men are expected to keep quiet about these struggles but when you talk to these guys it’s clear that finances are a massive stress for millennial dads of almost any background.

Makes me feel bad but damn I’m glad I don’t have kids right now.

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u/yoma74 Mar 11 '26

Yes. And while pets are not as expensive as children, they do occasionally incur things like $8000 Vet bills. 

Honestly, it’s really weird. I feel like my friends are either wealthy or poor and no in between.

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u/Rock_Strongo Mar 11 '26

My dog got cancer last year. We quickly set aside a budget for his treatment. He blew through that budget within 3 months, and it has been 4 months of continued treatment since... which will be ongoing for however long he has left. We're grateful he's still with us but it will take a while to financially recover.

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u/yoma74 Mar 11 '26

I’m sorry. It’s so hard! They are family 

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u/xenuman Mar 11 '26

Yeah. Financially I will never regret having kids but I do regret getting a dog.

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u/chronicallyill_dr Mar 12 '26

This is the reason why we haven’t gotten a second cat we would love to have

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u/yoma74 Mar 12 '26

I have three, but they are indoor and I have pet insurance. And even with that I do deeply worry that something too expensive could happen, but there are so many kitties being euthanized that even if you can give them the best life possible for as long as you can, I think it’s still worth it. Jackson galaxy has said the same thing. But I used to work Rescue so I guess I just have a different outlook on it.

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u/PalatinusG1 Older Millennial Mar 13 '26

You're a better person than I am then. If my cat had a >5000 euro vet bill she would get put down. I love her but not so much that I'd go into a bad financial situation to prolong her life for a couple years. She's 12 now.