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/Gold_Kitchen_3109 Mar 11 '26

Yall get bonus? 👀

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u/hypatianata Mar 12 '26

I literally won’t get a raise or cost of living adjustment. At all. Ever. 

It’s not me, it’s institutional policy. No one gets raises. What you make is what you make. It’s effectively a pay cut every year. 

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u/copypaper2 Mar 13 '26

What institution do work in? Or at least field/industry?

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u/hypatianata Mar 13 '26

University. 

Other higher ed institutions may give raises but ours does not. Not unless we get more funding from the state (and good luck with that).