Sajid Javid’s comments reported in Peter Walker’s article (‘£90k is a lot of avocados’: Javid defends millennials who can’t afford a home, theguardian.com, 16 November) could not be more accurate. As a 24-year-old, I am so often forced to listen to my elders’ indignation for my choosing to take a holiday, or have a meal out with friends when every penny I earn should be saved for a house. When you consider increasing prices and decreasing availability of property in the UK, along with the banks’ appetites to lend being lower than ever, it’s unlikely I will ever own my own home. Perhaps I just need to accept that thousands of us are destined to spend the rest of our lives throwing all of our money at the people who own the properties we rent from them while they complain about how irresponsible we are.
Sam Webb
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
• Have you heard about the massive discounts available for the under-25s? Unfortunately not; in reality the only thing reduced for us is our wages. Under-25s are excluded from the pitiful “national living wage”. From 21-24 we can be paid as little as £7.05 per hour, and for 18-20 a shocking £5.60 for doing exactly the same hours in exactly the same job. Even working full-time a 24-year-old might get as little as £14,500 per annum. And we’re far more likely to be on a zero-hours contract. You can’t build a life on that. We want to move out, start families, make our own way in the world. We’ll never do that while being exploited as cheap labour for big retail and catering businesses. It’s time to fight for a real living wage for all.
Róisín McLaren
West Calder, West Lothian
• Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett may joke (Opinion, 16 November), but as real baby boomers, born in the 1940s, we really did forego meals in order to buy our first house – in a godforsaken Essex suburb.
I also had two jobs. We had no holidays, no wine, no trips or treats, no car, very few clothes and no furniture. Neither could we afford heating. That’s how we did it. Fifty years later, my (new) husband still takes home-made sandwiches to work. Old habits die hard.
Naomi Clayton
London
• In order to ensure equality, can the chancellor also introduce a railcard for the 31- to 59-year-old (Report, 21 November)?
Paresh Motla
Thame, Oxfordshire
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
