We need to talk more about what Gen X and older millennials have been through financially. They survived the 2008 recession, spent years rebuilding, got hit by a pandemic, and then watched housing, groceries, insurance, and everyday expenses become increasingly unaffordable. Now it’s 2026, and people in their 40s and 50s are trying to save for retirement while still catching up on financial milestones they expected to reach a decade ago. At some point, we have to acknowledge that an entire generation has spent much of its adult life recovering from one economic crisis after another.