Life cost of living Gen Z millennials

A newspaper said millennials and Gen Z can’t afford to buy homes because of “splurging” on rotisserie chickens – 21 responses that are a giant ‘cluck you!’

Michael White. Updated February 15th, 2026

There are many complex reasons why millennials and Gen Z age groups cannot afford to get on the property ladder.

Things like student debt, flatlining wages, skyrocketing house prices.

And now…cooked chickens?

Yes, the ‘Wall Street Journal’ this week reported on the rise of so-called trendy grocery stores in Manhattan, where young people “swaddled in expensive parkas and slinging luxury purses” queue to get in.

“Gen Zers and millennials are swimming in student debt and may never own homes, but they’re splurging on gut-healthy juices and rotisserie chickens,” the piece said.

As a reader’s note under the WSJ’s tweet reads, “rotisserie chickens are highly cost-effective, often cheaper per lb of edible meat than raw due to no shrinkage/convenience. To label them as “splurging” is misleading.”

Understandably, the article has gone viral, with lots of the targeted age groups uniting in a giant ‘cluck you’ to the paper.

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Source: Twitter/X/WSJ