Avoiding paid work to focus on video games is something most people would expect a teenager to do. However, Mark from Austin, Texas has leveled down to this lifestyle at 46.
On a recent episode of Caleb Hammer’s YouTube show Financial Audit, Mark described how he gave up a full-time job and cashed out his retirement savings to pursue acting and online streaming, but ended up spending all his money and time on video games. Nearly broke, Mark now relies on his elderly parents for financial support.
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Hammer called him a “selfish, immature baby.” However, Mark’s detachment from the workforce is a growing trend in America.
Male labor crisis
The number of men in their prime working years has declined over the last 70 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The participation rate for men between the ages of 25 and 54 declined from 98% in September 1954 to 89% in January 2024.
Education and mismatched skills in the evolving job market could have a role to play, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton found that there was a decline in physical and mental health for this cohort, which could be contributing to the trend.
Mark told Hammer he had major surgery on two bulging discs in his back after lifting weights for a previous job. That left him on disability for six weeks. However, his medical condition cannot fully explain his recent financial decisions.
Mark briefly worked at FedEx earning $50,000 a year with medical benefits and paid time off. He described it as a good job but said he quit because he “hated it.” After his departure, Mark cashed out his 401(k) account for $5,250 (after taxes), intending to use the funds to finance a Twitch streaming career.
But he admitted to squandering the money on a PlayStation 5 and 4K television screen, and frittering away nine weeks playing video games for leisure instead.
“My 401(k) is gone. It’s gone!” he confessed.
Mark says he did make up to $6,000 a month from a brief stint streaming on Twitch but had to give up on the dream after burning out from exhaustion. He now drives for Uber and Lyft to make ends meet.
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Mark’s enablers
Mark’s gig work with Uber and Lyft delivers between $650 to $750 on “a good week,” he said. But that’s not enough to fund his lifestyle, so he relies on payday lenders and his elderly parents for money.
Last month he borrowed $750 from a payday lender, which is the largest deposit on his monthly statement according to Hammer. Roughly 12 million people use payday loans annually, according to Pew Research, and the annual percentage rate (APR) on these loans can be as high as 400%, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Expensive loans can be a hefty burden for someone without a stable income. However, Mark does have an extra player with coins: his parents. A month before his appearance on Financial Audit, he received $209 from his dad and $589 from his mom. Both his parents are retired and in their 70s.
“You are borrowing from your mid-70s parents so that you can sit on your a–,” Hammer said bluntly.
According to USA Today, 65% of American parents provide financial support to their adult children. However, one-third of these parents admit that this support also causes financial strain for them.
To pull himself out of this cohort, Hammer recommended a tighter, bare-bones budget to allow Mark to pay off debt. He added that Mark needs to look for gainful employment to pwn his financial woes.
Parents who are experiencing financial stress because their children are constantly coming back to the well should discuss their situation with a financial advisor, suggests insurer The Hartford. That way parents can revisit their retirement plan and work on a strategy to cut the umbilical line.
If an abrupt stop seems too harsh, parents can introduce their children to their financial advisor and suggest apps that can teach them how to budget properly. Sometimes teaching them financial skills is the best 1-up a parent can give.
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