What would Jesus say about all the avocado toast and lattes that keep millennials from being able to buy houses?

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear (Matt 6:25a).

Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Matt 8:20).

Tomorrow will take care of itself. Today’s worries are enough for today. Perhaps the stereotypical millennial who spends $13 on avocado toast and $7 on a latte is simply following Jesus’ teachings! This boomer critique of my generation made its rounds several years ago, and I’m just now getting around to doing the math.

First it was Bernard Salt, complaining “young people order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop and more,” and that’s why they can’t afford to buy a home. Later he said he was satirizing other boomers. Then millionaire millennial Tim Gurner sincerely repeated the criticism.

The housing market and widening wealth gap are why many young people are living with their families or sharing apartments. Saving for a 20% down payment on a median-priced home would require skipping approximately 6,076 avocado toasts or 11,286 lattes. If avocado toast is a three-times-a-week indulgence, it will take 39 years of sacrificing the treat to save the money for a down payment – assuming they didn’t spend any of that toast money on a cheaper breakfast. (Homes.com reports U.S. median home price of $395,000 in August 2026. 20% = $79,000.) 

So we can release some judgment about saving up for a house. But our frugal and practical Anabaptist sensibilities may still prickle at spending $13 on avocado toast and $7 on a latte (e.g., The River Coffeehouse in North Webster, Ind.).

Yet human nature gives us this tendency. When we know we cannot afford the long-term joy (down payment on a first home) most of us are more likely to spend money on short-term joy (avocado toast and lattes). Let tomorrow take care of itself, because I sure can’t see how I can do it.

Avocado toast and lattes are actually a common breakfast in my house, though always homemade. Stay tuned for a future article about the ethics of buying avocados.

If Jesus walked into my favorite coffeeshop today, I have no idea if he’d order a latte or not. But he would celebrate extended families and intentional communities sharing homes and expenses together.

As our economic crises and housing crises and loneliness crises and despair crises continue to peak, are we primed for spiritual and social salvation?

Recipe: Avocado toast

Our boomer neighbors love it when we make avocado toast for farm breakfast. When it’s just the two of us, we eat it basic:

• Toast
• Avocado
• Salt and pepper

But for company, we add:

• Radishes
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Cilantro or basil
• Pickled red onions
• Black garlic

I find that a medium avocado is perfect for three pieces of bread, but you can absolutely use more or less depending on how much ripe avocado you have. Two pieces of bread per person are wonderfully filling.

Instructions

1. Toast the bread.
2. Cut the avocado in half. Carefully and confidently tap the knife into the pit and turn slightly. The pit will come out easily on your knife.
3. Then slice each avocado half into about six slices and fan them out on toast. (It’s prettiest to leave it in slices, but more practical to smash all the avocado first and then spread it like butter. Up to you).
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Then add any other toppings you choose.