Comments on: Do millenials really have it bad?

By: R-Dubya

R-Dubya — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:57:37 +0000

I’m a 22 y/o single male, I don’t make massive money, (about $1,200 a month) but I live on my own, can pay all my bills, have money saved away for emergencies, etc. I think it all comes down to managing your money, I don’t live in excess, I have a television, a computer, and a car. I payed for all of these things in cash. Some people are just not mature enough to take responsibility for their life in general. Anyone complaining about not being able to “live” on their current wage/job needs to step back and look at what they are spending all their money on. If you have to choose between smoking weed and eating, I hope you have enough common sense to choose the latter. Most “kids” these days don’t have enough common sense to find their way out of a paper bag, let alone manage their own finances and set a budget for themselves. Everyone just needs to learn to be responsible, they should offer a class like that at the U of M.

By: MR

MR — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:10:40 +0000

I’m in my 20s, with a college degree. I can only speak from my own experience and that of talking to people I know, most of whom are also in their 20s with degrees. I can’t say “it’s worse” because I’ve never been a Gen-Xer or anything else. Looking at the linked report, it seems that my experiences aren’t out of the ordinary. Here are a few observations:
- Breaking into the workforce is really, really difficult. Even with internship experience or summer work experience, there are many, many jobs that are looking for 2-4 years of work experience, which makes getting those crucial 2-4 years tough. This means that you end up taking lower paying jobs or part time jobs out of your field, while working unpaid internships in your field.
- By and large, when you do break into the workforce, your job will not provide you with any sort of health coverage. Obviously this adds to your out-of-pocket expenses.
- Rising prices for gas and food affects everybody, but us young folks simply have less money to spread around.
- Student loans are a big problem. Once again, there simply isn’t that much money to be spread around.

Most of the issue boils down to having a really difficult time getting those first few jobs and getting a bit of work experience. I know quite a few people who have done things like move in with their parents simply because the jobs that they were able to get don’t pay enough for them to live with the rest of the basic expenses they have.

By: tk

tk — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:09:04 +0000

Try being a 20 something in the 40’s. You weren’t worried about jobs and rent, you were trying to stay alive! 200,000 of them ended up dead in Europe and the Pacific. The 50’s? Korea! 60s? Vietnam! Sure there’s a war on now but it’s an all volunteer force no draft. Most twenty somethings today don’t know sacrafice. Skip the fancy electronics, trips and club hopping. Live somewhere you can afford and get a second job to cover expenses like the rest of the world does. The biggest problem Millenials face is that they were raised by boomers.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:37:14 +0000

Ah, I do miss those old Gen X movies…Singles, Reality Bites, Beautiful Girls, and on and on….
Pick a year, any year, and you’ll probably find the deck stacked against the 20-30 somethings. Go back 20 years, go forward 30 years, probably the same.
Blogs like yours do help the current crop, so keep up the good work.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:20:03 +0000

The under-30 somethings I know (and I am just a year older than them, so I know a lot) do not have the deck stacked against them. If they are having finical trouble, it is due to poor planning on their part. I know people under 30 who paid their own way through college and are living off of their current paycheck with no difficulty. I also know people who had their parents pay for college and when they finished, they racked up a bunch of debt buying new cars, nice clothes, and a new house because it was a “need”.

I will not deny that housing can be a problem, especially in places with a high cost of living, however, beyond that, their is no excuse for the high debt level or the sense of entitlement.

By: Robin H.

Robin H. — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:12:10 +0000

I absolutely believe that the younger generation has it tougher that us baby boomers did. I had suspected that the increase in rent/housing has grown much greater than the increase in wage, but never had the facts until now.

And what about the dependence on costly electronics that are needed to get by these such as computers, PDAs, etc. And that’s not counting all the fun stuff that the kids don’t have to buy, but feel like they need to. I don’t believe we had so many of these needs/choices in the old days.

By: shruti

shruti — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:48:42 +0000

This is a bit slanted since I work in journalism, a field that notoriously underpays, but last year I was paying 50% of my after-tax income on housing alone. Plus, my company didn’t help me pay for my move, so I had that debt on me. It was pretty dire for me. And it wasn’t just that I chose a fancy place–I live in a nice apartment where I managed to negotiate the rent down $400. My co-workers lived in much crappier places, for only about $100 less than I paid.

With my new job, I am paying about 30% less in rent, but it’s still about 25% of my post-tax income.

That is just my anecdotal experience.

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:22:02 +0000

I think some things are harder and some aren’t. I definitely believe that housing and student loans are more expensive for millenials. On the other hand, many are choosing much nicer housing than they need when fresh out of college, and college loan repayments are certainly not oppressive. I think the hardest thing the millenials have going for them is the fact that they were raised in a culture of excess. They have don’t remember when a 42″ flat screen TV or high-speed internet access were not necessities. Perhaps a little economic downturn could teach them the art of penny-pinching, in which case they’ll be able to spread their money further..