USA Today: Generation Y's steep financial hurdles: Huge debt, no savings

Same mantra as most of the goverments, just spend and spend and spend.

 

Every generation as they age looks at the newer generation in this negative light. (except for their own kids of course)
Them derned kids:
Don't know how easy they have it.
Don't understand the value of a buck.
Are so lazy, yet full of themselves.
Dress like damned fools.
Listen to devil music.
etc, etc.
We're all going to be doomed as we age having to depend on these kids (whose money we spent on ourselves.

 

Sounds like the situation the baby boomers have left us (not sure if I qualify) Gen Yers in the USA. Social security what? I'm never getting any of that.

 

"This generation is the worst one yet" eventually becomes true enough to topple the empire. I give the USA as we know it another 40 years or so.

 

Sad to say it, I totally agree with you. We're on a downward slope.

I got myself financially in trouble back around 2002. I was swiping cards left and right. I racked up about $19,000 in Credit card debt among 5 cards. Majority of those were about 14%-19% interest alone. I never saved money until two years ago. I took out a personal loan to pay off 4 of the cards and the one I'm still paying on is around $3,000 fixed at 8%.

The personal loan was issued in Oct of 2008 and It's not down to $7,000.

Part of the issue was a problematic vehicle. I had no savings built up and had no choice but to use cards for repairs. Other purchases were made that were impulse buying. Stuff I didn't need at all.

If I would have been smarter, instead of charging items up and not having a problem vehicle, I would probably have a good $60,000 in a savings account.

I really don't like to get into personal finances but, I use my example for people younger than me to show them things they shouldn't do, And to make better and wiser choices.

I've finally started building a savings account. $7,000 in the bank might not be much but, It's a new start for me.


Adults my age (29) and younger have no moral values or a good work ethics. Not all of them are this way but, Most only hold jobs to make enough money and then they quit. I think this problem dates back to the Depression era. People wanted nothing but the best of their kids. They made sure that they wanted to live a certain lifestyle where everything is right and nothing is wrong. I guess you would call that a "perfect" type of society which is so untrue.

 

Take a deep breath, the transition to "don't trust anyone over 30" is when you adopt "the young are going to h*ll."

Every generation has to 'make their own way' and it is folly, absolute nonsense, to think our individual, particular generations have a monopoly on how to live. True, there are idiots but every generation has been bedeviled by 'loud mouthed fools.'

All we can do is share what few 'lessons learned' and hope the next generation is able to make some use of them. But don't hold your breath. Some lessons have to be learned over and over again.

As 60 year old, soon enough, 20 years or so, I won't care . . . Take the death age of your grand parents or parents and do the math. Soon enough it won't be your problem.

Bob Wilson

 

My wife and I are trying very hard to educate our two children on the value of money, working to earn money and getting to spend what you earn. Saving is in this plan as well.

In the end, when they are on their own, at least we know that we tried to give them lessons on what money is worth and the value of working and earning your wages.

I hope they are more money savvy than I was when I first started working, because I was never given these lessons. I can't influence other people, but I can influence my own kids.....as much as they will let me.

 

I'm not so sure about that, Jimmie. I'm 28, and almost all of those i know our age (from college, from work here, etc) have great work ethics, and are working towards a career, not simply working to get enough money and quiting. I'm playing softball tonight with 10 others like this. I go on a ski trip every spring with 20+ others like this. I keep in touch with 50+ fraternity brothers that are like this. Myself and most of my closest friends purchased houses in the past few years when the housing market was at its bottom (very indicative of good credit, steady employment, and plenty of savings).

I do know some exceptions that fit into your picture (off the top of my head i can think of 3), but in my experience, they aren't dominant among our age group.

Instead, i would propose that our age group is perhaps segregating itself. Those with good financial management and work ethic tend to be drawn towards each other (through work/educational circles), while those with poor financial skills and/or poor work ethic like you describe are also drawn towards each other. It makes sense that those living similar lifestyles would end up in clique's that interact very little with their opposites, and end up with a very different impression of the world around them.

 

Every generation has a mix of ethical and unethical people. Go getters and lazy people. Nothing has changed in that respect.
THE OP was that Gen Y faces big hurdles, not of their own fault, but of overspending by the boomers.
The argument that "Adults my age (29) and younger have no moral values or a good work ethics." is not true merely because one person (you) personally made mistakes. Surely you are not labeling yourself as unethical, are you? And even then, you do not = everyone. And even then, everybody makes mistakes, not just the younger generation.