Yeah, it’s true.
The Millennial generation has been getting a bad rap every since the term was coined. While the Baby Boomers continue to shirk their responsibility for corrupting the American Dream, and Gen X continues to struggle to maintain their cool, or relevancy, Millennials fight to remain positive everyday while facing the worst chances of financial success any generation has faced.
As Diane Hembree of Forbes puts it, those that are somewhere in their twenties or thirties today, “came of age in the wake of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, she notes. They owe record levels of student loan debt, the job market is rough and a full 45 percent of Millennials are working gig economy jobs that offer no health benefits, pensions or 401(k)s. On top of that, they face ridiculously high rents (think $3000 for a shared room in NYC and San Francisco), tight mortgage restrictions and stagnating wages.”
It’s important to note, however, that the rhetoric about Millenials is changing as many people are now talking about how Millennials might be more similar to the Greatest Generation than any other generation.
Take a look at these article excerpts by big name publishers to see just how things might be changing:
"According to research by Standard & Poor’s. Millennials — those born between the early 1980s through the early 2000s and also known as Generation Y— are shaping up to be a frugal and career-focused generation with the potential to lead a robust and sustainable U.S. economy... If you compare Millennials to other generations you’ll find, somewhat surprisingly, that they share the most similarities with the so-called Silent Generation. These were Americans born in the mid-1920s through the early 1940s and who grew up during the Great Depression, but eventually drove a booming economy.
"A former staff writer for Money magazine who has just released an updated edition of her best-selling book Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, Beth Kobliner says Millennials have gotten a bum rap. Far from being spoiled and entitled, she says, they’re more like the hardworking, conscientious and thrifty generation that came of age in the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II... Although separated by 87 years, the Great Depression and the Great Recession generations both went through major economic upheavals that were not of their own making, in which millions of people lost their homes and had to dig themselves out of debt. Many Millennials have seen what happened to parents; they’ve seen what can happen with adjustable mortgages when you can’t make the spiraling monthly payments…No wonder they are cautious.”
“The Millennial generation is amazing – they’re carrying more student loan debt than any generation in history, but they have less credit card debt than Gen Xers or baby boomers,” says Kobliner."
A new analysis of 25,000 users of SaveUp.com, a financial rewards program for saving and paying down debt, shows young adults putting money away at higher rates than their elders and keeping consumer debt low—all while aggressively paying off their student loans. In March, according to SaveUp, young-adult users paid an average $461 on their student loan, 57 percent more than older counterparts' average payment of $294. The younger borrowers paid off 1.2 percent of their loan and older users 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, they continued saving more in deposit accounts than their elders did. Younger adults had lower savings balances overall—likely because they've had less time to stash cash—18- to 32-year-old savers reported higher annual deposits to their savings accounts
So, now let us get into the five fact based reasons Millennials are amazing:
Reason 1 — They work hard while being paid less than their parents were.
Young workers today (between 24–36 years of age) earn about $40,000/yr, but when adjusted for inflation, this is $10,000/year less than their parents were earning at the same age. (Report from Young Invincibles)
Reason 2 — Millennials fight through double the student loan debt than Gen X.
Findings from The College Investor shows the average student loan debt of a US Millenial is almost $40,000.
Reason 3 — They are very conscious about saving money.
Though crushed with debt, and earning less money, Millennials save at a rate of 8% of their annual salary, exactly the same rate as Gen X. Baby Boomers save at a rate of 9%. A study by T. Rowe Price even goes to say that Millennial 401(k) saving habits are BETTER than their Baby Boomer parents.
Reason 4 — They are arguably the most charitable generation.
About 84% make annual donations and about 70% volunteer their time. They are far more generous than you think. Doesn’t sit well with those popular “self-entitled” false stereotypes huh?
Reason 5 — Millennials are super focused on the environment.
According to large scale study involving more than 20,000 Millennials from 181 countries, environmental issues are of the utmost concern to Millennials. This is good for EVERYONE, especially for those yet to enter this world. Hopefully Millennials can get those in power to actually act, as they wait their own turn to take the helm.
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