Each generation has had a different preoccupation when it comes to how to spend their money. Some thought camping RV’s were a good choice, others thought second houses on the lake were the way to go. Regardless of which generation, everyone wants to prove to the world how much dough they have. But what if a generation didn’t have money to show off? Then what?
After the Great Recession of 2008, people had to learn to readjust. Suddenly having a second house on a lake wasn’t a necessity when your kids were headed off to college in a few years, and the economy was in the tank. Our parents adjusted the best they could, made sacrifices and kept pressing forward. But what about the generation that was born in the recession? What about the generation that haven’t known much else except what it is like to grow up in the recession watching your parents struggling to provide for their families. Growing up we accepted what we saw as the norm, since it was the only thing we’d ever experienced. People stopped buying new cars, didn’t take extravagant vacations, and settled on just one home, but in some cases that still wasn’t enough. Our generation witnessed that struggle and now that it is our turn to contribute to the economy we are swinging as far away from extravagant as we can get. Our generation is scared to get burned like the generation before us.
Not wanting to get burned is only part of it though. One other result of the economy drop was the lack of jobs. My parents always used to tell me when they were growing up they could walk into just about any store and walk out with a job, things aren’t like that anymore. Teenagers looking for jobs were second to adults who had just lost theirs. Granted adults probably needed the money more than teenagers, but that caused yet another problem for our generation: paying for college. Our parents’ generation paid under 5,000 dollars to attend college, our generation pays about 20,000 per year. The cost of the dollar was not gone up nearly enough to compensate for the rapid increased cost of tuition. So now our generation has no jobs, no money for college, and parents who are as broke as we are. The results? 1.3 trillion dollars in student debt. The average student graduating in 2016 will come out with a diploma and 37,172 dollars in student debt (https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics-2016/). No wonder our generation isn't skipping off to the store to buy a new Jet-ski; how can we with massive amounts of debt hanging over our heads? Everyone seems quick to bash millennials for moving back in with their parents after college, but honestly do we really have any other choice? No other generation went through this struggle. Even students with college degrees are finding it tough to find jobs, thanks again recession of 2008.
I found this picture online the other day and I think it pretty accurately depicts the problem millennials are having.
Yes, everyone, we’re not buying diamonds. We’re not buying anything actually, and how could we with 37,172 dollars of debt to our name.
As much as I love my parents, moving back home after college isn’t exactly making me jump for joy. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who is somewhat dreading the day they graduate and have to figure out how to deal with this enormous amount of debt they have. I’d much rather take that money and travel the world or buy a new car but this generation doesn’t really get that choice. So unless the 37,172 dollars of debt I will be receiving at graduation magically disappears, I will be moving in with my parents, and I will be grateful for it.
