So the current research says that 66 percent of millennials have no retirement savings, 63 percent have over $10,000 in debt, and 31 percent are still living with their parents.
As a millennial who has no debt, a 401(k) and an IRA, and who is having a house built, I just want to say something to counter all the negative messages bombarding my generation about how lazy and entitled we all are. Do you know what’s the difference between me and those statistics?
Sheer dumb luck.
That’s it. I didn’t do anything differently than anyone else. I didn’t make better choices or go into the right major or any of that nonsense. I was just lucky enough to be born into a family with parents who could put enough into my savings that, when combined with scholarships, allowed me to graduate from college without any debts. I had pretty much no savings by the time I got my degree, but starting from nothing is still easier than starting with a negative balance.
I got hired within two months of graduation, and I’ve been with that company for going on six years. Again, nothing but dumb luck. My major, creative writing (one of the stereotypical ‘useless degrees’) has nothing to do with my career. They just needed employees and I happened to interview at the right time. And I was lucky enough that the job was in an area where I could live at home, rent-free, developing the savings that put me in a position to sign a contract on a house.
I was privileged and lucky. That’s it.
Sure, I worked hard in school. I gave it my all in my job interview. I’ve put in effort to get where I am.
But people without the head starts I had have worked much harder. I didn’t have to claw my way out of debt and poverty to get where I am. If I had to do that, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be another statistic for the boomers to dismiss.
You’re not doing anything wrong. You aren’t the ones who broke the economy. I haven’t figured out some correct, adult way of doing things that you haven’t. I just happened to start the game with some of the cheat codes.
You are all doing the best you can, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
This whole “millennials are slackers” bullshit has got to stop!
First of all, 50% of all Americans have no retirement savings. And yeah, slightly more millennials have no savings but… half of all goddamn millennials are under age 28!
Also, considering that half of them came of age after the (boomer/gen-x caused) financial collapse millennials (and Generation Z) are actually squirreling away proportionately more than their Boomer parents and grandparents did.
Just gonna say that when even Goldman-fucking-Sachs (nice infographic, btw) has figured out that millennials have their shit together pretty well all things considered, and (like their grandparents and great-grandparents who weathered the Great Depression) are likely to be more conscientious, responsible, and fiscally prudent than their boomer and gen-x parents… plus they’re doing less drugs, drinking less, smoking less, being way more health aware and environmentally aware..
Yeah, it’s goddamn time to drop all that “millennials ain’t shit” shit. Millennials fucking rock. Anyone older owes them more than one apology.
All you older-than-millennial kids can get off my lawn.