I feel for you. As my 18 year old niece recently said, it's like the baby boomers have pulled up the ladder behind them. It's true.
Where's the sense of self sacrifice from our millionaire and billionaire classes? They just want to exploit the masses. How much money does any one person need? How much can a person consume? It's not abut the money as much as it is about having power over other people - they like to see you jump.
Looking back I was so lucky to grow up in the 60's and 70's when the "American Dream" was still attainable. Tax rates on the wealthy were so much higher and there was so much less inequality back then. The average CEO made about 30 times the average worker's wages, and now that is up by a factor of 300 or so. College was affordable, housing was affordable, my father worked and my mother stayed home until I went to school. For those of us born in that generation, we did not realize it, but we had won life's lottery.
I was lucky to do well and I don't mind at all contributing more in taxes, political contributions, or to charities. If I make more this year it will just go into savings, it will not affect my living standard. For those of us who are able, we all must look within ourselves and find ways to give back to those coming up behind us and know that being productive for the good of others is more fulfilling than consumption.
I'm an elder Millennial, and this long decline has been happening since I was a kid in the 80s and a teenager in the 90s. Even people as old as me (I was born in the first year of the Millennial generation, 1981) are struggling. It took my husband and I a long time to pay off our student loans. It took us a long time to become financially stable. And while we earn much more money than our Boomer parents, we have less wealth overall than they did at the same age.
I feel a lot of empathy for Gen Z who are graduating into more uncertainty than even we did in the 2000's.
Stay the course kid. I am hoping Millennials and Gen Z can start to right this ship.
One depressing cost item missing: divorce. from gemini: First-Marriage Failure Rate: Approximately 41%. Now one hasto navigate post grad living w. divorce:-( don't ask me how I don't know.
Kayla, the future is yours! You're already thinking ahead and planning how to navigate these changing times. The model that worked in the 1960s and 1970s is no longer the reality that students entering the workforce face today.
The cost of higher education—and the ability to repay student loans—has become a major factor. I worked my way through college, worked summers, and then spent another five years paying off my loans. If I were attending college today, that repayment period could easily stretch to 25 years.
Education should never be compromised, but where you pursue it can often be negotiated without sacrificing quality. Choosing a more affordable path can be one of the smartest financial decisions you make.
I truly believe the United States is at a turning point, and the current challenges won't last forever. Change takes time, and I think your generation is well positioned to help shape what comes next.
All three of my kids (now ages 31, 26, and 22) attended our local community colleges (Goldenwest and OCC) to get their first two years of college completed while living at home - and also working part-time jobs and saving up money. The community colleges are a very affordable way to get your first two years completed (especially at an age when students may not know with 100% certainty what field they want to major in). All three of my kids transferred to in-state universities where they completed their degrees. All of them worked or volunteered through internship programs during their junior and senior years - and this work experience provided them with skills that coupled with their degrees allowed them all to obtain very good professional jobs right out of college. Maybe this method doesn't work for everyone, but it worked very well for my family. I now have three adult "kids" who are all financially independent from me as a parent. I believe that with the right focus, ambition, and determination that things don't necessarily have to be so doom and gloom.
I feel for you. As my 18 year old niece recently said, it's like the baby boomers have pulled up the ladder behind them. It's true.
Where's the sense of self sacrifice from our millionaire and billionaire classes? They just want to exploit the masses. How much money does any one person need? How much can a person consume? It's not abut the money as much as it is about having power over other people - they like to see you jump.
Looking back I was so lucky to grow up in the 60's and 70's when the "American Dream" was still attainable. Tax rates on the wealthy were so much higher and there was so much less inequality back then. The average CEO made about 30 times the average worker's wages, and now that is up by a factor of 300 or so. College was affordable, housing was affordable, my father worked and my mother stayed home until I went to school. For those of us born in that generation, we did not realize it, but we had won life's lottery.
I was lucky to do well and I don't mind at all contributing more in taxes, political contributions, or to charities. If I make more this year it will just go into savings, it will not affect my living standard. For those of us who are able, we all must look within ourselves and find ways to give back to those coming up behind us and know that being productive for the good of others is more fulfilling than consumption.
I'm an elder Millennial, and this long decline has been happening since I was a kid in the 80s and a teenager in the 90s. Even people as old as me (I was born in the first year of the Millennial generation, 1981) are struggling. It took my husband and I a long time to pay off our student loans. It took us a long time to become financially stable. And while we earn much more money than our Boomer parents, we have less wealth overall than they did at the same age.
I feel a lot of empathy for Gen Z who are graduating into more uncertainty than even we did in the 2000's.
Stay the course kid. I am hoping Millennials and Gen Z can start to right this ship.
One depressing cost item missing: divorce. from gemini: First-Marriage Failure Rate: Approximately 41%. Now one hasto navigate post grad living w. divorce:-( don't ask me how I don't know.
Kayla, the future is yours! You're already thinking ahead and planning how to navigate these changing times. The model that worked in the 1960s and 1970s is no longer the reality that students entering the workforce face today.
The cost of higher education—and the ability to repay student loans—has become a major factor. I worked my way through college, worked summers, and then spent another five years paying off my loans. If I were attending college today, that repayment period could easily stretch to 25 years.
Education should never be compromised, but where you pursue it can often be negotiated without sacrificing quality. Choosing a more affordable path can be one of the smartest financial decisions you make.
I truly believe the United States is at a turning point, and the current challenges won't last forever. Change takes time, and I think your generation is well positioned to help shape what comes next.
I wish you the very best in everything you do!
All three of my kids (now ages 31, 26, and 22) attended our local community colleges (Goldenwest and OCC) to get their first two years of college completed while living at home - and also working part-time jobs and saving up money. The community colleges are a very affordable way to get your first two years completed (especially at an age when students may not know with 100% certainty what field they want to major in). All three of my kids transferred to in-state universities where they completed their degrees. All of them worked or volunteered through internship programs during their junior and senior years - and this work experience provided them with skills that coupled with their degrees allowed them all to obtain very good professional jobs right out of college. Maybe this method doesn't work for everyone, but it worked very well for my family. I now have three adult "kids" who are all financially independent from me as a parent. I believe that with the right focus, ambition, and determination that things don't necessarily have to be so doom and gloom.
My youngest went to asu and Barrett. Loved it. Good luck to you