Series on Gen-Z & millennials struggles with expenses/debt

[resjudicata]

@willowsbible The economy has absolutely killed “normal” life for many Gen X ers too. I’m 37, no kids, sleeping on an air mattress. And this is a step up from living in my parents house while I completed my 6th and 7th years of school. Finally I’m working in my trade. But I work in a non profit hospital. We don’t get yearly merit increases anymore. I have a side business just to feed me. Rent is going up by $20 a month. I’m already struggling. I’m moving in with my boyfriend in October.

 

[matt97]

@willowsbible The whole "avocado toast" joke about millennials is just as true of this generation as it was for previous generations. Every generation has its share of morons who don't know how to save money and just splurge on stupid stuff all the time.

I'm on the other side of that coin... all I do is try to save money. Sometimes I struggle with being TOO frugal. But despite all that, it is literally impossible for me to buy/own a house because I live in the Bay Area, CA. Prices here are insane (my $2100/month for a 1bed/1bath apartment is considered a steal), and there's no way I will be able to put down 20% on a house here since they are all at least $1M, unless I decide to live three hours away from my work.

BTW, I didn't finish college and found that to be a blessing. No soul-crushing student debt, was able to fill the time with actual work experience instead of drowning in worthless GE classes, and now I make a six figure salary based solely on my work experience and knowledge. Most knowledge can be gained online through different how-to sites (Khan Academy is a good example), so I don't know what college has to offer anymore.

 

[dawie725]

@willowsbible This is why I did not go to college . Got into a trade at 18. Did pretty well for a while till family pulled me down but that's on me for letting it happen. Schools need to stop pushing college is for everyone because it is not. My best friend stopped after 2 years because of the debt he incurred. He paid it off and is not working his way to being a firefighter which the department is paying for his classes. In high school they hammered us about college and if you disagreed they shoved you aside. I do get annoyed with the idiots of our generation and the next but our parents and grandparents created this mindset that most young adults fall into.

 

[vinky]

@willowsbible Just a note about the payday rate caps stopping payday loans. I'm from Arizona and we passed a law against payday loans in 2010....and now we have just as many title loan places. The only difference is now they get your car too.

 

[awakeningaletheia]

@willowsbible I'd be interested. My parents make above the poverty line and we qualify technically as mid to upper middle class, but there's 4 children and my mom has a severe corn allergy (which took a while to pinpoint) and got sick with cancer during the recession. They're still recovering from the debt that that caused (my mom beat cancer though!) but have essentially left me alone to pay for school and pay for myself. Currently struggling to make ends meet at a low paying engineering internship, pay for school, and actually do well in classes.

 

[jlkx]

@awakeningaletheia The kind of mentality that ignores very possible problems like this makes me so angry. It's so, SO easy to have your life thrown into chaos even as an upper class citizen just because medical expenses here are so bad. Only there because both spouses are working? Even more likely to be fucked.

 

[awakeningaletheia]

@jlkx Yeah it was really difficult having to deal with all those expenses. We had a nice house but we frequently had Christmases where we got like a duvet from Walmart and that was it.

 

[resjudicata]

@willowsbible

But he hadn't read the fine print on his lease.

Reading comprehension may have fucked him on this one.

 

[viper4christ]

@resjudicata Always read the fine print

 

[stephenjpatchen]

@willowsbible I'm 50. Neither of my two daughters (28 and 20) have ever used payday loans. I have tried in vain to get the 20 yo to dl an app that will 'balance her checkbook' so to speak as she gets in trouble not realizing what she's spent until she goes over and is hit with $35 overdraft fees.

My ex Mother-in-law gets $1000 per month from social security and SHE is the one that frequently uses payday loans despite us all telling her it's insane. She is horrible and money and can't stand not being able to just go to the grocery store and buy random food and 'as seen on tv' stuff. She is 70 years old.

 

[sydaustralia]

@stephenjpatchen Have your 20-year-old call their bank and ask that payments be rejected if a negative balance is incurred. The banks I've been with don't do this by default, because there's money in those fees, but they've accommodated me when I've asked.

Not that learning how to balance your checkbook isn't important, but it will at least avoid a possible costly lesson in exchange for a bit of embarrassment when the charge doesn't go through.

 

[stephenjpatchen]

@sydaustralia Thanks, I'll ask her to call up her credit union and ask about this! That would be ideal, I'd rather her be a bit embarrassed than light cash on fire several times a month. You rock!

 

[pjgirdwood1]

@willowsbible You should look into Sacramento. I have rented here, mostly, for the last 18 years(since I was 17). I live pay check to pay check and was doing alright, but the boom in housing costs in the last few years are seriously changing things. I rented a house for the past 8 years and when the owner decided to sell my rent almost doubled moving into an apartment. People from the Bay Area are all living here for “ cheaper rent” and displacing a lot of us. I was hoping to go back to community college and now it’s impossible. If I weren’t living with my boyfriend I could not afford living here anymore unless I wanted a bunch of roommates. The quality of life here for younger people has completely changed in the last couple of years. I’m sure it bad other places too, but I feel like we’ve had a major shift in a short amount of time.

 

[117]

@willowsbible Not American but will definitely be following your series!!!

 

[jamesmartin03]

@willowsbible Message sent.

 

[resjudicata]

@willowsbible Love to share my story.

Also-the highlight of my financial education growing up amounted to "get a job, pay your bills and don't ask me for money"