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My parents don’t understand why I don’t have a home, car, or retirement savings account.
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My generation has few employment opportunities, high student debt, and house prices are exorbitantly high.
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That’s a lot worse for us than the previous generation.
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Ingrid Cruz is a freelance writer based in Mississippi.
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This is the opinion section. The ideas expressed are those of the author.
A few months ago, my parents accused me of not actually owning anything. Due to pre-pandemic financial pressure, I have little savings, no homes, no investments, or even 401Ks. Some of them just got worse last year.
This is a struggle faced by many millennials, but as a first-generation immigrant, I often feel guilty and worthless when I know my net worth is negative. I have. As a kid, my mother wanted me to have a good, well-paid, stable profession, such as a lawyer, an accountant, or perhaps a high-ranking corporate profession. She always expected me to buy a house, get married by a certain age, and eventually take care of her as she grows older. Instead, I’m a freelance income writer with student loan debt and will destroy my finances when the repayment clause resumes in 2022.
It’s hard to get parents to understand that the United States they dreamed of and brought me in 1989 changed dramatically.
The economy is piled up for millennials
according to CNBC reportMillennials owned only 5.19% of US total wealth in 2020-4 times Less than Than what the baby boomers owned at the same age. We are a generation of income inequality, just as the Great Recession caused job freezes, reduced the chances of finding a good job, and caused student loan debt. Soaring..
NS Labor Statistics Bureau Millennials say they have delayed key decisions in life because of the high student loan debt. Low income meant delaying marriage, buying a home or car, staying out of parents’ homes, or having to return home in the event of a crisis.
In dramatic situations, low incomes delay medical care, avoid regular health checkup schedules, and leave problems undiagnosed.Navigate maze The cost of health insurance in the United States and the burden of insurance are also difficult and put a strain on our finances.The price of having a child in the hospital, even for healthy people Can be exorbitant Parenting, caring for older parents, and other items needed to maintain a healthy family are often financially debilitating.
Great recession to be influenced Housing, creating a shortage that was pushing up rent even before the pandemic. Stagnation and low wages are only part of the problem. Even with high wages, many millennials live. From salary to salary Because of the many debts they had to take to get through.
The rising cost of living that we are currently experiencing and will continue to experience without federal or state government intervention will enrich millennials, Gen Z, and future generations, unless we strive. It only makes it harder to build. Ensure equal wages and reasonable living expenses. Rent management, house inside-out management that artificially increases land and rent costs, and even climatic justice to prevent catastrophic fires will reassure millennials about securing housing.
Most personal financial advice does not apply to our generation
Many articles on saving money and creating wealth, albeit in good faith, are for the working class, who have little access to wealth and social capital in the first place, those who are left out of society or who have been financially hit. Does not help.
like that Financial articles People who want to save money often assume that they can afford to spend money at coffee shops, subscriptions, gyms, or shop online from the beginning. If you’re not in a position to do that in the first place, there’s no way to save $ 4 a day with a cup of coffee.
Many millennials, especially migrants and refugees, grew up with the idea that we would come to this country not only to live a better life, but to own something better. In a family structure where scarcity is often a factor in daily life, one of the few ways parents can prove their investment and sacrifice is to achieve extraordinary financial success.
Some people did, but they are exceptions rather than rules. Learning financial literacy is a challenge for those who grew up with the primary goal of survival. The fact is It is difficult For millennials to improve their social and income status over their predecessors. A 2019 analysis by Stanford University shows that after the loss of the civil rights movement, all the benefits of reform are aimed at helping colored homes, so they are also racial among the millennial generation. There is a gap in home ownership.
Many millennials can secure higher wages than the federal minimum wage, but at $ 7.25 per hour. 31% less The minimum wage in 1968 after inflation was taken into account. As millennials, we always have to regularly fight misunderstandings about work ethic and ambition, with little or no safety nets, and the whims of confusing market power. But that can change.
Success is not the same as owning something
First, we can stop linking our success and sense of accomplishment to possession of things. It’s okay to mourn the lost opportunities and wages, recognizing that we have done our best. Just as the opportunities given to past generations began to disappear, we were taught to live in a promised world. Next, there was a pandemic to consider.
Millennials can also talk to elders in our lives and explain our aspects. The systematic obstacles and injustices we face to earn a living are real and different from those faced by our parents. Our living, medical, childcare and education costs were exorbitant and not as high as our previous generation. This may not change the minds of our elders, but it can give us something to consider.
We can continue to vote, educate and organize for our rights, and for all generations, the decisions made in the past need to be addressed by millennials and the next few generations, You can work to understand inequality and how it created the problem.
In addition to all I mentioned, there are also climate changes to deal with. All of this affects our financial and mental health. The need to constantly change our minds and prevent the next generation from experiencing what we experience can be exhausting, but chasing it is worth it.
Finally, we can surround ourselves with like-minded individuals who understand us, provide moral support, and can remember to rest whenever we can. Our world and its outlook are exhausted. You don’t have to feel guilty about finding peaceful and quiet moments.
Read the original article Business insider