If trends continue to hold, per an exhaustive research report I read on Net Worth, young people will continue to have less and less. The upside is you end up with more in retirement. It makes sense, more are taking on debt early for education, but ending up with better life time earnings. It just will take longer to dig out of the hole then prior generations.
So worry about yourself and not what some loser celebrity is flaunting, take hold of and manage your finances for the long term and don't expect the government to do jack to help, even when they try they make things worse.
well first stop worrying about what the super rich have.. its always been like that and always will be. As for you, personally, its about living in your means, and working your way up. Regardless of what the economy is doing and what others are doing, that's all that matters. You need to evaluate, do I live in the right spot, ie both due to how much it costs to live and also are the jobs your qualified for there? I left Chicago because the job market there was terrible, but in Texas there were tons of job openings in my field. the problem is often in the US today that the jobs are not where the people are...and people are not willing to move. Add to it that people want nice things and see them as a must have rather than nice to have. Shop at good will, you'll find designer clothes with tags still on. Go online to the garage sales online.. in Chicago coach purses were constantly being sold for $30 because someone who had money wanted it gone as it was 'so last year'. surviving means you can't put food on the table, I find it hard to believe if you have a college education, you can't figure out how to do that...but getting ahead is another thing and in todays society, its not easy, it takes work and discipline.
What is really messed up is not the expensiveness of things that we think is essential to survive. It is the idea that is driven into our minds from birth; society (including most of our family and friends) have us believing that we can t get out of whatever social class we are born into. If we could rise above what we are taught about school and working hard at a normal 9 to 5 that barely pays the bills, we could change our lives.
The resources are there to teach you to earn an income online or to start a business or make extra money in lots of different ways. All you have to do is know that you can, want it badly enough and reach out and take it. It makes no sense complaining, because complaining won t change the way things are.
You can change your life by changing your belief system, trust me I know I used to be one of the complainers.
It's a game called gentrification. They don't want you to survive. They want all the poor people to move to one area. Then they want to renovate and over charge for the other area. Then they want to force people out of the poor area. Then renovate that and after that. They then want to make laws against people being homeless. There are already internment camps in housten texas and other places for homeless people. They are just waiting until its totally legal to execute anyone in the streets or to hire cops to do that for them. It's almost here.
Jerry Brown got this high speed rail system going on. But they wont even start building the rails until the first mandate gets met. Which is getting rid of all the low-cost housing under the tracks they plan on building and then renovating the area to high priced housing.
Conveniently they laid the tracks on all the places that no one will move out of, due to rent being controlled. Or section 8.
It is not easy but I managed it by working hard and giving up my evenings and weekends to study. If I couldn't afford it (like holidays, TV, cars and children), I went without. Gradually, you can get a better job and more money. Then you study some more and just keep going. In my case, I finally stopped studying and giving up my free time when I reached 45 years old, by which time I had a masters degree in business and a job in senior management in a major industry. If a poor kid from a large family on a council estate can do it, I'd imagine anyone can if they are prepared to make the sacrifices. I promise you it is not easy but I felt I was worth it.
that's why in olden times people would live at home. several generations living in the same house. it is the choices that we make. 50 yrs ago there was no cell phones cut it out of your budget. get a tv antenna and drop cable, cook at home, ride a bike or walk places, be like great gradma and great grand pa!
read up on Dave Ramsey. he has a plan but it is hard to do the baby steps he has!
That's life in general. Going to college doesn't really mean anything unless you chose a degree program where graduates are wanted.
Living paycheck to paycheck depends more upon your lifestyle. I worked with people who pulled down $110k per year but lived paycheck to paycheck due to spending everything they had. They have ALL the toys you can think of and put nothing into savings or investing. Of course they have payments galore, and that's why they live paycheck to paycheck.
The poor don't always get everything they want or even what they think they need. When I was poor I didn't own a car, tv, computer, radio, telephone and walked to save bus fare so I could afford to rent a room, yet managed to have a savings account.
You can't start out expecting to live middle class with things like a car, internet access, cable tv, smart phones etc and make it out of poverty. I am wealthy now but still don't have a smart phone, it is all choices.
JEEZ, - what did you expect?? Life on easy street??
LOL - You sound to me like someone that pretty much got what they wanted when they were living @ home. But now that you're living on your own, are finding out that making ends meet, isn't so easy.
When I 1st got out of college, I was making a buck & a quarter over minimum wage. I had to be very careful on what I spent. I've since worked my way up, and now I make a 6 figure income (with benefits).
As far as I know, young adults just starting out have always struggled (when they got out on their own). This is 'garden variety stuff', and always has been.
Cars are a luxury. You have feet. Housing is not for everyone so they live in apartments and share it. Going to college is a luxury and you did not learn a thing...especially how to make money. But you owe, you owe. I choose not to have a cell phone, I choose not to have cable TV, I choose not to eat out. Because these things are money thrown away. I had one computer for 15 years and it still works. I chose one car 7 yrs ago and it runs just fine. I don't need the latest in clothing styles or steak everynight. I eat spaghetti, sometimes I remember to add tomato sauce...sometimes I don't. It has always been hard. You just have to be Scottish and squeeze every bit out of that cent you spend.
