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?
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.
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