THE GREAT WEALTH TRANSFER: ARE YOU PREPARED?

#GreatWealthTransfer #BabyBoomers #wealth #inheritances #EstatePlanning
A few generations back, the parents of Baby Boomers turned, or were about to turn, huge amounts in inheritance to their children or other heirs.
Those parents had built usually modest homes for relatively modest prices, though they didn’t think so at the time. Much of that homebuilding was thanks in large part to the federal GI bill that was passed as veterans came home from World War II to start families and new lives.
Those modest homes increased in value many times over during that generation’s lifetime.
That gave the children of that generation a big chunk of wealth to inherit.
And, many of them did – big time.
Now, the Baby Boom generation has a bunch of wealth to pass on to its children – the GenXers and Millennials.
Wes Moss, who writes a Money Matters column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has a similar weekly program on WSB radio in Atlanta, calls this “The Great Wealth Transfer.”
He discussed it in his column published April 24. 2022.
Moss writes that between $30 trillion and $68 trillion in wealth will be passed down from Baby Boomers.
To put that in perspective, the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) for 2021 was $22 trillion, Moss writes.
When you take the 136 million people who are GenXers or Millennials, and you use the $30 trillion figure, that would mean each of those folks – statistically speaking — would get $220,000, Moss writes. We know that not everyone will inherit that much individually, and some will inherit much more.
Think you don’t have that kind of money in your family? Moss sites a person with a great aunt who died. The great nephew didn’t realize how much money she had. She was able to give all her great nephews and great nieces a nice chunk of change.
In other words, there could be that kind of money somewhere in your family, and you may not know it until a death occurs.
For Baby Boomers, this lesson brings about the need for proper estate planning. Yes, you may have more than what you think you have. How it gets distributed upon your death, or even before, should not be left to chance – or probate court. It would be worth the investment to draw out an estate plan, such as a will or living trust, to make sure the money goes where, or to whom, you want, when you want.
If you are a GenXer or Millennial, talk to your parents and other family members about how THEY want their estates distributed. Make sure that, if you believe you may have something coming to you, that your interest is protected.
Of course, if there are no heirs or your family members have not shown themselves worthy of inheritance, having an estate plan is even more crucial, so that your money goes where you want.
If you are transferring your wealth, get an adviser you trust to tell you how, when and to whom to give your assets – according to your wishes. Keep in mind that you should do all YOU want to do while alive with your assets. Don’t think about your heirs first. Think of you first.
Remember, too, that how, when and to whom you give will likely have tax consequences. Know those consequences, and what could happen if a mistake is made, well ahead of time.
It’s certainly great to reward loyal, loving family members or other heirs with your wealth. But if you think about you first, and plan carefully, all concerned should be, if not happy, assured that the distribution was done as you wanted it to be done.
Peter

YOUNG ADULTS DIFFER FROM THEIR PARENTS

#YoungAdults #millennials #GenZ KidsAndParents
It’s not unusual for a younger generation to have different priorities from their parents’.

But usually most are optimistic.

Deloitte recently released its Global Millennial Survey of 13,416 millennials (born between 1983 and 1994) across 42 counties and 3,000 Gen Z respondents (born between 1995 and 2002) from 10 countries. Most are uneasy and pessimistic, according to an article Marie Patino wrote for Bloomberg. It was also published May 21, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The percentage of respondents who think that businesses are making a positive impact dropped from 61 percent in 2018 to 55 percent this year, the article says.

In other words, many of the kids don’t trust businesses.

Only about half of those in the two groups aspire to buy a house, the article says – something that likely was a high priority for their parents when they were young.

Only 52 percent of millennials surveyed said that earning a high salary was a top priority, the article says. It’s noble to want to have a higher purpose than just making money, and money doesn’t always buy happiness. But money can help one work through adversities in style.

Incidently, 56 percent of Gen Z’ers said earning a high salary was a priority, the article says.

In China and India, the article quotes the survey, Gen Z’ers were more optimistic about the future, while youth in major economic powers were pessimistic about the world and whether their place in it will improve, the article says.

It’s fairly easy to understand the pessimism. Perhaps the young folks have seen a parent, or someone they know well, forced out of a good job well ahead of retirement.

Perhaps they’ve come out of school with slim job prospects.

Perhaps they have witnessed atrocities, like school shootings, officer-involved shootings of unarmed people, or something else that triggers pessimism.

Certainly, older generations witnessed their share of bad news, but not nearly as much of the kinds of things the kids are seeing out there.

Regardless, there is still reason for optimism.

And, if you’re the kind of person who dreams of doing something great, for whom helping others is a high priority, there are many vehicles out there that can ultimately provide the resources to take some of those worries off one’s back, while enabling that person to pay it forward to others. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.

Certainly, there is much to be concerned about all over the world. Nearly everyone faces adversity at some point in life.

But bear in mind, if you are a young person who is pessimistic about the world, it’s OK to dream of a world you would like to see. It’s perfectly OK to dream of a very successful life for yourself, however you define that.

You have to be open, though, to perhaps doing something you may have never thought about, or considered doing. You have to be open to looking for, or at, something that could change your outlook on life. That something could be brought to you by someone you may not expect.

In today’s world, optimism sometimes requires effort. Don’t hesitate to put in that effort. You have the ability to improve your own lives. Go for it.

Peter

FINANCIAL DEPENDENCE

#FinancialDependence #millennials #YoungAdultsStillLivingAtHome #jobs #employment
Many of us can remember as children dreaming of the day we could live on our own, without our parents’ rules.
For today’s younger generation, that is getting harder to do.
Janna Herron tackled this subject for USA Today, in article also published April 19, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Most millennials define adulthood as being on their own financially, but the majority still depend on Mom and Dad for money, even into their 30s,” Herron writes. She attributes that to a new Merrill Lynch/Age Wave survey.
“Finances are the No. 1 stressor in young adult lives,” Herron quotes Lorna Sabbia, head of retirement and personal wealth solutions at Merrill Lynch.
It’s not just the kids who don’t move out of their parents’ house. Some of them live in their own place, but depend on their parents for money to pay for cellphone service, food and groceries etc., the article states.
A quarter of all young adults have moved back home, while a third get help with rent or mortgage payments. Two in five who own homes get down payment money from their parents, the article quotes the Merrill Lynch survey.
The young folks are hardly high-fiving each other over this, the article quotes Sabbia.
What’s a young person to do?
First, let’s presume, as the article does, that young folks don’t like their situation. Sure, there are some who will want to live at home with Mom and Dad for as long as their parents are alive. But, for argument’s sake, let’s say most young adults WANT to be independent.
Second, let’s look at the reasons they got there. High college debt could be one. Getting a job that doesn’t pay enough to cover all their “necessary” expenses could be another. Living expenses for people today have risen far beyond those that their parents paid when they were young.
Finally, a lack of job security may deter some of them from really putting down roots. At the rapid pace of change in the corporate and business world, it’s hard to know where one may be five years from now. And, it doesn’t matter whether the person is good at what he does. A company, if it sees an efficiency or has an economic need, will lay off ANYONE.
So, let’s take the solution in steps. First, strive to be good at what you do. Be personable, kind, coachable and willing to do things outside your job description. Become a self-starter, if you aren’t already. You want to be in a position to get good recommendations if you have to go elsewhere to find work.
Then, be open to looking at situations that may be outside your comfort zone. There are many entities out there that can enable a person to spend a few, part-time, off-work hours doing something that is not a “second job,” but does involve work. The income from that could surpass any they would earn at a traditional job. To check out one of the best such entities, message me.
In short, you can’t control you work circumstances. If you like your job, stay as long as they will have you, or until you want to leave on your terms. But don’t bank on that job being there for as long as you want it. You have to have your eyes always open for new things.
For the young adults still depending on Mom and Dad to live, be diligent in looking for ways – cutting spending or earning more – to break that financial dependence. You’ll find your life will be so much better when you do.
Peter

MILLENNIALS’ FINANCIAL DITCH

#millennials #StudentLoans #CollegeDebt #FinancialSecurity
Some millennials find themselves in not just a financial hole, but a ditch, just as they start their adult lives.
They come out of college deep in debt, and wind up with a low-paying job, making it difficult, or impossible to keep up with their loan payments.
Tom Allison of the Young Invincibles, an advocacy group, discussed this in an article that was published May 1, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Allison talked about Siara Sellers, 28, who owes almost $13,000 in student loans. She’s working part time at a UPS warehouse near her Detroit home, making $11 an hour. She had to leave school in 2013 after her grades plummeted. Her older, now-retired husband became sick at that time, the article says.
“Young adults with college degrees and student debt, for example, find themselves looking at a median, negative net wealth of $1,900, based on research by the Young Invincibles. Simply put, they owe more than they own,” Allison writes.
“There’s no question it used to be much easier to build financial security 25 years ago with a college degree,” Allison says.
So what is a young person to do?
First, don’t let circumstances get you down. Learn to make the most of what you have, and appreciate what is good in your life.
Second, the employment picture is improving greatly. It was reported recently that there are about as many jobs as there are unemployed people, which is just about the best of both worlds. That could send wages and salaries higher.
If you have a marketable skill, find different ways to use that skill and, if you have enough ambition, a clean record etc., you should be able to find something suitable.
Once you get a job that suits you, pay down your debt at whatever speed is comfortable. Obviously, paying it down sooner rather than later is preferable. Then, once it is paid, use that payment, plus any income increases you may get, to put toward your retirement.
Easier said than done, you say? Well, there are many other ways out there to make money working part time in your off hours, without taking a second, W-2 job. If you are motivated and want to help others prosper, you can learn about one of the best such vehicles by messaging me.
Those who are older may want to be young again, but others who are older do not. What the young folks are going through is tough to watch. In fact, some older workers are “being retired” sooner than they want to.
In short, if you are young and considering college, think about what it will cost you, and what you will do with your education on the other side before deciding to go to college. Though all education is valuable, it may not be worth taking on what would seem like a lifetime of debt for a degree that won’t make it easy to pay off.
Just as you need, as a young person, to have the right attitude, you also need to make decisions that will be best for you in the long run. That may require opening your mind to things that may lurk outside your comfort zone.
Times are tough. But tough people get through them – even to the point of seeing prosperity.
Peter

THE DREAM OF BEING YOUR OWN BOSS

#BeingYourOwnBoss #entrepreneurs #BusinessOwners #freelancers
The trend is growing.
Americans say they intend to become their own boss, with all the flexibility that may entail.
According to MetLife study on employee benefits trends, 57 percent of workers say they are interested in becoming a freelancer, according to an article by Charisse Jones for USA Today. It was also published April 22, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The 57 percent, the article says, is up from 51 percent just last year.
Millennials were the most interested in such work, with 74 percent of those in that age group saying they were curious about becoming a freelancer. That compares to 57 percent of those in Generation X and 43 percent of Baby Boomers, the article quotes the study.
Certainly, the lack of job security working for someone else has contributed to this feeling. Younger folks can look forward to a work life of not knowing whether they will still have a job when the walk into work on a given day.
Younger folks, it seems, want more out of life than just working, working, working. But they may not realize that becoming a freelancer has many pitfalls.
First, until the U.S. can figure out how to make health insurance affordable, buying such insurance on the individual market is incredibly expensive.
Second, it’s been said that one doesn’t own a business. A business owns him or her. If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, you can’t really tell yourself that you are only going to work X number of hours, with certain days off etc. You have to work when work finds you, and, you have to keep hustling to make sure you have enough work to make a living.
Third, there are duties that you have to do – or pay someone else to do – to keep your enterprise afloat. There is bookkeeping, keeping records for taxes etc. – the kind of work you may not like to do, or find boring.
In short, the flexibility you sought by not working for someone else may not be there for you.
Certainly, there are advantages.
There is something to be said for starting a business from the ground up, and making it successful.
Perhaps, eventually, it can be successful enough that you can pay others to do much of the work, so you can be more flexible.
Usually, though, that takes many years to achieve, and many, many hours of being chief cook and bottle washer.
Perhaps there is a happy medium – having a regular W-2 job that pays the bills, while using some of your own time – say, a few hours a week — building a business for yourself – one that potentially could allow you to eventually ditch the W-2 job and be on your own.
There are many vehicles out there that would allow you to do that. To check out one of the best, message me.
No matter how you decide to earn a living, there is good and bad about each. Independence is a lofty goal, but it’s not for everyone, or every situation.
Here’s a rule of thumb, as you contemplate how you construct your life: if it is to be, it’s up to me. Working for someone else has some benefits, but those benefits can be taken away at any time. Working for yourself has many benefits, but you have to know whether your skill has a market and, if you believe it does, be willing to go out to find it.
Write out your dreams for your life, then put together a game plan that will get you to those dreams.
Peter

ECONOMY AFFECTS MILLENNIALS’ HOMEOWNERSHIP

#HomeBuying #homeownership #millennials #RealEstate
Contrary to what one might think, millennials actually want to buy houses.
But, the economy is stopping them from doing so, in significant numbers.
As with previous generations, they believe owning is better than renting.
“We’re wasting money where we are right now,” said Chris Eidam, 27, who lives with his girlfriend near Bridgeport, Conn. “We just take our rent and we throw it away. That money doesn’t go to anything,” said Eidam, who was quoted in an article on the subject buy Agnel Philip for Bloomberg News. It was also published in the Jan. 1, 2018, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The article points out that stagnating wages, rising housing costs and lack of supply are hindering first-time home buyers.
Still, the article says, for two straight quarters, homeownership rate among those 35 and younger has increased.
But, these are not their parents’ times. Decades ago, a lender would look at a young person that had a steady job, figure out what payments they could afford and determine whether they could buy a certain house. The lenders actually bet on a person’s good name and reputation and loaned them the money.
Today, lending restrictions are stricter. Buyers, sellers and real estate agents, too, have to hope that the agreed upon price meets the lender’s appraisal. Often, the appraisal comes in less than the agreed-upon price, prompting sellers to back out of the deal. Lenders have encouraged appraisers to be strict, to come in less than the fair market value.
Secondly, today’s young folks don’t have the job security that their parents often did. If their parents worked at, say, the local phone company, and had a decent wage, the lender could look at that as an income unlikely to go away. Today, no job is “secure,” and paychecks could dry up just like that. Lenders don’t really want to own real estate and, during the recession, that real estate often came back to lenders worth less than the money owed. Some of that can be blamed on homeowners playing fast and loose with home equity, but that’s another story.
In the overall scheme of life, stricter lending standards may be a good thing. But to those wanting to buy their first home, they are a detriment.
Lending standards have relaxed some in recent times, the article says, but younger folks are carrying record levels of student debt and can struggle to qualify, according to the article.
Home building today is also geared more toward high-end homes, and away from so-called starter homes, the article says.
Still, the experts, according to the article, believe the home-buying market among millennials will equal, or come close to, that of their parents decades ago, the article quotes Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at Trulia.
So what is a young person, or young couple, that wants to buy a home, to do? First, figure out what you can afford. Don’t expect your first house to be perfect, especially, as the article points out, if you expect to change jobs, or move away from your location. You can always trade up, or remodel, later.
If your income, debt load etc. is making home buying difficult, look for a vehicle that can augment your income by devoting a few, part-time, off-work hours a week. There are many, non W-2 vehicles out there to do that. To check out one of the best, message me.
Finally, if you see a house you can afford, and you are reasonably happy with the location, overlook any cosmetic deficiencies. You can fix those eventually with time, patience and elbow grease. Remember, too, that perfect houses, like perfect people, don’t exist. Every house will have something about it you don’t like. Don’t dismiss good deals out of hand over something you can ultimately fix.
Remember, too, that homeownership is not for everyone. It may have been part of the American Dream, but it’s no sin not to own. Owning your own home comes with great responsibility. If you don’t want or need that, rent, and invest in other things. In short, do the math, figure out the kind of life you want and proceed accordingly.
Peter

MILLENNIALS: MORE SAVERS AND SPENDERS THAN INVESTORS

#millennials #investors #savers #spenders
Millennials don’t see themselves as investors.
According to the 2016 Fidelity Investments Millennial Money Study, 46 percent of the millennials surveyed considered themselves as savers, 44 percent considered themselves spenders and only 9 percent considered themselves investors.
This study was quoted in an Adam Shell article for USA Today, which was published April 27, 2017, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Despite Wall Street’s attempts to woo the nation’s largest generation into the stock market, millennials have yet to embrace investing, Shell’s article says. Only one in three say they invest in stocks, the article quotes a Bankrate.com survey.
A Black Rock study says nearly half of the millennials surveys found the market “too risky,” the article says.
And, four in 10 say they don’t have enough spare income to put away for the future, the article quotes a financial literacy survey from Stash, a financial app.
Let’s break down the facts. If you are a saver, and are putting money away, where are you stashing it? In a bank? Under your mattress?
In this market, the rates of return on that money between those alternatives are not far apart.
Secondly, there is wild and crazy – “risky” – investing, and there is careful investing. Each requires consultation with someone you trust , but here’s a good rule of thumb: as you start investing, look for more conservative vehicles, i.e. relatively safe mutual funds. As your wealth grows, you can diversify and take a few, well-thought-out risks. If you really do well, and want to play, take a very small amount of money and invest aggressively.
Here’s another rule: it’s difficult to have a nice nest egg for retirement just keeping your money in a bank. There are very few, if any, traditional, regulated banking products that are paying decent returns. Banks are wonderful institutions for your checking account, and perhaps a small savings account to cover unexpected expenses.
But to really be a saver for retirement, you have to take SOME risk. And, make no mistake, EVERYONE has to save for retirement. As stock-market-loving baby boomers can attest, you never know when your job is going to go away.
For those of you in the category of not having enough spare money to save for the future, there are ways to solve that problem. First and foremost, you have to make saving for the future a priority in your life. Even if you see yourself as a spender rather than a saver, you have make SOME saving a priority, or the fun you are having today will turn into poverty when you retire, or when that good job goes away.
A suggestion might be to look at the many ways out there to use your spare time to earn a secondary income. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
In short, saving is not just prudent, but necessary. The more you save when you are young, the more you will have, and the better your life will be, when you are older. If you are a millennial, talk to your parents about what to do. However their lives have turned out, there are lessons in their lives that will apply to you. Don’t underestimate their story, or their advice.
As you save, some risk will become necessary. Though the stock market looks scary, over time it has proved to provide the best returns. Find a trustworthy, knowledgeable adviser to help you get started, and who will continue to work with you. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions about fees, returns etc., so that you will have a clear picture of how to proceed.
Finally, watch what you spend. Don’t deprive yourself, necessarily, but look for things you can eliminate to allow you to save more money. Remember that a dollar in your pocket generally is better for you than a dollar you put into someone else’s pocket.
Your future could well depend on decisions you make in your youth. You don’t have to depend on things “going right,” if you make good choices now.
Peter

TAKING THE LONG VIEW OF FINANCES

#millennials #BabyBoomers #economy
Home prices in Seattle are soaring.
So, Kathryn Jacoby, 30, and Jeff Whitehill, 32 came to a sobering conclusion: buy now, before prices went up further, or they may never afford to own a home. They bought a 72-year-old house for $550,000. It may be more than they can afford on their combined $110,000 annual income, but they felt time was not on their side.
George Erb wrote of the couple’s plight, and that of other millennials, in the Seattle Times.
Meanwhile, Rodney Brooks writes of how baby boomers are bridging the Generation Gap. His article for The Washington Post was based on Lori Bitter’s book, “The Grandparent Economy: How Baby Boomers Are Bridging the Generation Gap.” The book focuses how baby boomers may be taking care of several generations of their family, be they their parents or their children who may not have recovered financially from the Great Recession of 2008.
“The real story is they (boomers) may have two or three generation of people living in their homes that they were working their butts off to support,” Brooks quotes Bitter. That puts their retirement plans in some peril.
Both Erb’s and Brooks’ articles were published in the March 6, 2017, issue of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Meanwhile, Ron Lieber wrote in the New York Times of financial trade-offs people make, whether they know it or not. Some take two or three jobs just so they can raise their kids in a certain neighborhood. Others experience life now, perhaps after the sudden death of a relative, lest they not get to do it again, etc.
Lieber’s article was published April 24, 2017, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Let’s break this down a bit further. If you are young, you need to be actively engaged in financial planning, including not only what you earn, but what you spend and what you save. The young couple in Erb’s article believed that housing appreciation was going to continue for the foreseeable future, so they extended themselves a bit to buy a house.
If that holds true, they’ll appreciate that decision later. However, there is much peril in the meantime. They borrowed $30,000 from Jacoby’s parents, and Whitehill has a $60,000 student loan to pay off.
Hopefully, they can pay down those debts and they will earn more income over time. The latter is far from guaranteed, making the former more difficult.
Rather than borrow money from parents to help buy a house, some young people are still living with their parents, as Brooks’ article discusses.
The point here is that all generations alive today face financial challenges. The trick is doing what you need to do to overcome them.
With technology and globalization throwing a monkey wrench into job security, people in all generations might want to think about ways to earn extra income, preferably without taking a pound of flesh from themselves, or having no time to really live.
There are many options available to accomplish this. To hear about one of the best, message me.
With job security far from assured, no matter in what field one is employed, financial risks become that much riskier. Still, taking no risk at all generally doesn’t get one very far. As long as the risks are calculated, and one plans accommodations to alleviate some of the peril, there’s no telling what the payoff can be.
Here’s wishing the millennials great financial planning skill, and baby boomers great coping skills as they deal with their issues.
Peter

BOOMERS VS. MILLENNIALS IN THE WORK FORCE

#BabyBoomers #millennials #GenerationsInTheWorkForce
“Managing multigenerational workforces is an art in itself,” says a quote from Harvard Business School.
“Young workers want to make a quick impact, the middle generation needs to believe in the mission and the older employees don’t like ambivalence. Your move,” the quote continues.
Eric Harvey and Silvana Clark have compiled a book titled “Boomers vs. Millennials: Listen, Learn and Succeed Together.” Half the book is written from the viewpoint of the millennials. The second half is written from the viewpoint of the boomers.
There is no right or wrong on either side, the authors argue. It’s just a matter of how different age groups see the world.
Millennials are tech whizzes. Boomers? Not so much. Millennials want things to happen quickly. They want to get immediately recognized for everything they do. They need constant feedback, the book says.
Boomers are a little more patient. They can be left alone without much feedback to get their jobs done.
Millennials look for a good work-life balance. Boomers can, and have, put their jobs first in many cases.
Regardless of your age group, we all want work to be rewarding. We all want to be paid fairly for what we do. We all want the time to have a full life and we all want to have enough in our elder years to feel comfortable about retirement.
Too often, jobs lack some of those provisions. Chances are, if you are paid well, you are working long hours. You are putting the rest of your life on hold to keep those paychecks flowing.
If you are not paid well, unless you have a certain degree of personal satisfaction from your work, chances are you are not happy.
It’s always good to find something good in any job, lest you do something rash and quit.
Boomers, and workers who are even older, have grown up with some degree of job security. Generally, if one worked hard and stayed out of trouble, he or she advanced at work. Millennials probably will not have that. They will go from job to job — sometimes by their own choosing, sometimes not — looking for the ideal situation.
Employers have to understand this phenomenon if they want to keep good people. The Harvey and Silvana book provides some insight to employers, as well as employees, to understand those from different generations.
If you are a millennial, and you bounce from job to job looking for the ideal, wouldn’t it be nice to have an income that is not dependent on a traditional, W-2 job? If you are a boomer, and approaching retirement age, wouldn’t it be nice to have an income that will augment what you will get when you retire? Wouldn’t each generation like to leave a legacy of helping others? In any case, you may find an answer at www.bign.com/pbilodeau.
We all have different needs. We may not always understand the folks from our children’s or our parents’ generation. But we all must work and live in the same world. It’s best if we try to empathize with each other, rather than criticize each other.
No one is right or wrong, the authors contend. So let’s accept each other for who we are, and try to understand where each is coming from. All will be more productive in that case.
Peter

ARE YOU 20-SOMETHING AND STILL LIVING WITH MOM AND DAD?

#millennials #StillLivingAtHome #adults
OK, you’re 20-something, with no job, perhaps a college degree.
Let’s presume you don’t want to be living at home, but you don’t believe you can afford not to.
If you PREFER to live with your parents, that may be a discussion for another time.
Peter Dunn, an author, speaker, radio host and personal finance expert, tells young people to “knock it off,” as the headline reads, and stop laying their financial problems on their parents. He discussed this in a March 29, 2016, column in USA Today.
Dunn says that every late-night pizza, every beer and every other good-time splurge in college contributed to the young person’s financial dilemma.
“Your parents (speaking directly to the young folks) want to cut you off, but are afraid to,” Dunn writes. “It’s not good enough to stop asking for money. You must tell them you don’t need their money anymore.”
Admittedly, the problem is not as simple as it appears. Kids go to college expecting to come out with some kind of job. But, as the last few years have taught us, not only is that not guaranteed, it’s becoming more unlikely in certain fields.
On top of not having a job, the kids may have mountains of college debt lurking in their lives.
Certainly, if you are in college now, you need to be aware that you might not have a job when you get out. The earlier you plan for it, by, say, watching your spending while in school or getting work experience in some area that might employ you when you get out, the better off you will be.
It’s great to love your parents. It’s great for your parents to love you. The greatest love you can show your parents, perhaps, is not to burden their lives. They are trying to save for retirement. Every dollar they give you is one they cannot put to that cause.
As a young person, you can lament that your parents probably had it better than you as far as the job market goes. Or, you can buck up and find ways to support yourself in the current climate.
Believe it or not, there are many ways out there to do that that don’t necessarily involve manual labor. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You may have to look outside your comfort zone for a solution, but the possibilities are out there.
Let’s look at this from a social perspective. Do you really want to bring a date back to your place with your mom and dad there? Do you really want to confine your personal space to one room? Do you really just want to hang out at home the rest of your life?
A life is certainly worth working for, even if that work may not be exactly what you want to do. You can also find a solution (job) that is temporary, while you think about how you are going to use all those skills and all that knowledge you paid so dearly for. Chances are, you WILL find a use for it, but it may or may not make you a living.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that asking 18-year-olds to commit to tens of thousands of dollars of debt, without a job, income or assets, is among the stupidest things modern society does,” Dunn writes.
We hear that you can only get a good job with a good education. But some of those “good” jobs don’t pay much. If you are going to commit to a college education, have a plan. Know what you are going to do with it as you proceed. Also, beforehand, do the math. Decide whether the education is worth the debt. There’ no shame in deciding that college is NOT for you, or just not worth the financial sacrifice.
Whatever you do, give mom and dad a break. Come home to visit, even frequently. But make your home somewhere out of theirs.
Peter