According to a recent U.S. News report, this fall, over 21.8 million students will be enrolling in universities across the United States. That’s a 42 percent increase from 2000. Also this fall, each one of those 21.8 million college students will be incurring an average of $26,220 in student loan debt. This means that the accumulated student loan debt ($1 trillion plus) has now surpassed the combined amount of credit card debt and the total amount of auto loan debt in this country.
As much as our millennial generation is admired, we are also despised. We are viewed as lazy, apathetic, unprofessional, entitled, constantly inebriated and egotistical individuals who have no passion to succeed. We are failures.
However, to fully understand who we are as the Millennial Generation, skeptics and critics need to realize the “real-world” environment we are stepping into after we receive our diplomas. Increasing student loan rates, a lack of jobs, a highly competitive market and a decreasing value in certain degrees has placed our generation into a financial hell.
Below are some characteristics that describe our Millennial Generation:
Following graduation, you’ll most likely be returning back to your “nest” and living with your parents. According to a recent Pew Research Poll, 36 percent of millennials (over 21 million) are currently living with their parents.
There’s a good chance that you’re still driving the same car you had in high school. In 1985, young adults accounted for over 38 percent of new car sales according to CNW Research. Today, that number sits at 27 percent.
Once you graduate, you are probably not going to buy a house for a very long time. In a 2007 Pew Research poll, 40 percent of millennials owned houses. Today, that number is only 34 percent.
Even though you have your college degree, you are still probably working part time. For every eight jobs that the Obama administration has added to the labor market, seven of them are only part time. During the remaining time of the day, students are spending it at unpaid internships. NPR recently noted that 1/3 of internships are unpaid. Although some employers view an unpaid internship as a necessary stepping-stone to a real job, many millennials are beginning to question the true value and even legality of such a position.
Because of the rapid accrual of student loan debt, some of you may be considering returning to school just so you can defer your student loans. The Project on Student Debt states that college tuition and costs have risen over 900 percent in the last 25 years.
If you do happen to fall deeply in love with your college sweetheart, you’re probably not going to have a traditional wedding. Instead, you will continue to postpone your wedding for a few years until you have the financial means to celebrate such a monumental event. Today, the median age for marriage is 26.5 for brides and 28.7 for grooms. Those are the highest numbers ever recorded in America’s history.
Once you are happily married, the thought of children becomes a primary concern. But you soon realize that the cost of rearing a child has increased over $50,000 in the last four decades. What better reason to replace the dream of having a child of your own with a puppy.
The U.S. Fertility rate (number of children per woman) is down to 1.9 – lower than it was during The Great Depression. However, pet ownership for singles and couples without children are at record highs.
We are trying to operate and be successful in the midst of a financial nightmare. Our comfort zones are beginning to break down, and we are scrambling to find any means to survive. As the current administration continues its fiscal irresponsibility and indolent approach to our most pressing needs as young millennials, we are forced to rely on the pockets of creativity and hard work that our generation still possesses.
We have seen first-hand how damaging fiscal irresponsibility can be to our lives and our futures, and we have thus learned to be frugal with our spending and to live well below our means. We are the backbone of America’s future, and one day very soon, we will learn from the mistakes of our older generations and lead this nation with financial discernment, innovation and integrity.
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Priceline Com Inc
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General Electric Co
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TheStreet Inc
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FireEye Inc
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Rocket Fuel Inc
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