Just Call Us Generation Rent
Young Americans are commitment-phobes, or so we’ve been told.
Today’s 20-to-34-year-olds (myself included) are reluctant to make big purchases or life decisions that depend on a financially secure future, Bloomberg News reports. Instead, we’re renting everything from apartments to cars to clothes. We’re postponing marriage. We’re more likely to move back in with our parents. Some of us are choosing to go to grad school instead of facing the job market.
It seems the only thing tied to many young adults is their share of the about $1 trillion student-loan debt.
Why shouldn’t we be cautious? Young adults are facing an unemployment rate that’s been above 8 percent since 2009. The median first-job salary has gone down $3,000 since 2007, from $30,000 to $27,000. More young adults are taking internships or temporary jobs — the percentage of the U.S. workforce in temporary jobs is at a five-year high, 1.91 percent.
Commitment phobia isn’t a fad. For most, it’s an economic reality. Renting isn’t a choice when you can’t afford to buy, or qualify for a loan, or count on being in the same job for more than a few months.
Rest here…
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Entitled and enabled are what alot of our young people have become.However thier are unspoiled youngsters who work very hard and carry onerous loads to make thier school loans,stay in school to complete thier education,use the public transit system,and save to buy thier first home.Some are also married and have children while they do all of this.Parents always want better for thier children than what they had for themselves.The difference is some parents give thier children the chance to live and make mistakes while others try to live themselves through thier children.
WOW! Kirstin and all her friends need to take a wake-up pill! You folks out there, tell me how many of you are making in excess of $27-30K a year? How many would be able to live on that amount? You’re single and you can’t manage a budget for that amount? Well, if you manage to cook your own meals, keep your entertaining to a minimum, don’t succumb to the ‘fads’ by trying to keep up with the Jones’s..then I think $217-30K is a pretty good start for a first-job income. But…..as parents of this group, we have to take some of the blame because we are the ones who instilled all this foolishness in these kids. We are the ones who did not stop at any cost to give them what we never had. We are the ones who has taught them that it’s the “top” where you start instead of at the bottom. No wonder they have no conception of personal responsibility, pride or money management. We eliminated it from their life. It is articles just like this that scares the sh** out of me. Yes, let’s just rent everything because we don’t know how to budget to “earn” and we must have everything!!! We just must have!!
Wow! Well said! My boyfriend (51 years old) has 3 children, all over 21. Two were living off their fathers income (my boyfriend created this mess) when my boyfriend gave them half year to find work and an aprtment they stopped speaking to him and were very angry. Its been over 2 years and they are still mad. He did tell me that while all three were groing up he gave them the best of everything, top of the line electronics, every new game system that came out, he said he wanted them to have everything he didn’t have. $10K disneyland trips. He continued this even after they turned 18. Eventually he lost their home, they became renters, his wife broke off the marriage and his kids wouldn’t talk to him. This is one case, only ONE case where the bank freclosed properly. I believe that is so very rare, anyhow. Your rightBobbi Swan, spoiled monsters were created! And it really sucks for the rest of us who really did loose our home to FRAUDCLOSURE and have to rent at high prices because that’s what everyone is doing-renting!