No, it’s not only because of expensive lattes and avocado toast.
Growing up, some of you have probably heard stories at the dinner table from your parents, proudly exclaiming how they managed to buy their first house at age 24 while working as a highschool teacher or General Motors assembly line worker.
Some of you probably wondered how that was possible, considering that the typical Millennial in the 21st Century is only a couple years out of university at age 24, and usually saddled with a negative five-figure net worth thanks to student loans.
Admit it – we, the Millennial generation (typically defined as those born between 1982 and 1997), got the shitty end of the stick. Being part of the Millennial cohort means that we:
- Grew up in the era of currency debasement and rampant asset inflation – meaning that things like real estate, tuition, and healthcare are costing so much now that you likely cannot afford to buy a house, likely taking years to pay off your student debt, and probably not getting any health checkups ever.
- Graduated straight into the 2008-09 Great Financial Crisis, or shortly thereafter – meaning that you probably had a tough time finding your first job.
- Graduated in the era of scholarly credential dilution – where your expensive degrees bring you little credibility or even negative value, literally, in the form of student debt.
- The Boomer generation hold most of the wealth and assets in the economy. Therefore, not only are they speculating up the home prices so that real estate is out of your reach, they are also renting their properties out to you to take even more of your money!
- The older generation is living longer than ever, and retiring later than ever – meaning that opportunities to move up to high corporate positions are becoming more and more limited. At the meantime, your tax dollars are contributing to cover retirement pension for the older generation.
- We are constantly told by instant gratification culture (e.g. Instagram) that we should put off everything and just enjoy living in the moment, because “YOLO.” This results in the majority of Millennials spending all their time and money consuming experiences rather than saving/investing, therefore falling even more behind in the race for financial independence when already starting from a disadvantageous position.
In other words, the majority of us are resigned to being poor and living frugally in shared apartments in large cities… Unless we start doing something different from what’s laid out for us, and try to get ahead.
In fact, according to this report, the average American Millennial only has a net worth of $8,000, with a large portion still receiving monetary support from their parents!
Luckily, not all odds are against us.
We are extremely fortunate to be alive at a time of revolutionary technological and social advancements. Societies all around us are getting digitized, very rapidly. Luckily for us, we grew up with a computer, and we are all more or less savvy with accessing the World Wide Web and Googling for information.
With that said, our generation is blessed with huge advantages in terms of:
- Equalization of information. This is the most important social transformation in our lifetime. We can now find almost any information on the internet, and we can learn anything we want without having to go through tedious and bureaucratic educational institutions or paying for useless classes. This has also allowed everyone around the world an equal opportunity to learn skills and to build things, regardless of where you are born or where you live.
- Globalization and travel – we can fly all over the world for very reasonable prices, and we can even choose to live in almost any country. This also gives us opportunities in geoarbitrage – leveraging differences in resources and cost between different countries for our benefit.
- Digitization of work and business – we have the flexibility to work online, and we can leverage the internet for scaling businesses at only a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
- Cryptocurrency/Bitcoin – we are at the forefront of an era where big changes are happening to the way the world functions and the way money functions. The legacy financial system is showing signs of fatal cracks, being ludicrously overleveraged and overinflated – causing gaps among income classes to widen rapidly and triggering social unrest across the world. The world is practically yearning for a decentralized and scarce form of money, but it just doesn’t know it yet.
So, what are you waiting for? Time to capitalize on the opportunities around you, manage your personal finances, and live the life you want to live. This blog will help you figure out HOW.
PS: I am currently working on a book that will show you everything you need to know about managing your personal finances to get ahead. You will learn all about budgeting, investing, and developing the right money mindset. If you are interested in this book, make sure to subscribe so that I can let you know as soon as it’s ready!