Millennials across the country will be returning home for Thanksgiving. What will they be talking about other than the pie? I strongly suspect the economic crisis will be at the top of the list.
For those in college, there will be some anxious discussion of whether it will be possible to stay there. For those out of college, jobs will be top of mind. We just completed a series of focus groups among Notre Dame students and recent alumni about their lives post-graduation. While they are overall optimistic about their future, they have immediate worries about getting a job, keeping a job, or changing jobs, depending on where they are in their career. They yearn to be independent, and want the freedom to make good choices based on what they really want to do, not ones dictated by a poor economy. Many are struggling to pay back loans.
Jessica: “My loan payment is about a quarter of my income each month, it’s constantly hanging over my head.”
Gwen: “I worry that I’ll never go back to school and I want to.”
Laura P. “More generally, my biggest worry the economy and job stuff. I feel okay about our mortgage and student loans as long as our jobs remain stable.”
Chad: “If I didn’t do what I do, i wouldn’t be able to pay my debt. And I hate that fact.”
Traditional Thanksgiving conversations about ‘What would you like for Christmas?’ will give way to ‘How can we moderate our Christmas spending and still make it feel like Christmas?’ Millennials tell us they are finding small ways to save — eating out less often, forgoing a cell phone upgrade, drinking fewer lattes, taking fewer trips. One Millennial I know has given up his car in favor of Zipcars. But they are still having trouble making ends meet.
A study from the American Savings Education Council (ASEC) and AARP shows that 91% of young adults report having financial goals for themselves, only 53% report sticking to a monthly budget. 61% feel their retirement savings is behind schedule. 42% of these young adults give themselves a grade of D or F to describe how well they are saving. Cash in a stocking is likely to be a common request.
