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Millennials/Gen Z have hit an 'apocalyptic' phase in which they don't see the point in saving.......
Some Millennials and Gen Z have hit an 'apocalyptic' phase in which they don't see the point in saving for the future
Between two recessions, a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, the climate crisis, and yet another new war, America's youngest adults have already experienced a lot of trauma — and a lot of economic tumult.
As people across the country have their own Great Realizations about work, the youngest workers seem to have decided that there's not much merit in saving up for an uncertain future. Instead, as Anna P. Kambhampaty reports for the New York Times, millennials and Gen Zers — roughly ages 26 to 41 — are spending money on things that bring meaning to their lives.
In fact, a Fidelity retirement planning survey of about 2,600 adults found that 45% of "next gen" — defined as 18 to 35-year-olds — "don't see a point in saving until things return to normal."
A grim economic outlook
For some Gen Zers, "normal" may be more of a vibe than something they've experienced. Just one subset of the generation has ever experienced what higher-education and work life were like in a pre-pandemic world. ..............(more)
https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-z-no-point-saving-climate-change-inflation-homeownership-2022-5#:~:text=The%20New%20York%20Times%20reports,existential%20threat%20of%20climate%20crisis.
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Many adults under 35 are throwing financial caution to the wind. It’s all about saving less, spending more and pursuing passions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/13/style/saving-less-money.html
Schuyler Wagner, a financial analyst, has decided to pursue an expensive hobby: coral farming. He has seven tanks at his home in Arizona.
In a tumultuous time, many adults under 35 have stopped playing it safe. Instead of banking as much of their pay as they used to, they’re saving less, spending more and pursuing passion projects or risky careers. Nimarta Narang, 27, said she was prudent about almost everything until the end of last year, when she had an epiphany: “I don’t want to spend my life being so careful and cautious.”
For most of the coronavirus pandemic, she couldn’t travel to Bangkok to see her family. When she finally made the visit, she was struck by how much she had missed — her mother’s 50th birthday, her grandmother’s funeral, her sister’s engagement, her father’s beard going gray. “Coming back to the U.S., I realized I needed to do things differently,” said Ms. Narang, a literary editor at Brown Girl Magazine.
One thing she had always wanted to do was to live in New York. She packed up everything in her Los Angeles apartment and made the move in March. She also took a new approach to her finances. Before the pandemic, she said, she was putting about $2,000 into her savings account each month. Now it’s half that amount. The rest goes toward a costlier apartment ($600 more in monthly rent), evenings out with friends and small indulgences she would have denied herself before. “I wanted to use my savings to have a life experience,” she said. “Visiting home made me see how much life I had missed.”
She’s not alone. A recent study by Fidelity Investments found that 45 percent of people aged 18 to 35 “don’t see a point in saving until things return to normal.” In that same age group, 55 percent said they have put retirement planning on hold. For some, like Ms. Narang, the isolation of pandemic life triggered the decision to enjoy the moment, financial consequences be damned. For others, the motivation has come from worries over climate change, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, domestic political instability, soaring inflation, through-the-roof housing costs and a topsy-turvy stock market.
New York at last: Nimarta Narang, who left Los Angeles for her dream city, said she is socking away significantly less of her earnings these days.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/13/style/saving-less-money.html
Schuyler Wagner, a financial analyst, has decided to pursue an expensive hobby: coral farming. He has seven tanks at his home in Arizona.
In a tumultuous time, many adults under 35 have stopped playing it safe. Instead of banking as much of their pay as they used to, they’re saving less, spending more and pursuing passion projects or risky careers. Nimarta Narang, 27, said she was prudent about almost everything until the end of last year, when she had an epiphany: “I don’t want to spend my life being so careful and cautious.”
For most of the coronavirus pandemic, she couldn’t travel to Bangkok to see her family. When she finally made the visit, she was struck by how much she had missed — her mother’s 50th birthday, her grandmother’s funeral, her sister’s engagement, her father’s beard going gray. “Coming back to the U.S., I realized I needed to do things differently,” said Ms. Narang, a literary editor at Brown Girl Magazine.
One thing she had always wanted to do was to live in New York. She packed up everything in her Los Angeles apartment and made the move in March. She also took a new approach to her finances. Before the pandemic, she said, she was putting about $2,000 into her savings account each month. Now it’s half that amount. The rest goes toward a costlier apartment ($600 more in monthly rent), evenings out with friends and small indulgences she would have denied herself before. “I wanted to use my savings to have a life experience,” she said. “Visiting home made me see how much life I had missed.”
She’s not alone. A recent study by Fidelity Investments found that 45 percent of people aged 18 to 35 “don’t see a point in saving until things return to normal.” In that same age group, 55 percent said they have put retirement planning on hold. For some, like Ms. Narang, the isolation of pandemic life triggered the decision to enjoy the moment, financial consequences be damned. For others, the motivation has come from worries over climate change, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, domestic political instability, soaring inflation, through-the-roof housing costs and a topsy-turvy stock market.
New York at last: Nimarta Narang, who left Los Angeles for her dream city, said she is socking away significantly less of her earnings these days.
snip
