Friday, August 14, 2009

50% of Generation Y Has No Savings

The recent survey also found 18 to 34-year-olds giving themselves Cs, Ds or Fs in personal finance skills such as budgeting and effective savings. Further, they were mostly likely, among working age adults, to be putting no money toward retirement. "The survey was released by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which polled 1,000 adults nationwide in March."

This is such a shame! I suppose the baby boomers are partially to blame for mentoring a life of spending rather than saving. But it's a shame, because
  • those early years can be times for incredible savings. As I share in my book for that age, Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It, Warren Buffett started the habit of making and saving money before age 10, and continued these useful habits through high school so that he was able to graduate with today's equivalent (adjusted for inflation) of about $47,000.
  • they're leaving themselves wide open for an emergency to put them into long-term debt. If you have no savings when you car dies; have no savings when you have an extended illness; then you end up borrowing and paying it off over the long-haul. These emergencies happen on average every 10 years or so, meaning we should plan for them.
What do you think?