Bloomberg Suggests “Millennials Are More Aggressive At Avoiding and Paying Down Debt”

In a recent article published  on Bloomberg Businessweek suggests that millennials and are capable of financially surviving in the world.

Despite the trillion dollar student loan debt, lack of savings, and uncomfortable living situations, those born after 1980 are more likely to financially prevail. One economic strategist suggests that due to the strain put on millennials by their aging parents/family members, they understand that the burden lies on them. Thus, it is second nature for them to act on it and figure out frugal ways to maintain themselves and their economy.

“The tragedy is that these young people will have to carry the enormous burden of the retiring Baby Boom for the bulk of their working lives,” says Milton Ezrati, senior economic strategist at the investment management firm Lord Abbett. Without them, though, the future would be dire. “They will mitigate what would otherwise be a much greater strain on the economy.”

 

Good news is that millenials make up the largest age group in the U.S.. A recent U.S. Census data report shows that there are more people in their twenties (44.5 million) than any other age group.  Of that particular age group, 23 year olds make up the largest age group. There are currently 4.3 million 23 year old’s in the U.S.

What this means is that, younger people know they have to work in order to survive. So, they are being more strategic on how they make and spend money.

There’s already evidence that those in their early twenties are faring better than those a little older. After three years of declines, the median household income of a 22-year-old born in 1991 jumped to $30,000 last year. That’s 5 percent more than what those a year older than them were making when they were 22. The unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds is still 11 percent, but that’s down from 13 percent two years ago. They’re not crushed by debt. Says Emmons: “The data suggests that the younger millennials have been the most aggressive at avoiding and paying down debt.”

Astrid Schanz-Garbassi, 23, graduated from Middlebury College in 2012. She works at Turntable Health, a health-care startup in Las Vegas. Money doesn’t worry her. She says she’s “financially conservative: I don’t eat out, I’m not buying new things often. Money’s not my first concern when I think of what I’m going to do next.” She’s more interested in finding a career she likes. “There are billions of different jobs out there. You feel kind of obligated to find out what they are.”

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Photo Credit: Washington Post