Even 30 Year Olds Are Not Independent These Days!

Latest financial surveys like the SunSentinel report have exposed the poor money management skills of young American adults. They don’t seem to be better than children. That’s the reason the government has come up with a host of financial literacy courses and is prodding banks financial institutions and schools and colleges to educate the youth. I understand that children and college students are still under the financial umbrella of their parents and may not be equipped with up to the mark financial knowledge or skills. But what is utterly shocking and disgraceful according to the AFL-CIO Young Workers Report and blog is that today even our thirty year olds are no better than the kids ! Kids stay with their parents and are dependent on them for their financial resources and these are grown-up kids who are not able to lead independent lives even if they want to. Many of them are financially dependent on their old parents too. Please don’t be under the wrong impression that I’m criticizing our young generation. It seems external conditions like the bad economy have discouraged these thirty year olds from moving ahead in their developmental stage of establishing themselves independently.

According to the survey conducted b y the Peter Hart Research Associates for AFL-CIO and the Working America the condition of the young workers deteriorated at an alarming rate. The report highlights that one in about 3 young adults stay with their parents. As a young American, you might have wanted to have a nuclear set up with your wife and build up a family. But the bad economic times might have forced you into moving in with your parents to pool in your resources as you don’t have enough to support your family independently. This is what 31 year old Nate Scherer has to say, “After getting married, my wife and I decided to move in with my parents to pay off our bills. We could afford to live on our own but we’d never be able to get out of debt. We have school loans to pay off, too. We’d like to have children, but we just can’t manage the expense of it right now…so we’re putting it off till we’re in a better place. My [work] position is on the edge, and I feel like if my company were to cut back, my position would be one of the first to go.”

If you were to hear to what 32 year old Tracy of Columbus Ohio says, you’ll see the sad plight into which our older generation has been pushed into “it’s really hard to be a single mother of four with no child support on my salary. It’s a struggle. Back in the day, grandparents were able to help raise the children, but now they have to keep working because they can’t retire at a reasonable age. it just seems like no matter how hard we work, things keep getting more and more difficult” The economic situation is not allowing the older generation to retire as the young are not able to take over the reins of the family economy from them.

This is how AFL-CIO Secretary and Treasurer Richard Trumka opines about the findings “We’re calling the report “A Lost Decade” because we’re seeing 10 years of opportunity lost as young workers across the board are struggling to keep their heads above water and often not succeeding. They’ve put off adulthood—put off having kids, put off education—and a full 34 percent of workers under 35 live with their parents for financial reasons.”   10 years of workforce lost can turn out to be big overhead for the company in terms of lost human resources.

President of AFL CIO John Sweeny says, “Young workers in particular must be given the tools to lead the next generation to prosperity. The national survey we’re releasing today shows just how broken our economy is for our young people…and what’s at stake if we don’t fix it.”

We can’t really blame our young generation for not being able to lead their economic lives independently. The recession seems to have much deep rooted effects on the nation and its people than seen in the first instance.

Here are three basic things that you can do to overcome the crisis. Firstly, difficult though it may seem for youngsters, you should learn to live within a budget. Take up some money management courses if you think you need them or consult financial experts. Establish clear, realistic financial goals and avail any retirement and money saving benefits that your employers are giving you.