Why Millennials Can’t Afford to Move Out – Tips to Save Money
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkMmxCWtQPM
Millennials are finding it ever harder to break into the real estate market and own a home or rent a suitable apartment. Hard economic times are the primary reason for this, but the issue is further compounded by millennials’ distinct outlook on life that is unlike any other generation’s.
They care about different things, they are driven by different governing principles, and they strive for different achievements. The culmination of these and other eclectic factors is that many find it hard to save and move out. Here are 15 reasons why this is so plus tips on how to save more.
Inverted priorities
Moving out is not high in millennials’ priority lists as it was in generations X’s or baby boomers’. As such, millennials do not deploy resources in a focused manner towards moving out and consequently; they are unable to afford to do so. A priority overhaul can do the trick.
Life in the fast lane
Millennials love life in the fast lane: parties, vacations, seeing the world, and essentially trading their money for experiences deemed pleasurable as opposed to material things such as owning a home. When all the life-on-the-fast-lane activities are done with, there is just not enough money left to move out or do much else. The solution lies in seeking a financial balance.
Poor job prospects
There are no enough good jobs to absorb all the enterprising millennials looking to carve out a decent life. Many are opting for entrepreneurship which is currently fashionable, and a very viable route to get more than enough to move out.
Poor pay
The law of supply and demand applies. With many jobless, the few who are lucky to land opportunities are willing to take less pay, which deals a blow to their ability to make money, save, and move out. This fact solidifies many millennials’ choice of taking an entrepreneurial path.
Student loans
Student loans are a menace. Even before one gets a job, he/she is already laden with student loan debt only to get a job that does not pay well. As a millennial, it is preferable to avoid student loans to have more to save when a job comes along.
High cost of living
The high living cost strikes fear into millennials with a desire to move out, and incapacitation sets in with the safety of parents’ roofs and provisions lulling them into comfort. The earlier they learn that eventually they will have to take a step of faith, and it is better done earlier rather than later, the better.
Monumental expectations
Social media has brainwashed millennials into believing that the high life is the only kind of life worth living. When they start earning money and realize the compromises that have to be made to save and be able to move out, they balk. To save more, millennials have to face reality and revise their expectations.
Takeout
Millennials love takeout with many identifying GrubHub and similar food ordering apps as their favorite. With a little sacrifice relating to takeout, millennials can manage to save more and move out.
No saving inclinations
The inclination to save in millennials is not as strong as in previous generations. The spending culture is ingrained which often leads to little leftover income for saving. Getting a financial education that spotlights the benefits of saving is one of the feasible solutions.
Overindulgence
The occasional bingeing weekend is expensive, and millennials give themselves excuses to do so under the guises of taking a break, letting go and having fun. With a little less indulgence, they will surely have more to save to secure their future.
Laziness
Millennials are all about having the good life. Sadly, overemphasis on the good life leaves very little room to focus diligently on hard work with a view of breaking into financial freedom where one can enjoy the good life in earnest. Millennials simply have to work harder to save more.
Comfort in numbers
With the internet making the world a global village, millennials find comfort in numbers online. The effect of knowing that there are many unable to afford to move out makes it easier for them to accept their lot. And thus, the desire to change and save more is quenched. Adopting an individualistic mindset offers the only channel to break away.
A taste for fancy things
Millennials are the main market for the latest gadgets and the most fashionable clothes which are very expensive. As they buy the latest phones and the latest designer clothes – things they can do without – they spend money they could have otherwise saved. The only out is to avoid purchasing fancy and unnecessary items.
Twisted sense of self-value
Many millennials measure their value in relation to their collection of fancy items. Companies further this viewpoint through campaigns making it worse. Thus, millennials are caught in a trap which drains their pockets making saving a challenge. Knowing that value is from the inward-out as opposed to the outward-in is the only way to overcome the self-value crisis many millennials struggle with.
The need to fit in
Fitting in poses perhaps the biggest challenge when it comes to saving for millennials. The notion that to be in groups deemed cool, or elite, one must dress in a particular manner, go to certain places, and leave in a certain way makes millennials sacrifice a lot financially. Here, again, individuality supplies the only exit route.
Saving enough to move out comes down to discipline and restructuring of priorities. While many external adverse factors may still come to play, when one initiates personal change and sticks the course, then, sooner or later, he/she will find light at the end of the tunnel.
