"Being poor is trending right now. If you want to find something to have in common with somebody, chances are you both will be able to agree on being shit-broke," chimes Justin Bitensky, a close friend and an even closer eye-witness to Gen-Y news.
I haven't blogged in while, life gets in the way, not to mention I am still trying to adapt properly into the 'blog-sphere' culture. So you'll notice some color schemes that have been opted out, my blogs will tend to be shorter and more concise, that sort of wonderful stuff.
But right now it's time to talk serious about money, the almighty dolla, the green that dictates our purchases and how we spend our time and hard earned cash.
Now more than ever I think Gen-Y'ers are all asking the same thing; "why am I not making more dough?" It's like being broke is the new thing to be. If you are broke, then who cares, no money means no responsibility. When you can't buy stuff you don't have stuff to ruin, wreck, use, etc. But being broke aint no joke.
We are used to getting what we want immediately, if there's a wait time-- we hop online and find alternative ways to get that product or service faster. There are books and studies all about our shopping habits and how our decision making and consumer purchases are revolutionizing how money is spent in this country.
And does it really help that we all have credit cards and debit cards? Credit scores build instantaneously, debit accounts overdraft, ultimately there is no real way to keep money from the Millenials.
But does this teach good habitual use? Of course not, because we spend; we buy, we put wants before needs and desires before debt. Who is to blame? Nobody really, ourselves I suppose. It certainly isn't the nature of the beast though because it isn't normal for people to spend money they don't have. However, again, us GoogleDegenerates don't give a flying-fah'q about consequences down the road. We live for today, we buy for today! We make money happen but can't even explain where it comes from!
Were we instilled with smart buying habits? Again, no. But we can't just blame our parents for spending paychecks on us. They did the best they could, and having not grown up with so much stuff, they might have helped contribute to the evolution of our modern day shopping habits by giving us so much stuff.
So what should be done? It's clear I believe that we need to become more fiscally responsible for our actions and long-term savings. We need to realize that money doesn't grow on trees, and we should quantify our priorities better; ie: quantifying our DBMs (dominant buying motives). Always ask yourself if you need what you're buying. Does your salary and commission allow for the sort of luxurious lifestyle that you're living?
Because face it, money is tight and the times are tough. If you have a job consider yourself lucky, because tons of folks are still out of work. Some people are being underpaid and underutilized, whereas others have scored big and found their passion in the workplace. Some recent college grads (RCGs) are just simply holding out for something better! But all jokes aside, broke is the new thing to be; whether it means you're broke from spending, from saving, or from never having money; broke is trending.
You might not like it, but I bet that doesn't stop you from having a beer or cocktail this weekend with friends. If anything-- befriend some rich kids who literally have oodles of cash to throw at you; you know the kids I mean: parents completely support them, they have never had a job, they plan on taking over the family business, etc. Those young adults won't understand the value of a dollar or the concept of being broke, but I bet you can finagle something from them through trickery and disguise.
Again-- being broke isn't all that bad. You share a lot more common ground with people than you might expect, and again-- being financially unstable means very little responsibility: because you can't do shit!
Being poor is trendy right now, and being thrifty is like being the coolest person at the party. If you can show-off your thrifty ways as being beneficial and chic, you'll be all set to go. Otherwise Gen-Y'ers, save your money and work on bettering your finances, because we have a long haul ahead of us with a ton of debt to overcome.
Spend wisely, buy cautiously, and purchase necessities.
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