If you were born in the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s, you’re what’s known as a “Generation Y” or a “millennial”. YMF himself is included in this designation, and it’s one that I wear proudly! Our generation grew up with technology and we became aware of problems (i.e. climate change and many other social injustices) and to some extent, took part in fixing them and will continue to do so. Millennials do sometimes get a bad rap; still living with our parents (no shame in that, Mrs. Money did it to save money before we got married), looking for high paying jobs without a ton of work, and sometimes enjoying playing more than working. Millennials are certainly a generation that’s not afraid to look within to make improvements, and with that, I’d like to call out a few ‘myths’ that I see our generation believing and how we can overcome them. It’s worth calling out that some (or all) of these myths may not apply to you as a millennial so no worries if they don’t fit, but I’d wager you know some millennials that do believe these myths! 

Dream Job

Growing up I always heard, “find a job you love and you’ll never have to work again”. Many of us grew up seeing our parents work long and hard to provide for us, and often times they were working jobs that they didn’t love. Seeing this, many of us made a pact with ourselves that we wouldn’t end up in a dead-end job that we hate working too hard for too little pay. This took many of us to college where we majored in majors that interested us. Religious studies, art history, anthropology or others seemed really interesting at the time and we wanted to follow our dreams. Graduating with said degrees, we found it a little tough to find jobs in those fields. Of course it didn’t help that many of us graduated right during the 2008 financial crash when all jobs were hard to come by. Many of us got stuck waiting for the perfect job, and we continue to hold out hope that one day we’ll land it. 

Now, I’m not at all opposed to pursuing your dreams or that finding a job you love is a worthwhile pursuit. What I’ve seen in some millennials though is that this pursuit ends up being a ‘failure to launch’ and that many of us get stuck working some low-paying job and we get bummed out and ultimately give up on it. 

What I’ve come to learn is that although a dream job probably exists, it’s probably going to be hard to a) find and b) get. I’ve also learned that life is a journey, a journey with unexpected twists and turns and that although you may have a final destination in mind, the end result may or may not look like what you thought it would when you started. So, instead of fixating on a dream job and holding out until you find and get it, find an acceptable job for the time being, and see where it takes you. I’m not saying to find a job you hate, but perhaps one that you like, instead of loving it. One job will lead to another, you’ll meet people in one job that’ll introduce you to your next, and slowly but surely (hopefully) you’ll be getting closer to that dream job! 

I’ll save later

Millennials are all about the here and now, which in many ways is awesome. We realize that we’re not guaranteed any amount of time on this earth and that every day should be lived to it’s fullest. On the flip side, unfortunately it’s wise to ‘save up for a rainy day’ as we may have heard when we were younger. This is especially true when it comes to retirement; many millennials put off contributing to a retirement plan because a) it’s so far away and b) we think we can catch up later. Although both are probably true, starting now will make things a ton easier later on. 

Compound interest is the real secret to financial success in the long run. Simply put, compound interest means that you earn money on your investments, and the amount you earn gets reinvested so next time around you earn a little more. Over time that extra little bit will turn into a lot of bit. Check out this graph and example that walk through it. 

Although it’s possible to ‘catch up’ once you start saving later in life, saving even a little bit in a retirement account now can go a long way and grow over time! 

It’s fun or being financially responsible

I saw this myth quite often right after graduating from college and starting my first job. Coworkers and I would compare our weekend and theirs would look like, “well, went out eating and drinking every night and went shopping and saw a movie” while mine looked more like, “well, I went out for dinner one night and then stayed in and cooked the other”. I will say that I’ve loosened up a bit since then! It seemed to me though that millennials viewed their choice of spending as either “having fun” or “having no fun and being financially responsible”. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

I’ve come to learn that being financially responsible it hard. It’s not easy saying, “no” or putting a big portion of your paycheck into a savings account. A lot of times we set audacious goals for ourselves, work at it and unfortunately don’t succeed because it was a tough goal. We end up giving up and go back to our old ways. Same thing applies to other goals; like eating healthy or going to the gym. 

I’m here to tell you that it’s not an either or option and that you can still have fun while being financially responsible! By sticking to a few basic rules like spending less than you earn, saving some and putting aside some money into a retirement account, you can feel good about spending the rest on fun! Although I don’t use the phrase like everyone else does, I love saying “YOLO”. We’re only going to live once, so I want to be sure that I enjoy there here and now, while also act wisely and prepare for a future where I can ensure that I’ll have fun all throughout my life! 

So, set reasonable goals for yourself (I like the 70% rule…10% savings, 10% giving, 10% retirement…70% spending) and then if you can’t stick to that, try the 80% rule…find what works for you! 

I am owed

I’m not sure why, but I feel like our generation is a very entitled generation. We feel like we are owed things – a good job, a good friend group, new clothes, nice vacations etc. This entitlement sort of gets in the way and almost causes a few of the other myths – like the dream job (I am owed the job of my dreams and I will wait for it) or the I’ll save later (I deserve these nice things now and will spend my money all on them). This is also a myth and one that you must overcome in order to be successful. 

Life is hard, and life is not always fair. Life is almost like a game of monopoly, it feels as if some of our peers have already been around the board a few times. They’ve already got a few properties, maybe a house on them, and a few extra $200 for passing go a few times. You have to play the hands you are dealt in life, and sometimes they are a tough hand to play. You also have to work hard in life, nothing will be given to you. I started my post college working career with a few hundred dollars and a Jeep Cherokee to my name. I applied to probably a 100 jobs and got 1 job offer. I worked hard in that job which led to another job which led to my current job. I’ve worked hard at each, put in the hours, had a good attitude and kept my head down. I tried not to complain and stayed focus on my goals! 

Forget the notion that you are owed anything. Be thankful for what you have and keep working towards the life you want to achieve! 

There you have it, a few millennial myths that I believe need busting! I hope you found them helpful! Let me know in the comments of any others you can think of!