Generation 'Y' hooked on credit:

As someone who comes from that generation visual I would have to agree with you. You probably won't find that any young people on this forum fit into that category(although I could be wrong), but there alot of people I know who do.

The example that they were using on channel nine were of people who were swapping jobs like tissues but somehow it wasnt allowing them to have the choices they wanted(money).Spending money however didnt seem connected to their ability to pay.

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This is pretty much how alot of young people today are. We have been brought up in a society where we have been told not to settle for anything below what we think we deserve(and we've all been told we deserve everything), combined with the fact that most young people today wouldn't even know how to define the word "recession". Combine this with the proliferation of easy credit via interest free purchases on electrical goods, payment plans for mobile phones and lending practices that would have shocked bankers 30 years ago and you have an entire generation of spoilt kids that think they should be able to walk straight out of uni or even high school and expect a high paying job to pay for our credit card purchases. Is it entirely our own fault? Maybe. But then again, which generation raised these people and taught them what they know now?

visual said:

Mlennox,
I have two children in your generation,I was not crappying on your generation as your put it,your fellow genY were doing that,one of them even wrote a book so the rest of you would have a guide!My son even asked me,mum do you think I`m like that!of course not.
But the thing that worries me is that once again at the head of our society we are going to have inappropiate people .
Also please understand that I both admire someone who can go out there find himself a job and better himself.
The example that they were using on channel nine were of people who were swapping jobs like tissues but somehow it wasnt allowing them to have the choices they wanted(money).Spending money however didnt seem connected to their ability to pay.

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i'd agree there are people out there my age that don't understand the true value of money. But much as it annoys you, there will always be people like this. Its almost like gambling, spending money becomes an addiction.. I have friends in 15k debt on their credit cards, they know the consequences of their spending but still spend, i dont judge these people as idiots as it is a personal choice much the same as gambling.

Eventually one way or the other they will have to pay the money back. I'd be willing to say that you know people your age like this ? but i don't see you ranting and raving about "their ability to pay"

Yeah, I'm 25 and also thought that author dude was a jackass. I've been working since uni (paid my own way through uni) - about 7 years now.

A few things I do feel differentiates the problems facing gen X/Y vs the problems the Boomers experienced:

1.) Real estate is a lot less affordable today than it was 20 years ago.
My folks worked hard and were able to afford a house in a fair area on a very average income. My wife and I work just as hard, earning an above average income and can barely afford a similar sized house in a poorish area. My generation will be a bunch of renters out of necessity rather than choice, and the landlords will be the Boomers. As such, this generation will essentially fund many a Boomer's retirement through rental payments.
The whole land situation could be remedied if the states released more land quicker. I think there's an element of protection being given to the Boomers by the states through the restrictive land release policies around.

I personally can't wait for the Boomers to start dying; hopefully that will free up some property for me to get a look into owning my own house someday. Unfortunately, by then it will probably be too late to have kids.

2.) The workplace is far more dynamic than the Boomer days.
Consulting and contracting are the order of the day in most places, and working for the same employer is far less common. No business is safe from competition and technology is driving more advances in more fields than every before. Keeping up is difficult for anyone in the workforce, and many are getting left behind. Gen X/Y may be earning more earlier, but it comes at a price in the lack of security and stability.

3.) Credit is way more acceptable as a way of life.
I personally do not live beyond my means given the foolishness of a credit-fuelled existence, but I see it happening to many of my peers. Marketing and social conditioning is incredibly pervasive compared to the Boomer days and the weaker minded folks are getting sucked in. The willingness of banks to extend huge amounts of credit coupled with the tidal wave of cheap commodities available for purchase is overwhelming.
I am thankful that I was raised to appreciate lifestyle and solid assets over goods. Many gen Y's aren't so lucky, as they see their Boomer parents living an extremely materialistic life and are raised to want the same, with credit the ready option.

4.) Children are harder to fund today than in previous decades.
When I consider how much having a child will set us back, I get pretty worried. At this point, I don't believe we will be able to have children and afford a house. Good schooling is insanely expensive, child care (given that both of us need to work) is steep, and all the goods and services that a child requires (swimming lessons, clothes, food etc) mount up more than ever before. The govt. grants really don't make much of a dent in child costs.

When I look at the future for gen x/y, I certainly feel that its a fairly gloomy one for the "battlers" of this generation. Expect them to have less children, have less assets, more credit and more bankruptcies than ever before.

How funny! According to wikipedia I manage to fit into multiple "generation" categories.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

Being a 1980 model, I fit into-

generation x
generation y
the mtv generation
the consciousness revolution

As far as I am aware real estate and businesses throughout the generations have largely been funded on borrowed money. I see absolutely nothing wrong with borrowing to buy appreciating assets.

Cheers
Happytrader

Just throught I'd throw my bit in. I'm a 19 year old living at home and going to uni. It's a full time course for 5.5 years and I'm paying it all upfront to recieve the 20% discount. I could probably afford to pay for it all myself but my parents generously offered to chip in, though if I fail a unit I have to pay them back the cost of that unit.

I worked at a supermarket for 3.5 years and have now quit as I now qualify for youth allowance. In some strange twist if you earn over $18k in the 18 months after you leave high school you qualify as independent and so can get youth allowance if you are studying full time. So i quit my job as I can live of youth allowance and cash I get from tutoring. I have also saved over $18k from work and so I get at least $1k a year in interest from that. I have just started up with shares and have made $600 in 3 weeks from $3k, though this is something I will only do on holidays. In the summer break I will hopefully get vacation work at an engineering firm and earn around $500 a week, if things go to plan. I have a phone, and borrow our third car when I need it, although I bus where ever I can. I aim to have enough for a homeloan when I finish uni in four years.

I have never used or needed credit, although I am considering getting a credit card as it simplifies some transactions, such as buying over the net (which I hardly ever do anyway). No one ever told me to do this, but it seemed obvious. I guess it must have been because my parents are "financially conscious". I no people whose parents make bucketloads of cash, and then spend as much of it as possible. Their kids then do the same, except without making the bucketloads of cash. The reason they do this is that they have become accustomed to the lifestyle that their parents provided them with and do not want to part with it. Parents do this because they want to provide the best for their children, and they have the ability to do so. But when a teen leaves home and works full time for the minimum wage, they are not going to have the money to support that lifestyle. OK, so some of you may blame the parents for not educating their children about finances, etc, but it is still an individuals choice how to live their life.

professor_frink said:

. Is it entirely our own fault? Maybe. But then again, which generation raised these people and taught them what they know now?

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Spot on, its easy to blame the young people, but

-who is incharge of the big corporations that convince people to greed is good, and lure them into debt?

-who is responsible for the moral, godless vacuum that has enveloped society?

- who is responsible for within one/two generations completely thrashing the set of values and moral fibre of society that brought us to where we are... resulting in millions of poeple thinking the meaning of life can only be found in having more and more and consuming more and more and to have it all NOW!

- who is resposible for bringing up a generation of people who don't want to struggle for anything and complain about the smallest amount of pain and suffering and inconvinience!!!


The answer to all this is their parents!!!


PS: Well Intentioned parents I must add, who thought they do not need to teach their kids the traditional way, about society, about rules, about GOD, about right and wrong, but rather that we can bring them up in a new way, where there is no right and wrong, rather 'whatever feels right!'

Well, the results of this experiment are there for all to see...

Now that the Visa/Mastercard debit cards have become available, my sole reason for needing a credit card is gone. My Visa debit card has been great so far, all-in-one transactional account, costs far less than a credit card and I never used the credit aspect anyway.

hey rafa check your PM box. I sent you a message ages ago and you never read it. Or you did and you've been ignoring me

Rafa said:

Spot on, its easy to blame the young people, but

-who is incharge of the big corporations that convince people to greed is good, and lure them into debt?

-who is responsible for the moral, godless vacuum that has enveloped society?

- who is responsible for within one/two generations completely thrashing the set of values and moral fibre of society that brought us to where we are... resulting in millions of poeple thinking the meaning of life can only be found in having more and more and consuming more and more and to have it all NOW!

- who is resposible for bringing up a generation of people who don't want to struggle for anything and complain about the smallest amount of pain and suffering and inconvinience!!!


The answer to all this is their parents!!!


PS: Well Intentioned parents I must add, who thought they do not need to teach their kids the traditional way, about society, about rules, about GOD, about right and wrong, but rather that we can bring them up in a new way, where there is no right and wrong, rather 'whatever feels right!'

Well, the results of this experiment are there for all to see...

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Well said, the experimental results are in, and the results conclude that baby boomers raising generation x'ers and y's say they have failed dismally!

Baby boomers may have every good intention at heart but just have a look at your children?

mlennox said:

almost like gambling, spending money becomes an addiction..

i dont judge these people as idiots as it is a personal choice much the same as gambling.

Eventually one way or the other they will have to pay the money back.

I'd be willing to say that you know people your age like this ? but i don't see you ranting and raving about "their ability to pay"

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1 excuse
2 excuse,
3 wrong ,they will declare bankruptcy and me and you will pay,they will just get on their merry way.
4 You dont know me ,so how can you make that observation.
I think of these same people as losers,or spongers,now you know.

Ah yes, easy credit. Lots of money being pumped out at zero cost by Japan's central bank finding it's way into the global credit markets. Nothing new there but with Japan now "removing excess liquidity" at a rather alarming rate, just watch as the house that cheap credit built crumbles.

Shutting off cheap credit to the global markets is little different to shutting off the power to a city. Most people don't give power (or cheap credit) a second thought until it's gone. And then they remember the warnings of astute engineers (or economists) who warned that there was trouble ahead.

At that point the "benefits" of saving 5 or 10% on the power bill (or borrowing ridiculous amounts of money at low interest rates) fade into insignificance as the relatively small saving turns into a much larger cost. That's when the consultants who sought to eek out some minor efficiency gain by trimming engineering standards to the bone (or debt rampers who preached the virtue of saving 0.5% and borrowing more on the basis of it) suddenly disappear...

It's a generational thing to the extent that markets and politics are cyclical. The time will come when the public wants major investment in energy (and other) infrastructure with all the environmental issues that entails. That day will come and, if the plans from various state governments for major new water supply (and in some cases power) infrastructure are any indication, isn't that far away. Likewise the day will come when debt is considered a curse and houses once again sell for 3.6 times the earnings of the people that live in them.

IMO all big things like energy, water, credit are cyclical and we've seen the peak of the BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone) brigade when it comes to infrastructure and we're about to see the peak of the "how much can I borrow" attitude to credit. The two are linked since both BANANA and "how much can I borrow" rely on the unsustainable practice of consuming past surpluses. At some point that surplus is gone and you have to start building again. That's when attitudes change rather quickly...

Professor Frink, Lewstherin, Matt123

After reading your posts I feel much more optimistic about your generation.
Good for you. Thanks.

Julia

Kauri said:

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will
expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.
You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a
boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your
Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't
whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing (getting rid of lice) in the closet of your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually
have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

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This is awesome... pretty much sums up the differences in our upbringing as opposed to the upbringing of our parents or their parents...

Rafa

Yes, I came across that piece of wisdom a little while back. It's something those arrogant young people on TV on Sunday night should tape to their bathroom mirrors.

When they complain about the current wealth of baby boomers, they conveniently overlook the sacrifices and hard work that was applied when the baby boomers were their age and older.

Are they prepared to work a full time job plus two part time jobs, furnish their house with second hand articles, forgo much entertainment/eating out and travel in order to pay off a mortgage, and lots more?

Julia

I think I'm different to the typical gen Y. The only credit I have I used to trade with. I'm not against credit in that sense, in fact I think being able to borrow money is extremely valuable. I never told my parents (baby boomers) until after I had made money. If I didn't make money, well I'd be up **** creek

Julia said:

Rafa

Yes, I came across that piece of wisdom a little while back. It's something those arrogant young people on TV on Sunday night should tape to their bathroom mirrors.

When they complain about the current wealth of baby boomers, they conveniently overlook the sacrifices and hard work that was applied when the baby boomers were their age and older.

Are they prepared to work a full time job plus two part time jobs, furnish their house with second hand articles, forgo much entertainment/eating out and travel in order to pay off a mortgage, and lots more?

Julia

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Agree 100%.... I certainly have no intention of expecting any thing from my parents... What they have earnt they are free to spend in whatever way they choose...

They have brought me up well, with solid beliefs and values and that is all I could have ever asked for...

professor_frink said:

How funny! According to wikipedia I manage to fit into multiple "generation" categories.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

Being a 1980 model, I fit into-

generation x
generation y
the mtv generation
the consciousness revolution

Click to expand...

Hiya Professoree
I'm a baby boomer-buster from the beat generation..... I just missed out on being a generation X consciousness revolutionary......[pity]