http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/poor-people-are-much-poorer-than-you-think/

What happens is (because I’ve been there…), is you never actually reach that $25,000 goal while also paying down large sums of debt. The main reason being there is always “something” that comes up that needs (or, “wants”) paying for & it drains the fund. It’s very discouraging, and you never feel like you are “doing it right”.

One of the best pieces of advice I read (and I can’t honestly remember where I read it – probably “Couples & Money”) was to set aside a small-ish “emergency” fund of maybe $1-3,000; the purpose of which is not to tide you over in the event of job loss or other financial catastrophe, but only to help you avoid needing to hit the plastic if the water heater dies or the roof starts leaking. You can dip into that cash reserve instead of digging your debt & interest hole deeper.

This immediately takes the pressure off of the “we haven’t saved enough” anxiety and helps direct financial energy toward first tackling the ginormous debt (& its associated interest).

Once that is paid off (in 3-5 years rather than 30-40), **then** you can start socking away large chunks of money into a long-term emergency/savings fund, or whatever…

Of course don’t think this means they learn from their mistakes and the mistaken advice. So many go to graduate school on their parents’ dime or loans and then fail to apply to jobs until the moment they graduate.

People in school: Apply for jobs 1 year before you graduate! At least! Work every year in a decent work study job that is applicable to a future career or work for free in a research lab.

I enjoyed each of the articles. I was VERY disappointed with the one about “big money decision”. Really, I know NO ONE who has that type of money. Maybe it is a pander to that 2% who would likely will their money to NPR:>) Most people I know are in between the “money decision” and “not saved enough”.

Personally, I am enjoying a scaled down retirement of quilting and gentleman farming- while traveling six times a year to see family. We do it all on less than I made my last few years of teaching.
No- I did not retire as a teacher. I do enjoy subbing to just see kids- but there is no real need. We planned early and saved a lot.

Or maybe I’m just more like JD than a couple with kids and a mountain of debt.

Go figure.

And Amanda, you’re an accountant – OF COURSE you only see the ones who are doing well. The ones who are struggling are not going to pay you.

I do agree that yes, our parents did shelter us a bit. And yes, our parents love us enough to hold on longer.

But even with that.. many of us shatter this stereotype everyday. I’m an accountant for a living and this time of year let’s me peek into people’s financial lives. And I have to say.. I do more 1040′s of people in their 20′s who pull down a decent living, have little to no student loan debt, and have accumulated wealth. I have seen very little of this stereotype of the boomerrang generatation.

GRS definately needs to do a series.. with multiple points of view.

Simple suggestion J.D. – why not do an article for each of the age groups 20s-90s and request reader stories/case studies for people in said age groups who feel they’re doing badly/ok/really well for their age?

I think it would be fascinating (as would the unavoidable discussions/disagreements in the comments section about what constitutes badly/ok/really well!)

Not all 20 somethings earn a worthless college degree, ring up $40k to $50k in student loans along the way, move back in with mom and dad, take a $25 per hour job but decide “it’s not what we want to do” then decide to go back to school to pursue a completely different career path.

No wonder people have so little faith in us 20-somethings. Articles like this make us look like entitled, lazy people who have no idea how to work hard and provide for ourselves.

I wonder why nobody ever writes an article about a 20-something who:

– Graduated college with no debt
– Immediately got a career related to the degree they earned that paid enough to support them self (actually got a degree with career potential – novel idea)
– Worked hard for the next 4 years and increased their income over 100%
– Purchased their first home at age 23 without assistance from mom and dad
– Purchased their first rental property at age 25
– Etc.

(fyi – this is describing myself, so I know it is possible)

Just a hint – THERE ARE SOME OF US 20-SOMETHINGS OUT THERE WHO ACTUALLY HAVE OUR ACTS TOGETHER! haha

I guess that is just not a sexy enough story to be written – people tend to prefer the “woe is me” stories that we see day after day.

The news media presents radical views, not necessarily accurate views, in my opinion.

Great segment and I read through all of the ages. I was particularly struck by the gay couple and the financial risk Kay is taking by being a SAHM with no legal claim on her wife’s social security earnings. I’m always fascinated by discussions of the financial risks stay at home spouses take by exiting the workforce, but I’d never thought about it from a homosexual couple’s point of view and the lack of legal protection.