Millennials and Money

You may have noticed the difference in how millennials live their lives (or spend their days) compared to how people were back then. The behavior may come as a surprise (or not) to people in their 50’s or 60’s today. Parents of these millennials may not be all out in approving how their children live their lives practically because of how the world has changed over the years.

When we talk about saving money, a lot of these millennials may be falling short. Some may not even have a saving account under their name. While the behavior or attitude of an individual in their 20’s may typically be still in that place where they are trying to slowly explore the world, I have noticed just how different our younger generations are today.

Their spending habits have tremendously changed in a way that they are more conscious about how people see them. Just take for example how the younger generation would be all out in saving up just to buy the latest mobile phones. For some reasons, these mobile phones do have some important use which can help us. However, some millennials may not be even using the other features of an expensive phone. What they have in mind is that they want to “belong”. Sounds familiar? Of course, we have been through the same phase when we were younger, but the cost of these high-end mobile phones these days is almost equal to the 4 months’ salary of some. I have seen a post on Facebook once when the cost of chili peppers was almost Php1000/kilo and so many people reacted. However, the cost of the latest mobile phone can be as much as Php75,000 (great for selfies!) but, there seems to be that no one complains about it.

Millennials tend to spend more than other generations for comfort and for their convenience like:

1. Taking a cab instead of riding a bus, a train or a jeepney.
2. Drinking expensive coffee.
3. Dining out often.
4. Shopping here and there.
5. Gym membership.

Times have changed a lot when we used to dine out with the family only when celebrating special occasions. Taking a cab was then the last resort when you are running late for work or a meeting. Having new clothes then was more common during birthdays and Christmas. While we all know that health is wealth, not everyone may have used their gym membership positively, since there are some who have become too addicted only to realize that it has done more harm than good. So, who do we blame about these new sets of behaviors?

For one, I can tell than parents of today have become more lenient with their children. Some parents have treated their children in a way that they have actually encouraged their children to be that way. One good reason is probably when they were younger, they were more distant from their parents. I have noticed that parents now have become their children’s buddies. While this is a great way of becoming a part of their children’s lives, I think that there should also be boundaries and that learning to value money should be instilled in their young minds early on.

Another reason why millennials may seem to be short of money even if they have just received their salaries is how some of the malls would schedule their mall-wide sale during payday. Clever marketing strategy, it is! What happens then is, even if one does not have any plans of buying anything, but having the notion that something good is up for sale, then we all take advantage of that opportunity. What happens next? By the time they get home, they would realize that what they bought is not something that they may need, or after getting too excited choosing what to buy, they have not thoroughly checked for any damages. Where do these things end up? All piled inside a locker forever forgotten.

While the spending habits of these millennials are far from how we were during our days, we can notice how goal-oriented these young individuals have become. Their drive to reach their goals is far better than our parents or grandparents. This is probably because how we live our lives today, where there seems to be an endless competition among everyone. They may feel that they need to prove something to others or to themselves. Once they have set their minds into something, they find ways to make things happen just the way they want it to be.

Did you know that a great number of these millennials have written their financial plans annually? This only shows that despite us seeing them to be always being in a hurry to achieve so many things, they would really want to become successful in such an early age where Gen X or Baby Boomers may have only been able to achieve in their late 30’s.

This millennial attitude can be surprisingly something that we should all learn to adapt. Seeking to reach their goals in any way possible is a positive attitude. However, if you spend more than you earn, then that is a different story.

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For questions and more information, you may contact Armando “Butz” Bartolome

by email: business.mentor@butzbartolome.com

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website: https://www.butzbartolome.com