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Summary: Millennials who graduated with zero debt and a free car are in a much better position than someone who graduated with a pile of debt and his parents' best wishes. This really compounds when parents can/will bankroll an unpaid internship and a downpayment on one's first home.
Others that do quite well are those that manage to get through school nearly debt free because they were poor and got crap loads of grants and scholarships.
My friends daughters college cost is around 5k a year due to low income, being first one in their family to go to school etc. My kids have to pay full price less any academic scholarships they manage to land.
Oh and for the eite schools like Yale, Harvard etc. if you are "poor" it's free if you can get in.
Bottom-line it's not exactly a shocker that having rich parents can really ease your transition to adult life.
It's also not a shocker that the millenials that are in the deepest poop with huge student loans and a meh degree made that choice and could have taken different paths.
What are we supposed to take away from this? Rich people have it easy and are bad?
It's true if you live in the Bay Area. The so called high paid tech workers can't afford a median priced house here. Not an exaggeration. And most homes are selling for a huge amount of cash. Median in your metro equals the cash downpayment over here.
Unless there is a huge market correction, i need to quadruple my income in order to afford a basic house/middle class family lifestyle. And my income is above average.
A study said millenials need to save for roughly 30 years to afford a downpayment for a median priced home in SF right now.
You could do what my friend did that worked in San Diego and had the same experience. Move.
Either that or figure out some crazy-cheap living arrangement.
20+ years ago I got married and paid for much of the wedding and the house downpayment while my wife who made about the same income did not.
I lived in a house with 3 other people and had no car.
She had her own studio in a nice neighborhood...and a car.
That meant that I saved about 1/3 of my income while she just broke even.
I am a Millenial. Almost all of my generation who had well to do parents did better than those of us who don't, but I guess that's true of every generation.
you dont need rich parents you need smart parents and kids that listen to them.
all the winners i know took jobs overseas something unthinkable to average X Y Z
Originally Posted by greywar If only my father had been richer.
I would have most likely:
Gone to college instead of work, then the military.
Bought a house a decade earlier.
Started my career a decade earlier
Thats the point. That lost decade? It matters. It matters a LOT.
I don't understand... anyone joining the military out of high school spent the same amount of time... you didn't start your career later, you just changed career from military to civilian...
What about Millennials who worked hard in high school and received scholarships, like me? I have little debt (<$6,000) because of my hard work in high school. It has paid dividends. I agree with the poster who said that young people don't have goals. I had goals coming into college, but even I'm starting to question if I'm on the right path.
why do you want as life that is just a single path? questions and looking for the answers is what makes it fun
The older I get, the more I realize this. At 17, I looked at college and life in general as linear. At 19 (I'll be 20 next month), I realize that deviations from the original path is not a bad thing at all. In fact, it IS fun! I thought I would leave community college after 4 semester. This upcoming semester will be my 5th due to a prestigious research opportunity I took up. While I may be here for longer, I don't mind at all. I have great friends, a free room in the dorms, and a great life up at college!
I am a Millenial. Almost all of my generation who had well to do parents did better than those of us who don't, but I guess that's true of every generation.
No, as we've just heard, the kids of well-to-do parents in the 1960's suffered through multiple divorces, died in plane crashes, and grew up to own cars that won't start. Try to keep up.
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