Waking Up to Reality
Many friends in college had the mentality that after graduating from college they would easily find a job making $50K+; however, when push came to shove, they realized that this was not the case. Some people even lived off student loans during college thinking that with their new job that pays a high salary, it would be easy to pay back the loan in no time!
In college, I even saw people that were on the “five-year plan”, sometimes even “six-year plan,” as their parents were paying 100% of college tuition and they did not understand the value behind this. Myself, who was paying for my own classes, understood the value and cost behind passing or failing classes; I made sure to pass each class on the first attempt as I did not want to pay for the class a second time around.
REALITY CHECK
There is a new show called Prince$$ on CNBC, hosted by the same lady as Till Debt Do Us Part, that premeired last night that is a great example of how young adults have a very unrealistic perspective on life and their personal finances. The first episode was about a young girl who just finished college and is about to get married.
It was suprising to see that:
1) She didn’t know how much money she made.
2) She expected her parents and future husband to pay for everything.
3) She was unaware how much using cash advances really cost.
Has anyone else seen similar behavior in today’s younger generation ?
Let’s hope CNBC goes out of their way to find the outliers of normal society to make for good TV. Sadly I don’t think it’s just a young people of today thing. I think there have been those people all along who somehow didn’t think that it was their job to worry about money. (Why, I have no idea)
I agree First Gen American. It’s not just the young people in today’s society that can’t manage their finances. Hopefully one day they will figure it out. From my personal experience, it seems like the people that like working with numbers seem to have a better grasp on personal financial management. What has your experience been?
I think some of the blame has to fall on the educational institutions as well. Students are recruited by being led to believe they will come out of college / university with a piece of paper, no experience, and be in high demand. In Canada, it seems EVERYONE has a 3 or 4 year bachelors degree, but no practical skills.
I thought i’d be set after leaving university in the late 90s. What did I end up getting? A call centre job that paid about $4 more than minimum wage – in the 2nd most expensive city in Canada to live in (Calgary). After 18 months of that I went to COLLEGE and got a practical diploma in computer programming and analysis and was able to land a good career. But even then, 50% of my class didn’t end up in IT making “the big bucks” we were led to believe we’d get.
I completely agree. Unfortunately, colleges are a business and the perception of graduating from college and getting a GREAT job is completely unrealistic. While in school I was under the same unrealistic impression that I would graduate and get a GREAT job and now that I’m on the other end of it all, I see that they are merely just businesses and tuition STILL continues to rise every year.
I think colleges need to focus on job placement once their students have graduated to make the expense more worthwhile as it is truly the most expensive “piece of paper” one buys. Thanks for commenting.
Unfortunately, her story is all too common these days. Financial literacy is abysmal.
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Correct you are MC… hopefully the PF bloggers can help bring awareness in hopes of making an impact, even if it’s on a small scale.
This looks like it will make for good tv. I can think of a few people that would benefit from a reality check but al they really have to do is visit their nearest personal finance blogger
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Great point FSYA! PF Bloggers are always happy to help offer great information that hopefully makes some “cents” for the reader
Princess has been airing in Canada for a while now and I am obsessed with Gail. I also agree with SPF in that everyone here has a university degree. It is our way of avoiding real life and this has caused the market to be saturated with educated, yet not qualified individuals.
@ Marissa – I agree, I’m a big fan of Gail’s too. I’ve heard from several people that this is the case in Canada.
My friends certainly do not act like the kids on that show. I would say her attitude isn’t generation specific but how she was raised.
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@ YFS – you’re right, your background can play a large role with your finances.
I love GV-O!
I think a lot of people need reality checks. I do think it how they were raised issue rather than a generational one too. I’ve know known people of all ages that have a skewed view on finances.
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@ Niki – Yes, I agree. Your background has a lot to do with how you manage your personal finances… or lack thereof
I like Gail because she tells it like it is. No frills, no sugar-coating. If everyone has a college degree it no longer sets you apart.
Great point Maggie!
I’m not sure if it’s where I live but I see a lot of people that just don’t know how to handle their money andmake stupid choice after stupid choice. It’s not generation bound, though I do think the younger generations are a bit ahead when it comes to adopting new things and thus may get into trouble a bit faster than older generations…. but I see men of 57 do stupid stuff as much as my 20-year old sister.
Gail rocks
she tells it like it is!
Great point… mismanaging money doesn’t only happen during a specific age range… it can happen at any age.
I love that show and ‘Til Debt Do Us Part. I just can’t believe how clueless some people are, especially those on Princess. It is nice to see the transformation that many of them make though.
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@ Melissa – I agree… it is nice to see the progress made by the couples on Til Debt Do Us Part or the individuals on Princess
College students have been believing that lie (that you will make enough money to pay off all the college loans in no time) since I was in college. Of course, I speak from experience since I believed it myself. LOL I watched a video the other day that stated if college students would forgo the college experience and invest the $20,000 they were spending on their education, they would actually have a nice nest egg 10 years after the time they supposedly would have graduated college.
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It’s sad that at the end of the day, universities are businesses first and foremost…. it’s also a catch 22 that most job openings require a 4-year degree as well…. you could be paying off the college loans for a long time but without a degree it can be hard to even get a job too…. trade schools can be an excellent alternative as you learn a valuable skill set. That’s an interesting statistic that you mentioned….
U bet!
I think this generation has been too spoiled and now they need to grow up quick, no doubt
There are not the same amount of jobs around as before and as always, it will be thr hungry ones who will get the jobs..
The parents also are to blame for doing too much for their kids…
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Hi Jack! Your background does have have a high correlation with your work ethic. Great comment.
Yea responsibility is the name of the game..
Once a person decides that the buck stops here, then he/she can begin to move forward and make positive changes in their lives..
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Like FGA said, financial dimwits are not limited to young people, princesses or not.
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