Is Gen Y's Financial Situation Really That Bad?

SmartMoney published an article today about Gen Y’s financial condition:  For young adults, a decade lost?

“A new survey conducted for the AFL-CIO suggests many American workers under 35 can’t manage the basic financial building blocks of an adult life. The union calls the past 10 years a “lost decade” for these young people, during which many fell short on getting their own places, finding stable jobs and saving money for emergencies.”

The article paints a particularly bleak picture of the current financial status of our generation, highlighting a lack of high paying jobs and an inability to save money for the future.

“About 31% of survey respondents said they made enough money to pay their bills and set some money aside, but 70% said they did not have enough money saved to cover two months’ worth of living expenses.  Parents of these young workers know how far they are from making it on their own; one-third are living with their folks.”

The question is… do we really have it that bad financially? I realize it’s quite tough out there right now because of the recession, but I’d like to think that things aren’t as bad as the author makes it out to be.  Perhaps our perception of how we’re really doing is a bit skewed?

We grew up in one of the most prosperous times in history, and we’re use to a lifestyle that entails consuming new and exciting products. We view our own situations and compare them to those of our parents and the people we see on television.  Unfortunately, these aren’t realistic comparisons for the average 20-something to be making.  The financial positions of our parents have been battled for and earned over their decades in the workforce; while, the lifestyles of those on television are largely fictional and exaggerated.  We’re doing ourselves a disservice to expect similar lifestyles.

Instead, tune out the fiction you see on TV., and ask your parents about how they lived when they were in their 20’s.  After hearing their tales of small, roach infested apartments and struggling to pay bills, maybe we’ll see that our situation isn’t so unique after all.  In fact, even with the headwinds we face, many of us do have the power to save and invest for our future.  You may have to start off small, but getting the ball moving in your favor at such a young age is worth a bit of sacrifice.  As the column illustrates…

“A person who’s able to save, say, $2,000 a year from age 22 to 30 will retire with more money than a person who saves the same amount over a longer period from age 30 to 60, says Thomas Holland, a partner at wealth advisory firm Global Vision Advisors.”