Generation X Offspring -Things Your Parents Never Learned
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Money in the 20s is a blog about personal finance, investing, the economy and business school. |
If your parents were between the ages of 16 and 32 in 1994, it is safe to say they were Generation X kids.
Generation X was the age of the new hippies and the free lifestyles in which most youth did not have a care in the world, other than partying and music. It was a great time, very akin to the 1960’s. However, has that affected today’s 20somethings? The same question might be asked as to whether or not Generation X was affected by their parent’s era, the 1960’s. Do you see how this all seems to fit together into a nice puzzle?
Where Did Generation X Kids Come From?
Generation X kids, for the most part are the kids born of the 1960’s and 1970’s free love generation. When Generation Xers started having children, these children were named Generation Y, which is what you are if you are in your 20’s right now reading this. Now, would it be wrong to assume that all kids born of either Generation X or Y are totally irresponsible? Of course, a blanket statement like that would be incorrect. Nevertheless, it is a safe bet there is a large portion of both of these generations that learned some bad habits, to say the least. This may be true especially where spending money and budgeting is concerned.
The Consequences of Carefree Living
If you have noticed your parents living fairly carefree lifestyles in which they never really taught you how to save money, why money should be saved, or how important future preparation is, then you probably have some full blown Gen X parents who never learned themselves. This is an assumption that is based on looking at the big picture, and is not meant to single anyone out. However, if you have not been taught how to live on a budget, how to determine the difference between what you need and what you want, there is no time like now to start getting educated.
Letting go of the “Bling”
One more very real thing for Generation Y kids is the “bling” they were conditioned to want, while growing up during what one might call the “hip hop” era, in which BET and MTV showed music videos of rappers wearing thousands of dollars worth of gold. Everyone wanted that “bling” and many people were successful in strong-arming their loved ones into bestowing it upon them. Well, welcome to the real world where there are bills to pay, and money does not fall from the sky. Perhaps you are learning this lesson right now. A good place to start would be to look for the best place to sell gold and get off some of that jewelry you have been holding for dear life.
