The subject of millennials has been the topic of discussion in countless conversations across corporate boardrooms and social media platforms over the years. This term describes both Generations Y and Z, who are individuals born between the years of 1981 and 2001.
In recent times, there has been many negative connotations attached to the term that has brought about a stigma against millennials, which has had an adverse effect on the way they are viewed in society.
Time and time again Baby Boomers (individuals born between 1946-1964) have stressed how entitled millennials are; most often because of how drastically their lifestyles differ. Researchers deduce that the main difference between Baby Boomers and Millennials is the advancement of technology.
What individuals have access to today is light years away from what the generation before even dreamt about. This affects the way decisions are made by millennials as well as how they craft priorities.
Millennials are further criticized for not owning homes and starting families by a certain age while empirical evidence suggests that many cannot afford to do so. Additionally, it can be argued that the quality of job satisfaction has plunged since finding fulfilling employment has been more difficult.
There are Baby Boomers who may think they despise Millenial’s sense of entitlement. It should also be taken into consideration that bad economic decisions from decades ago continue to plague Jamaica which further deepens the financial burdens borne by the current workforce. Issues such as inflation, currency depreciation, perpetual debt and undesirable savings offerings are a few of the economic depressions that force young adults to alter priorities. The cost of living that previous generations enjoyed compared to the cost of living today.
Regardless of economic struggles, both the local and international financial markets have provided opportunities to gain wealth through buying, selling and holding equities and bonds. Instead of saving money in a commercial bank with subpar interest rates, millennials have found viable investment deals that may not have been available decades ago.
The discipline of investing is an important lesson that parents can teach children as well as their counterparts as it is becoming more and more trendy. Investing has proven to be even more profitable than playing it safe with a regular savings account.
We salute broker houses and securities dealers for playing the role of an efficient middleman in accommodating these investments. The highlight about broker houses is that a single individual is not required to have extensive knowledge about the workings of the stock market to realise valuable returns on investments. When you can receive up to 30 percent within a year in performances, there is no incentive to leave money idling in a savings account.
In the past, Millennials have been criticized for their lack of savings or making proper plans for retirement. Empirical research states that the current savings plans available are still under regulations that were implemented decades ago. Contributions to pension plans are voluntary, most times tied to employers, and is dependent on the discretion of your employer to contribute anything substantial.
Furthermore, the fraying of economic and social safety nets over the last 40 years has left pensions vulnerable to emergency withdrawals and subject to change in value based on interest rates and inflation. Economists have argued that the stipulations for retirement have to be changed or regulated for Millennials to have an ounce of benefit from them in the future.
Millennials have found that delaying traditional goals until their later years has created time to focus on career development and preparation for these plans they have stalled. The availability of new investments schemes has granted the opportunity to gain more in wealth in ways deemed unconventional.
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