Millennials – Gen Y and Investing
This is surely an attractive title…but Suzie Orman says she has a Money book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke! So this cannot be a title for my book…
Now what is young?
Young is what young does! So young is somebody who is 10 years younger to me and old is somebody who is 10 years older than me. Since I am 55 years old, anybody less than 45 is young and anybody over 65 is old…and obviously these numbers will change next year…
Earning Well is another relative term…too many people under 30 are not very clear about their earnings – ctc, perks, contributory provident fund, esop, OMG all this is Latin, Greek, Pali,…why even mother tongue to them – they just do not understand it!
Broke: this word they sure understand, and understand well!
What is broke:
well you pay the credit card in parts
you are scared to see the credit card bill…so you do not open it when it comes
your bank regularly charges you for bounced cheques – YOURS!!
you and your wife are afraid that the kids will soon be in college
if your car breaks down, so will you — the extra 30k for repairs..?
your marriage was funded by your father, her father and Hdfc bank, but you gave expensive gifts to your friends who came for the wedding
you think you do not spend much on gifts but 2k gift for a birthday or a 5k gift for a wedding is ok. Of course the airfare and hotel stay for the wedding is not really a gift, is it?
well I am not sure what kind of articles does the Gen Y want to read about Earning, Investing, Spending. Please ask for articles which are not already available on Google, I have been asked to write a book for the Gen Y and I honestly do not know what should be the index. There is not much to write about investing – I mean somebody has already written about investing and for the youth. I am wondering what new stuff that I can write. Yes, I want to aim this book at the people below 35 years of age – right from cost of one spouse quitting a job, real cost of starting your own venture, investing for a Big Hairy Audacious Goal – the kind Bill Gates asked you to have, taking time off to tend to an ill parent, the real cost of dropping out of the job market,
I need your help with the Index to write a book…for the YOUNG, earning well but BROKE types…message me here…
Parag
Hi Subra,
I have been reading your blog for a while now, and like your refreshingly honest style.
On the millennials, I mentor a lot of young engineers in my teams (I work in the tech Sector), and my observation is that they are not very financially literate. Add to that the constant conditioning from parents /society that “they can be what ever they like”, and they are “the best”, sets up a perfect situation where they are not only financially illiterate, but they are unwilling to accept it, and actually scoff people who try to tell them otherwise. I see a lot of them punting in the markets, but not spending any time and effort in studying before they jump.
And this extends beyond finance, they are just as poorly informed about building technical and managerial skills, eating healthy and staying fit, despite having a strong desire to move up the ladder and make a lot more money. I am also seeing this pattern with college and high school kids that I mentor on thinking about education and career choices.
I am not sure what the root cause is, but our education system, and to some extent conditioning at home does not really impart them the basic knowledge of what it takes to be productive, energetic and happy.
So maybe you need to write a book on going back to the basics of how a young person should think about their life, and not just finance.I can help vet out some ideas with the
Regards,
Parag
param
i think it needs to be more fundamental like:
a. learning how to beg on the street instead of asking money from friends & family
b. how to avoid others’ facebook pictures from infuencing own life
c. how to be equal partners in finance (could be spouse/fiance/significant other)
d. how to view education as an investment with roi expectations
e. how to stay away from stock trading when you have a full-time job
f. how to increase your networth by investing in your career
Pradip Chinnakonda
I think one topic could be “How to retain inhereated wealth”.
Sreekanth Reddy
Sir…one chapter on How to stay relevant in this Job market would be great. With the way things are changing I see lot of employees in tech sector getting stagnated or becoming irrelevant and replaced by younger graduates. A chapter on how to take a long term view and plan a career would be a good add-on.
Tarun
Hi – some topics: How to manage parents finances when they become dependent. How to manage an inheritance? Something on how to write a will/ power of attorney in case one goes into medical coma? You have covered some of these in your blogs but it would be great if you could elaborate a bit more.
Nikhil
How to pick stocks .. Basics of fundamental analysis.. The how part is more important… Many know equities needed at early age but not many know how part
I am 28.. Almost all sections of personak finance – goals/ term insurance / health insurance / basic MF and PPF and epf
Still struggling to get a strong understanding of equities . Do have a Demat account and some shares basIcally present and earlier employers stocks
Would love to know how to create wealth with equities – how to study and pick them
The content online is very generic and academic
Harish
I am 27 years old and working in the software industry. What I have observed in my field is that many of my friends and colleagues do not understand the following:
1. We earn around the same amount of money our parents earned (retired from PSUs) when they were nearing retirement. That kind of gives us a sense of safety that we can handle any kind of expense that life throws at us. After all, our parents managed to make a living, buy a house or two, educate us, buy a vehicle or two, maybe get some of us married in a good way and still managed to save money for retirement. But what we fail to see is the solid savings/investment our parents generation did to achieve all this. So most of us spend almost all of our earnings one way or the other. A chapter in your book that debunks the myth we have ‘Earning is alone is enough’ and highlight the importance of saving.
2. I feel fit and healthy today. So I am good. Most of us feel that way. In reality, most of us are overweight and have poor fitness levels. Its only a matter of time (maybe till mid 30s) when this is going to reflect badly on us in terms of life quality and monetary expenses. Good health is the best insurance is something we forget. A chapter on this would be good.
Please reach out to me in case you wish to interview some people/conduct surveys of my profile. I would be more than happy to oblige.