Comments on: On Debt: Generation X vs. Generation Y

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sun, 25 May 2014 20:28:25 +0000

You found an oldie here on the site! Let’s see if this regenerates some buzz, haha…

And def. keep saving, you can NEVER go wrong with that!

By: Nightvid Cole

Nightvid Cole — Sun, 25 May 2014 13:52:51 +0000

Gen Y here, $0 debt, renting primary residence. Although I’m still single at the age of 27 without even a g/f :(

I was just thinking to myself yesterday, there are parts of the country where a small condo can be found that goes for $45,000. I have more than half of that in savings, so if I got married to someone in the same financial situation as myself, we could later find a job there and buy it without a mortgage.

But then it dawned on me, that those places have no decent public transit and I would have to buy a car! At any rate, I’m still saving…

By: Mary Anne @ BillGuard

Mary Anne @ BillGuard — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:04:37 +0000

The stats are interesting. I wonder why Gen X and Gen Y are so different. It makes sense, as many commenters have noted, that many people in Gen Y haven’t yet purchased houses and haven’t yet gone to grad school, so it makes sense that their mortgage and student loan debt would be lower. (On the other hand, Gen Y has had LESS time to repay their student loans and mortgages, which is an argument for why those balances should be higher).

The real mystery is the credit-card debt. I can’t figure out why Gen X’s would be so much higher than Gen Y’s, given that Gen X is, as an aggregate, presumably making a much higher income. (They’ve had more time in the workforce). My only hypothesis is that Gen Y became financially conservative after witnessing the recession. They’re also young enough that they didn’t lose their home equity or their jobs during the recession (because they hadn’t bought homes yet and they hadn’t finished school yet). That’s just a guess, though.

By: Randy

Randy — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:16:59 +0000

Generation Y – all zeros across the board.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:39:01 +0000

In reply to Giddings Plaza FI. Awesome, always love hearing that!

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:38:41 +0000

In reply to LPC. You're right on that - but I still find it interesting :)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:37:51 +0000

In reply to stephanie. I give you an e-high five for having no mortgage - I don't care what the others say :)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:36:10 +0000

In reply to Sheryl. I just can't believe someone who once loved and cherished you could be so mean. Kinda scary, right?

By: Giddings Plaza FI

Giddings Plaza FI — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:08:29 +0000

Hey J Money–like you, I also have $0 student loans and $0 credit card debt. That stuff is for suckers. I do, though, have a very large mortgage. Iive in a tiny, 840 sq ft house, but I live in an expensive city. But, to tackle the mortage and reach financial independence asap, I’m increasing my active and passive income. Thanks for the post!

By: LPC

LPC — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:54:39 +0000

If I understand correctly, the breakdown between Gen X & Gen Y is based on the numbered gathered from people who signed up at Saveup.com. Obviously, it’s not representative on the population in general, so why are these numbers important? It’s a snapshot of their members and not statistically significant.