Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 18, 2015 7:35:23 GMT -5
www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/09/17/saving_in_your_20s_elite_daily_s_lauren_martin_is_so_so_wrong_about_personal.htmlOn Wednesday, Elite Daily writer Lauren Martin wrote an essay called, “If You Have Savings in Your 20s, You’re Doing Something Wrong.” Based on the title, you might guess that Martin is a middle-aged professional whose life experience has taught her it’s a mistake to prioritize saving money in one’s youth, and who wants to share her hard-earned wisdom with the millennial generation. In fact, Martin is a twentysomething without savings who feels confident making assertions like, “When you’re 40, you’re not going to look back on your 20s and be grateful for the few thousand you saved.”
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Wisconsin Beth
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No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 18, 2015 7:36:25 GMT -5
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bobosensei
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Post by bobosensei on Sept 18, 2015 7:47:12 GMT -5
what an idiot- but to be fair I didn't even read the article.
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Wisconsin Beth
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No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 18, 2015 7:54:59 GMT -5
I couldn't finish the elitedaily link myself.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 7:58:58 GMT -5
I can't get to the original article, but I don't think stupid talk like that is new to the Millenials. I remember several of my peers saying similar things in their 20's. Hopefully she doesn't cling to this belief too long.
I, for one, am VERY grateful for the money I saved in my 20's. Honestly, I'm 46 and I'm willing to bet that two thirds of my retirement savings is from money that was set aside from 22-34.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Sept 18, 2015 7:59:29 GMT -5
I'm SO glad DD doesn't think like she does. Although I thought it was a curse at the time, I lost my first job in my mid-20's when the corporation I worked for filed for bankruptcy. Although stressful at the time, I now see it as a good thing, because it taught me to have an emergency fund.
I wonder if she'll be selling a cookbook in her 60's "101 ways to Serve Cat Food".
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justme
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Post by justme on Sept 18, 2015 8:17:55 GMT -5
Yup, totally doing something wrong. I own a condo, have 40k in retirement accounts, my car is paid for. I'm crippling myself! And in my 40s I'll look back and go wow what an idiot, can't believe I did that while also mostly doing what I want and going on at least one vacation a year.
</snark>
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Sept 18, 2015 8:23:15 GMT -5
Sounds like someone is insecure about her decision to not save ....
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ArchietheDragon
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Post by ArchietheDragon on Sept 18, 2015 8:27:05 GMT -5
This is the blurb about the original author that shows up at the bottom of the article.
"Lauren Martin is a Senior Lifestyle Writer at Elite Daily. After graduating from PSU, she moved to NYC to write fart jokes at Smosh Magazine. Making her way to ED, she now writes riveting commentary on nude pics, condoms and first dates."
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Sept 18, 2015 8:32:59 GMT -5
Everyone knows you make fart jokes and condom commentary as a side job, not a full time job
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Sept 18, 2015 8:40:34 GMT -5
Let me guess... her parents have money. ETA: The sad thing is, there is one good nugget of wisdom buried in there ("make more money") but the rest of the article makes me think she hit on that by accident.
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garion2003
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Post by garion2003 on Sept 18, 2015 8:48:08 GMT -5
what an idiot- but to be fair I didn't even read the article. I read it.
What an idiot. Seriously I want to shred every word she wrote.
Of course, YM has ruined me anway!
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Sept 18, 2015 9:01:28 GMT -5
This is the blurb about the original author that shows up at the bottom of the article. "Lauren Martin is a Senior Lifestyle Writer at Elite Daily. After graduating from PSU, she moved to NYC to write fart jokes at Smosh Magazine. Making her way to ED, she now writes riveting commentary on nude pics, condoms and first dates." Well, she seems very qualified to be handing out financial advice. This doesn't seem too different from the belief some young ladies of my generation had that they didn't need to save anything in their twenties because at some point a white knight would marry them and whisk them away to their penthouse apartment and country club lifestyle.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Sept 18, 2015 9:03:24 GMT -5
Here is the full article - elitedaily.com/life/savings-20s-something-wrong/1214445/This was hilarious. Ya, I'm really sad that I left my 20s behind last month with 1.5x my salary in retirement savings while having a husband, a house and a kid, and doing most of the things I want besides traveling to Europe every year. And if I never contribute another dime, I am looking at over a million at retirement. It really sucks. I think that the concept behind the article is one that a lot of us on here struggle with - balancing saving for tomorrow while still living for today. But she goes about it in entirely the wrong way. Hell, I'd like to make 60k let alone get a 60k raise! But I'm non-STEM in the sticks, so.... But I'll still have more at retirement than her!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 9:10:29 GMT -5
Um. I'm of the generation that she speaks of. We weren't running off and getting married at 20. Heck, I still lived at home until 23! College, traveling, and goofing off were the norm for my classmates in their early 20's. Not marriage and kids. There were a couple that did, but not a lot. Teen pregnancy is nothing like it is now either. I remember ONE girl when I was in high school getting pregnant. Now they have an entire alternative school set up with a daycare just because of all the teen moms.
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ArchietheDragon
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Post by ArchietheDragon on Sept 18, 2015 9:19:44 GMT -5
This is the blurb about the original author that shows up at the bottom of the article. "Lauren Martin is a Senior Lifestyle Writer at Elite Daily. After graduating from PSU, she moved to NYC to write fart jokes at Smosh Magazine. Making her way to ED, she now writes riveting commentary on nude pics, condoms and first dates." Well, she seems very qualified to be handing out financial advice. This doesn't seem too different from the belief some young ladies of my generation had that they didn't need to save anything in their twenties because at some point a white knight would marry them and whisk them away to their penthouse apartment and country club lifestyle. Yup. When you are an online writer and you don't have anything good to write about, just write something ridiculous and stupid and hope people click on the link just to read the terribleness of what you wrote. To them, a click is a click and is reveue for them whether the reader thinks the article is good or trash.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 9:21:15 GMT -5
Teen pregnancy has actually been dropping overall.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Sept 18, 2015 9:30:02 GMT -5
People are stupid.
Some people are complete morons.
The internet provides even complete morons with an opportunity to share their valuable advice.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 9:32:49 GMT -5
Teen pregnancy has actually been dropping overall. Then our area must have been very unusual back in the mid 80's. I was in a class of over 400 and there was ONE GIRL pregnant from my class during high school. Fifteen years later and it seemed like it was almost a fad to get pregnant. Girls were trying to get pregnant because their friends were, and yes, I actually heard these words coming from their mouths. It was nutso.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 18, 2015 9:41:05 GMT -5
the article is missing something - perhaps intentionally... DEBT. My best guess would be that to live a "wild and free!" non-saving lifestyle you probably need to go into debt. Why? Because there are more 'experiences' or "places to go, people to see, things to do" than anyone ever has money for. You need to choose which things you'll do... and my guess is that most 'starting out' incomes while they probably cover the basics of 'living' with some compromises - they probably don't cover much in the way of 'endless fun stuff'.
I think that's a flaw in the thinking "it's ok if I don't save much now, even if I go into debt, I'll make more money in the future and save then!" yeah, you'll make more money - but you STILL won't be able to save much - you'll be paying down the debt you ran up.... the idea of the amount of interest paid on balances (assuming the minimum was paid while the balance grew) over the course of 5 or 10 years makes me feel faint.
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Ryan
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Post by Ryan on Sept 18, 2015 9:42:04 GMT -5
This lady is an idiot, but she's not totally off base. Even people with good intentions do not say much/anything during their 20's, this lady is just embracing that.
Her advice isn't bad if your career takes off your in your 30's, but if not then you're kinda screwed.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Sept 18, 2015 9:58:05 GMT -5
I thought for sure this was the Onion disguised as Slate.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Sept 18, 2015 10:10:22 GMT -5
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 18, 2015 10:22:36 GMT -5
I didn't save in my 20s- well, i did. but I saved up my money and then traveled for 3-5 weeks around Europe each summer. So basically- I spent all the money I saved.
I don't regret it one bit. I had the most amazing experiences and adventures, made fantastic friends and crazy memories. I learned so much about the world and myself... and quite a bit about cooking, to boot. While I wish I had done things differently money wise, after that time period that would put me in a better financial place at 35, I wouldn't have changed the traveling in my 20s for anything.
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emma1420
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Post by emma1420 on Sept 18, 2015 10:25:06 GMT -5
I think the author must have her parents as a safety net. When you always know that you can go back home, or ask your parents for a loan, then living without savings probably isn't so scary.
However, I also suspect that the author of the article really hasn't faced any sort of significant hardship. No job loss. No paycut. Nothing that would make it so she would be grateful to have a small cushion of savings. And, 60K pay raises are few and very far between. Most people don't even earn 60K a year, let alone see a raise of that amount.
But, in the end I bet this same author will be bitching in 5-10 years about how expensive housing is and how it's impossible to save up a down payment.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 10:28:04 GMT -5
Sure, that's the problem, people are saving too much in their 20's. I partied throughout my 20's but always saved to the company match or more and have a small pension from the first company I worked for. I should have saved a bit more.
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Sept 18, 2015 11:33:19 GMT -5
This lady is an idiot, but she's not totally off base. Even people with good intentions do not say much/anything during their 20's, this lady is just embracing that. Her advice isn't bad if your career takes off your in your 30's, but if not then you're kinda screwed. One of my sisters has the 'better to earn more than save more' mentality and she has done quite well earning wise, but she's never learned to reel in the spending. She and her husband both make 6 figures but she says she can't afford to take 2 months off for maternity leave unless she makes her full bonus this year. She could probably save my yearly salary in three months if she wanted to, but cutting expenses isn't even on her radar. How do you flip that switch at 30 when you've spent your entire adult life spending every penny?
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Sept 18, 2015 11:40:04 GMT -5
This lady is an idiot, but she's not totally off base. Even people with good intentions do not say much/anything during their 20's, this lady is just embracing that. Her advice isn't bad if your career takes off your in your 30's, but if not then you're kinda screwed. One of my sisters has the 'better to earn more than save more' mentality and she has done quite well earning wise, but she's never learned to reel in the spending. She and her husband both make 6 figures but she says she can't afford to take 2 months off for maternity leave unless she makes her full bonus this year. She could probably save my yearly salary in three months if she wanted to, but cutting expenses isn't even on her radar. How do you flip that switch at 30 when you've spent your entire adult life spending every penny? Exactly. This woman explains how you can start saving when you get that 60K raise - but even assuming that you were one of the magical few selected to get that kind of massive pay raise, if you've spent everything you earned during the last decade, it would be very easy to just spend 60K more. Saving is a discipline, like flossing your teeth every night - it doesn't show up when you suddenly have a nice raise.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 11:59:20 GMT -5
I also don't understand the idea that you can't advance your career while saving something at the same time. What does the investing in oneself entail?
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Sept 18, 2015 12:04:13 GMT -5
This is the blurb about the original author that shows up at the bottom of the article. "Lauren Martin is a Senior Lifestyle Writer at Elite Daily. After graduating from PSU, she moved to NYC to write fart jokes at Smosh Magazine. Making her way to ED, she now writes riveting commentary on nude pics, condoms and first dates." The lack of an Oxford comma troubles me.
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