The (NOT SO) Skinny Girl

 So the title of this post is a little misleading if you don't have some background info. 3 MILLENIAL WOMEN, in very different places in their lives- both literally and figuratively- walk into a bar... sort of.  This past week, despite Covid-19 still looming, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with two of my best friends. All in our 30s, all living in different states, all leading very different lifestyles. The two  East Coast gals rode together to the very start of the 'Mid West' to re-unite with the 3rd... it had probably been years since the 3 of us were together like this.  Just a little background info on the 3 women, to set the scene J1- 33, lives in NJ with her husband, daughter (2), baby #2 on the way, and dog. Has a bachelor's degree, owns her own business and works for herself, joint owns a house and car with her immigrant hubby who does white collar work in the budding cannabis industry (pun intended). J2- 32, lives in Mass. Never married, has 2...

As an early millennial- as someone who graduated HS in the early 2000's and then graduated college right around the time Obama became president- I am well aware of the reality of living with more debt than income. Borrowing $30-40k a year for 4 years of college put me behind the curve, since it's pretty hard for a full time college student to hold down a full time job. I worked numerous odd jobs and held a part time one, but I also had limited savings and money I made was quickly and easily spent on everyday living (necessity or not). Mom and Dad didn't provide much financial aid outside the academic necessities- books, food, health/car insurance. Even though I started looking about midway through my last semester, upon graduation I realized that I needed a full time job quickly- the loan companies had already let me know that repayment began 6 months after graduation and that they were in the process of calculating my monthly amounts😖. I looked as far away as Australia,...

It's official!! We are home owners!  This journey took about 1 year, almost 100 houses seen, multiple offers, 3 contracts, almost 2 months "homeless", and finally we have a deed and keys!  🍾 🥂  We are big kids now!!  It blows my mind that I am now "rooted" somewhere, as clearly buying and selling houses is a huge hassle. But even more mind-blowing than that is what the attorney said to me while reviewing the paperwork: "You have student loan debt and you were able to buy a house? That's amazing! That's wonderful! Good for you guys!" Yes, I still have about $50,000 in student loan debt just to my name. I personally make less than $50,000 a year. I personally live practically paycheck to paycheck and work a second job part time to offset some of the cost of my expensive hobby, horseback riding. I also 100% own my own truck. I also have a 401k with a couple thousand in it. I also now own a house. According to the bank I only own a percenta...

Trigger warning: Liberal dreadlocked poli sci snowflake upset that NJ cost of living is so high she still has to share a bedroom with her teenage sisters.  Basically what I got from this article. Read it here: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/06/new_jersey_millennials_struggling_with_costs_of_li.html#incart_river_home You know me- I had some things to say... Article:  With $25,000 in student loans, her hopes of a settling down in a place of her own in New Jersey with her longtime boyfriend quickly evaporated. (Her student loan payments are currently deferred because of her low salary.) She only had $25,000 in student loan debt? Where did she get the other $75,000 that I'm still paying off? My total student loans were $102,000 when I graduated. I moved home for one month before securing a job in FL. I moved to FL for 6 months until the cost of living became too much under my student loan debt. I moved back to NJ to try to live with my parents. It ...

No, my dear, you are. You really are. Did you look up from your phone while making that statement, or did you just post it to social media?  The Washinton Post (horrible journalism and reporting, not a legit news outlet, often considered "fake news") made a video where they interviewed some Gen Z-ers, to prove they are not as bad as everyone thinks. The only problem with this is that it didn't accomplish that goal. My mouth dropped open and I rolled my eyes a lot. And apparently, I am a "millennial" so I am either a 'step behind' Gen Z or right on track with them. Hmmmm... So again I say: No, you are as bad as people say you are- BUT at the young age of the kids in the video, it's not their fault. It's their parent's fault. The people saying they are a horrible, terrible generation probably didn't raise a Gen Z-er though. The parents did, and they created a generation of children who are plugged into tech instead of reality. I mean, t...

Nothing is free.  Nothing is deserved.  Everything is earned. Life is NOT fair.  You'll be OK, if you realize all of the above ;) 

https://storage.googleapis.com/think/docs/its-lit.pdf That's the link to the results of the study that involved "400 teens ages 13 to 17 and 800 millennials ages 18-25". Based on that reference from their closing page, I can see we are dealing with juveniles here. FFS could you pick a way to write the ages and be consistent? Use "to" or "-" but not both. UGH. Here we go!!! Page 3: According to this study, each teenager spends about $733 annually. They have the power to get their household to spend about $3,333 annually. They are about 25% of the population- and companies and marketing firms should not underestimate the power of their dollars. *I had a job at 13, and I don't think I spent $733 annually. Since paper routes are almost non-existent now, how exactly are these kids coming up with their own $733 to spend? And I sure didn't have the power to make anyone in my household spend $3,000 a year. We bargain-shopped and did without mos...

So tax season is in full swing. My documents are in the queue to be processed and filed with my accountant. Which brings me to my first point of discussion.... using an actual person (accountant) to do your taxes vs. Turbo tax (or other electronic self-filing program). -If you are outraged that wealthy people (including Trump) get 'unfair' tax breaks, what have you done to remedy your own situation? Have you read up on tax law lately? Do you know the ins and outs of the system? Do you know how to make it work for you? Do you know the secrets of the trade? NO?! THEN WHY THE  F**K  ARE YOU USING A SELF GUIDED PROGRAM TO COMPLETE YOUR TAXES? -If you think that having a professional do your taxes is too expensive, and would rather let a cheap or free program assist you, then why are you crying that you don't make out on your taxes? -If you cry year after year about how your 'return' turns out... why aren't you seeking additional guidance/assistance? Why are yo...

So the trigger meme: "Millenials pay all the bills people in 1995 did- plus cell/internet, plus rent/food costs x2, plus student loans, with no increase in wages." #the struggle is real  #millenial problems Here we go again. #1 comment that pissed me off:  If I had a dime for every time a baby boomer said millennials are lazy, I could buy a house in the economy they ruined for us. My response... True millennials are lazy. The ones that mooch off their parents- don't pay for their own rent and health insurance and food- while working one menial job post graduation and whining that they don't have all the things the world has to offer. And then you have the ones who happen to fall into the age group pf "Millennial" who work 2 or 3 jobs, rent a modest place, go without internet in their home and use free WiFi when they need it, shop around to get the best deal on a cell phone carrier, buy a second hand car for half the payment of a brand new lease. Al...