Spending habbits of the twenty-somethings
October 31st 2007 11:22
People today seem to be spending more money than ever before whether they have the money or not. At the end of July this year, it was reported in The Age that credit card debt in Australia had reached a massive $41 billion!!
More often than not, spending is blamed on having children. There is the decision to either have kids or own your dream home earlier. But what I want to look at is a younger generation of spenders, more materialistic than ever before.
Often refered to as generation Y, this young group of twenty-somethings seem to want it all. Immediately when thinking about generation Y images of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton pop into my mind. Mainstream media portrays them all as being rich girls, none seem to be male and all have to be the centre of attention, making the twenty-somethings seem like an undesirable group of princesses who are constantly spending money. Over the last year alone, Lindsay Lohan spent US$5 million, mainly on beauty.
So how does this compare to the average Generation Y?
These twenty-somethings, or perhaps a more accurate description, the twenteens, have to have the best of everything. Being a self-confessed twenteen myself, it's easy to get lost in the materialistic aspects of this world. I'm in my final year at uni, work hard for my money, still live at home and am constantly buying new clothes, not necessarily because I want them but because I like the feeling I get from buying something. The worst part about it is, all my friends do it too. Why do we keep purchasing these clothes we don't even like just to get a little lift? I always have to have money to maintain that type of lifestyle, but besides clothes do I have anything to show for it?
On the flip side, there are those rebelling twenteens who seem to disagree with their parents, move out too early and are always struggling to have money. They don't ever seem to save anything or have any spare money, cutting things very close to pay day.
In my grandparents generation interest rates were higher yet people seemed to own their own homes quicker. One explanation is that not many of them went travelling and people today are more likely to go out for food and coffee. Clubbing and pubbing every week gets expensive, especially when you need to be seen in the latest dress every week. Are the twenteens, having too much fun or was it just that our predecessors didn't have enough fun?
More often than not, spending is blamed on having children. There is the decision to either have kids or own your dream home earlier. But what I want to look at is a younger generation of spenders, more materialistic than ever before.
Often refered to as generation Y, this young group of twenty-somethings seem to want it all. Immediately when thinking about generation Y images of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton pop into my mind. Mainstream media portrays them all as being rich girls, none seem to be male and all have to be the centre of attention, making the twenty-somethings seem like an undesirable group of princesses who are constantly spending money. Over the last year alone, Lindsay Lohan spent US$5 million, mainly on beauty.
So how does this compare to the average Generation Y?
These twenty-somethings, or perhaps a more accurate description, the twenteens, have to have the best of everything. Being a self-confessed twenteen myself, it's easy to get lost in the materialistic aspects of this world. I'm in my final year at uni, work hard for my money, still live at home and am constantly buying new clothes, not necessarily because I want them but because I like the feeling I get from buying something. The worst part about it is, all my friends do it too. Why do we keep purchasing these clothes we don't even like just to get a little lift? I always have to have money to maintain that type of lifestyle, but besides clothes do I have anything to show for it?
On the flip side, there are those rebelling twenteens who seem to disagree with their parents, move out too early and are always struggling to have money. They don't ever seem to save anything or have any spare money, cutting things very close to pay day.
In my grandparents generation interest rates were higher yet people seemed to own their own homes quicker. One explanation is that not many of them went travelling and people today are more likely to go out for food and coffee. Clubbing and pubbing every week gets expensive, especially when you need to be seen in the latest dress every week. Are the twenteens, having too much fun or was it just that our predecessors didn't have enough fun?
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