I've got to be honest – ever since I paid off my student loans, I literally haven't been stressed out by money. I started thinking about this a bit when a bill came in for an emergency room visit my wife had a few weeks ago.
I assumed that the bill would be about $1,000, but when I opened the mailbox yesterday I had a freaking $2,400 bill staring me in the grill! That was AFTER insurance had paid. Crazy.
Fortunately, my wife and I set up an emergency fund a while ago. I preach it constantly on this website. Before you pay off your student loans, before you invest in retirement, before you put your shoes on in the morning – you have to set up an emergency fund. Totally non-negotiable. We were able to pay that bill and move on without stress.
I love that it was already “past due” when I opened the bill.
Better Money Habits
I came across the “Better Money Habits” report that Bank of America ran back in 2015. They surveyed 1,320 millennials from 18-34 years old, and here is the jist of the report's findings:
“A large majority (84 percent) of millennials are “somewhat” or “very” confident in their ability to manage their personal finances. However, 41 percent are “chronically stressed” about money.”
Chronically stressed…sounds serious right?
Let's dig in to that.
According to the survey, the top financial stressor for 43% of millennials was not putting enough money into savings. This was followed up with 30% saying they worried about spending too much, and 28% are scared of facing adulthood.
Honorable mentions were as follows:
- Debt from student loans
- Not planning or saving for retirement
- The costs of raising a child
- Having enough money to run a family
- Losing a job
- Paying rent
- Credit card debt
- Having enough cash to get married
Basically…we're all screwed. Even looking at that list stresses ME out, and I have money set aside. I found a pretty fascinating stat later in the survey that might explain the “chronic stress” that Gen Y is facing:
Millennials are more knowledgeable about social media (34%) than personal finance (17%). We're also better at dining out, technology, sports, health and wellness, arts/entertainment, and fashion and style. The only things we suck at more than personal finance are alcohol (surprising I know), travel, politics, investing, and international affairs.
We are better at snapchat than bank accounts. No wonder we're stressed.
Emergencies WILL happen.
I think that one of the biggest mistakes that young people make early on is assuming that things will just be OK. The unfortunate reality is that life isn't nice all of the time. You're going to get hurt, your car will break down, and other general bad crap will happen to you. The only way to buffer yourself from that unfortunate reality is by having money.
If you are having trouble saving money – you need to simplify your thoughts on personal finance. There are only two things you can do to free up more cash for saving:
- Make more money
- Spend less money
If you aren't doing number one, then do number two. If you can't bring yourself to do number two, then do number one. If you do both, you're a personal finance [email protected]$$. It's that simple.
There are a lot of personal finance articles out there (and on this site) that probably make personal finance out to be a little more science-like than it actually is.
I've always joked that the math involved is unbelievably easy compared to what they taught us in high school. If you can do algebra, then you better believe you can put together an emergency savings fund using kindergarten math. It's at least worth looking into if you can avoid being stressed out, right?
Take a look at the “Better Money Habits” survey and see what you think! It actually has some really cool geographic stats on what we worry about most based on the region you live in.
Maggie @ Northern Expenditure says
May 5, 2016 at 10:21 amWhat a great reminder! I have to say I don’t really stress about money. We’re on a pretty automatic path toward greatness (slower than I’d like, but still…). Though if we ever made the leap into self-employment… I’m sure that stress would increase!
Millennial Money Man says
May 5, 2016 at 4:08 pmSo glad to hear that you are on your way!
The Green Swan says
May 5, 2016 at 10:32 amThese things happen, so best be prepared for them. Good for you guys for being prepared and not having to stress out. We had a similar situation in my household last year when my wife got sick. Can’t do anything about it except be prepared. Thanks for the post!
The Green Swan
Millennial Money Man says
May 5, 2016 at 4:09 pmHopefully everything is OK with your wife!
Stefan - The Millennial Budget says
May 5, 2016 at 10:59 amHad a good laugh reading through this article as I have been writing a lot about these topics. It is so scary to know that over half of the millennial population do not believe they can come up with $2,000 in the next month!We focus all our time on pleasing social media and keeping up with technology that we forget about the most important thing, ourselves.
Totally agree with your emergency fund statement as well. I am writing an article about graduation for this weekend and that is the first point on my list! It is so valuable yet so underutilized. Hopefully people will listen to your advice!
Millennial Money Man says
May 5, 2016 at 4:09 pmHey I hope so too! Our generation’s savings stats are REALLY scary!
Brian - Rental Mindset says
May 5, 2016 at 11:30 amNegotiate that medical bill! Most people don’t realize you actually have a lot of power in those situations. If you wait a month or so (not so long that it is delinquent) then offer to pay cash rather than a payment plan (which all those non-savers would have to do), that alone will likely get you a significant discount.
Millennial Money Man says
May 5, 2016 at 4:10 pmInteresting…I might try that. I’d hate for them to try to report me to a collection agency, but I’m assuming that they would notify me?
Tim says
May 6, 2016 at 4:05 amFrom my experience, a lot of people do not understand the value nor the importance of creating an emergency fund.
However, here’s the good news: they instantly understand it when they face an unexpected emergency and there’s no emergency fund in the background.
Millennial Money Man says
May 6, 2016 at 9:12 amHopefully they get one set up before they get to the emergency!
Nick says
May 8, 2016 at 5:25 amGreat post. I find that what stresses me out THE MOST is when I lose money or otherwise spend money without getting it back in some form of ROI. Of course, like you said, emergencies do happen, which is why preparation is key.
What’s really crazy is how many young people simply do not care about setting themselves up with an emergency fund BEFORE they spend it on themselves. I hear it all the time – ” No thanks, I’d rather spend it on amazing experiences or traveling. It’s more exciting than saving.” The thing is, you can have both financial stability AND enjoy spending it on great experiences. Just be smart and make sure one comes before the other!
Millennial Money Man says
May 8, 2016 at 8:48 pmI’ve had people say things about traveling and living in the moment. What young people don’t realize is that they’ll be the same person years from now, just with less money than their financially savvy peers.
Jim says
Jun 7, 2016 at 5:32 pmStress about money never ends, it just moves down the list.
For me lets see: emergency fund… check. paid off cars… check. savings…check .paid off house… check. IRAs for retirement… check. investments… check. Enough money to live on for the rest of my life, without running out…Hmmmm….STRESS…. see what I mean.