In a surprise little bit of Gen-Z honesty in an article I read the other day, a 21 year old admitted that she didn't know how to manage her money. However, in a very not surprising Gen-Z move, she blamed others.
“I think it should be banned because for us Gen Zers we were never taught how to manage money properly, Getting a huge influx of money at once, of course, we are going to get excited and are going to blow it all on food, shopping, outings, etc.”
What should be banned you ask?
Fortnightly pay. And for those who think a fortnight is a misspelling of a game, it actually means two weeks. Yes, she is complaining because she can't manage her money over a two week period, and wants to get paid weekly instead - because then she gets paid more frequently. But it is the same amount.
Learn to manage your money. If you know you get paid fortnightly, learn to budget, learn to pay your bills first before "blowing it all on food, shopping, outings etc" -
These people.
She even identified the gap that she doesn't know how to manage her money, but rather than trying to close that gap by improving herself, her answer is to change the system to make her life easier. But, it doesn't make her life easier, does it? Instead, what it would do is help her avoid having to learn what she is going to have to learn at some point anyway, if she wants to have any kind of decent financial outlook in her future. And the future is what is important, so rather than blaming the past and your unwillingness to learn then, make the decision and take the actions to learn now.
"But I want to live in the now, not learn in the now!"
(Real quote from an imaginary Gen-Zer)
And yes, while this story is coming from a single person who may or may not be mentally challenged, the attitude seems consistent amongst the under thirties. Whenever they have a problem, they feel entitled to complain about it and demand someone else fix it. This attitude actually makes sense though, because most of them are incapable of actually fixing much anyway. They have grown up with all the information available to them at their fingertips, but have learned very little beyond the latest consumer trend.
Can't wait until payday to blow it all on Labubus!
For a few years now, the young have been complaining about the bad rap they get due to their money habits, saying that they actually do know how to manage their money, but the world is against them. Sure, the economic conditions are different now then it was for their parents and grandparents, but the world is different in many, many other ways also. They seem fine with consuming streaming passive content for the majority of their life - something their parents and grandparents never did.
The conditions are what they are - learn to live well with what there is. And the irony is, learning to survive well in the current conditions, would almost guarantee being able to thrive in them too, as well as change the overall conditions in a positive way. Because, people would take more responsibility for themselves, close skill and knowledge gaps, and learn how to manage their money, invest their money, and own.
It isn't as simple as stopping spending on shit, there is more to financial wellbeing than that, but whether people are taught in childhood or not, the fact is that as an adult, it is likely going to take more than what a child learned. The learning doesn't stop at school, yet these kids seem to only be willing to learn about the things they like to learn about - even while the things they should learn about go begging.
Put down your phone - pick up a book.
No! no! Not a fucking romance novel to make you feel like true love is out there for you, despite you being too afraid to answer the phone - a book to learn from. And yeah, it doesn't actually have to be a book with paper - an audiobook will do. But spend the majority of your "free" time learning how to make you life better. And if you think having more stable, well-managed finances will help you have a better life - learn how to do it.
And fucken do it.
Stop blaming others for your own unwillingness.
What is good to recognise in the complaint about weekly, fortnightly, and monthly pay cycles is - it conditions us to either spend more, or save more. Sure, it might add up to the same amount, but I would predict that the people who get paid monthly end up having better money management skills than those paid weekly. And in building those skills, more options become available, like investing. And then, the management training kicks in to find a bit more so as to invest a bit more - and it spirals upward.
Skills can compound, just like money can.
But passive consumption doesn't build skill.
I am definitely no expert on managing finances, but I am active in doing what I can to improve along the way. Over the years I have learned a lot that I wasn't taught in childhood, through trial and error, as well as seeking out information to add into the mix. If I was more clever than I am, perhaps I would have done a better job - but if I had done nothing at all and just blamed others, well....
The girl in the article is 21, so she has plenty of time to learn ahead of her. But, what about the people in their thirties - what is their excuse for not knowing by now when the information is potentially right in front of their eyes most of the day? But, no matter if young or old, if unwilling to learn and change - no amount of pay will be enough.
Taraz
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