I am a Millennial and I am proud to say that I have not given up on my financial future! I say financial future because I don't believe that being rich is ultimately what will make me happy. Being stable enough in my finances to have a family and pursue things I am passionate about absolutely will! I began working as soon as I was of legal age to do so and have never been without a job since. I paid my own way through college with the help of a few scholarships and ROTC. I paid off what little I had in student debt the day I graduated and pinned on my butter bar. I am developing a good financial portfolio and better spending habits with confidence that I can achieve my goals and enjoy a comfortable standard of living. I know plenty of people with the same or a similar story! My point is that it's not all doom and gloom, and many of us are thriving despite the economic climate.

I believe work ethic- or lack thereof- is what's afflicting those who are not thriving. So many of my peers are JUST now, upon college graduation, entering the work force for the very first time. Many of these same individuals are experiencing culture shock. They haven't understood what it means to earn a buck until now. They are used to a certain standard of living without the slightest clue of what it takes to maintain that standard. This is thanks to parents who have been blessed in the ability to share their standard of living with their children and, in many cases fund their education. These parents mean well. I am not a mother yet myself, though I understand the desire to make life "better than you had it" for your kids. From my angle, this mentality has backfired and is actually doing Millennials a disservice.

Another issue which is not necessarily exclusive to a particular generation is how comfortable Americans have become with debt. I know plenty of people who accepted every credit card offer and student loan they qualified for because they were under the impression that taking on debt up to your eyeballs is a normal part of adulthood. (In fact, that's probably the number one lie I was bombarded with in college- quit your job! Focus on academics! Take this free money! Everyone's doing it!) Again with the naivety about what things cost...it's finally dawning on these kids what they have done to themselves. How can one possibly expect to get rich while making the minimum payments on their six-figure debt while also trying live like they always have? These are just the struggles of my employed peers- it pains me to empathize with those struggling to find jobs after sinking so much into that pretty little paper diploma.

So yes, it's a tough economy but that's only one of many factors giving us trouble. We have been spoon fed this expectation of what our lives should be like and have gobbled up every bite. How were we to know better? We are a generation addicted to being rewarded for every darn thing we do. We have not been inoculated against disappointment, been allowed to fail, experienced the trial and error, or learned the skills it takes to cope with and become successful in this messy world. We feel like failures right out of the gate, not understanding that struggling is what is normal, not this harmonious lie we bought into. No wonder there are so many of us depressed and ready to give up! The best thing I can (and will!) do for my children is serve them up a healthy dose of realism and teach them not to base their self worth on their net worth.

Interestingly I am in another discussion on FB about the cheese we used to get from the government. My Mom stood in line by a truck loaded with 5 pound boxes of cheese. Sometimes this is what we had to eat.

That was the help we received when I was young.

Is there supposed to be an article linked to this?