Personal Finance for Millennial Career Women

No matter what year you were born in, there’s no denying the fact that planning for your financial future is extremely important. For the most part, all is well and good while you’re still young, able-bodied, and healthy. But as depressing as thinking about these scenarios may be, by actually preparing for these things you might just feel a little bit lighter, knowing you’ve planned for your future past your prime.

This is relevant to every generation, but it turns out to be a particularly tricky subject for Millennials. Brought up in a period of abundance to (comparatively speaking) wealthy parents, later faced with an economic crash that killed many a hope for a wealthy future. This has left many of them disillusioned, saving money wherever they can, and prioritizing attainable things like experiences and a work-life balance over material things and making it big.

Though many negative stereotypes about Millennials prevail, they’ve certainly been dealt a tough hand in life when it comes to financing. The question is: how are millennial career women handling it?

Millennials and retirement planning – how’s that coming along?

There’s no denying the fact that life becomes harder once you’re past your prime. Many people try to prepare for that through retirement planning. In the past, this was easier, as not only did jobs pay comparatively more, but people could also rely on good pensions. Nowadays, pensions are pretty much a thing of the past – whether you live in the US or the UK, if you’re young now, your chances for a pension that’s sustainable are low.

What with all the cliches surrounding Millennials – about how they’re lazy, entitled job-hoppers that can’t get off their damn phones – you’d expect that they probably don’t have much planned for the future. After all, living in the now and destroying once-lucrative industries is all they care about, according to the media. However, it turns out that the majority of Millennials actually plan for their retirement in some capacity.

Despite being drowning in student loans, many US Millennials actually have quite substantial savings in their 401(k)s – more than their Generation X counterparts at that! Despite their lower incomes, they are actually doing a good job in preparing for their financial futures. It turns out that there might actually be something optimistic in store for them, and it’s largely thanks to their own efforts in that regard.

How do they do it?

It’s surprising how much money can be saved for a good and steady retirement if you only know how to manage your finances. It turns out that most UK and US Millennials actually realize this and are actively working towards making their lives easier in the future. How does that happen?

• They are very aware of the fact that living month-to-month isn’t sustainable in the long run. Many Millennials carefully analyze their bank statements from the previous months in order to decide how much money they’ll need to spend on essentials during the upcoming months. They carefully consider where they can reduce costs – eating out, coffee, unused gym memberships, etc. A good rule of thumb here is the 50/30/20 rule – generally, you spend about 50% on your essentials, 30% on flexible desired costs, while 20% is put away for savings.
• They do their best to get a nest egg. While saving for the future is important, it’s also incredibly important to save for a time of dire need. This may often mean the month is going to be a lean one, but as a result, they are ready to cover any expenses should an accident happen. The best place for this type of fund is an account that allows for instant access – if you’re smart, you’ll find one that gives you the best interest rate.
• They diversify investments. Contrary to popular belief, many Millennial career women do have long-term goals in mind, and in order to achieve that, they often turn to invest capital. The best way to achieve good results here is to have a diverse portfolio right from the getgo, as this helps minimize any potential losses. And while some Millennials definitely do chase after trends, such as cryptocurrencies, many realize this may be too risky a venture at this point and stray far away from investments they don’t understand.
• They work with a financial planner, such as Responsible Equity Release. With a financial planner, it’s very easy to set up a saving strategy that will help you not only make your life a little easier, but also make your future much more secure. You’ll also gain the knowledge you need in order to make your own sound financial decisions in the future.

Will Millennial Career Women be OK?

While nothing in life is certain, and Millennials have definitely been given quite the formidable task, it turns out that they deserve a little bit more credit than they’re given. Millennials in the US, UK, and all around the world are quickly adapting to the shifting economic climate and have found ways to make their futures a little bit more certain than they looked just a couple of years ago. With a couple of smart strategies, Millennials are still in the process of getting ready to face that challenges that come with managing personal finances, but they’re doing quite a good job for now.  Are you one of the millennial career women who are on track?