Millennials want to make the big bucks fast. We see dollar signs everywhere. We want money in our hands as soon as possible. It makes sense that we are the generation that’s the most hesitant when it comes to investing our money. Why would we take a risk putting our money somewhere when we can have it in our accounts? Rent, food, drinks – being a millennial is expensive. Why are we going to put this money away when we have things that need to be paid for? We want to know where our money is, know the exact amount, and be able to spend it whenever we want. Most of us don’t fully understand the concept of investing. Maybe it’s time we learned.
According to a blog post on the Wall Street Journal entitled “Wealth Adviser: Millennials Need a Financial Education,” more than one third of millennials polled said that their retirement goal was to ensure the safety of their savings. They wanted to minimize all possible risks, and feel secure about their money. This compares drastically with the generations above us. Only sixteen percent of those polled from Generation X have the same thoughts regarding retirement. Out of all the pre-retirees that have been polled, only twenty percent had the same concerns as millennials.
Financial advisers are concerned about this varying difference. One financial consultant, Amy Podzius, even goes on to state how “advisers need to help them (millennials) understand the basic tools of planning before they can actually ask them to engage in a plan of their own.” Millennials should be working with financial advisers. Financial advisers should be reaching out to millennials. However, none of this is currently happening.
I recently wrote about how Financial Advisers Don’t Want Millennials as Clients. Here’s Why. Financial advisers are not targeting millennials. We are not their desired clients. They see us an unimportant and not beneficial for them. But yet, we’re getting criticized for not being financially educated. How are we supposed to be getting this financial education if financial advisers don’t even want to give us their time?
As if finances and planning for our future aren’t difficult enough, now we have conflicting views! Should we reach out to financial advisers, or do they not want to waste their time on us? We’re expected to be financially educated, yet there’s no one willing to teach us. It’s time once again for us to try and get noticed. It’s time to prove to financial advisers that they need us as clients, and they need us to be financially educated. We are their future clients, future employees, and future successors. We want to not only know that our money is secure, but know that it’s growing as well. Learning about how to properly save for retirement and how to properly invest can be overwhelming. We need help.
Let’s not be scared to ask questions about our finances. Let’s not let the word “finances” give us chills. Let’s not let financial advisers intimidate us. They can help us. They may not want us right now, but they will. It’s time for millennials to be financially educated. Here’s a couple of ways to learn about finances all while avoiding financial advisers:
Ask Family.
Do you have an older sibling? Older cousin? They recently have gone through the same things as you. Ask them questions. Parents, aunts, and uncles have also been through learning their finances, and probably have many trials and errors under their belts as well. Ask them their opinions. Ask them what has worked for them, and what hasn’t. Firsthand experience is the best way to find out if something works or not.
Ask Friends.
Did you have any friends in college that were finance majors? They may know more than you think. Grab dinner with them. It’s a great way to reconnect and let out some of your financial hesitations.
Google It.
You’ve heard it before; when it doubt, Google it. It may take a bit longer, but read up on what’s going on in the finance world. Google questions about finances you may have; there’s a chance someone has already asked it somewhere on the Internet.
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