It has been said time after time and proven by study after study that generation X, is a generation that is struggling with the ability to save their money. With the impending pressures of everyday life and a fluctuating economy, it's no wonder this generation is having a hard time keeping up with their self pledged contributions to their retirement funds. GoBankingRates.com found in their 2013 survey that around 41 percent of Generation X is saving less than $100,000 for their retirement, while another 15 percent are already borrowing money from their 401K accounts. They also found that around 23 percent of Generation X Americans have stopped putting money into their retirement accounts all together, due to the expenses that they are having to pay in order to keep up with their daily lives.
There are many difficulties that generation X has had to deal with that contributes to their constant struggle with being able to save money. Inflation, the recession and debt are just some of the more important ones. With around 45 percent of generation X’s net worth having dropped in the last couple years, its clear that the impact is far from ignorable. From 1967 to 2013 there has been a constant inflation rate of around 4.3 percent, meaning that more than 34 percent ahead of the average rates in the past century or so. This compounded with the recession has then also made it harder and harder for generation x to get jobs after college. They are leaving universities across the countries with large student loans and degrees that aren’t helping them get employed. The debt that they accumulate through their student loans on top of the governmental debt make it harder and harder for people to keep up and the rising costs of governmental entitlement programs, such as social security and Medicare are not making it any easier.
There is a bright side to the hard times that the people of generation X face and that’s the knowledge they are passing on to generation z. It has been found that generation Z has a better understanding of the financial and economical realities that they are going to face from watching and learning from their elders. Though they haven’t really joined the workforce yet, with this better understanding they are going to be better prepared for the realities they are going to face come graduation day. Having watched their parents struggle with retirement will motivate them to better themselves when joining the workforce.
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