🎶All I wanna do is a zoom zoom zoom and a boom boom…just shake your debt!🎶🤣
We hate to be a Debt-y Downer, but it’s hard out there for the younger generations. 🥴 Sure, it’s hard out there for everyone, but we’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. This literally ain’t your mother’s economy! 🤪📉
A recent article hit us with some cold, hard facts about Zoomer debt. Spoiler alert: they’re ice cold. 🥶
Here’s Five Fast Facts on Gen Z’s debt:
- 🤸 A Delicate Balance - Young adults rack up more credit card debt now than they did in the past. In Q4 of last year, 22- to 24-year-olds carried an average credit card balance of $2,834. According to the data, that’s significantly more than they carried in 2013: $2,248.
- 🫴 Gimme Gimme More - That college degree might not be getting kids the salary it takes to make hefty loan payments and live a comfortable life. Data from the Fed Reserve of NY showed the median annual wage for college graduates was $58,858 in 2020. Three years later, it increased only slightly to $60,000.
- 🚀 Rocket Science - Sky-high interest rates over the last two years have been blasting credit scores for all age groups. Millennials actually took the biggest hit. Those in that age group with credit scores between 660 and 719 experienced an average point drop of 26. Zoomers with credit scores 720 and higher fell an average of 24 points.
- 🏘️ Such Great Heights - As if carrying debt wasn’t tough enough, the cost of rent is soaring, too. Data shows that the median rent in the U.S. increased almost 22% over the last four years and hit $1,987 in January. The average American worker spends about a third of their paycheck on rent.
- ✅ Credit Check - Compared to a decade ago, Zoomers were more likely to have at least one credit card open. However, the rate of new open credit cards among that age group seems to be falling. In March of 2020, data showed that almost 5% of consumers 27 and younger opened at least one new account. By March of 2024, that number went down to 3%.
🔥Bottom line: Anxious about those paychecks? It’s not just you. Check out this article we wrote on America’s money anxiety. And if you’re out there looking to make a bigger paycheck to keep up with all these rising costs, make sure you don’t fall for a job scam. There’s a bunch out there, but we’ve got tips to help you stay smart!
Zoomers: how has inflation impacted your finances?
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