A few years ago a narrative took hold depicting millennials and Gen Zs as generations with attentive parents and lots of technology. Older generations have interpreted this as meaning younger generations are privileged, coddled and entitled, according to CNBC reports.
Diana Mendez, a junior double majoring in biology and english with a minor in Asian studies is a first-generation American. Her parents are from the Dominican Republic and raised her while holding her to a high standard.
“My parents made great sacrifices to come to this country and therefore I must honor that through my own success,” Mendez said. “My family has definitely put pressure on me to reach certain financial milestones. I have to deal with specific social expectations [from my culture] especially being a woman. By my 30s I should be financially stable enough to have a child.”
Mendez has a stock portfolio, a grouping of financial assets such as stocks, bonds and commodities to help her learn to manage money before shes even starts her career.
“Parents absolutely should help their kids get a footing in the world and help them through college because in this day and age, even with all the sacrifices, college students cannot get through it alone,” Mendez said.
According to a survey done by the PEW Research Center, a nonpartisan American think tank, 64% of adults say children should have to be financially independent from their parents by 22 or younger. The same survey reported that only 24% of people 22 and younger are financially independent.
Being “financially independent” is defined by the PEW Research Center as having an income of at least $19,128 a year.
Business insider reports the average American millennial makes $35,592 a year, 20% less than baby boomers did at the same stage of life.
“My dad has definitely made me feel pressured to have my s- – – together and get a job and make as much money as I can,” Junior double majoring in TV/Video production and digital media production Brenna Marshall said. “Even though he does it as a joke sometimes it automatically makes me anxious.”
Marshall said her father has always been neurotic about staying organized and staying on top of things and that has encouraged her to stay on top of her work and given her a strong work ethic.
Her parents are helping her with her student loans to give her a head start when she graduates college.
“They also did this for my older sister who has only been out of college for two years and she’s already paid off all her student loans, Marshall said. “In today’s world no kid is paying for college themselves and even if they are, they will most likely be paying it off for the rest of their life.”
