Smart is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials w/ Christine Romans at Adelphi University

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• published: 04 Aug 2015
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The Romans Prosperity Formula: Money earned (-) spending = savings Savings (x) time = wealth Christine Romans, Emmy Award-winning CNN anchor and author, doesn’t buy any of the conventional wisdom coming out of media today when it comes to the millennial generation. She visited Adelphi University in cooperation with Flynn Zito Capital Management, in Garden City, NY to speak to Millennials about her new book. (WATCH) Edited 3 minute version here: https://youtu.be/vlxzoFfsrnE “You read all of this gloom and doom about them: They have all the student loan debt, they aren’t getting jobs, they want to be promoted right away at the office, hiring managers don’t know how to integrate them with other generations at work,” Romans said in her lecture “Smart Is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials” during her visit to campus in the Spring 2015 semester. “What millennials have is time. I think this generation is so exciting for how it’s going to change how we work—and how we live. It’s the biggest generation there is.” With a membership of about 75–80 million, millennials have overtaken baby boomers as the biggest generation in history. Romans wants to inform those comprising it—Adelphi students included—to start investing, in any way, at a young age. She said if jobs offer a 401K, jump on the opportunity. She encouraged them to look at the stock market and to begin learning the language. “You have the most valuable thing in any kind of investing or life-building scenario—time—and you have it in spades. Nobody can take it away from you, and it’s free.” A motto Romans emphasized: Pay yourself first. “Wealth is not about greed; it’s about choices, and I want you to have choices,” she said, offering examples such as vacations, new apartments and new jobs across the country that offer opportunity—all of which are only available to those with some financial cushion. And that financial cushion is achievable. Romans called every millennial in the audience by one name, HENRY (or HENRIETTA), as an acronym for High Earner Not Rich Yet. “You’re so educated and you know what you want—you’re so tech savvy—that all the big people trying to sell you stuff…are trying to get your brand loyalty early because you hold all the cards,” she said. “Everyone assumes you guys are going to make it.” And if they don’t believe Romans, they can believe the numbers. She noted that the jobless rate for college graduates is 2.9 percent. “At the height of the recession, there were seven unemployed people for every one job opening,” she said. “Today there are just about two unemployed people for every job opening. It’s going to be great for you. Try something new. Don’t worry. All of the bad stuff is behind us, the economy is growing, companies are hiring again and they want young talent.” Romans wants that “something new” to be an investment before the age of 25, but how to start investing? Invest in what you know, Romans encouraged: “Just buy a stock. Go to eTrade, Scottrade—any of the big brokerages—and just look around and see what kind of resources they have.” Romans noted that while she wants students to invest, she also made clear that they should do so while paying off their student loan debt. She noted that 47 percent of all millennials spend half of their paycheck on student loan debt. “Half your money is going to paying your past, not your future. …Pay yourself first and you’ll be happy about it down the road,” she said, advising students further to check out CNNMoney to read the personal finance and investing columns to begin learning the lingo and the lay of the land. “I want you to know what it’s about. …It’ll make you feel more comfortable,” she said. “Your financial life is do-it-yourself. The most successful people I know have lived on 70 percent of their money, and the other 30 they had working for them. That’s the truth.” Fast Facts • Millennials are broadly defined as those born between 1977–2000, with demographers disagreeing on the exact years. • Millennials will make up half of the U.S. workforce by 2020. • The millennial generation—clocking in at about 75.3 million, though some sites claim closer to 80 million currently—is projected to officially take over the baby boomer generation—tallying in at about 74.9 million—in 2015 as the United States’ largest living generation.