Young People Prefer a Mortgage Over Marriage

 

The pandemic has put a number of things on pause over the past couple of years----and one of those things seems to be marriage. According to a recent survey, on behalf of Coldwell Banker, more young people say they are committed "to have and to hold" a mortgage rather than to take a trip down the aisle "for better or for worse." As a matter of fact, 82 percent of unmarried Americans would rather invest in a home than pay for a big expensive wedding.

85 percent of unmarried females say they would rather invest in a home than spend money on a big, fancy, expensive engagement ring.

77 percent of the respondents say they prefer to pay a mortgage than spend money on a luxurious vacation.

 45 percent of Millennials and Generation Z say owning a home is an important financial goal for them compared to 30 percent of people 55 years and older. 

47 percent of the respondents say they choose homeownership over renting.

 44 percent of college graduates say owing a home is a more important financial goal than paying off student debt. 

  In 2021, there were an estimated 1.9 million weddings. The average wedding cost $25, 764. Meanwhile, the number of new homeowners increased by more than two million. So for better or for worse, to have and to hold....it looks like mortgages are winning out over engagement rings. 

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Coldwell Banker from October 21 - 25, 2021 among 2,027 adults ages 18 and older. 

COVID and Thanksgiving

I just came across another survey that, once again, shows the differences between baby boomers and millennials.  In the midst of a pandemic, Lending Tree conducted a survey to find out how much money people, who are planning to host a Thanksgiving dinner, will spend on all the fixins'. Based on the responses, millennials plan to outspend baby boomers by a 3 to 1 margin.

Here were some of the key findings:

On average, Americans will spend around $475 to host Thanksgiving, which is up more than 50 percent from 2019.  Those who are hosting say the additional expenses are being used to make up for holidays that weren't celebrated earlier in the year due to Corona. Millennials expect to spend $556.46 while baby boomers say they will be spending less than $175.  So when you go to your daughter or son's house for Turkey Day this year expect a Happy Thanksgiving, Valentines, Memorial Day, July4th, Birthday celebration! 

41 percent of Americans plan to host Thanksgiving this year, up from 33 percent last year (when there was NO pandemic). 

Hosts say they will spend roughly 8.5 hours preparing for the holiday feast and someone will take off from work to prepare.  (Why, when we're all working from home anyway?)

42 percent of the hosts surveyed say the worry about heated debates that could  break out at the dinner table. (Perhaps everyone should be required to leave any perceived weapons at home because Donald Trump's name is sure to come up!) 

22 percent are nervous about discussing politics.  Only 22 percent? (Having a woman of color as the second in charge of the U.S. should generate some lively discussion or to discover how many family members truly believe the election was stolen from the bully baby in the White House).

15 percent are concerned their guests will argue about the pandemic.  Again, only 15 percent?  My question for the survey would've been: "Will you be requiring ALL guests wear a mask?"

10 percent say they are concerned about "family drama." 

38 percent of the hosts surveyed say they plan to borrow money to cover Thanksgiving costs, including charging a credit card or taking out a holiday loan. (Perhaps Lending Tree will drum up some more business since they do give out personal loans) 

32 percent say they will use coupons and shop around for the best deals.  Or perhaps they can check out the Food Bank in their community and get a free Thanksgiving food basket. 

New Survey Says Millennials are Feeling the Pressure of Adulthood

It's been awhile since I came across a survey that caught my attention but I just found one that was commissioned and released by by Farm Rich .  No surprise that there was a generational divide when it comes to exactly what it means to be an "adult."    

The new national survey indicates millennials put more pressure on themselves to reach adulthood as compared to baby boomers and GenX.  After the age of 26, millennials believe it becomes embarrassing if they aren't classified as full-fledged adults.  

So exactly what does it mean to reach that level  of "maturity"?   The top 10 signs according to the survey are:

1. Having a budget (55 percent)
2. Buying a house (54 percent)
3. Filing your own taxes (52 percent)
4. Understanding and monitoring your credit score (48 percent)
5. Investing in your 401(k) (46 percent)
6. Doing your own laundry (43 percent)
7. Scheduling regular doctors' appointments (38 percent)
8. Making a list to take when going to the grocery store (35 percent)
9. Cooking dinner most of Monday through Friday (33 percent)
10. Watching the nightly news (31 percent)

I wasn't a part of this survey but, for the record, I only do four of the above consistently.  How about you?

A couple of other interesting notes:

1:  When asked what's considered to be the "favorite" age in life, the average millennial said they'd like to be 23 for the rest of their lives, while baby boomers said 32.  

2:  Millennials believe frozen foods are a staple in the kitchen of adults and having vegetables, fruits and coffee are the top foods you need if you want to call yourself an adult.

So what is your reaction to this survey?  Do you agree with its findings?

A New Survey Says Millennials Blame Baby Boomers for Their Troubles and They Should

OK--I've got a new survey to report to you---this one courtesy of Axios and Survey Monkey.

Millennials say baby boomers are to blame for ruining their lives and guess what?  I happen to agree with them despite the fact that I am a member of the baby boomer generation.  

Fifty-one percent of millennials say boomers have made things worst for their generation.  Not only are they in debt from student loans but they also inherited two wars and they face an uncertain job future with speculation that artificial intelligence may replace some jobs they would vie for in their future.  

Baby boomers, on the other hand, don't appear to be trying to leave the job market anytime soon unless they're FORCED out so with retirement age being as late as age 70, boomers can still be collecting a nice paycheck right up until the end.  

No doubt about it, the boomer generation has been a greedy generation.  They have controlled Congress and and been the CEO's of the major corporations in America.  According to Linette Lopez, a millennial, "The baby boomers who have controlled this country since the 1980's are selfish, entitled generation.  Instead of spending money on education our government has repeatedly chosen to cut taxes for the wealthy."  

And if that's not enough, a survey of millionaire baby boomers (of which I was NOT included), more than 50 percent said they had no plans to leave an inheritance to their children. One woman was quoted as saying she had made a lot of sacrifices for her children over the years, including paying her daughter's medical tuition.  According to this survey, conducted by U.S. Trust, some wealthy boomers worry that their kids will squander their inheritance money or develop a sense of entitlement.  

Ha! 

Millennials did offer some suggestions on how to improve things for their future.  One being to remove all old government officials and set term limits for the House and Senate representatives (I LOVE that idea!).  

A number of them said IMPEACH TRUMP and then make sure you get out and vote. 

To learn more about the Bay Boomer/Millennial Divide, you can get a copy of my book on Amazon.  I wrote this BEFORE this survey came out.

Axios/SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted April 9-13 among 4,638 adults in the United States. The modeled error estimate is 2 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.



   

This Survey Stinks for Baby Boomers

The majority of baby boomers do not wash their underwear enough!  That's what an online survey by Mulberry Cleaners revealed recently.  The results were published in Reader's Digest.

I have to admit I was very surprised to read the results, which indicated 16 percent of middle-aged folks reported NEVER washing their underwear.  Now, 16 percent may not sound like a large number but that's still 16 percent too many, in comparison to 85 percent of millennials who said they toss their undergarments in the laundry after one or two wears.  Only 10.3 percent of millennial women said they never washed theirs, which might make sense if these young women had parents who were enablers and never taught them to do much of anything, especially how to wash clothes.

When it comes to washing bed sheets, 43 percent of women said they wash them every week, compared to seven percent of men who said they had washed their sheets only once in six months.  But even worse than that is the fact that 12 percent of the men surveyed said they couldn't even remember the last time they washed their bedding.  Let's hope, for their sake, they were in a drunken stupor when they took the survey.

About 1000 people participated.

As far as the dirty underwear goes, my question is, why wear any at all if you're not going to wash them?

Millennials Set to Make a Big Splash for the Wine Industry

The demand for wine in the United States is expected to over a billion gallons by the year 2021, and millennials will be leading the way when it comes to purchases, according to a new report released by Freedonia Focus Reports.

Millennials seem to have an acquired taste for sparkling wines and, coupled with the fact that they are now considered to be the larges single generation, their taste buds will be catered to even more.

According to a USA Today report, Millennials drank 42 percent of all wines in 2015, more than any other generation.  That percentage equates to nearly 160 million cases of wine--an average of two cases per person.  And among the most frequent drinkers under 30, two-thirds are women.

According an article to Nancy Light, a spokesperson at the Wine Institute, Wine is much more a part of American culture today than it was two decades ago.  Millennials grew up around wine (thanks to their parents mostly) and they don't feeling intimidated when ordering or asking questions about it.

Baby boomers, meanwhile, are still drinking wine but, unlike Millennials, they are drinking more hard liquor, which is leading to greater problems of alcohol abuse.  As a matter of fact, boomers currently have the highest rate of alcohol abuse.

The Democratic Party Has Become Obsolete

I am a baby boomer who was raised by parents who identified themselves as members of the Democratic Party political base.  They were faithful to the democratic candidates.  The ONLY Republican they ever voted for was Representative Ralph Regula because, as I came to discover, he was a genuinely good person who did his best to represent the interests of EVERYBODY.  He didn't play party politics.  That was more than 40 years ago.

I, too, jumped on the democratic bandwagon as soon as I was eligible to vote and was led blindly down their path of broken campaign promises, deceit and lies.  But unlike my parents I started doing research on ALL of the candidates to understand them better and what they really stood for.  As a a (card-carrying, degree-earned) Journalist, I conducted my own investigations into their backgrounds and "followed the money."  That's when I decided it was in my best interest to become an "Independent."

This past election is proof positive that the Democratic Party, as we know it, has become obsolete. While I was not a Trump supporter, he did speak one truth during one of the presidential debates.  He reminded us how democratic candidates court Blacks and other minorities during election season and then seem to have another agenda once they are elected.  #Facts

Now it would appear that the Democratic Party is, once again, trying its best to capitalize on those of us who feel we've been disenfranchised.  They are expressing outrage over possible voter fraud and trying to regain our confidence in their ability to do a better job because they are the so-called "inclusive" party with a so-called "inclusive" agenda.  BUT THEY ARE NOT!

It is time for a new party to rise up from the Millennial generation--similar to what the Tea Party did a few years ago.  We need a change of direction---a progressive movement that is not driven by money and power.  The "old way" doesn't work anymore.  Candidates over the age of 50 either need to sit down and shut up or listen to the new voices---much like former President Barack Obama did during his campaign.  

There's an old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  But it IS broken and it's time to shake things up and fix it.

Baby Boomers and Millennials and Diversity

I guess it's time for older white Americans to start panicking.  The latest numbers are out and it shows that the Millennials are now the most DIVERSE generation in America.  We all heard there was going to be a changing of the guard but we didn't expect it until somewhere around 2050 (as reported in an article by CNN).

Well, the U.S. Census Bureau now CONFIRMS it.  Millennials are now the majority in population and diversity.  Now that's a two for one.  The generation born between 1982 and 2000 now number 83.1 million, compared to 75.4 million baby boomers (and remember we're dying off daily).

So here's how it breaks down:

• All race and ethnic groups except single-race, non-Hispanic whites had more births than deaths between 2013 and 2014.

• Five states or equivalents are now considered majority-minority: Hawaii (77.0 percent), the District of Columbia (64.2 percent), California (61.5 percent), New Mexico (61.1 percent) and Texas (56.5 percent).

• Florida had the highest percentage of its population age 65 and older among states in 2014 (19.1 percent), followed by Maine (18.3 percent). Alaska had the lowest percentage (9.4 percent), followed by Utah (10.0 percent).

• California had the largest non-Hispanic white alone population of any state in 2014 (14.9 million).  California also had the largest Hispanic population of any state in 2014 (15.0 million).

• New York had the largest black population of any state or equivalent in 2014 (3.8 million); The District of Columbia has the highest percentage of blacks (50.6 percent), followed by Mississippi (38.2 percent).

• The District of Columbia has the highest percentage of females of any state or equivalent (52.6 percent), followed by Delaware (51.6 percent).

• Alaska has the highest male percentage (52.6 percent), followed by North Dakota (51.3 percent).