It’s kinda sad that so many “twenty-somethings” in America have no clue about how to manage their lives. They make bad decisions when it comes to the financial aspects of surviving and thriving. However, they’re not entirely to blame.
We were both excellent students in school. We did our homework, got good grades, and didn’t cause trouble. What more could a school expect from us. We did our part.
But in retrospect, the schools didn’t hold up their part of the bargain. Upon graduating from high school (City Girl in Philly, Mountain Man in a Boston suburb) it was time to strike out into the great, big world awaiting us. We weren’t prepared.
Like most our age, we had never been taught in school how to manage our lives. We had never been schooled in how to rent an apartment, buy a house, finance a car, pay our utility bills, and set ourselves on a monthly or weekly budget. We hadn’t been taught how to apply for a job, do our taxes, or raise a family. Through 12 years of school, we had never been offered a course on LIFE.
Fortunately for us both, we were quick learners and we each navigated the bumpy road of life. Like every twenty-something, we still made our share of mistakes.
Today’s post-school young adults have had a different experience than us. The majority can’t form a complete sentence. They were more interested in MTV and video games and texting than what we called “book learning”. Much of that can and should be blamed on the parents.
We had three young men – 18, 19 and 20-years old – working for us a few years ago. None were married, but each had at least one infant kid. One had an apartment but was constantly behind in rent and facing eviction. The other two had their kid and girlfriend living with them and their maternal unit - one a mother and the other a grandmother. They had no financial responsibility for house bills as the mother and grandmother – both only semi-literate - had become “enablers”. Only one of the three young men even owned a vehicle.
One particular week, the guys worked long hours and on payday each received about $600. As we paid them, each was warned to spend it wisely. “Don’t blow it,” we said in a big brother-type way. Each had children to feed and clothes to buy.
Monday morning, they each returned to work with big grins. “Guess what we did?” they said proudly. Unbelievably, each rolled up their sleeve to reveal their new $300 tattoo. “You mean you each spent half your paycheck on tattoos?” was our heartbroken reply.
And so it goes. Each is trapped into a life of underachievement and wasted potential and hardship. The parents didn’t have the intellectual tools to give proper guidance. That said, didn’t our educational system drop the ball on several generations?
- Mountain Man and City Girl http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com
The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com
Tags: education, family finances, Jewell Real Estate Agency, lifestyle blog, Mountain Man and City Girl, schools, twenty-somethings