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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2014
PAGE 3A
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FINANCE
Study identifies generational spending habits
MIRANDA DAVIS news@kansan.com
The millennial generation, which many college students belong to, has gotten a bad rap for a long time. Generation Y, also called Generation Me, has been called "lazy" and "entitled." However, a wealth management company released a new study saying Generation Y is the most fiscally conservative generation since those born during the Great Depression.
UBS Wealth Management Americas conducted the study that said the majority of those aged 21 to 36, "the millennial generation," think the best financial advice they received was to save money.
Emma Tolle, a senior from Shawnee, works four jobs to afford college-related expenses and post-grad life. Tolle works at Target, KU Dining, the Department of Student Housing and as a student ambassador.
"I am trying to save up as much money as I can for after college so I don't have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck," Tolle said. "I work
about 40 to 45 hours a week."
Tolle, a management and leadership major in the School of Business, said her parents "always encouraged saving."
financial recession of 2008 had a lasting impact on our generation.
Many students are also in Tolle's situation. While millennials value education, it
"2008 was a very jarring experience for everybody," said Donna Ginther, professor of economics at the University. "People learned they couldn't
"I am trying to save up as much money as I can for after college so I don't have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck."
EMMA TOLLE Shawnee senior
is also important to save while still in college. According to the Pew Research Centern, the millennial generation is on track to become the most educated generation in American history. In 2008 a record 39.6 percent of 18 to 24 year olds were enrolled in college. But many are also paying the price for that education with one in eight millennials 22 or older moving back in with their parents, according to Pew.
The study shows that the
take financial markets for granted."
According to Ginther, the Great Recession of 2008 showed millennials that a good job is something that can't be taken for granted. Ginther also noted that millennials are the children of the baby boomers, who on average, didn't handle money very well. It is possible that they are learning from their parent's mistakes.
The study also noted some other surprising trends with millennials. Of those surveyed,
69 percent of millennials believed that success required hard work and 45 percent believed it required saving and living frugally.
Another surprising fact from the study is that one of the millennials top financial concerns is their parent's finances, another effect of the great recession. Twenty-one percent of millennials are concerned about their parents financial futures while only 4 percent of baby boomers were concerned with their parents finances. But parents are concerned too. Only 18 percent of baby boomers think their children would have more financial stability.
Not as surprising is the idea that millennials equate success with financial stability,with 48 percent saying that financial freedom is the most important factor in defining success.
While the study states "Only 12 percent of Millennials said they would invest found money in the market," Ginther expects that the millennials will invest much differently than their parent's generation did.
— Edited by Alec Weaver
Definitions
Millennials: Those who were born after 1980.
Baby Boomers: Those born after WWII during the "baby boom" when soldiers returned. Most college students' parents are baby boomers.Those born 1945-1964.
-Pew Research Center
Story summary
The 2008 financial crisis left an impression on this generation.
Millennials are now considered the most fiscally conservative generation since those born during the Great Depression.
This changes the stereotypes of the Millennial Generation, who were often considered entitled.
CRIME
Friends testify at Florida theater shooting hearing
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW PORT RICHEY.Fla. Family and friends of a retired Tampa police captain accused of fatally shooting a man at a movie theater told a judge Wednesday that the former officer is an honorable, event tempered man who should be released on bail.
Police said Reeves became upset when Oulson was texting during the movie previews. The two men got into a verbal argument and witnesses told
Curtis Reeves, 71, is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of 43-year-old Chad Oulson. On Wednesday, he formally entered a plea of not guilty.
officers that Oulson threw popcorn at Reeves, authorities have said.
The eight-hour hearing was supposed to determine whether Judge Pat Siracusa would grant bail for Reeves, who has been in jail since the Jan. 13 shooting. But prosecutors and defense attorneys called so many witnesses — and asked
so many questions of those people — that the hearing was continued until Friday.
Reeves' attorney Richard Escobar said his client was defending himself, but prosecutors said Oulson didn't hit or touch Reeves. If convicted, Reeves could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Nicole Oulson sobbed as she listened to the testimony of a nurse who was in the theater that day and tried to safe Chad Oulson's life.
Olsson's wife, who police say was shot in the hand, was in the court Wednesday, but she didn't speak.
Other witnesses for the prosecution included people in
the theater that day: a former Marine, an off-duty sheriff's deputy, and a retired clandestine case officer for the Air Force.
All three witnesses described the events of that afternoon, in varying detail and with varying discrepancies.
All agreed on one thing: The shooting was unexpected, and quick.