Analyst advises millennials to take their time and not measure success using the yardsticks set by previous generations
Despite the sky-high prices in Canada’s inflamed real estate markets, the Generation Y purchasing cohort is in the best position to enjoy good homes, careers, and retirement, according to a veteran market observer.
In a piece for The Globe and Mail, long-time analyst and columnist Rob Carrick said that time management is the missing piece in the average Gen Y-er’s life plan. He advised millennials to take their time and not measure success using the yardsticks set by previous generations, as today’s market environment is a very different place compared to what it was decades ago.
Carrick said that the fundamental advantage that Gen Y enjoys over their elders is the clear trend towards increasingly long lifespans.
“If you live longer, you can take more time to get where you’re going,” he stated. “This is no slacker’s manifesto. It’s a practical response to the frustrations many young adults feel as they try to meet expectations that they will, in quick succession, graduate into a good job, save a house down payment, have kids, move to a bigger house and so on.”
Using education as an example, Carrick proposed millennials to take their masters degrees slowly and on a part-time basis to earn money along the way, even finishing by the early 30s—as opposed to the traditional model of rushing to complete a postsecondary degree by mid to late 20s
“There’s room in this schedule for going to college to upgrade credentials earned through a university BA program, and for a victory lap in high school if it helps kids improve their marks and focus,” the analyst explained.
Carrick said that fresh graduates should expect at least four decades of work, more than enough time to build up the funds needed for a stable retirement while enjoying opportunities to gain a wealth, breadth, and depth of professional experience unheard of by previous generations.
“A longer path toward career-building employment will push buying a house further into the future, but that’s workable. At age 38, you could buy a house and have the mortgage paid off in roughly 22 years simply by making payments every two weeks instead of monthly. You’re mortgage-free by 60 and have five to 10 years to top off your retirement savings,” Carrick noted.
In a piece for The Globe and Mail, long-time analyst and columnist Rob Carrick said that time management is the missing piece in the average Gen Y-er’s life plan. He advised millennials to take their time and not measure success using the yardsticks set by previous generations, as today’s market environment is a very different place compared to what it was decades ago.
Carrick said that the fundamental advantage that Gen Y enjoys over their elders is the clear trend towards increasingly long lifespans.
“If you live longer, you can take more time to get where you’re going,” he stated. “This is no slacker’s manifesto. It’s a practical response to the frustrations many young adults feel as they try to meet expectations that they will, in quick succession, graduate into a good job, save a house down payment, have kids, move to a bigger house and so on.”
Using education as an example, Carrick proposed millennials to take their masters degrees slowly and on a part-time basis to earn money along the way, even finishing by the early 30s—as opposed to the traditional model of rushing to complete a postsecondary degree by mid to late 20s
“There’s room in this schedule for going to college to upgrade credentials earned through a university BA program, and for a victory lap in high school if it helps kids improve their marks and focus,” the analyst explained.
Carrick said that fresh graduates should expect at least four decades of work, more than enough time to build up the funds needed for a stable retirement while enjoying opportunities to gain a wealth, breadth, and depth of professional experience unheard of by previous generations.
“A longer path toward career-building employment will push buying a house further into the future, but that’s workable. At age 38, you could buy a house and have the mortgage paid off in roughly 22 years simply by making payments every two weeks instead of monthly. You’re mortgage-free by 60 and have five to 10 years to top off your retirement savings,” Carrick noted.
