Yawns: Not so Lazy After All

Although my blog usually consists of technology, I thought I should inform my readers of "a new breed" of Gen Y and Gen X. They are called Yawns. An article from the San Francisco Chronicle claims that they live humbly, trying to lessen their carbon footprint in the world.

I decided to read the article since I had never heard of Yawns. After reading it, I think we all have a little Yawn in us. Yawn stands for Young and Wealthy but Normal.

They drive hybrid cars, if they drive at all, shop at local stores, if they shop at all, and pay off their credit cards every month, if they use them at all.

This is all good, I mean, at least they are environmentally-conscious. The Yawns are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. I wanted to blog about this because I know many Gen Y's that didn't even know they were Yawns! The Green movement has been huge, and many people from our generation are happy to take part in it. Unfortunately, some people are "green" because it is trendy, but many are actually making an effort.

A consumer trends expert, Pan Danziger, believes that the green aspect of this has little to do with it.

"The green thing is just a small part of it," said Danziger, whose firm, Unity Marketing, has new research showing luxury spending is way down. "Americans have been on a buying binge for the last 10 years," she said. "Our closets are full. Our attics are full. Our garages are full. Enough already!

I have found this to be completely true in my parents house! My mom tends to overbuy and has an attic and two closets to prove it. I currently try to recycle or repurpose items so that I can cut down on my expenses. I donate many of my clothes and other items and try to limit my spending on things I don't really need.

Another point the article brings up are thrift stores. I absolutely love them. The amazing and unique clothing items you can find in a thrift can provide a day's worth of fun. When you buy things from these thrift stores, you are not only saving money, but also reusing items.

Secondhand stores are to Yawns what the Gap was to Yuppies.

Our Generation is emerging at a time of environmental awareness. I know many Gen Y's that try to live green and I think that we can have an impact. I hope everyone will realize that with small changes in lifestyle, we all can lessen our carbon footprint.

Xbox and Facebook: Staples of Gen Y

While trying to find an article to blog about today, I noticed how hard it was to find something different every week. Today I found an interesting one that seems to ring true with almost every Gen Y I know.

The article discussed how Gen Y has literally grown up surrounded by technology. I always find myself mentioning this is discussions with my parents when they don't understand how to save a picture to the desktop of a computer! (That really is a losing battle.)

Generation Y has been referred to as the first people native of the digital landscape. This means that a Generation Y has never known a world that did not include the Internet, cellular phones and immediately available parallel communications.

Although I remember sitting on a computer at the ripe 'ole age of four, my household wasn't "connected" to the internet until I was 14. I still remember how exciting that was for my brother and I to actually have a slow connection to the internet. My only encounter with the net before had been in a strictly controlled environment in my junior high library.

As far as cell phones go, my mom still doesn't know how to check a text, so I don't bother sending them to her. She still hasn't mastered scrolling through the names to find the "contact" should would like to talk to.

Another point the article made was "Neighborhood Y".

For a member of Generation Y, Facebook is a home in their personal neighborhood, while MySpace is their bedroom. It is not unusual for Generation Y individuals who initially met in a professional environment to exchange Facebook and even MySpace contact information to facilitate a larger social interaction.

Although I briefly had a MySpace account, I got too hooked on it. These networking sites are highly addictive! I decided to delete the MySpace account since I already set up a Facebook profile. I can't argue for either because each has evolved so much since their introduction on the Web.

I believe a Facebook account can come in handy if you use it right. And by use, I mean connecting with long lost friends. With both of these sites, Gen Y has become all too comfortable with posting seriously important information that should be reconsidered. I don't have to remind you guys what I mean!

We can probably agree that Gen Y is truly advantaged technologically. I just hope this skill that we've been honing since the age of four, you know, playing Rodent's Revenge, will someday be a skill that sets us apart from others and earns us a higher salary!

This Just In: Financial Institutions are SNEAKY!

I am completely appalled by an article on Gen Y from the Financial Standard. After doing a Yahoo! Search for an article for today's blog, I stumbled upon this. The idea for the article is great, but the execution of the article is terrible.

As Gen Y enters the workforce, we are starting to become aware of financial issues. The article encourages financial institutions to hook the Gen Y's through their baby boomer parents.

“You’ve ridden the baby boomer wave, you now need a relationship with their kids.”

I understand this all business. Personally, I do ask my father for financial advice. If he suggested a certain investment or encouraged a financial decision I would most likely heed his advice.

“All parents will be keen for their children to learn about long term financial planning, they’re on your side. If you have a strong relationship with the baby boomer parents and they drop dead and their children don’t even know you exist, that’s a wasted opportunity.”

This quote absolutely disgusts me! I understand financial institutions are out to make money, but I would rather bank with someone I trusted and didn't think they would take TOO much advantage of me or my financial decisions.

Well, if this is the new strategy to get to Gen Y by way of their parents, they are on to something. As I said previously, I would ask my father for financial advice. Since I am on the edge of my college career, these things tend to worry me at times.

As sad as this article is, it's quite true. To grab hold of Gen Y for financial investments and suggestions, these same institutions must generate interest and trust from our baby boomer parents. We are more likely to trust our parents' words and opinions on our financial investments.

Leisure? I think I'll have some!

Thinking back to my childhood (which isn't so far behind me now) I remember my dad always leaving or coming home from work. He still has 12-hour shifts and I know it's taking years off his life. He works all the time but this has allowed my family to live comfortably.

I am brining this up because the article I read today deals directly with this. As a Gen Y-er, I have seen how hard both of my parents worked and I just don't know if I want to invest all of my time into work. There needs to be a balance, and Gen Y will find it.

Leisure time, as Ms. Nazareth defines it, is time to use as wished after working and taking care of housework, child care, errands and other necessities. The time-crunch economy, she says, is a baby boomer phenomena focused on long hours and high productivity in the office and, at home, the fastest way of doing things, drive-through eating and keeping a busy schedule.

Even as a college student, I come home from school and find an endless list of errands and housework. Now, I understand that as a college student, I naturally have "more time" than most people, but this semester has been oddly different. I feel like I am already trying to accomplish the work-leisure balance.

After I finish 19 hours of schooling, I then end up working even more in the campus newsroom. Don't get me wrong, it is so much fun and I am definitely learning, but I have noticed my time for "leisure" (i.e. doing housework) has steadily fallen.

Gen X and Gen Y workers — as well as retired boomers — will want to fill their time with more leisurely activities, such as hobbies, entertainment, volunteerism and travel, Ms. Nazareth says.

This is completely true! I would like to have an awesome job that pays fairly well, and still have time to enjoy myself at home. These things already have begun to worry me, and I fear the juggle that would arise if I had children within the next ten years.

The article pushes the point that even though Gen X is in the work force already, they are still competing with the Baby Boomers. However, once the Baby Boomers have "filtered out", Gen Y will be coming into play.

However, over the next several years, members of Gen Y, along with those in Gen X, will gain bargaining power, due to a low unemployment rate and a projected shortage of workers as aging boomers retire, she says.

Hopefully our generations will work together and reshape the work force so that the United States won't have the highest number of hours worked per week in the world!

Links to Similar Blogs

Well, as part of completion for an assignment, I have included the following links to blogs. Here is a list:
Generation Y BlogPeter Sheahan's Generation Y Blog
Young and Frugal
Employee Evolution: The Voice of Millennials at Work
Fun, Freedom & Fulfilment at Work
Project Millennials

$aving, $aving and more $aving

As I looked for an article to analyze and comment on this week, I have come to a conclusion: People love to study Gen Y. Any mention of Gen Y in a story is backed up with "a recent survey". I am utterly impressed that people are mystified by our generation.

The article I finally found concerns the fact that a survey has revealed that we are exactly like all the other generations before us. The story surrounded the survey of 1220 Gen Ys and revealed that most of us live with our parents.

Well, I sure that most do, but I don't know anyone who is my age that lives with their parents. I have experienced living without my parents for almost three years now, but I did not have financial independence until this semester (if you count a student loan as financial independence).

Although the survey was primarily conducted of Australians, the entire purpose was the prove that Gen Ys are saving money like no one before them!

Ms [Jessica] Shields lives with her parents, while working full-time, studying for a business management degree and saving $300 to $400 a fortnight towards a home deposit and she says that is not unusual among her Gen Y friends.

If only I had enough courage to live with my parents another three years... Ahh the memories. Seriously though, I could not manage it. The tension in my household seems to skyrocket when I do come home to visit. Hooray for Jessica, though! I wish I had the money to start saving up for a house. I know that is a top priority for my friends, and we speak of it frequently. I just never asked anyone if they are starting to save for a huge expense like a house.

Another paragraph in the article made me smile since I know the truth of it firsthand:

Most [Gen Ys] also had conservative spending priorities, with petrol, mobile phones and takeaway food their biggest expenses. Clothing and entertainment rated as "very low" spending priorities.

That is extremely true for me with the exception of the clothing, but I swear, I can explain! Especially over the past year, my spending has gone from "I really need this," to "I am NOT paying $3 for that!" The "that" in the second statement just so happens to be bread! I have found that since I have moved closer to graduation, the petty stuff like ridiculous spending has slowly screeched to a halt.

Now, as far as the clothing goes, I am simply gearing up my wardrobe for the "working world." I am not simply buying a shirt because it is "cute." This is an investment in my career, or at least that is how I have been looking at it.

The article breaks down to this: Supposedly, most of Gen Ys are saving like crazy for a house. If I could, I definitely would be saving. However, I have made the choice to study myself to death and get out of college in three years. This decision has made it a requirement for me to take about 19-20 hours a semester, [16 in one summer, EEK!]

This is the choice I made, and saving for a house is probably a better goal than the route I am going. But these are the things that diversify our Gen.

We want security

Generation Y has been molded by many events over the past years. A recent article I read suggested that we also are concerned with saving money for retirement and benefits. I can agree with this since I am on the edge of graduation. For the past year, I have been thinking about these things and others. As terrifying as it may seem, I feel there is a lack of information and advice from Gen Y's parents.

One idea that has been brought up in the effect of 9/11. Personally, I think this is an interesting theory, but I am just straight out terrified about not having enough money for important things like retirement.

“Generation Y has started saving very early,” he said. “They are already thinking about how to save money for retirement. This is a generation that's old enough to remember 9/11. I think 9/11 changed a lot. They have this idea of safety — personal, financial and career.”

As far as 9/11 goes, I don't see the link. Maybe it's just me! As I said before, I have been thinking about these "adult" things for a few years now. Since I began college, I started thinking about financial decisions. Up until this past semester, I was worried enough, but then I was hit with the news I would need to take out a loan. This loan has put enough strain on me! It really gets you thinking about financial responsiblity and how you are starting out in the red: EEK!

The article further mentions this:

“The Gen Y professionals we surveyed were focused on practical concerns, such as saving enough money for retirement and being able to balance work and family obligations,” Reesa Staten, Robert Half's workplace research director, said in a statement.

True enough, I have always imagined a perfect world where I can be totally satisfied in my job and balance a family on the side. Although I am almost 21, the thoughts of balancing work and family worries me. I feel that Gen Y probably wants it all (at least I do). We are hoping we can find a nice balance, but I know I want to succeed in work as well.

We will have to see how this plays out. We'll find out ten years from now.