Millennials. Baby Boomers.
As much as these generational groups hate to be stereotyped for their characteristics and behaviors, quite frankly, I am equally tired of hearing about them. All of the research dedicated to their lifestyle, their struggles, their woes. How retirement looks different than their WWII generation parents (Boomers) or the obscene amount of student debt that is preventing them from buying their first home (Millennials). How their generations revolutionized the workforce with women joining the workforce en masse (Boomers) or wanting to work the way they want on their terms (Millennials). How these generations affect elections, consumer behavior and the products that are created.
Enough. Enough already.
It seems that somewhere along the way, Gen X – my generation – became this completely forgotten generation – much like the Silent Generation before the Boomers. With a population of almost 64 million, the Gen X group is nothing to sneeze at. But alas, they have become the middle child sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials. The redheaded stepchild.
GenXers came of age in the 80s through the early 2000s. As young adults, we saw the tech bubble burst, lived through the horrific events of 9/11, and corporate scandals like Enron and WorldComm that dampened our faith in Corporate America. We watched the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain fall. Our generation also brought about some of the earliest tech companies like Amazon and Google that still operate today. Our distrust of corporations and government institutions help to foster the re-birth of entrepreneurism that was now available to more people with the dawn of the information superhighway also known as the Internet.
And what does this mean for a Gen Xers’ personal financial lives? You can find plenty of resources and readings about how Boomers are redefining retirement with terms like “unretirement” and “refirement”. Or the number of Millennials who “boomeranged” back home because they couldn’t find a job or are buried in student debt. But what about the Gen Xers? What financial struggles or woes are not being addressed for this generation?
In regards to personal finance, Gen Xers were born at a time when consumer debt was becoming not only more popular but also gained widespread acceptance. According to Stan Sienkiewicz, the first general purpose credit card was established by Bank of America in 1966, one year after the first Gen Xers were born. Using debt was acceptable throughout our entire life. Car loans, mortgages, credit cards – it became the norm for the American way of life.
For starters, we, the Gen Xers, were the generation that was bombarded with credit card offers on our college campuses, encouraged to sign up for our very first card in exchange for a T-shirt, pizza or Frisbee. Even before we left college, we had maxed out credit cards to finance our college parties and spring breaks. We were trying to live up to the Sex and the City standards with name brand clothes and shoes and lifestyles that were way beyond our reach as young professionals financed through excessive credit card usage.
We were sold the idea that in order to get ahead in the business world, we needed to get an MBA, a degree that cost us $40,000 in either student loans (because we were tapped out after paying for our undergrad degree) or becoming indentured servants to the employers who paid for the schooling. Schools everywhere were adding this degree to their business school offering and it quickly became a dime-a-dozen addition to our resume. To add insult to injury is that some employers required employees to pay back some of that reimbursed schooling when they were laid off during the Great Recession of 2008.
And while Millennials were shut out of the housing market during the mortgage crisis in 2008, Gen X was the generation that was hit the hardest while IN the housing market. We were the generation that made one of our first home purchases during the height of the market. The creative home mortgage financing that was presented to us – 0% down, piggyback mortgages – along with unprecedented low interest rates made it seem silly to continue renting. So when the crash came in 2008, the pairing of major job losses and the inability to avoid foreclosure because we owed more on the home than its market value created a recipe for financial disaster.
So how can the personal finance community better serve the Gen X community? By addressing the specific needs of the Gen X generation. According to Experian, Gen X carries the largest amount of debt per person than any other generation. Many are still reeling from the lasting consequences of foreclosure. This generation will begin turning 65 years old in less than 15 years and while we may not want to retire in the traditional sense, we will need to be thinking about what lifestyle options and alternatives we will have moving into our later years with the financial decisions we are making today. There are a lot of unknowns that make us nervous about the future. And while financial planning directories like the XY Planning Network are a good start to help consumers find financial planners catering to Gen X, there are still a lot of opportunity to further address Gen X financial issues in a more direct and deliberate way.
So if there is a focus that financial planners and personal finance content creators (like me) want to niche or specialize in, consider the Gen X population. There are 64 million of us ready and waiting for your knowledge and expertise to help us make wise financial decisions now and for our futures.
Gen X kinda got shafted no matter which way you turned. I didn’t go through any of those struggles but I watched friends who did. It wasn’t pretty and they’re still dealing with the effects to this day. I feel bad that a few years’ difference had such a negative impact on them and a passive impact on me.
Yes indeed! I was one of those that lost jobs and a home during that time. Feels like I am playing catch up for those lost years!
Gen X totally gets overshadowed, and it’s definitely interesting to think about their unique financial challenges. I’m surprised they don’t get more coverage now as they’re the demographic in their prime spending years. Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome! I am surprised as well. Such a huge market that is being missed!
Nice insight to the Gex X’er generation. As a boomer in the “refirement” era of life, it is hard to always relate to the different ages. Every generation has their unique struggles.
Thanks Margaret! Very true – each generation has different financial issues.
I’m part of Gen X and completely identify with all of that, so I tend to write from that perspective by default. Thanks for the huge nudge to *specifically* address it though! It’s like we’re the generation that didn’t even deserve a real name, and have been too busy recovering from multiple huge economic losses to even think much about it.
Glad you enjoyed the read! I’m glad you are addressing these issues in your writing – we need more influencers like you!
Yes! We lost a lot during 2 market crashes now. Each time, just as we were starting to get good savings going, it was wiped out.
I completely understand! Job loss and home foreclosure during the 2008 financial crisis. Feels like Gen X is constantly trying to recover!
I’m a GenXer and it drives me crazy that people aren’t talking about our specific financial challenges. We are: dealing sometimes with 2 sets of kids (young adults and toddlers) as well as our parents’ finances. We’re still young enough to be reasonably far from retirement and able to make carefully done professional pivots. But, to ignore our financial lives is to really ignore a linchpin generation. We need to be talking about our money issues more. Thanks for this post!
You are welcome!
This was beautifully written. Thank you for addressing the gap in information for for gen-Xers. It definitely feels like most messages today are directed towards younger and older generations. And our needs really are pretty different. Where millenials run to their parents for help, we’re helping our parents. How ever did we become forgotten??? smh
Glad you enjoyed the post! It seems like there are a lot of us that are feeling left out of the financial conversation!
Oh my God, YES!! Thank you! I was born in 1972 so I’m definitely part of this generation. Definitely thought that school was important so I went out there and got that graduate degree (law), and then realized I HATED being a lawyer! (This is when you smack your head and say “duh!”) You’re right, we are so left out. I bought a house with my now ex-husband back in 2004, pretty close to the height of the bubble. When we divorced, I walked away from the house with NO equity. Luckily, he was able to refinance so I didn’t have to pay money to leave the house.
Some of us have parents we are trying to support and a lot of us have kids (the millenials you wrote about), . I do feel like our generation gets left out of a lot of discussions, actually, so thank you for this post. Seeing all the comments, I don’t feel so alone now.
Glad you enjoyed the read! I’m hoping to bring more awareness to GenX finances in the upcoming year – stay tuned!
Hi Jessica,
You nailed it in this post! And it’s so nice to read a tribute to our generation. I don’t understand why Generation X gets passed over when it’s the generation that plays a pivotal role to all the technology we enjoy today. Think Amazon, Tesla, Google, and a ton of others.
Thanks for writing this! I’m looking forward to your work on GenX finances. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the piece!