Essential Financial Lessons from One Generation to the Next
As a semi-geriatric millennial, I implore you, Gen Z, to kindly exit my Instagram feed. Your chaotic photo dumps, unfocused snapshots, and memes I don’t understand disrupt the serene aesthetic of my perfectly curated grid—an effort I’ve spent years perfecting with color coordination and white borders.
Congratulations on your youth! Enjoy it while you can; trust me, your body will betray you sooner than you think. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I started letting out a little “oof” every time I sit down, but it certainly wasn’t recent.
Before you reach the stage where your Google search history is cluttered with slang definitions, I urge you to learn how to manage your finances in your 20s. It would be very “cash money” of you (that term is still in use, right?).
Take it from a millennial who spent enough on avocado toasts and houseplants to fund a resale HDB flat in Queenstown. I’ve learned the hard way that no amount of TED Talks or Gary Vee hustle videos can adequately prepare you for the reality of juggling medical bills, mortgages, and unexpected expenses—like that New Yorker subscription you signed up for just to get the tote bag.
Credit Karma
Contactless tap-to-pay systems are undoubtedly the best invention since the Discman (FYI: portable music players that could only play one album at a time using circular discs). However, just as easily as you lose track of time debating your parents about why you don’t want kids, you can also lose sight of your contactless purchases. By the time you reach your 36th venti orange mocha frappuccino of the month, it’s too late.
Credit cards aren’t inherently evil, but before you rush to find the one with the best youth-oriented rewards (you’ll recognize them by their trendy names), understand the long-term consequences of not paying your bills on time. We’re talking crippling debt, high interest charges, and poor credit scores that can derail your chances of securing loans for a future home. It’s tempting to apply for new credit cards like you’re collecting Pokémon cards, but don’t do it. Instead, take a moment to hug your emotional support animal and live within your means.
Pro tip: Always negotiate to have your annual credit card fee waived. More often than not, they’ll agree. If not, consider gently but firmly threatening to cancel your card.
While there is merit in making significant purchases through monthly installments, it’s crucial to be cautious. Knowing how to manage large credit debts at 0% interest through banks is essential. The latest trend of Buy Now, Pay Later financing from companies like Atome, Hoolah, or Grab is viable but can add up quickly if you have too many simultaneous plans. That fancy Sonos sound system for your Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers playlists can wait a bit longer.
Flippant Flexing
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a thousand pictures are needed to figure out which one makes you look cute enough to post online. As millennials, we often find ourselves battling crippling despair as a personality trait. One of the few remedies for this ailment is purchasing experiences to flaunt on social media.
Unfortunately, TikTok remains an enigma for many of us, leading to the judgment that it’s “cringe.”
As digital natives, we frequently fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. The hyper-connectivity of social media and the era of consumerism have turned our focus onto everyone else’s highlight reels, fueling our discontent. How could Rachel possibly go for that extravagant 69-course wagyu steak dinner at Marina Bay Sands before you?
Despite being criticized for undermining capitalism, we still love spending on things that enrich our lives, like travel (to satisfy our wanderlust and fill our IG stories) and dining (for aesthetically pleasing flat lay photos and social currency). There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself, but as I learned the hard way from going broke while trying to build a sneaker collection, maintaining strict budgets each month is essential.
It’s perfectly fine if you don’t have fixie bikes, podcast equipment, and a lush collection of houseplants if you can’t afford them. A healthier bank account is far better than obsessing over your personal brand. Between being a hypebeast and surviving on instant noodles for every meal, I’d choose to be financially savvy.
Savage Subscriptions
As much as I enjoy rewatching The Office and Harry Potter, you must realize that being able to quote Prison Mike word-for-word comes with a cost.
If you’re not careful, the monthly subscriptions you sign up for can quickly spiral out of control—just like credit card bills.
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Go, Disney+, The Criterion Channel—these fees accumulate, defeating the purpose of cutting the cord. While it’s crucial to stay updated on life-altering cultural conversations, it’s wise to periodically review which subscriptions genuinely add value to your entertainment.
This mindfulness should extend to other subscriptions that burden the wallets of millennials, including (but not limited to) gym memberships, spin classes, bouldering sessions, forest yoga, zero-gravity HIIT, and astral projection lessons.
Impotent Investments
With fewer financial obligations like raising children, many millennials are putting their extra funds into investment ventures—not that I’m suggesting anything sketchy like Herbalife.
Since practical financial skills are rarely taught in schools (there should be a curriculum on income tax), many millennials find themselves lost in the intricacies of finance and investment, relying heavily on the internet for guidance.
As future-oriented digital natives searching for the next big thing, many of us are drawn to cryptocurrency and NFTs, partly due to our distrust of traditional banking and reliance on YouTube tutorials. This explains the rise of the term “Degen”: we often make investments without fully understanding the metrics, simply drawn in by perceived entertainment value. Remember the GameStop trading frenzy?
The reality is, not everyone is equipped to invest wisely (or has the motivation to learn), so it may be better to let experts handle those decisions. I certainly wish I had; I lost a fair bit on Dogecoin (thanks, Elon). Instead of aimlessly pouring money into various coins that all claim to be the next Bitcoin or Ethereum, I should have focused on investment plans that would have built my wealth throughout my 20s.
Now that I’ve seen the light, I’m currently enrolled in the AIA Pro Achiever 2.0 plan, which maximizes my potential returns since 100% of my premiums (along with welcome bonuses from signing up and staying invested) are invested from the start. I can select my portfolio based on my risk appetite, allowing me to reap the rewards when I can start withdrawing funds without any charges—after 11 years of premium payments, of course.
Better to let the savvy folks manage my investments while I focus on my Monstera collection and therapy sessions.
Pinky Promises
At this point in the article, you savvy, jaded youths will have realized that this is Sponsored Content. Yes, it absolutely is—companies need to make a living too. I genuinely urge you to get an insurance plan as soon as possible, based on my own experience as someone who permanently lost half a finger with no compensation.
Back in 2012, naive little me didn’t believe in personal insurance and ended up in a serious motorbike accident. To cut a long story short, I had to have part of my left pinky amputated. While my treatment and surgery were partially covered by Medisave, I missed out on full reimbursement and didn’t receive a significant payout for the accident. Lesson learned.
Had I signed up for the AIA Solitaire PA (II) Plan back then, I would have avoided a lot of stress—physiotherapy isn’t cheap. That common advice about getting a plan before something happens? It’s true—there’s no time like the present.
Reckoning with Regrets
After 33 long years (considered ancient in Gen Z terms), let me offer some wisdom: while regrets are a part of life, those related to finances can be especially painful. With our current focus on astrology, NFTs, Twitter drama, and curating the perfect Vibe™, it’s easy to overlook the importance of having a financial safety net to catch us when life throws us curveballs.
Even when things are going well, you’ll appreciate having the means to invest in orthopaedic shoes, ergonomic chairs, and VR goggles when the metaverse becomes mainstream. Life’s risks and unpredictability don’t discriminate by age.
If I had listened to my mother when she lectured me about the importance of saving while I was spending my weekends recklessly, I might not be a partially fingerless thirty-something with less than five digits in my bank account. So, don’t be like me—value your youth and start being financially prudent long before I did. And while you’re at it, cherish all ten fingers!
