Financial advice for millennials.

Before we begin presenting financial advice for millennials, it is important to spell out who are the millennials. Millennials are individuals who were born in and around the years 1981-1996. They have essentially grown up and matured in the new millennium. Millennials are the generation who are living in the post-industrial "new economy" which has seen many new developments in the world - some disruptive, some beneficial, and some adverse. This generation, existing in the new millennium, has seen rapid developments, ranging from technology to automotive to finance.

The Millennial Environment

Let us discuss some of the defining features of the millennial environment in terms of the advantages and challenges faced by individuals growing up in the new millennium.

Millennials have greater access to education which may be available to them in a way that they don't have to proceed to education centers; rather, the centers of education come to them! This is because of the availability of online classes and educational material. On the other hand, the job market today has developed in a way that encourages specialization or an advanced skill set. In many instances, it means that the ordinary millennial will have to work twice as hard to get a specialized skill set and additional qualifications in order to qualify for a decent well-paying job.

A feature of the new economy is that there is more automation in the job sector. This translates to a reduction of jobs available in the market with technology replacing some types of jobs requiring less specialized skills. In a shrinking job market, it is all the more necessary for millennials to come up with higher qualifications and higher skill-set to be able to compete for the fewer jobs available.

In other words, the environment is getting tougher for everyone including millennials looking for a job in the prevailing market. Even when a job is available, it may not be a permanent job; rather, it turns out that many times, it is a job on a contractual basis with short-term prospects only.

Furthermore, in the new millennium, it has been observed that there is greater inequality with higher disparity, as compared to the previous ages, amongst the general populace. Also, there is greater competition in the business and economic world in the millennial age. A challenge in the post-industrial world of today is that social safety nets have also dwindled and a lack of available savings to take care of emergency situations and urgent healthcare needs has compounded the challenge of survival.

Another factor that has come into play in the millennial economic environment is the impact of the post-Covid challenge. In this scenario where businesses are down and industrial activity has slowed, it is important for millennials to overcome this challenge by focusing on how they will meet their financial needs and sail through these difficult times.

Of course, there are advantages, as well, of living in the millennial era. There is a greater variety of goods and services to choose from. From high-end industrial goods and luxury items to...