National Financial Awareness Day: Team Diaries

14 Aug National Financial Awareness Day: Team Diaries

Posted at 04:34h in Uncategorized by Admin User

Written by: AC, Marketing Coordinator

August 14th marks National Financial Awareness Day. Otherwise known as: I shouldn’t have bought that pair of shoes day.

Between Amazon Prime, Ticketmaster, and Google Flights this year, I’m surprised I’m not living on the street (thanks, mom and dad). Splurging isn’t a norm for me. I’m relatively conservative with my spending habits. I mean, it’s not easy being green. Yet this year, my habits seemed to cut a little loose. Guess old habits die fast.

It’s a milestone birthday year for me and a self-proclaimed “YOLO” year. From meet and greets to spontaneous trips, I have done some damage. Although I regularly pay off my credit card and make it a priority to never fall into debt, there have been moments this year when I crossed the line.

Last week, while catching up with a friend, she brought up a new budgeting app she was using. She raved about how useful it was and how it had helped her in the past couple of months. That got me thinking, why haven’t I tried a budgeting app?

In an era where visits to the bank are rare (mainly to avoid people) and paying with plastic is the new norm, budgeting apps allow you to track your invisible spending habits. A fantastic way to get smart about your money, a budgeting app can bring you the best of all worlds. Visually seeing where you stand in terms of finance can snap you back into reality.

Generation Z x Budgeting: A Strange Combo

As one of the older and wiser family members, I judge my Generation-Z cousins’ actions. Constantly glued to their phones, they are always plotting to get what they want without doing much. But alas, their scheming ways help them find valuable tricks that outsmart us millennials.

A recent Junior Achievement USA (JA) and Alliance Data survey showed that budgeting apps are popular among teens. Surprisingly, the younger generation is very much aware of the importance of money management. “It’s encouraging to see that today’s young people are being proactive in how they view money and are using resources at their disposal to become better stewards of their financial futures,” commented Jack E. Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement USA.

Even when using physical monies, teens are still more likely to use a budgeting app. This information is shocking, considering 17% of teens have never stepped inside a physical bank location. I find it even more surprising that people who are my “little” cousin’s age might be more educated than me, a millennial, in terms of finance.

Millennials- Not entirely out with the old, but also not wholly in with the new

Budgeting is tricky when you have to pay your rent and tuition, buy food and have an active social life. Us millennials look at the older generation with their fancy cars and big houses and compare our current states to that. But those generations did not have it as hard as we do. Everything was a lot cheaper. So, in the words of Carrie Bradshaw, “I can’t help but wonder,” why don’t we look for inspiration elsewhere?

We never look to the younger generation for inspiration. (Unless it’s to peak at Instagram influencers and keep up with “cool” trends) After reading that survey, I think we can learn game-changing tips from tomorrow’s leaders. Perhaps, taking out money from the bank instead of using a credit card will help us track better.

Despite the constant criticism we millennials receive about saving, we’re not doing so poorly. Another (wow) survey showed that we actually save the most among generations. Our constant struggles have helped us build our own personal budgeting apps.