Why Millennial Net Worth Dropped -34%

Lots of you guys, it's Graham here. So, every now and then, I come across some information that really gets me going, and I can't help but say something about it and share my thoughts on it. But what makes this story so interesting was that I wasn't gonna be making a video about it. Instead, I posted it on Instagram along with my own comments and then I just got a tidal wave of replies instantaneously from people who have felt just as strongly as I did. In fact, I got so many more messages on this story compared with anything else that I posted.

So, I figured, okay, I know there's at least enough demand for me to make my own video on this just so I could expand my thoughts a little bit more thoroughly. But first, if you're on Instagram, just do me a really quick favor: go to Instagram, go to the search bar, type in GP Stefon, and then go and add me on Instagram. I promise you won't be disappointed. Plus, I just recently got a kitten, so you'll see some kitten pictures on there every now and then. Everyone likes to see kitten pictures on Instagram, let's be real. So, make sure to add me there, and thank you.

So, anyway, back to the video. Here's the topic of today: According to a recent study, the net worth of Americans aged 18 to 35 has dropped by 34 percent since 1996. That's why, people, I'm 29 years old right now, but when they talk about this demographic, they're talking about me and all my friends here. This is the age that I see firsthand, which is why I see some major issues coming from this that I'll be discussing shortly.

But anyway, within the article, we have two main takeaways. The first one is that, on average, the cost of education, aka college, has risen 65 percent in the last 10 years. The second wage growth, on average, has gone up 26 percent over the last 10 years. And this part is not mentioned in the article; I had to do my own research on this.

But when we factor in inflation, we're left with the net cost of college going up a whopping 54 percent net in the last 10 years. And then, of course, we've got the net increase in wage growth over that same 10-year period accounted for inflation and a whopping—ready for this—six and a half percent over the last ten years. That's right. In ten years, the cost of college has gone up 54 percent, but the cost of wages has only gone up six and a half percent. Something isn't adding up here, and I think this needs to be brought to light and gain some attention because I think we're gonna see some major shifts over the next 20 years in terms of how we treat education, how we make money, and also how we build our wealth.

And by the way, I just want to mention that all of my opinions are really just purely anecdotal, based on my own experience. So, go into it just considering that all of this is really what I've seen firsthand. So, with that said, let's get into the video.

So, the first thing we got to discuss is college and how ridiculously expensive it is. Now, let's get this out of the way early on: I never went to college. I was pressured by friends and family to go to college after high school because that's what you're supposed to do to get a well-paying job. And in my circle of friends, it was almost looked down upon if you didn't go to college. It was almost as though if you didn't go, there was something wrong with you. In fact, I was so pressured to go to college just because, even though I didn't want to go, that I applied to college expecting to go.

Thankfully, I didn't get in, and that's the only reason why I didn't decide to pursue a college education. Instead, I just went and got my real estate license. I also didn't have parents that could pay for school, so most likely, I would have just become one of these statistics of these students who take out egregious student loans just to pay their way through school with the expectation and hope of one day graduating and getting a job that pays seventy thousand a year.

The real revelation to me, however, was once I separated myself from the college mentality and started working full-time that I realized just how inefficient this school system is. I knew this was a problem, by the way, when my friends started graduating in 2012, some of them, by the way, with an Ivy League degree, and they couldn't get a job or they just battled their way and fought for lower than average salaries because they couldn't afford to hold out for something better, and they basically had to take whatever they could get.

But what makes things even worse is student loan debt. It was a five to six-figure loan balance to pay for a school that, in the end, did not give them any upper edge in a competitive job market where every other applicant also has a college degree. And I think that begins to be the issue in today's society. It's because so many people have been implanted with this idea that college is a requirement to go to after high school, that the value of a college degree becomes watered down to the point where it's now equivalent basically to what a high school diploma was.

It kind of reminds me of the saying, if everyone is special, then no one is special. Now, whether or not you agree with that analogy is subjective, but the fact remains if everyone has a college degree, it no longer has the same competitive advantage it once did because now everyone is playing and competing on a level playing field. Now, if you want to stand out, you got to do even more than that.

And thankfully, college has an amazing solution. It's called putting more time and more money into something and then getting a master's, an MBA, or a PhD, and then you can stand out. The main issue I see is that we have a society that encourages getting a college degree as the safe way to be successful while our parents also pressure us to go and get a college degree because that's what's worked for them. Just look at these statistics though: In 1970, only 16 percent of people had a college degree or higher, and today nearly 40 percent of millennials in the workforce have at least a bachelor's degree.

This means that back in 1970, not only was college considerably less expensive than it is today, but it was also considerably more exclusive. So, it's no wonder that we have our parents pressuring us to go to college because back then that was a solution to job security and financial well-being.

And the way I see it, this is really all the perfect storm for disaster. Like you have the cost of college rising faster than my investments, combine that with a nearly 300 percent increase in college graduates, combine that with abysmal wage growth, then blend all of that together with a parental pressure to go into debt to get a degree that no longer has the prestige it once did.

So, it's no wonder why we have nearly 1.5 trillion dollars worth of student loan debt, with the average person graduating with a loan balance of nearly $30,000, none of which can be discharged in bankruptcy. So, you're basically stuck with it, and there's no return policy on a college degree.

And this is where the issue begins. People today are graduating and starting off their career in debt with interest occurring every single day combined with almost non-existent wage growth. So, it's no wonder why net worth has dropped this significantly over the last 23 years.

So, secondly, we also have to address the inefficiencies of making money. From what I'm seeing, we're slowly entering an era where jobs are much less applied for but instead created. Like, with the popularity of the internet, I'm seeing more and more people opt to start their own business instead, rather than go and work for someone else. I think many people are also realizing that getting a college degree is no longer the ticket to a stable, safe seventy thousand-dollar job like society paints it out to be, especially if you take on debt to do that.

And by following that, people are really overlooking the obvious: that starting a business, or learning a trade, or honing a skill can have a much higher ROI than getting a four-year college degree when it comes to working for yourself and making money. I really believe it's never been as easy as it is today. The Internet has created such a level playing field where a 17-year-old can make more money within a year than a 50-year-old doctor who spent decades honing their craft.

Our entire society basically now revolves around the internet way more than it did in the 70s or 80s or 90s, and the internet changes and evolves month by month. So, being able to take this information and distill it into a classroom would be pretty much impossible. Like, I would love to see a college class teaching you how to optimize your Instagram profile, how to build a sales funnel, how to negotiate really well, how to save more money, how to invest in the stock market, how to learn some customer service skills, how just to think objectively and think creatively to come up with your own ideas.

Like, I would love to see some of this stuff. Then, after all of that, your final year of school, you would be taught to be resourceful and self-sustainable. And I really believe right now, if you're dedicated and you put your mind to it, you can learn anything you want to learn from YouTube and Google. In fact, I would love one day to have a YouTube college curriculum where you can learn everything you need to know about life through YouTube or through Google. I would love to see that.

I also believe you could learn to make so much money just by staying up late, cutting out all the white noise, dedicating yourself to learning a craft, and then executing on it. And of course, it's not easy; it's not glamorous. It takes a lot of sacrifice, but if your goal is to get the best ROI possible for not only your time but also your money, I really believe this is the way to go.

Like, sometimes even going and buying someone's $500 Shopify course will have a better ROI in today's era than going to medical school to become a doctor. I've seen some of these kids make a hundred, two hundred thousand dollars a month in net profit, and they're like 17, 18, 19 years old, and they've just dedicated themselves to learning this. I'm not saying you should go out and now just do Shopify or that that's a long-term sustainable business, but I'm just saying as a point that these opportunities exist for you to take advantage of right now on the internet.

Like, the entire system and economy right now is changing at such a rapid pace, and it's really up to you to adapt to it or potentially get left behind. This is why I believe we're seeing millennial net worth plummet over the last 20 years. And if I have any say in it, I believe that self-education needs to be prioritized. I think we should be more resourceful in creating our own careers, and also, I think we should be talking about learning the trades a lot more than we currently do.

I'm just saying too many people follow the same path with the same result that now you need to look elsewhere if you want to just get ahead of the curve. Even though back then, I thought my life was over when I didn't get into college, I quickly realized that a college degree does not determine how much money you can make. If anything, I believe college is too structured and it just lacks that real-life kick in the pants that you get when no one is telling you what to do.

This is really what happens when you wake up in the morning with no boss, with no schedule. You have no agenda, and it's really up to you to put all the puzzle pieces together and figure out what you're gonna do with your life to make the most out of that day. It's those skills that, in my opinion, cannot be taught in a classroom.

Now, I realize that all of this is a very one-sided argument, and I realize what a few people are probably going to say. The first one I know I'm going to hear is someone saying, "Well, not everyone is built for or can be an entrepreneur." And when it comes to this, I completely agree. If being an entrepreneur is not your thing, then don't do it. If you prefer something a lot more predictable, then I think a steady paycheck is probably the way to go.

However, just be very considerate about who you go to college with and how much you spend on getting that degree. Maybe it's worth it to go to two years of Community College and then transfer into another college for the remaining two years just to save on the cost. Or, I would look into going to a trade school. There are plenty of trades out there that are always in demand that end up paying a lot of money: contractors, electricians, plumbers, welders, or even just learning how to code could be an invaluable skill.

I really believe that these trades are often overlooked, and I wouldn't be surprised if those trades ended up doing better over the next 20 or 30 years compared with someone who took on debt for a four-year college degree. Now, secondly, I'm sure there's gonna be some people that say the benefits of going to college aren't just financial. I'm sure there are so many social benefits and otherwise just life experiences that could be beneficial later in life, but I also believe there's just as many, if not more, benefits of not going and really being forced to put yourself out there and being forced just to grit down and make things happen because otherwise they won't.

Like, I had no friends when all of my friends went off to college. I was alone, and after a long time of not having any friends, I learned to put myself out there. I found a way to go and meet like-minded people. I forced myself out there even though I was super awkward for a while, and I didn't really know how to socialize. I really believe that that experience made me a better person later. Same thing with networking.

I never networked with other college kids; instead, I networked with people that were in my own profession, and arguably, I think that is a lot more beneficial to network with people who are already doing what I want to do than the other college kids. But again, that's subjective. That's just my own opinion, and really at the end of the day, it's about evaluating both the ROI of a college degree versus the realities of 2019 and making money today.

Like, when you can make more money in one month selling wolf mugs on Facebook than a brain surgeon can make in an entire year, you know things are changing pretty quickly. So anyway, let me know your thoughts down below, or feel free to share your own experiences on this. I know I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to this, and I'm heavily biased because I come at it from the perspective of someone who did not go to college, and therefore I don't really know what I missed out on.

But I really come at this from the side where a degree for me would have been a major setback, and I really encourage people just to consider the cost of college and really decide for themselves if it's the right choice or not. So, with that said, you guys, thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it. If you guys made it to the very end and you enjoy content like this, always hit the like button. It does help out the algorithm dramatically. Some people say it doesn't; I am a believer that it does help.

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