You know what they say about being rich and making money, “you better start ’em young.” That is true in most occasions but how real is it? Millions, if not most of the millennials are either broke or are in grave debt. As a matter of fact, according to a survey and study done by NBC News, 34 percent hold off on buying a home and 31 percent to delay saving for retirement. Meaning, almost half of the millennials of our time haven’t saved or invested enough for them to be carefree when the time they need to retire comes.
How about yourself? Do you consider yourself a part of this demographic? Do you see yourself being in huge debt in the near future or in the following years ahead? What are the things you don’t need that you waste money on?
Read: Who Knew That You Can Save Money By Recycling Common Household Items?
Who are the millennials?
Determining who the millennials of our time has been a dilemma. Let’s put an end to that. Because of the new guidelines in determining the classifications, millennials are people born between the years 1981 and 1996. Meaning, these people are the ones who are currently twenty-two (22) to thirty-seven (37) year-olds.
If you are part of that, then you can consider yourself a millennial.
Who is Kevin O’Leary?
Kevin O’Leary is a world-famous businessman from Canada and he is one of the well-known personalities in the TV Show Shark Tank. He is also the Chairman of O’Shares ETFs.
He was interviewed and was given the chance to make comments on what most millennials spend money on that continue to make them poor or the reason why they are not exercising to be rich.
So, what are the worst things millennials spend money on?
Kevin O’Leary just wants to give everyone advice on what they need to spend money on vs. what they currently do. So, don’t be offended. Kidding aside, it’s healthy to know the thoughts of someone who came from a different generation. He has been doing this and he is becoming richer and richer, why not do it so you can get the same benefits, right?
Shoes
I can’t agree more. If you haven’t noticed, most millennials have more than three (3) or four (4) pairs of sneakers or shoes, and more pairs for different occasions, for casual wear, for formal, etc.
Kevin says that this is not necessary because you won’t be able to use all of them regularly. As a matter of fact, he considers this to be a waste of money.
On both sides of the equation, shoes. You don’t need more than four (4) pairs of shoes. You need flip flops, something to work out in, and two pairs of dress shoes – everything else, you’re an idiot if you’re buying more shoes. Because you’ll never wear them, and they’ll be sitting there for years.”
He is telling the truth, though for most people. However, there are people now who utilizes shoes for a living which exempts them from this specific thing O’Leary is saying.
Women are the culprit of these because Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW), a shoe retailer, found that seventy-five (75) percent of women in the United States of America owned more than twenty (20) pairs of shoes. How about the average man? Well, it’s a staggering twelve (12) pairs.
On average, the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) reports that each person including children buys seven and a half (7 ½) pairs of shoes.
Juanita Duggan, AAFA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) says that these figures are more than any country in the whole world. Even if that’s the case, these people only wear three (3) to four (4) pairs regularly, just like what O’Leary said people need.
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$4 Coffee
In the younger generations, expensive coffee has been a hit. Especially with the different things that people do in these cafes and coffee shops, millennials, children, and young adults really patronize these.
Kevin O’Leary doesn’t actually agree to this because of the fact that you can drink coffee for only spending less than a dollar compared to how coffee shops and cafes sell them.
$4 coffee, incredibly stupid. Look, I know I’m going to get hate mail from all the coffee brands, but coffee costs 18 cents to make yourself. Until you have savings and have paid off your college debt, do not but a $4 coffee, I forbid you.”
O’Leary really wants to make a point here. He just wantes people to realize and understand that buying expensive coffee is not the best way to go if you really want to build your budget or your savings.
Acorns, an investment app made a study last 2018 and in that research, they found that the average American spends about $1,100 in a year just for coffee. On a monthly basis, that is somewhere around $91.67 or $92 already.
This figure is about 30 percent more than the third of how Americans spend investing.
Why are coffee brands expensive?
Well, other than the fact that you would greatly rely on the barista to make your coffee, there are costs like the cup, the use of the equipment, the expensive ingredients, flavorings, the labor of the person making it, and so on.
More so, prices of each cup depends on the city. In the U.S., it depends on the state and the city where the specific Starbucks branch is in. On average, a 12-ounce cup of joe from Starbucks in the States costs an average of $2.75. In New York City, on the other hand, costs $3.25 for a tall cappuccino; New York being one of the most expensive locations in the world.
Pants or Jeans
Try to think of it, when do you usually use jeans? Do you wear it at home? Or do you only wear it when you go to work or when you attend an occasion?
Well, Kevin O’Leary says that if you have more than three (3) or four (4) pairs of jeans, you might want to reassess yourself.
If you have more than three (3) pairs of jeans – one black, one white, and one jean original – you’re an idiot. You have too many, you don’t need that.”
Read: Why You Should Always Look at the Cashier When Paying with Credit or Debit Cards
How much are jeans, by the way?
In our time, the usual price of the pair of jeans come at about $60 to $80 on average. So, this means that Americans, on average, spend about $38.5 million on denims every single day. If we look at it annually, it’s a staggering $14 billion. Take note, that’s just the Americans alone. These figures are coming from a Financial Website.
Again, women are the real offenders because women have more options in choosing their jeans and pants. More so, the prices of their jeans, their apparel generally cost ten (10) percent more than men’s, as per Credit Donkey.
Based on statistics, women who are aged sixteen (16) and above spend about seventy-six (76) percent more than men of the same age (16 years old and above).
Meanwhile, the average adult spends about $161 per month just on clothing and apparel alone.
What can happen if we abide by the things investors and O’Leary says?
Try to think of how much savings you will be getting. Imagine, if you buy a $4 coffee everyday, in a week, you would have spent somewhere around $21 to $28 dollars. However, if you decide to make your own coffee, you will only be spending somewhere around a dollar to two (2) dollars $2 in a week.
Here are some of th best tips and techniques on how you can do more on saving:
If you try and just live with at least three (3) to four (4) pairs of jeans, vs. what you have now that is, on average, around ten (10) to twelve (12) pairs, you will see that you will have more savings, probably around a few hundred dollars more.
O’Leary continues to say that most, if not, everybody goes over or disobeys this certain rule. He says that if people realize this, they will eventually see their savings being more. Furthermore, they will see that investing that amount can actually do them more good than bad.
So, you will find out that everybody be beraches these rules, and overspends. They should listen to me. I forbid buying any more than three (3) pairs of jeans. That’s it. Then, you invest that and the market gives you seven (7) percent a year. The average salary in America is around $58,000.00, you save ten (10) percent a year, you have $1.25 million in the bank when you hit the age of sixty-five (65).”
Can you imagine the savings you can get if you try to follow the rules rules of O’Leary? Can you imagine the different things you can do with the money you could have just spent? You could either just put that money off for investments, you can start your own business, you can study investing; you could literally do a lot of things.
So we will leave you with this: the next time that you come across something you are itching to buy, think if you need it. Think back at what O’Leary’s tips are and think on it deeply. Who knows? It might be the key to the dream of.
