I met a young lady recently who impressed the hell out of me. She was 23 years old, working full-time and is about to start working on her Masters. She got smart people scholarships to pay for her education so she doesn't have loans from her undergrad and she's doing the same (plus employer benefits) to pay for her Masters.
She has a roommate and she saves practically all of her money. Her goal is to have enough of a down payment saved up to put down on a modest condo once she gets her degree and gets the promotion her company has all but promised her already. Her only bills seem to be her car note (a Toyota) and car insurance (I don't know for sure these are her only bills mind you...just seems fitting given the rest of the conversation we had.)
I was so impressed.
I did the math recently and figured she'd be around age 26 when she was able to put money down on that condo based on her plan of action.
And then I started wondering why I was so impressed since MANY of my peers were homeowners by that age. It wasn't odd to me then when I heard someone buying their first home before age 30.
Hmmmmmmmm...
I then thought about a 26 year old man I know who lives with people and has a fancy car. He damn near breaks his neck to get home to get on the video game and plays into the wee hours of the morning. He has a good job but no desire to go to grad school. He goes to car shows and comic book conventions and collects toys. Oh...he also collects DVDs of martial arts movies.
His entire existence seems to be one of a high school sophomore right down to his shirttail being untucked walking out the door headed to work.
He has no umph. No get up and go. I doubt he will even THINK about buying a house until he gets some woman to marry him and they decide they want to start a family.
Then I thought about a lot of other under 30s people I know and it seems none of them have moved very far past their parent's house. They are either uneducated or UNDEReducated so it's simply not possible for them to move up it seems. They don't think of much past the coming weekend. They do what they want with their money and some pay a bit to the people they are living with and some don't.
Questions for you...
How old were YOU the first time you became a homeowner?
Do you know many people who became homeowners before age 30?
Do you know many now?
Are you ever surprised when you hear about a young lady doing the dang thing at an early age?
Are you ever surprised when you meet 28/30 year old men who are basically still high school sophomores?
Has the economy of today versus the economy back when you were in your 20s changed that drastically that they can't do the "normal" things anymore?
Do YOU think people in their 20s generally seem less equipped to deal with the realities of financial life?
So many more questions. Help me flush out what I'm wondering . Please.
