“It’s impossible to know in advance how many business ideas will spring up to disrupt or even replace existing industries.”
Seared into their brains is a haunting future in which they outlive their next egg, not having saved enough money for retirement.
An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.
Part One in a 3-Part Series.
Please remember. Check in with your financial planner as the following trends and opinions change and may have before you read this.
Sometime in 2015 Millennials overtook Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation.
Most everyone older and younger than the Baby Boomer generation grew tired of living in its shadow.
And hearing about its impact on the economy, real estate, and well, you name it.
The oldest Millennial was born in 1981 and the youngest in 1997
So doing the math for you, it works out like this.
Millennials (ages 18 to 34 in 2015) numbered 75.3 million while the Boomers (ages 51 to 69 in 2015) dropped slightly from the decades long, popular estimate of 75 million to 74.9 million.
One estimate projected 75.4 million Boomers lived in 2014.
The bottom line?
They aren’t babies any longer.
Fewer and fewer of them will be around each advancing year.
In between, as you recall, lies the Gen X population (ages 35 to 50 in 2015.)
They get no respect.
- And they’re already sick and tired reading or hearing about the older and younger generations.
- But, they’ll have to get used to it since the Millennial population is projected to peak in 2036 at 81.1 million when the Millennials reach 56 years of age
- By 2050 there will still be a projected 79.2 million Millennials.
Generation X became the “middle child” of generations.
Their ages spread out over 16 years compared to the 17 years of the Millennials
Though the oldest Gen Xer is now 50, they shouldn’t give up.
They can still become number two, if they try harder, or at least eat healthier and workout more often.
Actually, they can just wait until 2028 to outnumber the Boomers.
There will be 64.6 million Gen Xers and 63.7 million Boomers.
Gen X population will peak at 65.8 million in 2018.
Now back, to Baby Boomers.
They were all that.
The largest generation since the 1950s and 1960s having peaked at 78.8 million in 1999.
By mid-century, the Boomer population will dwindle to 16.6 million.
Talk about a boom, then a bust!
Let’s examine how the two huge generations will impact the rest of us.
Aging Boomers and coming-of-age Millennials will accelerate changes in the economy.
No question.
But, not everything is rosy or the same for both generations.
- Both Baby Boomers and Millennials will increasingly feel squeezed financially.
- Roughly 150 million Americans feel squeezed, so they’re not alone.
- But, chances are they both account for most of the 150 million citizens.
Just compare the median ages of both generations as of 2015.
Baby Boomers, age 60.
Millennials, age 25.
The 25-year-old Millennials, having lived through the Great Recession, find themselves either unable or unwilling to spend.
While the 60-year-old Boomers (parents or grandparents of Millennials) have been playing savings catch-up.
Seared into their brains is a haunting future in which they outlive their next egg, not having saved enough money for retirement.
Which may last as long as 35 more years.
Or, as one financial expert tells them,
“You’re just going to have to live with lower rates of return.”
Steps:
(6) Anticipate changing circumstances and economic cycles.
(7) Persist and pivot to navigate external threats and opportunities.
(17) Sketch out your trajectory in 5-year time frames. Will we fall into another recession? Absolutely. Will you be ready this time with future-proofed strategies?
(19) Anticipate the growing shifts in life and business. Nobody wants to swim upstream if the current is moving everything in the opposite direction. Clue your fans in.