Re:Gen Z is giving up on college
by johnnyanmac on Monday September 11, 2023 @06:26AM
(#37465212)
even if I gave you the BOTD and assumed that the govt. simply gave every 18YO 80k to use as they see fit:
investing is an awful first thing to do unless you already have a job and stable life setup. Pretty much any sane financial planner will say
1. get your base costs covered 2. get an emergency savings 3. get a long term (3 months) savings 4. THEN you can invest
an 18YO trying to get their home situation put together will probably burn through a good portion just by renting out an apartment and getting the bare necessities. And ofc they need a few months to find what is probably a minimum wage job, which will probably not cover rent by itself.
If they can get over that huge hump, there won't be much left to invest (definitely not a 3 months savings).
You can directly compare the value of investing money in education and the stock market. If you had $80,000 to invest at 18 you often would be better simply investing in the stock market.
Most people of course borrow the sums required which means the interest increases the monies owed as opposed to gains from investment earnings. And the monies borrowed are owed come what may, not even bankruptcy allows escape from the debt and accumulating interest.