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We tend to learn in life that things don’t always turn out the way we plan.
A good example of this is a statistic found in the National Report Card on Youth Financial Literacy put out by the British Columbia Securities Commission. It found that 73% of high school grads aged 17-20 expect to own a home within 10 years.
Unfortunately, it seems those 17 to 20 year-olds may be in for a little disappointment.
As it turns out, over half (51%) of 20 to 29 year-olds haven’t even left the nest yet, according to StatsCan. That’s double the number who were still living at home as of 25 years ago.
So, what can one take away from this divergence betwen expectations and reality?
Well, it seems students are either overly optimistic about their future finances or underachieving in trying to realize them. It’s probably a combination of both, and the current economic and employment situation isn’t helping.
On the bright side, with so many young people still living at home, it’s affording them a great opportunity to save up a down payment…at least we hope so for their parents’ sake.
Incidentally: The average 17 to 20 year-old respondent also expects to earn $90,735 in 10 years time – almost three times the actual average income of 25 to 29 year‐olds with post‐secondary degrees.
Steve Huebl, CMT
