Although many people in the United States think otherwise, millennials are closer to collecting Social Security than they appear to be. Many people think that millennials are nowhere near retirement. And nothing could be further from the truth, since this generation started in 1981 and ended in 1996.
While it’s true that the first group of millennials will still have a long way to go before they apply for Social Security in retirement, it’s also true that they should already have planning in mind. As a result, we can already sense what millennials will be spending part of their retirement on. That’s because being able to know their current habits and usual expenses makes it easier to know what their future plan will be.
Still, whether they have a retirement plan or not, millennials will have a lot of expenses that can make Social Security checks fall far short. They will need a good retirement plan if they want to have golden years that they can enjoy to the fullest. If you are a millennial and don’t want to waste your retirement money, pay attention to the following.
What will millennials waste retirement on?
There are many things millennials will waste their Social Security retirement on. This is due to today’s lifestyle, as there are many more expenses today than in the past.
Of course, it all depends on an individual basis. Each person will spend money on something different, but it is a common trend for millennials to spend money on these things. So they will waste part of their Social Security retirement on the following:
- Credit card debt. Credit cards are very common among millennials because it offers sometimes indispensable services. That’s why it’s so common for them to use them. And that will mean that when it comes time to retire, they will still have credit card debt.
- Lifestyle. Lifestyle is something that millennials take to the extreme. Not all millennials, of course, but it’s true that a relatively comfortable life has made everyone want to have as much as possible. So when it’s time to retire, this is what they might waste their money on.
- In the home. We are not exactly talking about wasting money on the home, since it is something fundamental. But it is true that the increase in general prices has made houses more expensive than ever. And that’s why at retirement, many millennials will still be making mortgage payments.
The general advice for avoiding problems in retirement is to save as much as possible. Not only should we increase our Social Security check as much as possible, but we should also save using other means. Retirement plans such as Roth IRAs or 401(k)s could be useful for this goal.