Boomers: One Generation, Two Different Animals
Posted On September 20, 2017
They say you can never stop learning. If you’re a financial adviser, you should strive to prove that theory. One of the important things we need to keep re-learning is how different generations prefer to handle their money — or even different subsets within the same generation. Many advisers, for instance, may think they know all there is to know about Baby Boomer clients. Many advisers are Baby Boomers themselves. But there are important differences to consider even within the Baby Boomer generation. While many leading boomers, born from 1946 to ’55, are already retired, trailing boomers who were born… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Financial Services, Wealth
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … Generation X?
Posted On August 14, 2017
Dust off that cape, Generation X. No, not that one. The other one. The one with the big S on it. You’re being called upon to save the country. From millennials. In a recent piece for the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Hennessey ticked off all the usual criticisms of the “participation trophy generation” – entitled, tech-dependent, impatient, undisciplined, obsessed with political correctness. He then closes by essentially saying the last line of defense against a country steeped in these millennial vices is Generation X. No pressure, my fellow slackers. The world needs a hero, but you’ll… Read More
Categories: Generation X, Generations, Workplace
Micro-Generation? “Xennials?”
Posted On July 3, 2017
Ever felt like you didn’t fit within your generation? Or maybe that you fit in parts of more than one? If you were born between 1977 and 1983, an Australian sociology professor believes you’re right. Dan Woodman, an associate sociology professor at the University of Melbourne, believes people born during that time frame don’t fit neatly into either Generation X or millennials. They are instead, he says, a micro-generation all their own – one that he calls Xennials. Woodman, who was born in 1980 and is part of this micro-generation, described it to Australian lifestyle site MamaMia.com as a mix… Read More
Categories: Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials, Generations
Mirror Mirror On the Wall, Who Snacks Most of All?
Posted On June 27, 2017
“Which Generation Snacks the Most?” the headline reads at TheStreet.com. And then, as if anticipating our answer, it adds: “It’s not millennials.” How can it not be millennials? They’re the ones playing all the video games and Snapchatting on their iPhones. How do you spend all that time doing such things without a bag of Dorito’s on the couch beside you? But according to TheStreet, it’s neither millennials nor iGen, who will be right there on the couch beside them if there are enough Xbox controllers, that snacks the most. It’s Baby Boomers. TheStreet last year cited research from the… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials
Is it Stuff? Or Heirlooms? Not sure…
Posted On June 2, 2017
Gen-Xers and millennials have things easier than our Baby Boomer parents and grandparents in so many ways. We have grown up with technology and are comfortable with it. We’ve had advances in medicine that have made us healthier. We pay our bills online, buy our groceries with a piece of plastic and carry portable computers in our pockets, a world of information just a click away. One thing that has become more difficult over the years, however, is deciding what to do with our parents’ possessions when they pass away. While treasured heirlooms such as china, silver and antiques have… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generations, Matures, Wealth
Contrary to Popular Myths, the Millennials Aren’t the Only Game in Town
Posted On May 30, 2017
You have, no doubt, been inundated by now with advice on how to market to millennials, and with good reason. They are not only the largest segment of the workforce, but also the largest segment of consumers. You know to keep your website up-to-date, with easy-to-use customer service tools and a format that translates across multiple platforms. You know to take advantage of social media marketing tools, and to engage with your customers through a variety of channels. You know to create not only value, but a sense of global responsibility and citizenship for your customers when they do business… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers
Are Changing Ethics a Reflection of Life Stages? Let’s hope…
Posted On May 17, 2017
Has relativism taken over in the digital age? Are millennials more likely to believe the ends justify the means? Does the largest generation in today’s workplace believe that ethics are negotiable in business? The Wall Street Journal recently cited an EY survey that would seem to say so – or at least that it’s more prevalent than in previous generations. In interviewing more than 4,000 people in 41 countries in Europe, the Mideast, Africa and India, the study found that one in four of the millennials surveyed could justify paying bribes in order to support their business (compared to 14… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation Y / Millennials, Work, Workplace
Oversharing: You’ve probably done it, too. Everyone else has.
Posted On May 4, 2017
How many times, as we scroll through our social media pages, do we find ourselves shaking our heads and muttering: “TMI?” Embarrassing moments, catty observations and gossip, judgmental pet peeves, our romantic relationships and sex lives, what we ate for lunch – it seems that today, almost nothing is too risqué, too personal or too humdrum to be shared for our online “friends” to see. Or depending on our privacy settings, the whole world. Seriously, people don’t care what our pulled pork sandwich looks like. And yet, we pull out our cellphones, snap a photo and post it to Facebook… Read More
Categories: Generations
Grandparents here, there, and everywhere.
Posted On March 24, 2017
During his stand-up routine in the Spike Lee movie, “The Kings of Comedy,” the late comedian Bernie Mac had a memorable bit bemoaning the disappearance of grandmothers. He wasn’t necessarily talking about grandmothers in the literal sense, but grandmothers as he knew them growing up – old ladies who had no patience for foolishness and no qualms about yanking an unruly youngster in line. “Big Mama’s gone,” Mac said. “What’s Big Mama now, 36?” Are grandparents really getting younger? According to the Wall Street Journal, not so much. With nearly one in seven children in the U.S. now being born… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation Y / Millennials, Generations
Diamonds are for…others?
Posted On March 6, 2017
They love me, they love me not. Can a generation that values new experiences and social awareness be counted upon to continue a tradition of extravagance in the name of love? That may depend on which report you pluck from the internet, but with a bottom line uniquely tied to a demographic that’s of the prime age for engagements and weddings, the future of the diamond industry may rest upon the answer. A recent article in The Economist contends that it’s an industry in decline. While cheaper alternatives are increasing in quality, increased regulation and market forces are driving the… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Generations