70 IS the new 50
Posted On May 14, 2015
We all like to think that 70 is the new 50, but according one group of researchers in Austria, it’s actually so. According to the Telegraph, academics from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis believe that what we call old age shouldn’t be defined by a starting point, such as the trusty retirement age of 65. Instead, they argue, we should judge it by how much time we typically have left to live. And with life expectancies growing, they contend that “old” is older than it used to be. The article cites an estimate from Great Britain’s Office for… Read More
Categories: Retirement
Kneepads? No way.
Posted On May 12, 2015
I heard from a friend recently whose son turned his knee the size of a grapefruit at the skate park after refusing to wear knee pads because they’d make him “look like a nerd.” And while the parent in me shook his head slowly at the youthful ignorance and vanity, the rest of me understood completely. I wouldn’t have worn knee pads or a helmet as a kid to ride a skateboard, a bicycle or a rocket-powered street luge. No amount of cajoling from my mother would have made a difference. Had she made me put them on before leaving… Read More
Categories: Parenting
Midlife Crisis – it’s coming. Best to pair up.
Posted On May 5, 2015
How do you avoid a mid-life crisis? Chances are, you probably don’t. But a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that one way to lessen its effects is to get married. That study was based off two surveys in Great Britain, so you might be wondering if marriage is typically more tranquil across the pond, but it really makes sense: Life crises – even, or perhaps especially, psychological ones – are tougher to deal with alone. Time Magazine notes that if you couple that information with data from the Pew Research Center, which shows fewer Millennials are… Read More
Categories: Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials
Millennials and homes – hurry up and flip
Posted On April 30, 2015
They’re upwardly mobile. They’re rootless. Sentimentality is not their thing. They’re attuned to current trends. And they have different goals and dreams than their parents. So it should be no surprise that Millennials often have different goals than previous generations when they go to buy a house — and it behooves the real estate market to recognize that. Citing the results of recent reports from the National Board of Realtors and the TD Bank Mortgage Service Index, Forbes Magazine notes that Millennials are the largest group of home-buyers in the country – 32 percent of the market – and more… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Home Ownership
You Can’t Judge Every Individual By His Generation
Posted On April 28, 2015
We live in a digital age, so it only stands to reason that Millennials will be quicker to adapt and integrate new technologies into their everyday lives than Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. The folks at Millward Brown Digital set out to test that theory, but instead found something far more elemental: You can’t judge every individual by his or her generation. A survey conducted by the company found that while Millennials are the first generation to really embrace mobile shopping, they – like their Gen X parents and Baby Boomer grandparents – still fall back on the trusty old… Read More
Categories: Advertising, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials, Generations
U2 and THE Gap – Gen X Preferences
Posted On April 23, 2015
So Millennials don’t like the same things Gen Xers did? Say it isn’t so. This may come as a shock to twenty-somethings, but thirty- and forty-somethings didn’t like the same things as their parents either. That’s the way the world works. Time Magazine recently ticked off several former staples of a typical Generation X upbringing that turn off Millennials, from U2 and NBC sitcoms to Cameron Crowe movies and The Gap. Yes, yes I did use “The” in front of the name of that store you pass by on your way to Abercrombie & Fitch. Because that’s how we said… Read More
Categories: Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials
Gen X Shows No Confidence in Retirement help from Gov’t
Posted On April 21, 2015
A survey recently released by PNC Financial Services Group Inc. offered some interesting findings about how different generations view retirement. The survey found that 51 percent of Generation Xers were saving more for their retirement since the recession, compared to 37 percent of Baby Boomers. But wait a minute, you say. Baby Boomers are starting to retire. Shouldn’t this be the time for them to ramp up to retirement? Another finding from the survey is telling, however. About two-third of the Gen-Xers surveyed believe they’ll be solely responsible for their retirement – and won’t be helped by Social Security, pensions,… Read More
Categories: Generation X, Retirement
The dreams vs. reality of young entrepreneurism
Posted On February 10, 2015
With the near-extinction of “the company man” in today’s workforce, more and more workers dream of taking control of their own destiny. Generational research from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation indicates that half to two-thirds of Millennials are interested in entrepreneurship. Yet a recent study conducted by The Wall Street Journal shows only 3.6% of professionals under 30 own stock in a private company, down from 10.6% in 1989 and even 6.1% as recently as 2010. So why doesn’t desire equate to action? Where to begin… Money is certainly a key factor. With Millennials coming into the workforce at… Read More
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Generation Y / Millennials
Attracting Millennials: The location factor
Posted On February 3, 2015
According to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield, attracting Millennials has a something in common with selling real estate: location, location, location. And more precisely, urban locations. As it turns out, Millennials are city dwellers and they are all about convenience, so if you want them to come to you, well, you may need to go to them. Why the big surge in city living? CW’s report cites surveys, including one that shows 62% of Millennials prefer mixed-use communities. Perhaps more important, Millennials have a tendency toward delayed adolescence (or adultolescence). As I’ve talked about here many times, the… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Workplace
Don’t look now, Generation Z is coming
Posted On January 29, 2015
Just when you think you’ve figured out how to handle the shifting perspectives and expectations of the Millennials (aka Generation Y), the next generation is nipping at their heels. The good news for most employers is that they aren’t quite ready to enter the workforce, but they are becoming a force on the consumer front, so if you pay attention, you may be better prepared when their resumes start landing in your inbox. Advertising Age has done a good job of providing an early profile of Gen Z, focusing on this consumer mindset. When reading through the traits they ascribe… Read More
Categories: iGen