A High Income Isn’t Everything, Part Uno
This was inspired by a recent ABC News segment I watched on YouTube, on a group of millennials known as “HENRYs”. For those not in the know (because I certainly wasn’t) about this term, it stands for “High Earner, Not Rich Yet”.
Millennial, Make a Lot, Spend a Lot…
It describes a group of (ahem…) Millennials who, while making a high income, don’t consider themselves rich yet, due to high expenses (whether due to lifestyle and/or debt). In addition to being Millennials, HENRYs tend to have a college education, live in cities, and in a lot of cases, earn a double-income. Did I mention that they LOVE living the high life, whether in the form of newer cars, the latest tech, or exotic vacations. As I hinted at earlier, in exchange for their college educations and lifestyle, they carry a LOT of debt: student loans, credit cards, personal loans, car loans, etc.
In the media, the HENRYs are not a unique group when it comes to money, finances, and class in the United States. In fact, HENRYs have existed in the previous generation, as profiled in various CNBC and WSJ [article behind a paywall, btw] articles.
High Income, Yet Paycheck to Paycheck
You’ll notice in those articles that it is not just Millennials who seem to feel like they’re struggling, despite earning a higher income. In fact, if you spend enough time on Google (or Bing, or other search engine) you’ll find that this phenomenon affects Gen X’ers and Boomers and it’s illustrative of one lesson that everyone should take from these situations….
A high income isn’t everything.
I will say it again… A HIGH INCOME ISN’T EVERYTHING.
I put that extra emphasis on that statement because, in the United States at least, we tend to equate earning a high income with being rich or wealthy. If you make a lot of money, you can buy a lot of things. The logic makes sense on its face, but obscures the expenses the high income earner may incur (both to reach that income and to maintain that lifestyle).
Other factors at play include our inclination towards consumerism and consumption, stagnant wages in many economic sectors, our worship of the current idea of The American Dream (which fosters and encourages consumption), and a desire to look like our neighbors (i.e., keeping up with the Joneses).
And because this article is running a little long, I think I am going to make this a two-parter. Check out the next post, where I expand upon HOW high-income earners can feel like they just can’t get ahead.
