Our entire lives, we were taught to follow a very straight path.

Go to school —> Get a job —> RETIRE  

But there are SO many things that went into that. We had to make sure not to get in trouble and to make good grades so that we could go to a “good” college. When you're in college you “need” to pick a major that will prepare you for the workforce and attend as many recruiting events as you could to land a job right out of college. Then you work that job, investing in your 401k or whatever retirement plan that they give you until you can retire, which is at the predetermined age of 65 based on most government’s legislature. 

Here’s a more realistic path (I know it is an eyesore to look at but that’s the beauty of life).

Based on the economy today in 2020 and the rising costs of education and debt, this seemingly simple path will be less and less attainable by future generations. Why? Well let’s get into the minutiae of things: 

Where you go to college matters . . . financially. 

Sure, going to an Ivy league school will open many doors for you in the future. I’m not going to debate that the network you get from these schools are invaluable. But they come at a steep cost. If you’re like the majority of college applicants that aren’t lucky enough to get financial aid and/or didn’t apply to enough merit based scholarships, you’re going to be slapped with an incredibly expensive bill. And even if you don’t go to a brand name school, a lot of private colleges cost upwards of $30,000-50,000 per year! You’ll be lucky to graduate with less than $100,000 in debt! 

Where you live may make or break your bank account. 

I would’ve killed to stay in the Bay Area after graduating, but unfortunately, none of my degrees could get me a job that would let me live better than a desperately broke college student. And I don’t know about you, but I like basic necessities like safety and quality sustenance that doesn’t include fried spam and ramen all day every day. So, you’ll have to pick a place that your cost of living doesn’t eat up all the money you worked so hard for with your new fancy high-paying job. Don’t forget that you’ve still got that debt from school to pay off before you can retire!

Healthcare is not cheap, but you need it. 

No matter where you are, your health will always follow you. And we all have those moments when we’ll need to go to our local Minute Clinic for some Tamiflu, so we can quickly get back to that grind. I mean every day you don’t work is one less productive day towards retirement. And if your job doesn’t offer decent benefits let alone benefits at all, those costs add-up - QUICKLY. 

Murphy’s Law will always hit you when you least expect it. 

Maybe your car needs to be fixed. Your apartment’s ceiling came down and decimated everything you own. Some jerk decides to swipe your laptop while you’re at a cafe. Or worse, your company decides to cut you loose. What then? 

Recommended posts: