In a couple months us seniors will be moving on into the real world. If that’s college or straight to work, everyone has to make a living. Are we ready? There are many factors to take into account, from inflation to wages and time actually spent working; there’s many things that need to be balanced to live the life you want.
Yet the world is becoming more and more expensive for teenagers. The average amount of money made per week for a teenager is about $325. That in itself seems a good amount of money. When I received my first paycheck, I was ecstatic that I made the money I worked for. But then I had to get gas, help pay off my car and other expenses and watched that paycheck drain.
So I began to wonder, when I go to college, how much will life actually change? I doubt I’ll work full time, as I need to pass college with good grades – but if I don’t work more, I most likely couldn’t live on campus. I’d have to stay home to build up a serious savings. So do I risk the chance of not achieving my goals completely, or do I ignore college life?
I believe many teens will be running into this wall very soon. Everything is becoming more expensive, and nothing significant is being done to stop it.
To better convey the point that teens won’t be making enough to live like those in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to the Social Security Administration, the average U.S. salary was $31,633 in the year 2000. In the last 24 years, that number has gone up just $7,000.
That’s not a large increase for the average American, and even worse for the average teenager, who typically can’t work full time. The majority of teenagers will be making much less than that every year, so there’s not really any wiggle room for extra activities that cost money.
Nearly all teenagers rent their first residence after moving out of their parents’ home, thats is if they move out. If they rent on campus or just an apartment to live closer to their job, it’s likely to be expensive. Rent in the U.S. is skyrocketing, costing the average Nebraskan around $1,340 dollars a month. That amounts to $16,200 dollars a year. Most if not all teenagers working wouldn’t be able to afford that with school.
But what if you go to college? Well, depending on your degree, you’re almost guaranteed to earn more money when you enter the workforce full time. So you’d have to worry less about rent or other basic expenses because you’re simply making more. But going to college adds another debt to the list, and depending on the degree, it can be a pretty penny.
Currently I work four days a week part time. I have no freedom on the weekends for my time or school, and the weekdays are dedicated nearly purely to school. I don’t see that changing much in college. If anything, I’d work less, because it’s one of the more important things in my life that I need to succeed in.
On top of that, not all of us will or want to go to college. Some immediately want to move into the workforce, and whilst it can be beneficial for a long career, it can be a struggle to start. Many people won’t start a job making a large wage, least of all a teenager who just graduated from high school.
There’s a multitude of opportunities for growth, but like a double-edged sword, there’s plenty of actions that can cripple you economically. The market will always fluctuate, it will always change, but the only way we can get through it is with time, dedication and the will to strive on.
No one’s alone in this. Circumstances may be different, but all of our pockets are bleeding. Simple habits such as making sure you store a percentage of your paycheck away in a savings account, or balancing your spending will certainly help in the long run.
I’m not here to point fingers or act like an economist, because I’m not, but I notice more and more the lack of awareness that we shouldn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck, we shouldn’t have to struggle to eat. I don’t want to worry about things like this, nor does anyone else. Here’s hoping basic spending habits and savings are enough to move through this.
