A great discussion starter if there every was one! And now we have some research from Facebook to see how millenials are answering the question:

• They want to pay down debt (their #1 priority), as evidenced by this word cloud on how they talk about credit cards:

• They want to save (with 86% reporting that they are saving) and here is the word cloud showing how they talk about saving:

Two ideas on how to use this information:

• Have students create their own word clouds and then compare with other students in the class to see what phrases come to mind most often when thinking about 1) credit cards and 2) saving.

• Ask students to respond to what they see in these word clouds.
  • Do they think about these terms the same way? How are they similar? How are they different (for example, student loans is quite a small category when it comes to the saving word cloud and may be a bigger concern for certain students)?
  • Are there questions they have about why certain terms would show up in these word clouds? For example, what do they think that “too risky” refers to when it comes to saving.
  • Why do you think that Millenials have these attitudes about money?

Enjoy!

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

More posts by Tim