So here I am, a 28 year old, who works full time for a wonderful company whom I am loyal. I am married, paying off a ridiculous amount of debt for a college degree, also paying off debt for a home which isn’t worth what I owe on it and will probably continue to lose value while having some “expert” tries to define me. Well, I say no thanks! I refuse to be lumped in with such absurd stereotypes!

Marriage: I’m not interested in marriage at this age. It’s more of a personal decision, because I know a handful of people in my age bracket that are engaged or married.

Living at home: I felt upon graduating, Spr. 2010, this was the best decision for me. I happened to land a job 20-30 mins away from where my parents live. My reason for staying here is 1) The area I live in is expensive (though I could pay it), I am paying for school out of pocket, I am able to save (not for anything in particular), and I have actually become closer to my brother (7-8 age difference).

Interest in money: I am highly interested in money. Not in terms of saving, but seeing the process, and researching and learning new methods and strategies that affect my money is interesting to me. The ability to maximize my earning potential and create/pursue supplemental avenues of income is almost like a game in my eyes. It is fun.

Saving: Saving, for my generation, is hard, mainly because most have loans (school is over-priced), and the jobs, unless you’re in a sought after field, start entry-level pay too low. But, we are interested in saving, once everything is paid off, take another survey in 10 years, and see how our generation is fairing. As for myself, I love saving. As stated before, it is almost like a game to me, seeing the different ways to save and what will maximize my profit (mutual funds, stocks, etc). I would say a majority of my savings would not be possible if I lived at home, but there are some that decide to splurge and live an expensive lifestyle because they do live with their parents. So, having personal financial discipline is a major contributor in this category.

People just don’t make this stuff up, a majority of Gen Y fits the mold which creates the stereotype in the first place. Then we spend the rest of the time trying to prove them false. We shouldn’t allow them to form in the first place.

I found it very interesting to read the stereotypes listed and I don’t know if it is because I am about 5 years younger than everyone else that has posted but I DO agree with most of them in reference to myself and my friends.

“Generation Y isn’t interested in marriage.” – I’m not married, and no where near being there. In fact the only friends I can think of that ARE married are either religious or involved in the military.

“Generation Y thinks it’s OK to live with parents longer.” – Totally. I still live at home, my brother only just left to live in a rental and he is 24 and most of my friends live at home. Part of my reasoning is that I travel about 6 months of the year, every year, so when I come home I need a place with little to no rent where I can save to go away again. Having said that though, I love my dad and I love living there! I enjoy being part of my family and as much as I love my friends, I love a break.

“Generation Y isn’t interested in money.” – Definitely disagree with this. Gen Y is so interested in money. Not so much making it, but definitely having it. We’ve grown up with iphones, ipods, laptops, digital cameras – all costing money, and people and shows like Paris Hilton, Gossip Girl, the OC – where everyone has money but doesn’t really do anything for it. So we definitely are interested in having money, I would just say that a large percentage don’t want to work for it.

“Generation Y doesn’t save.” – Very true. Every time I go out people tell me how they have no money, and I am the same. I can save extremely well, and do, to travel overseas or to buy new things, but in terms of general savings for life – nope. Although, to be fair, I can think of a couple of friends who have purchased houses or are looking to do so, so they must be saving!

“Generation Y thinks it’s OK to live with parents longer” — Nope. Like I said, everyone I know is already married by now. I’ve lived on my own since I was 23, and even then most of my friends were either married or living with friends or significant others.

“Generation Y isn’t interested in money” — True. We decide the quality of life we want to have and try to get enough money to have it. The problem here is that most of us are slaves to shiny new gadgets and being trendy.

“Generation Y doesn’t save” — The fact that in our generation EVERYONE is a college graduate means that jobs anyone who is decently literate and trainable should be able to perform are suddenly requiring a Bachelor’s degree and 3 years’ experience, and also that EVERYONE is saddled with debt before they even get started as an adult. Therefore, it hasn’t been until the past year or so (and I’m 28) that I’ve had 2 spare dimes to rub together at the end of a month after my expenses (which are admittedly higher than most because I live alone, which is more expensive than sharing).

“Generation Y feels the American dream is not for us” — I agree with this, to the extent that I never want the responsibility of owning a home. I don’t feel that the benefits are worth the costs. I also feel that part of the American dream entails marrying your high school or college sweetheart, and since I had neither I’ve already failed at it anyway.

I should add, even though I am 28, and as such an in-betweener as far as Gen X vs. Gen Y, I tend to come down more often on the side of Gen X. My parents were Boomers (well, my dad is solidly Boomer, but my mom was born in 1959, so is in between Boomer and Gen X), grandparents remember the Depression, even if they weren’t quite old enough to serve in WWII… Perhaps more importantly, I grew up associating mostly with people older than me, and my closest friends tend to be 5-10 years older than I am.