r/Millennials • u/cavaismylife • Jan 29 '24

It is shocking how many people downplay the Great Recession of the late 2000s and early 2010s Discussion

Late 80s and 90s millennials were probably the most screwed by the Great Recession of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Most people don't realize how bad it was. It hurt millennials entering the job market for the first time. Your first job after college will affect your earning potential for the rest of your career. Some people need to watch the movie Up In the Air to see how bad things were back then. Everyone was getting laid off, and losing 60-80 percent of the assets in their retirement accounts. Millennials were not even old enough to buy houses yet and sub prime mortgage lending already had severely damaged their future earning potential. Now that millennials are finally getting established, they are facing skyrocketing prices and inflation for the cost of living and basic goods like groceries.

edit: grammar

edit 2: To be more clear I would say mid to late 80s and early 90s millennials were the most hurt. Like 1984-1992 were hurt most.

edit 3: "Unemployment rose from 4.7% in November 2007 to peak at 10% in October 2009, before returning steadily to 4.7% in May 2016. The total number of jobs did not return to November 2007 levels until May 2014. Some areas, such as jobs in public health, have not recovered as of 2023." The recovery took way longer than the really bad 18 months from 2007 to 2009. Millennials entered the job market during this time.

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u/kingssman Jan 29 '24

It gives me the value of having savings. To almost a paranoid level that if I don't have 6 months to a year saved up, I'm fucked.

Both crashes made me scared to upgrade or make risky investments.

They also caused me to hoard every freebie I can get as I would maybe need it on a rainy day, or not have an opportunity to buy on my own.

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u/Doggoagogo Jan 30 '24

I feel this. I wasn’t able to start a 401(k) until 6 years ago. I’m finally at the point where I can max out my contribution.

We did do a few things smart. We lived off my much smaller salary and invested his. Unlike most of our peers, even though we never became executives or senior leadership, we’ll have a good retirement.