In almost every way measurable, millennials in the U.S. at 40 are doing worse financially than the generations that came before them.
Fewer millennials own homes than their parents did at their age. They have more debt — especially student debt. They simply aren’t as wealthy.
Now, if predictions of a long, post-Covid economic boom are to be believed, this may be the last opportunity an entire generation has to build wealth before heading off into retirement.
For Kellie Beach, a real-estate attorney who turned 40 in April, that means starting by aggressively paying down her credit-card debt. Beach has cycled between periods of carrying balances and paying it all off. “I stayed afloat with credit cards,” she said. “I was just used to swiping and overspending.”
