Young Workers Are Getting Poorer, Study Shows
Forget young and glamorous. Today's career climbers are young and broke.
And I'm not just talking about new graduates. According to a USA Today study, folks from college-age to early 50s have been watching their incomes dwindle since 2000, leaving much of the current workforce poorer than in the 1970s.
It's not all good news for the older workers, either. Though their income is being boosted by social security and pensions, it's also higher because they are increasingly postponing retirement, continuing to work into their golden years - and crowding younger workers from the job market in the process.
For every two steps forward, it seems like we're taking one step back. But despite the news, the job market isn't all doom and gloom. There's still hope.
Women, for instance, are losing income at a disproportionately lower rate than men. They've also continued to close the inequality gap. In 2000, women earned 25% less than men, but that number dropped to 23% in 2008. Obviously there's still a long way to go, but we're moving in the right direction.
And here's another fact to boost your spirits: You don't have to put up with a low salary. While you can't snap your fingers and make yourself rich, you do retain some control over your income - despite what your boss may think. How? Because it's up to you how to spend it.
If you can put a small portion of every paycheck towards paying down your debts - credit card, medical, tax, or otherwise - you'll save potentially thousands on interest, freeing up all that extra cash. Think of it as a much-needed raise, courtesy of yourself. Worried you can't afford to pay off your debt? Even if you can't manage to part with your pay, you can still take advantage of a time-tested solution for reducing debts and gaining control over your finances - bankruptcy. Filing for Chapter 13 can stop foreclosure and protect you from creditor harassment while giving you an affordable way to whittle away your debts - and reveal a richer future.
Stop fretting over your finances and find out if a bankruptcy plan can boost your income by filling out our free one-on-one debt analysis online. Whether you're young or old, our Atlanta bankruptcy attorneys can help get you back on the path to financial freedom.