Happy Monday. Are You Richer Than The Average Millennial?

I hope I don’t get Clickbaited for that headline. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances for 2013, the median net worth of a person under 35 is $10,400. The Wall Street Journal’s headline is “It Only Takes $10,400 To Be Richer Than Most Millennials.” Only? I suppose we should consider the source. The average net worth, blown up by outliers like Mark Zuckerberg, is $75,500.

Given student loans, I think if you’re under 35 and manage to have a non-negative net worth, you are doing really, really well. And if not, it’s okay. Only love is real.

Incomes for most Americans, adjusted for inflation, have been falling in recent years. If you earn more than $35,300, you’re bringing in more than half of millennials, according to the Fed’s survey. In 2010, those under age 35 had median earnings of $37,600. That’s a drop of $2,300 during the past 3 years. (As an aside: These Fed statistics cover families headed by someone under age 35, roughly encompassing the entire adult millennial generation and some of the oldest members of Generation X, depending on the definitions used. It excludes millennials still living at home and thus counted as part of their parents’ families.)

The piece also mentions the fact that we are afraid of stocks. My theory is we witnessed the 2008 shit show and have been gun shy ever since. That is certainly my experience. When I got my startup stock windfall, I kept it in my savings account for a year — 2013, when the stock market saw like 30% growth. I can’t talk about it.

Here’s one spot of good news: fewer carry credit card debt. According to the Fed’s survey, 36.8% of those under 35 have credit card debt, down from 38.7% in 2010 and 48.5% in 2007.

I personally think The Billfold should take full credit for this. Or Logan should.

Anyway, please list your net worth in the comments.

(I keep typing ‘net worth’ as ‘net work’, omg.)

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