Working in the 2020s: Lessons Learned from the 2010s

Summary

WSJ Your Money Briefing

Episode: Working in the 2020s: Lessons Learned from the 2010s

Date: January 3, 2020
Host: J.R. Whalen
Guest: Julia Carpenter (WSJ Reporter), Christina Bose (Labor and Delivery Nurse)

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Episode Overview

This episode examines how young professionals who began their careers in the 2010s, in the shadow of the Great Recession, approach personal finances, work, and life goals as they enter the 2020s. The discussion, guided by Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Carpenter and guest Christina Bose, highlights recurring themes of financial anxiety, lessons learned from economic instability, and shifting financial priorities—especially a strong desire for debt freedom and emergency savings—among people in their twenties and thirties.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Lingering Impact of the Great Recession

• Many young adults entering the workforce during or after the 2008 recession still carry a sense of financial anxiety and instability.
• Financial Anxiety:
  • Julia Carpenter relays that “financial anxiety kept coming up again and again” (02:39). Many prioritize security over traditional financial milestones.
  • Not feeling “in the weeds, not climbing up out of nothing” has become a major aspiration (02:39).

2. Personal Experiences from the Last Decade

• Christina Bose's Story:
  • Christina was a teenager during the recession. While her family remained relatively stable, she witnessed friends and their families struggle, including bankruptcies and job losses (03:42).
  • Quote: “I do remember driving around, stores were closing. My boyfriend's family… actually declared bankruptcy in that time. But…luckily it wasn’t too personally affected.” (03:42)

3. Shifting Financial Priorities and Goals

• Stability over Success:
  • Young adults are less concerned about rapid advancement and more about building a cushion against setbacks (04:25).
  • Quote: “I want to make sure that I'm never in a position where I'm, like, really quaking in my boots, that I can't pay my bills.” — Christina (04:34)
• Debt as a Dominant Theme:
  • Christina took on different kinds of debt in her 20s—credit card, car, and substantial student debt for a master's degree (05:03).
  • Achieving “debt free” status is seen as a higher priority than milestones like homeownership or starting a family (07:06).
  • Julia observes a generational shift: “People who said, in the next decade, I want to be debt free. Debt free is my number one goal.” (07:06)

4. Lessons for Navigating a Future Recession

• Advice for the Next Generation:
  • Skills, adaptability, and income diversification are essential (06:05).
  • Quote: “Make sure you have multiple streams of income coming in, that you have an emergency fund… Otherwise you could be evicted or credit card bills start piling up and then you're worse off than you were before.” — Christina (06:05)

5. Multiple Jobs and Gig Work

• In response to instability and the need for extra savings or debt payments, many young adults take on extra jobs.
  • Christina adds: “I'm actually doing laser hair removal on the side, which sounds sort of silly, but it's actually kind of fun.” (06:40)

6. The Importance of Savings and Retirement Planning

• Younger workers emphasize the need for emergency funds and contributing to retirement accounts early.
  • Saving is both an accomplishment and an ongoing goal (08:01).
  • Julia shares an example: “I talked to one guy who said his biggest accomplishment… was contributing to a 401k… this is something that's changing the rest of my life.” (08:01)
• Many are “teaching themselves” financial basics like 401ks and HSAs due to lack of financial education (08:42).

7. New Approach to Milestones and Financial Habits

• The main focus of the 2020s is laying groundwork for longer-term goals like owning a home or starting a family, not rushing into them (09:22).
  • Quote: “This decade is about building…seeing, saving, seeing learning, seeing these goals as goals that are just as important.” — Julia (09:57)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Financial Anxiety:

  • "They just want to feel, not even successful, but just not in the weeds, not climbing up out of nothing." — Julia Carpenter (02:39)

• On Personal Stability:

  • “I want to make sure that I'm never in a position where I'm, like, really quaking in my boots, that I can't pay my bills.” — Christina Bose (04:34)

• On Managing Recession Risks:

  • "Make sure that you have multiple streams of income coming in, that you have an emergency fund." — Christina Bose (06:05)

• On New Financial Priorities:

  • “I talked to people who said, in the next decade, I want to be debt free. Debt free is my number one goal.” — Julia Carpenter (07:06)

• On Learning Financial Basics:

  • "I've had to teach myself how to contribute to a 401k, how to contribute to an HSA...he wants to learn about investing and he wants to be thinking about retirement." — Julia Carpenter, paraphrasing an interviewee (08:42)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:35–02:39: Introduction and context of post-Recession career and financial landscape
• 02:39–03:23: Julia Carpenter on widespread financial anxiety among young professionals
• 03:24–04:25: Christina Bose describes her experience of the Great Recession as a teenager
• 04:25–05:26: Debt management and Christina’s financial goals
• 05:26–06:05: Future aspirations: marriage, moving out, starting a family
• 06:05–06:35: Advice for navigating another recession: job security and emergency savings
• 06:35–06:49: Side gig for extra income
• 07:06–08:01: Growing priority of being debt-free over traditional milestones
• 08:01–08:42: Shift toward savings and retirement contributions
• 08:42–09:44: The importance of financial self-education for long-term security
• 09:44–10:08: Wrap-up: this generation’s emphasis on laying a stable foundation

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Summary Takeaways

• Young adults who entered the workforce post-2008 recession are more focused on financial security, debt reduction, and savings than previous generations.
• Financial anxiety and a desire for stability drive their choices, from taking on side gigs to prioritizing building an emergency fund.
• The traditional path of quick family/home milestones is being replaced by “building decades,” with an emphasis on getting financial ducks in a row before major life events.
• Self-education in finance is essential, and many are learning as they go, focusing on 401k, HSA, and investment basics.
• Resilience and adaptability, especially through multiple income streams and proactive savings, are seen as crucial survival tactics for unpredictable economies.

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This episode provides practical, real-world insight into the mindset of young professionals as they re-shape the approach to work, debt, and savings for the decade ahead.

Transcript

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[J.R. Whalen]

Here's your money briefing for Friday, January 3rd. I'm J.R. whalen at the Wall Street Journal in New York. It's the 2000 and twenties. The new year and New decade are an opportunity to set goals and revamp your personal finances. But what do we Learn from the 2010s? Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Carpenter spoke with several people who started their careers in the last decade as the country was slowly recovering from the effects of the Great Recession. We'll hear from one of them in a moment. But first, some money and market news you should know. More than 60 drug makers raised prices in the US on January 1st on average by 5.8%. That's according to data collected by RX Saving Solutions. Pfizer led the way, hiking prices by over 9% on more than 40 products. And AbbVie raised the price of its rheumatoid arthritis treatment, Humira, that's the world's top selling drug by 7.5%. The increases were on the drug's list prices, which are set by manufacturers before rebates, discounts and insurance co pays. Now drug makers argue that overall, their net prices have actually declined because of large rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate prices with employers and labor unions. US CEOs say that a recession is their top concern going into 2020. In a conference Board survey of corporate leaders, trade concerns and global political instability were also up on the list. Now global CEOs said that attracting and retaining top talent was their chief concern, followed by creating new business models because of disruptive technologies. The Conference Board projects that global growth will accelerate slightly this year to 2.5%. People who grew up during the recession and began their careers and the 2000 and tens are entering the 2000 and twenties having learned valuable lessons on debt, jobs and saving for retirement. And Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Carpenter spoke to a few of them and she's joining us to talk about it. So Julia, how much of a scar did the 2008 recession leave on young people?

[Julia Carpenter]

I think something that really struck me when I was talking to people about their goals for the coming decade and their accomplishments or Major shaping moments of the past decade was that financial anxiety kept coming up again and again. And I spoke with one woman who said she's paid down almost $50,000 of debt last year. It's something that's been a huge accomplishment for her. But her goal for the 2020s is just to feel okay. She said, I just want to feel like I can handle if something happens to my parents, if something happens to my partner. And that's something I heard again and again, is that people just want to feel secure. They just want to feel not even successful, but just not in the weeds, not climbing up out of nothing.

[J.R. Whalen]

Just a sense of peace of mind and stability.

[Julia Carpenter]

Yeah, totally.

[J.R. Whalen]

Well, let's bring in someone you spoke with for your story. Let's bring in Christina Bose. She's 26, a labor and delivery nurse from West Covina, California. Christina, you were about 16 when the financial crisis hit last decade. What do you remember about life before 2008 and life after 2008?

[Christina Bose]

I'm pretty fortunate that in my family, we were pretty much uncut because my dad got to keep his job before and after the financial crisis. But I do remember driving around, stores were closing. My boyfriend's family, they were worried that they would lose their house. Their parents actually declared bankruptcy in that time. But there were a lot of restaurants that were closing, stores were closing. And I would read a lot of articles in Time magazine when I used to read it that were saying that people weren't having children as much anymore, that everyone was losing their jobs. So I got to see it happen around me. But luckily it wasn't too personally affected.

[Julia Carpenter]

I remember when you and I talked about your goals, you were talking about how feeling stable, feeling secure, that's like a number one goal for you.

[Christina Bose]

Yes. I want to make sure that I'm never in a position where I'm, like, really quaking in my boots, that I can't pay my bills. I know that there are times when you're wondering, how am I going to pay this next bill? And you have to sort of scramble to find little gigs to piece it all together.

[J.R. Whalen]

Now, Christina, in the recovery that followed the recession, you felt comfortable enough to take on significant amounts of debt. What sort of debt did you take on?

[Christina Bose]

The debt that I was in at the time, it was about $4,000 worth of credit card debt because I was unemployed at the time. And then I still had about $4,000 worth left on my car, and I was paying for my master's degree in nursing. So that was at the time, maybe about $60,000 that I had left to pay off.

[J.R. Whalen]

And you have some pretty hefty goals ahead of you. You don't want the debt muscling in on those goals. What sorts of things do you look forward to in the next couple of years?

[Christina Bose]

I would like to get married. I'd like to move out of my parents house. I'm pretty traditional. And so as my boyfriend, we want to move in together once marriage is sort of on the table, and then we want to save up for an apartment and a house together.

[J.R. Whalen]

So let's say in about another 10 years a similar recession settles in. And you're talking to people roughly your age now, you know, about 25, 26 years old. How would you tell them to try to navigate through a recession?

[Christina Bose]

I would say to put themselves in the best position to find and keep a job. Sometimes it's unavoidable if your company folds or if whatever industry you're in decides to downsize. But make sure that you have multiple streams of income coming in, that you have an emergency fund, certain times that you really don't have money coming in because otherwise you could be evicted or credit card bills start piling up and then you're worse off than you were before.

[J.R. Whalen]

You know, you mentioned multiple streams of income. You're a labor and delivery nurse, but you also took on a second job.

[Christina Bose]

I did. So I'm actually doing laser hair removal on the side, which sounds sort of silly, but it's actually kind of fun. I get to meet a lot of new people.

[J.R. Whalen]

All right, Christina, thank you so much for being with us.

[Christina Bose]

Okay, thank you.

[J.R. Whalen]

You know, Julia, she mentioned the fact that she wants to. She took on a lot of debt after 2008. She felt the confidence to do that. Lots of life projects going on, but she wants to make sure all of that is wiped away before she embarks on other goals.

[Julia Carpenter]

I mean, I do also want point out that when Christina was taking on that debt for school and she's 26, so that was, that was not immediately after the recession, it was a little bit after. But a lot of people I talk to, being debt free is one of their goals. I think maybe in decades past you would see people say, in the next decade, I want to own a house. In the next decade, I want to own a second house in the next decade, I want to do this. And I talked to people who said, in the next decade, I want to be debt free. Debt free is my number one goal. And I've talked to people who say I Would prefer to be debt free before I kind of achieve those other goals, before I have a wedding, before I have kids.

[J.R. Whalen]

And Christina mentioned also having some sort of savings and going. And for this age group maybe more than any others, except for a generation that lived as young adults coming out of the Depression in the early 20th century, they're learning hard lessons about the value of savings.

[Julia Carpenter]

Totally. I mean, something that's really struck me in researching this project is that people report saving as a goal or people report saving as an accomplishment. I mean, it's one and it's, it's both. They say, I'm so proud of what I've saved. I'm so proud that I've put this money away here. I talked to one guy who said his biggest accomplishment of the past decade was contributing to a 401k. He said, I point to that he's in law school, he's, you know, preparing to get married. He's crossed off a lot of other goals. But he points to that and says, this is something that's changing the rest of my life. This is something that makes me feel secure.

[J.R. Whalen]

And that was a common thread among a lot of folks you spoke to. Contributing to 401k and developing a retirement nest egg is really important to them.

[Julia Carpenter]

I spoke with one man, Jeremy, he is in his first job and he mentioned that one of his big goals for the 2020s, in addition to saving for a house, is just learning more about all of that stuff. And he said, I've had to teach myself so much of this. I had to teach myself how to contribute to a 401k, how to contribute to an HSA. And now he wants to learn about investing and he wants to be thinking about retirement.

[J.R. Whalen]

And these so called kids of the 2000 and tens are now embarking on the 2000 and twenties. And it's not as if it's going to be their Life Experience 2.0. They sort of want to make sure they have all their ducks in order before they then embark on the next biggest milestones in their lives.

[Julia Carpenter]

So many people I talked to, they had graduated from school in the 2010s. They were starting their first jobs in the 2010s. And when they think about the 2020s, they don't think, okay, now fast forward, family, house, you know, all of these big goals. They think my important next goal for the 2000 and twenties is to set myself up for those goals. Those things can happen in the next decade. This decade is about building and they

[J.R. Whalen]

could learn a lot from this particular piece of the generation that was 16, 17 years old and has seen a recession as well as the recovery. But these folks who are coming out of college, all they have known is a runaway economy.

[Julia Carpenter]

There's a lot to be said for building these habits and prioritizing building these habits and seeing, saving, seeing learning, seeing these goals as goals that are just as important.

[J.R. Whalen]

All right. That's Wall Street Journal personal finance reporter Julia Carpenter with us. Julia, thanks for coming on the show.

[Julia Carpenter]

Thanks for having me.

[J.R. Whalen]

And that's your money briefing. I'm JR Whalen in New York for the Wall Street Journal.

[Deel Advertiser]

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