Thursday, March 28

Black Millennials Are Way More Financially Savvy Than You Think

More black Millennials are starting to consider opening up a small business, and there is currently a big shift in the way that this demographic is viewing alternative financing, according to a survey from financial lender Merchant Cash USA.

Media Post reported that Millennials have a strong interest in pursuing careers as entrepreneurs, but black Millennials in particular are beginning to dominate the world of startups.

Data from the Pew Research Center suggests that there are just over 75 million Millennials in the U.S. today. While 40% of this group identifies as something other than white, 13% identify as black. This means that there are around nine million Millennials in the U.S. who identify as black, and millions more who identify as another mixed race.

Even with immense talent and ambition, it’s never been more obvious that the odds are stacked against young black Americans who want to find success running their own businesses.

Although one in 10 Baby Boomers believe that they’ll never retire, that still leaves 90% of all Baby Boomers confident that they’ll be able to retire comfortably — even if they work a bit longer than they would prefer. Millennials, however, are in a pretty rough spot. As CNBC reported, 25% of Millennials aren’t saving any money at all from month to month.

Media Post also noted that Millennials are under several different kinds of financial pressure. Not only is the student debt level higher than ever before, but Millennials are earning far less money than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers were in their 20s. Back in 2001, the average pre-tax income level for adults in their 20s was around $40,000; today, it’s around $35,000.

Income equality is a big problem in the country and it’s something that has affected black communities more so than white communities in the U.S. According to CNBC, however, research conducted by Ariel Investments shows that there has been a substantial increase in the number of black Millennials who are focused on long-term financial stability.

It makes sense, then, that young workers might feel more comfortable branching out and creating a startup when they’ve already begun participating in the stock market and organizing retirement plans.

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