A time to spend

When it comes to money matters, today’s youngsters seem to a world apart from those of the previous generation. Cash doesn’t seem to be a privilege anymore — it’s a birthright, and that too in large quantities.

Plenty of parents and teachers complain that students and young professionals are much more nonchalant about money than they used to be — extravagance, it would appear, is the motto of living for many of them.

On the other hand, these young spenders have quite a different perspective. While they do admit to being rather casual about doling out large sums of cash for an attractive trinket or movie date, they don’t seem to believe there’s anything wrong about it. Metrolife speaks to a few to get their point of view.

Kundan, an engineering student, is a firm believer of the ‘you-live-only-once’ mantra.
Ask him about his generation’s supposed extravagance, and he says sheepishly, “I suppose that’s true, even in my case. There are many ways in which we spend our money — parties, clothes, and practically everything that catches our eye. At this age, I think that’s quite normal.”

He adds, “I feel that there’s a certain age for everything. Different generations have different views — so people might feel that youngsters today are too extravagant, but I think it’s alright. After all, as long as we’re not spending our money on the wrong things, what’s the harm?”

Others, however, feel that it’s silly to generalise across an entire generation of youngsters. Damsel, a student of Dayananda Sagar Institutions, points out, “It depends on the kind of background each individual comes from.

Of course, it’s true that compared to the previous generation, we do tend to spend more. But partly, parents are to blame for this because they’re the ones who are giving us the cash. I suppose that’s to be expected as the standard of living goes up.”

However, one point she does bring up is that youngsters today very rarely pay attention to saving their cash, or putting something aside for a rainy day. “That’s very uncommon; maybe one in ten youngsters do.

In general, the tendency is to not bother much. If someone needs cash, they
can always ask their parents,” she reasons.

Akshay, a student of Jain University, admits that the current generation does have a tendency to spend quite a bit — but he feels it’s entirely justified. “We like to go out to parties, movies and generally have fun with friends. Frankly, I think that because everything is so much expensive than it was when our parents were growing up, we do obviously need more cash,” he concludes.