For millennials, COVID-19 brings another wave of financial woes

Minnesota and the U.S. unemployment rates
Minnesota and the U.S. unemployment rates
David H. Montgomery | MPR News

One in two Americans reported having someone in their household either lose their job or have their hours cut during the pandemic, according to a recent poll from NPR, PBS Newshour and Marist.

Many millennials, who are now between the ages of 24 and 39, had the misfortune of entering the job market in a recovering economy — where competition was tight and wage growth was slow. Now they are being hit with layoffs and cuts to their salaries during a formative part of their career. The oldest members of Gen Z are facing a similarly uncertain situation.   

How will these events affect their financial futures? Is there anything they can do to minimize harm?

Two financial experts joined MPR News host Kerri Miller on Wednesday to share their advice.   

Guests:

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Kathy Hauer is a fee-only certified financial planner at Wilson David in South Carolina and author of the book “Financial Advice for Blue Collar America.” 

Sara Rathner is an author and credit cards expert at Nerd Wallet.


To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. 

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