Subsidized in the City

I agree totally with this article. It has meant so much more to me to pay for my own university education and not accept any money from my parents. Sure, I'm not wealthy, but I feel confident knowing that I am completely independent. I, like Ms. Serafino, have many friends that receive money from their parents or have their entire education paid for, and it's wrong. Like she says, how are we ever supposed to gain financial independence if we're still in our twenties and haven't cut the apron strings yet?

I agree with the Ms. Serafino, it is important to get out on your own, be financially independent, and learn to live on a budget. That being said, I think Ms. Serafino is selling our generation short. I am 23 and financially independent from my parents. They put me through college and helped me learn about managing money by setting me up with a credit card when I was 20. I did not go on spending sprees, and using the card taught me to keep track of my expenses. I used to the card for necessities only because I believe my parents were doing enough by paying for school. Since I graduated, my credit card has been completely in my name and I pay all of the bills. I don't live in Manhattan; I live outside because it is cheaper. I keep a budget and mange to save a little money each month. Similarly, all of my friends from college are independent from their parent's purse strings. Ms. Serafino's friends are not great examples of our generation, and perhaps she should think about looking outside her social circle for examples of what???s normal. If she looks beyond her friends she detailed for this article, Ms. Serafino will find her habits are not unusual. I think that Ms. Serafino, my friends, and I are a better representative sample of our generation.

A college education is what you make of it. I know plenty of people that attended well-respected private institutions and ended up doing nothing more than working part-time hoping their resume surfaces among the countless others in the same position looking for jobs. 75% of the college experience does not come from the classroom but from the social experience and personal growth. That being said, graduating from a private institution by no means garauntees immediate and lucrative job placement...being well-rounded, mature and driven contributes just as much, if not more. Many people put themselves through college and that is to be commended as not everyone has to live with the burden of debt on that level at such a young age. At the same time, are private OR publicly schooled young adults supposed to apologize for their parents' success and ability to provide a college education for their children? Of course not. Anyone who suggests otherwise is blinded by bitterness and insecurity. When it comes down to it, this well-written and insightful article brings to light a discussion that I'm sure we have all had amongst friends or coworkers, etc. at one point or another. This is strictly a opinion peice written by Melody and clearly many of you have missed that simple point. Personal attacks on the author merely serve to 'stroke' your own ego (not to name names but I AM talkign to you Kreskin) so think twice before accusing someone of something you are guilty of yourself.
All in all, very well written and throughtful article, keep up the good work! Go QU Football!!!

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As a twentysomething woman, I find a lot of things within this article that I agree and disagree with. While others feel that she is not making broad claims on this topic to the twentysomething community, I strongly disagree with this. Going to my parents for financial help does not make me less of an adult. I agree that most twentysomethings are not financially savvy but when the focus of her article is on her catty and spoiled friends, it's tough to see where she is focusing only on one portion of this group.

I was personally offended and pissed off when I read this. As a twentysomething woman living in Chicago, I can pay my own rent, utilities and food/shopping bills with no help from my parents. It doesn't make me less of an adult to ask for help when things like medical expenses come up. To make broad generalizations about twentysomething men/women like Ms. Serafino is absolutely unfair. Maybe she just has catty and spoiled friends, who should not be labeled as the "symbol" of twentysomethings in this country.

This article is a huge ego stroking waste of space!! The bottom line is, MS. SERAFINO WOULD NOT BE WHERE SHE IS TODAY if it wasn't for HER PARENTS PAYING FOR HER ENTIRE F-ING EDUCATION and NURSING HER ON A SILVER SPOON. SHE'S AN EGOTISTIC HYPOCRITE!!! I highly DOUBT SHE COULD MAKE IT "ON HER OWN" IN NYC if she came from the background of someone LESS FORTUNATE (90% of the US population). This is NOT REALITY and yes people who had to PAY THEIR OWN WAY (a large portion of people who attend college) ARE P*SSED OFF at someone who had her entire education PAID IN FULL by her PARENTS (and most likely still recieving a stipend to some degree) trying to dish out advice!!! Don't try to write us off as bitter or jealous because we won't swallow this PIECE OF SHITE ARTICLE without question. She believes that ANYONE can make it on their own in NYC, if they just give up the "SUPERFLOUS" spending!!! She is COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH and the fact that this article is appearing in Newsweek is indeed her OFFERING HER ADVICE TO MORE THAN JUST HER ELITIST FRIENDS, but to everyone who subscribes to it. If she wasn't attempting to STROKE HER EGO, she would have just done an intervention with her fellow SILVER SPOONERS!!! Yes, PEOPLE ARE P*SSED that this is trying to be passed off as LEGITIMATE JOURNALISM!!! To everyone defending her...BUY A F-ING CLUE!!! And just because we're opposed to Ms. Serafino's views DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE DEFENDING HER FRIENDS nor STILL RECIEVING $$$ FROM OUR PARENTS. It just means that we REALLY had to MAKE IT ON OUR OWN!!!!

Hmmm... And what of the people driving costs up by buying homes that they will see one week out of the year as it is on Cape Cod, my home town. I am not envious of the rich, I am disgusted. I think you ought to be ashamed of the fact that you own enough property to house a thousand people and yet they remain empty year-in and year-out. There are families, hard-working, decent people, living in their cars because they cannot afford the rent where they work in the same country that we regularly see people buying thousand dollar shoes. For shame! I am all for being proud of your accomplishments, but I hope that, being as most high paying jobs benefit no one but the person working them, you practice altruism and spread your wealth around.

This generation (born between 1980 and 1995 or so) IS CALLED THE "BOOMERANG GENERATION", as in no time in America's history have so many kids RETURNED HOME after college, needing some form of their parents support....
WHY? No jobs! or Full-time Jobs with WAGES SO LOW that the HIGHEST HOUSING COSTS ARE UNAFFORDABLE unless mom and dad help out or at least guarantor the loan. Why all THIS HOUSING/JOB COMPETITION? **************IMMIGRATION, both legal and illegal, causes higher housing costs and more
JOB COMPETITION.

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF AMERICA. We've added 150 million immigrants and their children to our society in the past 50 years, and wonder why are cities are so expensive and jobs so hard to get. Then blame the kids when they can't find work (substantial decent work) or pay the rent.
Some can, some can't.

SINGLE PARENT HOMES... "Mommy Doesn't Like To Work".... "Daddy Took Off"... "We're poor and have 5 kids" (bright idea!)... Affirmative Action...
CLASS RESENTMENT. Daddy drives a BMW but refuses to save money for me to go to college- so I guess I'll just take it out on the kid who's parents are RESPONSIBLE and save for their children.

To "newsfreak"...

Why should I support you if your parent's aren't providng enough...that is what "social" programs are me supporting you with my hard earned money through taxation. You think your pay check doesn't go far enough now...imagine how much less it will cover when Obama and his Marxist cronies take 50%+ to pay for all your "social" programs. If your job doesn't support your lifestyle no matter how thrifty - you have two choices get thriftier or get another job whether its a second job or a higher paying job. Quit whining and pay your own bills all of them...like I do!

How ironic that an article about finical independence features ads for the social program let the government (your fellow citizen) pay your way "Socialist Messiah" himself !

This problem is not new. My father had an allowance from his mother's small pension until he was 30 years old and she passed away. This decision made him the worst manager of money that I can image. I hear stories of him buying his first boat with his school loans. At the age of 54, he still rents a house, because he does not have the credit to buy. At 26, I am the most ficiely independent women you can imagine. My mother and I are very close. We have split everything 50/50 since I graduated from college. This includes vacations, diners out, entertainment and buying presents for family members I pushed myself to graduate from a private college 3 years with a 3.98 GPA to prevent the accumulation of additional school loans. The wisdom in my house (which I qualified for myself and paid my first mortgaged pmt on my 25th birthday) is your children will act as old as you treat them. The longer you treat them like spoiled children that are unable to take care of themselves, the longer they will act like children.
We have learned a good way to spot these 'adults' is if they have never offered to pay for a dinner out with their parents unless it was a special day. We are creating a generation that no independent man or woman wants to marry.