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Author: Stern, Linda

Tamara Draut, author of "Strapped: Why America's 20-and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead," spoke to TIP SHEET's Linda Stern about how the young can save.

Struggling to make ends meet is a generational rite of passage, but it wasn't always as insurmountable. It's hard to navigate your way into adulthood when you're weighed down by five-figure student loans or entering a job market where wages are much lower than what the previous generation earned.

Yes. In 1972, the typical 25-to 34-year-old male with just a high-school diploma earned just over $42,000, adjusted for inflation. Today the typical earnings are $29,000. Meanwhile, the costs for all the basics--rent, child care, health care--have all grown faster than inflation.

Young people are experiencing paycheck paralysis. There are fewer middle-management jobs, which means they get stuck in entry-level positions for a longer period of time.

The credit line has fast become a lifeline. Seven out of 10 young people have credit-card debt, and the average debt is about $9,000.

Groceries, gas, car repairs.

We've got to end the debt-for-diploma system. We need to create more good jobs. We need to provide young families with the kinds of real support that's offered in every other industrialized nation, such as paid parental leave and affordable child care.

Most young people are already heeding the conventional financial advice and still not getting ahead: they're living with their parents, they're driving used cars, they're working full time and going to college. The previous generation understood that the personal is political, and fought for social change. This idea has been lost on our generation. The best financial advice I can give is for this generation to awake from its political slumber.

PHOTO (COLOR): LIFE 101: Big debts, low wages

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By Linda Stern