Last week, I spoke with personal-finance writer Greg Karp about how young adults can save money. We brainstormed ideas for one of his upcoming newspaper columns. “I’m willing to bet that many young people can save money by cutting back on their cell phone,” I said. “It’s kind of shocking how these have become a Need instead of a Want.”
“Yeah,” Karp said. “And what about prepaid phones?”
“I don’t know anything about them,” I said.
“They’re great,” Karp said. “My wife and I are saving hundreds of dollars a year by switching to prepaid phones. I’ll send you a link to an article I wrote.”
It turns out that Karp is something of a prepaid phone evangelist. But no wonder! In this piece from last December, he describes the benefits of switching two cell phones in his household to prepaid:
The net result is savings of about $800 per year, compared with a family plan through a major contract wireless carrier. I haven’t missed my former plan at all. And I’ve cut my monthly cell phone cost to less than $10. My reception and call quality are actually better.
Karp documented his plunge into prepaid phones with two posts to his blog. In the first, he explains why he decided to make the change. In the second, he actually describes the process of switching to prepaid. (This last post was very helpful to me. My big hang-up on making these sorts of changes is figuring out how to actually do them.)
I’m in the middle of an iPhone contract with AT&T but I generally don’t come anywhere close to using all of my 450 monthly minutes. (I had accumulated thousands of rollover minutes until I blew those all away with a phone-intensive business project in March.) I’m willing to consider moving to pre-paid once my current contract is over. When I do, I’ll check out the following providers:
Consumer Reports had an article in its January 2009 issue about how to buy a prepaid phone. Also, check out the following from 20-Something Finance: A review of Net10’s prepaid wireless service
That last article contains some shocking numbers. In the U.S., only 16% of adults use prepaid phones, but:
Elsewhere around the world, prepaid is the norm. Prepaid market share is 35 percent in France, 66 percent in the United Kingdom, 76 percent in Hong Kong, and 90 percent in Italy, according to a recent Federal Communications Commission report.
Basically, major consumer advocacy organizations are proponents of prepaid cell phones, and they’re beginning to catch on among the financially savvy. But so long as it’s more profitable to pitch traditional cell plans, you’re not likely to see a mass movement to prepaid in the United States.
Addendum: Consensus among the commenters seems to be that prepaid cell phones make sense for those who are low-volume users. If you’re a heavy cell phone user, you’re probably still better off with a contract. Your best bet is to spend the time to run the numbers.
Everyone agrees that the COVID-19 outbreak is set to have a long lasting impact on the U.S. economy, and the housing market is no exception.
In a new report this week, Apartment List has outlined some of the long-term changes it thinks will affect real estate.
1.
Reduced mobility
The
report notes that people’s mobility will be much lower than it was
previously, before spiking.
“Geographic
mobility generally declines during downturns, when a lack of job
opportunities catalyze fewer long-distance moves across market or
housing upgrades,” the report said.
A
moratorium on evictions and foreclosures will also help to reduce
mobility, but analysts say they predict a spike in people moving home
once the outbreak ends.
“Many
upgrade and downgrade moves will be postponed rather than canceled,
creating a reshuffling of households throughout the recovery,” the
researchers note.
There
will also likely be a future wave of movement as people relocate
following the outbreak in search of jobs, or to be closer to their
family. Young people are also likely to want to flee the next to form
their own households.
2.
Less affordable homes on the market
Experts
say affordable rentals and homes for sale are likely to be impacted.
Both were in short supply even before the pandemic, and the situation
will get worse, they say.
“Fewer
people moving means fewer homes available,” the report noted. “With
both pandemic and policy keeping people in place, affordable units
will become even more rare through the 2020 peak season.”
Luxury
apartment inventory, on the other hand, may be abundant.
3.
Housing inequality will increase
Those in the higher-earner wage bracket will likely take advantage of lower borrowing costs and refinance in order to reduce their mortgage payments. But lower-income households will struggle with the sluggish economic and rising competition for the remaining low-cost homes available.
“As
shelter-in-place orders cover a growing share of the nation, those
who are able to work remotely are at a distinct economic advantage,”
the report said. “Unfortunately, a correlation between income and
the ability to work from home reveals that the lowest earners will be
hit hardest by these measures. Fifty-two percent of full-time workers
who earn more than $100,000 annually say they can work from home. But
only 15% of workers who earn less than $25,000 are able to work from
home.”
4. Sight-unseen purchases will grow
Experts
say they’re also expecting an increase in the number of people who
buy a new home sight-unseen.
“Many
apartment communities are already enabling virtual tours in response
to the pandemic, and many renters and owners alike may soon be
evaluating their next home through a tablet screen,” the report
found. “Mainstream adoption of sight-unseen moves will bring both
opportunities and challenges for the housing market.”
Mike Wheatley is the senior editor at Realty Biz News. Got a real estate related news article you wish to share, contact Mike at [email protected]
Here in the United States, as is the case in Europe, the term “global perspective” is often overused. The world has become unbelievably interconnected in many ways but remains largely ethnocentric or egocentric in others. Take the scale of the challenge of complexities that make Russia interesting to architects and urban planners, for instance. While the world seems preoccupied with crises and chaos, everywhere urban culture is evolving. And nowhere is this more evident than inside Russia.
I was just reading this report from Markus Appenzeller, the Head of the Urbanism at the Academie van Bouwkunst Amsterdam, where he delves into the complex nature of opportunities in big Russian cities outside Moscow and St. Petersburg. For most readers, anyplace besides Moscow or St. Petersburg (perhaps) will seem almost as foreign as another planet. And where real estate, design, and planning are concerned, cities like Kazan, Irkutsk, of even Vladivostok might as well be in another galaxy. That said, for the progressive out there a look at the evolutionary changes inside Russia can be a real eye-opener.
A New Cultural Dynamism
Take Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains, as an example. Interesting for its post-Soviet era developments, this city on the frontier between Europe and Asia is unbelievable because of the improvisational aspects similar to those in Berlin, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, and other cities where style/cultural dynamism exists. The city is one of those European architects and planners have identified as having not only fantastic future developmental potential but for already being capable of formulating their demand. Of course, this is the perspective from outside. Inside Russia, since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s economic ideas came into focus, the country’s most brilliant and innovative developers have thrived. Their work is shining and resilient if you look at the Moscow skyline today, at Sochi, in Kazan, and almost every major urban center.
The Appenzeller report for MLA+ also contains an interview conducted with Anton Finogenov, who’s now the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Investment Policy of the Leningrad region, brings to light how the World Cup and other events sped the transformation of Russia’s urban landscape. However, underneath these transformative cases, the country’s creative dynamos build out a lasting future. And Ekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals, Russia’s third city, home of Russian constructivism and Russian street art, is a special case. Of all the developing centers, Ekaterinburg has the most eclectic heart. Young people migrate here for the university, to seek careers in big industry, technology, and for the arts, but this crossroads of Asia and Europe was once divided by stark cultural/architectural division.
Enter Brusnika, a real estate developer founded in Tyumen, Siberia back in 2004. The firm that started with a new vision of Russian residential development, has grown to be one of the country’s top 5 biggest real estate development firms, according to Forbes. With offices in Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Surgut, and Moscow, Alexei Krukovsky’s company is one of the most successful developers anywhere in Asia or Europe. I have introduced to Russian architectural advances some years ago as the publisher of Our Russia magazine. A recent inquiry by a friend in Ekaterinburg for a world-class photographer led me to Bruniska, a company I’d heard about in passing some years back.
A highlight reel for this fast-growing Russian firm would surely feature one of Brusnika’s most interesting developmental cooperations, Kandinsky House in the center of Ekaterinburg. The fine outline of the edifice is a symbol of what the new Russia so many geopolitical experts talk about. It’s new-age iconic for a fairly simple reason. Its design represents a paradigm shift toward modernity, while at the same time creating the perfect compromise between Ekaterinburg’s incongruent visual perspectives. Given the city’s remaining specs of pre-Soviet architecture, and the sketchy Communist-era buildings, the tasks Bruniska accomplished was no small feat of improvisational genius.
The Kandinsky project came to fruition as a result of the international cooperation between world-renowned players like AHR Architects (previously part of the Aedas Group), Minotti, Lundwall Architects AB, Greenhance landscaping, and Itatech construction management.
Ad-libbing Meets Excellence
In a report from Elena Trubina of Ural Federal University, she and author Martin Müller encapsulate the essence of what makes Russia’s fourth biggest city so fascinating architecturally and culturally:
“Improvisation arises from the encounter between plan and event. It actualizes the city multiple: the possible other worlds that are immanent in situations and that are always able to dislodge the present one. Situations that people, planners, and politicians anywhere, particularly in Ekaterinburg, are all too familiar with. So there is a richness in improvisation in Ekaterinburg that makes for diversity and nuance in theorizing improvisation.”
Incidentally, what makes Bruniska’s and AHR’s collaboration at Kandinsky House so meaningful is their embracing of Russian urban improv to patch new luxurious lifestyle into such an opposed urban landscape. This is, in fact, the essence of the new Russia so few westerners know about. Since Vladimir Putin assumed leadership in the late 1990s, Russian cities have exploded, not only in size but in style and character. Few outside Eastern Europe are familiar with traditional Russian homeownership, and fewer still realize the Russian Datcha (a second summer home in the countryside) model.
In America, clusters of homes off major highways became the familiar model, but eastern Europeans grew accustomed to residential flats in the cities and dreamed of country homes set in nature. In the cities, micro districts of high rises surrounding public places are still the modus, only the quality of life, and in the inherent design in these spaces has taken off. So, Brusnika’s Kandinsky House on the Iset River in the historic heart of Ekaterinburg is a prime example of extremely high-quality mixed-use high-rise design.
Though the target clientele of this development is higher than normal income resident, Kandinsky House reflects not only new-age Russian commercial design but a mix of European ideas and neo-classical Russian facets. Advanced materials, technologies, and jaw-dropping Spartan aesthetics are melded into a new kind of minimalism. At least this is my perception.
The overall effect of Kandinsky House, and other Bruniska developments, is a subtle enhancement of the surrounding urban landscape. The developers manage this by combining standardization with amazing customization elements.
To learn more about the project, I caught up with the AHR Director Martin Hyams (above), to ask about the architect’s take on Brusnika’s focus with the Kandinsky House project. Here’s what the project’s lead architect has to say:
“Brusnika is a rare client with a visionary leader and a forward-looking professional team that appreciated the added value of international expertise in their projects and how it could positively steer their target real estate markets both in terms of end-user expectation as well as construction.”
Hyams went on to say how the overall human-centered approach the companies initiated ended up with what he called “a number of market-changing developments that enhance individual lives and create thriving communities.”
Reimagined Russian Urbanism
I mentioned my friend and one of America’s best photographers earlier in this story. Well, the best summary I can offer for this story is what came out of Jay Thomas’ (one of my oldest friends) mouth when he arrived back home after the photoshoot. “Phil, I had no idea how majestic and modern these Russian cities were.” A native of the American south, and an artist who’s shot hundreds of locations and brands in America, he’s not one to be so easily impressed.
I mention this to emphasize how brilliant ideas and achievements can be easily lost if we confine ourselves to compartmentalized ideas and ideals. Imagine my friend of 50 years visiting Russia for the first time. This is a guy from a prominent family who graduated high school at 18, took a sabbatical and traveled to Alaska to sign onto a fishing boat, and returned to the lower 48 after a 1,200-mile kayak trip through the wilds – exclaiming Russian achievements. I have other such stories, for those interested.
There’s this Russian saying, I hope I can get it right. Большо́му кораблю́ — большо́е пла́вание, roughly translates to mean: “Remarkable people make a big impact in the world.” This is true whether we see their remarkable accomplishments, or not. And now that I’ve introduced Brusnika’s, Russia’s, and these other companies’ efforts, maybe their progress will come full circle in some future American or European project? At least this is a hopeful possibility during these trying times.
Phil Butler is a former engineer, contractor, and telecommunications professional who is editor of several influential online media outlets including part owner of Pamil Visions with wife Mihaela. Phil began his digital ramblings via several of the world’s most noted tech blogs, at the advent of blogging as a form of journalistic license. Phil is currently top interviewer, and journalist at Realty Biz News.
This week, the Joint Center For Housing Studies at Harvard University released this year’s “State of the Nation’s Housing.” The report is damning for those who are trying to expand opportunities for homeownership and presents an incredible challenge for policymakers, stating, “As the cost of homeownership rises, the prospect dims for eliminating racial homeownership gaps.”
The report highlights how the lack of affordable housing supply combined with high interest rates are pricing out those on the margin, especially focusing on minorities.
The impact as highlighted in the report is stark, stating that in the past year, “millions of renters were priced out of homeownership.”
Consider this: When looking at new units being built for housing, from single-family detached, condo, 2-4, 5-20, 20+, and manufactured housing, the new supply of housing being created today is a shadow of years past. In fact, the current state of new units being created has never been this low looking all the way back to the early 1930s.
This is truly disgraceful for a nation that recognizes the value of homeownership. So far we are learning that talk is cheap, but the real work is much harder.
Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech in Maryland in February about the importance of homeownership in which she shared her own story about growing up. “For most of my childhood, our family rented. And then there was this one afternoon where my mother — our mother — called my sister Maya and me in. We were in high school at the time. And she called us into the kitchen, and she showed us this photograph. And it was a picture of a one-story, dark grey house with a shingled roof and a beautiful lawn. And mommy, which is what we called her, was telling us that after her years of saving, she was ready to become a homeowner,” said the vice president.
The opportunity to live in their own home was a life-changing event.
The time for speech-making and haphazard pricing policies from the government lending sources needs to stop. This problem is so severe, and getting worse, that it demands presidential focus, policy leadership, and agency coordination if we are ever really going to change this retreat from opportunity that we are seeing today.
There is a desperate need to provide executive leadership and focus on housing in America today and time is running out. But we have a model for this. In 2009, when I was in the Obama administration, the “Housing Team” was formed. It consisted of “principals” and “deputies.”
The principals were all cabinet-level direct reports to the president. They included people like Larry Summers (NEC Director), Shaun Donovan (HUD Secretary), Tim Geithner (Treasury Secretary), and Austan Goolsbee (CEA), and so many others. And meetings would often be complemented with the addition of the OMB director, the chief of staff to the president, and a variety of senior staff members.
The deputies reported to the Principals and included the assistant secretaries of the respective agencies that were relevant at the time and other senior staff. I was part of this group, but it included many key government leaders today, including Michael Barr, now vice chair of the Federal Reserve for supervision, Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Jim Parrott of the Urban Institute, and so many others.
The deputies met several times per week, especially a core group of us, to discuss efforts to resolve the housing crisis that threatened the nation at that time. I remember times when a few of us would get a call from Secretary Geithner’s office that he wanted to meet. We would drop whatever we were doing and head to Treasury to discuss the current concern or issue.
Preparation of policy to determine what and how to present recommendations to the president took a great deal of time and focus. And all of this was about housing and mortgage policy. And we executed — we implemented.
My point? In the Obama administration, housing issues were a top executive priority all the way up to the president of the United States. Issues were not decided upon randomly or independently. We worked hard to decide on the best way to address housing and mortgage challenges in a macro, multi-agency environment.
Rather than what appears to be a somewhat arbitrary and likely less effective set of policy moves as we are seeing today this administration should provide the level of focus in a similar way that the housing team operated during the Obama administration.
This year’s study from Harvard is an almost indictment to the state of housing policy and its effectiveness. And yet the problems facing this nation are clear and include:
1. Setting the priority for this nation with urgency that housing is a bedrock for family security and inter-generational wealth-building in this nation that has been eroding with the wealth gap only widening and with the low housing supply and lack of implementable policy ideas to move the dial.
2. The need to rebuild neighborhoods to support new homeownership opportunities, particularly in urban centers such as those that exist in the “Rust Belt” inner cities.
3. Meaningful solutions to improve affordability with creative financing vehicles to include concepts such as equity sharing, scalable down payment assistance, and interest rate subsidies (buy-downs) to make payments affordable.
4. Making affordable housing supply a priority and transitioning from talking points in speeches to executable plans that actually build units at a record pace.
5. A national focus on financial literacy training for young people, especially those living in underserved communities to prepare them for a future of homeownership.
This lack of effectiveness of policy today is not intentional. But I strongly recommend that this administration embrace some key business leaders to join them in this effort. While we have some great policy leaders who have hovered inside the beltway of Washington D.C. for decades recommending housing policy to political leadership, it was always clear to me during my time working in D.C. that having an administration that also recruited those who understood the industry and how it operated versus only having those who had thoughtful ideas about creating change for consumers was critically important.
Between skill sets and executive focus from the top, this administration is ignoring an ever-widening dearth of opportunity for those that do not have access to homeownership today. Focus, priority, skill sets: the administration needs to show that it is serious about housing – the challenges today are as large and looming as this nation has seen in decades. This is a real crisis and the JCHS at Harvard just made this crystal clear.
David Stevens has held various positions in real estate finance, including serving as senior vice president of single family at Freddie Mac, executive vice president at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, assistant secretary of Housing and FHA Commissioner, and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.
To contact the author of this story: Dave Stevens at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Wheeler at [email protected]
Growing unemployment across the U.S. has prompted millions of adults to move back in with their parents.
As a new Zillow analysis shows, the potential rent lost from Gen Z alone could total an estimated $726 million, and the ripple effects of their next move could have far-reaching consequences for the housing market.
The number of adults living in a parent’s or grandparent’s home grew by more than 2.7 million in March and April, nearly triple the next-largest two-month increase from the past five years. A large majority of those who moved home – about 2.2 million – are from Generation Z, and between 18 and 25 years old.
Those 2.2 million Gen Zers represent an estimated $726 million in rent payments each month – payments that could be lost if these moves prove to be more than a temporary measure. That represents about 1.4% of the rental market at risk. It is highly unlikely that all leases will be broken and this full amount would go unpaid, but it serves as a gauge of the potential impact on housing.
The next move this population makes could shape the housing market’s near future. If jobs quickly return to pre-pandemic levels, the housing status quo could return just as quickly as these renters return to the market. But if jobs are permanently lost or slower to recover than expected, that could free up many rental units and drive down prices.
“The share of adults living with their parents has been high since the global financial crisis of the aughts,” said Zillow Senior Principal Economist Skylar Olsen. “Then, it was Millennials flocking to the basements and spare bedrooms of their Baby Boomer parents, where many remained as rent burdens grew. Now, it’s Gen Z’s turn to ride out today’s crisis amid massive unemployment. But this time, rents are more likely to slow, easing the path to returning to living on their own even if some under-employment persists. Apartment construction has exceeded historic norms in recent years and some are likely to double up or live more affordably in all kinds of ways, which should soften rent growth, at least for now.”
Previous Zillow research has shown renters in some industries highly affected by coronavirus-related layoffs were struggling to keep their heads above water even before the pandemic began. It’s possible that many will appreciate the breathing room afforded by living with parents if allowed to stay rent-free, and stay even after their jobs return. That could allow some Gen Zers to save enough to move into homeownership more quickly, or perhaps even delay their parents from downsizing into a smaller home while a child is still living under their roof.
Young Americans move more often in general because they tend to have less stable employment and have not had time to accrue the same level of savings as older counterparts. Many also move home during the summer due to college schedules, typically bumping up the share of young adults living with parents by 2-3 percentage points from April to July.
It is likely that some college students made that move earlier this year as campuses closed due to COVID-19, contributing to the jump seen in April, but there were far more young people living with parents in April than even during a typical summer peak, indicating the usual seasonal shift was super-charged by soaring unemployment. Recently unemployed young people moved back home at roughly the same rate as usual – about 60% of them typically live with parents – but the pool is much bigger than ever.
Metros with a higher share of young renters have a greater potential for impact. This includes Austin, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. On the other end are areas with more millennials and older renters, including Miami, New York and Los Angeles, each with less than 1% of the rental market made up of young people who have moved home.
Mike Wheatley is the senior editor at Realty Biz News. Got a real estate related news article you wish to share, contact Mike at [email protected]
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law’s editorial disclosure for more information.
Almost as soon as Americans learned to deal with COVID-19, new stress slammed into their lives: inflation worries.
A flood of COVID-19 government incentives, supply chain issues and the war between Ukraine and Russia pushed inflation to levels Americans haven’t seen since the 1970s. In August 2022, the Consumer Price Index reported that, while inflation had slowed down slightly due to lowering gasoline prices, the inflation rate was still 8.5% above July 2021, the most significant 12-month increase since May 1979. For instance, groceries are now 13.5% higher than in July 2021.
Lexington Law Firm surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 18 and 99 about their views and opinions on the current situation regarding inflation. Here’s a breakdown of some of the results.
1. 79% of Americans are panicked about inflation
The study found that most Americans are distraught about the current situation. Seventy-nine percent said they were panicked about inflation. That 79% breaks down into 40% who said they were “somewhat worried about inflation” and 39% who said they were “very worried.”
The difference can be explained by the two groups’ age and financial situation. The “somewhat worried” group is composed mainly of younger people less concerned about inflation and those who find themselves more financially secure. Those who are “very worried” tend to belong to groups that were less financially secure or have a lower income. While all Americans have been hit hard by inflation, this second group bears a much more significant burden. For instance, inflation hits seniors on a fixed income much harder than many other groups.
For all groups, inflation worries impact important factors like savings accounts, saving for college, making necessary home improvements and caring for elderly parents. Families can only stretch dollars so far when dealing with pressing expenses.
2. 1 in 5 Americans has experienced physical and/or mental health challenges because of inflation stress
Worrying about money can be one of the major stresses in a person’s life. The survey found that 21% of respondents said inflation “hurt my health,” while 20% said they were more “short-tempered,” which can lead to mental strain and problems with friends and family members. A separate survey conducted in March 2022 by the American Psychological Association found that 87% of those surveyed said inflation worries about everyday items like food, gas prices and energy bills created the most stress. Respondents also cited factors like supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine as other sources of stress.
Inflation worries can cause numerous health problems, including:
Low energy
Anxiety
Depression
Strained relations with a partner
Headaches
Loss of sleep
Difficulties concentrating
Muscle pains
Some symptoms can dramatically affect a person’s health if they continue over a prolonged period. It’s important to find ways to cope with inflation stresses, such as finding extra income, snowballing credit card payments or refinancing debt.
3. Women are more worried than men about inflation
Our survey also found a gender difference in how men and women respond to inflation. The survey reported that 82.5% of women are worried about inflation, 11.8% more than men. Women expressed higher levels of concern in almost all categories.
Several factors arising from the pandemic may explain this difference. MarketWatch reported that more women left their jobs for pandemic-related reasons than men, and the work situation has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. A May 2021 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that concern about caring for children during school closures and unsafe workplaces were frequently mentioned as reasons that women left their jobs.
According to MarketWatch, this has resulted in an imbalance in household duties. Since women are more likely to be the household member who buys groceries, investigates childcare or plans for family events such as birthdays or holidays, they tend to bear the burden of stress more than their male partners.
Even women who remained in the workforce were more likely to be stressed by money and inflation. The survey found that 14.8% of men were more compelled by inflation to approach their employers about a raise, compared to 10.2% of women.
4. Adults 25 – 34 (18.3%) were least likely to rely on their credit cards
Another interesting result of our survey was that adults aged 25 to 34 were less likely to rely on their credit cards to help deal with inflation. One reason for this is that members of Generation Z and millennials often have lower limits on their credit cards, which prevents them from spending large amounts on items like groceries or gas. Meanwhile, credit card reporting company Experian found that members of Generation X, now middle-aged, and baby boomers in their 60s had the highest levels of credit card debt and the most credit cards.
It’s a bad habit to rely on credit cards to pay for increased costs during inflation. With the Federal Reserve rapidly raising interest rates, the cost of borrowing is becoming increasingly expensive. When people carry credit card debt, it increases a little every day.
Hefty credit card debt can lead to severe problems and impact the ability to buy a car, purchase or rent a house or pay for education. As a person’s credit worsens because of overspending on credit cards, it’s harder for them to undertake other critical financial transactions. As hard as it may be, working to reduce credit card debt, even during inflation, is the smartest move.
5. Adults 25 – 34 are the least concerned with inflation
The survey also found that members of Generation Z and millennials are the least concerned with the effects of inflation. One reason for this may be that many young people moved back in with their parents during the pandemic and thus don’t have the same living costs as other age groups. Pew Research found that between February and March 2020, 2.6 million young adults moved back in with a parent.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve of Cleveland found that most young adults who moved back in with their families came from high-income groups. Only 10% of those who returned home came from families that earned less than $27,000 a year. Thus, many young adults are protected from the worst ravages of inflation and may be less worried about it. Challenges will arise when they finally leave their parents’ homes to buy their own homes, start a family or pay for basic expenses, and they may be unprepared to deal with the high cost of inflation.
How to protect your finances from inflation
Experts say no one can predict how long inflation will last. Some economists predict inflation may persist until late 2023 or even longer. Recent interest hikes by the Federal Reserve aim to slow down inflation. The downside to these Federal Reserve interest rate increases is that using credit cards to pay for even small things becomes more expensive.
Maintaining good credit and using personal finance tools is a great way to help protect your money against rising credit rates during inflation. Consider working with a credit repair consultant who can help you get your credit where it needs to be.
The trusted attorneys of Lexington Law can help you increase your credit score in several ways. We can assist you with challenges to or disputes with a credit bureau, offer ID theft insurance or provide you with a personal finance management tool to help you with your expenses, to name just a few of our services. You can visit our website to learn more about our services.
Methodology
Note: This survey was conducted for Lexington Law Firm using Suzy.com. The sample consisted of a total of 1,039 responses per question and is not statistically representative of the general population. This survey was conducted in September 2022.
Note: Articles have only been reviewed by the indicated attorney, not written by them. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, reviewers, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective agents or employers.
Reviewed By
Vince R. Mayr
Supervising Attorney of Bankruptcies
Vince has considerable expertise in the field of bankruptcy law.
He has represented clients in more than 3,000 bankruptcy matters under chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Vince earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Government from the University of Maryland. His Masters of Public Administration degree was earned from Golden Gate University School of Public Administration. His Juris Doctor was earned at Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California. Vince is licensed to practice law in Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado. He is located in the Phoenix office.
At a certain age, the future becomes more uncertain than it has ever been and there arises a need to provide for the well being of your family after you are gone.
An inexpensive $250,000 term life insurance policy can go a long way for both young people and for seniors.
No matter your age, having life insurance coverage goes quite a long way in providing for the financial security of your family.
Seniors are an essential market for many insurance providers. Most providers are developing customizable policies to match the specific needs of seniors. The prices for these policies are decreasing every year making them extremely inexpensive.
Because of their low cost, these policies can be more than just a financial back-up. In fact, that could be one of the most important decisions that you could make for you and your family. Here is a list of benefits these policies provide.
Low Cost
Term life policies are extremely inexpensive. Although the most common reason that people don’t take out a life insurance policy is that they think it costs too much.
As the table will show below, life insurance is cheap! There is no reason why any family with dependents should not have some sort of life insurance coverage.
The majority of applicants are surprised to see just how affordable a life insurance policy is.
20-year $250,000 Term Rates
Age
Male
Female
30
$13.05/mo
$11.96/mo
40
$17.84/mo
$15.88/mo
50
$43.28/mo
$32.41/mo
60
$113.32/mo
$77.87/mo
70
$418.35/mo
$269/28/mo
As you can see, having a $250,000 term life policy for a healthy 30 years-old will only cost around $11-$13 per month with one of the top life insurers in the country. Even for someone that isn’t in perfect health, a life insurance policy is well worth what you’ll pay
Buying Future Money
The final thing anyone wants is to become a burden on their own family. A term life policy keeps that from happening.
When you purchase a term life policy, you are really buying money that your family can use later. This money can be used for household bills, medical expenses or anything else they might need.
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Estate Planning
Term life policies for seniors are popular because they can be used as part of an estate plan. They can be used to pay estate taxes to insure that the property stays in the family instead of being sold to pay the government.
Term life insurance helps to ensure that your property and the value of your estate is not drained by taxes imposed after your death.
After you pass away, you want your heirs to be able to enjoy all of the funds that you’ve set aside. You don’t want all of those savings to be eaten alive by taxes and fees.
A simple life insurance policy can counterbalance those taxes and ensure that your family gets to use your estate in a way that benefits them, not Uncle Sam.
Survivor Benefits
Your spouse and minor children can receive survivor benefits for a specified period of time. These benefits will replace your pension or retirement income after your death.
This gives your family the time and ability to adjust to life without you. The bills will be paid and they won’t have to deal with financial insecurity in an already grievous time.
More than likely, if you were to pass away tomorrow, you would leave behind A LOT of debt. Most people have a mortgage, car payment, student loans, credit card bills, and other debts that they would pass on to family members if something tragic were to happen.
For a grieving family, all of these bills can be difficult or even impossible to pay for. Instead of leaving this financial strain on your loved ones, a $250,000 policy can relieve that stress and give your family the funds they need to pay off any final expenses.
Continue Providing
Everybody always wants to do more for their families but we can’t always get everything done in one lifetime.
A $250,000 term life insurance policy will allow you to continue to take care of your family after you are gone. You can still pay off the house, send the kids the college and take care of whatever else needs to be done.
Getting Cheaper Insurance Rates
As we mentioned earlier, a $250,000 policy is much more affordable than you might think, but that doesn’t mean you can’t save money on monthly premiums. There are a couple of things that you can do to keep a couple of extra bucks in your wallet every month.
The best way to save money is to shop around with different insurance companies before you purchase a plan. Each company has different rates and looks at each applicant’s health differently, which can translate into drastically different premiums.
We suggest getting AT LEAST five different quotes before you pick the one that works best for you.
Aside from shopping around for a policy, there are a few lifestyle changes that you can make to save money. The best way to keep more money in your bank account is to quit smoking.
Being categorized as a smoker on your insurance application will make your premiums double or even triple, even if you’re in perfect health. Using tobacco products is the worst thing you can do. It’s worth it to take several months to kick the bad habit. Not only will your doctor thank you, but your wallet will too.
Aside from quitting smoking, losing weight by getting regular exercise and a healthy diet can have a huge impact on your waistline and your insurance premiums. One of the other factors that the company will look at is your weight.
Being overweight or obese greatly increases your risk of having severe health complications, which means you pose more of a risk to the insurance company. Losing a couple of pounds can also save you money, it’s a win-win.
The Importance of Life Insurance
Earlier we gave several examples of why most applicants purchase a life insurance policy, but one of the most important is to provide protection for your loved ones.
There are millions of families every year that lose a family member and find themselves with thousands of extra dollars in debt
$250,000 Life Insurance Policy
For most people, a $250,000 plan won’t be enough, but there are a lot of people that can benefit from a policy this size.
Because these life insurance policies are so affordable, they are a great purchase. You can’t put a price tag on the peace of mind knowing that your family will be covered if you were to pass away.
According to the FTC, Americans have lost $610 million to “income illusions” since 2016 – and $150 million of that was in the first nine months of 2020 alone.
Predatory get-rich-quick schemes have become so audacious, so prevalent that the federal government has launched a full-scale operation targeting them: Operation Income Illusion.
So what are all the modern scams and schemes that young people should look out for? How can you spot the especially sneaky ones? What are the early warning signs of a bad online business course or a phony job listing?
And how can you convince that one relative of yours that they’re in an MLM?
Let’s cover this and more as we explore modern get-rich-quick schemes (and how to spot them).
What’s Ahead:
Common signs of a get-rich-quick scheme
Before we get into specifics, it’s worth pointing out some of the most common signs of any get-rich-quick scheme:
A promise or guarantee of income.
Payment requested upfront to cover supplies/training/application fees.
Sketchy websites or email addresses.
Zero online reviews or ratings.
Hyperbolic marketing language (achieve your dreams, become your own boss, etc.).
The perfect opportunity somehow found you (instead of the other way around).
A request for sensitive info: credit card info, SSN, or a photo of your passport/ID.
They give you a bad gut feeling. When you have a bad gut feeling about a person in real life, you walk away. Do the same online.
1. Cryptocurrency
Ah, crypto.
Perhaps no other investment in history has produced as much FOMO as Bitcoin. After all, everybody knows of somebody who got rich off of it, or alternatively, some rare altcoin (read: any crypto that isn’t Bitcoin) that exploded overnight.
It would be an overreach to call cryptocurrency a scam, but it’s certainly not the investor gravy train it’s made out to be.
Read more: The Top 10 Things You Need To Know About Bitcoin
What they promise
A $10,000 investment in Bitcoin in 2017 became $640,000 just four years later. Invest your money and buckle up, because you’re about to get rich.
Or, alternatively, keep your eyes on the crypto forums. If you get in on the ground floor of a new crypto before it explodes, that’s another easy way to 100x your investment overnight.
What really happens
A $10,000 investment in Bitcoin in November, 2021 would be worth $6,175.36 in February 2022.
Cryptocurrency values are 100% speculation, upheld by investor demand alone. There’s simply no guarantee (or even near-guarantee) that your investment will grow in value in the short- or long-term.
That’s especially true of new or obscure “altcoins” that trade for pennies a pop. Sure, a small percentage of them may blow up – but many more are simply scams or pump-and-dump schemes – and it’s extremely difficult to detect which is which.
Read more: From High Risk To High Cost: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Bitcoin
How to spot a crypto scam
Any crypto that promises to multiply in value is a scam. Again, the only thing propping up crypto values is investor interest, which is fickle, fleeting, and unpredictable.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other bonafide cryptos aren’t scams, but they’re ultra-risky investments nonetheless. For more on why, check out Crypto Crash Course – Everything You Need To Know About Bitcoin, Blockchain, And More.
2. Multi-level marketing schemes
MLMs are notorious for using psychology and manipulation to lure unsuspecting income-seekers into their midst. Then, they squeeze capital out of them on the dangling promise of eventually multiplying their returns.
Now that John Oliver and others have shone a light on the industry, the MLMs have had to get even sneakier.
What they promise
Join [Herbalife, Amway, Infinitus] and you’ll become your own boss, get free training, and earn six figures in your first year!
Who doesn’t want to become their own CEO for a small initial investment of just $150, especially when you can make 1000x within 10 months!
What really happens
99% of MLM participants lose money, according to the Consumer Awareness Institute. Anyone appearing like they’re making money from an MLM on social media is simply trying to dupe others into distributing for them.
How to spot an MLM scheme
If you’re wondering whether the sales opportunity you’re considering is part of an MLM, or you’re trying to convince someone that they’re in an MLM, here are a few steps that you can take:
See if it’s already a known MLM. TitleMax (of all places) published a helpful list of the top 25 MLMs by revenue. If your future “employer” is on the list, take a hard pass.
Search for complaints about the company. Reddit, The Better Business Bureau, and your state Attorney General’s office website are all helpful places to find consumer ratings, reviews, and official complaints.
Vet the products. MLMs tend to sell sketchy products with dubious or unsubstantiated research proving their efficacy. If you wouldn’t buy the product, you definitely shouldn’t sell it.
ID the “startup fee”. If a company has a flat fee for upfront training or especially your first round of inventory, it’s most likely an MLM.
Get a second opinion. Ask the company to provide all of its contracts and legal documents, and have a friend, mentor, or your attorney look over everything with a skeptical eye. Don’t try to convince them it’s legit; ask them to convince you that it’s an MLM.
3. The lottery
There’s no more open and honest get-rich-quick scheme than the lottery!
Playing the lotto in tiny doses can be fun when you expect to lose. My better half and I buy a ticket or two per year and fantasize about how we’ll fill our 20-car garage.
Then we lose and laugh.
But playing the lottery with even the faintest expectation that your investment will eventually pay off is a slippery slope – both financially and psychologically.
Read more: Why You Should Never Play The Lottery – And How To Better Spend Your Money
What they promise
Whether it’s $10,000 or $10,000,000, you’re just a scratch away from winning life-changing money.
What really happens
It’s better to gamble your money in Vegas than to play the lottery.
I say that because generally speaking, you have a 5% to 30% chance of beating the house in a Vegas casino (WSJ). Your chances of winning the lottery are 1 in 300 million (CNBC).
But what about a non-jackpot? Can you profit from buying scratch-offs?
“Scratchies” typically list their odds of winning on the back of a card, usually between 5% and 20%. Your chances of winning something are better – but your chances of profiting are still extremely low.
Lotteries are also inherently problematic and controversial. Supporters say they benefit society by generating tax revenue – but it’s worth considering where that revenue is originating.
A mass study on the lottery’s net impact on society found that “the percentage of income spent on the lottery is significantly higher for players with low family incomes and low education,” hence the lottery’s ignominious nickname: “a tax on the poor.”
While it may be more transparent, make no mistake – the lottery is just as bad of a get-rich-quick scheme as an MLM (just with much worse odds).
4. Phony job listings
This one’s more of a straight-up scam than a scheme – and even as far as scams go, it’s pretty nefarious. FBI Special Agent, Jeanette Harper writes:
“Fake Job Scams have existed for a long time but technology has made this scam easier and more lucrative.”
What they promise
A supposed rep from a legit-looking company – or even one pretending to be from a company you’ve heard of – will reach out and say they’re hiring for a high-salary role.
They either say “no experience necessary” or that you’d be perfect for it, and since they want to fill the role right away, they’ll just do the interview via a chat window.
Before your start date for your high-salary role, they’ll need to add you to payroll and benefits – so you’ll need to pass along your W-9, 1099, and/or a scan of your ID.
What really happens
The scammer uses this sensitive information to steal your money and/or identity.
How to spot a phony job listing
Fake job opportunities are pretty insidious, but at least they’re pretty easy to spot. Here are some of the telltale signs:
The job listing appeared on social media (nearly all legit companies recruit via job boards, LinkedIn, or by referral only).
The rep’s email address doesn’t match the company name.
The company has no website/social media/LinkedIn presence (or a sketchy one).
The rep won’t reveal themselves – they won’t share their own personal data nor will they get on a video call with you – they insist on communicating via chat.
Everything they’re telling you seems oddly vague.
The interview process is moving oddly quickly – you’re accepted in minutes or hours, when the real-world process takes days or weeks.
The rep wants money – such as a $25 fee to submit your application.
5. COVID-era robocall scams
At the risk of sounding indelicate, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a target-rich environment for robocallers who peddle MLMs, phony jobs, or shady website building services.
To give an example, the FTC is going after scam company National Web Design for sending out millions of illegal robocalls specifically targeting people who’d just lost their jobs, guaranteeing them passive income if they just paid a little upfront.
I try not to use the term evil lightly…
What they promise
Here’s what National Web Design told its victims: you could earn up to $400 a day as an Amazon affiliate. Just let us build your site for $2,000 and your passive income awaits.
What really happens
The scammers may actually deliver a product, but it never works as advertised. You’re out $2,000 and they never pick up the phone.
How to spot a robocall scam
If someone calls you offering a job or passive income opportunity, it’s a scam. But don’t just hang up – report their call as spam on your phone and report the company to the FTC using this form.
BONUS: how to prevent robocalls in the first place
You can help stem the flow of robocalls to your own phone by adding your number to the official Do Not Call Registry. Don’t worry, it’s free and 100% legit.
The second thing you can do is to never, ever, ever give your phone to a business unless it’s essential to your wellbeing. Even companies that claim to “protect your privacy” will still sell your data to their partners (since it’s not a violation of their own privacy policy).
6. Bad online business courses
Here’s one that I fell for.
To my credit, it wasn’t named so blatantly – and I can tell that the instructor was being sincere in his advice – but it was still bad advice that I paid an embarrassing amount of money for.
Bad online courses always seem like good investments upfront. They’re taught by people who’ve “made it” in the industry and who promise to tell you all of their “best money-making secrets.”
They’re also sold to you at a weirdly high discount (e.g. 97% off) and sometimes, you even have to apply to be in the course.
But crappy online courses aren’t just dangerous due to high cost and missed expectations – they can teach you the wrong things that actually hinder your progress and take months to unlearn.
What they promise
Sellers of “How To Get Rich In XYZ Industry” courses promise exactly that – that you can make millions in a certain industry by simply following in the instructor’s footsteps.
What really happens
The advice you learn in an unaccredited online course can range from good to bad to downright toxic. And if you’re new to an industry, it can be hard to distinguish which is which.
You could be paying for advice that could win new clients – or immediately turn them off.
That’s why you’ll want to be extremely careful who you learn from. Some instructors truly are at the top of their industry and their tips are worth their weight in gold.
But others are on their way out – their way of doing things in their industry no longer works, so they’re packaging and selling bad and outdated advice to make up for lost income.
How to spot a bad online course
Part of the challenge to spotting bad online business courses is that they’re often marketed exceedingly well – so well, in fact, that if it’s a course in How To Make Millions Selling Bad Online Courses, maybe it’s worth it!
Facetiousness aside, here are some of the signs that the course you’re considering isn’t worth it:
The instructor has limited, outdated, or vague experience – e.g. they’ve “worked with dozens of Fortune 500 companies” but won’t say who, in what capacity, or how much they actually earned.
The course promises or downright guarantees income. No course can guarantee income, so that’s a huge red flag.
High-pressure sales tactics. If the vendor of an online business course gives you a short time window to decide, or says the price will increase in 13 hours, just shrug and hang up the phone.
No reviews or ratings. If the instructor can’t point to a single successful past student, that’s probably a sign that one doesn’t exist – and you won’t be the first.
A high price tag. Finally, if a 3-day “Mastermind” costs thousands of dollars, that could be a sign that the instructor values his or her advice. It could also mean that they need the money because their clients dried up.
7. Mystery shopper scams
Mystery shopping is when a restaurant, retailer, or third-party data company will hire you to go into a store or restaurant and report back on your experience. Mystery shoppers are often paid a flat fee per assignment, and sometimes even get the product/meal reimbursed, too.
From what I’ve heard, it’s a fun gig if you can get it. But since lots of folks are interested, the scammers are taking advantage.
What they promise
Mystery shopping scams often start with a text stating that you can earn $200 to $500 per assignment by becoming a secret/mystery shopper or “filling out a survey.”
All you have to do is visit a retail store, purchase a product or a gift card, send it to a specific address, and report on your experience. You’ll be compensated upon completion. Easy $500.
This may sound like an obvious scam, but in the victims’ defense, this isn’t too far removed from how legit mystery shopping works.
What really happens
In the case of the scam, you send the product or gift card and are never compensated. To rub salt on the wound, the scammer may sell or abuse the personal data you gave them.
How to spot a mystery shopping scam
Luckily, the Mystery Shopping Professional Association (MSPA) publishes a running list of all the mystery shopping scams they’ve seen.
If you don’t see the potential scam listed there, cross-reference it with their free online directory of legitimate mystery shopping companies.
Summary
To a pandemic-stricken society, get-rich-quick schemes are becoming harder to spot and more seductive all at once.
But by helping yourself and your loved ones avoid them, you can protect your money and ride out the storm.
Paying off existing debt is the top near-term priority for Gen Z college students, along with having financial freedom, goals which set them up for future home ownership, a study conducted for FinLocker, which provides a financial fitness app, found.
More than 27% declared that their financial goal for the next two-to-five years is paying off student loans, auto loans and credit cards. Meanwhile, 10% said it was a goal for the next five-to-10 years.
Financial freedom is the short-term goal for 24.5% and a longer term aspiration for 27.8% of respondents.
But the top goal in the five-to-10-year range is home ownership, with 29.6% of respondents prioritizing that. However, a significant share has this as their short-term objective, at 9.4%, the study found. The mortgage and real estate industries should find this last point encouraging, the report accompanying the survey said.
Among those Gen Zers planning to buy a home, 43.5% are looking to act between the ages of 28 and 32. The next largest cohort, 36.1%, expects to buy between the ages of 23 and 27.
Just under 14% said they were planning to become homeowners between 33 and 37.
Mortgage lenders need to figure out how to engage these Gen Z borrowers. In general, these firms reach out to potential customers using “high-cost lagging indicators,” such as trigger leads from credit report pulls and multiple listing service searches, FinLocker said.
“However, as the survey validates, a more equitable opportunity exists to engage a consumer: connecting at the top of the marketing funnel through social media,” the report noted. A recent report from National Mortgage News’ parent company Arizent also noted the importance of having a mobile strategy to reach this group.
Friends and family was the top source respondents said they learned about finance from, at 41%, but social media was second at 15.8%.
“The recent rise of ‘finfluencers’ exemplifies how social media has become a financial education source for millions of young people,” the report stated. “As 40% of Gen Z need to ‘trust’ the source of their financial advice, this is an opportunity for mortgage professionals to establish themselves as trusted resources by creating short and long videos on the topics Gen Z want to learn more about.”
When asked how they would determine if they were ready to purchase a home, 63.5% said when they had significant savings for a down payment. This was down over 5 percentage points from 73.9% reported in a similar FinLocker study conducted in 2022.
Only 4.6% said they’d be ready to buy when they had a good credit score, down from 11.9% in the 2022 survey.
On the other hand, nearly one-quarter of the 2023 respondents, 24.1% said it would be when I have a family versus 12% the prior year.
Among the barriers they feel exist to achieving all of their financial goals, other priorities were cited by nearly 32%. Next was a lack of financial education at 19.4%; uncertainty about how to create a financial plan also came in at 19.4%.
Unable to save enough money was the response of 14.8%, while 10.2% declared they had no barriers.
FinLocker partnered with the students in the American Marketing Association group at the University of Southern California to conduct the survey over a three-week period in April.
The survey featured answers from 171 respondents, with 83.5% being between the ages of 18 and 22; 10% between 0 and 17; 4.6% between 23 and 30 and 1.8% between 31 and 40. The U.S. Census Bureau uses 1997 as the start year for this generation, making the oldest members approximately 25 to 26 years old.
By gender, 62% said they were female, 35% male, 2% non-binary and 2% preferred not to say.
What if the amenities at your apartment community went beyond the usual pool, tennis courts and fitness center — way beyond? How involved might you choose to be in an apartment society, a place that encourages shared involvement with fellow residents?
[find-an-apartment]
In California, an apartment community developer is going beyond the basics to give new meaning to “community,” creating programs like theater troupes, adult enrichment courses and after-school care for residents. And in Denver, some lucky sports fans can look forward to cheering for baseball… from their own rooftop!
Programs that have paid off According to John Huskey of Los Angeles-based Meta Housing Corporation, apartment communities can do more to support families who live there. In building his most recent family-oriented apartment communities, Huskey discovered that there was a real need for on-site programs — and specially-designed spaces — where children could gather after school and continue to learn. That’s why his company has created after-school learning and mentoring programs which are available to residents living in the apartment community at no extra cost.
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The benefits to the children who participate have proved to be substantial. The after-school programs kept kids at home, actively engaged in study — instead of involved in risky behavior. And the learning opportunities increased their confidence at school. These programs have been so successful that Meta Housing Corp. has begun building dedicated, school-like structures in more of their apartment communities to accommodate the programs.
Sharing the arts at home The same is true in Meta Housing Corp.’s senior communities, where education and art programs have been wildly successful. The company first began offering adult enrichment classes to seniors in great-room spaces, noting that the most popular courses involved creativity and the arts. They also noticed that, while the great-room environment was attractive to some residents, most found it too impersonal for social activity. In later generations of their senior communities, they have developed smaller, more intimate spaces for residents to gather to take classes and get to know each other. These new spaces foster a tighter-knit sense of community.
Seniors have enjoyed the enrichment and social aspects of arts classes so much that Huskey’s company went as far as building a 78-seat theater in one apartment community dedicated to a permanent theater troupe. When the theater troupe isn’t giving professional performances on-site, residents are allowed free access to use the theater building, as well.
Take me out to the ballgame… next door! Another approach to creating community at home is featured at Broadstone Blake Street in Denver, Colorado. Alliance Residential is building a modern apartment community right next to Coors Field downtown. (Residents will be able to see the field from the rooftop of the community.) The residence-in-development is thought to appeal to young people — perhaps especially men — who want to live in a walkable area with easy commutes for working and access to downtown excitement, like ball games. Sharing that excitement with apartment neighbors — and built-in proximity — will make living in this community THE place to be a sports fan in Denver.
Toward apartment societies The success of Meta Housing Corp.’s children and senior programs might indicate that apartment communities are evolving. With an emphasis on enriching resident lives beyond basic shelter, these spaces — based on what residents want and need — might become known as apartment societies in the future.
What else might the future hold? Amenities including on-site senior services like medical care and support groups, or family-oriented services like childcare or even home schooling could be possibilities. As apartment living continues to change shape and mature, multifamily community developers around the country will be looking to Huskey’s success to gain insight on new ways to meet the needs of their residents. In the meantime, you can look for ways to create community in your own apartment life today.
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