You are probably used to seeing my dear friend and business partner on this blog, Cynthia Marotz, who is just as entertaining in person as her writing. She has decided to pass the torch to me, and while they are very stylish shoes to fill, I am so excited to continue the “Millennial Message” blog. My name is Danielle Durham, and as you probably guessed, I am a part of the famous—or infamous—Generation Y, also known as Millennials. I have been a financial advisor with the Lopez-Marotz-Wright team since 2018 and with Allen & Company since 2014. It has been quite the journey these past almost eight years with Allen & Company.
Looking back.
I can’t help but think about this popular tweet a couple of months ago, “I could really go for some ‘precedented times’ right about now.” Millennials and Gen Z have seen a lot of “unprecedented times” in our most formative years: Y2K, 9/11, sprinkle a few wars in the middle, a recession, then a couple of pandemics like Swine Flu and COVID, a global shutdown, and now the Russia/Ukraine crisis. That collective experience makes you look at finances and adulthood a little differently. We make up for what we lack in joie de vivre in very cautious optimism and self-deprecating humor. So fun, right?
We aren’t that different from our grandparents.
I was just at a presentation where they talked about the “Next Wave of Wealth” by T. Rowe Prices. In this presentation, I learned Millennials have more in common with the Greatest Generation, also known as the Silent Generation. Both experienced a major financial crisis that infused economic conservatism and a propensity to save during their formative years.
Each generation has something to offer.
This blog was created to discuss how we live our best lives in a constantly changing world and try to make it better for every generation and will highlight experiences through a millennial lens discussing the extraordinary things every generation has to offer, whether you are a Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, or Zoomer.
When you read the Millennial Message, I hope you see that we are not so different. You may be well past entering the “real world” stage or just be wrapping up your senior year of high school in the next few months. Wherever you are at, whatever generation you are, there is something here for everyone. So I’m here to be your friendly, neighborhood millennial financial planner navigating these “unprecedented times” with you!
April 2022
