【Zoe Voss Archives】

Don’t listen to your parents or Zoe Voss Archivesteachers.

This may sound a bit counterintuitive, but it’s advice we must heed to break the cycle of bad financial decisions. The two biggest messages pushed onto Millennials are the importance of higher education and home ownership. But both of these are turning out to be terrible investments.

Millennials, on average, owe more than $41,000 in student loans — significantly higher than the national average of $29,400. Meanwhile, the classes of 2009-2016 have faced stagnant wages and underemployment. College graduates in 2016 are averaging $18.53 per hour, which isn’t much better than the class of 2000 earned.

On top of this, keeping up with the housing market has pushed people toward poverty for making large, unaffordable purchases. We see these money pits as smart investments even though they provide less than 1 percent return each year. Even after factoring in the costs of rent, index funds, mutual funds, and even gambling on penny stocks provide a better return.

Instead of placing all your hopes and dreams on the election of some random person you’ll never meet, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and take your personal finances into your own hands. Here’s what your teachers and parents are leaving out:

1. Choose the right degree.

Your personal finances and debt are a function of cash flow. Ideally, you’ll earn enough to pay for basic expenses without making your debt any worse — which is why most of us went to college in the first place. We’ve been force-fed the idea that a college degree is necessary to earn decent wages.

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but not all college degrees are created equal. A degree in computer engineering or healthcare is going to pay noticeably more over the course of your career than a degree in music theory or art history. That’s just the way of the world.

If you already have a bachelor’s degree in a low-paying field, there’s not much you can do to change it. Perhaps look into a master’s degree in a more useful discipline. It’ll raise your student debt, but your income can rise accordingly.

2. Don’t buy a house.

Kids are constantly told that buying a home is an investment, and it makes sense to pay your own mortgage rather than your landlord’s. It’s predicated on the idea of building a lifestyle that gives you excess cash flow. The problem, as I mentioned above, is that homes are a terrible investment with lower returns than pretty much everything else out there.

Instead of aiming to buy a house, seek out areas with a lower cost of living than where you currently are. Virtual and remote teams are ubiquitous these days, and it’s no longer necessary to live in an expensive city to find a great career. Earning big-city wages from a small town can tip the scales of finance in your favor.

3. Start saving now.

It’s important to live within your means, and a great indicator of this is how much money you have saved. Unfortunately, surveys show that the majority of Millennials have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts.

An entire generation has grown up thinking of our savings as our earnings minus taxes, debt, and lifestyle. For far too many families, this equates to $0 (or worse) because of the lack of well-paying jobs — while expenses continue to rise across the board.

"Pay yourself first" is easily the most cliche financial advice, but there’s a reason it’s persisted for so long. By reframing the conversation and reprioritizing your financial needs, you should be able to save 10-15 percent of your wages while living the lifestyle you deserve.

4. Pay what you can upfront.

Regardless of your salary and savings, you should only make purchases you can afford to pay for upfront. Even when making a large purchase such as a house or car, avoid $0 or low down payment plans. The more money you pay at the start, the cheaper the purchase is, the less time you spend paying it off later, and the more financially stable you’ll be.

If you’re looking to make a major purchase, you’re better off saving until you have the money to make a serious down payment. It saves money on interest and fees and lowers the risk of a repossession or foreclosure if you’re unable to make payments for any reason.

In addition, paying upfront for purchases simplifies your finances. When you take out a loan or put a purchase on credit, that debt hangs over you for years — even decades. Two people with identical salaries can have very different financial situations based on past purchases. Keep that in mind before applying for a store credit card to buy that big-screen TV.

While your parents and teachers continue drilling in your head the importance of college degrees and buying real estate, remember that’s the old way of doing things. If it worked, the average U.S. household wouldn’t be $132,158 in debt.

Forget everything you’ve been told about finances, and start living a more fiscally responsible life today. Your wallet will thank you for it later.

Dusty Wunderlich is the founder and CEO of Bristlecone Holdings, a high-growth network of consumer and business-to-business finance platforms and financial technologies. Its mission is to democratize the world of finance for the better. Dusty is a current recipient of the Twenty under 40 Awards in Reno, Nevada, and is a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council.