aNewDomain — It shouldn’t surprise anyone that young Americans aged 18 to 35 are delaying starting families — and that one third are living with their parents today. The millennial generation has been overwhelmed with student debt and seen the average starting salaries decrease since 2000. Luckily, there are some great resources available providing great career, college, entrepreneurship, leadership, and money-saving advice.
Here are five books all millennials should read right now.
Brokenomics: 50 Ways to Live the Dream on a Dime
By Dina Gachman, @TheElf26
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself laughing out loud several times when reading Brokenomics. Brokenomics is a humorous and fun read, offering good advice about on a variety of topics affecting millennials today, such as rent, careers, education, credit cards and more. The education section of Brokenomics should be required reading for anyone applying for an advanced degree, particularly the chapter, “A Modern Warrior’s Guide to Grad School.” Here, Gachman encourages readers to research scholarships, understand the dangers of private student loans, and speak with people who have graduated with that specific advanced degree about life after that program.
Much like her writing at Forbes, with Brokenomics, Gachman is able to suck the reader in with her unique brand of humor. Check out Brokenomics on Amazon here.
Walden on Wheels: On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom
By Ken Ilgunas, @KenIlgunas
I started following Ken’s blog several years ago when he was living in his van while attending grad school at Duke. Ken Ilgunas’ story is an incredible story of the lengths people will go for freedom. For Ilgunas, his fight involved his $32,000 in student loans he incurred as an undergrad, which he compares to a “black hole.” In Walden on Wheels, Ilgunas tells his story of living in a van while attending grad school at Duke University in order to avoid going deeper into debt. I asked how vandwelling changed his life, and Ilgunas responded,
It verified a lot of what I believed at that point. And that’s that we need very little to be happy. I was okay with having a home that didn’t have electricity and plumbing and a kitchen. I did miss some things for sure (friends, romance, a sense of community), but rarely did I have an urge for material items.
Also check out Ken Ilgunas’ A Walk across Suburbia, McCandless Mecca, and his blog at KenIlgunas.com. Find Walden on Wheels on Amazon here.
Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents
By Zac Bissonnette, @ZacBissonnette
Bissonnette is a personal finance expert and published this book during his senior year at University of Massachusetts. In Bissonnette’s first book, Debt-Free U, he explains how students can save more than $100,000, avoid a lifetime of student debt and still get a quality college education. This book may have come out in 2010, but Bissonnette’s advice is still relevant and important – you can get a great college education without mortgaging your future doing so.
Be sure to also check out Bissonnette’s newest book, The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, as well as his writing at Huffington Post and Inc. Find Debt-Free U on Amazon here.
Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future
By Dan Schawbel, @DanSchawbel
This book is a great resource for everyone who is serious about their career. Schawbel covers everything from planning events to maintaining good relationships with bloggers. Looking for personal branding advice? Take it from Dan Schawbel, a “personal branding guru,” according to the New York Times.
Also catch his writing on personal branding at Forbes. Find Me 2.0 on Amazon here.
The Legacy Letters: 30 Women Address the Next Generation
By Lisa Nicole Bell, @LisaNicoleBell
Lisa Nicole Bell puts together a great collection of letters written by high-profile female leaders to the teenage version of themselves. Bell is more than just a writer, she’s also a producer, host, ted speaker, and one heck of an entrepreneur. Anyone interested in business and entrepreneurship should check out her writing at Forbes and Business Insider. Find The Legacy Letters on Amazon here.
Happy reading. For aNewDomain, I’m Kyle McCarthy.
