The day Michael Anselmo signed a lease on his first apartment in New York City, he lost his job at Buck Consultants LLC. He spent about 10 months struggling to pay rent with unemployment benefits. Two years later he’s still hesitant to buy a home or even a road bike.
“Every decision that I have made since I lost my job has been colored by that insecurity I feel about the future,” said Anselmo, 28, who now rents an apartment in Austin, Texas, and works as a consultant for UnitedHealth Group Inc. “Buying a house is just further out on the timeline for me than it used to be.”
Anselmo and many of his peers are wary about making large purchases after entering adulthood in the deepest recession and weakest recovery since World War II. Confronting a jobless rate above 8 percent since 2009 and student-loan debt hitting about $1 trillion, 20-to-34-year-olds are renting apartments, cars and even clothing to save money and stay flexible.
In some ways this might make financial sense, but I think it points to something bigger than the financial aspect. As people have become ruled by the secular in this world, there has been an increase in many negatives from the decline of true marriage, cohabitation, divorce etc. Fears grow from every angle and no one seems to know how to break out of it. I faced many fears, doubts, and problems in life and had no idea where to turn. It took me hitting an emotional bottom that led me to my parish priest. After he pointed out that Christ had come to save sinners, I thought well, what has that got to do with me, I do not know Christ. He pointed out that Christ had been fully human and had experienced all that a man can face and voluntarily submitted to His Fathers will. He also pointed out that Christ by being fully human as well as fully God knew me and my problems and all I had to do was take them to Him. I didn’t know how, but gradually learned with the help of my priest how to pray and turn things over to God, asking only to be able to follow His will. Things didn’t get better, but I did. I learned where my hope and strength lied. That is missing today it seems and until the younger generation hits a point that makes them turn to Christ, the fears and indecisivness will remain. Turning to Christ might not solve all the problems but it will help me work through them knowing that in the end, I will be OK if I do my Father’s will. That is what we need to show the young people of today, there is hope, and that hope is Christ.