Who's Henry?
An article in my newsfeed caught my eye over the weekend. "Meet the 'Henrys'" it led, and continued about Millennials who make six-figure salaries but still say they feel broke. Source: Business Insider article, 25 Nov 2019. Yes, it's over a month old so it's not really news. I presume it landed in my feed anyway because Apple News has decided I want to see Millennials stories.
Okay, so who's Henry? Actually it's HENRY, an acronym:
HENRY, abbrev.: High Earner Not Rich Yet. Now typically applied to Millennials with higher incomes ($100,000 - $250,000) who live paycheck to paycheck.
So, just like when Boomers were younger the term Yuppies (Young Upwardly-mobile Professionals) was coined, and when Gen X was young we were called DINKs (Dual-Income, No Kids), now that Millennials are in their 20s and 30s we have a new term to make it easier to make fun of them (and market to them).
Make no mistake, this is largely about making fun of Millennials (and marketing to them). The BI article I mentioned above is one of the gentler ones but it still invokes wasteful-Millennial tropes such as glamorous international travel, expensive gym memberships, and avocado toast. It quotes a 23 Oct 2019 New York Post article that's clear in its opinion that the problem is lifestyle entitlement as Millennials try to keep up with what their friends post on Instagram. A quick web search on definitions for the term turns up a mix of curmudgeonly social commentary, plus- this is where the "and marketing to them" part comes in- financial advisors offering to help Henrys (well paid young professionals who feel poor) sort out their money woes.
It's a shame that most of the conversation around Henrys comes from social critics and pitchmen because it obscures the reality of the legitimate challenges that younger adults (i..e, Millennials) face today. A six-figure income is not the ticket to wealthy living that it once was, not only because inflation has eaten away at what "six figures" could buy a generation ago, but also because the biggest costs that young adults have to pay- college or college loans and housing- have increased faster than the overall rate of inflation. Moreover, costs of living vary widely by location. A $100,000 salary buys a lot in rural America or a rust belt city... but that's not where the $100k jobs are. The lucrative jobs are in the big, fast growing, popular cities- which are also expensive (or getting expensive) because everyone's moving there for good jobs.
Okay, so who's Henry? Actually it's HENRY, an acronym:
HENRY, abbrev.: High Earner Not Rich Yet. Now typically applied to Millennials with higher incomes ($100,000 - $250,000) who live paycheck to paycheck.
So, just like when Boomers were younger the term Yuppies (Young Upwardly-mobile Professionals) was coined, and when Gen X was young we were called DINKs (Dual-Income, No Kids), now that Millennials are in their 20s and 30s we have a new term to make it easier to make fun of them (and market to them).
Make no mistake, this is largely about making fun of Millennials (and marketing to them). The BI article I mentioned above is one of the gentler ones but it still invokes wasteful-Millennial tropes such as glamorous international travel, expensive gym memberships, and avocado toast. It quotes a 23 Oct 2019 New York Post article that's clear in its opinion that the problem is lifestyle entitlement as Millennials try to keep up with what their friends post on Instagram. A quick web search on definitions for the term turns up a mix of curmudgeonly social commentary, plus- this is where the "and marketing to them" part comes in- financial advisors offering to help Henrys (well paid young professionals who feel poor) sort out their money woes.
It's a shame that most of the conversation around Henrys comes from social critics and pitchmen because it obscures the reality of the legitimate challenges that younger adults (i..e, Millennials) face today. A six-figure income is not the ticket to wealthy living that it once was, not only because inflation has eaten away at what "six figures" could buy a generation ago, but also because the biggest costs that young adults have to pay- college or college loans and housing- have increased faster than the overall rate of inflation. Moreover, costs of living vary widely by location. A $100,000 salary buys a lot in rural America or a rust belt city... but that's not where the $100k jobs are. The lucrative jobs are in the big, fast growing, popular cities- which are also expensive (or getting expensive) because everyone's moving there for good jobs.