In partnership with BuzzFeed, we sought to identify 50 young professionals — three years into their career or less — who are practicing smart financial habits and sharing their challenges and successes openly with their peers. We put out an open call for entries, and 500 young professionals shared their stories and creative money-saving hacks.
From there, we evaluated nominees for their interests and passions, financial savviness and wellness, and overall alignment with the program, and the final 50 offered a comprehensive financial portrait of young America:
- Half made less than $40,000 per year
- Their average age was 24
- Three-quarters reported having a “side hustle”
- Their diverse fields included nonprofit and community service, advertising and marketing, education, wellness and healthcare, and entertainment and creative, among others
While we looked for financially-savvy young adults, we know that almost anyone can benefit from using our Better Money Habits resources to gain the financial know-how needed to achieve their goals. That’s why we gathered the 50 young professionals at Camp Better Money Habits, an end-of-summer camp designed to help attendees hone long-lasting smart money habits and connect with like-minded peers, so they have the power to reach their short- and long-term financial goals.
At Camp Better Money Habits, the 50 Under $50K enjoyed programming sessions on topics like “adulting,” how to maximize sometimes limited budgets and how to better their own personal money habits. They also benefited from advice-sharing with experts while participating in fun summer activities like barbeques, s’mores, live music and campfires.
At the end of the weekend-long camp, the 50 Under $50K left with not only the power to make sense of their financial lives, but a network of other young professionals eager to keep in touch and empower each other to continue to make better money habits.
