Surprisingly, about 20% of all young American adults between the ages of 18 and 25 report that they are struggling under mounting student loan debt, credit card debt, car loans, and other living expenses. The average wage has increased by more than 20% in the last three decades, but the cost of living has skyrocketed. Starting a new job, getting an apartment, paying for cable television, mobile phones, internet, gas, and clothing can be a financial hardship on a young adult making entry-level wages.
Sometimes the old expression seems to be completely true: you have to have money in order to make money. You get a job in order to pay for a new car, but you rapidly find out that you really need a car in order to get to most jobs on time. Insurance can be expensive, but can you skip paying for the roadside assistance plan? How much cell phone coverage do you really need? Can you afford to not have the internet hooked up at home? Given all these questions and problems, some young adults jokingly discuss having a “quarter-life crisis” instead of a midlife crisis.
It seems that young adults are under a great deal of stress, but when illness or an unplanned lawsuit is introduced into the complicated mix of everyday life, finding the money to pay debts or medical bills can seem impossible. Most medical malpractice suits wind up settling out of court, and people who win these cases are often presented with structured settlements that pay out lawsuit settlement monies slowly, over a period of years. Sometimes people want to stay with this structure, but there is an option to sell your structured settlements and to opt for a lump sum payment.
Typically, cash in structured settlement payments is distributed once a year, and although a structured settlement annuity may seem like a way to avoid taxes on lump sum payments, hidden fees could be just as expensive. Selling your annuity for cash in structured settlement payments is a viable option that specialty finance companies should be able to discuss fully with people who are interested. Selling a structured settlement can save money by avoiding administrative costs of “maintenance,” and selling lottery payments is also a possibility for people who are tired of waiting for their annuities to mature.
Young adults who are just entering the workforce should not be stressed out, trying to pay endless bills and to meet medical expenses. They should not be having crisis after crisis, and they should be having fun, meeting new people and gaining experience in the world of work. In the event of an unplanned lawsuit or medical episode, getting cash in structured settlement payments could allow young adults to buy a car, to return to school, or to pay medical bills. How about taking a vacation? It sounds like a lot of young adults could use a little bit of time to relax and to de-stress.