I think all young people want houses, toy stuffs, and/or pricey experiences, the secret is balance AND doing what it takes to make a decent living. My kids did what it took to find careers that afford them and they are all in pretty good financial shape.
I drilled personal finance into them starting when they were old enough to handle money, helping them understand debt, credit cards, and savings. Key things I constantly reinforced:
- Pay your credit cards off every month
- If you need to make a big purchase, use a LOC (not credit card) and convert the purchase to installment credit so you can budget to pay it off over a fixed period of time.
- Go modest with the big ticket stuff -- accommodations, vehicles, large toys, and travel experiences -- until you're in a position to pay cash for luxuries.
- Save 20% of your paycheque using automatic contributions to low risk RRSP/TFSA investments. Play higher risk investment games with spare change.
- Do an annual personal budget when you do your annual taxes. Planning works, planning helps with financial decisions.
Its working.