Whether or not a bad financial choice is a out of necessity is highly situation-dependent and the situation doesn't look great for the majority of millennials.

Whether or not a bad financial choice is a out of necessity is highly situation-dependent and the situation doesn't look great for the majority of millennials. I think this point sometimes gets lost among the HN crowd for whom a bad financial decision is most often a choice. Things like the extraordinary rise in the cost of higher education -- which has become a near defacto requirement to obtain a livable wage -- should not be discounted. The example of student debt is particularly salient because it appears to materially impact the vast majority of millennials. Even those of us fortunate enough to be making six-figure incomes spend many years pouring money into debt instead of retirement or brokerage accounts. In most cases this setback leads delays in home ownership, starting a family, and retirement. This is a problem that cannot be remedied by teaching good financial skills.