AUSTIN, Texas -- Millennials were too young to care about The Great Recession of 2007, but have dealt with the results ever since. Are they ready for another?

  • Many millennials were too young to be directly affected by 2007 recession
  • Experts warn of another impending recession
  • Advisors say understanding finance key to surviving

How can young adults stay afloat in a tough economy?​

Millennials were just children when The Great Recession of 2007 sent the economy spiraling. Now, as experts predict a new recession coming right around the corner, a new generation will have to weather the storm that is a bad economy after years of dealing with the results of the last one.

Philip Olson and his wife Julia Lorenz-Olson are a pair of millennials who've spent their entire adult lives dealing with those results after graduating with theater degrees from the University of Texas in 2007. They knew their calling was in finance when they realized other millennials like them needed advice on how to stay afloat.

"[We] learned the difficulties of trying to navigate the world if you don’t understand finance," Philip Olson said. "Having a lack of knowledge could really hold you back, so we went about educating ourselves."  

They dedicated their lives to learning finance and teaching financial literacy to the folks that need it. They say high debt and low wages have helped to change the economy to something different than what it was in 2007.

"The gig economy is now a thing, working for yourself, picking up a job for Uber or delivering food or whatever," Philip Olson said. 

"Those particular jobs could be potentially higher risk for being impacted for a downturn market," Julia Lorenz-Olson added.

With experts forecasting a 2020 recession, the pair has boiled down their advice for millennials facing the recession to three main points. 

  • Pay off as much debt as possible so it doesn't hurt you later.
    "A great thing to do right now especially if we have a recession on the horizon is start paying stuff off, pay that credit card down, pay off a car if you can, anything you can so there’s less overhead," Philip Olson said. 
    "Debt collectors don’t care if it’s a recession," Julia Lorenz-Olson added. "The debt is still the debt, doesn’t matter."​
  • Save as much cash as possible:
    "If you don’t have an emergency fund, we typically target around three months to six months of savings on hand," Philip Olson said. "If you’re forced to leave or maybe sales tank, you can use that cash to ride out the low points," Julia Lorenz-Olson said.
  • Don't panic!
    "Markets have to correct themselves and they do so through dips and turns," Julia Lorenz-Olson said. "That’s totally normal and it happens on a pretty consistent basis."

The couple are also hosts of their very own PBS web series, Two Cents. You can watch episodes through their channel on YouTube.