Meanwhile, I Still Live in A Two Bedroom Apartment

very few weeks a credit union that I've done some business with the past few years sends me a mailer or two. The message is almost always the same: Get Your Home Loan Through ABCDEFG Credit Union! Refinance Your Home Loan Through ABCDEFG Credit Union!

The photo on the mailer is always of a smiling family, posing in front of their lovely McMansion as a dog frolics in their begonias in the background. hey look darn happy.

Meanwhile, I still live in a two bedroom apartment. And I'll probably be there for the foreseeable future.

The biggest issue with this mailer (though I appreciate that ABCDEFG CU believes I am responsible enough to have a wife and a dog) is that much like other members of Gen Y, this isn't my reality.

Can you blame me? I've spent the majority of my adult life surrounded by financial instability and chaos - namely the Great Recession of the 2000s.

I've seen jobs come and go, and I've seen how much more that issue is compounded when there's a house note mixed in. Don't even get me started on the ramifications of extending my daily commute would have on my gas budget. 

From NPR:

The economic hammer has fallen especially hard on 20somethings — part of the so-called Millennial Generation or Gen Y born roughly between 1975 and 1995. Plagued by high unemployment, many have had to delay careers, marriage and having children. And the idea of owning a home is more often being put off or written off entirely. In a nation where homeownership is part of the American dream, a generation of renters could alter communities where they live and redefine the idea of middle-class success.

Obviously I'm not saying that all home-buying information should cease to be sent out to members. However, there's a lot to be said about tailoring a message that fits your members.

Does your credit union's messaging reflect the realities of your members? Let us know in the comment section below!

DeAndre

DeAndre Upshaw is a former Young & Free Texas Spokester. He's a marketing professional living in Dallas and a Beyonce enthusiast. DeAndre is the host and executive producer of The State of Awesome. Follow him on Twitter and check out his personal website.