Close Ad

Millennials Have Better Financial Habits Than Their Elders
financial habits - saving
Finance

Millennials Have Better Financial Habits Than Their Elders

Millennials are remarkably exceptional in many ways. They are better educated than other generations, more ethnically diverse, and more economically active. Modern life has brought new challenges, and millennials are feeling some of those challenges more keenly than others. Many millennials live by the YOLO (You Only Live Once) philosophy. YOLO emphasizes the importance of living the "now" rather than planning for the future, and older generations can easily see how this could spell disaster for a millennial's financial future. Yet that is the stigma we have to break.

For millennials, living in the moment doesn’t mean going broke. In fact, watching their parents struggle financially through a high unemployment rate and economic uncertainty, millennials saw how they’re parents manage finances and have developed better financial habits as a result.


Millennials Have Better Financial Habits Than Their Elders

Millennials Have Better Financial Habits Than Their Elders

Yes, despite YOLO-ing and the like, many millennials are still taking important steps to get on a path toward a more secure and comfortable financial future. Here are some proofs of millennials' financial habits.

A generation of savers

Millennials are more responsible with their finances. They are saving more than any other age group. To support this, the TD Bank Saving and Spending Survey questioned more than 1,600 U.S. consumers about their saving and spending habits. Given the current economy, the survey surprisingly found that nearly half of consumers (49 percent) described themselves as "good savers." Millennials are leading the charge with 56 percent reporting that they are "good savers," compared with 43 percent of Gen Xers and 48 percent of baby boomers. They are a lot more disciplined, in terms of thinking ahead and being proactive about saving for the future.

Managing challenges

Millennials today have to divide their time, money and attention among more distractions than any previous generation. They’re busy juggling one or more jobs, paying down a lingering student debt, renting responsibly or contemplating home ownership, maintaining relationships and saving for retirement. Managing finances is really a difficult full-time job for anybody, especially for someone who wasn’t born into an abundance of wealth. Despite these many challenges, many millennials are still able to keep up because they already know what to prioritize how they want to spend their money.

They’re building good savings habits

Millennials are also making smart money-saving moves that other generations would do well to emulate, although they may not have much to put aside in living the moment. Compared with older generations, millennials are more likely to be saving for a goal, more likely to have a written plan for their financial goals independent of meeting with a financial adviser, and more likely to set savings targets before pulling the trigger on an unaffordable purchase.

They're sticking to a budget plan

Planning a budget, and sticking to it, is essential to a healthy financial position. Millennials are particularly good at allocating their funds to one specific thing or another. Understanding and knowing where their money goes help them to make responsible financial decisions.

Just like people in older generations, millennials like to spend money. But where millennials outshine others is in budgeting -- 78% say they follow a budget, as reported by Chase. In the same survey, only 59% of boomers reported staying loyal to a budget.

Defying the stereotypes

Could millennials be practicing better financial habits than older generations?

The answer is yes. Millennials are doing a better financial management job than their elders. Most of them are tracking their expenses carefully. They are more disciplined in sticking to a budget. They take initiatives in educating themselves about investing, and they pay more attention to their investments. They’re using technology to their advantage. And they understand the importance of retirement planning and getting an early start on building retirement security.

Millennials, indeed, are exhibiting financial discipline in managing their finances, thus defying stereotypes that their generation is prone to spend-thrift and short-sighted thinking.

So the stigma has been broken – millennials are more financially literate than others.

Hot Stories

Pamela Anderson Opens Up About Her 9 Disastrous Weddings
Why Pamela Anderson Can't Stop Getting Married

Pamela Anderson has it all: beauty, fame and success. So why can’t the most famous blonde find her fairytale ending? Why is Pamela so unlucky in love and what dark secrets lie behind her seemingly glamorous life?

Keep ReadingShow less
Life Stories
Woman wearing a tie-dye shirt, two little kids holding a heartbreaking sign and two people holding hands.

Poor Boy Begs For Money to "Bury My Mama" With Heartbreaking Sign

Facebook/ Shannon Mount and Facebook/Jennifer Fife

A week ago, 11-year-old Kayden Ely experienced the devastating loss of his mother, Shannon Mount. Her unexpected passing didn't just leave Kayden and his four siblings without their mom, it also left the family in dire financial straits.

Desperate to raise funds for his mom's funeral, Kayden took to the streets of his small town in Georgia begging for help. For two days the heartbroken little boy stood next to the railroad tracks, holding a sign that read, "Please help me bury my mama!"

Keep ReadingShow less
Uplifting News
Man standing with two daughters, a black purse and a handwritten note (inset)

Grieving Daughter Finds Note In Fossil Purse While Thrifting

Courtesy Anna Harp and Courtesy of Abrielle Clausing (via People.com)

Thrifting can net all sorts of treasures. Shoppers can snatch up everything from vintage clothes to mid-century modern furniture to kitschy knick-knacks, all without breaking the bank.

But for one grieving woman, she found a hidden gem that was truly priceless.

Keep ReadingShow less
Uplifting News