There are a lot of stereotypes when it comes to Millennials and money. Namely, that we’re terrible with it.
Whether it’s because we’re mere cogs in an unforgiving economic environment (which our baby boomer parents were more than happy to deflect) or because we actually can’t be trusted with the responsibility of managing currency, our generation’s strained relationship with money is evident when we look at a key metric of healthy financial standing: savings.
And when we do that, it’s very evident that our generation is withered and doomed.
A recent survey by the Consumer Federation of America has found that almost 52 per cent of Millennials (aged 18 to 34) have less than $1000 USD in savings. That’s about enough to cover half a month’s rent in Toronto including Netflix and a Tinder Plus membership – the degradingly modest modern benchmark for quality of life.
On the bright side, an impressive 16.5 per cent of Millennials have managed to put aside over $20,000 for a rainy day. Or at least their parents have…
Unsurprisingly, the survey found that the level of income correlated with the amount of savings.
Over 56 percent of millennials who earned between $25,000 and $49,000 per year had less than 1,000 in savings, compared to 31.2 percent of those who made $75,000-$99,000 a year. Around 50 percent of millennials with incomes over $150,000 per year had savings of more than $20,000.
“I think we’re just beginning to understand how the millennials are behaving,” said U.S. Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen, which is a little concerning given we’ve been around for over three decades and are set to be the largest demographic by population next year.
“They’re certainly waiting longer to buy houses; to get married. They have a lot of student debt. They seem quite worried about housing as an investment. They’ve had a tough time in the job market,” she added, painting a bleak outlook for the future of our savings accounts.
Full numbers below:
– 51.8 percent of Millennials have less than $1,000 in savings.
– 18 percent of Millennials have savings of $1,000 to $5,000.
– 7.3 percent of Millennials have savings of $5,000 to $10,000.
– 6.4 percent of Millennials have savings of $10,000 to $20,000.
– 16.5 percent of Millennials have savings of more than $20,000.
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