Millennials: Saving more Money than their Elders
Sometime during the past century, we decided it would be fun to start naming generations. Here’s what the media has come up with so far:
Greatest Generation: a term used to describe those who fought in WWII.
Baby Boomers: the offspring of the “Greatest Generation,” anyone born between 1946 and 1964.
Generation X: according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, this generation includes anyone born between 1965 and 1984.
Generation Y: a term used to describe those who were “too cool” for generation X…don’t worry about it.
Millennials: today’s kids and young adults; those born between 1982 and 2004.
The parameters of these generations are often disputed and are mostly used by the media when criticizing a certain age group. Right now, the Millennials (that’s me) are getting all the flack.
But as it turns out, we aren’t as bad as people think. When it comes to saving money, Millennials might just be the next “Greatest Generation.”
We’re often criticized for living in our parent’s basements and texting too much, but according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com, we save more of our income than any other age group.
In fact, more than half of all Millennials (62% to be exact) save at least 5% of their income – despite the fact that we are less likely to have a full-time job.
This percentage is up 20% from last year.
As a Millennial (with a full time job and my own apartment, thank you very much), I can certainly say that what I’ve seen and heard in recent years has convinced me not to expect a pension, adequate insurance, or a big social security benefit in the future.
As a result, I’ve started saving as much as I can. Turns out I’m not the only one!
