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September 14, 2016 at 02:43 AM
Millennials and baby boomers have many things in common with regard to saving and spending money, TD Ameritrade reported Monday.
A new survey found 68% of boomers and 62% of millennials considered themselves savers.
Respondents who characterized themselves as savers were likelier than self-described spenders to be married, own a home and earn a higher annual income: $75,000 vs. $61,000.
Sixty-four percent of millennial spenders in the survey said they wanted to “enjoy life now,” compared with 52% of boomer spenders, and 14% younger ones said they were spenders because they had so much debt they no longer cared.
More than two-thirds of both boomer and millennial savers said they were happy to save, and eight in 10 equated saving with financial security. The two groups, not surprisingly, had different goals when saving.
Eighty percent of boomers’ focus was on saving for retirement, while 82% of millennials were more likely to be putting away money for something else, typically an emergency fund and/or a vacation.
“Our research shows that it isn’t so much having more money as it is saving money that can make people feel more financially secure and happy,” Dara Luber, a retirement and long-term investing professional at TD Ameritrade, said in a statement.
(Related: 10 Best Places for Boomers to Work: Fortune)
“The more money you have saved, the freer you are to take control of your own destiny and make choices to improve your quality of life.”
Seventy-two percent of millennials reported that they were already saving for retirement, though at half the rate of their boomer counterparts: a median $150 vs. $300 per month. Millennial spenders were saving just $95 a month.
Two-thirds of millennials who were not saving said they could not afford to do so, compared with 56% of boomers who were in the same position.
Thirty-nine percent of millennial non-savers explained they were paying off student loan debt—a median $200 per month. In addition, the survey found millennials carried $15,000 in non-mortgage debt, compared with $10,000 for boomers.
