New Report Says 1 In 6 Millennials Have $100,000 Or More In Savings


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Millennials have been blamed for killing everything from big beer to Applebee’s to cereal to even napkins. However, one thing millennials are not killing is savings accounts. A new report by Bank of America stated that 1 in 6 millennials has $100,000 or more in savings.

There are many stereotypes regarding millennials about being broke because of overwhelming student debt. But it seems that a great number of millennials are actually saving money, and many are saving a significant amount of wealth. Bank of America teamed up with online survey platform GfK to investigate the personal finance situations of Americans. They polled 1,500 people, aged 18-71, during the period of September 22 until October 16, 2017. In the bank’s Better Money Habits Millennial Report revealed that millennials are fiscally very responsible for the most part.

The report stated that 1 in 6 millennials, or about 16%, had $100,000 or more in total savings — including money in checking and savings accounts, IRAs, 401K’s, and other retirement or investment accounts. They also found that 47% of millennials had $15,000 or more in savings. An impressive 73% of millennials who have a budget are able to stick with it every month or most months.

The study classified millennials into two groups, both about 375 in each group. There was the younger millennials, ages 23-27, and older millennials, ages 28-37. “This generation of millennials, particularly younger millennials, seem to be adapting the savings habits a bit more rigorously, with a bit more discipline and a bit more intensity than even the older millennials and boomers,” said Andrew Plepler, global head of environment, social, and governance at Bank of America. “We’re seeing their saving habits start earlier.”

Despite producing some impressive results, many millennials don’t have a positive outlook on their generation’s saving habits. The survey found that 75% of millennials say their generation overspends compared to other generations. There were 73% of millennials who say their generation overspends on unnecessary indulgences. Too much avocado toast. Then 64% of millennials said their generation is not good at managing money. A number of millennials did have concerns such as 35% who don’t think they are saving enough, 21% aren’t planning and saving for retirement, 20% are concerned they won’t be able to afford a home, and 17% said they are spending more than they should.

Millennials fare better than older generations when it comes to saving. A GoBankingRates survey from August of 2017, found that 57% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. So millennials are also killing many misconceptions and stereotypes that have plagued them.

[WaPo]