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Bank of America
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Winter 2018
“
Millennials
deserve more
credit – both
from themselves
and from others
– for their
mindfulness
when it comes
to money and
their lives.”
A note from Andrew Plepler
Global Head of Environmental, Social and Governance
at Bank of America
When you hear the word “millennial,” it may call to mind some stereotypes:
they are self-absorbed, foolish with money, not long-term planners or still
dependent on their parents. But do these stereotypes hold up? That’s what we
set out to nd in the fth edition of our Better Money Habits Millennial Report.
It turns out that millennials are actually just as good, or better, than other
generations when it comes to managing money, and they are getting their
nancial houses in order. Millennials (ages 23-37) are more likely to set savings
goals – and a majority meet them. Most millennials feel nancially secure – at a
level on par with Generation Xers and Boomers – and they are more likely to ask
for raises. Still, they feel stressed; one in four worry often about money. .
The interesting part is that millennials believe the stereotypes about themselves.
Despite their good habits, three-quarters say their generation overspends, and
the majority believe that their generation is bad at managing money.
We often hear another stereotype about millennials and their careers: they are
job-hoppers. Our ndings show that while the majority of millennials expect to
hold eight plus jobs in their lifetime, a quarter of them have been laid o. Yes,
they may bounce around, but consider the factors outside of their control.
At home, millennial parents are very aware of the costs of raising children. Older
generations say nances weren’t really a factor in their decision to have kids;
millennial parents say the opposite. And, nearly a quarter of older millennials are
already saving for their children’s education – a feat given that so many may still
be paying o their own student loans.
My takeaway? Millennials deserve more credit – both from themselves and
from others – for their mindfulness when it comes to money and their lives.
Let’s not forget, many millennials entered the workforce during the most severe
economic downturn since the Great Depression. However, they seem to have
weathered the storm quite admirably.
At the same time, they have room and, importantly, time to reduce the stress
they report having around money. To help out, we oer tools and resources
through Better Money Habits®, our nancial education platform, to make the
everyday challenge of managing money more intuitive and a little bit easier.
Despite Stereotypes, Millennial Money Habits Are Just As Good
– or Better – Than Other Generations’
There’s a general notion that millennials aren’t good at managing money – that they overspend and aren’t in
a place to even begin to save. Despite stereotypes about their generation’s money habits, they deserve more
credit: millennials are actually doing better than you – and they – might think.
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63%
64%
75%
are
saving
54%
54%
57%
are
budgeting
57%
42%
42%
have a
savings goal
59%
63%
54%
feel
financially
secure
Millennials Gen-X Baby Boomers
In terms of how much they have saved, they’ve shown improvement over just a few years: in 2015, only
33 percent had $15,000 or more saved, and only eight percent had at least $100,000.
67%
of millennials who have a
savings goal stick to it every
month or most months
73%
of millennials who have
a budget, stick to it every
month or most months
47%
of millennials have
$15,000 or more
in savings
16%
of millennials have
$100,000 or more
in savings
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
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But They Don’t Give Themselves Enough Credit and Believe
the Negative Stereotypes, Too
73%
of millennials say their
generation overspends
on unnecessary
indulgences
64%
of millennials say
their generation
is not good at
managing money
100
100
75%
say their generation
overspends compared
to other generations
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
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Top Financial Stressors: Falling Short on Savings, Careers
Despite their relatively strong money habits, millennials still say their nances are causing them stress. One
in four millennials worry often about their nances (roughly even with Baby Boomers but less than Gen Xers).
Notably, they’re just as worried about nances as they were when surveyed in 2014, when three-quarters said
they worried similarly about money. Not having enough money saved is their top source of nancial worry with
about one in three naming it as a top stressor.
20%
Not being able to
aord a home
35%
Not saving
enough
24%
My career
path
17%
Spending more
than I should
21%
Not planning
and saving for
retirement
17%
Student loans
19%
Health costs
17%
Losing my job
17%
Not having
enough to
invest
17%
Credit card
debt
Still, millennials are saving. Their top priorities are saving for emergency
funds (64 percent), retirement (49 percent) and to buy a house (33 percent).
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
5
Millennials More Likely to Ask for Raises Than Older
Generations
With nearly one in four listing their career path as a source of stress, millennials advocate for themselves at work
– more so than both Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. Roughly half of millennials (46 percent) have asked for a raise
in the past two years versus 36 percent of Gen X and 39 percent of Baby Boomers. Eighty percent of millennials
who asked for a raise in the past two years received one.
80%
of millennials who
asked for a raise
got one
19%
of Gen Z have
asked for a raise in
the past two years
46%
of Millennials have
asked for a raise in the
past two years
36%
of Gen X have
asked for a raise in
the past two years
39%
of Baby Boomers
have asked for a raise
in the past two years
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
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Job Hopping Not Always By Choice; Gig Economy is Here
to Stay
As they build their careers, approximately one in four millennials consider themselves part of the gig economy
(taking on short-term contracts or freelance work) and expect to have eight or more jobs in their lifetime. While
they are known as job-hoppers, that’s not necessarily by choice. A quarter of millennials (26 percent) have been
laid o.
26%
of millennials consider themselves
to be part of the gig economy
of younger
millennials and
of Gen Z were more likely to say
they are part of the gig economy
of millennials
hav
e been laid o
26%
34%
41%
In the long run, job-hopping may be limiting the amount
that millennials are saving for the future. Thirty percent
of millennials say they haven’t stayed at a job long enough
to set up a retirement plan.
47%
of millennials anticipate
needing a second source
of income or job on the
side at some point
23%
of millennials expect to
have eight or more jobs in
their working life
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
Passion Still Trumps Paycheck, But Some Feel Like It’s Too Late
to Make Career Changes
When it comes to their careers, some millennials are feeling unsettled. Roughly a third (34 percent) want to
make a career change but are worried it’s too late to make a switch.
Also, the majority (69 percent) wish they had chosen a job with better work/life balance, and 44 percent wish
they had chosen a job/career that they enjoyed more. Forty percent are pessimistic about nding a job they
really like. And the majority (56 percent) say that interest/passion in their career is more important to them
than the size of their paycheck. This is on par with ndings from 2016, where young adults said that personal
interest (60 percent) is more important than salary (24 percent) in their job consideration.
34%
W
ant to make a career
change but are w
orried it’
s
too late to make a change
69%
Wish for better work/life balance
40%
Pessimistic about nding
a job they really like
44%
Wish they had chosen a career
that they enjoyed more
56%
Say interest/passion is more
important than size of paycheck
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You Make How Much? Many Millennials Don’t Know Their
Spouse’s Salary
While millennials are likely to bring up the topic of salary at work, that’s not always the case at home. Nearly
one in ve millennials don’t know how much their spouse/partner makes. Millennial couples are more likely
than older generations to keep their nances separate, and, when it comes to starting family, are more likely
to consider nances as a major factor.
Finances are the
top source of tension
in millennial households
25%
Finances
17%
Household
chores
Nearly one in ve
millennials don’t
know how much their
spouse/partner makes
28%
of millennial couples
say they keep their
nances separate
11%
of Gen Xers
13%
of Baby Boomers
keep theirs separate
For millennial parents,
cost of raising
kids is top of mind
30%
of millennial parents say
nancial considerations
played a major role in
their decision to start
a family
22%
of Gen Xers
9%
of Baby Boomers
said the same
Millennials are already
saving for their
kids’ education
27%
of older millennials are
already saving for their
children’s education
Still 48%
of millennial parents
don’t know what a
529 plan is
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
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Better Money Habits Report Methodology
Bank of America commissioned a survey of 1,500 respondents, ages 18-71 years old, to explore their
views on personal nancial matters. For the purposes of this report, millennials are dened as ages 23-37,
with younger millennials ages 23-27 and older millennials ages 28-37. The survey was conducted online in
English and Spanish during the period of September 22 – October 16, 2017. Interviews were conducted by
GfK Public Communications and Social Science, using GfK’s KnowledgePanel®, a statistically representative
sample source used to yield results that are projectable to the American population. The margin of sampling
error for national data is +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent condence level. An augment sample
of approximately 2,025 additional interviews was also included to bring the millennials found in the national
sample up to 300 completes each in six DMA markets including Austin, TX, Raleigh-Durham, NC, San Diego,
CA, Pittsburgh, PA, Denver, CO and Seattle, WA. Margin of error for the DMA augments are higher than that
of the national sample.
About Better Money Habits
®
At Bank of America, we’re committed to helping people lead better nancial lives by equipping them with the
skills, knowledge and condence to succeed. That’s why we created Better Money Habits, a nancial education
platform of tools and information that helps people make sense of their money and take action to improve.
As a cornerstone of Better Money Habits, we oer free nancial education content that is easy to understand.
We partner with the education non-prot Khan Academy to create resources for young adults, including a
video series on work-related nancial topics. We continually look for ways to expand the reach of Better
Money Habits and over the course of 2018 will oer Spanish language resources on the site.
As another arm of Better Money Habits, we oer money management tools, like the Spending and Budgeting
Tool, to make it easier to budget and see where your money is going. We also have an on-the-ground
presence through community partnerships, including the work that our employees do through the Better
Money Habits Volunteer Champions program.
2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report
Bank of America
Winter 2018
