It’s not exactly breaking news, but Millennials are falling behind when it comes to achieving major milestones. And new study findings reiterate what prior research has suggested: debt is somewhat to blame.
A report released earlier this week by NBC News and GenForward revealed that “a quarter of Millennials — those 18 to 34 years old — are over $30,000 in debt, including 11 percent who are over $100,000 in debt. Only 22 percent of Millennials are debt free.”
What was that? A collective cry for financial wellness education? Perhaps.
Credit cards were found to be the biggest culprit among those with debt, followed by student loans. Only 20 percent of Millennials reported having a mortgage or home loan.
Consequently, approximately one-third pointed to debt as a reason they have yet to buy a home and are not contributing to 401k accounts or other retirement savings. Another 14 percent said they aren’t getting married right now because of debt; 16 percent are waiting to have children.
What’s more, debt has rendered many Millennials unprepared for a financial emergency. “Sixty-two percent of Millennials owe more in debt, overall, than they have in a personal savings account. Only about a quarter (24 percent) have more money in their savings account than they owe in debt,” NBC News reported.
Just under a quarter of those surveyed said they have no savings. Around a third have saved up less than $1,000. Two out of three respondents would have trouble coming up with $1,000 for an unexpected expense.
A breakdown by subgroups uncovered other unfortunate trends:
- Of Millennials with children, 48 percent would find it difficult to pay $1,000 for an unexpected bill, while 39 percent of those without children said as much.
- 74 percent of Latino Millennials would have trouble paying $1,000 for an unplanned expense, followed by Millennials in the African-American (72 percent), Asian-American (65 percent) and white (64 percent) subgroups.
- Almost half of African-American Millennials have student loan debt — more than any other racial subgroup.
In spite of everything, Millennials appear to be keeping their cool. Nearly six in 10 remain hopeful about landing good jobs, paying down student loans and living a desirable lifestyle.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
It’s really tragic that people are in this position. Just a little Dave Ramsey in their lives would do wonders to get themselves on the right path financially. Being in debt is really dumb. Paying interest is even stupider. Clearly, we parents of Millennials didn’t do a good job teaching our kids about finances. Probably because we are children of baby-boomers who didn’t do a good job teaching us, either. And, with the marketing tactics of today’s credit card companies, car dealerships, and student loan industry, getting on the right side of money takes a freaking miracle to happen.