A majority of millennials (84%) are confident in their ability to manage their finances while 41% are “chronically stressed” about money, according to the latest report by Bank of America in collaboration with USA Today.
In a statement, Andrew Plepler, executive, Global Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of America commented, “Even though millennials are confident about money and focused on their finances, they’re still experiencing a great deal of stress. That’s due in part to factors out of their control – a volatile global economy, a changing job market and, to some extent, the student debt they’ve taken on.”
Plepler emphasized that it is important for millennials to focus in they can control such as their level of financial knowledge and awareness during uncertainty.
“This survey indicates there may be room for more effective financial management efforts that make it easier for millennials to take greater control of their finances, and hopefully alleviate some of the stress they feel,” said Plepler.
Money stress affects many areas of millennials’ lives
The report found that money stress tends to affect many areas of the lives of millennials including their emotional well-being (65%), leisure activities/interests (55%), personal relationships (49%), physical health (42%), and work performance (22%).
Millennials feels different types of emotions when in comes to managing their money. Some of them feel anxious, content, happy, prepared, scared, secure, and overwhelmed.
According to the report, two-thirds or 67% of millennials who worry about money feel such emotion often or sometimes. It appears that younger Millennials do not fully understand the gravity of their financial situation while older millennials (26-34 years old) seemed to worry more than younger millennials (18-25 years old).
The primary causes of stress among this generation include not having enough savings, spending more than they should, facing adulthood or being an adult, debt from student loan/college education, not planning and saving for retirement, among others.
The report also found that most millennials (61%) are concerned about the cost of living, ability to save (58%), cost of housing (565) and finding a new job (49%), taxes (43%) when thinking about their place of residence.
Financial fitness is a priority for millennials
The report showed that some millennials (34%) feel they are expert in social media while only 17% thinks they have knowledge in personal finance. Others (33%) think they have expertise in cooking (33%) technology (26%), sports (23%) health and wellness (23%) and arts/entertainment (18%).
When it comes to the amount of time spent on financial fitness, the report found that millennials spend the same amount of time taking care of their personal finances and physical fitness. It shows that financial and physical fitness is a priority for them.
Forty percent (40%) of millennials believe they are currently financially fit because they have savings, paying bills, minimizing debt, budgeting and preparing for emergencies. Women are more likely to prioritize being debt-free, to spend less, have savings, and set financial goals than men.
USA Today editor-in-chief Dave Callaway said, “The survey’s findings give relevant insight into how millennials feel when it comes to managing their finances. While they are increasingly confident, they are still faced with complex financial decisions that they are proactively learning to navigate. The results make it clear that financial health is a fundamental issue and area of concern for millennials.
