Millennials
vs.
Boomers:
How Wide
Is The
Gap?
T
exting versus email (or even snail
mail). Angry Birds versus Monopoly.
“The Theory of Everything” versus
“The Sound of Music.” “Dancing
with the Stars” versus “American Bandstand.”
It’s no secret there are a lot of differences
between baby boomers, born between 1946-
1964, and millennials, who were generally born
after 1980. But when it comes to finances, there
may not be as much difference in some areas as
you might expect. See if you can guess which
generation is more likely to have made the
following statements. payment methods for day-to-day expenses.
A study by the FINRA Investor Education
Foundation found that millennials are almost
twice as likely as boomers to use prepaid debit
cards (31% compared to 16% of boomers).
They’re also more than six times as likely to use
mobile payment methods such as Apple Pay or
Google Wallet; 13% of millennials reported using
mobile methods, while only 2% of boomers had
done so. Source: “The Financial Capability of
Young Adults--A Generational View,” FINRA
Foundation Financial Capability Insights,
FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 2014
Boomer or millennial? I CONSIDER MYSELF A CONSERVATIVE
INVESTOR.
I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO LEAD THE LIFE I
WANT, OR BELIEVE I WILL IN THE FUTURE. Millennials. You might think that with thousands
Millennials. According to a 2014 survey by the
By Daniel T. Newquist,
CFP®, AIF®
Dan Newquist, CFP®, AIF®,
Principal & Senior Wealth
Advisor with RNP Advisory
Services, Inc., a registered
investment advisor, Morgan
Hill. He can be reached at
408-779-0699 or dnewquist@
RNPadvisory.com. Securities
offered through Foothill
Securities, Inc., member
FINRA/SIPC, an unaffiliated
company.
Pew Research Center, millennials were more
optimistic about their finances than any other
generational demographic, including baby
boomers. Roughly 85% of millennials said
they either currently had enough to meet their
financial needs or expected to be able to live the
lives they want in the future; that’s substantially
higher than the 60% of boomers who said the
same thing. Although a higher percentage of
boomers--45%--said they currently have enough
to meet their needs, only 32% of millennials
felt they had enough money right now, though
another 53% were hopeful about their financial
futures. Source: “Millennials in Adulthood,”
Pew Research Center, 2014
MY HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE HAS INCREASED
MY POTENTIAL EARNING POWER.
Boomers. The ability of a high school education
to provide an income has dropped since the
boomers’ senior prom, while a college educa-
tion has never been more valuable. In 1979, the
typical high school graduate’s earnings were 77%
of a college graduate’s; in 2013, millennials with
a high school diploma earned only 62% of what
a college graduate did. And 22% of millennials
with only a high school degree were living in
poverty in 2013; back in 1979, the figure for
boomers at that age was 7%. Source: “The
Rising Cost of Not Going to College,” Pew
Research Center, 2014
I RELY ON MY CHECKING ACCOUNT TO PAY
FOR MY DAY-TO-DAY PURCHASES.
Boomers . Not surprisingly, millennials are far
more likely than boomers to use alternative
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
JULY/ AUGUST 2015
of baby boomers retiring every day, the boomers
might be the cautious ones. But in one survey of
U.S. investors, only 31% of boomers identified
themselves as conservative investors. By contrast,
43% of millennials described themselves as
conservative when it came to investing. The
survey also found that millennials outscored
boomers on whether they wanted to leave money
to their children (40% vs. 25%) and in wanting
to improve their understanding of investing
(44% vs. 38%). Source: Accenture, “Generation
D: An Emerging and Important Investor
Segment,” 2013
GENERALLY SPEAKING, MOST PEOPLE
CAN BE TRUSTED.
Boomers. Millennials may have been around the
track fewer times than boomers have, but their
experiences seem to have given them a more
jaundiced view of human nature. In the Pew
Research “Millennials in Adulthood” survey,
only 19% of millennials said most people can
be trusted; with boomers, that percentage was
31%. However, millennials were slightly more
upbeat about the future of the country; 49% of
millennials said the country’s best years lie ahead,
while only 44% of boomers agreed.
I’M WORRIED THAT I WON’T BE ABLE TO PAY
OFF THE DEBTS THAT I OWE.
Millennials. However, the difference between the
generations might not be as significant as you
might think. In the FINRA Foundation financial
capability study, 55% of millennials with student
loans said they were concerned about being able
to pay off their debt. That’s not much higher
tha n the 50% of boomers who were worried
about debt repayment.
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