Half of the Millennials think money can buy happiness

There is an old saying the „Money can’t buy happiness”, but when in comes to Millennials, more than half of them do not seem to thing is up for the debate.

A new research from Mintel found that 53% of US Millennials think that the more money you have the happier you are. In comparison, only 38% of the Americans agree to the idea.

More specifically, only 26% of the iGeneration equal money with happiness, 28% of Generation X, and the figures drop significantly for Baby Boomers (23%) and the World War Generation/Swing generation (17%).

Earning more money is even more important than having personal time for those aged 23-40. This is true for a staggering 42% in the case of Millennials aged 23-30. However, the majority of them seems to value experiences more than material goods when it comes to the way they prefer to spend their money.

Regarding their financial well-being, almost three-quarters of Millennials consider their personal financial situation healthy (35%), while 38% say it is 38%. When it comes to their outlook on the future, 51% of Millennials are confident in their financial future, while 24% consider saving for retirement a challenge.

One aspect that requires improvement for over half of the Millennials is their knowledge on financial services. Only 51% say they’re confident in their knowledge, with friends and family being the ones most likely to turn to (34%). Other sources of information are financial professionals in the case of 17% and social media (20%)

“We’re seeing a trend with Millennials limiting the number of things they own and, at the same time, increasing the quality of what they spend their money on,” said Jennifer White Boehm, Associate Director of Financial Services at Mintel. “Financial education will be helpful as these consumers age, enter new life stages and take on more responsibility. Given that Millennials are more likely to listen to friends and family, with some turning to social media for answers, financial services companies should aspire to offer information and advice as a trusted advisor, not just their primary financial institution. This highlights opportunities for brands to step in with practical, educational materials to help Millennials manage their money.”

With the future looking bright, it seems the present is what Millennials are most worried about, especially when it comes to expecting the unexpected. More than any other generation, Millennials consider saving for emergencies (32 percent) to be the biggest financial challenge they are facing. Other top financial challenges where Millennials over-index include paying day-to-day bills (28%) and paying off credit card debt (28%).

“As Millennials continue on their financial journey, reaching this group will require going beyond generational marketing in order to target these consumers within their specific life stages. Spending and saving habits are vastly different even among younger and older Millennials, with daily expenses, saving for emergencies and other key financial challenges reflective of their age topping the list of financial concerns,” continued Boehm.

Although technology in the financial services industry has increased in recent years, people are still confident on traditional methods such visiting financial services institution and visiting the local banks.

Three-quarters (74%) of Millennials agree that improvements in technology make managing finances more convenient (compared to 69% of Americans overall). In addition, a strong minority would be interested in using artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct financial services transactions (14%) and using AI/chatbots when resolving customer service questions (13%) (compared to nine percent and seven percent of consumers overall). That said, old habits die hard as one in four (24 %) Millennials and one in three (32%) prefer their local branch for banking transactions.