CHERRY HILL, N.J., April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Saving money
may be challenging for most Americans, but a new survey from TD
Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, reveals that
nearly half of Americans are feeling confident about their ability
to save for the future.
The TD Bank Saving and Spending Survey questioned more than
1,600 U.S. consumers about their saving and spending habits. Given
the current economy, the survey surprisingly found that nearly half
of consumers (49 percent) described themselves as "good savers."
Millennials are leading the charge with 56 percent reporting that
they are "good savers," compared with 43 percent of gen Xers and 48
percent of baby boomers.
Among those who wished they were saving more, 42 percent
reported that unavoidable expenses and financial commitments
impaired their ability to save.
"Conventional wisdom assumes Americans are spenders, rather than
savers," said Nandita Bakhshi, Head
of Consumer Bank, TD Bank. "So it's encouraging to see such a
strong commitment to saving across the board, particularly among
millennials. Only four percent of respondents stated that saving
isn't a priority, regardless of their financial
situations."
Retirement represents another key focus for most Americans, with
57 percent reporting that they are currently saving or investing
money for retirement. Still, a majority of consumers are not
confident that they will have the funds to retire comfortably.
Indeed, only 29 percent of respondents are very or extremely
confident that they will save enough to retire comfortably, while
36 percent of Americans list saving for retirement as one of their
main financial fears. Millennials, once again, break away from the
pack, feeling twice as confident as gen Xers in their ability to
save for a comfortable retirement (42 percent versus 20 percent,
respectively).
Where Do Americans Overspend?
While saving is a top priority, a majority of Americans still
report that they are overspending in some areas. Frequently,
restaurants were cited as the top culprit in overspending (40
percent), followed by coffee/lunches (23 percent) and
clothing/shoes (15 percent).
When it comes to retail spending, one-half of all respondents
and 69 percent of millennials surveyed admitted to indulging on
impulse purchases. Among the generations, boomers were the least
prone to binge-buying, with 49 percent noting that they "try not to
spend outside their budget."
Minding Their Own Budget
Millennials are not only the best savers, they're also the most
diligent about their budgets. According to the TD Bank Saving and
Spending Survey, 44 percent of Americans check their budget once a
week or more. This figure climbs to 53 percent for millennials,
compared to 43 percent for gen Xers and 37 percent for baby
boomers.
New technology is also changing the way Americans manage their
finances. Today's American consumers are relying more heavily on
banking/financial apps (40 percent), with conventional spreadsheets
taking a secondary position (29 percent). Reliance on
banking/financial apps is particularly prominent among millennials,
at 59 percent versus 38 percent for gen Xers and 24 percent for
baby boomers.
"Given the wealth of budgeting resources and technology
available today, there's something for everyone for tracking
financial habits," said Bakhshi. "Even if you don't actively budget
today, the ease of these new financial apps can provide a great
point of entry for controlling spending and managing savings."
Survey Methodology
The study was conducted among a nationally representative group of
consumers from March 26 through March 31,
2015. The total sample size was 1,607 respondents (ages
18-55+) with a margin of error of +/- 2.4%. The survey was
conducted by Vision Critical, an independent global research
company.
About Vision Critical
Vision Critical provides a cloud-based customer intelligence
platform that allows companies to build engaged, secure communities
of customers they can use continuously, across the enterprise, for
ongoing, real-time feedback and insight. Designed for today's
always-on, social and mobile savvy customer, Vision Critical's
technology helps large, customer-centric enterprises discover what
their customers want so they can deliver what they need. Unlike
traditional customer research, which is slow, expensive and gathers
dust on a shelf, Vision Critical's customer intelligence platform
replaces static data and cumbersome reports with real-time
actionable customer intelligence that companies need to build
better products, deliver better services and achieve better
business outcomes.
About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient
Bank®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10
largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 8 million customers
with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking
products and services at approximately 1,300 convenient locations
throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas
and Florida. In addition, TD Bank
and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth
management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and
dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is
headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J.
To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank
Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services
company in North America. The
Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New
York and Toronto stock
exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit
www.td.com.
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SOURCE TD Bank