Millennials: Creative, Ambitious, Financial Optimists? 70% of Millennials Expect Financial Outlook to Improve In the Next Six...
September 24 2015 - 3:55PM
Business Wire
Millennials have also achieved an average of
49% of their 2015 savings goals, 40% more than they had at this
time last year
When it comes to finances, more than half (53% vs. 45% in 2014)
of Americans expect a greener outlook in the next six months, and
this optimism is strongest among Millennials (70% vs. 64% in 2014)
according to the American Express Spending & Saving
Tracker. With job and financial confidence high, Americans are
comfortably spending and adequately saving. For the second year in
a row, employed Americans are reporting that they feel more stable
in their jobs than they did a year ago (34% vs. 25% in 2014).
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Download the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen consumer spend confidence
improve steadily,” said Jed Scala, Senior Vice President, Consumer
Lending at American Express. “Millennials especially are feeling
more optimistic than ever, and they are apparently ahead of the
savings game, too.”
Millennials Are Growing Up
The generation known for creativity and self-expression can now
be praised for something else: financial smarts. Millennials, on
average, have achieved 49% of their year’s projected savings, 40%
more than they had at this time last year. This might be due to
setting more-realistic goals: In 2014, Millennials projected they
would save a total of $12,189 for the year. When asked at the start
of 2015 what their projected savings for the year would be, they
revised their projection and reported $10,063 as the magic
number.
Most Millennials feel optimistic about their financial
situation: 70% report they expect that it’s only going to get
better over the next six months, as compared to 53% of the general
population. Perhaps that forward-looking optimism can be attributed
to that fact that nearly twice as many Millennials as the general
population are looking to second jobs to help increase their
existing savings (21% vs 11%).
Americans On Track to Save
When asked in January 2015, Americans reported an average
savings goal of $11,292 for the year. During a financial check-in
in August, consumers reported a total average savings of $7,518 –
up 5.1% from a check-in at the same time in 2014. At nearly 70% of
their savings goal, and with three months left of the year,
consumers are in a good position to end the year strong.
When it comes to methods of reaching savings goals, most
Americans rely on their paychecks to fund their savings accounts.
However, consumers are also finding thrifty ways to add more
dollars to the bank. For example, top ways to save include:
Savings Method Annual Impact (2015 vs. 2014)
Savings from tax return 26% vs. 21% Reducing spending on
luxuries (e.g. morning lattes, manicures) 23% (on par)
Selling items and possessions, e.g. Craigslist, eBay 22% vs.
17% Saving a portion of bonus 12% vs. 11% Working a second
job 11% vs. 9%
Spending Is Up Overall in 2015
While consumers are socking away their savings, they are
balancing that with their discretionary spending. Seventy-four
percent of survey respondents (73% in 2014) have spent more than or
the same as they had planned to at the beginning of the year on
discretionary items, such as leisure, fashion, home, gaming,
grooming and computer expenses.
Most Americans experienced “unforeseen” expenses this year (53%
vs. 47% in 2014), such as car trouble, healthcare, other insurance
and house- and education-related items. Despite these unexpected
expenses, spending is expected to rise throughout the holiday
season, as most still intend to spend large between now and the end
of the year (71% vs. 62%). Some of the large items planned for the
final months of 2015 include TVs, furniture and new or used
cars.
About the American Express Spending & Saving
Tracker
The American Express Spending & Saving Tracker research was
completed online among a random sample of 1,505 adults, including
the general U.S. population, as well as an affluent demographic
defined by a minimum annual household income of $100,000.
Interviewing was conducted by Ebiquity, formerly Echo Research,
between August 18 -21, 2015. The results reported in this release
have an overall margin of error of +/- 2.5 at the 95 percent level
of confidence.
About American Express
American Express (NYSE:AXP) is a global services company,
providing customers with access to products, insights and
experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn
more at americanexpress.com and connect with us
on facebook.com/americanexpress,
foursquare.com/americanexpress,
linkedin.com/company/american-express,twitter.com/americanexpress,
and youtube.com/americanexpress.
Key links to products and services: charge and credit
cards, business credit cards, Plenti rewards
program, travel services, gift cards, prepaid
cards, merchant services, corporate
card and business travel.
About Ebiquity, Plc.
Ebiquity are independent marketing performance specialists.
Ebiquity enables brands across the world to make better informed
decisions to improve their brand and business performance across
integrated communications channels. Learn more
at ebiquity.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150924006483/en/
American ExpressJane Di Leo,
212-640-8055jane.e.dileo@aexp.com
American Express (NYSE:AXP)
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