Young adults are surprisingly optimistic about their own financial futures despite crushing inflation and lingering fears of recession.
A new study found that 80% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 are struggling or merely surviving financially. But the vast majority — 72% — believe they’ll be thriving in five years and 79% expect to get there in 30 years, according to the study from Edward Jones and MIT’s AgeLab Next360, which polled 2,003 adults in that age group.
The study offers insight into what this cohort wants from their lives as they age, and reveals how personal finance advice could help them overcome the challenges they face in getting there.
“While some feel like they’re just surviving, maybe barely keeping their head above water, they must feel deep down, ‘I just need a few years. I need one break. Just one break in my life to finally pay this student loan off or this credit card debt,'” said Andrew Herzog, a financial planner at the Watchman Group. “If I just got that monkey off my back, I could finally really start climbing that ladder.”
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Overall, the study found only 21% said they’re “thriving” now, while 57% said they’re “surviving,” and 23% said they’re struggling. But in five years, 72% see themselves “thriving,” with just 22% forecasting they’ll still be just “surviving” and 6% saying they’ll still be struggling. In 30 years, there’s greater optimism — 79% envision themselves as thriving, while only 16% said they would be surviving and 4% said they would be struggling.
The study also revealed that these adults share many of the same life goals as previous generations. The survey found that 80% have or want children and that 65% of study participants hope to be homeowners one day. Meanwhile, 2 in 3 have married or expect to in the future.
But despite their ambition and optimism, these adults face many challenges getting to where they want to be. These adults reported that basic living expenses and rising inflation are the biggest obstacles to achieving their five-year goals.
Just 13% have paid off college debt, only 31% have a retirement account, and 57% have health insurance, according to the study. Nearly 20% have already been laid off from a job.
“For those who are planning to have kids or just had or had kids, health care, childcare is incredibly expensive. Daycare for myself is about the cost of my mortgage,” said Eric Scruggs, a financial planner at Hark Financial Planning. “And so there’s a lot to balance with the cost of living, and wages haven’t particularly kept up.”
The study also pointed out that many members of this group grew up in the shadow of the Great Recession, which influenced their relationship with money.
“They saw parents lose their jobs and homes,” Lena Haas, head of wealth management advice and solutions at Edward Jones, said. “And so I think that having that experience, really shapes the desire of this generation to create a solid financial foundation. It’s not just about the money. It’s about having peace of mind and security.”
To do that, these adults will need to balance their desire for meaning and flexibility at work with their hope for the benefits of a more traditional life, which can be expensive, Scruggs said.
“You’ve got to balance what you want to accomplish today and working maybe in a career that you may find more personally meaningful than financially rewarding, but making sure that that doesn’t set you back for achieving your other longer term goals and objectives,” said Scruggs. “And at least, if nothing else, understand the trade off you’re making so that you’re making an informed choice. According to the study, nearly 80% handle their finances without the help of a financial planner. But of that group, over 40% they plan on working with one someday. The study found that nearly 70% view financial advisers as “a sounding board for ideas.”
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Instead, right now these adults rely on various other sources for financial advice. Over 50% speak to their parents about financial planners and surprisingly, despite their tech forward image, only 20% reported “using social media or influencers as sources of financial guidance,” according to the study.
Nearly 70% of survey participants said they don’t have money for professional advice, but Scruggs noted that professional help is becoming more accessible.
“There’s more and more advisers launching business models specifically for this next gen set of clients that can help them in a cost-effective manner and help set up solid foundations and solid habits,” he said. “That, like I said, will compound over decades to lead to meaningfully different retirement for these folks.”
Dylan Croll is a Yahoo Finance reporter.
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