While the average American worries about money six times a day, that number is even higher for millennials.
Despite the by-now tired joke about imprudent spending on avocado toast, millennials actually worry about money more than any other generation.
According to a recent survey of 2,000 Americans commissioned by financial company Affirm, the average American frets about money six times a day — for millennials, who are commonly classified as those born between 1981 and 1994, that number goes up to seven.
“With 40% of millennials agreeing credit card debt is their biggest financial setback, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing this group embrace more modern, flexible payment options,” Silvija Martincevic, Affirm’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement.
But somewhat paradoxically, millennials are also most confident about the state of their finances — perhaps because they are still young and are just starting to enter their prime earning years.
Of those, 78% of polled millennials believed that their finances will be in a better place 10 years from now.
While 79% of millennials are confident about their finances, only 71% of Generation Xers and 65% of baby boomers feel the same. Generation Z, or the youngest group of adult Americans alive today, are at the bottom with only 57%.
As a result, younger generations are starting to invest earlier — while only 17% of baby boomers had started saving or investing by the age of 25, 42% of Generation Z has already done so.
But despite different spending and savings habits, money remains a major source of anxiety across all generations. Out of the people polled, 43% said they would give up drinking for five years to get early retirement; 30% vowed to give up sex, while 29% would give up their friends.