Millennials Emerge as the "Super-Saver" Generation
TD Bank survey highlights consumer saving and spending habits
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
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