The uncertainty as to whether they will be able to invest in bricks and mortar means millennials are focusing on financial security and life experiences as savings goals instead. 35% of millennials say a deposit for a house is their main savings goal, but is trumped by building an emergency fund (51%), a savings cushion (43%), achieving financial freedom (40%) and having money to travel and go on holiday regularly (37%).
Millennials’ savings goals
An emergency fund (51%)
A savings cushion (43%)
Financial freedom (40%)
Money to travel / go on holiday regularly (37%)
A deposit to buy a house (35%)
A holiday (25%)
Pay-off mortgage (19%)
Buy a bigger house (17%)
Start a family (14%)
A wedding (13
Similarly, millennials’ main goals in life are to be healthy (49%), have financial freedom (36%) and be financially stable (30%). Buying a house comes eighth on the list at just 19%.
Even of the millennials who are optimistic about getting on the property ladder, just under half (47%) think it will happen in the next five years. The cost of housing rising quicker than salaries (64%), not earning enough money for a deposit (56%) and living costs being too high to save (37%) are giving millennials doubt about getting on the property ladder sooner rather than later.
Millennials want to rent a place with outdoor space
Of the 31%t of millennials who are unsure they will own a property, more than half (56%) see privately renting with a partner as a long-term preference and more than a quarter (26%) plan to rent a place on their own.
With the chances of owning a house off the cards, millennials have alternative goals for the next five years. More than a third (35%) would like to rent somewhere with outdoor space or a garden, three in 10 (29%) would like to rent a property with a car parking space and just over a quarter (26%) would like somewhere they could decorate to their own taste.
Interestingly, in the next five years, 13% of millennials see renting somewhere that it large enough to host dinner parties as a goal.
Natasha Rachel Smith, consumer-money expert for TopCashback.co.uk, said: “Our research shows millennials are being sensible with their money and thinking about financial security. However, the current economic climate, and a change in lifestyle – people marrying and having children later – means millennials are favouring experiences over possessions and have different financial priorities at this point in their lives.
While it may be later in life and less of a priority than it was in the past, it is important for millennials to put money aside regularly and be savvy with their spending, so they are prepared when the opportunity to buy a property does arise.”
