Busting Millennial Money & Investing Myths

All too often, pop culture has negative things to say about millennials. Stereotypes range from being spoiled to being entitled to spending way too much money on avocado toast. (Reports have it going for as much as $19!)

But look a little closer and you'll find stats that in no way align with much of what you may have heard. According to recent research, 63 per cent American millennials have ample savings tucked away, which compares with 57 per cent of Americans in general who have less than $1,000 in their bank account. And millennials have much more than a grand too, Bank of America's 2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report found. Around 47 per cent of them have $15,000 or more and, get ready for this, 16 per cent have $100,000 or more saved.

In Canada, millennials have many of the same good, often-ignored habits: They don't buy for the sake of buying, they splurge on experiences rather than more stuff, they make lean budgets and stick to them. With data crunched by the Ontario Securities Commission in its Missing Out: Millennials and the Markets report released late last year, here are some millennial money myths to bust out the next time you witness a rant on typical stereotypes.

Myth 1: Young people are wandering nomads who can't commit to school, work or each other. Millennials do tend to change majors, job hop and delay marriage — but this by no means relegates the entire cohort to the margins of the economy. Canadian households under 35 held over $824 billion in assets as of 2012, the OSC report said, a significant piece of the financial pie with huge implications for the economy and everyone else.

Myth 2: Millennials are deeply in debt and they don't even care. Even though tuition rates leave many students saddled with big loans, paying down debt remains a priority. Of students with debt, 84 per cent said paying it off ASAP was "extremely" or "very important" for them. And two-thirds owe less than $15,000.

Myth 3: Naturally, they're terrible at saving. Refer back to those stats for Americans above, but Canadian data rebuts this myth, too. Despite rising living costs, tuition and other expenses, many millennials start saving early and often, the OSC report found. Four out of five have savings, and 73 per cent automatically save with every paycheque.

Myth 4: Millennials have no interest in home ownership. Real estate is so crazy and rent is so high that you might think young people have given up dreaming about a house of their own. You'd be wrong. The OSC report found more than half of millennial non-homeowners list buying property as one of their three top financial priorities, and many more say they're not investing their money elsewhere because a home downpayment comes first.

Myth 5: Young workers expect work to bring happiness — but not the big bucks. While many new grads do prioritize work that feels important and satisfying, it's not necessarily affecting their bottom line. Due to their high education and technical savvy, millennials actually make more than Gen X did at their age. (It's just everything else costs more.)

Myth 6: These crazy kids thrive on risky investments they hope can pay off big-time. Not even close. The OSC points to a report saying that thanks to memories of the 2008 financial crisis, millennials might actually be the most fiscally conservative generation since the Great Depression. More than half of them would rather end up with a lower return on their investments in exchange for less volatility.