CNBC: If Millennials Can Save Money, You Can, Too
It was recently announced that Millennials – defined as anyone who was 18 to 34 years old in 2015 – are now the largest living generation in the United States and have surpassed Generation X to become the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. And while Millennials often face workforce stereotypes including entitlement, job hopping, and social media addiction, they are finally gaining some positive attention as leaders when it comes to saving money. A recent CNBC article by Landon Dowdy shares statistics about Millennial’s saving habits and saving tips from financial professionals including Dave Yeske.
One habit that Yeske Buie has observed with Millennials – and would recommend for those who aren’t doing it – is that they’re more inclined to use technology, including apps, to do two things: save automatically and take a data-driven approach to saving opportunistically. Dowdy shares Dave’s thoughts in her article saying, “Apps like Goodbudget, Wally or Mint can help you track all of your accounts. Take advantage of being part of a particularly tech-savvy generation and use a data-driven approach to saving,” said … Dave Yeske, CFP® of Yeske Buie.”
Additionally, Millennials seem less nervous than other generations about sharing login information in order to set up electronic money-links between their various financial accounts and also tracking systems like Mint.com. Setting up systems to automatically transfer some amount – whether $20 or $200 – every month from checking account into mutual fund or brokerage account is very powerful. Like payroll deducting into a 401(k), set-and-forget automatic transfer arrangements utilize one of the most powerful of the mental biases that the behavioral economists talk about: inertia. Once we’ve put some arrangement in place, it tends to continue indefinitely because of this bias. Harnessing it in this way takes something that in some settings could be a vice and transforms it into a virtue.
Knowledge is power, meanwhile, and as Dowdy shares in another quote from Dave, using tracking systems like Mint.com, “Not only [lets] millennials “know where their money is going — opening up the possibility of changing spending behavior — but also allows them to be aware in real time when surpluses appear that can be swept into a savings or investment account”.
To learn more tips for stashing away your cash, read Dowdy’s entire article on CNBC and watch the short informational video below.