Only Half of Teens Say Gaining Financial Independence from Parents is a Goal for the Future!

Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I received this info, free of charge, via AIG for blog posting purposes. No compensation,  monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post/review. Nor was I told what to say, all opinions are my own, and yours may be different.

I don't know about you, but when I saw that lead in, my attention got grabbed! 

I can remember PLANNING with my friends to get our first apartment, when we would be able to afford new cars, but mainly WHEN would we be on our own. NOW it seems the tables have totally changed, and kids see staying at HOME, as more important! Even Miss Grace at age 11, is already saying she'll go off to college but has EVERY intention of coming back home to live!

Financial Literacy Month Survey by Junior Achievement and AIG Delves into Teens’ Concerns about Money and Plans for the Future

A new survey by Junior Achievement USA and AIG finds that only half of teens cite becoming financially independent of parents as one of their future goals. 

The 2018 JA Teens & Personal Finance Survey offers insight into how this generation is thinking about. and planning for their financial future, while emphasizing the value of financial literacy and personal finance programs.“Millennials have sometimes been referred to as ‘the Boomerang Generation’ because during the economic recovery many moved back home with their parents after college due to a weak job market and student loan debt,” said Jack Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “This survey may be showing that today’s teens, Generation Z, could be seeing that as a situation, that they too will encounter down the road.” 

Among the survey results, teens stated their financial goals for the future include: graduating from college (75%), creating a savings plan (50%), affording international travel (37%), starting my own business (30%), and retiring before age 65 (29%).

Teens were also asked to share their concerns for the future. Top concerns were: being able to pay for college (54%), finding a fulfilling and well-paying job (52%), not being able to afford their own home (49%), not having skills to manage money (42%), and not having savings for an emergency (41%). 

Girls who took the survey tended to have higher levels of concern than did the boys.“It’s apparent from these findings that today’s youth think a lot about their financial futures, and are looking for ways to be better prepared to be successful at managing money,” said Laura Gallagher, Global Head of Corporate Citizenship at AIG. “One way AIG is helping on this front is by partnering with organizations like Junior Achievement to get young people the information they need to be more prepared and to feel more confident about their futures.”

According to the survey, 95 percent of teens would value personal finance programs being taught in their schools. Currently, most teens get their financial advice from their parents or guardians (72%), followed by online resources including social media (33%), family members other than parents or grandparents (31%), and friends (28%). Only 18 percent currently seek out this information from their high school guidance counselor and 14 percent from a professional financial advisor.

So WHY have these needs been taken out of our schools? It's VERY frustrating and another reason why homeschooled kids seem better prepared to LEAVE the nest- they get taught these skills, as part of everyday 'life skills' I know we all understood what we would actually earn after deductions like taxes and social security were taken out of our paychecks, how to budget that money for monthly expenses and balance a checkbook, and how to determine if we could afford loans or mortgages. It astounds me how many kids  nowadays don't add in the cost of insurance and maintenance (like gas and oil changes) into new car costs, and then get in over their heads with bills. But then we also didn't have to worry about $140 monthly cell phone bills, or $50 internet bills, so we WERE able to plan for moving out better! It's amazing at how much we progress as a nation, we take SO many steps BACKWARDS, isn't it???

What do YOU think???

For more details on the 2018 JA Teens & Personal Finance Survey, you can read the summary here.

About Junior Achievement USA:

(JA) Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.8 million students per year in more than 100 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.

About AIG (American International Group, Inc.):

(AIG) is a leading global insurance organization. Founded in 1919, today AIG member companies provide a wide range of property casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement products, and other financial services to customers in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. These diverse offerings include products and services that help businesses and individuals protect their assets, manage risks and provide for retirement security. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Additional information about AIG can be found at www.aig.com 

Methodological Notes:

The JA/AIG Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. teens, ages 13-18, who are not currently enrolled in college, between March 9 and March 16, 2018, using an email invitation and an online survey.  Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.