22% of millennials are going into debt from dating: 'Everything is getting more expensive' (2024)

FAQs

What percentage of millennials are in debt? ›

67% of millennials report having credit card debt, while just 36% face student loan debt. 25% of women think they'll never be debt-free, compared to 19% of men. 16% of those who expect to die in debt have a household income surpassing $100,000.

Some reasons that Millennials have difficulty saving include extremely high rents in the U.S., high student debt, experiencing a financial crisis and health pandemic during their careers, high inflation, and increasing housing demand.

Communication challenges in millennial relationships

As a generation that grew up with communication tools like smartphones and the internet, millennials often rely on technology to connect with their partners. The rise of social media is thought to have been a huge factor in many millennial relationships.

Millennials and Gen X are also regularly stressed about their finances: 58% and 61% respectively experience anxiety about their finances at least three days a week. Nineteen percent of Gen X respondents and 14% of millennials reported feeling stressed about money every day.

The cohort also has the largest share of people with debt, nearly 99% carry some type of balance, LendingTree found. Gen Xers led the way in three of the four categories analyzed. The group — between 44 and 59 years old — has the highest median credit card, auto loan and student loan balances.

While Gen Z's spending habits and power continue to expand, millennials will hold the title of the most powerful spending generation for a while yet.

Millennials were somewhat better off than Gen X—those born between 1965 and 1980—when they were the same age. Zoomers, however, are much better off than millennials were at the same age. The typical 25-year-old Gen Z-er has an annual household income of over $40,000, more than 50% above baby-boomers at the same age.

Compared with millennials at the same age, Gen Z has more debt of all kinds — including credit cards, car loans and mortgages — after adjusting for inflation, according to TransUnion's internal records.

Many couples split due to communication problems, and millennials are especially vulnerable in this area. Their primary communication is texting and instant messaging, which are vulnerable to innumerable misunderstandings. Having an argument via text is a potential disaster.

Why do millennials quit so easily? ›

According to Gallup, 6 out 10 millennials (57%) answered that work-life balance and well-being in a job are “very important” to them. As a result, they are more likely to leave a job as it doesn't meet their needs in terms of salary, benefits, or workplace culture.

"Getting married is often perceived as a risk so Millennials tend to cohabitate and get financially stable before moving forward." Business Insider reported that fear is leading Millennials to marry later "as they take time to get to know their partner, accumulate assets and become financially successful."

King said millennials' purchasing preferences and the soaring cost of living has led many into "a vicious cycle of taking on more debt." Many were "forced" to rely on credit cards and loans to meet their needs, adding to their "crippling debt pile."

As we saw last year, financial concerns—both in terms of anticipated future financial insecurity and day-to-day finances—are at the top of the list of their stressors. Work is also a factor.

A recent Voxburner survey revealed Gen Z's favourite influencers, which included: Molly-Mae Hague, Emma Chamberlain, Bretman Rock, KSI and Anastasia Kingsnorth. So, naturally, we've decided to take a look at them and their work.

People aged 40-49 hold the highest amount of debt with $4.21 trillion in total. By 2030, Millennials (born between 1981 to 1996) are expected to have the most total debt at an average of $228,891 per person.

Almost half of millennials have student-loan debt and are, on average, $40,614 in the hole. In 2020, Insider reported that nearly 45% of millennials had student-loan debt. As of June 2022, 43.5% of older millennials aged 36 to 41 had a student-debt balance of $20,000 or less, according to the St. Louis Fed.

45% of young adults say they are completely financially independent from their parents. Among those in their early 30s, that share rises to 67%, compared with 44% of those ages 25 to 29 and 16% of those ages 18 to 24.

Generation X (ages 44-59) has the most credit card debt, with an average balance of $9,123, followed by baby boomers (ages 60-78) and millennials (ages 28-43), according to Experian's 2023 consumer debt study.