One in four Kiwi millennials say their budgeting skills are 'excellent': new research

Friday, 13 July 2018

Although they have some vices, Auckland millennials say they are mostly cautious with money.

Millennials are famous for allegedly being spendthrifts - but it appears poor money management is not to blame for their struggles to afford their own homes.

In fact, new research indicates most young Kiwis are just as good at budgeting as their parents.

And while Auckland University students admit they sometimes splurge on food and entertainment, they say they're usually cautious with their finances.

A quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds consider themselves 'excellent' at budgeting, according to a survey by Perceptive Research, on behalf of credit information company CreditSimple.co.nz.

Auckland student Melissa Zhu, 24, says carefully keeping track of her finances has allowed to her save money while studying.

* Millennial Money: How to ask for a [payrise

](https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/104921784/millennial-money-how-to-ask-for-a-payrise)* Millennials aren't so bad at keeping track of their money, ANZ report shows

* Millennial Money: What would you do if you were in my shoes?**

The same proportion of baby boomers rated their budgeting expertises as 'excellent', compared to only one in 10 of Generation Xers (aged 35 to 44).

Another 50 per cent of millennials said they had a 'fairly good' grasp of their income and spending.

Dhilesh Vasan, 20, helps other millennials learn to budget through the charity SavY.

In light of the findings, three young Aucklanders shared their budgets and money saving hacks with Stuff.

Melissa Zhu, 24, optometry student

Most millennials think they're good at budgeting, a survey has found.

Income (per week): $231.92 from student loan living costs, plus wages from part-time work as an optical assistant (fluctuates)

Expenses (per week): $250 (rent, bills and transport)

Savings: Any extra

Zhu said she reduced costs by boarding with people who owned their own homes instead of flatting with other students and would deliberately choose to live just out of the city fringe suburbs where rents were more affordable but from which she could still commute easily to the CBD. She also cooked most of her meals, going out to eat about twice a month.

She put any extra money she earned into a high interest savings account and would only buy luxuries when she had enough in a second account to cover a month of expenses and 10 per cent extra for emergencies.

'Before buying anything I don't really need I think 'what are the true costs and benefits of buying this?' 'If I buy this coffee five times a week will it mean I can't afford to go out for a really lovely meal at the end of the week?',' she told Stuff.

Her only spending vice was make up and even then she only allowed herself to buy when she had spare cash.

Jess*, 21, student

Income (per week): $700 a week from her wages and Studylink payments

Expenses (per week): Phone bill $12.50, petrol $20, health insurance $9.54, and food $150

Savings (per week): $200 short term (travel fund), $300 long term (for her future, possibly a house deposit)

Remaining (per week): $75 (approx) pocket money

Jess works full time and lives with her parents to save money.

'I try not to spend when I can because long term wise there could be something that I could use those funds for,' she said.

When she indulges it's mostly on packaged foods when she's too tired to cook.

She said she generally didn't spend all the $75 of pocket money.

'It could just be the cheeky sushi here and there just to spoil myself food wise. It's not something I definitely have to spend. It's more like a piggy bank I can go into and spend it on whatever I see,' Jess said.

Dhilesh Vasan, 20, commerce and science student

Income: $309, including student allowance payments and wages from part time work

Expenses (per week): Phone bill $5, transport $30, food $20, entertainment $30, board $100, indoor football $5

Investments(per week): $69

Remaining (per week): $50

Vasan helps other young people improve their financial literacy through the charity SavY, and said while the Perceptive Research survey results were encouraging overall, he was concerned that Aucklanders were worse at budgeting than their regional peers.

He said where most young people went wrong when budgeting was trying to live beyond their means, particularly when it came to socialising, Vasan told Stuff.

'What I really try to get across with friends and in workshops is you have to decide what kind of fun that you want to have and allocate yourself some money to do that and then be strict with that plan.

'It's perfectly fine to say 'there's lots of cool movies coming out recently so I want to spend more of my money on that' and or you might think 'Kendrick Lamar is in town and I really want to go to his concert'. Where people get caught up is saying 'there's lots of cool movies and I want to go see Kendrick Lamar, I'm not going to plan it I'm just going to have it all'. Having a bit more self control would put them in a better position later on.'

*Jess asked for her last name not to be used.

How millennials rate their budgeting

'Excellent' 26%, 'Good' 50%, 'Average' 20%, 'Poor' 3%

(Source: CreditSimple.co.nz)

Budgeting tips

Have a goal - what do you want to save for?
Work out what you're already earning and spending. Be honest.
Look at where you can save - are you spending more than you need to on rent/entertainment?
Be accountable. Show friends or family members your budget and ask them to help you stick to it.