Millennials were cautious about managing their finances on a long-term basis. (image: KEB Hana Bank)
SEOUL, June 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Millennials, born between the early 1980s and early 2000s with tendencies to enjoy the present rather than the future, turned out to be quite insistent on prioritizing savings rather than indiscreet consumption.
The Hana Institute of Finance, a research unit of Hana Financial Group Inc., conducted a survey of 1,000 people in their 20s and 30s, 63.2 percent of whom chose to save first and spend later.
Only 14 percent said they wanted to spend money whenever they wanted.
At 88.6 percent, the vast majority of respondents had monthly budget plans for themselves, and 79.6 percent had long-term financial plans for the future.
Millennials were also cautious about managing their finances on a long-term basis.
Roughly two thirds said it was more important to prepare for retirement, which was six times higher than the perception that the present is more important than the future (11.3 percent).
Another 30.8 percent picked financial management as their primary interest, followed by health (15.5 percent) and career (14 percent).
“Millennials look to individual tastes or beliefs, rather than social values, to decide upon consumption, and demonstrate a more rational consumption behavior based on specific goals and plans,” the institute said.
As the original generation of the digital era, Millennials are more inclined to use digital platforms when managing their finances.
They survey revealed that 39.2 percent of respondents said they go to online communities to exchange information on financial management while 35.4 percent said they watch YouTube lectures on personal finances.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
