Poll reveals discrepancies in parents' perceptions of young adults' attitudes toward homeownership and retirement
Young adults nowadays, in contrast to what their parents may believe, are quite concerned with their finances, especially given the high rates of inflation and cost of living.
In a recent survey by RBC, three fifths (59%) of young adults aged 18 to 24 reported being very or highly active in their finances, compared to fewer than half (47%) of parents who thought they were.
The research, which polled both young adults and their parents, also discovered that young adults who reported being involved in their finances were more likely to be confident in their capacity to save (83%) and invest (60%) and felt a greater sense of financial responsibility (82%).
Another significant area where parents' perceptions diverge is how young adults view money. Parents may not be as aware as they should be as their children look to the future and take steps to accomplish longer-term financial goals.
Read more: Most Gen Z homebuyers are tapping their savings for down payments
Although one-third of young adults (32%) are saving for a home and one-fifth (19%) are building up their retirement nest egg, only 23% and 12% of parents, respectively, believe they are.
While most young adults (83%) believe that having a stable financial situation is important for overall happiness, roughly the same percentage (83%) think that they need more support and guidance when it comes to managing their money, and 68% say they feel overwhelmed and in need of assistance.
However, parents tend to underestimate these emotions in young adults. This underlines a critical window of time for parents to get involved early in their children's financial lives and lessen some of the stress that comes with attempting to plan their financial future.
Young adults also focus on different concerns than those that their parents' generation faced, according to the study results.
Living costs are cited by more than 70% of young adults as their top issue, followed by inflation (54%) and saving for homeownership (28%). In contrast, parents said that as young adults, their biggest concerns were obtaining a career that pays well (44%) and a job they like (35%), as well as saving for a mortgage (33%).
Young adults are figuring out strategies to deal with their circumstances even though these difficulties are beyond their control.
Over half of young adults (51%) believe they will eventually work for themselves or start their own business, and seven out of ten (68%) anticipate taking on a side gig to supplement their income.
Read more: Canadians get entrepreneurial to offset rising cost of living
With 44% and 35% of parents, respectively, believing their child would follow these entrepreneurial paths, parents had substantially lower expectations.
The survey also found that young adults are equally likely to turn to their parents (45%) and their bank or a financial advisor (44%) for financial advice, even though 71% of parents expect their children to come to them for such concerns.
Other sources of financial information uncovered by the survey include social media (25%), friends (27%), online articles (26%) and other family members (26%).
