Yo, parents: (mostly) good news about your millennials

Apr 23, 2015, 11:50am CDT

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Klimenko Aleksandr

Student debt hampers millennials from saving more, according to a new survey.

Millennials, those 18 to 34, recognize the need to save and are saving but are hampered from savingmore by student debt, according to a survey from Bank of America and USA Today.

Forty-four percent are setting aside money for an emergency fund, but only 29 percent are saving orinvesting for retirement, 26 percent are saving for a house and 20 percent are saving for a new car.Almost half have an outstanding student loan, with an average monthly payment of $201.

"The Great Recession of 2008 has had a lasting impact on millennials -- they grew up watching theirfamily cut back on spending and saving and, in turn, millennials are more apt to save foremergencies than anything else," Andrew Pleller, Bank of American global corporate socialresponsibility executive, said in a statement accompanying the report.

More findings:

71 percent of millennials said their parents did a good or excellent job of teaching them goodfinancial habits.

58 percent said their parents had the greatest impact on their financial habits.

78 percent said those money conversations with parents should begin before the kids are teens.

One thousand millennials and 1,005 parents were surveyed in March by GfK Public Affairs andCorporate Communication. Read more here.

Banking, Financial Services

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