Millennial Spending And Investing During COVID-19

The devastating impact of the pandemic on the American economy has inspired a new drive to achieve financial security and build wealth among Millennials, America’s largest and most diverse generation. 

Discover how to create and maintain a healthy budget during the COVID-19 pandemic with powerful online budgeting tools.

Our survey of more than 2,000 Millennials revealed that the majority have recently shifted their attention towards securing their financial futures. We found that most are limiting expenses, optimizing their savings, and expanding their investment portfolios. 

In this post, we’ll look at Millennial spending and investing, as well as how Millennials are using popular FinTech tools to support their financial goals. 

For an intimate portrait of how American Millennials fared in the pandemic and how our survey statistics bear out in real life, check out our other piece, Millennials, Money And COVID-19: How The Pandemic Is Shaking Up American Life.

Millennial spending and investing attitudes: goodbye avocado toast, hello annuities

For Millennials, economic uncertainty is likely nothing new. For those old enough to remember the Great Recession, the American economy’s 11-year growth streak has always been haunted by doubt. The fact that an in-demand degree and a solid resume is sometimes no guarantee of job security or financial stability in a volatile market has been underscored by the pandemic. 

The overwhelming majority (nearly 89%) lived in states where COVID-19-related restrictions on business and public activities impacted their day-to-day lives. This change in the way Millennials live and work meant that many of those surveyed found themselves struggling with the results of prolonged social isolation, such as boredom and sadness, and behaviors like unnecessary shopping, which often go along with environmental stress. 

Pressures on Millennials include a growing sense of financial insecurity in concert with general social unrest. Millennials hold an average of eight jobs between the ages of 18 to 32. Job-hopping is often spurred by hopes of achieving a better salary and benefits. 

Also, due to high unemployment rates, soaring student loan and credit card debt, and a lack of personal wealth when compared to the previous generation – Generation X – Millennials are especially vulnerable to the pandemic’s impact on their finances. Nearly one-third of our respondents reported a reduction of work or job loss due to COVID-19. Millennials’ financial straits don’t just affect singles: nearly 50% of those surveyed were parents or contributed to the household budgets of extended family members. 

The fragility of Millennial financial prospects is reflected in our data. Millennials are shifting their focus towards wealth-building and financial literacy, even as they struggle with the uncertainty of the American future.

Millennials have found that there is a downside to working from app德扑圈官方网址home

For many Millennials, working from app德扑圈官方网址home (or enduring a work furlough) has resulted in a budget-killing side effect: shopping out of boredom. Not only are Millennials apparently baking obscene amounts of chocolatey things, but they’re also buying lots of everything else. 

We found that Millennials are spending more money than usual online on:

• Clothes and accessories: 30%.
• Household goods and electronics: 37%.
• Online entertainment subscriptions: 27%.
• Online classes: 10%.
• News site subscriptions: 7%.

Millennials don’t want cheddar, they want sustainable wealth 

Millennials are motivated to learn how to future-proof their finances. From how to find the right savings account to finding the right investment opportunities in a volatile market, most Millennials believe that knowledge is power – and money. 

Here’s what we learned about how Millennials are thinking about wealth:

• Over 66% of Millennials are interested in learning how to invest their money.
• 61% believe that this is a good time to start investing.
• 20% plan to start investing.
• 27% are already investing in the markets.

Those already investing in the markets lean towards stocks:

• Just over 37% actively invest in dividend-paying stocks and bonds.
• 21% earn income from stock portfolio appreciation.
• 18% invest in real estate.

The Millennial FOMO financial toolkit

While Millennials’ fear of missing out (FOMO) is a familiar catchphrase, it’s also a way of life. From online shopping to food delivery, the Millennial penchant for doing things better and faster to get more for their time and money has driven innovation for nearly a decade. 

That appetite for efficiency and value also extends to financial technology. Here are some of the most popular financial tools that Millennials are using:

Fundrise

Fundrise is an online real estate investment trust (REIT) that holds a portfolio of real estate projects managed by Fundrise. 

How does it work?

Like most REITs, you earn quarterly dividends and can amass value the longer you hold your investment (depending on the market). Every two quarters, Fundrise will reassess the value of your portfolio, and you’ll have the option to sell or hold on to it.

Fundrise offers two plans for new clients. The Starter Portfolio asks for only $500 to get started and provides a free upgrade to the next tier – the Advanced Core Plan – if you invest more than $1,000. The Advanced Core Plan has three investment paths to choose from:

• Supplemental Income: This path offers regular projected annual returns dividends of 7.9 to 8.6%.
• Balanced Investing: This plan provides a broader range of real estate investments than the Supplemental Income membership option. The projected annual return is 8.6% to 10.7%.
• Long-Term Growth: This choice provides the highest maximum annual yield, at 9.3 to 12.8%.

As your investment capacity grows, Fundrise can accommodate your long-term financial strategy with a diverse range of portfolio options that provide steady dividends.

Our verdict

Fundrise is a solid option for those looking to get their feet wet in real estate investing but aren’t ready to make a substantial financial commitment. 

Worthy 

Worthy offers a unique approach to automated investing for new or experienced investors. It’s a “set it and forget it” service that helps you get the most out of your money, even if you aren’t ready to make a significant investment.

How does it work?

Worthy is a socially conscious service that funds loans to small businesses. You can round up change from your purchases and put that money towards investment, or you can purchase bonds directly. Bonds are only $10 and earn a fixed 5% annually.

There are no fees and no minimum investment to get started. Worthy uses your spare change to purchase bonds for you once you’ve accumulated $10. While Worthy doesn’t allow you to diversify your investments beyond bonds, it is a powerful tool for optimizing your spare change (and doing good while you’re at it).

Our verdict

Worthy offers an excellent tool for budget-conscious investors who want to put (literally) every penny to work.

You Invest by J. P. Morgan

You Invest by J.P. Morgan is a self-managed trading platform that frees you from paying many of the expected fees and offers simple integration with the Chase mobile banking app.

How does it work?

There are no account minimums, stock or options trading fees (save for a $75 per contract for options), and no inactivity or annual fees. You can open a trade account and start investing for as little as $1, plus there’s a nice cash bonus for new accounts that can afford to start with a strong deposit. 

You Invest also offers access to all of J.P. Morgan’s equity research, giving you the same itative data the pros use to forecast their market plays. The Portfolio Builder Tool (requires a minimum of $2,500 investment to unlock) helps you determine what type of investments will meet your financial goals and risk-tolerance levels. 

Our verdict

You Invest is a great choice for investors ready to take control of their financial futures – the workhorse that you need to get started in portfolio management.

Robinhood

Robinhood is a no-fee trading platform for buying and selling stocks and ETFs in real-time.

How it works

Robinhood allows you to invest in more than 5,000 stocks, including the majority of ETFs and US equities. You can get started with as little as $1 and you even get one free stock when you sign up – giving you a head start on your portfolio at no cost to you.

Plus there are no annual, ACH transfer, inactivity, or commission fees with Robinhood. A premium service, Robinhood Gold, costs $5 a month and offers access to NASDAQ Level II Market Data and Morningstar research.

Most significantly, Robinhood allows you to buy fractional shares of stocks. That means you can purchase desirable shares and diversify your portfolio even if you have a limited budget and can only buy a smaller share of a high priced stock.

Robinhood also offers an FDIC-backed high-yield account as part of its Cash Management program; interest is paid monthly based on the uninvested cash in your brokerage account.

Our verdict

For investors who want a low-cost, streamlined investing experience, Robinhood is an excellent option.

Betterment

Betterment is a robo-advisory service that offers flexibility for hands-off investors seeking a diverse portfolio.

How it works

There are two options for beginner or experienced investors. Betterment Digital requires no account minimum and charges a 0.25% fee for management. Betterment Premium requires a $100,000 minimum investment and has a 0.40% management fee, but provides unlimited phone support from certified financial planners.

Betterment supports Individual and joint non-retirement accounts as well as cash accounts, trusts, Roth, SEP, and rollover IRAs. Betterment also offers fractional shares so that you can support your long-term financial strategy with a mix of powerful earners, even with a moderate budget. The platform also has a high-yield cash account that pays 0.40% and provides automated tax liability evaluation for accounts, helping you to configure your portfolio to minimize your tax bill. 

Betterment offers an excellent range of ETFs, socially responsible stocks, and targeted income yield portfolio options. 

Our verdict

For goal-driven investors seeking a one-stop-shop, Betterment is a solid platform.

M1 Finance

M1 Finance is a robo-advisory platform that provides an array of customizable portfolio templates created by professional analysts designed to help you reach your investment goals.

How it works

If you select to use one of the templates, called “Pies,” you can choose to purchase individual stocks or ETFs or use the recommendations that are offered with each Pie. M1 Finance can use taxable, joint, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, rollover IRA, SEP IRA, and trust accounts. The platform has more than 2,000 ETFs available for investment. Dividends are automatically reinvested once you earn $10. If you have a balance of at least $2,000, your account will be held as a margin account (allowing you to withdraw your money quickly without penalty). Accounts are protected up to $500,000 by the SIPC (with $250,000 protected for cash reserves).

M1 Finance also offers an instant portfolio line, M1 Borrow, for brokerage account balances of at least $10,000. You may borrow up to 35% of your portfolio value at a 4.25% APY. 

Our verdict

M1 Finance is a strong contender for investors who want the ease of portfolio templates with the option to customize investment choices. 

Citi Accelerate Savings

Citi Accelerate Savings is currently offering a stout 1.00% APY on its Accelerate Savings Account. The account is FDIC insured up to the maximum, and I can tell you from personal experience that the Citi mobile app is a breeze to use.

Citi also offers the opportunity to earn a $700 bonus when opening up their Priority Checking Account. Combine the two and take advantage of significant savings and checking offers.

Summary

While Millennials have been hard hit by the pandemic, this may be the most agile generation when it comes to economic resilience. Today, innovation is becoming the norm across every industry. As more companies pivot towards online employment, Millennials are finding new opportunities to turn job-hopping into multi-client contract work. That means it will be easier for Millennials to solidify income streams and build wealth in a post-COVID-19 economy.

Digital startups are taking advantage of the work-from-app德扑圈官方网址home trend to create solutions for simplified banking, insurance, and online investment, helping Millennials develop future-proof financial management strategies with a few clicks.

Learn more about Millennial financial strategy.

Read more:

• Millennials, Money, And COVID-19: How The Pandemic Is Shaking Up American Lives
• 8 Stereotypes About Millennials And Money: Are You Guilty?