Are you good at saving money?
Are you a credit card junkie?
We’re learning “saving money” is a skill …and not everyone OWNS that skill. That doesn’t make them bad people.
It just makes the potential for their future somewhat …dicey.
Now, this post discusses results from a survey of millennials — and how messed up some of them are.
Some Millennials are truly in a financial tornado — and some won’t get out alive.
But understand, as you read these points, you can replace the term “Millennials” with “Generation X” or even “Baby Boomers.”
And take it from us, even some folks from the self-appointed “Greatest Generation” fall into these same kinds of awful results (we’ve seen them)!
So here goes: A new survey found “millennials’ knowledge of credit cards is lacking” and “very concerning.”
There are no “precise” dates for them — Millennials are defined as those born in the late 1980’s through the early 2000’s.
But we are not picking on Millennials, bless their little hearts. No, the results of the survey could (in our opinion) be applied to Gen X’ers, Baby Boomers, and even folks from the “Greatest Generation.”
Some of the results from this survey were a little eye-popping:
- Six percent of millennials surveyed believe missing a card payment would improve their credit rating.
- 17% percent said missing a card payment would have no effect on their credit score.
(meaning, nearly one in four — simply do not understand the importance of paying bills on time)
The survey also found:
29% said they have completely missed a credit card payment.
And like they say on TV, “But wait, there’s more:”
- 36% have maxed out their credit cards.
- 48% carry card balances on which they pay interest charges from month to month.
- 45% did not even know their credit-card interest rate.
- 24% of respondents (nearly one in four) are carrying three or more credit cards.
- Sadly, 30% (or three out of ten people) said they are dependent on their credit card for basic living expenses.
It is also worth mentioning, the same site pointed out roughly 50 percent of respondents thought they would be helped by federal student loan forgiveness programs after graduation. The reality of these forgiveness programs is a much, much smaller number.
While reading these numbers, our emotions ran from heartbroken to angry …and every stop on the train in between. This is just wrong.
If you are interested in reading the nitty gritty details, they are all here: https://lendedu.com/blog/millennials-credit-cards-survey-report/