A new poll by RBC reveals that there are notable perception gaps between parents and young adults about personal finances.
The poll, which surveyed both parents and young adults aged 18-24, indicated that the majority of young adults (59%) are “very” or “extremely” engaged with their finances, in particular, as they face high inflation and rising cost of living.
Young adults said they were more likely to feel confident in their ability to save (83%) and invest (60%) and felt an increased sense of financial responsibility (82%).
“They have both an optimistic and pragmatic view of the future, acknowledging obstacles but seeking to exploit opportunities with more resilience than perhaps believed,” said Jason Storsley, Senior Vice President, Day-to-day banking and customer growth at RBC. in a press release.
The survey also revealed that many young adults are taking steps to achieve long-term financial goals that parents may not be aware they are doing. For example, when it comes to saving for home or retirement, one-third (32%) and one-fifth (19%) respectively already do so. However, only 23% think their children are saving for a home and 12% for their retirement.
The survey results also revealed that the majority (83%) of young adults view financial stability as the key to overall happiness. Additionally, 83 percent said they need more information and support on money management and 68 percent feel overwhelmed.
The RBC survey also highlighted that more than 70% of young adults see the cost of living as their biggest challenge, followed by inflation and saving for a home, while parents say their biggest challenges as young adults were to get a good paying job, find a job they love and save for a mortgage.
Additionally, 68% of young adults said they expected to take up side hustle to supplement their income and 51% said they expected to work for themselves or become an entrepreneur at some point. . However, only 44% and 35% of parents, respectively, said they knew their children would take these entrepreneurial paths.
The survey was conducted on June 16 and 21 of this year and involved 1,018 young Canadian adults and 510 randomly selected parents.