05/19/2019
A new survey of more than 3,000 adults is one of the first to ask Gen Z about their attitudes towards marriage and financial independence:
· Many want to pay for their own weddings, don’t want to spend a lot for a wedding or engagement ring
· Is marriage the best route to financial independence for Generation Z and young Millennial Americans?
Marriage today might be all about keeping costs down, according to a recent TD Ameritrade survey of 3,054 Gen Z and Millennial adults and their parents.
· Almost 4 in 10 young people intend to foot the bill for their own wedding, even though 93% of adults say they will pay for their child’s nuptials.
· They are not willing to spend a lot on wedding and engagement rings.
· 82% of Gen Z and 69% of Millennials believe an engagement ring should cost under $2500, almost half the national average.
· Women of both generations would expect to spend less for an engagement ring: 15% of Gen Z and 28% of Millennial women feel a ring should cost more than $2500; The guys aren’t so sure: 19% of Gen Z men and 33% of millennial men peg the cost of a ring over $2500
But not everyone gets married, and it has ramifications for their financial future:
· One in four Generation Z and Millennials don’t plan to marry, and it takes the singles longer to reach their financial goals.
· Marrying appears to help achieve financial independence sooner: Half of young married women and 44% of young married men said they would be independent by age 20. 96% of these married women expect to be – or were – financially independent by age 26. Single women were less sure, with only 34% expecting to be independent by age 20, and only 85% anticipating full financial independence by age 26.
· Married young Americans are twice as likely to have started saving for retirement as their single counterparts. Marrieds generally buy a home at age 25 while singles wait until 27.
