“Do as I say, not as I do.”
At some point or another, every child in the country will hear his mother or father utter this immortal parenting phrase. If you've heard it, you know just how annoying it can be.
However, despite the inherent injustice of the phrase, it appears the younger generation of Americans has actually taken this advice to heart. Well, at least in the world of credit card spending habits.
According to new data released by Auriemma Consulting Group, the younger generation of America (known as Millennials, born from 1981-2000), has adopted healthier spending habits and appear to have learned more from the recession than any other age group. The theory is based on data that shows Millennials have exhibited the steepest decline in revolving debt (i.e. carrying a balance on credit cards from month to month) than any other generation in the study.
There are many guesses as to why this is, but what's clear is that Millennials have learned the most from the hard lessons taught by the recession. While every demographic surveyed in the study displayed some sort of drop in revolving debt, what was found was that the older the generation, the less the decline. Perhaps we can chalk this one up to the “old habits die hard” adage?
If you’re a Millennial, go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back for changing your credit habits for the better. After all, paying your balances in full is one of the most essential aspects of responsibly managing credit cards and building a good credit score.
And if you’re a member of an older generation, maybe it’s time to finally look towards the youth for a little financial inspiration!
