Millennials are starting to earn real money. The oldest of them are pushing 35 years old, an age that is considered by some to be – OMG – middle age.
In previous generations, they would be fully independent grownups. But these days, the cord cutting seems to be limited to televisions.
As millennials make big, life-changing purchases, such as buying their first home, they do not want to go it alone, according to new data from Ameriprise Financial.
When it comes to major purchases, millennials with investable assets over $25,000 are more likely than older generations to rely on advice from someone else. That person is often mom, dad, other family members and older, more experienced people, in general.
And they will be spending more in 2016. A recent report from Merrill Edge found 61 percent of millennials expect to spend more this coming year, compared with Generation X-ers, baby boomers and seniors.
Millennials are simply reacting to the world they grew up in. This is, after all, the generation raised by helicopter parents. So why change? After all, even Google has a take your parents to work day. If Kim Kardashian can turn to her mother, or "Momager" as she is often called, for advice, why not everyone else?
"While millennials may have a tendency to be more impulsive about certain decisions, recent research leads me to believe that the majority are really trying to learn from what their parents went through and are using that knowledge to make informed financial choices," says Marcy Keckler, vice president of financial advice strategy at Ameriprise, a Minneapolis-based financial services company.
Millennials tread carefully when it comes to laying out the big bucks. They also treat their money differently than previous generations. They are three times more likely than other generational groups to justify a large expense if it generates lasting memories, according to Merrill Edge.
It is not about the ownership, it is about the experience.
This is a generation that wants to have stuff but is wary of the risks of ownership. So far, they prefer to lease cars, not buy them. And they have no aversion to renting clothing for a big event.