Millennials could be immune to the Trump euphoria.
According to a survey taken shortly after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Americans feel no better or worse about their financial situation than they did in December 2015; however, financial confidence increases with age.
The Country Financial Security Index, a measure of financial confidence designed by Bloomington, Ill.-based financial services company Country Financial, rose slightly from 66.6 to 66.8 from December 2015 to December 2016.
The Financial Security Index rates financial sentiment on a scale of zero to 100, with 100 indicating the highest level of security, and compares that to previous years.
Millennials, which Country Financial defines as those 18 to 34, responded with a Financial Security Index of 60.9, the lowest of all age groups. Generation X, aged 35 to 49, scored themselves at 66.6, while baby boomers aged 50 to 64 marked themselves 69.2. The post-retirement silent generation scored themselves the highest at 71.2.
However, Country Financial reports that all age groups were significantly more optimistic about their finances than they were a year ago except for millennials -- when millennials were excluded from the Country Financial results, the index score rises from 68 points a year ago to 68.7 at the end of 2016.
That may because millennials' 2017 outlook is significantly dimmer than other generations – when asked whether they would feel financially better or worse than they did in 2016, only 24 percent of millennial respondents reported that they would feel better, versus 41 percent who reported that they would feel worse.
By comparison, 34 percent of the generation x respondents thought they would feel better this year versus 31 percent who thought they would feel worse, and 33 percent of baby boomers answered better versus 27 percent who answered worse.
Optimism seems to follow retirement: 45 percent of the respondents from the silent generation said that they would feel better off in 2017, versus just 17 percent who thought they would end up feeling worse off.
Millennials were also uneasy about their financial security -- 59 percent of millennials rated their financial security as “fair” or “poor” versus 37 percent who responded “excellent” or “good.” Almost half of the millennial respondents, 48 percent, report not being able to save or invest any money, and 29 percent of them were not confident or unsure that they would be able to pay off their debts as they came due.