A whopping 73 percent of respondents believed they could have everything they wanted in life, as long as they saved and budgeted accordingly. However, only 24 percent of Americans said that nothing was constraining their ability to save for the future.
A majority of respondents said they have no monetary goal in mind for their life’s milestones, with a majority reporting they were unsure how much money they should save before having a baby (67 percent), getting married (64 percent), sending children to college (54 percent) and to put as a down payment on a house (51 percent).
Respondents did not know how much they would need to save to retire. Those that thought they did (79 percent) estimated an amount less than the $1 million they actually needed to save, according to Merrill.
Nearly unanimous, 93 percent of respondents agreed that it was important to have a will, but less than half (42 percent) said they had one.