• Millennials save an average of £202 a month to achieve their savings goals

• 68% of millennials who save money each month choose to miss out on things their friends are doing to save money

• But 65% of those who miss social events to save struggle with a fear of missing out (“FOMO”), which is made worse by social media

• With the cost of living rising, being sensible about what you can afford to do is becoming more important, warns RCI Bank.

The shortage of affordable housing in the UK, and the challenges affecting young savers have been well documented, but things might be changing. Over two thirds (68%) of millennials who save money each month say they consciously miss out on things in order to save money and build their nest eggs.¹

They’re saving for big purchases such as  life’s “highlights” for instance holidays (39%), getting on the housing ladder (31%), birthday/ Christmas presents (22%) and luxury items (15%) like a piano, handbags or cosmetics.

Holidaying abroad remains an attractive ambition and millennials are saving hard (on average £202 a month), to give themselves the best starts in life. The savings are coming from making the decision to embrace the “lowlights” so that they can afford life’s highlights.

Source: RCI 2018 – the amount of money saved individually by those giving up events (per year)

Forget FOMO and celebrate the lowlights

Even when they’ve committed to saving, 65% of millennials who missed social events to save money admitted to FOMO, with 44% of them saying that the feeling was exacerbated by social media. They opt out of going to bars (47%), eating out (47%), holidays (40%), concerts (25%) and festivals (21%).

Instead, they prefer to save and spend time watching Netflix (54%) going on walks (42%) and finding free things to do where they live (36%) – in essence, embracing the simplicity of  the “lowlights”, fully understanding that they don’t have to be out of pocket in order to have a good time. Over a quarter (27%) spend time cooking or baking at home while another 27% spend more time with their family rather than spending money doing things with their friends.

However, it isn’t all good news…

It isn’t all a rosy picture as 25% of millennials aren’t saving. The main reasons they cite are lack of income (51%), paying off existing debt (32%), and the cost of living (30%). Those who are paying off debts are mostly paying off credit cards (82%), short term loans (30%), car loans (24%) or money they owe their family (21%).

Those who aren’t saving also admit to relying on credit cards (30%) to fund the things which they can’t afford to do, but don’t want to miss out on.

Jean-Louis Labauge, CEO of RCI Bank, said: “The cost of living continues to rise (insert latest CPI figures when we launch), and as a result young people are struggling to put money away. While it is encouraging that 68% of millennials are celebrating the lowlights in order to reach the highlights; saving for a trip abroad or for a deposit on their first house, there are still a number of people who are not saving at all.

“It is promising to see that millennials like to enjoy a range of activities with friends and family that don’t break the bank. Contrary to the mainstream belief, our research shows that they are actually sensible with their money, and enjoy celebrating these lowlights so that they have the financial ability to enjoy the highlights when the time comes.”

He continued: “It is positive that more millennials are recognising the value of their hard work, and want to ensure that it contributes towards their long-term ambitions.”