Millennials are tougher on themselves when it comes to paying for their own bills than older generations seem to be, according to a new study from Bankrate.com. When asked the age that someone should be able to pay their cell phone bill, buy a car, and cover their housing costs, millennials were more likely to choose the youngest age ranges compared with their elders.
So, when should people start paying for their own cell phone, car, and housing? Millennials think people should be able to pay for their own housing at age 22, for their own car at 20 ½, and for their own cell phone at 18 ½. In all three cases, millennials' average response is about a year and a half earlier than baby boomers feel is appropriate.
"Millennials are often stereotyped as being entitled," says Sarah Berger, The 'Cashlorette' at Bankrate.com. "It's refreshing to see that millennials really do have high expectations of gaining financial independence and getting off their parents' payroll."
Politically speaking, Republicans, on average, believe someone should be able to afford their own car a few months prior to their 20th birthday. That's almost three years earlier than the average Democrat's response.
Regional differences are apparent as well. Northeasterners feel parents should help with housing costs until their children are 24½, two years longer than Midwesterners, 1½ years longer than Southerners, and about a year longer than Westerners.
The results are based on a nationally represented telephone survey of 1,001 U.S. adults conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
