Gen X, Gen Y and women are finding it tougher to achieve financial milestones than older Australians, according to ME Bank.

ME Bank commissioned a survey in which respondents were asked to rate the challenges they experienced in achieving 10 life milestones. Younger respondents were more likely than older respondents to experience greater financial challenges across 9 of the 10 milestones.

Younger generations nominated ‘starting your own business’, ‘buying your first home’ and ‘raising a family’ as their top challenges, while older generations nominated ‘having money left over for holidays and luxuries’, ‘starting your own business’, and ‘making ends meet’ as their top challenges.

Source: ME Bank.

ME head of deposits and transactional banking, Nic Emery, said, “There’s often debate about whether younger generations are struggling compared to their older compatriots and these findings support the argument that they are experiencing greater financial challenges.”

“When average house prices are seven times the average income today compared to three times thirty years ago,” said Emery, “it’s more important than ever for younger Australians to have solid money management skills.”

The survey also found that women are facing greater financial challenges than men.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of women said they found it difficult to start their own business – 11 points higher than men – and 63% said earning a decent income was difficult, compared to just 53% of men.

Source: ME Bank.

The survey was conducted online in March this year, and includes responses from more than 1,000 Australians. ME Bank is a provider of low-cost loans.

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