- Millions of millennials could experience a midlife crisis over the next decade.
- But they're likely to respond to it differently than previous generations.
The $4 for millennials over the next decade, but companies shouldn't count on a spending spree as the newest generation to hit middle age has less money and different lifestyle preferences than its predecessors.
$4 — whose ages range $4 — will turn 40 this year, with many more following them in the years to come. And while there's nothing inherently treacherous about this milestone, there's reason to believe many of them could experience some form of a midlife crisis as they reach middle-age.
Last September, the $4 published a working paper that documented a "crisis of midlife" in rich countries like the United States. Along with a decline in basic measures of life satisfaction, the researchers found middle-age upticks in intense job strain, suicide, sleeping problems, alcohol dependence, and extreme depression.
"We believe the seriousness of this societal problem has not been grasped by the affluent world's policy-makers," they wrote.
But even if the midlife crisis persists among millennials, they're unlikely to respond to it the same way as prior generations. $4 and $4, for instance, two stereotypical responses to the midlife crisis, might not be preferable — or even possible — for many millennials.
Many millennials don't have the money for a sports car, and if they did, they'd rather spend it on experiences
First, $4.
In 2021, the typical 40-year-old millennial earned $49,000. While this is more than the inflation-adjusted $43,000 and $39,000 Gen Xers and boomers earned at the same age, rising costs for certain big-ticket items like $4 have ultimately left millennials worse off.
While millennials' net worth has risen in recent years, they $4, according to 2022 Federal Reserve data, far less than the 22% boomers held at similar ages. In 2020, the $4 found that the typical millennial family was 34% poorer than expected when compared to the wealth of "earlier generations at the same age." The impact of $4 was named among the key reasons why.
While millennials' spending habits $4 from cereal to casual dining, a $4 found "little evidence" that millennials have "significantly different tastes" than prior generations when it comes to spending on things like cars, food, and housing. The reason they spent less in some of these areas, the Fed concluded, was simply because millennials were "less well off than members of earlier generations."
That said, there's some evidence that millennials' spending habits are actually a bit different than those of Gen X and boomers.
For instance, millennials may be more likely to save than prior generations. A 2020 $4 found that the average millennial started saving for retirement at age 24, while Gen X and boomers didn't begin till age 30 and 33 respectively.
Other research suggests $4 — they prioritize different things.
A 2014 Harris Group study found that since 1987, the share of US consumer spending on live experiences and events $4, and that 72% of millennials preferred to spend money on experiences rather than material goods. It's among the reasons some have called them the "$4."
While some millennials may simply see experiences as great opportunities to fill their social media profiles, $4. So when the midlife crisis comes, millennials may respond by $4 rather than buying a sports car.
Millennials are less likely to get divorced — in part because they're less likely to marry
Divorce is another outcome people $4.
But one has to be married to get a divorce, and $4. In 2019, $4 that only 44% of millennials were currently married, compared to the 53% of boomers and 61% of Gen Xers who were at a similar age. While this can partially be attributed to people getting married later in life, many millennials say they have $4.
And when millennials do get married, they're $4 than prior generations, perhaps in part due to the fact $4.
The lower marriage rate among millennials is among the reasons they've also had $4. Without $4 holding them back, this could make it easier for many of them to take part in — and afford — the experiences they love when they reach middle-age.
Smaller family units have made it easier for some millennials — some of whom would prefer to $4 — to hold off on the purchase. It's also made it easier for $4 to take advantage of this flexibility and move wherever they want.
Perhaps in the future, some millennials facing low savings and a midlife crisis won't buy a sports car or get divorced — but pick up and $4.