It’s no secret that millennials aren’t the best when it comes to saving money and investing. According to Andrew Fiebert, one half of the personal finance duo behind successful podcast Listen Money Matters, millennials are very “risk averse,” meaning they are less likely to take any chances when it comes to money. Given the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2008, this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get involved. Per the advice of Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research Luke Delorme, “if you want to make $1 million dollars in retirement, the most important thing is not asset allocation. It is taking money and putting it into savings. Inertia is a powerful force. The sooner you start saving, the better. Actually saving is the most important thing.”
To jump start saving and investing habits, author Alexandra Talty suggests building a “rainy day fund” in case of sudden unemployment, analyzing and outlining your investment goals and look to investing with passive index funds or mutual funds to start out.
Read up on the evolving discussion surrounding millennial savings habits over at Forbes.