High-earning millennials satisfied with financial situation, yet third postpone life dreams

Although high-earning millennials give their financial situation an average of 7.7 out of 10 and 56% are confident about their financial options, the study shows that having a good financial situation doesn’t always mean they can make important decisions without experiencing stress. Given their high fixed expenses, the tight rental and housing market and the rising cost of living, some feel they’re financially restricted when making major choices about things such as starting a family or travelling to far-off places.  

In fact, 27% said their income or assets did not give them enough scope to make use of financial opportunities like investing without worrying about the financial risks. As a result, goals such as saving, investing or building up pension may not always be within reach for them. In light of this, ABN AMRO believes it’s important for this group to learn to look at their financial options from a different perspective. “They can often achieve more with their finances than they think,” says Bobby Le Febre, Preferred Banking Adviser at ABN AMRO. 

Reasons to hold back financially

Millennials who said in the study that they do not feel (especially) rich, gave the following reasons: 

• High fixed expenses: Almost 30% feel their fixed expenses are too high. 

• Insufficient means: 36% said they can’t do everything they’d like to do. 

 More general economic factors also play a role for some high-earning millennials:  

• Tight housing market: 33% of all participants feel restricted by the rental and housing market. 

• Rising cost of living: 48% feel restricted by increasing daily expenditures. 

Not easier than for preceding generation 

“Seen objectively, millennials with a higher level of income or assets have more freedom of choice than the generations before them,” explains Martijn Burger, Professor of the Economics of Happiness at the Open University, and Academic Director at the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organisation (EHERO).   

“And yet they feel trapped by high fixed expenses and an uncertain housing market. This creates more social pressure and stress, especially as they’re constantly confronted with the expectations of people around them around buying a home or starting a family.”  

Nick (32), a high-earning millennial, experiences this financial pressure daily: "Despite the fact that my girlfriend and I both earn well above average, we have surprisingly little left at the end of the month. For example, rising costs and our spending habits make saving more difficult than expected, while we don't live extravagantly. It feels like we have to pay more attention to the pennies than people with similar jobs ten years ago." 

Achieving dreams 

ABN AMRO supports millennials to help them make more informed choices about their finances and save with a specific goal so that they can achieve their aspirations and dreams. Preferred Banking clients can always ask for advice to get a better understanding of their financial situation. This can be a personal meeting with a financial adviser to discuss their plans for the future and get practical tips and tools. Or they can ask to have their financial plans checked thoroughly to make better use of the options available to them. 

“If you already have an above-average income when you’re young, you may not necessarily have a clear picture of all the financial options open to you, especially if you’re at a stage when your social life takes a lot of time and attention. But this is a group that really could get more out of their finances if they took a fresh look at the possibilities,” Le Febre concludes. 

About ABN AMRO’s study 

The study, commissioned by ABN AMRO, was conducted by PanelWizard Direct in November 2024. More than 600 millennials aged 25-45 with a net monthly salary of at least € 3,500 (singles) or € 5,500 (with a partner) and/or disposable capital of at least € 100,000 (per household) were surveyed. The survey sample was representative by gender, age, workforce participation, level of education and region. The purpose of the study was to gain insight into the financial situation of high-earning millennials and any obstacles they may experience when making important life choices.