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What are the median savings for 21 to 25 year olds?

29 replies

endingupinmanchester · 25/06/2023 14:52

I read somewhere that they are £5k
But my friends all have 10s and thousands saved...
So are my friends the outliers?

OP posts:
HScully · 25/06/2023 14:53

I'm 40 I have £500 ha ha

ToBeOrNotToBee · 25/06/2023 14:54

A big fat zero

Cma1988 · 25/06/2023 14:56

What kind of 23 year olds have tens of thousands saved?
except those helped out by parents or grandparents.

Interested in this thread?

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FarTooHotForMe · 25/06/2023 15:06

My DC are 23 and 24. The 24 year old has 25k and the 23 year old has 40k. The younger one graduated with a lot of savings as he ran a bit business whilst at uni. He still has the business and lives off this profit and saves most of his salary.
They both moved back home after university.
My DH and I have 50k each for them to put towards a deposit for when they are a bit older.

jojo2202 · 25/06/2023 15:11

endingupinmanchester · 25/06/2023 14:52

I read somewhere that they are £5k
But my friends all have 10s and thousands saved...
So are my friends the outliers?

sorry but which planet do these friends live on? most 21 year olds don't have any savings...apart from a trust fund that government give them when they were born possibly.

determinedtomakethiswork · 25/06/2023 15:12

You have to differentiate money given to them from money that they have earned and saved after paying rent and bills

alloutofcareunits · 25/06/2023 15:15

My DD has worked since she was 17, didn't go to Uni. She has about £500 saved but lots and lots of clothes and make up and has had a few nice holidays. She's not a saver..... which can be frustrating but ultimately her choice

FarTooHotForMe · 25/06/2023 15:18

I think if young adults live at home and are working full time then they absolutely should be saving. That’s one of the rules I have, save and also pay into your pension I say to my DC, they are unlikely to have this amount of disposable income again for many years if ever.

skippy67 · 25/06/2023 15:19

DS has just turned 26 and has over £70k in savings. No inheritance either. He's a solicitor in a London firm, on a decent salary. He still lives at home which helps!

skippy67 · 25/06/2023 15:22

FarTooHotForMe · 25/06/2023 15:18

I think if young adults live at home and are working full time then they absolutely should be saving. That’s one of the rules I have, save and also pay into your pension I say to my DC, they are unlikely to have this amount of disposable income again for many years if ever.

Totally agree.

ComtesseDeSpair · 25/06/2023 15:23

According to ONS stats:

*The average household in the UK has £17,365 in their savings.

*34% of adults have either no savings, or less than £1,500.

*Almost two-thirds (65%) of people report having that wouldn’t be able to last three months on their savings without borrowing money.

*The average person aged 25 - 34 has between £600 - £8,000 saved.

*People in the 16 - 24 age group frequently report higher savings than the 25 - 34 age group, but this is disproportionately skewed by a) the source of those savings, most often gifts, and b) very low overall outgoings due to living at home with parents.

So if you know lots of under 25s with tens of thousands saved who are also living independently in their own homes, they are very much outliers.

SeeingSpots · 25/06/2023 15:24

Cma1988 · 25/06/2023 14:56

What kind of 23 year olds have tens of thousands saved?
except those helped out by parents or grandparents.

Agreed I would imagine the amount of 20 year olds with 10s of thousands who have had no help is not even in the 10s of thousands across the whole country. It would be a very lucky 20 something who didn't live at home and had even 5000 in savings and the majority would probably be looking at closer to 500.

SkyAboveSoBlue · 25/06/2023 15:25

My son is 20 and has a fair amount saved from part time work/the allowance we used to give him/birthday and Xmas gifts. If they live at home and work full time or go to uni whilst living at home and work part time like my son does, they can save easily if they want to.

My daughter is a teen and also has thousands. She asks for cash for gifts, works part time, gets an allowance and saves almost everything.

VisionsOfSplendour · 25/06/2023 15:28

I always get means and medians and averages mixed up but they are all meaningless mathematical figures

Why does it matter what anyone else has ?

If you have more are you going to go on a. Spending spree or feel smug, if less are you going to curtail your lifestyle or get a higher paying job. Who cares?

Babyroobs · 25/06/2023 15:30

My ds is 22 and has quite a bit saved. He did not go to Uni, has done an apprentice which seemed to be better paid than many. He lives at home. He dabbled in some stocks and shares and made some money that way and had about 5k that grandparents had saved for him. He is very tight and budgets very carefully to save as he wants to buy his own house although that prospect seems a long way away. My others aged 24 is not great with money and probably has 2-3 k saved.

Sarahtm35 · 25/06/2023 15:32

If they live at home with mum and dad and have no keep and parents helped them through educations etc then I’d expect them to be able to save but most people that age can’t save to much extent. When I was 23 I was working to pay for the roof over my head and keep the bills paid. I certainly wouldn’t have had been able to save tens of thousands.

converseandjeans · 25/06/2023 15:38

@FarTooHotForMe

The younger one graduated with a lot of savings as he ran a bit business whilst at uni. He still has the business and lives off this profit and saves most of his salary.

What is his side line?

gogomoto · 25/06/2023 15:41

It depends!

Have they had a significant inheritance from a grandparent? Have their parents allowed them to live rent free at home on condition 50% of salary is saved (this is what my parents said to me, and our kids have the same deal).

If you have a graduate job on £2k a month, after 2 years they should have £24k

gogomoto · 25/06/2023 15:44

Or did they get a golden hello at their job? Live virtually rent free (military)

FarTooHotForMe · 25/06/2023 15:50

My DC earn around £1600-£1900 per month after pensions and one pays student loans. They give my DH and myself £200 per month towards food etc, let’s say holidays are £200 per month, going out £400 per month that still leaves lots of money left over to save.
Even if a young adult is on minimum wage if they live at home it would take quite a bit of spending to get through it all.

Luxell934 · 25/06/2023 15:56

When I was 21-25 I had no savings, I was living in my overdraft.

Qilin · 25/06/2023 15:58

endingupinmanchester · 25/06/2023 14:52

I read somewhere that they are £5k
But my friends all have 10s and thousands saved...
So are my friends the outliers?

Dd has some savings though not masses. Some from compensation she received after being a victim of crime, rest was relatively small amount from when she was younger.

But she's been at university for three years so her student debt actually far outweighs this - but it's not financially sensible to use savings towards reducing it for her. Due to her course time and the hours, plus work placements, she didn't do any paid work during that time so hasn't racked up extra income.

None of her old school friends have savings as such as all at university and not been working properly yet.

RuthW · 25/06/2023 16:02

My dd is 26 and has lots of savings. She finished uni after four years with a lot more than she started.

TitsonaFishRidingaBicycle · 25/06/2023 16:03

Mines been wheeling and dealing since school- started selling cans of pop to classmates and migrated to selling trainers and gaming/ computer stuff. I've no idea how much he has but he had 85000 at 18 - he's now 23. (He is registered as SE)

Coral569 · 25/06/2023 16:05

I'd say it's highly unusual to have any savings at that age. My rent and bills swallowed most of what I earned in my early 20s and it was the same for everyone else I knew.