Bankrate.com survey finds millennials are under the most pressure
Millions of American homebuyers have smashed their affordable budget because of peer pressure…kind of.
A survey from Bankrate.com has found that around 30 million homebuyers (12% of respondents) overspent because they want to appear successful to others.
Among the largest share of those who have bought a home that cost more than they are comfortable with are parents of children under 18 (21%) and Millennials who are twice as likely as older buyers to have done so (18% vs. 9%).
But the survey, conducted by YouGov, also shows that the pressure to appear successful is also putting pressure on other spending habits such as holiday gifts and back-to-school spending.
Of those who say they’ve felt pressured to overspend to appear successful, 37% say they’ve felt the strain from friends, 30% from a spouse or significant other, 25% from extended family and 23% from their children.
Millennials, especially younger Millennials (ages 23-29), are the most likely to blame friends (45% of Millennials and 52% of younger Millennials). They are also more than three times as likely to say they’ve felt pressured by social media (27% vs. 8% of those who are older).
