NEWS COPY
A poll of 2,000 adults aged 23-38 found rolling contracts and spreading the cost of a purchase mean many don’t have outright ownership of their personal belongings.
A quarter have a car on a loan or finance agreement, while six in 10 subscribe to video streaming services, such as Netflix or Now TV, which can be cancelled anytime.
One in 20 are even signed up to a dog borrowing site.
It also emerged one in 10 do not fully 'own' pieces of furniture such as sofas and beds, and are paying these items off monthly instead.
Others have regular outgoings for white goods, such as fridges and washing machines, as they don’t want to make a large up front payment.
As a result, three in 10 of those polled by Virgin Money, said doing this gives them more freedom over their finances.
And another 28 per cent feel ‘in control’ of their money, due to the flexibility of making purchases without permanent ties or having to buy things outright.
Louise Hodges, head of consumer communications at Virgin Money, said: “For too long millennials have been criticised for the way in which they live their lives and spend their money.
“We carried out this research to demonstrate that this new social trend and ‘try before you buy’ attitude enables younger generations to make smart decisions by experiencing everything life has to offer before making any long-term commitments.
“We’re calling this approach to life ‘Hire Power’ – millennials are choosing things such as where they live, career paths and cars based on experimenting with them first.
“Rent can be cancelled, which means people can move house or go travelling, and contracts can be changed at very short notice, resulting in increased cash to use or invest elsewhere.
“Millennials are perhaps the savviest generation when it comes to money and are establishing smart money habits early on in life.”
The study also found members of this generation each have five monthly contracts on average, with nearly half enjoying the freedom of not being ‘tied down’.
This flexibility could see millennials save as much as £695 a year if they cancelled some of the monthly rolling contracts they’re signed up to.
As a result, one in five don’t worry about their financial situation and 57 per cent believe they are good at managing their personal funds.
Fifteen per cent even believe younger generations are better with money than their forebears, with half putting this down to being able to easily check your accounts regularly without having to traipse to a cash machine.
Forty-five per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, also think millennials are more honest about their financial status, and more open to talking about it.
TV presenter Laura Whitmore commented: “As a millennial I can relate to the results of the study and the feelings of ‘hire power’ we have.
"I also think it’s really important for us to all talk about money more openly, and to feel empowered by our money.
“I’m definitely part of the hire power movement – I regularly rent clothes, which is great from both a sustainability and cost point of view and it means the items are continuously recycled.
“I’m a huge fan of beauty subscription services including GlossyBox and BirchBox, they make it a fun and easy way to try before I buy so I can find out which products suit me before splashing out on them."
Louise Hodges added: “Our respondents were right in saying it’s much easier to keep track of your spending now which helps with the flexibility which forms Hire Power.
“With online or phone banking, plus mobile apps, we’ve got all of our money-information right at our fingertips and it’s this generation which is the most savvy.”
Top 10 subscription services used by millennials:
1. TV/Video streaming (e.g. Netflix)
2. Music streaming (e.g. Spotify)
3. Smartphone app subscriptions including games
4. Library or book swapping/e-books
5. Magazine subscription
6. Beauty product/make up subscription
7. Clothing/accessory subscription/hire (e.g. Girl Meets Dress or Moss Bros.)
8. Cinema subscription
9. Meal plan/recipe box
10. Snack/sweet treat subscription
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