Millennials Choose Health Over Wealth - And Why That's Not Always the Best Idea

CHERRY HILL, N.J., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year, Americans tend to focus on health or finances as a priority, but which do they care about more? TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, decided to find out, and surveyed 1,091 consumers who have set a new goal in 2018.

According to the survey, diet and fitness goals supersede monetary goals, with the top health goal being to eat better (54 percent) and the top financial goal being to save more and spend less (39 percent). Despite the majority of people being less confident that they will achieve their goals to get in shape, they are more likely to seek outside guidance with their money matters than their nutrition or fitness routines.

Millennials care more about their waistlines than credit lines
The top monetary goal across all ages is to save more and spend less. However, millennials say eating healthy (56 percent) and getting in shape/staying fit (48 percent) is more important than saving more and spending less (47 percent).

Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of survey respondents admit to making a money mistake in the past year, and it's even higher among millennials (83 percent). For the younger generation, the biggest mistake was incurring too much credit card debt and not paying it off (17 percent).

Still, only 21 percent of millennials view paying off debt as a prime concern. Similar to their older counterparts, millennials say building a nest egg or emergency savings account (42 percent) and investing/saving for retirement (34 percent) takes precedence.

"Today's younger generations are faced with more challenging levels of debt since schooling costs continue to outpace starting salary growth," said Jason Thacker, Head of Consumer Deposits, Products, and Payments at TD Bank. "So they may prioritize goals differently than their older counterparts due to the unique demands they experience in the modern economy."

Want a beach body? Focus on your wallet first.
An overwhelming majority of consumers (87 percent) agree that if their finances are in order, other goals (fitness, health, career, etc.) are easier to accomplish. That being said, only 4-in-10 Americans are extremely or very satisfied with their fiscal health.

The report finds that women (32 percent) are significantly less satisfied with their financial health than men (51 percent). Additionally, 41 percent of those satisfied with their financial health are more likely to be satisfied with their physical health (75 percent), emotional health and wellness (85 percent) and family well-being (87 percent).

However, this link is not as strong the other way around: of those extremely or very satisfied with their physical health, only 69 percent are satisfied with their financial health.

For additional data from this survey, please contact Lauren Schmidt at lauren.schmidt@td.com.

Survey Methodology
Research company MARU/Matchbox conducted the survey among a nationally representative sample of US consumers who have set a new goal or made a resolution for themselves in 2018. The online fieldwork occurred between Jan. 7-18, 2018. A total 1,091 completes were gathered in the U.S. Data has been weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the population. Margin of Error on the total sample is +/-3 percent.

About MARU/Matchbox
MARU/Matchbox, formerly the Research & Consulting division of Vision Critical, is a professional services firm dedicated to improving its clients' business outcomes. It delivers its services through teams of sector-specific research consultants that have technology in their DNA, specializing in the use of Insight Community and Voice of Market technology. MARU/ Matchbox's research drives decision-making across all aspects of customer experience, including innovation, product, branding, commercialization and communications.

About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank^®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com.

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SOURCE TD Bank