- Millennials would rather buy a car than travel the world
- For baby boomers, a new car is the third highest spending priority, after seeing their favourite bands and visiting Europe
Younger generations are now more likely to prioritise buying a new car than travelling the world, new research has revealed¹.
The research, conducted by short term loan provider Wonga, asked 18-34 yearolds and baby boomers (55+) to rank a series of key life experiences to determine the differences between generations.
More than one in five (21%) millennials said that buying a new car is the top experience everyone should have at least once in a lifetime, beating other typical bucket list items, such as seeing their favourite bands (11%) and taking gap years (3%).
The appeal of buying a new vehicle appears to transcend age categories, as nearly one in six (16%) of the baby boomer generation also listed the experience as the most important thing people should do in life. When asked to rank 13 different experiences, over 55s gave buying a new car the third highest average position, beaten only by visits to Europe and seeing their favourite bands.
Despite more millennials saying that buying a new car is the number one life experience, it is the over 55s who are more likely to make such a purchase within the next year. When asked what they expected to buy over the next 12 months, 7% of the baby boomer generation said a new car, compared to 6% of 18-34s[1].
The most important experiences for 18-34 yearolds and baby boomers are:
| 18-34s | Baby boomers (over 55s) |
| 1. Buying a brand new car | 1. Visiting Europe for a long weekend |
| 2. Seeing your favourite band live | 2. Seeing your favourite band live |
| 3. Going to university and living away from home | 3. Buying a brand new car |
| 4. Visiting Europe for a long weekend | 4. Going to university and living away from home |
| 5. Adrenaline-seeking activities: e.g. skydiving, climbing a mountain etc. | 5. Seeing iconic landmarks in the world |
| 6. Going to a festival | 6. Going to a festival |
| 7. Taking a gap year | 7. Owning a pet |
| 8. Owning a pet | 8. Adrenaline-seeking activities: e.g. skydiving, climbing a mountain etc. |
| 9. Renovating a house | 9. Taking a gap year |
| 10. Seeing iconic landmarks in the world | 10. Renovating a house |
James McMaster, Head of Marketing in the UK at Wonga, said: “After looking into which life experiences generations value the most, we were surprised to find that buying a car tops the list for millennials. Though differences between the two generations are widely documented, the two groups share a love of live music as both rank seeing their favourite band in second place.”
To read more about how the older generation look after their money, visit Wonga’s Cash Smart hub:
https://www.wonga.com/cashsmart/articles/image-articles/saving-tips-from-the-older-generation/
