Millennials And Money: Young People Save Paychecks, Predict Financial Crisis, Survey Finds

You've heard they're lazy and entitled, but a recent survey added "forward-thinking" and "predicting a financial crisis" to the ever-growing list of millennial characteristics. The survey, conducted by LinkedIn and marketing firm Ipsos and released Thursday, found that two-thirds of wealthy 18- to 34-year-olds saved at least a quarter of their paychecks every month -- possibly because 59 percent of them said they were anticipating another event like the Great Recession.

Millennials, more so than Generation X members born between the 1960s and 1980s, said they thought the sacrifices they made would pay off in the future. Affluent millennials especially shared that line of thinking, with 72 percent of them saying what they do now could benefit them later on. To that effect, wealthy young people saved more of their paychecks than the previous generation -- a median of 24 percent of their income each month as opposed to 18, according to the survey.

“They saw how their parents and grandparents have dealt with these challenges in the economy, so they’re ready for it, they’re more prepared,” LinkedIn financial services head Menaka Thillaiampalam told MarketWatch.

Millennials in general have more debt than Gen Xers, mostly tied up in credit cards and student loans. The average young person has $47,689 in debt, and that climbs as they get older, CNBC reported. The LinkedIn survey found affluent millennials were seven times more likely to have a business loan than their Gen X counterparts.

However, at the same time, young people were more likely than Gen Xers to say they were confident in the country's continued growth. Almost half of affluent millennials surveyed were optimistic about the future economy, with 44 percent saying they believed the American Dream was "definitely possible."

The survey included responses from 9,200 millennials and Gen Xers from 10 countries. Affluent millennials were defined as young people with at least $100,000 in investable assets, excluding real estate. Read the full results here.