Like the Baby Boomer generation – born in the years 1946 to 1964 –the Millennials are proving to be an endless source of fascination for researchers and the media. Now that most of the Millennial cohort have moved into careers, the spotlight is frequently shown on how they handle money. All that attention has uncovered financial facts that can be significant for the American economy as a whole.

Just how important is insurance in your personal world? Buy a car – you buy auto insurance. Buy a house – you buy homeowners’ insurance. Rent an apartment – you buy renter’s insurance. Start a business – get business owner’s insurance. And the list goes on.

It seems to be agreed on: Americans have retirement on their mind. For that matter, it’s their leading financial goal, according to a recent survey. At the same time, these statistics have emerged: 61% of Americans don’t know how much money they’ll need to retire successfully, and $84,821 is the average amount Americans have saved for retirement.

A recent study found that only 40 percent of American adults have a will. A will is frequently described as “the cornerstone” and “the foundation” of an estate plan. It’s always better to have a will than not have one – no matter what your age, where your career stands, or how much you have in assets.

Getting into college. Getting through college. And always looming large: How to pay for college?? Understandable.
College tuitions increase at a greater rate than general inflation.

On average, women live longer than men, but save less for those years. This is an imbalance that women need to be aware of and must work to correct. In a recent survey, men’s median goal for retirement savings was $400,000. Women’s median goal? Half that, at $200,000! But women’s life expectancies exceed men’s by 6 to 8 years, and that much less money can take the shine off those “golden years.”

In less than 40 years, 401(k) plans have grown to be the primary vehicle for American workers at any point on the road to retirement. In fact, at the start of 2018, 401(k) plans had $5.3 trillion in assets, 55 million active participants.

$9.2 trillion of assets were in IRAs at the close of 2017. Nearly 44 million U.S. households invest for their futures using IRAs. More than 80% of those same households also have assets in defined-contribution employer-sponsored retirement plans or are covered by defined-benefit pension plans. You are eligible to make an IRA part of your personal retirement income strategy too.

In 1924, the first modern mutual fund stepped onto the financial scene. In one year, its assets grew from $50,000 to $392,000. By the start of 2018, 9,886 U.S. mutual funds had assets totaling $19 trillion and 95 million U.S. retail investors. What could bring about that kind of growth?

What’s your most important financial goal – the one you think about the most? A comfortable retirement? Pick up a financial magazine, and you’ll find most articles and ads are focused on precisely that topic.