--- title: Here’s the Surprising Ways Millennials Spending Habits Differ From Older Generations description: Millennials are often criticized for their spending habits, but this new Bankrate.com study gives insight on how and why they're spending authors: - name: Jennifer Calfas url: https://money.com/author/jennifer-calfas/ at_money_since: 2017 articles: 339 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/jencalfas former_staff: true published: '2017-07-23T19:48:48.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T06:20:36.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - looking forward - Millennials - onetime - spending habits - lookingforward word_count: 334 canonical: https://money.com/millennials-spending-habits-groceries-cell-phone-bills/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Customer paying at the checkout counter](https://img.money.com/2016/10/gettyimages-142548570.jpg) *Most millennials leave their credit cards at home to avoid overspending, a new report has found.* Millennials are spending more on groceries, restaurant orders, gas and cellphone bills than older generations are, according to [a new study.](http://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/spending-index-0717/) It turns out the [Australian millionaire](https://money.com/millennials-home-ownership-tim-gurner-avocado-toast/) whose [comments](https://money.com/avocados-millennials-home-buying/) on millennials, home ownership and [avocado toast](http://www.extracrispy.com/culture/3463/americans-are-spending-at-least-900000-per-month-on-avocado-toast) became a viral debate across the globe may have had a point. Millennials spend an additional 15%, or $2,300, per year on those four items combined than adults ages 37 and older. But, when it comes to travel and television, millennials spend $1,130 less than their older counterparts, the Bankrate.com study said. "Initially when you think about millennials, you think about the avocado toast experience," Robin Saks Frankel, Bankrate.com's credit card analyst, told Money. "You're thinking about them as saving and not not experiencing. But it was a little surprising that they spent less on travel than the older generation." Much of the difference in spending can be attributed to starting or growing a family — or, as [Bankrate.com describes it](http://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/spending-index-0717/), spending habits "associated with soccer moms and suburban dads." That accounts for the [higher gas bills and higher grocery bills](https://arrestyourdebt.com/) in particular. "The whole act of becoming a parent and having a family changes how you spend," Frankel said. Of course, the millennial generation spans many ages, and in this survey, Bankrate.com calls people ages 18 to 36 millennials. Some of the stereotypical attributes to millennials's spending habits — like dining out more and traveling and saving less — can be attributed to the younger half of the generation, Frankel said. Older millennials, defined in the study as ages 27 to 36, reported that they spend $775 on groceries a week, while younger millennials, ages 18 to 26, spent $673. And millennials are spending less on television — which the study measured as cable, satellite or streaming services — likely because, with young children, it's harder to find time to watch, Frankel said. Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted the survey, in which they interviewed 1,002 adults living in the U.S. on their spending habits. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-spending-habits-groceries-cell-phone-bills/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Budgeting", "item": "https://money.com/budgeting/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Here’s the Surprising Ways Millennials Spending Habits Differ From Older Generations" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-spending-habits-groceries-cell-phone-bills/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/millennials-spending-habits-groceries-cell-phone-bills/", "name": "Here’s the Surprising Ways Millennials Spending Habits Differ From Older Generations", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2017-07-23T19:48:48.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-spending-habits-groceries-cell-phone-bills/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-spending-habits-groceries-cell-phone-bills/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T06:20:36.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Here’s the Surprising Ways Millennials Spending Habits Differ From Older Generations", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/10/gettyimages-142548570.jpg", "width": 5250, "height": 3487, "caption": "Customer paying at the checkout counter" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jennifer Calfas", "url": "https://money.com/author/jennifer-calfas/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/jennifer-calfas/#author", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/jencalfas" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2017-07-23T19:48:48.000Z", "description": "Millennials are often criticized for their spending habits, but this new Bankrate.com study gives insight on how and why they're spending", "abstract": "Millennials are often criticized for their spending habits, but this new Bankrate.com study gives insight on how and why they're spending", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-spending-habits-groceries-cell-phone-bills/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-17T06:20:36.000Z", "wordCount": 334, "keywords": [ "looking forward", "Millennials", "onetime", "spending habits", "lookingforward" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Personal finance", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_finance" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Budget", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget" ] } ] } ] } ```