Research: 35% Young People Impulsive Spending

Dream - The financial health of the younger generation in Indonesia has been improving over the past three years. This is based on OCBC NISP's annual research in the Financial Fitness Index (FFI) which has been consistently conducted since 2021.

This year, the score for the financial health of the younger generation shows a figure of 41.16, which is an increase of 1.01 points compared to last year. However, many young people struggle to improve their money management, especially in terms of spending.

According to data, 35% admit to having made impulsive lifestyle expenses in the past six months, including concerts, traveling, or excessive shopping. As many as 60% of those who are impulsive are young people with an income of 5 to 8 million per month.

“Everyone certainly has entertainment or lifestyle needs, and fulfilling those needs is not a negative thing. However, the younger generation must be smart in managing their desires so as not to sacrifice other basic needs,” said Amir Widjaya, EVP Marketing & Lifestyle Business Division Head of Bank OCBC NISP, on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

Not only that, this research also reveals the fact that there has been a drastic increase in the number of young people who consider themselves "rich" as those who often travel or go on vacation. Compared to last year, the number has increased by 350%.

Meanwhile, those who have a view of "rich" related to non-investment matters such as luxury homes, frequent travel/concerts, and branded fashion actually have low financial scores.

On the other hand, respondents who define "rich" in relation to investment products such as gold, rental properties, and other bank products have healthier financial scores.

In response to this, the founder of Narasi and journalist Najwa Shihab stated that the quality of the younger generation in terms of finance can be started by having the right mindset about "rich".

"On the other hand, young people must also be willing to learn and be disciplined in managing money and investing from an early age, in order to become trendsetters not only in lifestyle but also in finance," she said.

Another fact states that 54% of the younger generation are currently part of the sandwich generation. This number has increased by 9% compared to the previous year.

Interestingly, the generation that contributes to their family's finances tends to have healthier financial scores, namely 41.80, which is higher than the overall score of Indonesia.