A survey for Meridian reveals that while Millennials are proactive about their finances — and strongly value money equity, openness, and partnership — some 55 per cent of them admit they find dealing with money to be stressful and even intimidating. 

"The data echoes what many Millennial investors share with us," said Naveen Senthamilselvan, Senior Manager, Wealth Management, Meridian. "While Millennials are generally great about saving, setting financial goals and value being proactively involved in their finances and investing, they are also the most likely to admit to money doubts and anxiety, which may be holding them back from reaching their financial goals." 

Millennials grew up setting goals 

The generation's high regard for partnership and money transparency sets them apart from other generations. Seventy-eight per cent of Millennials report they've had an in-depth money talk with their partner, compared to 72 per cent of Gen Xers and only 58 per cent of Boomers. A majority of Millennials (60 per cent) would like to discuss financial goals together more often and 30 per cent say they'd like to participate in joint meetings with a financial advisor, compared to 12 per cent for GenX and nine per cent of Boomers surveyed. 

Most Millennials (56 per cent) report they learned to save and set money goals growing up and 79 per cent of Millennials agree they felt knowledgeable about money when they left home. About 60 per cent of Millennials believe it's important to learn about and be actively involved in financial planning and investing. 

"It's great that Millennials value being actively involved in money and investing, and there's tremendous benefit to learning about financial planning through independent researching, experimenting with apps and listening to others," said Senthamilselvan. "It's also beneficial to talk through your goals with a professional financial advisor, who can take the edge off that money anxiety, especially in these trying times.”