The under-40s are delaying their lives due to a lack of money – with some being forced to make tough life decisions.
For millennial couple Ellie and John from Kent, both 37, their decision to not have a third childwas dictated partly by finances.
Both Ellie, one of three, and John, one of five, came from large families, and Ellie said she always envisioned them having at least three children. After conceiving their two daughters, now aged 5 and 7, through IVF, the couple have decided it is too expensive for them to continue growing their family.
The cost of IVF was not the only setback. The increasing costs of having a third child incurredrange from needing a bigger car to holidays becoming “obscenely expensive”.
Despite living a six-figure household income, Ellie also said that her working a full time job would leave the family financially worse off, due to the high cost of childcare.
The decision to not have a third child came down to long term finances, and the reality that withthe rise of AI taking jobs and the growing cost of living, Ellie and John’s children will require“more financial support” from them than previous generations would have.
“These days something like buying your own house is becoming less and less attainable, and ifwe want to help our two girls buy a house in the future or attend university without having alifetime loan, if whatever money we have saved up is split between three or four children itdoesn’t go as far,” she said.
A few years ago, the couple bought a house, and live in the area of Kent where they haveproximity to good state schools and their families.
“We wanted to stay in this location, and the only way we could do that is buy a bad house andmake it nice, and to invest in it so the girls have something to inherit when we die. We haven’tgone on holiday for years to afford it, and are only just coming out the other side now,” she added.
They are not the only ones. More than half of Gen Zs (55 per cent) and millennials (52 per cent) say they are delaying major life decisions, such as marriage or starting a family due to financial pressures, according to recent data from Deloitte.
Compared to previous generations, Gen Z and Millennials also have different priorities. Withaccess to the property ladder getting further out of reach, large student loans getting harder to repay, and the novelty of travel being showcased on social media, the spending priorities of young people are shifting.
Travel and life-experiences are in some cases taking priority over bigger expenses like marriage, having children or putting down a house deposit.
“Saving up to go travelling or spending money on something like a festival feels more accessibleand attainable than saving up for traditional big life moments,” says Rebecca, a 24-year-old marketing assistant from London.
“I want to enjoy myself and travel now, rather than wait for a day which might not come, and I don’t want to get married or have children just yet, not in my twenties anyway,” she says.
Deloitte describes these generations as the “maybe later” ones. Young people are ambitious butbeing forced to re-sequence big milestones as financial realities dictate their lifestyle choices,and trends shift from traditional stepping stones to more novel concepts including travel.
Alexandra Lyon, group advice director at St James’s Place, echoed this: “The maybe-latergeneration is driven by a few different factors: careers, needing to establish financial security;it’s not as financially accessible now to simply get on the property ladder and have children, andalso driven by the debt that people leave university with as well.
“Financial pressures are driving people to do certain things later, and younger generations areliving their lives differently, the priorities are different. There might be the same milestones butthey are happening at a different time in life.
“The opportunities and awareness of them is very different to previous generations. Where BabyBoomers have got their pensions, property, have retired at 55 and are now doing their travelling,we have the reverse now. Young people are travelling, starting their careers later, and there is aknock-on effect.”
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