Baby boomers more entitled than millennials, says study

It's not entitlement, it's growing up in a challenging economic climate

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One of the biggest criticisms aimed at millennials is that we’re entitled (never mind the fact that we’ll never be able to afford houses because we keep buying avocados instead, apparently).

Older generations say millennials expect the world handed to them on a plate and don’t work hard enough.

And yet, as it turns out, it may be the baby boomers who are in fact more entitled than their children.

According to a new study, millennials believe people should be financially independent on average a year and a half earlier than baby boomers.

22 is the age when millennials think you should be able to pay for your own housing, 20.5 when you should pay for your own car, and 18.5 for your own mobile phone contract.

“Millennials are often stereotyped as being entitled,” said Sarah Berger, a columnist and analyst at bankrate.com.

“It’s refreshing to see that millennials really do have high expectations of gaining financial independence and getting off their parents’ payroll.”

The research, carried out by personal finance site bankrate.com, surveyed 1,000 adults from across the US.

Millennials, generation X, baby boomers and the silent generation (born between the 1920s and mid 1940s) were asked what age people should be able to pay for their own bills.

Although there was some disparity between areas and political viewpoints - the average Republican believes you should be able to afford your own car three years earlier than the average Democrat - the findings reveal that young people don’t want to depend on the ‘bank of mum and dad’ for anywhere near as long as many people think.

But even if we want to be financially independent, it doesn’t mean all young people can - last year, the number of young adults living with their parents in the UK reached a record high, with 3.3 million 20-34-year-olds unable to fly the nest.