Generation X is a debt-ridden demographic group whose lack of disposable income makes its members poor prospects for investment product sales, according to a survey released this week by OppenheimerFunds. Among Gen X men and women, those 26 to 39 years old, 56% of respondents carried credit card balances of at least $3,000. The survey, a successor to the 2001 OppenheimerFunds study of Generation X saving and investing habits, found that 67% of female respondents, and 62% of all respondents, said they lived paycheck to paycheck. Though Gen X women said saving for retirement is important, 62% said they had bought no investment products for either retirement or investing purposes. In fact, more Gen X women responded that they would accumulate 30 pair of shoes (45%) than said they would save $30,000 of retirement assets (30%). |
