LONDON, November 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Study reveals the nation's aspirations before reaching 40
The average person wants to be married, mortgage free, with at least £10,000 in the bank by the time they reach 40, according to a new study by credit card company Capital One.
While Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, who turned 40 this week (on November 11), may have enough money in the bank to retire or pay off his mortgage - two achievements listed in the top 10 - he remains unmarried and without a Master's qualification which were ranked fourth and tenth respectively in the survey.
Top 40 aspirations by 40 Have GBP10,000 saved in Earn enough money to 1 the bank 21 retire 2 Own your own home 22 Live abroad Visit Paris/Eiffel Visit New York/see the 3 Tower 23 Statue of Liberty 4 Get married 24 Own a second property 5 Visit Australia 25 Travel by first class 6 Pay off mortgage 26 Visit a Disney resort Own stocks/shares in a 7 See the Northern Lights 27 company Set up your own business/work for 8 yourself 28 Gain a Bachelor's degree Stay in a five star 9 hotel 29 Build your own house Have dinner in a Michelin-starred 10 Gain a Master's degree 30 restaurant Buy yourself or your 11 Get in shape 31 partner a diamond Take your parents on 12 holiday 32 Own a designer bag Earn a salary of over 13 GBP50,000 a year 33 Fall in Love 14 Visit Las Vegas 34 Visit Africa Pay for yourself to 15 travel first class 35 See the pyramids Attend a UK music festival (i.e. Glastonbury, V Festival 16 Have children 36 etc) Earn a salary of over 17 GBP100,000 a year 37 Go on safari Be fluent in a foreign 18 language 38 Write a book Pay for yourself to 19 travel business class 39 Learn to drive 20 Own a brand new car 40 Own a holiday home
Financial milestones feature prominently in the top 40 milestones: over a third (36 per cent) of people believe they should be earning over £50,000 a year, three in 10 (30 per cent) feel owning stocks and shares in a company is vital, while a further third (33 per cent) want to have paid for themselves to travel first class.
Some may find comfort in the fact that one in eight aspirations in the top 40 are completely free including falling in love (27 per cent), getting in shape (36 per cent) and having children (33 per cent).
Paying off the mortgage was a main goal for over half (53 per cent) of under 20s, however, when the same question was asked to those aged 30 to 39, only three in ten (30 per cent) thought this would be achievable. In reality, being mortgage-free at 40 is only true for one in eight (12 per cent) of the UK population.
What's more, despite over half (52 per cent) of under-40s believing they should have £10,000 in the bank by their 40th birthday, less than three in 10 (28 per cent) of over-40s said they had achieved this savings target. In contrast, although only two in five (39 per cent) feel they should be married by 40 almost double (70 per cent) the amount of over-40s said they had wed by this age.
The study, which also polled over 40s on their achievements, found more than four out of five (85 per cent) had not achieved all of their set targets. Nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) admit that financial constraints prevented them from doing so and further one in seven (14 per cent) cite family commitments as a main reason.
The study also examined different priorities in men and women. A higher proportion of women have ambitions of becoming CEO by the time they reach 40 (19 per cent compared to 12 per cent of men). 'Getting in shape' features in nearly half (44 per cent) of all women's top 40 ambitions but only one in four (27 per cent) men agree.
Male career aspirations focus on self-employment; owning their own business or working for themselves by 40 is a priority for nearly half (49 per cent) of men questioned, but just over a quarter (29 per cent) of women would say the same.
Other highlights from Capital One's study of 5,000 UK adults:
- Visiting Paris/seeing the Eiffel Tower (43 per cent) was the most popular sightseeing goal to feature in the list, followed by visiting Australia (39 per cent), seeing the Northern Lights (38 per cent) and visiting Las Vegas (36 per cent)
- Londoners are the least likely to have gotten married by the time they reach 40; over half (52 per cent) of over-40s in the capital said they were unmarried at this age
- Nearly two in five (39 per cent) 18-29 year olds think they should have a taken a selfie with a celebrity by the time they reach 40
- One in five (21 per cent) believe they should own a sports car before the age of 40; this figure rises to a quarter (25 per cent) among men
Vicky Mitchell, chief operating officer, from Capital One said: "Setting goals and targets for ourselves helps us maintain the drive and ambition to get what we want from life. We all visualise success differently, whether it's being able to take your parents on holiday, or falling in love, it's important to remember that very few people achieve every target they set themselves. Learning to value what you have and how far you've come in that time is vital rather than focussing on any financial or circumstantial obstacles that may have been in your way."
About the research
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Opinium Ltd. Total sample size was 5040 adults (2504 adults between 18-39 years and 2536 adults over 40 years). Fieldwork was undertaken between October 3 to 16, 2014.
Contact:
Neil Watts/ Ellie Tuck at Eulogy!
Tel: +44(0)20-3077-2000
Email: CapitalOne@eulogy.co.uk
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