There's something lost in this discussion of millennials and their finances.

There has been a cultural shift in the past 50 years which has moved back the settling down age. Whereas in the early '70s people were still getting married in their early 20s and starting families, today's young adults are mostly postponing that until later.

There's good and bad to that.

On the good side, older parents tend to be more responsible and more mature, and make fewer mistakes than younger parents. Also, you have fewer situations where couples divorce simply because one or both people change in the course of their 20s. People over 30 don't change very much, but people in their 20s are often still developing who they are. I've always recommended NOT getting married prior to age 30, for this reason.

The bad side, however, is that there's a delay in growing up. Simply put, if you don't have a reason to be forced to mature and get real with your life, you often won't. Many millennials live with their parents because it's easy. Their parents still take care of things for them. They don't have to pay rent. They don't have to think about much. They go to work, come home, and have fun when they want. Sure, there's some inconveniences (like lack of privacy), but there's ways around that. Despite the opportunity to save, they don't budget their money very well. If you have a job and your parents are mostly taking care of basic things, why bother saving?

The bottom line is that it's far different to have the 25-year-old single perpetual student living with Mommy and Daddy, than the married young family forced to do the same.