From finances to marriage

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64 percent believe that you are an adult when you can cover all your fixed costs yourself.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Starting a career, owning their own home or getting married? The insurance company Uniqa conducted a study to find out when young people in Germany feel "mature".

At the age of 18, you are of legal age - and although you are considered an adult by law, some people are still pretty green behind the ears. When do you really feel grown up? As a financial provision study by the insurance company Uniqa shows, half of 18 to 29-year-olds feel grown-up when they are standing on their own two feet, i.e. when they are financially independent or have moved out of their parents' house.

Their own four walls
For 45% of Tyroleans in this age group, it is their own four walls, for 51% it is financial independence, which puts this view in Tyrol above the average for young people in Austria (46%). Above the Austrian average of 35%, young people in Tyrol cite starting a career - namely 42%. According to the study, marriage plays a subordinate role in feeling grown up. This is already quite low in the country as a whole (11 percent) and only six percent in Tyrol.

Regardless of when young people actually feel grown up: The earlier you take responsibility for your own financial future, the better - we want to raise awareness of this at an early stage and also provide support.

Michael Zentner, Uniqa Landesdirektor in Tirol

Bild: Franz Oss Photography

There also appears to be a difference between the sexes: more women consider their first home (53% vs. 43% of men) and financial independence (47% vs. 42% of men) to be important.

64% of boys believe that they are financially mature when they are able to pay for their own housing, food, mobility and other (fixed) expenses without regular contributions from parents or other people. This aspect is particularly important to women: almost three quarters (73%) agree with this, while less than two thirds (64%) of the men surveyed are of this opinion.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Luxury items not in vogue
And what does the reality look like? Are young Tyroleans financially mature? 85 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds receive an income from a job, while 19 percent in Tyrol are regularly supported by their parents. Four out of ten young people state that they believe they are able to finance their lives completely on their own.

For the future, young people want a debt-free life - this is the most important thing for 53% in Tyrol. This is followed by the desire to be able to maintain their current standard of living (40 percent). Finally, travel and vacations follow with 39 percent. Luxury items such as luxury clothing or expensive jewelry are less of a trend. Only one in ten young people in Austria would like this (nine percent).

A third of women have too little money for retirement provisions
Four out of ten (39 percent), on the other hand, have already thought about their own financial provision. However, more than a quarter (29 percent) of those surveyed in Austria still state that they have too little money for financial provision - in Tyrol, the figure is 30 percent. Although this trend is evident among both men and women, women in Austria are significantly more likely to say they have too little money for financial provision (34 percent vs. 25 percent of men).