Monday 09 May 2016 12:45 pm

All that food Instagraming means millennials face higher inflation than anyone else

It looks like their obsession with Instagram-friendly "experiences" is coming back to bite Millennials – after new research suggested they're facing the highest level of inflation of any generation around today.

The research, by Fidelity International, suggested Millennials (which the research defines as those under 30) were faced with the price rises of 0.9 per cent in the year to March, thanks to their passion for dining out, as well as smartphone and internet subscriptions. That's compared with 0.5 per cent for the rest of the population.

Meanwhile, those in their 30s and 40s – which Fidelity calls Generation X – and those it defines as Baby Boomers, have been faced with inflation of 0.4 per cent. For the over-65s and the over-75s, that figure is 0.3 per cent.

According to the research, the under-30s spend most of their cash on housing and bills, followed by transport and restaurants and hotels.

Meanwhile, older groups spend the most on low-inflation categories, such as food and non-alcoholic drinks.

"On the surface it may look like the cost of living has barely increased over the last year, but scratch beneath the surface and there is a clear generational divide when it comes to the cost of living," said Maike Currie, investment director for personal investing at Fidelity International.

“Our analysis shows the current rate of increase in the cost of living is three times more for millennials than it is for retirees, with those under 30 spending a greater proportion of their income on the areas which have suffered the highest price increases – education and housing.

“This leaves them with little left to save and the challenge of generating higher returns to keep up with the pace of inflation. Unfortunately for millennials this challenge is being met with equally low wage growth – wages remained below their pre-crisis average in 2015 despite unemployment falling back which means this group is also hit by negative real earnings growth.”