New Online Game from Feed the Pig Targets Millennials Money Habits

Yesterday’s Tomorrow may sound like a soap opera, but it’s the moniker for a new digital game designed to help Millennials build their saving and improve their financial literacy skills.

Developed by the CPAs and the Ad Council, Yesterday’s Tomorrow combines two of Millennials’ proven interests: saving money and online gaming. The goal is to show the importance of financial knowledge in a way that’s comfortable to a generation raised with online games like Colonist.

“Young adults are playing online games more than ever, providing an unconventional approach to reach Millennials with money-saving resources,” Ad Council President and CEO Lisa Sherman said while introducing Yesterday’s Tomorrow.

A third of Millennials consider saving a priority, AICPA survey found. Young adults cite maintaining an emergency fund and saving for retirement as key goals. They also cite buying a home and paying for a wedding and regular vacations as lifestyle choices they want to save for. Yet poor spending habits along with generally low pay and lots of debt make it difficult. Of course, some try their luck at online casinos for making some extra cash. Most are diligent about choosing mobile casinos with a secure payment method, the kind with two-factor authentication for better security.

Yesterday’s Tomorrow, free online, helps players understand the long-term impact of their choices. Players are faced with real life scenarios that force them to make financial decisions about everything from buying a car to getting married. They learn the long-term impact of these decisions as the game progresses.

This is the newest game in the Feed the Pig portfolio, which was started in 2006 to help young adults develop better money habits. It takes about 20 minutes to play. Last year, AICPA and Ad Council launched the Feed The Pig Challenge, inviting game designers to propose a digital game that encourages Millennials to make saving part of their daily lives. Yesterday’s Tomorrow, the winner, was presented to a panel of financial and gaming experts at the Tribeca Film Festival’s Games and Media Summit.

Online games are gaining popularity since they are relatively easier to access and tend to provide people with an opportunity to try something new. There are an infinite number of new gaming experiences available, with over 1 million games available. The popularity of mobile games has grown since the 2000s, with over 3 billion games sold globally in 2007. Even games that pay real money are experiencing new levels of growth in terms of people’s involvement.

Millennials are a key target of the financial literacy movement and online games. They are just beginning their careers and establishing financial habits. They are doing some things well-like saving in a 401(k) and keeping a diverse portfolio. But about half report not paying their full credit card balances each month or borrowing money from friends or family. Nearly half have less than $100 in their checking account; 30% pay late or overdraft fees, and 23% miss bill payments, AICPA found.

“The good news is that Millennials are internalizing the message that saving is important,” says the Ad Council’s Sherman. “With things like one-click payment, it’s become so easy to buy without really thinking about it.”

Gaborone More on Millennials and money:

Why a Character Like ‘Credit Squirrel’ Works for Millennials’ Financial Education

The War on Cash

Financial Education Tools for the Military

Posted in International on July, 2017