Wakefield Research of Washington, D.C., surveyed 1,000 of them online, reaching them with an email invitation March 1-8. They were ages 13 to 18 but not enrolled in college. The survey first asked about their financial goals, then about their financial concerns for the future and what they believe they will have accomplished by the time they turn 30. The responses have a confidence level of 95%.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) expected to be financially independent of their parents by age 30, and 37% did not. When asked about financial goals, 53% included no longer having to rely on parents or caregivers for money.

"These survey findings show a disconcerting lack of confidence among teens when it comes to achieving financial goals," said Jack Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA.

"With a strong economy, you would think teens would be more optimistic," Kosakowski said. "It just demonstrates the importance of working with young people to help them better understand financial concepts and gain confidence in their ability to manage their financial futures."

However, a few were exuberantly optimistic: 4% of the teens believed they would retire by age 30, but the survey did not determine whether the teens expected their retirement to be based on parental income.

By age 30, the level of teen expectations also included:

• 74% will own a car
• 60% will own a home.
• 44% will begin saving for retirement
• 43% will have paid off student loans
• 35% will have $100,000 in savings

In all, 93% of respondents had some sort of financial goal for the future.

The most common goal among teens was getting a full-time job (62%). The next most common goal was graduating from a 4-year college (59%), which compared with only 16% who wanted to graduate from a two-year college.

A third of teens (33%) said sticking to a budget was a goal, while 26% expressed interest in starting a business.

Failure to thrive was the theme of their top concerns:

• Paying for college (47%)
• Not being able to afford to live on their own (45%)
• Paying taxes (43%)
• Finding a fulfilling, well-paying job (40%)
• Losing a job (35%)
• Not having savings for an emergency (34%)
• Getting into credit card debt (34%)
• Not having skills to manage money (33%)

About 87% of the teens had sought financial advice, most commonly from their parents (64%). Other sources of advice were other family members (38%), friends (30%) and online resources, such as articles or social media (27%).

Nearly two-thirds of teens depend on gifts for spending money (64%), while 32% receive allowances for doing chores. The survey found 22% worked independently, up from 16% in 2018.

Most teens making money have some sort of bank account (61%), while the rest save their money unbanked, such as in a shoebox, piggybank or other method.

Brendan Coughlin, president of consumer deposits and lending at Citizens Bank said financial institutions need to equip young people with the tools necessary to make smart financial decisions.

"It's clear that more has to be done to help prepare students for the future — whether it is through helping them navigate paying for college or educating them on how to manage their money by establishing savings and checking accounts," Coughlin said.