If you’re in your late 20s or early 30s, then you might think Katie Hall’s story sounds familiar.

Hall is 28 and has been living in rental accommodations for the past 10 years. To keep her living costs down, she shares her home with a roommate.

She has a goal of putting away $300 per week, to save up for a down payment. Meeting that goal isn’t always easy. Even when she does add money to her savings account, an issue might crop up with her car or her pet.

“There’s always something that has to be spent on,” Hall says.

“I don’t think it’s as easy as it was 20 years ago to save money and buy a house.”

Hall estimates that it will be at least seven years before she’s able to leave rentals behind and buy a home of her own.

According to a new survey by CIBC, she’s not alone.

The survey looked at millennials – defined her as Canadians between the ages of 18 and 37 – and found that 65 per cent of millennials either rent their homes or live with relatives.

Of those 65 per cent, 94 per cent say they plan on buying a home at some point – but only 33 per cent are putting money aside to do so.

According to CIBC, these results stress the importance of financial planning.

“You can’t buy a home with intent and desire alone,” Grant Rasmussen, the bank’s senior vice-president of mobile advice, said in a press release.

Taylor Peer knows that feeling well. Like Hall, she rents and has a roommate. She earns a little more than minimum wage. Like Hall, she tries to put some of that money into a savings account, but runs into roadblocks.

“Everybody’s got a cell phone bill, the internet, and things like that,” she says.

“You build up a little bit of a savings account, and then something happens.”

The survey also found that 45 per cent of millennial renters and 39 per cent of millennials who live with their parents say home ownership is not a realistic option for them.

Even though he too is a renter, Matt Bergin wouldn’t put himself in that category. The 33 year old moved to Waterloo Region recently for work.

“I kind of wanted to rent right away, and figure out some options down the line for buying,” he says.

Bergin says he has started to save up to buy a house, and hopes he’ll be able to make a down payment of 10 to 15 per cent.

Despite the perception that renting makes it easier to save money for purchasing a home, the survey found that homeowners are saving more money than renters – $566 a month, on average, compared to $368 for renters.

With reporting by Heather Senoran