Ditching The Stereotypes: Unveiling The Financial Savvy Of Gen Z (2024)

FAQs

Ditching The Stereotypes: Unveiling The Financial Savvy Of Gen Z? ›

For example, a new study by the Investment Company Institute (ICI) finds that “Gen Z households have nearly three times more assets in the [retirement] plan accounts (adjusted for inflation) that Gen X households did at the same age.” More Gen Z-ers have retirement plans set up and they've saved more in those accounts.

Gen Zers are cutting back on spending. More than half, 53%, say a high cost of living is a barrier to their financial success, according to a new survey from Bank America. Nearly 3 in 4 young adults surveyed, 73%, have changed their spending habits amid record-high inflation.

Born between roughly 2010 and the end of 2024, “Generation Alpha” is the demographic successor to Gen Z. Its oldest members are not quite ready for a quinceañera, while its youngest will be conceived in the coming weeks.

How Gen Z and Millennials Differ With Money Habits. Even though both generations value saving money, Gen Z is far ahead of millennials in terms of how much they're putting away. According to Finder's Consumer Confidence Index, Gen Z saves an average of $857 per month, while millennials save $294.

More than half, or 53%, of Gen Zers say higher costs are a barrier to their financial success, according to a separate survey from Bank of America. In addition to soaring food and housing expenses, millennials and Gen Z face other financial challenges their parents did not as young adults.

For example, a new study by the Investment Company Institute (ICI) finds that “Gen Z households have nearly three times more assets in the [retirement] plan accounts (adjusted for inflation) that Gen X households did at the same age.” More Gen Z-ers have retirement plans set up and they've saved more in those accounts.

Gen Z Struggles With Mental Health

Social media, which many Gen Zers have used for most of their teenage and adult life, exacerbates these issues — no other generation has had such immediate and unfiltered access to the news for most of their lives, which can lead to stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues.

She says Gen Z faces more challenges in some ways than previous generations. “There's a growth in inequality in the transition to adulthood. There's a lot of changes in culture and norms, insecurity more generally, in terms of climate change and the war and school shootings and rapid inflation.

Gen-Z feels substantial anxiety and stress about jobs, long-term financial stability and major life steps, such as buying a home and starting a family.

How long will Gen Z live? ›

The members of Generation Z, the oldest of which are now in their 20s, on average are expected to live to 100 and beyond. Health technology may or may not eventually lift Gen Zers well past that.

Named after alpha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet, Generation Alpha is the first to be born entirely in the 21st century and the third millennium. Most members of Generation Alpha are the children of millennials.

Most members of Generation Z are the children of Generation X or older Millennials. As the first social generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and portable digital technology from a young age, members of Generation Z, even if not necessarily digitally literate, have been dubbed "digital natives".

In many ways, Gen Zers are better off than their parents were 30 years ago, but fewer are financially independent — here's why. Compared with their parents at this age, today's young adults are more likely to have a college degree and work full time, according to a recent report by the Pew Research Center.

Generation Z adults—individuals who are between 18 and 25 years old—prove to be more financially sophisticated than any previous generation was at their age, according to The 2022 Investopedia Financial Literacy Survey.

Scrilla: Sometimes spelled “skrilla,” slang for cash or currency. Cheese: Similar to cheddar, refers to money as a means of survival. Guap: Especially popular among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, it's pronounced 'gwop' and it means a ridiculous amount of money, similar to “rack” or “milli.”

Aligning on money is all the more pressing for younger generations, who are earlier on in their relationships and careers—nearly half (49%) of Gen Zers view financial compatibility as more important than physical compatibility.

A new survey of 2,000 Gen Zers from the writing platform EduBirdie reveals that while work-life balance and enjoyment are important goals, cash remains king. A full 31% of respondents said their main career aim is to make lots of money.

Their economic influence is only expanding, as more of them age into adulthood. These young people not only have this money – experts say they're also willing to spend it, even amid a period of high financial anxiety.

A Forbes Advisor survey of more than 1,000 millennials and Gen Zers in January 2023 pointed to these top five topics: investing in stocks and bonds (57%), personal budgeting (51%), passive income (49%), reducing debt (40%) and building or improving credit (37%).