Dana Colomina

As a cusp Gen Z – with selective Gen Z traits – I think it might be nearly impossible. I’ve spoken to a couple of people about this recently and the resounding answer is that people my age often do not have long-term financial goals that make it feel worth it to save aggressively. Myself included, ironically holding a Bachelor’s degree in Personal Financial Planning. 

Most people hear from a young age that it is essential to ‘save for a rainy day’ and more specifically that you need to have a minimum of three-months survival buffer to feel comfortable. Yet, even with these terms drilled into our brains from a young age, Gen Z doesn’t care. While I’m sure there are so many reasons this may be true, I think the core reason is the pivot away from traditional views on their future. It is not nearly as obvious that people our age want to buy a house or have kids – two of the most expensive things average people do. Traditionally, something that somehow (I am still unclear on how), the most average people in the world can actually attain. These are pillars of lifelong success that the majority of society can agree earn you a shiny badge of honor as a ‘real’ adult. That and getting married; marriage is also expensive, mind you. 

As these values change, Gen Z seems to be losing the North Star and a purpose towards which they can save. Instead, they are buying Labubus and going to Thailand. I have not conducted any real research on why this societal pivot is shapeshifting our culture, but most people’s sneaking suspicion is how expensive life has become. What came first: the increased cost of simply existing or life values shifting and thus demand for these other traditional major expenses decreasing? There must be several root causes; for example, the reduction in religious beliefs, the realization that many groups survived previously under the veil of inadequate human rights, and the increased access to ‘fun’ things.

I think neither came first – these issues started inching together into one giant morphed generational transition explosion, simultaneously. Like any new generation, new shiny things are constantly available that did not exist or were not accessible for the previous generation. My grandma would not understand that I can book a flight to Japan tomorrow using miles that are stored on an app in my phone but also in the ‘cloud,’ virtually, from a credit card that I used to purchase a Zara shirt, by tapping my phone at a self service cashier that didn’t require me to scan the shirt. The ease at which we can consume and experience makes instant gratification all that more accessible and appealing. Next time I see my grandma, I want to ask her what her version of instant gratification was when she was 27 – I don’t want to make assumptions, but to paint the picture, she once told me her and my grandpa would meet at a specific tree everyday as their primary form of communication. So, no, I do not expect her answer to be too convoluted. 

In a way, this accessibility lends to overconsumption and temptations that feel impossible to resist. My best friend was telling me yesterday that she received an Instagram ad for a $150 hairbrush and it was taking everything in her not to buy it. I’ve had similar issues and these ads literally chase you. And yeah, if you buy enough $150 hairbrushes, that’s less single family home money, I guess. I am certain any generation before us did not suffer from this superficial yet pressing matter. It seems silly to parents because they love the phrase “just don’t spend money,” but they don’t know that the devil is on our shoulder (I am speaking their vernacular to relate to them), constantly.

While every material item we could have ever envisioned is made available at a record rate and travel becomes increasingly democratized (to a costly extent), family values are swiftly changing. I genuinely do not have the desire to buy a house anytime soon. I know conceptually that buying a house at 27 is a fiscally responsible idea, but the horror of something so consequential requiring my maintenance and attention while living so deeply in debt outweighs the monthly disturbance that is shelling out rent to a landlord that doesn’t care if I live or die. Not to mention that I would need a large sum of money up front, and the sheer idea of buying a house doesn’t sound exciting, so why would I want to spend every penny on that? I would rather travel to 10 countries a year, and so would a lot of people I know. 

This specific rejection of homeownership likely ties to the age at which people tend to want to have children (if at all). It’s a well-known fact that birth rates are decreasing – due to a myriad of reasons including cost, the state of the world, the environment, other priorities hence my travel, etc. Buying a house, while not only a financial step up, is also a classic family planning step. If someone doesn’t feel inclined yet or ever to plan for a family, then this major investment is not necessarily top of mind. And at the very core, if the idea of building a family isn’t something a Gen Z is drawn to, then the money they do earn (with minimal effort as our generation demands, of course) is spent on those items that grant immediate gratification. These culture shifts occurring in parallel to extreme inflation have landed us at the aforementioned intersection between Labubus and Thailand.

Now – will this change? Will there ever be a way to make Gen Z care about saving money? I think we do not yet have the view to understand what that will look like. I think Gen Z will continue to be creative with their flows of income and ensure they can afford the gratifying material items in life while enjoying their time on the side. It’s true they place a higher emphasis on life-enjoyment rather than grinding until you die, which has its own beauty and requires its own craft that would make most of our grandparents roll over in their graves. It’s a new world where it is tangibly possible to travel quickly. If you are privileged enough and are of the mindset that work vacation days should be used, then that is what you are going to spend your time and money on. 

I am optimistic that Gen Z will eventually strike a balance where they do start their families at a later age, also thanks to advances in medicine allowing for issues like fertility to no longer permeate our lives (as much). I hope Gen Z continues to travel and buy material things, while also becoming more well-adjusted. I also hope that one day the sheer view of potential consumption opportunities no longer creates such a dopamine spike and we can become somewhat desensitized to it. It will all blend together and our brains will ideally evolve to compartmentalize the useless material bullshit. Of course I would be remiss to ignore that there will certainly be new ways to waste our time, money, and energy, but we haven’t discovered that yet, so why stress.