Why People in Their 20s Care So Much About Money
There’s more to it than avocado toasts and lattes…..
Today’s 20-something people are mostly the workforce and are the primary consumers. These people are likely to be from the late Millenials and early Gen Z, who were all there in the advent and evolution of social media, among other revolutionary milestones.
In general, Millenials (and some early Gen Zs) are dubbed to be the entitled ones, the lazy, the demanding and the one’s who can’t live up to their parents’ success. But if you look at it from another angle, today's 20-something-years-old young adults cared so much about money, that they would demand higher pay while still seeking work-life balance. Why? Simply put, because Millenials are known to be a more educated generation than their predecessors, while Gen Zs are also making their mark as a well-educated and ‘woke’ generation, as well. They are talented and skilled (and they know it), but they grew up or entered the workforce during major socio-economical shifts, which greatly affects their perception of money and finances.
Millennials & The Great Recession of 2008
Let’s look back.
The people in their 20s and early 30s today grew up with the economy having a huge financial gap. The Great Recession from 2008 to 2009 in the US caused a domino effect of unfortunate economical events, including the stock market crash, which almost led to a global depression. This major downfall has caused prices to surge and employments to abruptly decrease.
By that time, some Millenials have just graduated college with a huge student loan to be paid, while others are still young teenagers with no idea how the event and its aftermath will affect them in the next 10 years and beyond. Nevertheless, everyone witnessed how the world and way of living changed.
Most people in their 20s who grew up in a middle-class household and below have lived with less money available. And it is safe to assume that they do aspire to achieve a social status like that of their parents or more, but the world is not that conducive to cater to that yet.
‘Poor spending habits’
According to research, the Millenial generations have the fastest rate in growing debt. It sounds so negative, but when you look into it, only 2.7% (2020) fall behind on payments and they have managed to achieve an intermediate credit score, despite negative circumstances in the economy. There is still a need to improve the numbers, but they are on their track.
Yes, Millenials and early Gen Zs have been known to spend a lot on avocado toasts and over-priced coffee, but that does not necessarily mean that they don’t value their money. In fact, studies showed that Millenials value personal finance, investing and budgeting and are using the advantage of living in a hi-tech generation to manage everything. More so, in a 2018 survey by Bank of America, Millenials showed to prioritize saving for emergencies, preparing for retirement and purchasing a house. If that’s not a smart financial outlook, I’m not sure what is.
Of course, there are still Millenials and early Gen Zs who will likely spiral down in debt, but we can rest assure that the whole generation will not come crashing anytime soon.
On employment and opportunity to earn
Some may point out that Millenials and Gen Zs frequently switch jobs, but if you look back on history, studies showed that Boomers and Generation X did go from one job to another faster when they were at the same age as Millenials and Gen Zs are today.
Job-hopping is not actually as negative as most people believe. People in their 20s, no matter what generation they come from, are on the stage of their life where they are establishing their selves. They are identifying what they are and who they will become in the next 10 years, so switching jobs, rediscovering skills and finding an environment where they will serve best is a win-win for them and the economy.
They are being inducted to adulthood, which comes with tonnes of pressure and overwhelming challenges. The reduced number of opportunities for employment brought about by the recession, and later the pandemic, greatly affect everyone’s motivation to get a full-time job. But with this, today’s workforce has become even so creative and innovative, hence the gig economy flourished. They learned to use their skills, passion and talent to make their own opportunities, giving them a better shot at building wealth.
So Why do we Care So Much About Money?
The young workforce, the dreamers, the innovators, the job hoppers, the shoppers, the artists — they make the world go round…
The cliche goes, ‘Money makes the world go round’, but I digress. The young workforce, the dreamers, the innovators, the job hoppers, the shoppers, the artists— they make the world go round, even when it seems like it is to fall apart. And these people do care about money a lot because they have a bigger purpose set for it.
We cannot define generations just by their spending habits and financial statuses. There’s more to it than avocado toasts and lattes. For some, it may come a bit as arrogant, but being in a generation who have to endure downfalls they did not cause and recovering from crises that almost take forever, I believe Millenials and Gen Zs, as well as the other generations after them, have every right to care about their money and deal with it in their own creative way.
I care about money too…. a lot. It can reach to an extent that I obsess over managing my finances and keeping everything organized, listed and even graphed on an excel sheet. This came from a deeper goal to achieve a better future where I can live a comfortable life. So it’s not that bad of a thing to care so much about finances and striving to be in a better financial situation. If you know someone in their 20s who hustle like there’s no tomorrow, give them a pat on the back for me.
