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I'm sure you guys have noticed this
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happening, but when I was in college,
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everyone around me was talking about how
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broke they were and eating ramen
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noodles, getting five roommates to split
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the rent. I actually distinctly remember
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a time where one of my roommates checked
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her bank account before going out to the
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bars on the weekend and she only had
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$13, so she said, "I'm only going to get
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one drink." And that's just kind of the
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way it is when you're in your early 20s.
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It doesn't feel weird or scary or wrong.
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You're not supposed to have any money
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then. But now I'm getting close to 30
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and everyone around me is talking about
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how broke they are and picking up side
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jobs, getting roommates, and offering to
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share the good bread they found in the
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dumpster behind the grocery store.
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Financially, there's not much evidence
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of us getting older and progressing. At
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least not as much as I thought there'd
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be. I've seen an article or two about
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millennials finally being in a nonh
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horrible position moneywise, but god, it
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took so long to get there. Like being 40
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and thinking, okay, I can finally start
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to breathe now and my life is half over.
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Even though I am part of a very lucky
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small percent who is doing okay when it
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comes to money for my age, in many ways
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I still live by the same overly frugal
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habits I did when I was 20. And I'm just
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generally an anxious person. So I'm very
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cautious and assume that one wrong move
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and I could be broke. And not to say
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that millennials or Gen Z are the first
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generations to experience money troubles
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because no generation has escaped that.
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But you look back at old photos and hear
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stories of your grandparents who were
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able to afford a house and having two
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kids at 24. Nowadays, if a young person
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buys a house, it can be a news story.
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The idea that millennials are worse off
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than their parents is pretty widely
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known at this point, and it's looking
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like Gen Z are in a similar boat. Today,
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I want to discuss why young adults are
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struggling with money. Both systemic
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reasons that are outside of our control
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and some personal choices that we could
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improve on as individuals.
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[Music]
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Something like income is complicated
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because I think sometimes people come to
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the conclusion that how much you make is
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up to you. You're in control of your
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choices of what types of jobs to go for
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and how many jobs to have and hours to
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work and how much effort you put into
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climbing the ladder to get a higher
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paying job. You get out of it what you
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put into it. But I think income is often
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very much out of your hands. You can try
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to go for high-paying jobs and multiple
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jobs, but someone else is making that
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hiring decision. You have some power to
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put yourself in the best position you
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can, but at the end of the day, there
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are limits in place. Even if you're an
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entrepreneur, you can't pay yourself a
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billion dollars a day. Most of us have a
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lot of limits that we have to live and
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work within. First of all, the types of
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jobs you can feasibly go for are broadly
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dependent on your education, which is
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based on where you live and your
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family's wealth or lack thereof. If you
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grew up in a poor area with a poor
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family, your education options are
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probably not very good. And that's just
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the shitty hand you were dealt. The
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amount of money that your parents could
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contribute to a potential college
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education is not up to you. So, if
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you're starting off with an unimpressive
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education or if you're just a young
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person, you're stuck with lower wage
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jobs. But even for millennials who have
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been in the workforce for some time now
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and maybe have had an opportunity to get
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a bachelor's degree or higher, there's a
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larger problem that has been affecting
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not just poor households, but more
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middle class ones as well, and that's
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wage
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stagnation. This has really been a
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problem since the 1970s. But in the 70s
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and 80s and 90s, people were trying out
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different tactics to balance out wage
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stagnation while still keeping a decent
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living. And some of the primary coping
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strategies are laid out very nicely in a
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documentary called Inequality for All,
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which I highly recommend. But by the
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2000s, when millennials were starting
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college and entering the workforce,
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those strategies had basically been
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exhausted. Just for fun, I actually
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decided to check some of my old jobs to
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see how the pay has changed over time.
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And my first job with a regular paycheck
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was a sandwich artist roughly 15 years
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ago. And I got paid minimum wage
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725, which as a reminder has not
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increased since
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2009, which is the longest time period
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without a federal increase since it was
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literally invented in 1938. The same
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subway job today pays $13 an hour. And I
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use this calculator from the Bureau of
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Labor Statistics and adjusting for
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inflation and the buying power of the
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dollar today. That job essentially pays
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$2 more than it used to 15 years ago. I
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think this really encapsulates the
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feeling of people in their 20s and 30s
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feeling like they're just treading
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water. Because even if you have gotten
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the opportunity to get a higherp paying
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job or get some raises since leaving
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school because of flattening wages, it's
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not enough money to really feel an
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impact. A vast majority of people,
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especially younger generations who
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haven't moved up the ladder much, just
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get paid the wage that is decided by
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higherups in management. And what are
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you going to do? Quit unless they pay
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you more? you are disposable and someone
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else more desperate than you will
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definitely accept that
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[Music]
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job. Aside from not enough money coming
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in, today Gen Z is also facing a
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systemic problem when it comes to money
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going out. And I am going to talk about
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personal spending choices later in this
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video regarding wants rather than needs.
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But for this particular point, I'm
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talking about spending on necessities
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only. Housing, food,
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transportation, health, those kinds of
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things. And to start with, housing, a
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basic need that everyone requires to
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live. The number of young adults who are
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past the typical college age but are
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living at home with parents is 87%
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higher than 20 years ago. And the top
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two reasons that millennials and Gen Z
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gave for why they're doing this is to
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save money and because they can't afford
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their own place to live. Particularly
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towards the end of the pandemic, there
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was a big spike in rent prices in
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America. And maybe that wouldn't have
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been as big of a deal if so many people
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hadn't still been unemployed at the
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time. And you can forget about looking
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at the price of a house. And yes, you
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can choose to just apply for the $1,000
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a month apartment rather than the $2,000
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one. But again, there are these limits.
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Even the cheapest apartment that you can
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possibly find has a monthly rent cost
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that you don't decide. The landlord
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does. And I'm even getting annoyed at
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like suggesting, well, maybe find the
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absolute cheapest apartment in your
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entire city because maybe the rent is
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the cheapest price, but that apartment
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probably has black mold that's going to
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cause you long-term health effects,
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which will take money away from you
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later, or it doesn't have a kitchen, so
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you're going to be spending more money
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on eating out rather than cooking at
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home. Also, speaking of food costs, I
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expect grocery prices to go up over
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time. Inflation is normal. As long as
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companies are expected to deliver
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profits year-over-year and world
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resources get depleted, prices are going
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to go up. That's not really the problem
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I have. Inflation isn't as big of a deal
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if income levels are rising to keep up
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with it. But as I talked about before,
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that's not happening. Since 1970, wages
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have increased 80%. And the national
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consumer price index has risen
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500%. So that has put Gen Z way behind
00:09:36
past generations when it comes to
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purchasing power. And another problem
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that young people are facing when it
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comes to spending is planned
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obsolescence.
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the regular day-to-day household
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necessities that you're buying.
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Something like a frying pan for cooking,
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that price hasn't gone up that much over
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time. I actually was looking at pots and
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pans recently and I thought they were
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priced pretty reasonably. But something
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you might not initially account for in
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your budget is having to consistently
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replace these items when the coating of
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the pan comes off. Things aren't built
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to last anymore. This leads into the
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boots theory, which I could talk about
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for a lot longer, but it keeps people in
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poverty by making the highquality items
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out of their financial reach, forcing
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them to have to pay more in the long run
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by buying multiple items. And it's not
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even just about keeping nice clothes,
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for example, out of financial reach. I
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feel like the amount of companies even
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producing nice clothes is maybe
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consistent or took a drop off and the
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amount making garbage has skyrocketed.
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It's just another spending problem that
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businesses are making particularly
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difficult for young people just trying
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to buy the things we need.
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I think the flattening wages and
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increased cost of living issues are
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partly due to intentional choices of
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people with a lot of money in power. And
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it's not that I think they want to keep
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money out of the hands of millennials or
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Gen Z in particular. It's just that they
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want to keep it in their own hands. And
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naturally, that means it will be
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withheld from other generations.
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But there's also some larger reasons why
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young people are struggling that I think
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are not so intentional. Something that
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really over millennials was that
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just as they were getting started in
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their adult life, graduating, managing
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finances on their own for the first
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time, the economy crashed in
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2008. The CEOs and bankers and hedge
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fund managers didn't want the market to
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crash. Even though they came out fine,
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it wasn't like that was their intention.
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It was just a side effect and not a
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targeted attack against millennials. But
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the unintended consequences were that it
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took millennials a much harder, longer
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time to get good paying jobs. And now
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Gen Z are in a similar situation. A lot
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of them were just graduating right
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around the time of the pandemic. that
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affected almost everyone's finances in a
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bad way, but it hurts the most for young
00:12:37
people who haven't had the time to build
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up a personal safety net. Young people,
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I think, are expected to make mistakes
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with money and not be 100% financially
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literate right out of the gate. So, I
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get particularly annoyed when we are set
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up in a way that one bad choice can
00:13:01
haunt you for 20, 30 years to come. And
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really, when it comes to education,
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starting with millennials and now with
00:13:10
Gen Z, we are stuck in a scenario where
00:13:15
a good paying job basically requires a
00:13:18
bachelor's. And it looks like not only
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is that going to continue to be the case
00:13:23
as more Gen Z enter the workforce, but
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having a degree is going to be even more
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required to have financial success in
00:13:32
the future than it is already. Over half
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college grads sign up for student debt.
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And while the amount of debt has been
00:13:41
stabilizing over the past 10 years,
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which is good, it also looks like these
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circumstances are the new normal when it
00:13:49
comes to education, debt, and income. If
00:13:52
you don't get a degree, you have a much
00:13:54
worse chance of finding a good paying
00:13:57
job. And if you do get a degree, you
00:14:00
have a much worse chance of living with
00:14:03
minimal to no debt. In fact, people who
00:14:06
have student debt are more likely to
00:14:09
have debt in general of all kinds. Maybe
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because it's getting 18year-olds started
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on the idea of get comfortable with
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having debt and to have to try and
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understand the complicated future of
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this when you're deciding what you want
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to do with your life in high school.
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You're damned if you do and damned if
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you don't.
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I know I'm kind of exaggerating
00:14:36
circumstances to make it seem like young
00:14:39
people are so broke that they're not
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spending money on anything fun. And that
00:14:44
isn't the case. Even people who are
00:14:46
below the poverty line still buy things
00:14:50
that they don't need. So, I want to talk
00:14:53
about what we're spending discretionary
00:14:56
income on, what the fun section of our
00:14:59
budgets look like, and how that affects
00:15:02
Gen Z's financial situation. I looked
00:15:04
through some different articles about
00:15:06
shopping behavior, and I didn't really
00:15:09
find anything where I was like shocked,
00:15:12
like, oh my god, Jenzie is spending so
00:15:15
much on this. Like, yeah, they spend
00:15:18
more on fashion and beauty, personal
00:15:22
care products, but like, yeah, of
00:15:25
course, they're in the physical prime of
00:15:29
their life. If there's ever a time where
00:15:31
you value trendiness, it's probably at
00:15:35
22. That's not to say that I think
00:15:38
spending hundreds on clothes every month
00:15:40
is justified or smart money management,
00:15:43
because it's obviously not. But what I
00:15:46
thought was more interesting was the
00:15:48
amount that Gen Z spends on travel and
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activities. And this is something I've
00:15:54
actually seen discussed a fair amount on
00:15:56
the internet about Gen Z valuing
00:15:59
experiences over things. And you can
00:16:03
make a case for millennials as well,
00:16:05
especially with the perfect recent
00:16:07
example of the ERAs tour. Women in their
00:16:11
30s apparently will shell out thousands
00:16:14
to see one of those shows. Young people
00:16:18
are traveling and going on trips. Even
00:16:20
if they have debt, even if they're
00:16:22
worried about finances, they will make
00:16:24
room for this. And this is something I
00:16:26
really identify with. Ask anyone I've
00:16:29
ever worked with. If I'm taking PTO, I
00:16:32
am going somewhere exciting. I am
00:16:35
traveling somewhere cool. I am putting
00:16:37
my money to work. And when it comes to
00:16:40
priorities, 60% of Gen Z's said that
00:16:43
they would rather spend money on
00:16:46
experiences now than save for
00:16:49
retirement. So on one hand, I'm a big
00:16:52
proponent of spending your money to
00:16:55
travel earlier in life because you
00:16:59
probably have less commitments, less
00:17:02
responsibilities financially and
00:17:04
otherwise. you are probably healthier
00:17:07
and more able to go on an adventure. It
00:17:10
can help shape you becoming an adult and
00:17:14
change perspectives you have on other
00:17:16
people in the world and culture. I've
00:17:21
been backpacking a number of times and
00:17:24
it 100% no doubt changed my life for the
00:17:27
better. On the other hand, I can't say
00:17:30
that it'll be good for you financially
00:17:32
at all. like you can pick cheaper
00:17:35
experiences, but in general as a
00:17:39
category, experiences are usually on the
00:17:42
more expensive side of things. And
00:17:45
another problem is that if you use your
00:17:47
money to buy stuff, it will hold a
00:17:51
monetary value. It can be resold later.
00:17:55
A concert or a vacation will never have
00:17:58
that. So, I could say don't spend on
00:18:01
these experiences. It'll be bad for your
00:18:03
bank account. And having financial
00:18:06
security can bring a sense of happiness
00:18:08
and reduce anxiety from your life. But
00:18:13
also going on a life-changing trip can
00:18:16
also bring you happiness and lifelong
00:18:20
memories. You can always have a chance
00:18:23
to make money back, but you can never
00:18:25
get time poorly spent back.
00:18:33
Speaking of transactions of non-tangible
00:18:35
things, it's not just travel. We are
00:18:39
making more purchases of things that
00:18:41
used to be physical assets but aren't
00:18:44
anymore. And we're not able to own these
00:18:48
things because it's more of paying to
00:18:52
rent a digital service for a limited
00:18:56
period of time. You don't own movies or
00:18:59
music, maybe even clothes or books or
00:19:03
someday even your car. And not that you
00:19:06
can't own these things anymore. It's
00:19:09
just not as popular as the subscription
00:19:11
rental services. Companies are moving
00:19:13
away from it. And so so is the next
00:19:16
generation of consumers. Gen Z is more
00:19:19
comfortable with technology and ordering
00:19:21
online and subscription licensing models
00:19:25
than anyone has ever been. They're
00:19:27
digital natives. And it also seems like
00:19:30
we're more comfortable than ever with
00:19:33
invisible money. In my opinion, that
00:19:36
will not mean good things for the
00:19:38
long-term finances of Gen Z. If you
00:19:41
think about the purchase of a movie 50
00:19:45
years ago, you had one option. You go to
00:19:48
a location, you take money out of your
00:19:51
pocket, and then you see the movie right
00:19:54
away. The cost of the movie is very
00:19:57
obvious. You watch the dollars leave
00:20:00
your pocket in exchange for the
00:20:02
experience. Nowadays, so many businesses
00:20:05
don't even accept cash. And when you go
00:20:08
to watch a movie on Netflix, it doesn't
00:20:11
feel like there was any transaction at
00:20:14
all. Your wallet feels the same. Your
00:20:16
bank doesn't give you a notification
00:20:18
when the monthly subscription is charged
00:20:20
to your account. It all happens in the
00:20:24
cloud or behind a digital curtain. And
00:20:27
many companies have gone from one-time
00:20:30
purchases towards the subscription
00:20:33
model. Not because it is financially any
00:20:35
better for the consumer, but in the wise
00:20:38
words of Drew Gooden, I sell you a
00:20:41
product that you only have to buy once
00:20:42
and then get to keep it forever. How
00:20:44
will I get more money from you in the
00:20:46
future? How will line keep go up if
00:20:49
transaction over? My whole concern is
00:20:52
really that the more separation between
00:20:55
us and how much we think we have and how
00:20:59
much we think things cost, the blurrier
00:21:03
that line gets, the harder it is to be
00:21:06
smart with your finances. There's been
00:21:08
another big disconnect in the payment
00:21:10
process with the adoption of the buy now
00:21:12
pay later model, which I think makes the
00:21:15
transaction feel even more invisible and
00:21:18
not real. And I have similar feelings
00:21:20
about Apple Pay. Like you just tap your
00:21:22
wrist and you've bought something now.
00:21:26
Like it feels so Black Mirror to me.
00:21:29
Before long, we're just going to be like
00:21:31
looking at our phone at an ad and it's
00:21:33
going to say like blink twice to buy and
00:21:35
you
00:21:38
do. It's too easy to make purchases now
00:21:42
all the time. No matter where you are
00:21:44
and how much money you have, whether you
00:21:46
can afford it or not. And I'm
00:21:49
disappointed in the companies like
00:21:51
Afterpay and CLA for essentially
00:21:55
encouraging consumers to buy regardless
00:21:58
of their financial situation. But I'm
00:22:00
also disappointed in the consumers for
00:22:03
falling into the trap. Just during the
00:22:06
pandemic, spending with buy now pay
00:22:08
later increased
00:22:11
214% by Gen Z in just one year. And it's
00:22:15
not like you're investing money into
00:22:19
something like a house or education that
00:22:22
you'll pay off later. Buy now pay later
00:22:25
is mostly used by Jenzian and
00:22:27
millennials to buy clothes, particularly
00:22:31
shoes. And I know I'm probably going to
00:22:34
come across either like a grandma or
00:22:38
like some holier than thou pick me, but
00:22:41
I just can't understand what is so
00:22:44
deeply important about the shoes. And
00:22:46
this is coming from someone who actually
00:22:48
like is interested in fashion. Like I
00:22:52
like to keep up with the trends and I
00:22:55
know about the brands and the quality
00:22:57
and the fabric and design. I just
00:23:01
realized that this isn't where I really
00:23:05
want my money to be going. So, I'm more
00:23:08
of a watcher now than a
00:23:11
participant. And maybe the same turn is
00:23:15
coming for Jenz as well. We will see in
00:23:18
the next few years.
00:23:24
I know I've placed plenty of blame on
00:23:26
outside forces and systemic problems as
00:23:30
to why so many young people are
00:23:32
struggling financially. That's my
00:23:34
assessment. I think it's justified. But
00:23:37
I don't use it as an excuse to not make
00:23:41
better money decisions personally, and I
00:23:44
don't think you should either. This is
00:23:46
something I see sometimes with younger
00:23:48
generations seeing the problems stacked
00:23:51
up against them from the start and
00:23:54
giving up. We've all seen posts like
00:23:57
these. I can't wait to die. Honestly, I
00:24:01
cannot wait to die. And I get it. It's
00:24:05
discouraging. It seems feudal to try.
00:24:08
What? You're going to change the system
00:24:10
by making a budget? The problems of
00:24:13
flattening wages and student debt and
00:24:16
recessions happening when you're
00:24:18
embarking out into adulthood are too big
00:24:22
to solve on your own by making
00:24:24
responsible choices. And some of the
00:24:26
stress and doomer attitude has reflected
00:24:30
itself in enrollment rates for higher
00:24:33
education. Young generations are not so
00:24:36
sure the benefits of a degree outweigh
00:24:39
the insane price tag. The enrollment
00:24:43
rates for high school grads going into
00:24:45
college used to be 70% in 2009, but in
00:24:50
2022 dropped down to
00:24:53
62%. It's so scary to see that. I hate
00:24:56
seeing people make the choice to forego
00:24:58
education because it's too expensive.
00:25:01
and I can empathize with their position,
00:25:04
but I know what a less educated populace
00:25:07
will mean in the long term, and it's not
00:25:09
financial prosperity. I'm making this
00:25:12
video in the spring of 2025, and
00:25:16
economically, it's looking like dark
00:25:19
times ahead again. And it's kind of
00:25:22
funny because some of the articles I
00:25:24
read when I was researching for this
00:25:25
video end with the financial expert
00:25:29
saying something like, "Well, despite
00:25:31
all the really terrifying data I've just
00:25:33
showed you of how we're all screwed, Gen
00:25:36
Z is actually really uh creative when it
00:25:39
comes to money and different side
00:25:41
hustles and thrifting in order to save.
00:25:44
as if somehow these tips and tricks will
00:25:47
be enough to save us from the massive
00:25:50
fiscal crisis we're facing.
00:25:53
However, just because it's not enough to
00:25:57
fix all the problems doesn't mean that
00:25:59
you shouldn't make an effort to be
00:26:02
frugal and responsible with money. Being
00:26:05
in debt sucks, but I'll take 10k of debt
00:26:08
over 30k of debt every day of the week.
00:26:11
$15 an hour is not enough for an hourly
00:26:15
wage, but between that and 725, I'll
00:26:18
take the 15. I know the groceries are
00:26:21
too expensive, but doesn't mean you
00:26:24
should just buy the organic bananas
00:26:26
because, well, it. I'm going broke
00:26:29
anyway. Not to say that you can never
00:26:32
treat yourself and have to pinch every
00:26:33
penny forever. But there are other ways
00:26:36
to cope. It's just about trying. And
00:26:39
worst case scenario, maybe you don't
00:26:41
save that much, but you learned some
00:26:43
things about smart money management and
00:26:46
making better
00:26:47
choices. You can also do better while
00:26:50
still saying the government and larger
00:26:54
systems and institutions, they need to
00:26:56
do better, too. I'm going to try. They
00:26:59
need to try. One of the best decisions I
00:27:01
ever made was taking the money in my
00:27:03
savings account and putting it into a
00:27:06
high yield savings account. It took 20
00:27:08
minutes to finally figure it out. Will
00:27:10
it solve all your financial problems?
00:27:13
No. But it's something. And a little of
00:27:16
something is better than giving
00:27:18
[Music]
00:27:21
up. I want to wrap up this video by
00:27:24
talking about what's possible for the
00:27:26
future of millennials and Gen Z
00:27:29
financially and future generations of
00:27:32
young people. What can we do for
00:27:34
ourselves now? And how can we turn
00:27:36
things around? I've said this in the
00:27:38
past about a lot of different topics,
00:27:40
but I'll say it again. The first step to
00:27:44
fixing any problem is recognizing it and
00:27:47
understanding it better. Why is this
00:27:50
happening? And let's talk about it
00:27:54
and share knowledge. Read some books or
00:27:57
articles, watch some
00:27:59
documentaries, discuss with people in
00:28:02
your life. And regarding what I said
00:28:04
earlier about like low salaries, I know
00:28:07
not everyone is in a position to do
00:28:09
this, but in a previous job, I kind of
00:28:13
sused out the situation with my
00:28:15
co-workers and was able to actually get
00:28:18
up the courage to say numbers. And I
00:28:22
found out that I was being paid the
00:28:25
lowest out of everyone else on my team,
00:28:28
regardless if I had equal or more
00:28:31
experience than them. and that put me in
00:28:33
a much better position to ask for a
00:28:35
raise. Maybe you're in a situation where
00:28:38
unionizing is an option to get better
00:28:41
benefits. Or if not, you can just
00:28:43
support others who do. Get your
00:28:46
together. Know everything that's going
00:28:48
out, everything that's coming in. Be
00:28:51
organized. There's a lot of apps that
00:28:53
make this super easy. Or you can just
00:28:55
have your own personal document. If
00:28:58
these ideas and awareness spread to
00:29:01
enough people, the hope is that
00:29:03
eventually it will be enough so that
00:29:07
largecale systemic change is within
00:29:10
easier reach. We can at least try to
00:29:13
change the flawed financial systems
00:29:15
around us as best we can. Maybe it'll
00:29:18
hardly help at all. Maybe it'll help a
00:29:21
lot. But you miss 100% of the shots you
00:29:24
don't take, you know? So, if you enjoyed
00:29:28
this video, please consider giving it a
00:29:30
like or a comment or subscribing. And
00:29:34
thanks for watching.
00:29:38
[Music]
