Can't hang. Gotta save.
How my generation is budgeting our social lives.
Last week, we covered a brewing generational phenomenon. As Gen Z emerges from its post-Covid social hangover, young adults are paying big bucks to hangout with friends, buying things like tickets to concerts, sporting events, or even group dinners — but they’re not always getting paid back. As we’ve covered extensively, IRL Summer comes with a hefty price tag and there are plenty of young adults spending money without thinking how they’re really going to pay it back. For a generation dealing with enough economic anxiety as it is, that’s not great.
Understanding all of this, we decided to dig deeper into the current finances of our generation.
And while yes — there are plenty of young people buying now and paying later, there’s also a growing trend in young people’s awareness of how they’re spending and saving their money and plenty of nuance in Gen Z’s money habits.
Today’s newsletter below is written by The Up and Up’s Abbey Locker. It’s a follow-up to last week’s piece about how Gen Z is paying for trips, concerts, meals with friends — without getting paid back.
As summer winds down and fall planning begins, we wanted to know how young people rectify their itch for all things community with their need to save. So we asked them.
Our summer fellows hosted listening sessions in their own communities to break down trends in spending and saving.
I read through their dispatches, and here’s what I make of it:
Our generation is interested in short-term and long-term saving, given what we saw during COVID and how it affected the global economy. That includes saving on plans with friends
As much as we love to complain about our financial woes, we’re facing the same stressors as older adults
And having grown up on buy now, pay later and amid inflation that’s coincided with our entry to the real world, we’re still getting the hang of our finances