6 Revolutionary Money Habits of Gen Z

Cynics mock Generation Z — folks roughly between the ages of 12 and 27 — as being financially clueless.

In some ways, these younger Americans make for an easy target. It’s hard not to chuckle when 25% of Gen Zers say they will need therapy to deal with the stress of filling out their tax form — and more than half say the process brings them to tears.

But when it comes to money, members of Gen Z are shrewder and more innovative than the stereotypes suggest.

Recently, the consultancy firm Henley & Partners released its 2024 USA Wealth Report. As part of that report, Frederik Bussler — owner of New York marketing firm Bussler & Co. and a member of Gen Z — cited some important ways that members of this generation are breaking with the financial behavior of previous generations.

Here are some important ways in which Gen Z is practicing revolutionary money habits, according to Henley & Partners.

They are accumulating substantial wealth

We reported in 2022 that 61% of Gen Zers could be classified as “super savers.” That means they participate in a 401(k) or similar retirement plan and earmark more than 10% of their salary to such an account.

No other generation matches Gen Z in this category.

Bussler writes that a “seismic” $84 trillion will soon move from baby boomers into the hands of their heirs in younger generations, with Gen Z being “front and center.”

More of them own homes at a young age

Bussler cites a Redfin study that found 30% of 25-year-olds currently own a home. That is more than the 28% of millennials and 27% of Gen Xers who owned homes at that age.

Such numbers seem to run counter to the common narrative that it’s more difficult for today’s young people to buy homes than for generations past.

They have fewer student loans

Student loan debt is crushing many borrowers. But just 37% of Gen Zers are taking out student loans, down sharply from the 44% of millennials who took out loans at the same age, according to the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEE).

As FEE concludes:

“It’s almost as if millennials’ difficulties in finding gainful employment in their field served as a wakeup call for the younger generation.”

They are more entrepreneurial

Half of folks in Generation Z would like to start their own business, according to a 2023 Morning Consult survey.

In writing for Henley & Partners, Bussler says a wave of Gen Z founders and investors “is fast-growing.” He notes that between 2022 and today, the number of people in the venture capitalist group called Gen Z VCs nearly doubled to 27,000.

In fact, the notion that today’s younger workers are slackers is a bit of a myth. More than half of Gen Zers and millennials have a side hustle, according to a survey from LendingTree. In addition, 45% of these folks say they would consider turning their side hustle into full-time work.

They love luxury items

It is forecast that members of Gen Z — and the generation behind them, Alpha — will spend on luxury items at a rate that is three times that of millennials, according to Bain & Co.

Younger Americans are entering this market earlier than their predecessors, which accounts for the increase in spending.

Henley & Partners also reports that in 2023, the auction house Christie’s recorded a 63% surge in Gen Z buyers.

They embrace the life of a nomad

Like millennials, members of Gen Z love to travel. More than half — 52% — of people in each of these generations travel at least three times a year, according to a Morning Consult survey. That compares with 41% of Gen Xers and 35% of baby boomers who say the same.

Thanks partly to the rise in remote work, Henley & Partners says the richest members of Gen Z are “embracing borderless, globetrotting lifestyles.”