How the generation Z rewrites the rules of money: “I make the savings, I make follies, I save 25%” | Money
FRom No-Buying Years to Second-in-Man Shopping, Gen Z seems to have his own unique spending habits. A global increase in the cost of living combined with a highly competitive labor market means that 69% of generation Z uses a kind of budget to manage their finances.
Their priorities and what they choose to save are different from their boomer counterparts. Generation Z is more likely to spend money on subscriptions, meal kits in Spotify. There is also the tendency of “unhappiness spending”, which buys non -essential articles to deal with personal or wider political problems.
To better understand their expenses, four genetics tell us about the budgeting, savings and what makes them make follies.
Jenna, 26, cincinnati, Ohio
Occupation: Buyer for a food production company
Salary: $ 64,000 (£ 47,000)
Rent (including water): $ 1,150 (£ 849)
This is my main expenses. Fortunately, I inherited a good vehicle from my uncle which should last about 10 years. In addition, my medical and dental health care is provided by my employer and they reimburse me for having used my mobile. I do not work to save for a house because I do not want to buy one before living in an area where I know that I will stay a few good years. I may be thinking going back to school to study, so I’m probably going to leave Ohio soon.
Public services: $ 80 (£ 60)
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$ 40 for electricity
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$ 40 for internet
Journey: about $ 195 (£ 144)
Retirement savings: $ 1,230 (£ 908)
I reached the objective of 25% of my salary before tax thanks to research on the management of modern money. I mix this payment between a retirement plan sponsored by the employer (401K), an individual Roth (IRA) retirement account and a health savings account (HSA). There are suggestions that you should save 10% or 15% of your salary for retirement, but if I feel like I have a little more, I will put 20%. I don’t think I will get excellent market yields, that’s why I aim 25% because it helps me feel safe. I do not trust that when I retire, we will have a solid social security system.
Food: About $ 475 (£ 351)
I prefer to buy my shopping locally which can make it more expensive. I love to cook and I like to buy milk more nourished with grass or small farm eggs for $ 12 per dozen. As a person working in food production is worth knowing exactly what’s in my food.
Medical / Health: about $ 309 (£ 230)
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$ 100 for the next medical procedure [not included in medical healthcare]
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$ 530 for six months of medical tests, so about $ 89
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$ 120 for supplements such as pain relievers, vitamins, collagen powder and protein powder
Subscriptions: $ 15 (£ 12) for Spotify which is my only subscription
Aptitude: $ 40 for gym membership (£ 30)
Cosmetic care: about $ 175 (£ 130)
I do not wear makeup but I use a ton of moisturizer due to eczema and dry skin. I suppose that skin care is where I “make follies”, but for me it’s worth it.
Clothes: Annual expenses are around $ 500, so around $ 42 per month (£ 31)
Sometimes I spend months without buying anything and other times I spend $ 200 in a day. In May, I spent $ 4 on a bra in Goodwill and $ 62 to get two tailor-made dresses. I mainly buy used clothes or vintage, but I will make follies on a new pair of jeans, because the dimensioning is so special.
Eat outside: About $ 250 (£ 185)
I have almost completely stopped getting out for myself. I only save him for social events. Although I will offer myself a coffee once or twice a month. Most of the money I spend for meals outside the house is for my friends’ birthday dinners.
Very few of my friends save as much as I do, although one of my closest friends can save 60% of his income while living at home. If I wanted to save more, the first thing I would cut is probably to eat and drink social. After that, I would exchange some of my food choices Bougie with Aldi alternatives.
Monthly total: about $ 4,139 (£ 3,054)
Jake, 28, Seattle, Washington
Occupation: Customer service advisor for a motorhome rental company
Salary: About $ 700 per week, so $ 2,800 per month and $ 33,600 per year (£ 24,792)
My income is only temporary because my work is seasonal. Before last month, I had barely $ 1,000 a month. I finished my third cycle diploma last year and spent six months apply for jobs before obtaining my diploma. He took almost two years before winning my current job. My wife works like a barista and her salary is similar to mine – I have just created a shared bank account for us so that all our expenses come out.
Regarding the economy, we have put money for emergency expenses such as car breakdowns or veterinarian bills. I don’t think I have a lot of money just sitting in a savings account. Everything I save, I plan to invest safely, but I am quite pessimistic about the stock market at the moment. We would be delighted to build our own small house on vacant land because the accommodation is so unaffordable, but it is a major long -term objective.
To rent out: Monthly expenses for my wife and I are $ 1,700, so only is about $ 850 (£ 628)
Public services: $ 78 therefore about $ 39 (£ 29)
Journey: $ 575 therefore approximately $ 288 (£ 213)
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$ 150 for gas
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$ 250 for car insurance
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$ 100 for car repairs
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$ 75 for public transport
Food and cleaning: $ 285 therefore approximately $ 143 (£ 106)
Dog bills: $ 216 so around $ 108 (£ 80)
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$ 111 for insurance
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$ 105 for food
Aptitude: $ 17 (£ 13)
Subscriptions: $ 40 therefore about $ 20 (£ 15)
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$ 20 for Spotify
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$ 12 for Hulu
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$ 8 for Apple Arcade
Eat outside: $ 100 therefore about $ 50 (£ 37)
Monthly total: about $ 1,515 (£ 1,121)
Mark, 26, Raleigh, North Carolina
Occupation: Data Scientist of a bank
Salary: $ 72,000 (£ 53,1325)
I paid for my student debt about two years ago and started saving right away after finishing my first cycle diploma. I have high entertainment and travel costs because my significant other lives in the United Kingdom. My home entertainment costs are quite low. I have no streaming services and if I spend money, it is mainly to go out with friends, football leagues and see movies.
Rent and public services: About $ 1,850 (£ 1,366)
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About $ 1,825 for rent
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$ 25 for the phone
The rental is incredibly expensive. My goal is to save enough for a deposit on a house and even if I make a fairly good salary, I am not yet far from being able to pay one in an area where I want to live.
Journey: $ 160 (£ 119)
This month, it was $ 1,200 because I did a road trip and I needed to buy new tires.
Grocery stores: About $ 300 (£ 222)
I am at home two to three times a week, so I tend to cook and bring all the remains I have at the office.
Dog bills: About $ 50 (£ 37)
Aptitude: Annual expenses are around $ 300, therefore about $ 25 per month (£ 19)
I run, play football or I use the gymnasium in my building. Equipment such as racing shoes, football boots and league costs are the only costs and they are quite rare.
Cosmetic care: About $ 4 (£ 3)
I do not spend much for skin care or cosmetics, but when I do it, it definitively reaches less than $ 5 per month.
Clothes: Above all, I therefore spare to spend about $ 20 per month (£ 15)
Eat outside: About $ 100 (£ 74)
I only eat two or three times a week – nothing extraordinary. It can be higher when I travel, which is quite often.
Miscellaneous: About $ 267 on average for four return flights a year to the United Kingdom (£ 197)
I try to visit my partner in London every two months. Rounding flights are around $ 800 and we spend a little more for dates, restaurants and entertainment while I am there, but I have a place to stay during the visit, so there are no large accommodation costs.
Among my friends, my expenses are quite average, but it depends on where they live because my friends who live in Washington DC spend much more. At the national level, I am definitively in the higher category and with higher expenses.
Monthly total: about $ 2,776 (£ 2,049)
Anna, 22, Washington
Occupation: part -time professor and writer
Salary: About $ 700 per month and $ 8,400 per year (£ 6,198)
I am independent and I always live at home with my family, so I have no rent expenses or public services. I am also always on family health insurance. I do not actively budget my money in terms of allowing a specific percentage for different expenses. On the contrary, I keep a trace of my income and my expenses and I adjust my expenses if necessary.
For me, non-essential expenses are money spent for things that I can technically live and be satisfied, such as a special television / streaming subscriptions, new clothes, decoration for my room, books, CD / digital music, products related to hobbies or “fun” purchases, like an antiquity.
The follies come at random moments for me. Sometimes it is because I find something really special that I want to buy, other times, it is because I find something that is the only one to sell. My passions are music and history, so it is generally one of these two things on which I spend money. For example, I made follies once on the purchase of old newspapers from the first weeks of the Second World War. Another time, I made follies on the purchase of a first (and only) ancient edition of an old English book by Jane Porter. I will also sometimes give to charity organizations (mainly abroad) that I appreciate – more recently.
Food: $ 140 (£ 104) because I don’t eat much at all.
Savings: $ 455 (£ 336)
I am young and because of my lifestyle, I do not have certain expenses that I will probably have in a few years (like a car, a gas, car insurance, etc.) so I save most of my money.
Miscellaneous: About $ 95 (£ 71) for television subscriptions and work -related software costs.
Monthly total: about $ 690 (£ 510)
All names have been changed
