Robinhood study reveals 45% of Gen Z experience stress when planning for the future
Robinhood commissioned a survey and partnered with financial therapist Amanda Clayman, LCSW to understand how the pressures of inflation, a potential recession and the upcoming holidays are affecting Americans’ mental health, as well as their decisions around spending, saving and investing.
The survey reveals that financial stress impacts almost everyone. High-income Americans experience financial stress only slightly less often (80%) than middle (87%) or low income (85%) Americans.
Millennials (68%) and Gen Z (64%) said they are more likely to spend money on things that make them happy than Gen X (57%). More men (46%) than women (30%) increased this sort of spending in the last two years.
Four out of five (81%) of Americans are coping with inflation by eating out less, and 62% are relying more on coupons. 64% of Millennials and 58% of men surveyed said they would seek out financial therapy if they could; there’s a major desire for help to sort it all out.
And while the upcoming holidays are a bigger financial burden for more than a third of Americans (39%), 41% of Gen Xers reported feeling financial stress all year.
Gen Z (45%) and Millennials (41%) experience stress when planning for the future, while Gen X is more triggered by unexpected expenses like medical bills and parking tickets.
For Gen Z the financial milestones that cause the most anxiety are buying a house (49%) and buying a car (42%).
Almost one in three millennials indicate they have a drink to cope.
Alternately, there are ways to respond healthily and use stress to your advantage. About half of Gen Z (48%), Millennials (52%) and Gen X (41%) create or revise their budgets in response to stress.
“Some of us react to situations by rebelling and refusing to acknowledge restraints, perhaps by spending beyond our means, but others use constraints as an impetus to act” Amanda explained.
Clayman suggests setting behavioral goals, rather than outcome-based goals, to bring objectivity and presence into one’s financial decisions. For example, setting a goal to read one article about investing per day or investing small amounts at a time establishes a repeatable habit that can help remove the intimidation factor.
Clayman also suggests building investment confidence and gaining experience through research, starting with companies you know.
While ideally stress can be a tool for reflection, the survey highlighted that financial stress can lead to emotion-driven money moves that impact financial health:
Almost half (49%) of Americans sometimes or frequently get into financial troubles by spending on happiness.
About two-thirds of millennials (68%) and Gen Z (64%) spend money to change their mood or increase happiness, and they’re more likely to do so than Gen X (57%).
Millennials (75%) are less likely to give up dining out at restaurants compared to Gen Z (86%) and Gen X (85%).
For the 69% of Americans who contribute to their retirement, the current economic environment has negatively impacted how much they contribute.
The Financial Wellness survey was conducted online between August 25 and 31, 2022 among a sample of 2,200 Americans (those between 18 and 57 years old). Results from the full sample have a margin of error of +/- 2%. Executed by MSI.