Gen Z saves more and goes out less: virtue or hardship
Two in three Gen Z members save, but Bank of America's report hides another reading: social sacrifice as a sign of growing poverty.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Dinner or savings: the dilemma defining Gen Z
A dinner for two easily runs to 50 euros. A weekend plan, twice that. With the cost of living rising, Gen Z has started doing the math: for many, the first thing to go is their social life. A Bank of America report portrays a generation that saves with discipline and postpones dates, dinners and even romantic relationships. The telling detail, however, is not the habit but the reason: financial pressure, not a cultural shift.
Some see virtue in this behaviour: strict budgets, automatic saving, mindful spending. Others suspect that precarity is being sold as pogre. Do they save because they have learned to, or because they cannot make ends meet? And what are they cutting? Banks have found in them the perfect customer: they feel responsible while fees fatten the banks' bottom line. Giving up going out or dating because of a lack of money is not a new paradigm, it is outright impoverishment.
The report says two in three save, but it does not say on what: perhaps on the gym, because dates no longer fit the budget. Gen Z is not better educated financially. It is more frightened.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (14 replies).
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