4 Money Moves Gen Z Is Making — and What We Can All Learn
For years, Gen Z, or “zoomers,” kept their older relatives occupied with throwaway Facebook accounts while they and their peers played in the digital warrens of Snapchat and the like. And when their elders started learning about “snapping” and ephemeral social sharing, the zoomers had already moved on to TikTok.
Historically, the younger generations have embraced new technologies and nascent platforms while their elders were, for the most part, only concerned with keeping them from growing up too fast.
But what about money and financial tech? Could Gen Z be quietly mastering new fintech tools and solutions that’ll help inflate whatever the next bubble is? Could their bold and unconventional money moves help them retire before you do?
Check out these money moves zoomers are making, and find out why they aren’t all bad.
1. They’re Savvier and Feel Empowered to Invest Early
While earlier generations may have waited until they were good and ready to invest their money, Gen Z has trended toward investing early.
About 22% of zoomer investors stated that they dipped their toes into the market in their teens, compared to just 9 percent of Millenials, according to a survey conducted by MagnifyMoney.
Gen Z has learned that you really don’t need that much money to start investing — and you can even get free stocks, if you know where to look.
Whether you’ve got $5, $100 or $800 to spare, you can start investing with Robinhood.
Yeah, you’ve probably heard of Robinhood. Both investing beginners and pros love it because it doesn’t charge commission fees, and you can buy and sell stocks for free — no limits. Plus, it’s super easy to use.
What’s best? When you download the app and fund your account (it takes no more than a few minutes), Robinhood drops a share of free stock into your account. It’s random, though, so that stock could be worth anywhere from $5 to $200 — a nice boost to help you build your investments.
2. They’d Rather Not Consult You About Their Credit
Maybe don’t try to talk to zoomers about debt snowballs or avalanches? And certainly, don’t even try to lecture them about keeping their credit card usage low — they likely already know.
They also know that one of the toughest parts about paying down your debts is simply knowing where to begin, so these digital natives have no qualms about using online credit monitoring services to keep their scores healthy.
Which of your credit cards is carrying a balance? Is your name attached to any unpaid loans? Are you behind on medical or utility bills you didn’t know about?
That’s where a free website like Credit Sesame can help. It takes about two minutes to sign up and access your free credit score. From there, Credit Sesame will outline your debt — exactly what you owe and to whom — and offer personalized recommendations. It’ll even break down the interest rates and minimum monthly payments attached to your bills.
Armed with this intel, you’ll be able to more easily devise your payoff plan. Do you want to use the debt avalanche method, where you’ll pay off your highest interest rates first? Or maybe you prefer the debt snowball method, where you start with the smallest balances first.
You can continue to use Credit Sesame to keep track of your progress and hold yourself accountable. And, hey, it might be kind of fun watching your credit score react to all your hard work!
It takes 90 seconds to get started with Credit Sesame.
3. They’re Definitely Going to Shop Around
Some of the members of Generation Z had social media accounts before they could even talk, so you shouldn’t be surprised that this generation tends to be savvy online shoppers who prefer the best price over a good price.
When’s the last time you checked car insurance prices? Shopping like a zoomer could help you secure a great price on auto insurance.
You should shop your options every six months or so — it could save you some serious money. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.
Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.
EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.
Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.
4. They Like to Make Money Off Their Personalities
Talk to the zoomers in your life. And if you haven’t picked up on it already, you’ll probably learn that a lot of them would just love to amass throngs of online followers and land sponsorship deals with brands eager to tap into that following.
Earning tens or hundreds of thousands of followers is often a profitable endeavor, but it’s far from the only avenue Gen Z is taking to make money for simply being themselves.
Research companies pay people through InboxDollars to fill out surveys about them. You just have to answer honestly, and InboxDollars will continue to pay you every month. This might sound too good to be true, but it’s already paid its users more than $60 million.It takes about one minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately get a $5 bonus to get you started.
Quinten Plummer is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
