Gen Z isn’t spending their adult years in their parents’ basement; quite the opposite, actually.
From 2024 to 2025, the share of Gen Z consumers receiving financial assistance dropped by 35 percent, according to a recent study from Bank of America.
“Gen Z knows money stress is real - but they’re meeting it head‑on,” President of Consumer Holly O'Neill said in a statement. “They’re budgeting honestly, cutting back when they need to, and having real conversations about money as they work toward their goals.”
Weaning themselves off their parents' financial pipeline is part of a bigger Gen Z trend - 81 percent want to be viewed as financially responsible.
The push for financial independence comes amid a tough economic climate, as 42 percent of Gen Z are living paycheck to paycheck, the study found.
In other words, nearly half of the generation have no money left over from their paycheck after accounting for necessary expenses.
Amid those pressures, Gen Z has prioritized saving. When asked what they’d do with an extra $300 a month, a bigger share of Gen Z said they’d save it than millennials, Gen X and baby boomers, according to the study.
Bank of America’s findings echo multiple studies that portray Gen Z as a cost-conscious generation with a long-term plan for life’s big financial milestones, such as buying a home and getting married.
Rather than focusing on what they want - a house, for example - some 75 percent of Gen Z prefer to advance in their career so they have the financial capacity to buy a home, according to an October 2025 survey from Realtor.com.
“Prioritizing career growth … tracks as the best first step to affording a home someday,” the survey said. “The majority of respondents (82%) confirm this, saying that a higher-paying job would make them more eager to buy.”
When Gen Z needs help creating or refining a financial plan, they have plenty of information from which to choose. Social media and the internet, in general, have millions of accounts and articles offering advice on how to manage money.
America’s youngest adults, as it turns out, are doing relatively well wading through an endless stream of advice, said Jed Macosko, professor of physics, biophysics, and econophysics at Wake Forest University.
“Gen Z has grown up with instant access to financial information, low-cost investing, and budgeting tools,” Macosko said in an email to The Independent. “While they certainly face significant challenges - including high housing costs, student debt, and economic uncertainty - their emphasis on saving, avoiding unnecessary debt, and taking an active interest in personal finance suggests that, overall, Gen Z is the most financially aware generation in the past half-century.”
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