Weddings, Social Events Hurting Gen Z’s Money Goals
About 46% of millennials and 48% of Gen Z say spending money on events like weddings and baby showers is cutting into their personal budgets, according to a recent survey by Prudential.
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Nearly half of Gen Z and millennials say weddings and social events are getting in the way of their money goals.
About 46% of millennials and 48% of Gen Z say spending money on events like weddings and baby showers is cutting into their personal budgets, according to a recent survey by Prudential. The younger generations surveyed were far more likely than Gen X and Baby Boomers to say the events are affecting their money goals like owning a home or having kids.
According to CNBC, there are a few factors that might explain why. One includes age.
Younger people may be behind on saving since they haven’t been working as long as other generations and those who have been able to save, report using the money more often than other generations.
According to the survey, a quarter of millennials are tapping into their emergency funds at least once a month. About 23% say they’ve done so for a gift or to attend an event celebrating a friend or family member’s milestone.
“I think it’s a combination of everything coming at us with Covid, especially the last couple of years, that might be why you’re seeing a higher number [of millennials] dipping into savings because of these events, versus other generations, Brandon Goldstein, a financial planner at Prudential who is a millennial himself, is quoted as saying.
The survey also found that 39% of millennials report having no emergency savings at all. Half of the surveyed millennials say they regularly run out of money and have to rely on credit cards or family for financial support.
Goldstein says the best way to meet financial goals is to keep track of where your money is going. Though it might be daunting, it’s an important step for determining how much you can reasonably spend on wants after your essentials are covered. From there young people can aim to plan ahead and decide which weddings and events are crucial to attend. Once you’ve added up all the costs for each event, check in with your budget.
“If you don’t have that in your savings right now, you’ve got to look at your variable [expenses] and say, ‘OK, I only travel once a year and I’m gonna have to cut that out this year and spend that money on this wedding instead,’” Goldstein said.