4 Money Tips Millennials and Gen Z Won’t Listen To, According to Vivian Tu
Written by
Angela Mae
Edited by
Cory Dudak
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
Vivian Tu, better known as Your Rich BFF, recently shared with Business Insider the top money tips millennials and Gen Z simply won’t listen to. These tips are either outdated or no longer applicable in the modern era. Even those that could technically still work aren’t as effective as they once were.
Here are four money tips younger generations — namely, Gen Z and millennials — won’t listen to, according to Vivian Tu.
Pay Down Debt With a Second Job
Debt is, unfortunately, all too common.
According to a 2023 CNBC article, Gen Z’s average debt balance was $9,593. Millennials, on the other hand, owed an average of $78,396. This includes all types of consumer debt, including auto loans, student loans, mortgage loans and credit cards.
But while the old advice of getting a second job — or even a side hustle — to pay down debt might have been more applicable in the past, millennials and Gen Z don’t follow it as strictly anymore. Part of the reason, according to Tu, is many younger workers are so tired of how expensive the world has become that the advice simply falls on deaf ears.
You can see rising costs in many areas of the world. In the past 20 years, cumulative inflation rate have reached around 60%, according to Consumer Price Index data. What this means is something that cost $100 in 2005 would now cost around $160.
Housing prices are also up. The average sales price of homes in the U.S. in Q3 2024 was $501,100, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Just a decade prior, it was $340,400.
There costs, like tuition, have also skyrocketed over the years.
“When my parents went to college, tuition cost a banana, a quarter and a handshake,” said Tu. “But now, in order to go to college, at 17 or 18, you have to sign a binding piece of paper that says, ‘I’m good for six figures.'”
Stop Eating Out
The advice that you should stop eating out to save money is also largely ignored these days.
“I think older generations have peddled this advice that if you work your tush off, if you do all the right things, you’ll achieve the American dream,” said Tu.
But for many people, the reality is a little different. So many U.S. workers are already cutting back on expenses to try to make ends meet. The ability to go out once in a while to share a meal with loved ones is too hard to pass up when it’s often one of the only expenses they allow themselves.
Oftentimes, younger generations will even set aside money specifically for dining out. So, there’s less of a reason to skip it altogether.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person spends just under $4,000 a year on dining out. This is about $333 a month. Cutting back and using some of that money for debt, savings or other goals is one thing, but eliminating the small things that bring joy to one’s life is another.
Stick With Your Full-Time Gig
For older generations, the concept of staying loyal to your full-time job might have made more sense than it does in today’s society.
“Being loyal doesn’t pay,” said Tu. She added that many people who do choose to stick with their current job end up losing out on the potentially higher income they could have gotten by switching to a new employer.
This doesn’t mean millennials and Gen Z are job hopping every month, but it does mean they’re keeping an eye out for better opportunities that pay for their skills, experience, and education — and that help them achieve their bigger financial goals.
All Debt Is Bad
“When we lend money to poor people, we call it debt,” said Tu. “When we lend money to rich people, we call it leverage. Debt is not morally good or bad. Just like an investment account or a savings account, debt is a tool, and young people need to learn how to use it.”
Used correctly, debt can end up being rather beneficial. A mortgage loan or business loan, for example, can help someone achieve their goals of homeownership or business expansion, respectively.
Some types of debt, however, can be expensive and lead to long-term financial complications. Credit cards are chief among these “bad debts.” Student loans, unless they more than pay for themselves, can also keep people from achieving their bigger goals.
Instead of viewing all debt as bad, millennials and Gen Z are starting to see there are shades of grey. It’s not about avoiding it outright. It’s about taking it on — and repaying it — strategically.
More From GOBankingRates
