Gen Z Can Afford Nice Things Despite Not Making Enough Money For A Reason Most Boomers Still Don't Understand
Daniel Hoz | Shutterstock Gen Z isn't buying nice things because they're secretly rich.
An NYC-based content creator named Maria Melchor responded to the question many older people keep asking younger generations: How can Gen Z afford nice things when they're not making enough money? According to Melchor, the answer is actually pretty simple. Many young people aren't spending because they feel financially secure. They're spending because homes, kids, and the traditional markers of adulthood have gotten so expensive that small luxuries are the only pieces of adult life they can still reach.
Gen Z isn't bad with money; they're just spending differently than Boomers understand
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"When older people ask me how young people are affording nice things that they wouldn't even buy for themselves, I tell them it's because we can't afford anything else," Melchor began in her video.
She explained that when it comes to buying a home and starting a family, both are slowly becoming out of reach and increasingly expensive.
Gen Z buys nice things because the bigger things feel out of reach
According to Redfin, the median home price in the United States remains far above what many young buyers can comfortably afford. It's an increase of nearly 4% over last year, even though there were over 300,000 fewer homes on the market.
When it comes to starting a family, childcare costs are another major barrier. SmartAsset's 2025 study found that the annual cost of raising one young child topped $30,000 in some states, while the Department of Labor found that full-day childcare for one child can take up a major share of a family's income.
Many Gen Zers still want to buy a house someday, but affordability has made that goal feel much harder to reach.
The average cost of childcare is $9,051 per year, and according to the Department of Labor, it represents between 8% and 19.3% of family income per child.
Melchor pointed out that many young people have accepted that these parts of life are unattainable, and instead of using money for a down payment on a house or childcare, they're investing in themselves.
"We're using that money on whatever it is we can afford that will bring us a semblance of the kind of adulthood we were promised," she continued. "When houses are a million dollars plus, an older couple will likely outbid us anyway, so we're gonna relinquish any lingering delusions about home ownership."
Melchor claimed that instead, young people are choosing to spend their money on other things, including buying their dogs all of the treats, toys, and accessories they could possibly want.
Homeownership and raising kids are still goals, but affordability is the problem
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According to Clever Offers' 2025 Gen Z Home Buyer Report, 90% of Gen Zers want to own a home someday, but 62% worry they never will. Among those who think they'll never own a home, 82% said it's because they can't afford it, proving that Gen Z hasn't given up on homeownership because they don't want it.
They've started to question whether it's financially possible.
Homeownership is still one of the biggest symbols of the American Dream, which is exactly why it feels so discouraging for young people who want it but can't afford it. Gen Zers largely said their incomes weren't high enough yet, while millennials primarily blamed rising home prices.
Gen Z still wants the American Dream, but many don't believe they can buy into it the same way
Similarly, many Gen Zers have admitted to believing they are starting further behind financially (65%), according to an online survey by USA Today, based on a poll by The Harris Poll.
"They're telling us they can't buy into that American dream the way that their parents and grandparents thought about it, because it's not attainable," said The Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema, who added that "an entire generation feels like they're coming of age in sort of this fractured, divisive world."
In terms of financial pressures, many young people feel less inclined to invest in their futures because they have little faith that the cost of living will work in their favor, and many of the milestones of adulthood, including buying a home and starting a family, feel like distant dreams.
This shows that Gen Z isn't only thinking about some far-off version of adulthood. They're also trying to make their lives feel good right now, even if that looks different from what older generations expected.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.
