Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X & Boomers Have Totally Different Ideas Of What Being Rich Really Means
AJR_photo / Shutterstock The economy is constantly changing, which means that no two generations have been raised in or joined the workforce in the same financial conditions. This has led each to think about money and what it means to have a lot of it in different ways.
For a long time, the concept of being rich was closely tied to what someone owned and whatever was left over for them to save. This definition is slowly changing as people come to value different things in life and also understand the impermanent nature of money more than ever before.
Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and boomers don’t believe that being rich means the same thing.
Older generations were raised with a more traditional idea of what it meant to be rich in mind. To them, it was all about money and possessions. However, it’s become harder for younger folks to live up to the financial expectations their parents had after multiple recessions and rising inflation. The fluctuating economy has made each generation’s reality and opinions very different.
Boomers felt like they were rich if they were able to live a comfortable life that seems harder to come by these days.
Many people claim that the baby boomer generation had it fairly easy, and they’re not entirely wrong. They were born right after World War II, when the economy was experiencing unprecedented growth. Boomers never lacked opportunities, and they were able to follow a pretty straight path to success.
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The economy during boomers’ prime made sense in a way that it no longer does, meaning that hard work was typically rewarded with earning more money. They felt like being rich meant being able to buy a house and provide for their families with no worries, and they believed that most of the people who reached that point did so through their work ethic and not luck.
Baby boomers amassed so much wealth that the term boomernomics was coined to describe the way businesses work to target them as consumers. It’s possible that they have a combined $85 trillion ready to carry them through retirement. This prosperity made them think that being rich simply meant having a lot of money and being able to afford whatever they wanted, which no other generation has experienced in quite the same way.
Gen X went through several economic crises that affected the way they thought about being rich.
Gen X wasn’t quite as lucky as their boomer parents. They worked hard and were raised to be as independent as possible. Although they didn’t have to depend on their parents in the way some younger people do, they didn’t experience the tranquility of the boomer era either.
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Gen X was forced to reckon with the impacts of the stock market crash that occurred in the late 80s, the uncertainty that came with the creation of the internet and the start of a new century, and the Great Recession of 2008. They weren’t able to save money the way the previous generation did, which left them chasing something a little less idealistic.
Still, Nassir Ghaemi, MD, a psychiatry professor and Gen Xer himself, acknowledged that his generation didn’t face exceedingly hard conditions and didn’t really have to fix the problems that did arise themselves. They weren’t as wealthy as boomers, but Gen X was still able to pay for things like a car and a house while keeping their treasured independence, so their idea of being rich wasn’t wildly different.
Millennials started to shift the meaning of being rich to something more holistic that isn’t only based on money.
This age group started looking for work in the midst of the Great Recession, so they became very familiar with the idea of unemployment. Being able to live a successful life solely based on working hard became nearly impossible, which made some less understanding boomers critical of this generation.
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Millennials have less money than boomers and Gen Xers did, and not very many of them feel like they’re in good shape financially. This has led a significant portion to put off buying a house and starting a family, which were once the visible signs that someone had made it in the world. But the way that millennials’ incomes vary seems directly linked to their education level, so the idea that being rich was based on status hasn’t changed completely.
These difficulties made millennials rethink what it means to be rich in a way that seems to have heavily influenced Gen Z. They started the trend of spending money on experiences instead of things, and they believe that health and time are just as important as money. For them, being rich means living a fulfilling and satisfying life, even if that doesn’t mean they own the best of everything.
Gen Z still cares about money, but they think being rich is more about their lifestyle than their savings.
Unlike previous generations who steadily climbed the corporate ladder to get every raise and promotion available, Gen Z wants something very different out of work. They want flexibility when it comes to their schedule and where they work from. Many said they would leave a job that didn’t allow them to work from home at least sometimes.
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Gen Z isn’t lazy or trying to avoid hard work, but they don’t think life should revolve around work in the same way their parents did. They want well-balanced lives that they truly enjoy, so they think their jobs should support their lives, and not the other way around. It’s important for them to feel like they’re doing things on their own terms.
A lot of Gen Zers still live with their parents because of the increasing cost-of-living, so they’re looking at being rich as something that goes beyond finances. They obviously don’t want to struggle, but they’re also learning to accept that there’s much more to life than a paycheck. They want all aspects of their lives to thrive, not just their bank accounts.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
