Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X & Boomers Have Completely Different Ideas Of What It Means To Be Poor
Sibrapid | Shutterstock The way you're raised has a huge influence on your relationship with money. Not just in how you manage it, but also how you view other people's financial situations.
The economy and what's happening in the world have a big influence, too. That's why the four generations often have vastly different ideas of what it means to be poor. And Gen Z may end up being the biggest surprise of all.
Gen Z, millennials, Gen X & boomers have different ideas of what a poor person looks like
No generation has fully escaped financial strain, but it does feel like some had it a bit easier than others. Boomers were lucky enough to have been born into a thriving economy, which is part of why there was such a baby boom to begin with. And all of the other generations flow from them and the glory days of this very stable era.
The same can’t be said for millennials, who were exposed to greater income disparity than had been seen in generations, all at the same time access to the media absolutely exploded. Suddenly, kids and teens were able to witness different lifestyles well beyond their own communities on a daily basis.
Boomers think about what it means to be poor based on how hard it is to access basic needs
We could probably trace the stereotypical image of someone who’s broke back to the boomer generation. Their parents were born or raised in the Great Depression, a time of unprecedented poverty.
Not only was there a recession, but food became scarce due to the way farmers and developers had been using their land, creating what became the Dust Bowl. Because they'd stripped the land of native grasses, the soil could no longer grow crops well. When a drought hit, people starved to death. This is now known as one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in western history!
This very real poverty influenced Depression-era survivors and taught their kids that economic security was key to happiness. Success was equated to security, and even if what you had was modest, access to food, a safe home and a reliable job meant they weren't poor.
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As much as younger generations like to poke fun at boomers, there’s no denying they did work hard for their wealth, albeit they started in an economy that gave them a leg-up compared to today. They joined the workforce pretty early and went on to invest in the stock market and property soon after. Saving money was a top priority for them, likely due to their parents' experience with insecurity.
So, that classic idea of a poor person having a small home, or no home at all, with few belongings and not enough money saved up to enjoy retirement is very much in line with what boomers believe.
Boomers are also notoriously the 'greed is good' generation
Their idea of what it meant to be wealthy (and who could become rich) was a major shift away from their parents, however, in the 1980s. Tech development and the post-war economic boom of their youth created age group was very interested in showing off their accomplishments and a more-more-more mentality.
They wanted a big house and a nice car, along with all of the other material possessions that made them look good. They no longer believed you had to be the child of an oil baron to be wealthy.
Both Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Wolf of Wall Street and Michael Douglas's character in the 80s movie Wall Street were baby boomers, exemplifying the wealth-obsessed consumerist 1980s and 1990s adults. Still, they didn't consider someone truly poor unless they had no access to food, shelter and work.
Gen X’s idea of being poor is more complicated because they didn’t have such a simple economy
Boomers were lucky enough to reach adulthood during a kind of golden age when it seemed like following the rules really did lead to success (for some groups, at least). One of the biggest examples of this was the way that working hard made them financially comfortable. While it wasn’t true for every single person, it was definitely a simpler time.
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Gen X didn’t have the same experience. They had to grapple with the economic changes that came with the rise of the internet and the housing market crash. And, unlike their parents' generations, most had to plan their own retirement savings instead of expecting to receive a pension from their jobs.
Because of this, most people who are Gen X (especially if they're closer to the millennial side of the group) feel behind when they compare themselves to boomers. Yes, they still believe that people who are lacking in money and possessions are poor, but they’re a bit gentler with their use of the word. They're simply less likely to assume someone is lazy if they don't own a car or if they're struggling in other ways.
They understand that everyone struggles at some point, and that doesn’t mean they’re actually poor.
Millennials were more aware of the poverty gap, institutional power and the components of poverty than any generation before
If Gen X started to see the economy go downhill, millennials witnessed it go off the rails completely. The Great Recession hit right when many of them were trying to find jobs, and they had to deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic just over a decade later.
While there are a few very distinct groups of millennials, they were overall one of the most affected by things like predatory loans and mortgage buyouts. Instead of saving lots of money, they were just trying to keep their heads above water. If they owned a home, it's very possible they lost it to the bank.
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Millennials also have more debt than boomers and Gen Xers because of high student loans and frequent credit card usage. Combined with the rising cost of living, this makes it harder for them to save for retirement and to hit big milestones like homeownership.
Millennials have moved a bit farther away from their parents’ idea of being poor. Many of them have had trouble affording basic necessities, so they aren’t so quick to label others as broke when they don’t want to think of themselves that way.
They see poor people as the ones who are struggling the most, not just the ones with smaller houses.
Gen Z was raised with more tech luxuries than any other and more pressure to be a high-roller
Gen Z is probably the generation that is most worried about being poor, which has forced them to rethink their money management. They face unprecedented pressures to be rich, or at least appear to be. They grew up with social media and influencers have become more and more powerful (and wealthy!) throughout their childhood and into adulthood.
This youngest generation is in a very interesting spot. They’re at what should be the start of their careers, but unemployment and a lack of full-time career opportunities has been hard on them. Affordability is a big problem for them as well, with cost of living being sky-high in most areas compared to the past.
As a result, they are less likely to even consider someday owning a home, even at ages when their boomer grandparents were buying sweet little starter homes.
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A recent consumer survey found that 52% of Gen Zers are so worried about money that it’s interrupting their sleep. Because of this, they’re more focused on a new trend called “financial wellness”, which Forbes describes as a focus on reducing the stress caused by money in their lives.
While some Gen Zers are all about acquiring wealth in risky or unconventional ways and then flaunting it, most Gen Z young adults see through that shallow perspective. These folks can clearly see the link between money and mental health, and they think managing their money in a way that brings them peace is more important than having a lot of it.
So, like millennials, they’re a bit more flexible with the idea of poverty. For them, being poor is basically equivalent to being destitute.
See, Gen Z doesn't expect to have a big, fancy TV on the wall or to eat a prime cut of steak every night. They're happy streaming something on their phones and finding affordable take-out or making a sandwich for dinner. While their parents and grandparents may have thought this made them poor, they just want to feel less stress.
It's funny how some things come full-circle, isn't it?
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
