• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Personal Financepersonal savings

Millennials and Gen Z are filled with financial regrets, and it’s sending them into a stress spiral

By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 8, 2023, 3:17 PM ET
Woman sitting at a desk sorting paperwork
Gen Zers and millennials are frustrated with themselves for not saving more. blackCAT - Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

It’s more than just a little treat here and there. When young adults reflect on their spending decisions, they’re filled with regret. And the stress about it all is really, really getting to them. 

Recommended Video

Nearly three-quarters of Americans have some type of financial regret, according to a recent Bankrate survey of nearly 3,700 adults. For the Gen Zers and millennials who feel this way, 60% and 57%, respectively, say it’s stressing them out more this year than last year—compared to just 45% of Gen Xers and 38% of baby boomers.

At the top of both millennials’ and Gen Zers’ financial regrets: not socking away enough money for emergency expenses (at 21% and 17%, respectively). No wonder; most of them think they’re unable to pay one month of expenses if they lost their job today.  

While funding an emergency account has long been a “high-priority financial goal” for Americans of all ages, younger workers struggle more to meet that goal than older workers, Suzanne Schmitt, head of financial wellness at New York Life, told Fortune. Because they’ve had a longer time to build wealth, boomers’ emergency savings accounts are significantly beefier than those of millennials and Gen Zers. Millennials, generally no less frugal than their forebears, have spent their adulthood struggling to build wealth thanks to two recessions, a pandemic, an unforgiving housing market, and a historic student debt crisis. And over 30% of Gen Zers, who have also had their fair share of economic challenges, have no emergency savings at all. 

The need for an emergency fund is growing. Several studies have found that since the pandemic, over half of Americans say an emergency fund is more crucial now than ever before and that they wouldn’t be able to afford an emergency $1,000 expense right now. 

It’s not millennials’ and Gen Z’s only financial regret, though. For both age groups, “taking on too much credit card debt” was their second-place regret, followed by “not saving for retirement early enough” for millennials and “taking on too much student debt” for Gen Zers.

Everyone is more concerned about their savings than their debt

Despite mounting debt and interest rates, savings-related regrets continue to outpace debt-related regrets, Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst, wrote in the report. Failing to save enough money weighed more on Americans’ conscience than overpaying on their mortgage, education, or credit card purchases. 

Overall, the largest share of adults surveyed with a financial regret said their biggest one is neglecting to save for retirement earlier on in their careers (21%), followed by taking on too much credit card debt (15%), and failing to save sufficient money for emergency expenses (14%). Boomers and Gen X were more likely than younger generations to regret not saving enough for retirement, which makes sense considering that’s the life stage they’re currently in or approaching. 

But when you consider that boomers benefited from a stronger economy, the fact that even they feel their retirement savings aren’t enough might be a bad sign for younger generations, whose on-ramp to financial independence has been infinitely more fraught. (Nearly 80% of young workers still rely on their boomer parents for money.) 

Experts say $1 million is no longer enough to retire, and Americans are feeling it. The share of workers who don’t feel confident that they’ll ever be able to comfortably retire—period—has more than doubled (from 10% to 24%) since 2021, per a BlackRock report. Gen Zers felt the least confident.

“The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the economy as Gen Z entered young adulthood,” Charlie Pastor, a financial planner, told Fortune’s Alicia Adamczyk. “Older generations should understand that the next generation of savers has seen a lot of economic turbulence in a short period of time.” Between historic interest rates, hundreds of thousands of layoffs, and the ever-vanishing possibility of owning property or escaping student debt, that may be an understatement. Yet, as Bankrate finds, the regrets over missed opportunities still linger. 

“The power of compounding has the potential to magnify regrets about foregone savings over time as a ‘what could have been’ realization becomes more stark,” McBride explained. “At a modest 6.5% annual return, every dollar you put away in your twenties becomes $17 by the time you retire.” Put another way, McBride added, every dollar you don’t invest in your twenties “is $17 you won’t have in retirement.” 

But young workers, despite having less saved up, are nonetheless working to build a solid foundation. Gen Z workers were more likely to invest in their company’s retirement plan than colleagues in older generations were at their age in 2021. That suggests Gen Z is more future-minded than they give themselves credit for. 

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
By Jane Thier
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Personal Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Personal Finance

Top CD rates today, June 25, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.40%
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates today, June 25, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.40%
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 25, 2026
2 hours ago
Today’s top high-yield savings rates: Up to 5.00% on June 25, 2026
Personal FinanceSavings accounts
Today’s top high-yield savings rates: Up to 5.00% on June 25, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 25, 2026
2 hours ago
Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
SuccessBillionaires
Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 25, 2026
5 hours ago
Current ARM mortgage rates report for June 25, 2026
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current ARM mortgage rates report for June 25, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 25, 2026
5 hours ago
Current refi mortgage rates report for June 25, 2026
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current refi mortgage rates report for June 25, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 25, 2026
5 hours ago
Mortgage rates today, June 25, 2026
Personal Financemortgages
Mortgage rates today, June 25, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 25, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
21 hours ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
23 hours ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
Economy
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
By Tristan BoveJune 24, 2026
18 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.