It's Looking Like A Recession Is Coming, But Millennials And Gen Z'ers Have Veeery Different Takes On What This Means

"Can't lose your house if you don't have one."

Warning signs of a recession have been flashing for months.

Rebloggy / Via giphy.com

Layoffs have begun in certain sectors, with Stitch Fix laying off 330 people and companies like Substack, TikTok, and Apple laying off employees or instituting hiring freezes. The Federal Reserve is hiking interest rates, with a .75 rate increase in June and rumors of another coming this month.

Millennials are all too familiar with the economic impact of recessions.

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For millennials, who have lived through three recessions already, including the Great Recession many of us graduated into, recessions are things to be feared. 

Many millennials say the Great Recession scarred them, especially financially.

So I posted a TikTok about how awful recessions are and got some...surprising responses from Gen Z.

Bravely Go / Via tiktok.com

As a millennial who graduated in 2011, I am definitely scarred from the terrible job market in the aftermath of the Great Recession. I couldn't find a full-time salaried job after graduation and had student loans to pay off to boot. Many other millennials recall financial panic, stress, and depression when they think about the Great Recession.

But in the comments of a recent TikTok video I made, many Gen Z'ers said they actually look forward to a recession.

Many members of Gen Z seem to not fear a recession because everything about their world is already hard.

So you’re saying we can’t be upset about 9/11, a resulting war, recession, housing market crash, climate change, a global pandemic, mass shootings and more recession in our generation because we have tv? from antiwork

Older Americans invalidating the very real economic, climate, and social fears that Gen Z faces is causing a lot of them to feel like the system needs a complete overhaul.

There are two main differences in how millennials and Gen Z see recessions:

For Gen Z, this could be their first major recession while in the workforce. And true to their generation, many of them have a decidedly different approach to it than many millennials.

Key Difference #1: Many Gen Z'ers Want a Recession

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Why would someone hope for a recession, where people lose jobs, hiring slows, and the stock market likely goes down?

They know that social shifts are coming and that they are a force of change.

Gen Z's negative image of the United States is totally justified from GenZ

Gen Z has grown up with climate disasters, school shootings, political polarization, and feels like things are...well, bad. And they are not shy about voicing their opinions! Gen Z is already running for office because they are ready for change, and many of them see a recession as a chance for economic change.

A recession feels like a chance to reset.

"We know it’s bad for everyone, we’re just sick of being the only ones who [can't]  afford to live. Restart for everyone from an even playing field," said Tee...Lex in response to my TikTok. 

Gen Z is also very aware of how much harder it is for them to reach milestones that their parents and grandparents had access to. It's hard to buy a house when prices in some markets have risen by 16% in a single year, but income hasn't.

Gen Z thinks a recession could bring down the cost of living.

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With housing prices having risen so dramatically in the last three years (18.6% nationally in the last year alone!) and with 8.6% inflation making essentials like groceries and gas deeply expensive, many Gen Z folks see a recession as a way to get back to a more affordable cost of living.

For example, May 2022 was the most expensive housing market since 2006, says the Wall Street Journal.

Gen Z'ers know they're getting priced out and want a recession to bring lower housing costs. "Can’t lose my house if I don’t own one 😅," says Dani in my TikTok comments.

Meanwhile, for millennials, recessions are harbingers of doom.

Vaxxed but still not relaxed @ljtcpa

@EthanResists I hope you're right. I'm a millenial. We got the shaft. Graduating into a recession followed by a run up in housing that dwarfed increases in cost of living while also being blamed for ruining everything. IMO Gen Z got it worse.

02:16 PM - 09 Jul 2022

Twitter: @ljtcpa / Via Twitter: @ljtcpa

"Millennials should know better, hello 2008, when we were graduating college we couldn’t get a job with our degrees. Gen Z should take note of this," Eve Rien said on TikTok.

Key Difference #2: Gen Z Feels They Have Nothing to Lose

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New graduates or workers generally have fewer assets than people who have been working for awhile. If you have $100,000 sitting in the stock market, you're more likely to be worried about a downturn than someone who hasn't even started investing yet.

However, some millennials *finally* have skin in the game

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Some millennials are now in their 40s, own homes, and have investment assets — 37% of homebuyers in 2020 were millennials, making them the biggest chunk of buyers that year. The thought of losing those assets in a recession is scary.

Millennials have been called "the unluckiest generation," and that bad luck has definitely made many of us more fearful of recessions.

For my fellow millenials who feel like failures, it's not your fault. Got to love the tagline, "Millenials are the unluckiest generation in US history". from antiwork

It's been sort of a knockdown, drag out fight for millennials ever since we were college age, and many of us have a lot of financial anxiety and fear that Gen Z doesn't seem to share.

"I'm terrified of ending up like my parents in '08 when we lost our house. Seeing my parents try so desperately to keep our home and keep us fed was heartbreaking to watch at 13/14. I own a home now but I know it's not mine, it will always be the banks," millennial Taryn B. told me in a direct message.

Here are three ways to prepare your money for a recession, no matter what generation you're in:

1. Build up your cash savings

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Cash is still king during a recession. You can use it to buy food, pay rent, or fix your flat tire. Aim to have four months of living expenses as your long-term goal. 

But remember: ANY savings is better than none. If you have two weeks of expenses, that gives you breathing room for at least 14 days.

2. Get more from your current resources

Bravely Go LLC / Via Instagram: @webravelygo

I lived at or below the poverty line for several years in my 20s, and the number one thing that helped me stretch a dollar was getting more from my circumstances. 

In my case, I worked as a caterer and would bring home the leftovers from an event. Two for one: I got paid for working and walked out with a few free meals.

3. Build financial community

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Recessions can be lonely times. Building a community that you can support and that can support you is essential. Start talking to friends and family about both money and future plans now. Get to know your neighbors and their needs or resources. Volunteer for local organizations to get to know your wider community. 

Having a strong network will make any upheaval easier to go through.

Do you think a recession is coming? And are you doing anything to prepare? Share your thoughts in the comments.