--- title: Millennials and Gen Zers Are Losing Sleep Due to Financial Anxiety description: While many Americans report experiencing financial anxiety, younger people are feeling it more than anyone else, according to a new survey. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former reporter at Money, where she covered Social Security, retirement, housing, and employment. Her work reflects her commitment to service and equity in consumer finance. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2023-08-15T19:01:28.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T15:07:08.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - News word_count: 667 canonical: https://money.com/millennials-genz-financial-anxiety/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of a warped dollar bill with scribbles.](https://img.money.com/2023/08/News-Millennial-Financial-Anxiety.jpg) Money worries are causing Americans to toss and turn at night, but none more so than younger people — many of whom report that financial uncertainty even has made them physically sick. Recently released [survey data](https://news.northwesternmutual.com/2023-08-14-More-Than-a-Third-of-Americans-Say-Uncertainty-About-Their-Finances-Keeps-Them-Up-at-Night-at-Least-Monthly) from insurance company Northwestern Mutual shows that Gen Zers and millennials (born 1997 to 2012 and 1981 to 1996, respectively) are stressed out about their finances to the point of depression and losing sleep. The data is part of an annual Northwestern Mutual study that surveyed roughly 2,700 U.S. adults earlier this year. The data released by Northwestern Mutual this month was collected in February and March, when inflation was considerably higher than the current 3.2% recorded for July. That said, interest rates have also risen since then, and U.S. [household debt](https://money.com/best-balance-transfer-credit-cards/) has grown. ## Why are younger people so worried about money? Even though inflation now is much lower than its 9.1% peak from last summer, it will take time for Americans to recover financially — especially when some household costs like [auto insurance](https://money.com/car-insurance-inflation-2023/) and [food](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SAF11) are [still stubbornly expensive](https://money.com/inflation-june-2023-rent-insurance/). A [recent survey](https://www.pymnts.com/study/reality-check-paycheck-to-paycheck-inflation-household-spending-shared-expenses/) by financial services company LendingClub and PYMNTS found that 61% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck as of June: the same portion as a year prior. A May poll from Gallup found that more people (61%) said they were experiencing [financial hardship](https://money.com/inflation-financial-hardship-gallup-poll/) than the previous year, when inflation was higher. When you also consider the amount of [credit card debt](https://money.com/pay-off-credit-card-debt-1-trillion/) Americans have racked up to cope with the rising cost of living (and the average interest rate of over 22% on that debt, according to the [Federal Reserve](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/)), it’s no wonder more than a third of U.S. adults are ruminating about their finances at night. "Given the uncertainty we've all experienced these past few years, it makes sense that some people are feeling less confident in their financial situation right now relative to other factors in their lives," Tim Gerend, chief distribution officer at Northwestern Mutual, said in a news release. Gen Zers and millennials have also had less time to build financial stability. They keep getting smacked with macroeconomic factors outside their control, creating setbacks and mental health consequences. Research by Pew Research Center found that Gen Zers are taking longer to [reach financial milestones](https://money.com/gen-z-vs-boomers-financial-milestones/) like starting their careers and moving out of their parents’ houses compared to previous generations. Meanwhile, almost a quarter of millennials [rely on their parents](https://money.com/parents-pay-rent-bills-millennials-adults/) to pay their rent, according to a spring poll from Chartway Credit Union. Northwestern Mutual’s findings seem to confirm that these bleak financial circumstances are indeed causing many younger people distress. [More Cash-Strapped Americans Are Raiding Their 401(k)s: Report](https://money.com/401k-hardship-withdrawal-increase/) [People With Bad Credit Pay up to 263% More for Car Insurance — Even if They're Good Drivers](https://money.com/bad-credit-higher-car-insurance-premiums/) [45% of Student Loan Borrowers Expect to Go Delinquent When Payments Resume](https://money.com/student-loan-borrowers-expect-delinquent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-genz-financial-anxiety/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Money Management", "item": "https://money.com/money-management/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Millennials and Gen Zers Are Losing Sleep Due to Financial Anxiety" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-genz-financial-anxiety/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/millennials-genz-financial-anxiety/", "name": "Millennials and Gen Zers Are Losing Sleep Due to Financial Anxiety", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-08-15T19:01:28.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-genz-financial-anxiety/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-genz-financial-anxiety/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T15:07:08.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Millennials and Gen Zers Are Losing Sleep Due to Financial Anxiety", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/08/News-Millennial-Financial-Anxiety.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Millennial-Financial-Anxiety" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ellen Cagnassola", "url": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/#author", "description": "Mary Ellen (M.E.) 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