--- title: Young Adults Are Trying to 'Hack' Their Way to Financial Stability description: Millennials and Gen Zers are experimenting with personal finance "hacks" in an attempt to make money, according to a recent 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: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - 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: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - 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: '2024-04-16T14:47:11.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - News word_count: 564 canonical: https://money.com/money-hacks-young-generations/ 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 collage of a hand holding a smartphone with a stock chart on the screen, and dollar bills and coins in the background](https://img.money.com/2024/04/News-Young-Adults-Hacks-Rich.jpg) From the lack of affordable housing to the cost of higher education, members of the millennial and Gen Z generations face a slew of obstacles to building personal wealth. A recent [report](https://www.policygenius.com/life-insurance/2024-financial-planning-survey-millennials-gen-z-money/) shows that many of them are trying to “hack” their way to their financial goals as a result. Insurance marketplace Policygenius surveyed roughly 4,000 U.S. adults in October, finding that millennials and Gen Zers are employing creative strategies, some popularized by social media, in an attempt to get a financial foothold. ## If you owe over $10,000 in debt, a Debt Relief Program may be able to help get you back on your feet more quickly. ### Select your state to begin applying for Accredited's debt relief program. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u3792545ce33?ap_referrer=%2Fmoney-hacks-young-generations%2F) ## 6 widely attempted money 'hacks' Policygenius asked respondents whether they have tried any of six personal finance “hacks” listed in the survey: day trading, infinite banking, maximizing credit card rewards, “cash stuffing” (envelope budgeting), no-spend challenge and extreme couponing. More than 60% of millennials (ages 27 to 42) and Gen Zers (ages 18 to 26) polled by Policygenius said they have tried at least one of those. For context, that’s a much greater share than the 20% who said that they owned [real estate](https://money.com/how-to-invest-in-real-estate/), which has been traditionally been seen as the primary way to build wealth. By comparison, only 36% of Gen Xers (ages 43 to 58) and baby boomers (ages 59 to 77) said they have used a hack. Millennials were the most likely to say they've maximized [credit card](https://money.com/best-credit-cards/) rewards — defined by Policygenius as mixing up credit card use to build reward points — with a quarter saying that they have used this hack. The most popular hack among Gen Zers was the no-spend challenge, a viral social media hack that entails spending as little as possible for a set period of time. Cumulatively, 25% of younger adults said they tried “infinite banking,” or borrowing against a whole life insurance policy. With this strategy, policyholders overfund their policy so they can use it as a line of credit and essentially act as their own lender. About 32% of younger adults also said they've dabbled in day trading, which involves buying and selling securities like stocks on the same day in hopes of gaining fast profits. Smaller shares of millennials and Gen Zers said that they’ve tried cash stuffing, a trendy budgeting strategy that involves putting cash into envelopes earmarked for a person’s expenses, and extreme couponing. ## Should you try a personal finance hack? These hacks can be fun ways for young people to experiment with their finances, and sometimes they do lead to short-term gains or shored-up savings balances. But some strategies can do more harm than good, like day trading. This can be risky because you can't predict the market, so your chances of losing a lot of money quickly are high. Plus, if you day-trade with money that you borrowed and lose it, or don't make the profit you expect, you could fall into debt and face even greater financial consequences. While many younger adults seem to be learning about certain hacks from social media, keep in mind that the internet is not always reliable. Always be cautious of advice that promises to help you get rich quick, and remember that there's no substitute for basic skills, like budgeting, when it comes to building a solid financial foundation. ## With a High-Yield Savings Account, you can save money while earning it ### For smart and effective savings, a High-Yield Savings Account from Barclays is a viable option. Open an account today by clicking below. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/ue1ff19a20ee?ap_referrer=%2Fmoney-hacks-young-generations%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Fmoney-hacks-young-generations%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/money-hacks-young-generations/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Young Adults Are Trying to 'Hack' Their Way to Financial Stability" } ] }, { "@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/money-hacks-young-generations/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/money-hacks-young-generations/", "name": "Young Adults Are Trying to 'Hack' Their Way to Financial Stability", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-04-16T14:47:11.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/money-hacks-young-generations/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/money-hacks-young-generations/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Young Adults Are Trying to 'Hack' Their Way to Financial Stability", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/04/News-Young-Adults-Hacks-Rich.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Young-Adults-Hacks-Rich" } ], "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.) 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.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2023/02/mary-ellen.png?w=350&h=430&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Rutgers University, BA Journalism" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2024-04-16T14:47:11.000Z", "description": "Millennials and Gen Zers are experimenting with personal finance \"hacks\" in an attempt to make money, according to a recent survey.", "abstract": "Millennials and Gen Zers are experimenting with personal finance \"hacks\" in an attempt to make money, according to a recent survey.", "@id": "https://money.com/money-hacks-young-generations/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "editor": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Glum", "url": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/#author", "description": "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. ", "image": "https://img.money.com/2021/10/a_julia-glum.jpg?quality=85&w=400&h=440&crop=1", "email": "julia.glum@money.com", "jobTitle": "Managing Editor", "alumniOf": "University of Florida", "subjectOf": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.newsweek.com", "name": "Newsweek" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.ibtimes.com/", "name": "International Business Times" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/home-office-tax-deduction-who-qualifies/", "name": "CBS News" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/coupon-queen-woman-tik-tok-share-tips-couponing-66302189", "name": "Good Morning America" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.wusa9.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/great-day-washington/tips-to-being-better-with-money-in-2021/65-a5b83e05-73ba-4d60-b9a8-1d47f9ac6018", "name": "WUSA9" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://pix11.com/news/coronavirus/rebound/making-ends-meet/millenials-taking-biggest-financial-hit-from-pandemic/", "name": "Pix 11" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/opinion/active-shooter-drill-schools.html", "name": "The New York Times" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://mashable.com/article/forrest-fenn-treasure-found", "name": "Mashable" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/13/theres-an-app-for-that-authorities-say-man-asked-siri-for-help-dumping-body/", "name": "The Washington Post" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/treasure-buried-by-forrest-fenn-finally-found-after-10-years.html", "name": "CNBC" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/florida-playbook/2017/03/gillum-for-governors-rollout-stumble-florida-woman-gets-trump-shout-out-rubios-tampa-office-problems-218973", "name": "Politico" } ], "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/superjulia", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "wordCount": 564, "keywords": [ "News" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lifestyle", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle" ] } ] } ] } ```