\n<\/p>\n
A<\/span>s holiday season kicks into gear, a casual glance at gen Z social media might suggest this generation is adopting an expensive lifestyle filled with fine dining and travel. But behind those Phuket photos lies a meticulous spreadsheet.<\/p>\n \u200b\u200bRather than aggressively stockpiling for retirement, gen Z is embracing a \u201csoft saving\u201d approach, according to research: prioritizing memorable experiences now while saving extra cash for the future.<\/p>\n A significant number of gen Zers are frequent travelers, averaging three leisure trips a year, according to Morning Consult, despite 60% earning less than $50,000 annually.<\/p>\n How are they fitting travel into their budget? The answer appears to be an unusually focused attitude to how they spend money.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to miss out on opportunities when I am young, but I also don\u2019t want to go into debt,\u201d said Sofia Qistina, 22, who stressed that she prefers to spend more on experience than material items. \u201cBeing financially aware is the best thing possible, because then you\u2019re able to see where you can stretch your budget and where you can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Sofia Qistina in Bali.<\/span> Photograph: Qistina Photos<\/p>\n More than other generations, a majority of gen Z splurges intentionally, according to a recent McKinsey report. Many young consumers open dedicated travel or experience funds alongside their retirement savings, and use on loyalty programs such as credit card points to lower trip expenses.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was 20 and younger, I would spend exorbitantly on many luxury things just \u2019cause I thought they were cool and I was always on a high. But I lost a lot of opportunities and comfort,\u201d said Qistina, who is now studying abroad and working as a freelance social media marketer in Sydney, Australia. \u201cI realized that way of living was toxic and not sustainable. So now, everything is overly calculated and I am very intentional with how I spend my money.\u201d<\/p>\n Andy Reed, a financial behavior expert at Vanguard, said when people spend on experiences, they typically derive more pleasure than when they spend on things. \u201cBut it\u2019s also true that gen Zers are also saving more than their predecessors,\u201d he added, noting that \u201cbaggage\u201d including a higher cost of living, the Covid-19 recession and student debt has helped shape their financial habits and anxieties.<\/p>\n <\/span>Sofia Qistina in St Moritz, Switzerland, this past January.<\/span> Photograph: Qistina Photos<\/p>\n Qistina, for example, attends parties, eats her way through Sydney, and travels with friends to cities such as Dubai and Paris. She splits her income between a high-yield savings account and a \u201cwants\u201d fund for traveling and social engagements.<\/p>\n Booking her travel is no mean feat: before buying tickets, she said she compares thousands of flights, airlines, locations and dates to ensure she is getting the best value for money.<\/p>\n A new generation of tourists is now prioritizing the value of a trip ahead of its financial cost, according to Heather Leisman, president of EF Ultimate Break, a travel agency for 18-to-35-year-olds. \u201cGen Z looks at value,\u201d she said. \u201cFor them it\u2019s not a price tag.<\/p>\n \u201cAffordability is a concern of theirs, but it\u2019s also how they budget. We are seeing people booking shorter trips than before and they\u2019re deal-seeking, meaning they are traveling in off-peak seasons or to more affordable places like Thailand or Portugal.\u201d<\/p>\n Qistina said: \u201cWe don\u2019t realize that the day-to-day things that we do \u2013 like always eating out or that coffee from an overpriced cafe \u2013 adds up, and that\u2019s why we think we\u2019re not able to do all those big things like traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin Droniak, 28, does not eat at Michelin-starred restaurants or grab a $7 matcha. He lives in a cramped New York apartment, fitted with just the essentials. He saves both for retirement, and has been doing do since he was 20, but also a day trip to Egypt.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very fulfilling to land somewhere and experience it, get a taste of it, and then go back home immediately,\u201d he said after a one-night visit to Colombia. \u201cIt\u2019s ticking off bucket list items, and it\u2019s a memory I\u2019ll have forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of Droniak\u2019s day-trip locations include Iceland, Italy, France and the UK. The trips can range from about $200 to nearly $1,000. He began this \u201caddiction\u201d to balance his responsibilities, such as helping his 95-year-old grandmother, while seeing the world.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone works so hard and you don\u2019t get that much time off, which can prevent you from being able to travel. But you really don\u2019t need a week off to experience something new,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Droniak budgets these trips to be less than $1,000, meaning flights should be about $500 and the location should have cheap transport options,<\/strong> like subways or inexpensive taxis. He eats at a \u201cbasic local restaurant\u201d to keep the food bill in check.<\/p>\n <\/span>Kevin Droniak.<\/span> Photograph: Lauren Nieves<\/p>\n \u201cI fly back-of-the-plane economy and when I am there I always look for free activities,<\/strong> like going to the beach or hiking,\u201d Droniak said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to be financially aware and at the same time I also want to live life while I am young, which means spending money for these trips.\u201d<\/p>\n He deems travel to be a need, rather than a want. \u201cTraveling is my therapy, and I see it as an investment on my mental health,\u201d he said. \u201cThese trips get me out of routines that can put me down in the dumps and being in somewhere new gives my brain a \u200b\u200bserotonin boost.\u201d<\/p>\n But many gen Zers are balancing this serotonin boost with a secure future, too. They are making \u201csome very good financial choices\u201d, said Reed.<\/p>\n Droniak saves at least $20,000 a year for retirement, and Qistina makes sure to put away a significant sum every quarter. Both opened retirement accounts due to financial anxieties and pressure from older family members, who advise them to prepare for the future.<\/p>\n \u201cGen Zers, in particular, plan to spend rather than spontaneous spending,\u201d Reed said. \u201cAs long as you cover the bases like rent and food, you can splurge,<\/strong> which can lead to a lot of experiences with emotional value.\u201d<\/p>\n Qistina sees financial success as financial freedom: the luxury of not living paycheck to paycheck, and having the means to fulfill her whims on a dime. \u201cIf I\u2019m able to say, I\u2019m going to Paris in three days because I kind of want a croissant, not comparing flights, and just having that flexibility \u2013 that is financial success,\u201d she said. \u201cI truly believe I will get there, too, because I\u2019m pacing myself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As holiday season kicks into gear, a casual glance at gen Z social media might suggest this generation is adopting an expensive lifestyle filled with fine dining and travel. But behind those Phuket photos lies a meticulous spreadsheet. \u200b\u200bRather than aggressively stockpiling for retirement, gen Z is embracing a \u201csoft saving\u201d approach, according to research:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[131,2815,2284,86,3818,3817,3815,2460,3816],"class_list":{"0":"post-10730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-day","9":"tag-egypt","10":"tag-future","11":"tag-gen","12":"tag-saving","13":"tag-soft","14":"tag-spreadsheets","15":"tag-travel","16":"tag-trips"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}