September 2025
Does this disconnect go deeper than words?
In this week’s THE FINANCIAL COMMUTE episode, host Chris Galeski and Wealth Advisor Austin Overholt discuss how each generation’s zeitgeist impacts their approach to money and life, and why conversations about financial mindsets are so important for multigenerational families.
Tune in if you’re interested in…
• Understanding how Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers each view wealth
• Why 81% of young people plan to fire their parents’ advisor
• The impact of technology and social media on money mindsets
• Lessons families can share across generations to strengthen financial values
• How the largest wealth transfer in history could create tension... or opportunity
If you want to learn more about how different generations treat wealth, join us at our Investor Symposium.
Watch previous episodes here:
Ep. 155 How to Upgrade Your Life and Still Build Wealth
Ep. 154 Financial Advisors React to Rich Dad Poor Dad
Austin, I'm really excited for the session that you're going to do at the symposium. It's only a month away.
It's so crazy. It's coming up fast
On how different generations view wealth, I mean, this is a topic that comes up a lot inside of our walls because we have clients that range from, you know, the high teens or just out of college all the way up until their 80s. And so we're navigating a lot of different dynamics around wealth with the generations.
And it's not our job to put our values on their money, but help them with where they are. And it's fascinating, this whole idea about the things that have impacted them. So I'm excited for this conversation today.
Thank you. I'm excited to talk about it now and next month at the symposium.
So Amber and Ian did some research for this episode. Now I can't remember which one did the research because they're both doing research for us, but we'll give credit to both. And it has to do with the percentage of younger people that still want to maintain a relationship with their parents’ advisor. And this stat was alarming. This is not a selfish plug for us to try to, you know, retain wealth long term.
I just thought this stat was interesting. And it says 81% of many younger people are already planning to fire their parents advisor.
That is shocking.
81%. And the reason why is like they potentially feel like it's another parent figure telling them what to do with their money, right? But they also trust technology a lot more.
Right. And we've really seen that shift, I think with that younger generation where, you know, if you're looking maybe at baby boomers and Gen X, they have that more traditional approach, right? They're going to go pay for an advisor. They're going to trust that advice where if you're looking at millennials and especially Gen Z, they're going onto social media, right.
What is the latest TikTok influencers saying about, you know, the next stock or meme coin or whatever else is going on? It's just two completely different approaches.
I struggle with that. I mean, if somebody that sort of is in the middle and, you know, the majority of my early life, I'm 45 today, I'm happy to tell anybody. But the majority of my younger life, I didn't have the technology. We didn't have a computer house until like, my mid teens. And so technology was something that we got used to using and adapted.
But I don't understand this younger generation that believes whatever some influencer online says. But then it's also something, as a parent with a five and a half year old and a two and a half year old, they're better at using technology than I am. And so there a funny story. The other day, my two and a half year old said, dad, do you want to see the snowy day outside?
And I said, sure. And so I went over to the window to go look outside, because she was pretending that it snowed in Southern California. It did not because it's 95 degrees. But she goes, no, no, no, come here. And she grabbed my phone. Is this a C? Look at the picture. Look at the snowy day outside. And so even at two and a half years old, there's this trust in technology.
I remember when a phone was just a phone.
Right. And that's her reality. That's how she's viewing things is through that phone.
Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about the different generations and how they potentially view wealth. I know my wife, she's always perpetually 29 years old, so we won't age her, but she doesn't value money from, like, a dollar figure or anything. She looks at it as a tool to create experiences. Now she's very frugal.
I mean, she could care less about, you know, material things, but she cares a lot about life experiences and trying to use those dollars and or credit card points for that. And so that generation is shaped a little bit differently than others. So let's start with like what the different generations are.
Sure. So if we're looking let's start youngest and go up. And this is mostly the generations that are in the workforce right now. So Gen Z is going to be that 13 to 28. So if somebody has an intern or a new hire at their company, probably a Gen Z, if they're in their 20s, right after that, we have the millennials and that's, you know, kind of where I'm capping out at the and the elder millennial, as they call it.
And that's going to be 29 to 44. You know, Gen X is your generation right about that. Right? 45 to 60. And then baby boomers going to be that 61 to 79.
Yeah. So that's the age group. But some of the things that shaped them like Gen Z obviously the Covid 19 pandemic, the the remote work revolution, crypto, just a change in social media.
Really into those digital assets too, whether that's, you know, different cryptocurrencies or that brief period where everybody was crazy about NFTs. Yeah. You know, I think that they're much more comfortable with that digital version of it where we might be more comfortable with a solid, secure asset that we know, okay, that is real estate. That is gold. You know, we want to see something that's more tangible.
Well, I grew up playing Super Mario Brothers, but these kids are playing like Roblox or something. And they're building these, you know, little worlds. And so I can see how an NFT would relate to that.
That just translates. That's kind of how their training was. Yeah, right. And, you know, if we switch to the millennials, you know, depending on where they fall in that generation, they're going to be, you know, they might remember the dotcom bubble, but probably not because they didn't have any finances, you know, at that time frame. But the great financial crisis, they probably started to have something, you know, they're either coming right out of college and were struggling to find a job then because nobody was hiring or, you know, they had a few thousand dollars in for one K, and they saw that got cut in half and said, just going to help shape them of like, is this where I want to put all of my effort?
Yeah. And so that was also the rise of like that FIRE movement, the financial independence retire early. Let's save as much as we can. So that way we're not tied to a job to have to work. And then after the millennials is Gen X, Gen X, sort of my generation impacted heavily between the the.com bubble in the late 90s and then also the financial crisis.
Like for me the dot com bubble was when I was in college, I saw my parents go through that emotional strain and then I went came out of school. And then early on in my career, I wasn't actually working. I was chasing a white ball. But my friends who were working, you know, early in their careers, all of a sudden the financial crisis hit.
A lot of them, you know, lost their jobs or their industries or potentially their first condo. And so they had to rebuild almost again in their late 20s, early 30s at that point.
And they're building so many different areas at the same time. Right. Trying to get back into a house or a condo, trying to, you know, get their retirement accounts back up as they got cut by, what, 40, 45%? Maybe it it and then getting a new job and starting all over there. Like that's a lot to come back from.
Yeah. But I think if there is a generation that can handle it, it's got to be Gen X though, right? They have that independent streak of like, I can I can push through, I can make this.
Well they're definitely more resilient. But they also, you know, had the greatest generation alive today. You know teaching them and coaching them. You know the baby boomers have been through so much throughout the span of their lives and they so much more resilient and pass on a lot of wisdom. What I think's challenging, though, today is like the world that we live in today for, you know, a Gen Z, it's much different than the world that a boomer lived in.
So sometimes that advice or those values around working, saving, and investing doesn't translate as well.
I agree, and I think that that's where, you know, people need to focus on is that focus on the value, maybe not the technique or the tactic that's used, you know, to build wealth or what does it look like to go into retirement because, you know, the baby boomers, sometimes they'll get a bad rap by the younger generations.
Like, look, every generation's just kind of playing the game with the card they're dealt. They focused a lot on accumulation of wealth, and they put it away. They focused on security. But if you think about who were their parents, who were their grandparents coming out of the Great Depression, well, that would be the emphasis to save and make sure that you are secure for that.
The younger generations don't really have that memory. They don't have a connection with the generation that went through that. So they're going to focus more on today. What are the experiences? Like you said, your wife as you know, is phenomenal. You know, getting points. You guys can go on travel, traveled to Hawaii, have experience as a family right now when your kids are young.
And that's a beautiful thing. It's not right or wrong. And saving up isn't right or wrong. Each generation just needs to figure out how do we communicate with each other to maybe learn. You know what? What can we learn from baby boomers? What can we learn from Gen Z? We're all going to have a different...
Approach, I agree. I mean, passing on along your values, but also those war stories like, hey, here's what, here's what I did right then that led to the where I am today. But here's what I wish I knew or did a little bit differently. Obviously, technology is going to help some of these younger generations so much faster. I and Google, I mean, we use it just about every day.
So you're not having to rely on just doing what somebody else did, but you still need those values. You still need to understand, like, why am I doing this and what is it for? I came across an interesting, article that was telling a story about, I think it was a Gen Z or versus their parents or their grandparents, and the story had to do with this.
The older people in this story, they may be made $125,000 a year. That's the most that they made. And the first thing that they did when they were young is they bought a house, and that house was call it $200,000. So their income was about 60% of the value of that house. The younger person in this story was making about $200,000 a year, and they were getting advice, being like, I just don't understand why you're not going out and buying a house.
And the younger person said, well, the house today that I need to buy is four times my income. It's it's not 1.5 times my income. So it's much more difficult. And so that skews your relationship towards money and homeownership or investing or assets. There is a big, large part of this young, younger generation that feels like they've got they've got a tough road ahead of them as it relates to saving, as it relates to buying a house, as it relates to accumulating anything.
So some of them are actually taking the opposite. Just saying, you only live once. I'm going to spend it now, which is also pretty dangerous.
Which is an interesting aspect where there is a challenge presented to them and they just ended up embracing it, you know? And I think that challenge transition into that embrace was difficult, right? Was like we were holding on so hard to that American dream. But we've just expanded. What is the American dream now? Maybe that includes getting to enjoy life along the way and having those trips with our family, not waiting for retirement.
Yeah, well, one of the things that I took away from my parents and my grandparents is, you know, living within your means and saving even just a little bit and trying to get it invested early. I mean, that's that's probably one of the best things. If you can set up a system to where you're paying yourself first, money comes in and I'm setting it aside into this bucket for an emergency fund or investments down the road.
Now, I can make decisions with what's left, either experiences or, you know, my current lifestyle. But that's one of the best traits that I think the boomers did a phenomenal job with is making sure that when money came in, it got separated into different buckets.
Right. But I feel that it's easier for us now than ever. Yeah, because we can automate so many things. Right. You know, we talked a little bit about technology and how that shapes our worldviews. It shapes our interactions, you know, on a personal level, but it also shapes our interactions with our finances. Right? So yes, our paychecks can automatically start getting sorted into different buckets.
But think about it from, you know, an investment standpoint, if the baby boomers or even, you know, the Gen X, depending on the era, wanted to buy or sell something, they got to go physically somewhere. To do that, they have to call up, you know, their dealer to make that trade. Now somebody can see a clip on TikTok, swipe over to their next app and then sell or buy.
Something like that has impacts on markets, not just their personal life.
Yeah, the gamification of investing is definitely real and different than it was 20, 30 years ago. I mean, I'm not even sure if I had money back in the 90s, how easy it was to, you know, buy a stock, right?
Yeah. Where do you start?
Right. Whereas today it's with Robinhood, Fidelity and Schwab. It's, it's extremely easy to click a couple of buttons on your phone. You have a, you have this symposium session coming up in just under a month. I know that you guys are going to go into a little bit more depth and kind of tell some stories and even get fairly personal, what are some things that people can look forward to by joining that session in a month from now?
I think one of the big things we want to focus on is, what are the topics that we should be engaging with, with other generations? You know, if we're looking at our children, you know, how do we engage them, regards regarding values and where we came from and why we have those values. And then if your parents or your grandparents are still around, like talk to them, right?
Ask them questions of, hey, you know, you seem to have this really strong desire for me to buy a house. Like, why is that? Why is that so important to you? And maybe, you know, between the two of you can notice, you know, hey, they actually know something, and that's okay. Let me take a lesson from that. You know, it might not change your mind on everything, but at least it can open the doors for conversation.
I have a quote from a client that we did a family meeting with, and these clients said money doesn't solve all problems, but it does help ease the struggle. And I thought that that was real. And and I've really kind of taken that with me. I love that quote. All right. We're going to play a game. All right.
Optimist versus pessimist okay. So is it a good or bad thing that older generations prioritize stability and living within their means, while younger generations are traveling more and enjoying themselves in their youth? Are you optimistic about that difference or this.
Makes optimist okay approach on this one? Two reasons one being part of the younger generation. I'm glad that the older generation has assets and they're able to take care of themselves that they're secure. But as the younger generation, though, like I do want to prioritize those experiences now, and it doesn't mean that we're, you know, just going to throw all of our money at that.
Right? I think as long as people are going into that with, you know, their eyes open, they have a plan. And kind of like we were talking about, we're still setting aside something. Yeah. For later on in life, but I'm definitely gonna pour into current me, current my family so that we can get enjoyment out of that.
I mean, for me personally, as long as I feel like I'm saving, you know, 15 to 20% of what I make, I have less fear about spending. Now, I know that, you know, at a savings rate of 20%, as long as I'm willing to work a little bit longer, I can enjoy some of those experiences today while I have health and energy.
So I'm a little bit optimistic that it's an okay, it's okay to do that. So wealth transfer, there's all the news about, you know, the biggest wealth transfer in the history is coming up the next ten, 15 years. This may create tension between generations versus offering a chance to share values and strengthen family ties. What are your thoughts around that?
I think it absolutely can create tension. Right? Money comes with a lot of baggage, right? We all have our own experiences that shape how we view it, how we use it. And when somebody especially that we're going be giving that to me might not have the same exact approach, you know, that there's there's room for tension there. My hope is through this, through the symposium that people are starting to learn some of the questions that they might need to ask each other, about that and open the door to that conversation.
So I want to say I'm optimistic that people can grow and learn and change and start to have that conversation. You know, if this is somebody that you're raising, that you're passing money on to, hopefully you've been pouring your values into them for their entire life, you know, but you might, you know, have a few focused conversations around that.
Yeah. I mean, I think that's one of the biggest challenges that we see. It's like clients oftentimes sit there and go, well, I'm not sure if they're going to be as good of a steward with this money as is. Maybe we have been. And for those that are fortunate enough to leave, you know, a large amount of money behind in the next generation, they kind of wanted to benefit the grandkids in the future.
Kids, they're they don't want their kids to just turn around and fly first class everywhere and then not have any money left over. They wanted to create a legacy and be something that helps ease the struggle for, you know, future generations. But you need to have that conversation with them.
Absolutely. At the end of the day, it's a gift. Yeah. So, you know, if I give my son Legos, I don't get to tell him exactly how he's going to play with it. Right? Yeah. I just need to give it to him and let him enjoy it. Hopefully the values I've taught him around Legos, he'll know how to play with it properly.
My, my five and a half year old the other day when we were, we were talking about chores and allowance. She's like really adamant about wanting to do chores around the house to get an allowance. So I asked her why and she says, well, there's a lot of kids that aren't as fortunate as I am. They don't have as many toys as me, so I want to go to the store and buy them toys and give them toys.
I thought that that was amazing.
That's a win.
Next, I need to teach her a little bit of like, hey, it's good to give back. But you also have to, you know, pay attention to yourself in your future. So maybe we'll do half and half, right? So hopefully that's the next goal. Although, you know, the thought of her wanting to make an impact on somebody else that's less fortunate than her, I mean, it just warms your heart.
Absolutely.
