I’m in my mid-thirties, and when you had requested 18-year-old me what “wealth” would appear to be by now, I most likely would have painted an image of a mortgage on a pleasant flat, a high-paying 9-to-5 job, and a shiny automobile within the driveway.
Quick ahead to at this time: I hire a comfy little place in London, work partly from espresso outlets, and as a substitute of a automobile I’ve bought a second-hand bike and a well-worn passport. Over pints with buddies, we regularly giggle at how none of us have these traditional markers of success our mother and father had by our age.
But, surprisingly, we don’t really feel “poor” in any respect. The truth is, we really feel rich in methods which might be more durable to quantify. There’s a quiet revolution underway, and we’re residing it. We’re redefining what wealth means on our personal phrases, and it’s about a lot greater than cash within the financial institution.
How did we get right here, and why are so many people — the millennial technology — measuring wealth in experiences, well-being, freedom, and goal as a substitute of simply kilos and properties? Let me take you thru what I’ve seen and lived, from each private anecdotes and the cultural shifts backed by analysis, as we unpack this reimagining of wealth.
Freedom to Dwell on Our Personal Phrases
After I was a child, I assumed a “good life” meant working onerous at one firm till retirement and shopping for a house with a white picket fence (or the British equal, a semi-detached with a backyard). That was the script our mother and father and grandparents usually adopted.
However for many people millennials, that script feels both unattainable or undesirable — or each. The reality is, the outdated method of success simply doesn’t add up in at this time’s world. Wages haven’t stored up with hovering housing costs (dwelling costs have climbed tons of of % since our mother and father’ time). A home that price our grandparents just a few years’ wage may cost a little us just a few a long time’ value now. Safe lifelong jobs with pensions are uncommon unicorns.
With the price of residing outpacing incomes, chasing the standard concept of wealth can really feel like a rigged sport we are able to’t win.
However right here’s the twist: as a substitute of giving up, many people have determined to rewrite the definition of “wealth” altogether. For our technology, wealth isn’t nearly possessions — it’s about having the liberty to stay life on our personal phrases. That freedom would possibly imply the flexibility to work remotely from a seashore in Bali, or just having management over our day by day schedule.
A latest commentary described this shift nicely: youthful generations are crafting success that’s “private, versatile, and purpose-driven,” prioritizing which means over conventional materials milestones. In different phrases, proudly owning our time is as useful as proudly owning a home or a elaborate automobile.
Take my good friend Alex for instance. He left a high-paying company job (together with its 60-hour workweeks and stress-induced migraines) to freelance as a graphic designer. Now, he makes much less cash on paper, however he will get to decide on his tasks, work in his pajamas if he desires, and surf on Tuesday mornings. “I traded a piece of my earnings for my time again, and I’ve by no means felt richer,” he advised me not too long ago.
His sentiment is echoed by a lot of our friends. We’ve watched our mother and father grind lengthy hours; we’ve additionally watched a few of them get laid off regardless of that loyalty. So we collectively began asking: What’s the purpose of an enormous wage when you have no life outdoors of labor?
This technology’s reply has been an enormous mindset shift. Many people worth flexibility over a fats paycheck. We search jobs (or create our personal jobs) that allow us breathe. It’s evident within the rise of freelancing, distant work, and “digital nomad” existence the place a laptop computer and Wi-Fi might be your workplace. We’re not as afraid to leap between jobs and even careers if it means discovering a greater match. The truth is, a 2024 international survey discovered that almost all millennials (and Gen Zs) are keen to show down work that doesn’t align with their values or that compromises their well-being.
Take into consideration that — we’re not simply working for a paycheck; we’re working for a goal and a wholesome life.
Monetary freedom is a part of this equation too. Relatively than pinning all our hopes on a pension or climbing the company ladder, we search for inventive methods to realize monetary independence on our personal.
Aspect hustles are virtually the norm in my good friend circle — from Etsy outlets to YouTube channels, we’re diversifying how we earn. Some have dived into the FIRE motion (Monetary Independence, Retire Early), aiming to save lots of aggressively of their 20s and 30s to allow them to “retire” or not less than work much less as quickly as potential. It’s not that we’re lazy; it’s that free time is the final word luxurious, and we’re keen to do what it takes to get it.
As one insightful evaluation put it, conventional markers like homeownership and a gold watch at retirement are being changed by various wealth-building methods and a reclaiming of management over our funds. We’re studying investing by apps, swapping tips about budgeting and crypto on Reddit, and creating wealth in methods our grandparents couldn’t have imagined. It’s all a part of claiming a bit extra management, a bit extra freedom, in a world that usually feels unstable.
Are we nonetheless involved about cash? After all – we’re merely defining wealth as cash plus freedom, moderately than cash alone. A financial institution stability is necessary, however the goal of that cash is what issues. If £10,000 saved means I can take just a few months off to journey or begin a small enterprise, that feels wealthier to me than £10,000 trapped in a home I can’t depart as a result of I’m chained to an enormous mortgage.
This isn’t simply me ranting; it’s displaying up in information too. In a single survey, 65% of individuals (throughout generations) mentioned wealth is about having the pliability to get pleasure from life’s experiences, not simply monetary belongings. Freedom has develop into a forex in its personal proper for millennials. We commerce within the forex of choices, time, and decisions.
Psychological Well being Is the New Wealth
Just a few years in the past, I discovered myself crying within the workplace lavatory on a random Thursday, overwhelmed by deadlines. That was a wake-up name. I noticed no paycheck was value sacrificing my psychological well being. And I’m not alone — as a technology, we’re collectively arriving on the conclusion that psychological well being and well-being are integral components of wealth.
In easy phrases, when you’ve bought a six-figure wage however fixed nervousness and burnout, are you actually “rich”?
Many people would say no. We’d moderately earn a bit much less if it means we sleep nicely at night time and be ok with ourselves.
This shift is seen in how millennials strategy work and life. We speak overtly about remedy, set boundaries for private time, and push again towards the outdated hustle-till-you-drop ethos. (Bear in mind when “sleep whenever you’re lifeless” was a preferred mantra? Yeah, no thanks — we’d prefer to sleep now, please.)
Within the office, youthful staff are difficult the expectation of being accessible 24/7. The latest phenomenon of “quiet quitting” – doing all your job however refusing to let it devour your complete life – struck a chord with many in my peer group.
It wasn’t about slacking off; it was about preserving sanity. Why kill ourselves with work once we’ve seen that life is fragile and well being is invaluable? The pandemic solely underscored that lesson, as all of us bought a stark reminder that well being = wealth in probably the most literal sense.
Employers are (slowly) catching on. Corporations have began providing psychological well being days, free counseling, or expanded PTO, partly as a result of we demanded it. There’s information backing up why: a latest research discovered 92% of employees (throughout age teams) say it’s necessary to them to work for a corporation that values their emotional and psychological well-being. And millennials particularly voice this loudly. Many people will flat-out give up if a job is damaging our psychological well being.
The truth is, in that international survey I discussed earlier, an absence of assist for worker well-being or work-life stability is without doubt one of the high causes millennials would reject a job provide. That’s a fairly daring stance in comparison with earlier generations.
But it surely is sensible — we’ve had front-row seats to observe burnout take lives aside. We’re decided to not let “success” come at the price of our sanity.
On a broader cultural degree, millennials have been dubbed the “wellness technology.” We’re the technology that embraced yoga, inexperienced smoothies, and mindfulness apps en masse. Positive, a few of it turned a industrial fad, however behind it’s a real prioritization of well being. Our mother and father may need powered by exhaustion; we’re extra prone to hit pause and say, “I want a break.” We don’t all the time succeed (nervousness and melancholy are nonetheless frequent battles), however the bottom line is we’re speaking about it and treating psychological well being as a basis for a superb life, not an afterthought. Wealth, to us, consists of being wealthy in peace of thoughts.
Generally I prefer to remind myself of an outdated proverb: “You possibly can’t pour from an empty cup.” To me, meaning if I’m not mentally and bodily nicely, I can’t get pleasure from some other success.
So in our trendy take, a well-cared-for thoughts and physique are a part of the wealth portfolio. Cash comes and goes, however issues like resilience, pleasure, and stability — these stick to you and carry you thru powerful occasions. Isn’t a life full of much less stress and extra contentment a rich life in its personal method? We definitely assume so.
Accumulating Experiences, Not Issues
In the event you open my closet, you gained’t discover a trove of pricy designer purses or the newest devices. (Okay, you’ll discover a lot of books and possibly too many houseplants, however that’s irrelevant.) As an alternative, my most prized “possessions” are my experiences: the six months I backpacked by Southeast Asia, the evenings spent jamming with buddies in a storage band, the time I began a tiny group backyard.
For a lot of millennials, this can be a defining trait — we treasure experiences over materials issues. The truth is, one would possibly say experiences have develop into our technology’s favourite forex.
There’s information to show this isn’t simply me being sentimental. A survey by Eventbrite discovered that over 78% of millennials would moderately spend cash on a fascinating expertise or occasion than on shopping for one thing. That’s an awesome majority of us saying live performance tickets, journey, or just a enjoyable night time out are extra fulfilling investments than the newest product.
And guess what? Science agrees with us. Research on happiness present individuals are inclined to really feel happier after spending on experiences moderately than on materials items. Give it some thought: the fun of a brand new telephone fades in months, however recollections of a fantastic journey or an enormous life occasion can provide you pleasure for years. No marvel we’re pivoting our spending in that route.
Our technology’s love affair with experiences additionally stems from a little bit of disillusionment with materialism. We grew up within the 90s and early 2000s shopper growth, bombarded by ads and gadget launches. However many people additionally noticed the downsides: mother and father burdened by debt, cluttered houses, the conclusion that purchasing extra stuff didn’t equal extra happiness.
So we collectively began leaning the opposite method, in the direction of minimalism and the so-called “expertise financial system.” Why accumulate issues that simply gather mud once we can gather moments and recollections that form us?
It doesn’t harm that Instagram and TikTok are mainly spotlight reels of individuals doing cool stuff — journey, festivals, meals adventures — which solely reinforces the concept. Social media could have its faults, but it surely has made experiences shareable and thus much more sought-after (in spite of everything, a sundown hike or a do-it-yourself artisan latte makes a greater photograph than a screenshot of your financial institution assertion or an image of your toaster). There’s even a little bit of FOMO (concern of lacking out) at play: seeing others stay richly in experiences nudges us to prioritize our personal adventures.
Wealth, on this experiential view, is concerning the tales we are able to inform. It’s about having a life that’s fascinating, one the place you’ve tasted, tried, and seen issues past your instant bubble. Whether or not it’s touring, studying a brand new ability, or simply spending high quality time with family members, these are the issues we’ll bear in mind on our deathbeds, not the sneakers we purchased or the flamboyant electronics.
Personally, once I splurge now, it’s extra doubtless on a weekend journey or a meetup with buddies than on a luxurious merchandise. And I hardly ever remorse cash spent on making recollections. As an outdated quote (usually attributed to the author Thoreau) goes, “Wealth is the flexibility to completely expertise life.” That might be a millennial mantra. The quiet revolution right here is that we’re redefining “wealthy” as wealthy in life, not stuff.
Curiously, this experiential focus additionally ties in with a lighter footprint and a extra sustainable life-style, which is one other worth of ours. Proudly owning much less stuff usually means much less waste and fewer consumerism. Numerous us are into the concept of minimalism — not as a pattern the place you depend your socks, however as a sensible option to spend on what actually issues to us. After I purchase much less issues, I can afford extra experiences, and I’m not contributing as a lot to piles of fast-fashion landfill. It’s a win-win that makes me really feel good in a number of methods. Which leads properly into one other side of our new wealth equation: a way of goal and take care of the world round us.
Objective and Planet Over Earnings
One large factor that motivates millennials is residing our values. We wish our day-to-day life and work to imply one thing past simply incomes a paycheque. Numerous us are asking deeper questions: What influence does my work have? Am I contributing to one thing good?
That is why you’ll discover a lot of my friends selecting careers in nonprofits, training, or tech startups aimed toward fixing social points, even when these jobs don’t make anybody millionaires. Even in standard jobs, we search for corporations that stand for one thing. We’re extra prone to work for, say, a B-Corp that measures social influence or an eco-friendly model, than for a faceless company with a doubtful fame. And if we do find yourself within the latter, it’d simply be for some time to repay loans, however not a spot we’ll stick round.
Objective-driven work isn’t only a buzzword; it’s a precedence. The truth is, practically all millennials need work that aligns with their values, and so they aren’t afraid to reject employers that don’t match the invoice. Meaning if an organization has a damaging environmental influence or lacks assist for psychological well being, many people will say, “No thanks, I’ll discover one thing else,” even in a troublesome job market. It’s a daring stance, but it surely’s changing into extra frequent.
Past the office, we stock these values into our life-style decisions. Sustainable residing is a large a part of what number of millennials outline a “wealthy” life. It might sound counterintuitive — caring concerning the planet doesn’t instantly put cash in your pocket — but it surely enriches life in a extra holistic sense. We’re the technology that grew up with Al Gore documentaries and local weather change headlines; we all know {that a} livable future isn’t assured. So being environmentally aware feels important.
Many people favor experiences and merchandise which might be sustainable: we’ll select a practice over a flight if we are able to, purchase second-hand garments, assist native farmers, or ditch automobiles for bikes and public transit. We’re not excellent, however there’s an effort to align our spending with our values, not simply our comfort.
I, for one, began composting and lowering single-use plastics not simply because it’s fashionable, however as a result of it provides me a way of contributing to one thing past myself. It’s the identical cause I volunteer on weekends with a tree-planting group. These Saturday mornings don’t enhance my web value, however they add to what I’d name my “goal account” – that inner meter that gauges if I’m residing true to my ideas.
In our new definition of wealth, having a goal and constructive influence is a type of richness. Realizing that my actions, nevertheless small, assist my group or the planet makes my life really feel extra useful. It’s like we’ve expanded the stability sheet of wealth to incorporate social and environmental capital alongside monetary capital.
To be clear, it’s not that millennials are saints or all the time hyper-focused on altruism. It’s extra that we don’t see wealth in a vacuum. True prosperity, in our eyes, is tied to the well-being of these round us and the world we stay in. A rising tide lifts all boats, because the saying goes. So, a life spent chasing cash whereas ignoring one’s influence feels empty.
Distinction that with a life the place you earn sufficient and do good — that’s the dream state of affairs for many people. Even when we haven’t achieved it but, that ultimate shapes our decisions. We measure “richness” not simply by what now we have, however by what we give and what we stand for.
It’s value noting too that monetary literacy performs a job in residing our values. Many people realized that to stay life on our phrases (whether or not meaning having freedom or making a distinction), we have to get good about cash.
Faculties didn’t train us a lot about private finance — a whole lot of us discovered the onerous method or taught ourselves in our twenties. Now I see an actual starvation amongst millennials to coach ourselves about budgeting, investing, and saving, not for the sake of greed however for safety and empowerment. In keeping with one UK report, about 82% of younger individuals mentioned they’d prefer to study extra about managing their cash higher. We wish to break the cycle of paycheck-to-paycheck and debt that many people began in.
Why? So that cash turns into a device to assist our ultimate life (one with freedom, experiences, and goal), moderately than a shackle that limits it. In a way, understanding cash is a revolutionary act for us — it permits us to make use of it properly to craft the life we worth, as a substitute of blindly chasing it or avoiding it.
All these items – freedom, psychological well being, experiences, goal, monetary savvy, sustainability – intertwine in our technology’s quiet revolution. We’re renegotiating what it means to be “rich” on daily basis by the alternatives we make. It may not make headlines in the way in which tech billionaires do, but it surely’s a widespread cultural shift that’s altering how wealth is perceived and pursued.
Earlier than I am going
Penning this, I’m struck by how private and highly effective this quiet revolution is. It’s not loud or flashy. You gained’t see a single chief or manifesto behind it. As an alternative, it’s in thousands and thousands of particular person choices: the Millennial couple who downsized to a tiny dwelling so they may afford to journey extra; the workplace employee who left a prestigious agency to affix a startup with a mission she believes in; the brand new mother and father deciding one in all them will work part-time so their household can truly spend time collectively.
We, the millennials, didn’t all consciously band collectively and resolve to redefine wealth — it occurred organically, solid by financial realities and a little bit of idealism. We realized that if the outdated indicators of wealth had been out of attain or not fulfilling, why not create new ones? Why not worth what truly makes life wealthy?
In doing so, we’ve discovered empowerment. We’ve discovered {that a} fats paycheck isn’t the one option to prosperity, and that prosperity means extra when it’s shared and savored. We’ve discovered that wealth is a multifaceted state: half monetary stability, sure, but in addition half freedom, half happiness, half goal, and half legacy.
So, the subsequent time somebody asks me if I really feel “rich” as a result of I don’t have a mortgage or an enormous wage, I’ll smile. I may not have the standard trappings of wealth, however I’ve a life full of what issues to me — freedom, well-being, experiences, and goal. In my e book, and more and more in our technology’s e book, that counts as true wealth. And if that’s a quiet revolution, it’s definitely a profound one, taking place proper within the midst of our on a regular basis lives.
In spite of everything, what’s wealth if not the flexibility to stay a life that genuinely feels value residing?