Do you spend money more like a millennial or a boomer? Take this quiz to find out.
Are you pouring money into day care, car loans or a luxury vacation?
Your spending says a lot about your income bracket and whether you have kids. But there are also generational influences — and a growing gap between how older and younger generations spend money.
“How your generation is spending today comes from what you experienced yesterday,” said Eric Croak, a financial planner in Toledo. “Have you been through a stock market crash? Did you graduate during a recession? How much do you trust technology? All of those things go into how we make financial decisions, what we spend on and how much risk we’re willing to take.”
According to Bank of America research, older Americans are more likely to open their wallets for luxury purchases and health-care expenses, while younger Americans devote money to rising housing costs and tend to be more influenced by inflation.
Economic conditions and individual tastes and priorities also play a big role in our spending choices. Take this quiz to find out whether you spend money more like an 18-year-old or 78-year-old. The Post will not store your responses.
Question 1 of 9
How do you pay for housing?
Question 2 of 9
For your next car, how likely are you to buy an electric vehicle?
Question 3 of 9
How do you pay for health insurance?
Question 4 of 9
Surprise! You won the lottery, and you must invest your winnings. What do you do?
Question 5 of 9
How do student loans factor into your finances?
Question 6 of 9
Who pays your cellphone bill?
Question 7 of 9
Surprise! You find $40 in the couch cushions. How do you spend it?
Question 8 of 9
Your social media feed is suddenly full of people with cool water bottles. Do you buy one?
Question 9 of 9
You’re buying a new outfit. How important is environmental sustainability?
🚨 You need to answer every question to see your result. You’re missing questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
About this story
We explored the spending habits of five generations, as defined by the Pew Research Center: Silent (born between 1928 to 1945), boomers (1946 to 1964), Generation X (1965 to 1980), millennials (1981 to 1996) and Generation Z (1997 to 2012). Data sources include the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bank of America, a Pew Research Center survey, census data, a Yahoo Finance/Ipsos poll and the Federal Reserve. Insights for this quiz were contributed by Adams, Croak, Hamrick and Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate at Intuit Credit Karma.
Illustrations by Laura Padilla Castellanos. Design editing by Betty Chavarria. Editing by Karly Domb Sadof, Kate Rabinowitz and Jennifer Liberto. Copy editing by Emily Morman.