千禧一代因担忧财务状况陷入抑郁
千禧一代正面临最严重的财务不确定性，而且有人非常担心自己的财务状况，以至于陷入了抑郁，夜不能寐。
这是西北互助人寿保险公司（Northwestern Mutual）2023年“规划与进展研究”的结论。研究发现，在财务不确定性方面，“Z世代的财务不确定性加剧，千禧一代达到最高峰，X世代的财务不确定性开始下降，而婴儿潮一代的财务不确定性处于最低水平。”有36%的美国人表示，财务焦虑令他们每个月至少经历一次夜不能寐，Z世代的比例达到44%，千禧一代的比例则高达53%。
54%的千禧一代表示，财务焦虑令他们陷入抑郁，相比之下，Z世代的比例为47%，婴儿潮一代的比例只有20%。
千禧一代之所以有这种感受，是由于多个原因，包括他们背负了史上最沉重的债务负担，已经经历了两次经济衰退，还要面对气候变化的影响等。但至少西北互助的研究显示，这种感受相对正常，并且符合自然的“焦虑弧线”。
西北互助首席分配官蒂姆·格伦特在一份声明中表示：“在我们的人生轨迹中，当我们的职业刚刚起步时会面临许多未知因素。”人到三四十岁时要面临一个又一个的财务里程碑，包括购房和子女未来规划等，而千禧一代在这个十年都进入了这个年龄段。“以后随着生活逐步安定下来，人们可能会对财务状况感觉更安全。”
尽管如此，当前确实存在一些独特的挑战，包括后疫情时代的不确定性以及通货膨胀和它对住房等关键支出的影响等。最近发布的其他报告显示，与过去几年相比，年轻人对自身财务状况感到焦虑和压力的程度增加。
理财规划师查理·帕斯特曾对《财富》杂志表示：“新冠疫情的爆发导致经济动荡，而当时Z世代刚步入成年。年长者应该理解，下一代储户在短期内经历了太多经济动荡。”
虽然物价上涨对每一代人都会有影响，但年轻人增加储蓄和执行理财计划从而增加安全感的时间较短。由于许多千禧一代在大衰退期间成年，而且与新冠疫情有关的失业对千禧一代造成了更严重的影响，因此他们的财富少于前辈们在相同年龄段积攒的财富（尽管如此，他们正在迎头赶上）。虽然千禧一代的受教育程度高于前辈，但他们也背负了更多负债，不得不推迟购房等财务里程碑（虽然最近几年学生贷款负债引起了关注，但当前的趋势却更加糟糕：Z世代比千禧一代更有可能背负学生贷款）。
即使收入相对较高的千禧一代也面临困境。贝莱德（BlackRock）《2023年退休数据解读》（2023 Read on Retirement）报告显示，自2021年以来，上班族对于退休后可以过上自己想要的生活缺乏信心的比例提高了一倍以上，其中年轻上班族在这方面的信心最低。
纽约人寿（New York Life）财务健康负责人苏珊娜·施密特之前曾对《财富》杂志表示：“千禧一代和现在的Z世代在全球金融动荡中成年。这两代人在成长期见证了经济变革，因此在理财习惯方面，相比前辈，他们可能更不愿意承担风险。”
财务焦虑会对一个人的整体健康状况产生实际负面影响，包括精神甚至身体健康。因此，专家建议通过治疗、写日记或者与没有偏见的朋友谈论自己的状况，从而接纳自己的情绪，并从现实出发制定预算。
尽管如此，千禧一代和Z世代的事业可能继续发展，而像财富大转移这类事件可能帮助他们晚上更安心地入睡。另外一个好消息是：许多报告发现，年轻人开始储蓄和投资的时间，早于他们的前辈。随着时间的推移，这应该可以帮助他们建立重要的经济保障。
帕斯特表示：“目前，对Z世代而言，重要的是继续努力工作，并从长远出发进行储蓄和投资。”（财富中文网）
翻译：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
千禧一代正面临最严重的财务不确定性，而且有人非常担心自己的财务状况，以至于陷入了抑郁，夜不能寐。
这是西北互助人寿保险公司（Northwestern Mutual）2023年“规划与进展研究”的结论。研究发现，在财务不确定性方面，“Z世代的财务不确定性加剧，千禧一代达到最高峰，X世代的财务不确定性开始下降，而婴儿潮一代的财务不确定性处于最低水平。”有36%的美国人表示，财务焦虑令他们每个月至少经历一次夜不能寐，Z世代的比例达到44%，千禧一代的比例则高达53%。
54%的千禧一代表示，财务焦虑令他们陷入抑郁，相比之下，Z世代的比例为47%，婴儿潮一代的比例只有20%。
千禧一代之所以有这种感受，是由于多个原因，包括他们背负了史上最沉重的债务负担，已经经历了两次经济衰退，还要面对气候变化的影响等。但至少西北互助的研究显示，这种感受相对正常，并且符合自然的“焦虑弧线”。
西北互助首席分配官蒂姆·格伦特在一份声明中表示：“在我们的人生轨迹中，当我们的职业刚刚起步时会面临许多未知因素。”人到三四十岁时要面临一个又一个的财务里程碑，包括购房和子女未来规划等，而千禧一代在这个十年都进入了这个年龄段。“以后随着生活逐步安定下来，人们可能会对财务状况感觉更安全。”
尽管如此，当前确实存在一些独特的挑战，包括后疫情时代的不确定性以及通货膨胀和它对住房等关键支出的影响等。最近发布的其他报告显示，与过去几年相比，年轻人对自身财务状况感到焦虑和压力的程度增加。
理财规划师查理·帕斯特曾对《财富》杂志表示：“新冠疫情的爆发导致经济动荡，而当时Z世代刚步入成年。年长者应该理解，下一代储户在短期内经历了太多经济动荡。”
虽然物价上涨对每一代人都会有影响，但年轻人增加储蓄和执行理财计划从而增加安全感的时间较短。由于许多千禧一代在大衰退期间成年，而且与新冠疫情有关的失业对千禧一代造成了更严重的影响，因此他们的财富少于前辈们在相同年龄段积攒的财富（尽管如此，他们正在迎头赶上）。虽然千禧一代的受教育程度高于前辈，但他们也背负了更多负债，不得不推迟购房等财务里程碑（虽然最近几年学生贷款负债引起了关注，但当前的趋势却更加糟糕：Z世代比千禧一代更有可能背负学生贷款）。
即使收入相对较高的千禧一代也面临困境。贝莱德（BlackRock）《2023年退休数据解读》（2023 Read on Retirement）报告显示，自2021年以来，上班族对于退休后可以过上自己想要的生活缺乏信心的比例提高了一倍以上，其中年轻上班族在这方面的信心最低。
纽约人寿（New York Life）财务健康负责人苏珊娜·施密特之前曾对《财富》杂志表示：“千禧一代和现在的Z世代在全球金融动荡中成年。这两代人在成长期见证了经济变革，因此在理财习惯方面，相比前辈，他们可能更不愿意承担风险。”
财务焦虑会对一个人的整体健康状况产生实际负面影响，包括精神甚至身体健康。因此，专家建议通过治疗、写日记或者与没有偏见的朋友谈论自己的状况，从而接纳自己的情绪，并从现实出发制定预算。
尽管如此，千禧一代和Z世代的事业可能继续发展，而像财富大转移这类事件可能帮助他们晚上更安心地入睡。另外一个好消息是：许多报告发现，年轻人开始储蓄和投资的时间，早于他们的前辈。随着时间的推移，这应该可以帮助他们建立重要的经济保障。
帕斯特表示：“目前，对Z世代而言，重要的是继续努力工作，并从长远出发进行储蓄和投资。”（财富中文网）
翻译：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
Millennials are in their peak years for financial uncertainty, and some are so intensely worried about their money it’s making them depressed and keeping them up at night.
That’s according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2023 Planning & Progress Study, which finds that financial uncertainty is “elevated for Gen Z, peaks for millennials, begins to recede for Gen X, and sits at its lowest levels for boomers.” While 36% of Americans say their anxiety keeps them up at night at least once a month, the share reaches 44% for Gen Z and 53% for millennials.
And 54% of millennials say financial anxiety is making them depressed, compared with 47% of Gen Z and just 20% of boomers.
There are any number of reasons millennials might feel this way, from carrying historically high debt loads to already weathering two recessions to grappling with the effects of climate change. But at least according to Northwestern Mutual, the feelings are fairly normal, and follow the natural “arc of anxiety.”
“When we think about the trajectory of our lives, there are a lot of unknowns when people are getting started in their careers,” Tim Gerend, chief distribution officer at Northwestern Mutual, said in a statement. A person’s thirties and forties—the current decades most millennials find themselves in—are filled with financial milestone after financial milestone, from buying homes to planning for children. “Later in life, when things start to feel more settled, people are likely to feel more secure in their financial situation.”
That said, the current moment does present unique challenges, including the uncertainty of the post-COVID world and inflation and its effects on key expenses like housing. Other recent reports have found young people expressing increasing levels of anxiety and stress about their financial situations relative to past years.
“The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the economy as Gen Z entered young adulthood,” Charlie Pastor, a financial planner, previously told Fortune. “Older generations should understand that the next generation of savers has seen a lot of economic turbulence in a short period of time.”
While higher prices affect every generation, younger people have had less time to build up savings and follow a financial plan that could lend security. Millennials have built up less wealth than their predecessors at the same age owing to many coming of age during the Great Recession and then being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19–related job loss (that said, they are catching up). While they are more educated than older generations, they have also taken on more debt, pushing back financial milestones like buying a home (despite all the attention on student loan debt in recent years, the trend is getting worse: Gen Z is more likely than even millennials to have student loans).
Even relatively high-earning millennials report struggling. The percentage of workers who do not feel confident they will be able to retire with the lifestyle they want has more than doubled since 2021, according to BlackRock’s 2023 Read on Retirement report, with young workers reporting the least confidence.
“Millennials, and now Gen Z, have grown up amidst global and financial turmoil,” Suzanne Schmitt, head of financial wellness at New York Life, previously told Fortune. “These two cohorts have witnessed economic changes in their formative years and may be more risk-averse when it comes to financial habits than their predecessors.”
Financial anxiety can have real negative impacts on a person’s overall well-being, including their mental and even physical health. To cope, experts recommend acknowledging your emotions via therapy, journaling, or talking to a nonjudgmental friend about the situation, and being realistic with your budget, among other steps.
That said, it’s possible continuing to grow in their careers and events like the Great Wealth Transfer could help millennials and Gen Z sleep a little better at night. Another silver lining: Many reports find that younger generations started saving and investing earlier than older generations. That should help them build a substantial safety net over time.
“For now, it is important that members of Gen Z stay diligent and focus on the long term when saving and investing,” Pastor said.
