In all my life I have yet to meet someone who is completely happy with the amount of money they possess. Whether that is because they feel they need more or actually need more to live a comfortable life, it is fair to say most of us have hang-ups about what we earn and how we choose to spend it, which often bleeds into our money confidence.
In my household, which consists of two parents, two small children and one cat, approaches to spending vary wildly from totally passive (the kids and the cat!) to different degrees of proactiveness. Between my partner and me, a fairly consistent lack of confidence in our financial health manifests in two oppositional ways; he falls within the “let’s lift the hood and take a look” category – if we know where everything is going we can budget, plan and make progress – whereas I prefer to leave the hood well and truly closed until I see smoke coming out of it.
On my part, an avoidant disposition sometimes veers into overspending and the sort of magical thinking that leads to a monthly conversation usually beginning with him asking where all of our money has gone – show me a couple who has never argued about money! In my defence, budgeting and smart spending wasn’t something that was ever drilled into me growing up or at school – it was a conversation left to the adults (specifically male adults). It is something that my partner found surprising when we met, given my general level of competence in the other responsibilities traditionally acquired in adulthood, and something we (and I) have been very proactive about working to improve over the years. During that time, I have often leant on internet resources, such as this one from Barclays on budgeting.
And so, like many people looking ahead to a year of increasing expenditure, I am energised to try new strategies, and after talking with different friends and family members – of both older and younger generations – I decided it would be fun to try to implement some of the spending habits common to each group to see if they work for me and my family.
Day one: get that paper
I don’t know about the boomers in your life, but mine always carry cash – no matter what. Sometimes and perhaps ill-advisedly, great big wads of it. Although older people are increasingly turning to cashless payments, they are still more likely to rely on cash; something I, a millennial who always pays on her phone and absolutely never remembers to bring her cards out, find it easy to poke fun at. But today, just for today, I thought: “Let’s see if holding money in my hands makes me more mindful about how I spend it.” I have to say, the fact you can really keep track of how much you’re spending as it’s in the physical realm – rather than just taps and swipes – really appeals.
And what a test it was! First of all, I am so out of practice carrying money in my hand that I found myself feeling quite self-conscious and worried about someone stealing it. Or about dropping or losing it. Thankfully, neither happened and I did definitely feel much more of a responsibility around passing my money over rather than tapping an imagined pile away. It was also very convenient when for once we had the 50p needed to buy duck food at the canal for the kids a few days later. But … it was also a huge pain in places that have gone cashless. And so while it is something maybe to incorporate for certain events where I might be tricked into a bit of “oh it’s only a little bit more” style thinking – the food shop, present shopping – it is perhaps not a foolproof strategy for survival in 2026.
Day two: playing my (debit) cards close to my chest
Maybe it is the influence of my elders, but I really feel quite squeamish talking about money, which is something I have had to work very hard on when combining finances into one household income.
Historically, spending money has been something I have wanted to hide (oh the shame!) but in our relationship this is a behaviour that often drives financial anxiety for my partner – like today, when he asked where all the money had gone from our monthly pot for the house, which I, without discussing, had spent. On very important things, you understand, but without communication. Turns out, being tight-lipped about spending isn’t very good for our relationship, so I’ll leave that habit to the boomers.
Day three: let’s get loud
Ever heard of the term loud budgeting? Nope, me neither, but apparently it is embraced by gen zedders as a way of setting parameters and healthy boundaries with friends and family about what you are willing to spend money on – and what you aren’t. After yesterday’s snafu, I figured perhaps this was a trend we could make use of in our relationship. As an avoidant when it comes to money chat, I actually enjoyed having a frank conversation about our spending goals for the year – and where our priorities differ (he prefers to save, I prefer a new bathroom, plus ça change). We already have a fairly open and organised spending plan (of course, he has everything mapped out to 2027 at least), but having a more human chat about where we landed on our visions for the year actually was really helpful and gave me a boost of confidence because it took me from default role of passive spender who ignored the bigger picture to a proactive agent in our plans – I felt empowered. Big tick for loud budgeting.
Learn more on how the Barclays app1 lets you set goals, automate transfers, and track spending
Today, like most days, and like most good gen zedders, I spent money only using contactless and was actually quite shocked when I saw how much I had spent at the end of the day on little things here and there that really added up. It made me reflect on my usual level of confidence tapping away money without much thought, and how perhaps it isn’t confidence at all, but another manifestation of my denial and avoidance. After my cash-in-hand day, it felt like a moment of growth. Maybe a bit of both is a good combination moving forwards.
Day five: dopamine hacking
I see myself as a millennial and that is, perhaps, because I am one. But if there’s one thing I can hugely relate to that gen Z has become known for it is “treat culture”. For the uninitiated, this is the habit of getting yourself a nice little thing that doesn’t cost much – be that a comestible or otherwise – to reward yourself with something small rather than letting abstinence push you to wanting to splurge. In my case, this ramped up in the pandemic, when motivation was hard to come by. What I’m saying is: I used our commitment to this very scientific experiment as an excuse to buy myself a hot chocolate and I have absolutely no complaints about this approach to spending. One thing I did notice though, when pushed, is that the little dopamine hit I got from my little treat didn’t differ much in size from how I’d feel post splurge. In fact, it felt cleaner and less shame-filled, making me think that there is definitely some merit in this approach.
Day six: a boomer habit with a gen Z twist
Frugality may be a quality we tend to associate with boomers, and yet in the past five years or so, it is a word that has become increasingly trendy on social media, with financial influencers drawing hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. It revolves in particular around an apparent abundance of tech-fuelled hacks to spend less and invest more at an earlier stage in life than previous generations. It is something I have watched with interest, and with a few annual subscriptions and memberships up for renewal, it felt like a good day to do some research into where we can cut costs on our spending. As luck would have it, dedicating time to this saved us a few hundred pounds on our car insurance, which was a great win. I am by no means frugal, but I do always pay attention to savvy ways to save money, and today was a great example of how it can pay dividends.
Day seven: the day of (financial) rest
A whole day without spending money! Millennials like me could never imagine — so I’m calling this a tip I learned from my gen alpha kids, who have actually never spent a penny between them. Incredible!
Conclusion
To be completely honest, I didn’t expect that a week spent sampling different generational spending habits would teach me so much, and yet here we are. Above all else, it made me more motivated to improve my own financial confidence, and showed me that despite what each generation might tend to think of each other’s way of doing things – outdated or naive depending on which side you’re on – there is merit in all of them. For those keen to cross-reference the value of each approach, Barclays Money Management can help you see which strategies are backed by experts.
Honestly, I finished the week reflecting on how much of a mistake it is to limit ourselves to advice only from people our own age; there is something we could all learn from listening to each other on any topic (apart from gen beta who, I think, should probably learn to talk first).
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1 You need to be 11 or over to use the app. T&Cs apply.