Gen Z could be on track to become the richest generation in history. But for now, they are struggling to pay off their credit card bills.
According to a September study examining the revolving cycle of debt from credit cards by Freedom Debt Relief, a debt settlement company, Gen Z leaned hardest on minimum-only payments (59%) and boomers the least (28%), against 50% of cardholders overall.
And that has caused significant damage to their mental health, based on the report: 51% of Gen Z feel embarrassed or ashamed of how much credit card debt they carry.
“The most common barrier was money, with 37% saying they didn’t earn enough to pay more than the minimum,” the study read. “But the reasons were more personal nearly as often: about 3 in 10 (30%) feel they should handle the debt on their own.”
Of course, Gen Zers are still in the early stages of their careers and have yet to enter their prime earnings years. So they are more likely to have trouble managing their debt.
Still, after digging a deep hole for themselves, Gen Z risks getting stuck, and they are in the dark. Just 20% of Gen Z knew their exact interest rate on their credit debt—the lowest of any generation and well below baby boomers.
“Behind the balances is a cycle that is easy to fall into and hard to break alone,” the report read. “Many cardholders pay down what they owe only for it to climb again, and most carry that stress quietly.”
Caught between future wealth and present debt
The findings show a tension at the heart of Gen Z’s economic outlook: the generation’s long-term financial prospects show some hope, but they have to make do with what they have now to cover their bills.
Gen Z’s wealth could amass to $36 trillion by 2030 and $74 trillion by 2040, according to a 2025 Bank of America report.
But the wealth projections also have some caveats. A lot of the anticipated wealth accumulation depends on the “great wealth transfer” from older generations. In addition, the distribution of that wealth is uneven as certain households own substantial property and investment portfolios while others don’t.
A 2024 report from asset and wealth management firm Cerulli Associates estimated up to $124 trillion will be passed down from older generations to the younger ones by 2048.
But more than half of the volume, about $62 trillion, of transfers is expected to come from those who are currently wealthy—which together make up only 2% of all households.
“Eventually, most of the wealth owned by older generations in the U.S. will be either donated or passed down to Gen X or Millennial heirs,” Chayce Horton, senior analyst at Cerulli wrote in the report. “With $85 trillion to be passed down to these generations collectively, providers that can establish relationships with, and adequately address the needs of, these younger investors will be well positioned for success.”
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