Why Gen Z Isn’t Lazy: How to Build Wealth When the Odds are Against You

How Gen Z was Set Up to Lose

by Matthew E. Bartone

If you feel like you're falling behind, you're not lazy. You're living through one of the hardest economic decades in modern history. Rent, food, gas—everything has doubled except your paycheck. The system has stacked the deck against us, but there are still ways to play smarter. Let’s talk about how Gen Z was set up to lose, and how you can still build wealth, stress less about money, and live the life you actually want.

The economy Gen Z walked into is nothing like what boomers or even older millennials faced.

For starters, wages are flat. The median wage for workers aged 20–24 is about $39,936 a year, and once you adjust for inflation, that’s basically the same as it was around 2000. We’re not earning more, but everything around us costs more.

Housing is a prime example. In 1985, the median house cost about 3.6 times the median household income. By 2023, it was about 5.3 times. Saving for a down payment now takes years longer than it did for previous generations.

Rent isn’t any better. In 2022, half of all U.S. renters were “cost-burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. Evictions are up, homelessness is at record highs, and the need for rental assistance is bigger than ever. In other words, no matter how you slice it—buying or renting—housing is squeezing people hard.

Then there’s college. Tuition has jumped roughly 169% over the last four decades, while earnings for 22–27-year-olds have only grown about 19%. We’re quickly approaching (or already in) a world where the cost of college doesn’t match the payoff.

On top of that, basic living costs have exploded. Since 2020, groceries, rent, and transportation are all up sharply. The average car payment is now in the hundreds of dollars a month, and health insurance premiums and deductibles have roughly doubled over the last twenty years.

I was born in 1994, so I’m on the older end of Gen Z and a young millennial. Even from that perspective, I’d argue the younger part of Gen Z—18 to 23-year-olds—has it even harder. Layoffs are common, hiring is tighter, and even when you land a “good” job, the pay is often underwhelming.

Debt, Stress, and a Rigged Feeling

When every essential part of life costs more, it’s no surprise most Gen Z adults live paycheck to paycheck—around three in four, by some estimates.

Debt piles on top of that. The average student loan balance for Gen Z grads is in the tens of thousands. Credit card balances for ages 18–29 have hit record highs, with average interest rates around 20–24%. If you’re carrying student loans at 10–11% and credit cards at over 20%, compound interest is working against you, not for you.

Paying only the minimum on that kind of debt can trap you for years. It’s stressful, it feels like you’re underwater, and it makes it hard to even get to zero, let alone build wealth.

Meanwhile, wages haven’t kept up with productivity. Since the late 1970s, productivity has climbed dramatically, but real wages have barely moved. CEO pay has exploded, while typical worker pay has only nudged up. Workers are creating more value than ever, but their share of the pie keeps shrinking. That’s not laziness—that’s a structural imbalance.

All of this takes a mental toll. Money is the top source of stress for a huge share of Gen Z. People are delaying milestones like marriage, kids, and homeownership—not because they don’t want those things, but because they can’t afford them. When life keeps getting more expensive and progress feels slow, it’s easy to slip into that “Why even try?” mindset.

But that mindset is exactly what keeps you stuck.

How Gen Z Can Still Win

The system isn’t fair—but you’re not powerless. There are a few big levers you can pull.

1. Play the Long Game

Stop looking for a magic shortcut. Think in terms of 3-, 5-, and 10-year moves. What can you do this year that makes your life clearly better three years from now?

One of the best long-game strategies is consistent investing. Skip the meme coins and day trading. Focus on low-cost index funds. Historically, something like an S&P 500 index fund has returned around 10% per year over long periods, despite crashes and recessions.

If you invest $200 a month from age 22 to 60 at a 10% return, you could end up with over a million dollars. That’s not a promise—it’s the power of compounding over decades. Increase that amount to $500 or $1,000 as you earn more, and the numbers get crazy very fast.

2. Build Multiple Income Streams

Use your 20s and early 30s to stack skills and create more than one way to make money.

• Learn a trade or software skill that makes you more valuable at work.

• Take free or cheap online courses.

• Start freelance work, a side hustle, or monetize a hobby.

Even an extra $100–$300 a month matters. Not just for the money itself, but for the optionality. If you lose your main job and you’ve got a side income, you’re under less pressure and have more room to make smart decisions instead of desperate ones.

Gen Z is already good at content and the internet. Long-term, social media and online businesses can be powerful income streams—but they take time, consistency, and real effort.

3. Focus on Your Savings Rate

Income matters, but what you keep matters more.

If you make $40K and save 20%, you’re doing better than someone who makes $80K and spends all of it. Once you get to around $100,000 invested, compound growth really starts to kick in.

If your income goes up but your lifestyle doesn’t inflate at the same pace, your savings and investing rate can skyrocket. That’s when wealth-building gets a lot easier.

4. Adopt a Win–Win Investing Mindset

When the market is up, your net worth is growing—great. When the market is down, you’re buying assets on sale—also great. Either way, you keep investing.

Time + discipline = wealth. Volatility stops being something to fear and starts being something you can use.

Why There’s Still Hope

Yeah, the system isn’t fair. We’ve been dealt a rough hand. But we also have advantages our parents didn’t:

• Instant access to information through tools like Google and AI.

• Zero-commission investing apps.

• Online communities talking openly about money.

• Endless free education on YouTube and across the internet.

You don’t have to follow the script of working 40+ years at a job you hate and calling that a life. You can build a version of life that fits you—if you use the tools you have and stay consistent.

The biggest edge you have in your 20s and early 30s isn’t luck or a huge salary. It’s time. Every small decision—paying off an extra $50 of debt, putting $100 into an index fund, learning a new skill—compounds into something bigger later.

Don’t waste energy just being mad at the system. Understand it, then learn to work the angles in your favor. Live below your means. Invest consistently. Grow your income. Build side hustles. Protect your mental health.

Gen Z didn’t get a fair start—but you still have a real shot to take control of your money instead of letting the system control you. If this article gave you even one idea to move forward, that’s the first step.