Why money rules quietly shifted across one generation.

Millennials did not wake up one day and reject their parents’ financial playbook. The shift happened gradually, shaped by recessions, unstable job markets, exploding education costs, and housing prices that sprinted ahead of wages. Many of these habits formed between the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic, and years of economic whiplash that rewarded flexibility over tradition. What looks like hesitation or defiance is often adaptation. These choices reflect a generation recalibrating survival, security, and success under very different conditions than the ones their parents faced.



