Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
- Even if you’re a millennial, you could be spending more like younger Gen Z or older boomers.
- Business Insider used Bureau of Labor Statistics data and AI to vibecode a spending quiz.
- Take it to see if your housing, food, and other spending fits best with your generation or another.
Are you a Gen Zer paying your own rent for the first time? A millennial buying more groceries than ever after having a second kid? A boomer getting set to enjoy the finer things in retirement?
Our quiz can show you if your spending looks like that of your peers, or if your wallet belongs to another generation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes consumer expenditure data that indicates how much Americans spend on everything from housing to cellphones.
We turned to AI to create a quiz using several spending categories from the BLS, allowing users to learn who they really spend like. Is someone born in 1990 spending like a “Classic Millennial” or more considered to have “Boomer Tendencies”? How about someone born in 1975: Are they “Fiscally Youthful” because they spend more like Gen Z than Gen X?
Put in your best guess for how much you spend on housing, pets, entertainment, and more in the quiz below, and the results will show you how you stack up to averages for each generation. See more about our methodology here, and read on below the quiz to learn more about how generations spend their money.
Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Gen Xers had the highest average pre-tax income and average expenditures in 2024, followed by millennials. Like their older peers who are aging in place, a high share of Gen Xers are homeowners. The various generations are in different life stages, so it makes sense they have different average incomes and spending; Many Gen Zers are getting their careers off the ground, and many boomers are kicking off their retirement years amid the “silver tsunami.”
“Unlike Millennials who are still building wealth, or Baby Boomers who may be scaling back in retirement, Gen Xers are in their peak earning years,” Empower, a financial services company, wrote.
Shelter, including rent, mortgage payments, maintenance, and other costs, accounts for a large share of spending relative to other categories, regardless of generation. Gen X spends the most at $19,048 a year. Gen Z spends an average of $2,697 on utilities, fuels, and public services, about half of what Gen X spends, at $5,641.
The BLS data suggests Gen Zers are saving less of their income than most of their older peers. Other data shows how their debt looks. Experian data from June 2025 showed 72.2% of Gen Zers had credit card balances, less than the 82.9% for both boomers and the Silent generation. Just 7.6% of Gen Zers had mortgage debt, while 53.6% of Gen Xers and 57% of boomers had the same thing.
“Much has been written about millennials being shut out of homeownership, with only 37% of millennial consumers currently paying down a mortgage—a smaller share than older generations. But those payments are often higher than what more seasoned homeowners are paying,” Experian said. The National Association of REALTORS found the median age of first-time buyers has inched up to 40 years old.
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