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Parents, calm your (financial) fears about your Gen Zs
Columnist urges parents to calm financial fears about their Gen Z children
Key points
- A 2025 BMO survey of about 2,500 adults found 88 per cent believe parents need to worry about their children's financial futures.
- The same survey found 82 per cent said parents need to keep supporting their children into adulthood.
- The column estimates a single Toronto graduate is left with about $500 a month after expenses, or about $6,000 a year.
Why it matters. The column suggests parents can help by planning for living costs and emergency savings, since Gen Zs will probably do okay if they start saving and investing early.
A financial adviser says Canadian Gen Zs, aged 14 to 29, face inflation and high house prices but will probably do okay. A 2025 BMO survey of about 2,500 adults found 88 per cent believe parents need to worry about their children's financial futures. The column estimates a Toronto graduate earning $64,000 a year takes home $4,200 a month and is left with about $500 after $2,300 rent.
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Parents, calm your (financial) fears about your Gen Zs
Getting children on a good path early on can go a long way to creating a secure future Launching into adult life and gaining financial independence feels hard right now: with a changing work landscape, price inflation, and expensive house prices, financial anxiety among Generation Z is high. And it’s not just the youth who are worried – it’s their parents too. Gen Zs – Canadians aged 14 to 29 – are feeling the pressure. Incomes in this cohort have not kept pace with inflation in recent years, making the cost of living one of the biggest barriers to achieving financial goals. A 2025 BMO survey of about 2,500 adults showed 88 per cent of respondents believe parents need to be worried about their children’s financial futures. In the same survey, 82 per cent said parents need to continue supporting their children into adulthood, and nearly a third said that support should last as long as the parent lives. My experience with clients reflects these sentiments. When putting together a financial plan, many people want to incorporate supporting their adult kids. This can be with giving a lump sum of money for a big expense like a down payment on a house or condo, by helping to pay for day-to-day expenses, or by paying for weddings and family vacations. Looking at all of this can feel like a bit of a downer, like our Gen Z children are doomed. But I don’t think this is true. While there .