Gen Z turn to millennials for money advice amid Trump's tariff war

Money stress is everywhere right now. Between Trump's ongoing tariff war sending shockwaves through the global economy and the cost of living crisis that shows no signs of slowing, financial anxiety is becoming a shared experience across generations.

But rather than fuelling the usual Gen Z vs millennial culture clash, something unexpected is happening: Gen Z are turning to millennials for money advice.

Yes, the generation once typecast as avocado-toast addicts is now being seen as a source of practical wisdom. Having learned to navigate unstable job markets, rising rent, and economic uncertainty, millennials are offering Gen Z something more valuable than viral trends: real-world money advice rooted in experience.

In one TikTok exploring what millennials did in 2008 during their early twenties, Dee (@deannacami) "highly recommends" that the younger generation "get a second job" if they can.

"Recessions are perfect times to pick up a side hustle, a second job. You need a second source of income," she shared. "Because if one goes, you can ramp up the other and vice versa."

"I feel like we really need to start talking about how normal ppl were just starting to recover from 2008 before the pandemic," one person responded, as another penned: "I think multigenerational households are going to be on the rise."

A separate viral clip by Austin (@austin.loft) prompted millennials to lift the lid on their recession food habits.

"I just saw a video where somebody said the pork chop was the 2008 recession food and my millennial brain can’t comprehend that because we had so many freaking pork chops and scalloped potatoes," he said. "Were they considered recession foods? What else was a lie?"

In response, one person quipped: "Recession food in my house was Hamburger Helper. I can’t even eat it now. That and cheap canned soup."

Another wrote: "Pork chops, hamburger helper, turkey roast, and scalloped potatoes."

Meanwhile, one fellow TikToker chimed in: "Ramen, canned soup and rice, chilli ($8 and it serves two people for like three days. Lunch and dinner). And at the time, Pizza Hut had some good deals, so we at there often when we had coupons."

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