+
upworthy

gen z

Education

The 25-year-old money-saving 'bible' that millennials and Gen Zers absolutely need to read

This book has saved me thousands of dollars and changed my entire perspective on "frugality."

Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash

"The Complete Tightwad Gazette" offers timeless money-saving advice.

Let me start by saying that young adults these days absolutely do have economics stacked against them. There's no question that stagnant wages, the unaffordability of housing, outrageous college costs, post-pandemic inflation and good ol' American corporate greed have all combined to create a tough financial reality for us all, but particularly for the millennials and Gen Zers who are starting off their adult lives feeling already underwater.

If you're in that boat, allow a Gen X auntie to give you some sage advice. Absolutely, rail against the man and shake your fist at the skyscrapers and vent on TikTok if it makes you feel better. But also, none of that is going to change super soon, so you've got to own what you actually have control over, and that's managing the money that you do have (however little it may be).

When my kids were little back in the early 2000s, my husband and I were living on one not-at-all-amazing income. I had been raised quite frugally, so I was comfortable penny-pinching as needed, but I was looking for more creative ways to stretch our dollars.

I had no idea how much one book would change my entire view of saving money—or how much money it would actually save me over the years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Teens are on a mission to teach local seniors how to use technology. It's the sweetest.

One woman couldn't figure out how to get rid of 122,000 emails.

Teens help seniors learn how to use technology.

Technology has become such a big part of daily life, it's easy to forget that using it doesn't come easily to everyone, especially senior citizens. While there are certainly elderly people who have no problem picking up on how new technology works, that isn't always the norm. It seems every person under 50 has received a phone call from an elderly loved one asking them to show them how to use a computer or their new cell phone.

But not everyone has a younger person to call, so when a group of teenage boys showed up at an assisted living facility, the residents were excited to get help. The teens are from Canterbury School in Fort Meyers, Florida, and belong to a program called CLEO, which stands for Computer Literacy Education Outreach, one of the teens explained to CBS News.

The idea came after the kids were all joking about how their grandparents always call to ask them for help with their technology. This sparked a conversation on how to make helping elderly people beyond their own grandparents a reality.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

BeReal app's meteoric rise signals a sea change in what people want from social media

One post a day, no filters and no DMs. Young people are flocking to it.

BeReal screenshots shared anonymously with user permission

BeReal offers a stark contrast to traditional social media.

My friend and I were hiking along a beautiful coastal trail when her phone chimed. "Oh, time for my BeReal!" she exclaimed. She pulled her phone from her fanny pack, snapped a photo of our ocean view, then beckoned me for a quick selfie with her. A few seconds later, she put her phone away.

I had no idea what had just happened.

As she explained what BeReal was, my first reaction was, "Great. Another social media app. Just what the world needs." She described it as being a more genuine version of Instagram, but I didn't get the appeal.

Then I saw my teen and young adult kids using it. Then I downloaded it myself. Then I got it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Gen Z is strangely averse to getting their driver's license. What the heck is going on?

Compared to earlier generations, today's teens are in no rush to drive and parents are scratching their heads.

Photo by Fabian Albert on Unsplash

Many teens and young adults are in no hurry to hop behind the wheel.

I and pretty much every Gen X teen I grew up with couldn't wait to learn to drive. Getting a driver's license was a huge milestone that meant freedom, independence, the ability to go to our friends' houses whenever we wanted to (so long as we had access to a car) and more—and we were totally psyched about it.

Today's teens are … different. While some are just as eager as we were to get behind the wheel, there's a whole bunch of young folks who have little to no interest in driving. As USA Today reported last year, "Data collected from the Federal Highway Administration and analyzed by Green Car Congress showed that in 2018 approximately 61% of 18-year-olds in the U.S. had a driver’s license, down from 80% percent in 1983. The number of 16-year-olds with licenses decreased from 46% to 25% in the same period."

My oldest kid was interested, but took her sweet time and didn't get her license until she was 18. My current 18-year-old still doesn't have her license and has zero desire to get it, despite having completed driver's ed. She just takes the bus and walks everywhere. Other parents in my immediate social circle have similarly disinterested-in-driving young adults, and I keep seeing parents posting about it on social media with a sense of bewilderment.

Keep ReadingShow less