We know the familiar script all too well: Graduate, secure a job, get married, buy a house, then start a family. But the last five or so years have left people feeling economically rattled — enough so that some of these milestones are getting delayed, re-ordered or pushed out altogether, especially for the younger cohort.

According to Breanna Seech, CFP at Mariner Wealth Advisors, her Gen Z clients are prioritizing investing over more traditional financial milestones. Recent data backs this up, too: Researchers at JPMorganChase Institute found that, from 2015 to 2024, the share of 25-year-olds using investment accounts jumped from just 6% to 37%. Stocks have become more attractive and accessible than home equity, the researchers note.

Here’s what we can learn from these next-gen investors, plus Seech’s tips for anyone trying to reach a financial goal, no matter what it may be.

It’s not entirely surprising that Gen Zers aren’t really focusing on traditional financial milestones. “They crave control and financial independence and seem less open to the risk of starting families and making large purchases at a young age,” Seech explains. Turning that attention instead to investing isn’t a bad move.

Investing in stocks, index funds and other assets helps you build wealth and beat inflation so you don’t erode the value of your money. Investing is how many people fund their retirement goals and pay for many other big expenses.

And while the barrier to owning a home has gotten higher, investing has gotten more accessible over the years with robo-advisor platforms like Betterment and commission-free trading platforms like Robinhood.

Seech recommends a handful of tips for anyone striving to reach a financial goal:

• Build up an emergency fund of three to six months’ worth of living expenses, so you avoid going into debt
• Aim to contribute 10% to 15% of your money into retirement accounts
• Automate your savings and investments
• Build in discretionary spending to your budget

Financial planning becomes a lot easier when you have a dedicated monthly budget and can track what comes in and what goes out. This way, you know exactly how much you can automate for savings, and how much you can comfortably spend leisurely.

Monarch helps you categorize your expenses, as well as track your net worth and goals. You Need A Budget (YNAB) is another popular budgeting platform because it uses the zero-based budgeting method where you must assign every dollar a job. This lets you make sure you’re intentionally directing your income toward a spending category whether it’s utilities and Wi-Fi or savings.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. Every investing article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of investment products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

At CNBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. For this story, we interviewed Breanna Seech, a certified financial planner at Mariner Wealth Advisors. Breanna advises clients through all stages of their lives, but particularly for the younger generation.

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