• With social media consumption and skyrocketing tuition, Gen Z is facing financial confusion like never before. University leaders are hoping that by investing in financial literacy, they can navigate the true pathways to building success.

College campuses are often advertised as safe spaces where intellectual ideas can flow freely. 

However, even though nearly 8 in 10 college students report that financial struggles are harming their mental health, and finances are the leading reason why some 42 million students have ditched the classroom, money remains a taboo topic for many Gen Zers. 

There’s no question that the cost of college is a leading driver of angst, with the average public university student taking out $32,000 in student loans.In response, some universities are pouring millions of dollars into new financial wellness and literacy centers—and at some schools, it’s working.

At Indiana University (IU), which began prioritizing financial literacy in 2012, student loan borrowing has dropped 13% in the last decade. That’s a savings of nearly $73 million, even when tuition and fees for in-state students rose by nearly the same percentage. Moreover, while some 44% of students still graduate with student loan debt, the total amount they borrow is down 5.2%. 

Phil Schuman, IU’s executive director of financial wellness and education, says schools are slowly realizing that financial wellness is critical to the success and health of students and institutions alike. 

“Universities are seeing that parallel, where if students are stressed about their finances, and they're not going to have the ability to focus on their academics, and if they can't focus on their academics, their chances of succeeding are low,” he tells Fortune. 

Financial wellness is critical to solving the Gen Z mental health crisis

The initiatives, like those at IU, offer students online and in-person resources on how to establish healthy money habits like budgeting, paying for study abroad, or dealing with interpersonal relationships. Plus, students can receive one-on-one advice from either a student or staff financial expert, or even request a financial education presentation for their class or club.

And universities across the country are catching on. In the last two years, institutions like the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina, and Washington University in St. Louis have announced investments in financial literacy. mental health, financial well-being is being seen as critical to success.

This is especially true for the current generation of college students who went through the pandemic during high school and experienced intellectual and social setbacks unlike any other prior generation. In 2020, before the pandemic, a survey of undergraduates at The Ohio State University found that finances were a leading source of stress for 68.1% of students. By 2023, that number rose to 72.5%.

While there’s plenty of blame to go around, one of the glaring changes has been the rapid rise in the cost of college. Over the last two decades, tuition and fees for private universities have increased by 41%, even when adjusting for inflation, according to U.S. News. For in-state public universities, which are often viewed as the better financial deal for lower-income students, costs have risen by 45%.

Moreover, social media’s glorification of sometimes unwise financial decisions, like buying now and paying later, betting on their favorite athletic teams, and investing in shiny new cryptocurrencies like memecoins, is likely also contributing to a growing financial burden on Gen Z. 

On the flip side, technology has also made it easier than ever for young people to access smart financial information.

“There's an overwhelming amount of information out there,” says Gilbert Rogers, inaugural director of the center at the University of North Carolina. “And what that does is, it’s a double-edged sword. It's good that you have access to this info, but what's reliable? What's not reliable?”

Having a trusted campus center where students can seek guidance and confidence about their money is more important than ever, Rogers tells Fortune.

“There's a lot of finance talk that the average person may get intimidated by, but it's not so difficult once you break it down,” he adds.

The rise in personal finance education at the college level

Personal finance at the college level is nothing new. For years, universities have offered personal finance classes and resources, but some experts have voiced against having it be a graduation requirement (akin to the now 26 states mandating it in high schools)—with the primary reason being that students do better when they want to learn something versus being forced to do so. 

However, it’s unclear whether this wait-and-come-to-me strategy is beneficial to the generation at large. After all, instead of currently talking about their financial woes, students are brushing them off like it’s a homework assignment they can procrastinate in perpetually. A recent study by Inituit found that Gen Zers would rather talk about politics, sex, or infertility than financial topics like debt, salaries, or bad investments. 

Adam Nash, the former CEO of Wealthfront, has been teaching “Personal Finance for Engineers” at Stanford University for seven years. He tells Fortune that the subject is relatively rare, but probably should be taught to everyone in middle or high school. 

“I think it's wrong to send kids out into the world not understanding the basis of personal finance,” he says. 

Before the semester began last fall, he polled his students, who include freshmen undergraduates up to those in graduate school. Less than 10% reported not having student loans, and just over half reported not having their brokerage account. 

In his course, Nash says he largely just focuses on the basics—because that’s ultimately what’s important (he even releases all of his lectures online, for those to access and learn).

“The biggest liability that smart people, intelligent people, have with money actually comes from in some ways over-complicating it,” he says.

And while Nash’s course is just one example of financial wellness education in action, it’s emblematic of the fact that teaching young people about money is a marathon, not a sprint.

“Don’t be afraid to make decisions and learn from your mistakes,” Nash wrote at the end of the semester. “(It’s) better to make them when the dollars are small and your responsibilities are few.”

And at a time when many schools are facing rising enrollment rates but declines in federal funding from DOGE cuts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Education, investing in financial literacy might just be the win-win some schools need. Not only can it help students remain enrolled, but it also helps lead them down a path toward success.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Billionaire founder Matthew Prince has three degrees to his name, but admits the path he took to get there could have been easier had he spent time in Big Tech expanding his networking instead.

For Gen Zers early in their career, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince has some advice: don’t underestimate the power of networking.

While the 50-year-old executive is by all means one of the most accomplished in the cybersecurity world as the founder of a $40 billion firm, he just revealed that had he gained experience and made connections in Big Tech, his success may have come a little easier.

"The camaraderie and the rolodex and the interesting people that you will meet in that, is just such a huge accelerant to your career," Prince told Business Insider.

Instead of saying yes to a job offer from companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, and Netscape during one of the most interesting times in tech—the dot-com boom—he went straight to law school at the University of Chicago after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in English and computer science.

"Figuring out a way to get to some company that's somewhere between 2,000 and 20,000 employees, and is working on interesting projects — that's the thing that I wish I had," he said.

And while Prince does not regret going back to school at all, it’s a viewpoint that’s increasingly hard to find among graduates. Some 51% of Gen Z report their college degree was a “waste of money,” in part due to the skyrocketing cost of tuition as well as the ever-changing job landscape. 

Fortune reached out to Prince for further comment. 

Tech founders have mixed feelings on the value of higher education

Prince is, by all means, an embracer of higher education, having later gone on to teach law and obtain his MBA from Harvard Business School (where he met Cloudflaire co-founder Michelle Zatlyn). 

While he may sound like a unique case among tech leaders, considering big names like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Sam Altman are famously known for dropping out, getting multiple degrees is not uncommon.

Fellow cybersecurity CEOs, like Broadcom’s Hock Tan and Palo Alto Networks’s Nikesh Arora, also both have at least three degrees, which likely helped them land the roles they have today.

On a Sequoia Capital podcast, Arora described his mantra as goal-driven.

“Ideas are not good enough,” Arora said. “You got to have a plan and a North Star. You have to have resourcing that you can sort of execute at the plan.”

And while every Fortune 500 leader may have differing perspectives on the value of degrees, the data doesn’t lie: they are broadly financially worth it, especially if the right major is picked.

A bachelor’s degree in business will pay for itself after just eight years, and current graduates can expect to earn lifetime earnings of over $8 million, according to the Education Data Initiative. For computer science degrees, the return on investment (ROI) is even greater—the degree pays for itself in five years and earnings of over $10 million.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• College graduates are calling their degrees worthless. According to new data from Indeed, piling student loans and fears of AI reshaping the workplace are to blame. While experts say higher education is still important, Gen Z should constantly prioritize “upgrading their toolkit” to be successful.

College is often advertised as the best four years of one’s life, but many Americans now have regrets.

More than a third of all graduates now say their degree was a “waste of money,” according to a new survey by Indeed. This frustration is especially pronounced among Gen Z, with 51% expressing remorse—compared to 41% of millennials and just 20% of baby boomers. 

Overall, a growing share of college-educated workers are questioning the return on investment (ROI) of their degree, Kyle M.K., a career trend expert at Indeed, told Fortune. It’s something that’s not all too surprising considering that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree has doubled in the last two decades to over $38,000, and total student loan debt has ballooned to nearly $2 trillion.

“Another 38% feel student loans have limited their career growth more than their diploma has accelerated it,” M.K. said. “Together, these realities are nudging universities and employers to shift focus from pedigree to practical skill. In fact, 52% of U.S. job postings on Indeed don't list any formal education requirement.”

However, for many young people, this realization is coming too late. Already, some 4.3 million Gen Z  have been left behind as “NEETs”—not in education, employment, or training—with no clear direction on how to restart their early careers.

The long road to finding value in a degree

For young people in particular, who are navigating a less than ideal job market, it can be difficult to see the long-term ROI of college. This is especially true when, for some subjects, like psychology, philosophy, or English, it can take over 20 years in the workforce for the degree to pay for itself, according to the Education Data Initiative. 

However, ​​Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at Handshake, warns against valuing a degree from a purely quantitative standpoint.

“It's shortsighted to focus only on immediate employment, as that makes the assumption that the value of higher education is only to get your first job,” Cruzvergara told Fortune. “When in reality, higher education contributes to career advancement opportunities, exposure to a variety of fields, aids in self-discovery, and develops management and leadership skills.”

While nearly 70% of young graduates believe they could do their job without a degree, they may have not been exposed to their network without it. Cruzvergara says that universities are failing to promote that they’re more than just a piece of paper that’ll open doors after graduation day, but a hotbed for learning and meeting like-minded people while on campus. 

For example, Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard during his sophomore year to focus on building Facebook into the social media empire it is today. But he couldn't have done it without the four cofounders he met at university.

“Gen Z faces a particularly uncertain job market, and there's a need for a better connection between education investment and outcomes,” she adds.

AI has spooked college graduates into a cynical spiral 

The spread of artificial intelligence into all parts of education and the workplace has made college graduates question their degree even more, with some 30% feeling AI has outright made their degree irrelevant—a number that jumps to 45% among Gen Zers. 

This is despite efforts from thought leaders in the space to calm fears about AI replacing workers. “AI is not going to take your job,” Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last year. “The person who uses AI well might take your job.”

While M.K. admits that skill areas like routine programming, basic data analysis, and templated content creation have become highly exposed to AI, fields like nursing, advanced project management, and creative strategy are relatively insulated.

“AI is more of an amplifier than a pink slip,” M.K. said, adding that above all else, those who prioritize lifelong learning and have open conversations with their employer about AI will be able to soar in the wake of technological advancements.

“AI won't invalidate a solid education, but it will reward those who keep upgrading their toolkit.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Gen Z is not afraid to take a stand when it comes to salary transparency, with over two in five graduates willing to ghost an employer if compensation is not disclosed. But despite high expectations for their early career, Gen Z may be in for a rude awakening—some employers aren’t afraid to sack recent grads.

If you’ve recently been on the job hunt, you may have felt like you struck gold if a post listed the salary range. But for Gen Z, wage transparency is much bigger—it’s a non-negotiable. 

Some 44% of Gen Z college graduates say that they would pull out of an application—even by ghosting the recruiter—if the salary range was not disclosed during the interview process, according to Monster’s 2025 State of the Graduate Report.

While their behavior may seem entitled, especially during a rocky job market, it’s part of a growing trend among young people to talk about pay in the workplace, which has long been viewed as taboo by previous generations. The shift is in part thanks to some 10 states—including California, Colorado, and New York—that have passed laws in recent years mandating salary transparency. 

Now, Gen Z may not even entertain a job posting without the salary range, Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster, told Fortune.

“Since so many job descriptions provide it as a common practice, when other employers don't, graduates may simply gloss over these job listings that don't share it,” Salemi said.

Gen Z has high job expectations—and they’re willing to wait for the right role

Over 4 million Gen Zers find themselves jobless, so it may come as a surprise that young people have such high expectations for the start of their careers. However, with so many well-adjusted to living at home with their parents, they want a job that checks all of their boxes rather than a big paycheck. 

Nearly three out of four class of 2025 graduates say they would be unwilling to work for a company whose political values conflict with their own, and 35% would refuse to accept a job offer from a company without diverse leadership, according to the Monster report. Moreover, 42% won’t accept a job that does not have hybrid working options. 

These incoming workers are redefining the where and when of the workplace, said Salemi. But despite having their high expectations, not all of Gen Z is so sure they’ll find the perfect role off the bat. Over 80% of graduates believe they will find a role at some point, but only 63% believe they have leverage in the job market.  

Companies are still trying to figure out Gen Z in the workplace

Kate Duchene, president and CEO of global professional services firm RGP, previously told Fortune that Gen Z wants more flexibility and transparency. And if they don’t get it, the generation is willing to put up a fight for it. 

“They aren’t afraid to push back a little bit and then put their money where their mouth is and leave if they don’t feel heard or listened to,” she said.

In fact, nearly half of Gen Z grads said they would quit if the workplace became toxic, and 39% would leave just to seek a healthier work-life balance, according to Monster.

However, some bosses have still not caught on to Gen Z and are unhappy with their behavior. Some six in 10 employers have reportedly fired young college graduates in part due to a lack of professionalism, organization, and communication. 

Despite generational tensions, some employers are taking note of how to best address the wishes of the Gen Zers, said Monster’s chief marketing officer, Scott Blumsac.

“The message is clear: today’s graduates are ambitious, intentional, and values-driven,” he wrote. “Employers who adapt to these priorities by offering flexibility, purpose, and pathways to growth will be best positioned to attract and retain the next generation of top talent.”

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• There’s good news for Gen Xers nearing retirement: if you’re willing to extend your career by just a few weeks, your savings can rival thousands of dollars in salary from decades prior, according to Vanguard’s head of advice.

If you checked your 401(k) in recent weeks, now may be a good time to have a reality check.

President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war has caused market whiplash, leading to retirement accounts losing billions of dollars collectively. And while those new to their savings journey have years to recover, Gen Xers nearing retirement may be running out of time.

While experts say there is no need for soon-to-be retirees to panic, it is a critical time to reassess retirement goals. If you’re not on track, one simple move could be financially life-changing, says Joel Dickson, the global head of advice methodology at Vanguard.

“Even working just a few more months, if that's possible for people, is a really powerful lever that can be pulled if folks are nervous about their longer-term retirement sufficiency and success,” Dickson tells Fortune.

Working three to six months longer could have helped your retirement finances just as much as had you saved 1% more of your salary every year for 30 years, according to a 2018 study from Stanford University and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Even one extra month of work can add savings equivalent to 1% of your salary over the past decade, Dickson says. For Gen Xers, many of whom are ill-prepared for retirement with just $40,000 in savings, this might be welcomed news.

While it might sound too good to be true, the math checks out. By working a little longer, retirees won't have to dip into their 401(k) accounts and Social Security and can instead let their investments grow longer. The “magic number” to retire comfortably at age 65 in 2025 is $1.26 million, according to Northwestern Mutual. 

Market woes are normal, but don't run for the hills yet

Finances are one of the top drivers of stress and anxiety among all Americans; according to the American Psychological Association, over 6 in 10 adults report money being a significant source of personal stress. And during economic uncertainty, that number is likely even higher.

Yung-Yu Ma, the chief investment officer at BMO—the eighth largest bank in North America by assets—said the market hit peak disruption after Trump walked back reciprocal tariffs. The underlying consensus is that the economy is healthy, he told Fortune.

During the week of the tariff back and forth, 90% of Vanguard investors did not make a transaction, according to Dickson. And of those who did, an overwhelming majority were buying—not selling—suggesting investors aren’t panicking but instead capitalizing on the dip.

“Sticking to your plan doesn't mean don't do anything,” Dickson says. “It means understanding the opportunities that the markets present in the context of meeting your plan over the long term.”

Ma agreed, contending that “it’s better to look for opportunities than to run for the hills at this point.”

A way investors can protect themselves is through asset diversification, according to Ma. He suggests international equities in Europe, Japan, and China, as well as domestic manufacturing sectors, as stable areas of growth.

The turbulence may still hit, but that shouldn’t steer you off course

While a reduction in widespread tariffs was a relief for investors alike, it by no means indicates that the instability is over. Ma explains that if the negotiations with China go south, and tariffs of 145% are not mitigated, the U.S. could still slide into a recession.

But ultimately, the market shouldn’t drive your broad retirement behaviors and plans, Dickson adds. Amendments to your goals should only come when life situations, spending, or saving habits change. As long as you are saving appropriately (Vanguard recommends saving 12% to 15% of your pay each year for retirement, including any employer contributions), you’ll be well on your way toward retiring with peace of mind.

“The most important metric of long-term success is how you are saving, not necessarily how your investment returns are being generated,” Dickson says.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Billionaire Melinda French Gates is not immune to trials and tribulations in her career, but she often looks for advice in nonagenarian Warren Buffett, who once told her, “Find your bull’s-eye of what you’re working on, and let the other things fall away.”

Despite having over $14 billion to her name, Melinda French Gates, too, gets anxious and worried about the impact of her work. 

But, just like the many Americans who look up to her for inspiration, she leans on others when times are tough. In fact, French Gates has revealed she likes to write down quotes and wise advice from her hugely successful friends so that she can “replay” it again later in her head—one of those voices being none other than fellow billionaire Warren Buffett.

“Like if I get tough on myself about philanthropy, I remember what Warren Buffett said to us originally, which is, ‘You’re working on the problems society left behind, and they left them behind for a reason. They are hard, right? So don’t be so tough on yourself,’’’ she said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Magazine. 

When it comes to making strong business decisions, it's no surprise French Gates listens to 94-year-old Buffett; he's considered the most successful investor of the 20th century.

Even during this year’s market volatility, Buffett managed to grow his wealth by $20 billion, whereas others, including Bill and Melinda Gates, have lost hundreds of millions. Plus, he’s already given away $60 billion during his lifetime—and pledged to give away 99% of his wealth by his death. His net worth is still the fourth largest in the world, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. 

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates both lean on Buffett

Both Bill and Melinda Gates have expressed their appreciation of the impact Buffett has had on their lives by helping them center their attention on only what truly matters. Earlier this year, Melinda even admitted that early advice from Buffett has guided her entire philanthropic career.

“Warren Buffett once said to us early in the [Gates] Foundation’s life, ‘Find your bull’s-eye of what you’re working on, and let the other things fall away. You’ll feel better if you keep your talents in that bull’s-eye, keep working those issues, and you’ll feel less bad about letting other things go,’” Melinda, who turned 60 last year, told LinkedIn. “And I think that’s true.”

Bill, who has a similar fortune to Buffett at $158 billion, admits he wished he had taken Buffett’s advice to heart sooner about prioritizing what’s most important in life.

“It took far too long for me to realize that you don’t have to fill every second of your schedule to be successful,” he wrote on Threads. “In hindsight, it’s a lesson I could have learned a lot sooner had I taken more peeks at Warren Buffett’s intentionally light calendar.”

Buffett believed in Bill and Melinda, too

Buffett was always a fan of Bill and Melinda, too, so much so that he is one of the largest contributors to their charity, the Gates Foundation. Through 2022, he had donated some $36 billion alone (for context, that’s greater than the entire annual GDP of Iceland).

Moreover, even in sensitive parts of the former couple’s lives, Buffett was top of their mind. In Melinda’s recently released book, The Next Day, she said that Buffett was one of the first calls she and Bill made before the public announcement of their divorce.

“I mean, he had made this enormous investment in the foundation,” French Gates told Fortune. 

“And so whatever decision he would eventually need to make or not make about that was his. We both felt strongly he was one of the first people we needed to tell.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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