Why Gen Z should care about inflation

The inflation tiger is roaring. Older people can hear it. How about younger ones? Inflation could, after all, be the biggest blow to their finances in their lifetime.

They don’t seem hugely concerned. According to polling by GfK, Generation Z is totally ‘chill’ about inflation. Older generations, meanwhile, are scarred by the last inflation spiral of the 1970s — a brown-tinged decade of power cuts, unemployment and grim donkey jackets. To younger people, that’s ancient history. Growing up in an era where inflation has averaged 2 per cent, they’d be forgiven for zoning out when they hear ‘back in the day…’ or when news reports reveal that inflation has spiked to 4.2 per cent — a peak not seen since November 2011.

The reality is that Gen Z doesn’t really know what inflation is, let alone whether it’s back with a vengeance. But inflation bites the young hardest. Recent research from Demos and Yorkshire Building Society found young people typically spend more than twice as much as the over-fifties on housing costs and basic bills, both inflationary sore spots, equivalent to £1,300 more per month.