Illustration by Gary Clement
Illustration by Gary Clement

Generation Z looks to have the financial edge over millennials



I might be young at heart, but I would trade it for the wisdom of today's teenagers when I was their age.

I am being reverse mentored by Generation Z and think I might have happened upon a little money earning ruse for both of us. Last weekend a niece and nephew were all over items I had set aside to clear out – taking photos and uploading to sell online.  They even suggested a percentage they could earn from sales. I do nothing other than show them the goods. They then research value, price, press buttons, and deal with virtual customers, right down to posting sales. Zero liability and minimal effort for me, what’s not to like.

They had just come back from a jaunt at the shops; my teenage nephew blew me away when he showed me his new jacket, then lay his now defunct, used one down to take a picture and post it for sale.

Is this normal behaviour? They have such a fantastic can do, will do approach and just get on with it without any fuss.

It was a huge departure from a conversation I’d had with a millennial a few days earlier, who was depressed about his financial outlook, blaming baby boomers for his and his generation’s money woes.

His views are shared by many others, according to the findings of HSBC's The Future of Retirement: Shifting Sands survey conducted in the UAE last year. It concluded that millennials, those born between 1977 and 1995, according to the Centre for Generational Kinetics, realise they face huge financial pressures, and are conflicted in their approach to dealing with this.

They are the generation most concerned with what they will face should they run out of money in their later years, but only 41 per cent of those surveyed have actually started saving for retirement.

Another point of conflict: according to research out this week by Britain Thinks, a UK-based research and strategy group,  millennials know how important it is to manage money, but think it’s boring, and would much rather be socialising thank you.

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Read more from Nima Abu Wardeh:

Feeling squeezed by VAT could actually make us happier

Supporting the refugee cause is more than just about money

More attention needed to link between financial woes and mental health

When marriage goes wrong, it's mothers who suffer most

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Managing money well versus short-term happiness and spontaneity is a significant issue for most of us. Not so for young people in the US that took part in a 2017 study on Generation Z, the generation born after millennials, by the Center for Generational Kinetics. It found that respondents are saving money, and planning for retirement. One in five said debt should be avoided at all costs because they have seen what it does to those older than them.

I hope stats out from the US apply to the UAE, and I wonder how it would affect the country’s economy in say 20 years.

Right now, milllennials are the UAE’s engine of growth. They are the country’s biggest demographic.

According to the World Population Review, the median age for both genders in the Emirates is 30.3 years. It’s a time of life when wages are still on an upward trajectory, and long-term foundations are set – but not always achieved.

Another report, released by dubizzle, found that 26 per cent of millennials in the UAE own property, compared with 28 per cent in Australia and 31 per cent in the United Kingdom. But 44 per cent of those polled in the UAE want to buy property, although that figure might have gone down as it was announced in 2016, and we all know that the cost of living has gone up since then.

Millennials and their attitude to spending, saving and investing is of huge importance to the UAE’s, and the globe’s economy. They are the key economic drivers of the decades to come. But while they are figuring out where to draw the line regarding how much to help the economy along versus their own financial growth, they’d better watch out for Generation Z overtaking them in the financial independence stakes.

If Gen Z has figured out that managing money well now means there’s no need for a trade off between money and happiness, then they are well on their way to taking over the world.

And I plan to help them.

They are mentoring me in many ways – through sharing their (to me) fascinating outlook on life, as well as their instant knowledge around all things iPhone related. My ruse is handing over all button-pressing activities and goods that are no longer needed to the Gen Zers in my life. My next step is to get them to hand their money over to me - once they make any - for safe keeping.

Nima Abu Wardeh is a broadcast journalist, columnist and blogger. Share her journey on finding-nima.com

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The%20specs
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi. 

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric

Transmission: 2-speed auto

Power: 571bhp

Torque: 650Nm

Price: Dh431,800

Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor

Transmission: 2-speed auto

Power: 455bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: from Dh431,800

The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper

Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km

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Landfill in numbers

• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane

• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming

• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi

• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year

• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away

• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition

Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.

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Other promotions
  • Deliveroo will team up with Pineapple Express to offer customers near JLT a special treat: free banana caramel dessert with all orders on January 26
  • Jones the Grocer will have their limited edition Australia Day menu available until the end of the month (January 31)
  • Australian Vet in Abu Dhabi (with locations in Khalifa City A and Reem Island) will have a 15 per cent off all store items (excluding medications) 
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Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now