How Gen Zs’ financial plans look nothing like their parents

Financial planning has traditionally been taught as a discipline of accumulation – you earn more, save regularly, invest for the long term and build enough wealth to meet the milestones that define financial security.

However, for Gen Zs or someone entering adulthood today, say those between the age of 18 to 24, that framework is beginning to feel dated.

Young Indians are forming financial opinions earlier

According to Mr. Vedant Gupte, Co-Founder & CEO of Investment Platform Trackk, young Indians are investing earlier, but more importantly, they are forming financial opinions earlier.

“A 20-year-old can discover a stock through a creator, discuss it with friends, follow its price and invest without ever speaking to a financial professional. Markets are becoming part of how young people learn about money, rather than something they encounter only after becoming financially established,” he adds.

That changes what financial planning at 20 should look like. “The objective is not to build an elaborate portfolio. It is to understand the relationship between a financial goal, the money available, the time horizon and the risk involved. Knowing an investment matters less if you do not understand why it belongs in your financial life,” says Mr Gupte.

Information is not the same as understanding

Young investors have more financial information available to them than ever before. The harder part is knowing what to do with it.

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According to Mr. Gupte, social platforms have made financial education more accessible, but they have also shortened the distance between an opinion and an investment decision. “A stock can become familiar through repeated conversations without the investor necessarily understanding the business, the risks or whether it fits their own circumstances,” he explains.

However, the answer is not to keep young people away from markets until they become more experienced. “Experience has to be built. Starting with smaller amounts can help investors understand market cycles, experience volatility and learn from their decisions while the financial stakes are still manageable,” he suggests.

A plan should leave room for change

Sharing further with Firspost, Mr. Gupte believes that between 18 and 24, financial circumstances can change quickly. “Income, education, careers and responsibilities are still taking shape. A rigid plan built around assumptions that may no longer hold in two years is unlikely to remain useful,” he adds.

“What matters is building habits that can withstand those changes: saving consistently, understanding risk, avoiding decisions driven by urgency and giving long-term investments enough time to work,” says the expert.

We know starting young gives money more time to compound, but It also gives investors more time to develop financial judgement. That is the part of financial planning that deserves far more attention.