Young New Zealanders care less about their finances after the COVID-19 lockdown, putting them at odds with older people.
It follows new research from the state-owned Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC), and shows those aged between 18 and 30 are living and spending for today and aren't thinking as much about tomorrow.
Forty-two percent believe money is there just to be spent, and 37 percent tend to live in the moment without thinking about the future.
Fazilat, 22, lost her job last week, and because of her situation she wants to live and spend in the moment.
"I don't like to plan five years ahead and for it to not happen. It makes you sad if it doesn't happen, so I could just live in the present and go with the flow," she says.
She says she was blind sided after losing her full-time job at a Hoyts cinema in Auckland.
"I used to work more than 30 hours there, so I didn't think they would make me redundant."
Artist Jake Feast is also part of those who are living from hand to mouth following the pandemic.
"I think about going on a holiday. So I'm looking a few months ahead and that would be it at a max," he says.
Lockdown and a looming recession has meant his sales have taken a hit.
"When people are feeling comfortable and confident, that's when art is being bought, so when people aren't feeling that way, or that way inclined, that's when we start to miss out."
Head of the CFFC and retirement commissioner Jane Wrightson has her concerns about the report's results, especially since the number of youth on the jobseeker benefit has increased by 65 percent over the past year.
"They're bearing the brunt of the job losses. Clearly they're at the beginning of their careers, the world is unstable, and one way to respond to that is to be the devil-may-care, don't worry about tomorrow," she says.
The report's results also showed people felt more confident about their retirement, with fewer people (23 percent) than before knowing which KiwiSaver fund they were invested in.
