Boomers and Gen Xers scramble our assumptions about economic misery — they’re way unhappier than millennials and Gen Z

Generation X spent three decades being defined by its own indifference—the “slacker generation,” too disengaged to bother with the culture wars being fought around it. Baby Boomers, meanwhile, are the generation that actually got the deal the American Dream promised: cheap houses, pensions, a stock market that mostly went up. Neither group was supposed to be the one lying awake over money.

And yet: Gen X now has the lowest consumer confidence of any American generation, a six-month average of 78 points on the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index—its worst reading in at least four and a half years. Boomers aren’t far behind, at 83, also their lowest since October 2021. Both have been sliding steadily since early 2025. Meanwhile, Gen Z and millennials—the generations popularly cast as burned out, doomer-pilled, and priced out of adulthood—have held their confidence roughly steady at around 110 points, respectively. 

The sandwich generation is being squeezed from both ends

Gen X’s anxiety isn’t a mood; it’s structural, and it’s better documented than the Conference Board number alone suggests. This is the first generation of Americans hitting their 50s while simultaneously managing aging parents’ care and dependent kids’ expenses, at the exact life stage psychologists call the bottom of the U-shaped happiness curve.

The numbers back up the squeeze: 70% of Gen Xers say they fear running out of money more than they fear death, higher than millennials (66%) or boomers (61%). Nearly half—44%—say they aren’t confident they can save enough for retirement, worse than millennials (35%) or boomers (40%). A 2024 Northwestern Mutual study found Gen X believes it needs $1.56 million to retire comfortably but has saved an average of just $108,600—a $1.45 million gap. And in a CFP Board survey, 95% of Gen Xers said their financial regrets have already cost them real money, with 59% reporting stress and 40% reporting anxiety directly tied to it.

Boomers: wealthy on paper,........

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