Financial reality check: 5 money rules Gen Z should retire
A new poll revealed that a quarter of Canadians feel the financial advice they inherited from older generations no longer applies in 2025. For Gen Z, that number jumps to 34%. And for big-ticket purchases, the gap is even bigger: almost half of 18 to 34 year olds say traditional home-buying advice no longer applies, and a third question career and income advice from mom and dad, too.
Frankly, they’re not wrong. Cost of living has surged, incomes have stayed the same, the financial system is more complex, and the tools available today didn’t exist when parents bought homes on one income or invested exclusively through a bank advisor.
To help bring you up to speed, we spoke with Canadian money expert and Qualified Associate Financial Planner (QAFP), Jessica Moorhouse, author of Everything But Money, who maps out four crucial updates to the financial playbook.
Dated rule #1: “Buy a home as soon as possible”
2025 update: Renting + investing may build more wealth than forcing homeownership.
Let’s break it down. Housing is a big point of friction between generations—and for good reason. Moorhouse says the affordability conversation has been going on for over a decade: “We always thought there’d be a certain correction and there was never a correction. It’s gotten to an even crazier price point for houses.”
Traditional advice made sense when home prices were in reach. But as she notes, salaries have barely moved: “I’m still seeing incomes for jobs that I had a decade ago and the salary is the same.”
The new rule is that buying property is optional, and less of a moral achievement. Moorhouse points out that “When you crunch the numbers, it may not actually make financial sense to put all of your money into a shoebox of a condo,” especially with the current market and some condos not appreciating.
Her practical 2025 approach: open an FHSA even if you’re not sure you’ll buy (you can always roll it into an RRSP later), keep your cost of living low, and rent strategically while investing the difference. The goal isn’t the deed, it’s long-term financial flexibility.
Dated rule #2: “Stick with one employer, loyalty pays”
2025 update: Financial stability comes from acquired skills, not tenure. Job-hop with intention.
Boomer career advice was born in a simpler labour market—one without AI screening tools, mass layoffs, contract work or entire industries disrupted by emerging tech. Today’s job search, Moorhouse notes, is nothing like her parents’ generation. She shares an example of a parental figure’s career advice: “He literally gave this typical advice: just go into the office and talk to the CEO and say, ‘You know what? I’m a damn good worker. Hire me’. Because he got a job that way. Today, I’d be kicked out of the office.”
Gen Z already understands this, and they don’t overstay their time in a role for loyalty anymore, either. “They think of it as more, ‘When my employer stops valuing me and they’re not paying me appropriately… why would I stay loyal?” The new norm is reassessing every two to three years—and staying only if it still makes sense.
Side hustles also play a bigger role than ever. For Moorhouse’s generation, they were survival jobs. Today, they’re career testers: “It gives them more freedom and opportunity,” she says, sometimes even leading to full-time self-employment or a small business.
The modern rule: build skills, not tenure. Welcome pivots, reskilling, and career detours. View them as strategy, not instability.
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Dated rule #3: “Save 10% of every paycheque no matter what”
2025 update: Keep the principle—modernize the practice.**
Moorhouse still believes in the classic “pay yourself first” rule, including the well-known 10% guideline. “It creates this habit and this evidence that, oh, there is always a way that you can save,” she says. But she also recognizes the financial pressure young Canadians are under.
The modern version of the rule is more adaptable. The principle remains the same: save first, automatically but the number can flex. Automate whatever amount is realistic into a TFSA, FHSA, or investment account; increase it when possible; and if the math truly doesn’t add up, focus on boosting your income rather than blaming yourself.
And earning extra is easier than it used to be. Moorhouse recalls that her own side hustle required physically going to another workplace after her 9-to-5. Now, “You can find part-time jobs that are remote” and pick up flexible work from home.
So the new rule isn’t “ignore the 10% guideline,” it’s save consistently and automatically, and adjust the percentage as your income grows.
Dated rule #4: “Avoid credit cards, they’re dangerous”
2025 update: Credit is a tool. Learn the rules instead of fearing it.
Many Gen Zers still receive moralized messages about credit—either overly strict (“never use a credit card”) or dangerously lax. Moorhouse encourages parents and young adults to move past that thinking, “Money’s a tool. It’s not good or bad. It’s really how you use it,” she says.
Credit cards come with risks, yes, but they’re also essential for building credit history, accessing rental housing, and benefiting from protections and rewards. The modern approach is to understand how they work: interest, billing cycles, utilization, and the importance of paying in full.
The 2025 rule is empowerment, not fear.
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Dated rule #5: “RRSPs are outdated, just use a TFSA”
2025 update: Choose accounts based on goals, and don’t dismiss RRSPs too quickly.**
Moorhouse sees a trend she doesn’t love: Gen Z assuming RRSPs are old-fashioned. “I still think they’re a really great vehicle, they just get a bad rap from Gen Z, and I don’t know why.”
RRSPs encourage long-term saving, partly because withdrawals come with consequences, a helpful feature for anyone prone to dipping into their TFSA. TFSAs remain the best starter account, but RRSPs matter for building retirement wealth, especially as incomes rise over time.
The updated rule is simple: match the account to the goal. TFSAs for flexibility, FHSAs for home savings, RRSPs for long-term retirement planning. There’s no single right answer.
A timeless rule that still holds up: Automate everything
If young Canadians subscribe to one old-school money habit, Moorhouse says it should be automation: “Automate as much as you can.” Automating bills, savings and investments protects you from forgetfulness, fear and the market-timing instinct that often works against you.
She says another classic guideline still holds up, even in 2025: saving 10% of every paycheque. Moorhouse learned the habit in her own 20s, long before she was earning much, and says it still works today because it forces you to build the habit first and adjust spending around it, not the other way around.
She also recommends tracking your net worth, at least annually. That’s to say, calculating what you own (savings, investments, assets) and what you owe (mortgage, debts, loans). “Track your net worth once a year. It’ll be really helpful just to see where you’re at,” she says. It’s a reality check and a motivation generator. Two things every young adult needs.
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Read more from MoneyFlex:
- Gen Z housing hacks for the return-to-office era
- Gen Z is leading the way on money habits—here’s how you can catch up
- The unsexy path to wealth: Why young Canadians are buying service-based businesses
- Gen Z guide to getting more in a tough economy: How to negotiate salary, car deal, phone bills and more
The post Financial reality check: 5 money rules Gen Z should retire appeared first on MoneySense.
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