A Survey by Spruce Reveals Social Media's Growing Influence on Gen Z's Financial Decisions, Highlighting a Generational Divide in Learning about Money
KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Designated as National Financial Literacy Month, April is intended to raise awareness about the importance of financial education and to encourage healthy financial habits. Yet, a survey conducted by Spruce, the mobile banking app built by H&R Block1, 2, reveals many may be relying on platforms where virality is valued over validity. The findings underscore the growing role of digital content in shaping financial habits and the pressing need for reliable, accessible financial education in today's technology-driven landscape.
The survey highlights a generational shift in financial education, with younger consumers, particularly Gen Z, increasingly turning to social media for financial tips and education, while older generations more heavily rely on traditional sources like family and banking institutions. The survey also revealed the impact of social media on their financial choices and their confidence in managing money. Despite the digital media shift, financial tools and apps remain essential across all generations.
"With nearly 70% of Gen Z influenced by financial trends on social media, it's clear they are open to improving their financial knowledge, but it's also imperative they have the capacity to discern fact from fiction, which is obviously difficult," said John Thompson, Vice President, Spruce. "This Financial Literacy Month, we want to empower individuals to take control of their finances by offering a safe and accessible space to manage their money with Spruce as they learn, plan, and build a secure financial future."
Financial Education Pivots from Tradition to Trends
The survey data paints a clear picture: traditional sources of financial education are being supplemented—and in some cases, supplanted—by newer sources, often on platforms where the origin or the validity of the guidance may not be clear.
Parents and banking institutions remain the most common sources of financial education. While the landscape is evolving, key findings highlight a critical gap in formal education:
- 31% of respondents cite family members as the main source for financial guidance
- 29% of respondents turn first to banks
- only 13% of respondents reported learning about personal finance in school, highlighting a critical gap in financial literacy programs.
Social media, however, has become an increasingly popular source of financial information, particularly among younger generations, with 16% of all respondents looking to social media for financial education.
- Gen Z leads the charge as 33% note that they look to social media for financial education
- Millennials follow closely behind at 23%
Viral Tips on Social Sway Financial Behaviors
The survey also explored the impact of social media trends on financial behavior, examining the influence of viral concepts, which includes ideas like soft saving, loud budgeting, cash stuffing, and doom spending on consumer choices.
These viral trends have proven to play a significant role in shaping financial behaviors, with 37% of respondents admitting they have been swayed by social media and tried a finance trend they discovered online.
- The influence of these trends varies dramatically across generations, with Gen Z impacted the most at 68%
- 51% of Millennials and 27% of Gen X cite being inspired to try social media finance trends
- While not as likely as other generations, 12% of Boomers still noted being influenced to partake in a financial trend
Among the platforms driving this shift, TikTok (39%) and Instagram (34%) are the most popular sources of financial information for Gen Z, followed by Facebook (23%) and even podcasts (17%). These findings highlight the growing impact of digital content on personal finance decisions, particularly among younger generations.
Digital Tools Bolster Financial Management
Online financial tools and apps have become essential for money management, with Millennials and Gen Z being the most likely to utilize them for everyday matters such as keeping track of a budget, planning for the future or establishing savings. Credit score monitoring emerged as the most common use case among respondents (38%). Budgeting was cited as a key priority, with 29% of respondents using financial tools or apps to track their expenses.
However, reliance on digital financial tools extends beyond convenience—confidence in making major financial decisions is bolstered by the use of online tools or apps. From our findings, 66% of Gen Z share that they are not confident or only somewhat confident in making large decisions without digital assistance. These findings highlight the increasing role of technology in empowering individuals across all generations to manage their finances with greater confidence and ease. Furthermore, many of the traditional rules-of-thumb for financial management are becoming out of reach, and tools to support decision-making become even more critical when thinking through more nuanced choices in a more complicated financial world.
With 70% of American households working to become "financially healthy,"3 selecting the right resources that promote sound financial practices is essential. According to John Thompson for many people this can start with selecting a mobile banking solution with no sign-up fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no monthly fees, while also offering features, such as the Watchlist budget tracker and multiple saving goals, that can aid in financial planning and management.
"We purposefully designed Spruce to remove barriers to accessing useful banking tools, such as the ability to customize saving goals, earn high-yield interest and provide access to innovative tools and features that can help improve financial wellness such as the ability to set spending guardrails, jumpstart savings with a tax refund allocation, and view credit score insights4 at any time," said Thompson. "By opting into savings with 3.50% APY,5 you can build your savings faster than at the national average rate6."
To learn more about Spruce's saving, budgeting, spending, and other financial-planning features, and how you can make your money go further, visit sprucemoney.com. To take advantage of the many secure and innovative tools offered through Spruce, sign up here. To get access to financial articles vetted by experts, head over to sprucemoney.com/resource-center/news/.
1 Spruce fintech platform is built by H&R Block, which is not a bank. Spruce℠ Spending and Savings Accounts established at, and debit card issued by, Pathward®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard®. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.
2 Research conducted with Morning Consult via online research on the omnibus fielded in March 2025 among a national sample of 2,200 adults. All data are weighted to their respective representative sample on age, ethnicity/race, education, and region based on in-market available data (such as the U.S. Census). Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.
3Research conducted by the Financial Health Network: Financial Health Pulse® 2024 U.S. Trends Report.
4 Credit score is FICO® Score 8 based on Experian data. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO Score than FICO Score 8, or another type of credit score altogether. FICO® is a trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation. This is a separate service from your Spruce Spending and Savings accounts, provided by Pathward®, N.A., Member FDIC.
5 The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 04/02/2025. This rate is variable and can change without notice. Fees may reduce earnings. To start earning interest on your Spruce Savings Account, simply opt in through the Spruce app or at sprucemoney.com.
6 Based on FDIC average national savings rate as of 04/02/2025.
About H&R Block
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) provides help and inspires confidence in its clients and communities everywhere through global tax preparation services, financial products, and small-business solutions. The company blends digital innovation with human expertise and care as it helps people get the best outcome at tax time and also be better with money using its mobile banking app, Spruce. Through Block Advisors and Wave, the company helps small-business owners thrive with year-round bookkeeping, payroll, advisory, and payment processing solutions. For more information, visit H&R Block News.
About Spruce
Spruce helps you stay in control of your money through spending and savings accounts backed by technology that provides budgeting tools, automatic saving options, and financial insights that help you be good with money. To learn more, see sprucemoney.com/features.
About Pathward®
Pathward®, N.A., a national bank, is a subsidiary of Pathward Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASH). Pathward is a U.S.-based financial empowerment company driven by its purpose to power financial inclusion. Pathward strives to increase financial availability, choice and opportunity across our Partner Solutions and Commercial Finance business lines. The strategic business lines provide support to individuals and businesses. Learn more at Pathward.com.
| H&R Block Contacts: | |
| Media Relations: | Susan Fish, (816) 399-7280, [email protected] |
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