According to Thriveworks’ 2025 Pulse on Mental Health report, 58 percent of millennials say personal finances and the cost of living are key sources of stress—and that’s not surprising. Many concerns are on their plate, like being unable to afford a house, rising costs and tariffs.
So, if you’re a millennial (or a person of any other generation) worried about money, you’re not alone. Ahead, therapists share the most common financial concerns they hear in therapy sessions and what advice they share with those clients.
The #1 Most Common Millennial Money Concern, According to Therapists
Time to get super relatable: “The main money concern that comes up is how to pay student loans,” says Staci Dungee, a therapist at LifeStance Health. Millennial graduates feel overwhelmed by how much they owe.
Monica Cwynar, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker with Thriveworks in Pittsburgh who helps millennials cope with stress, life transitions and anxiety, reports the same, explaining, “They are worried about whether it was even worth taking on the debt, which can bring shame where there is no need for it.”
Further, student loans aren’t their only major expense, and they affect multiple areas of a person’s life. “Many patients also feel guilty or bad about themselves because they have to have roommates or move back in with their parents because they are in crippling debt due to student loans on top of everyday expenses,” Dungee adds.
What Therapists Suggest
Remember that you’re not alone, and you have options.
“I typically advise them on the percentage of people moving in with their parents and roommates, and normalize the roommate/moving-in-with-their-parents situation,” Dungee explains. “I also try to give them resources to help get a handle on their finances and how to improve their financial situation.”
Examples of financial resources include The Financial Diet on Instagram and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s list.
Besides discussing financial literacy resources and normalizing debt, Cwynar has a few other suggestions.
“I encourage millennials to live within their means, which I know can be difficult, and to look at payment plans and structured options,” she says. “I remind them that debt can be worth it for some, eventually making way more than they borrowed…I personally have debt, and there can be pride in paying it off and betting on themselves.”
6 Other Common Money Concerns Millennials Talk About in Therapy
While student loans are a huge concern, they’re far from the only one. Read ahead for more financial anxieties millennials have.
1. Affording therapy and other costs
The average therapy session costs between $100 and $200, then add groceries, gas, utilities, rent, a night out with friends…it adds up. Something has to go, and for some clients, Dungee says, that’s therapy.
What therapists suggest: “My response is to validate their feelings—particularly anxiety about the rising costs of things—and help them try to find ways to cut costs, cook cheap and healthy meals, and alternative ways to increase their income,” Dungee says.
Cutting costs could look like eating fewer meals out, going to the library instead of the bookstore and only visiting the theater on discount nights.
For more affordable recipes, check out Parade’s collection of cheap meal ideas.
To increase your income, you could add a side hustle, like babysitting, driving for Uber Eats or teaching music lessons.
2. Housing affordability
Buying a house just isn’t as doable anymore.
“Many millennials are frustrated and angry over being unable to buy their first home,” Cwynar says. “Many are renting and have high rent payments.”
Prices continue to rise, she adds, which can exacerbate anxiety and cause people to feel trapped.
What therapists suggest: Cwynar urges these clients to create a savings plan (to the extent that’s doable) and says many apps can help—a couple of examples include Acorns and GoodBudget.
You can also explore alternative housing arrangements, she says, such as co-living and renting in less expensive areas.
Last but not least, Cwynar talks to her clients about their values regarding home ownership and renting. For example, you might feel pressured to settle down more than you want to. Or maybe you plan to live in a bigger city soon, so waiting to buy a house is in your best interest.
3. Job stability and income security
Financial stress surrounds not only expenses but also income.
“Many feel insecure about their employment situations, fearing they might not reach the income level they want or the lifestyle they want, such as saving for retirement, traveling or starting a family,” Cwynar explains.
What therapists suggest: While it may be a pain, continue to build your skills and knowledge. That doesn’t have to be conventional, either; in today’s gig economy and creator market, that could look like enhancing your social media skills and monetizing your accounts, or learning how to do a craft you can sell.
“It’s not your parents’ world; you may need several streams to get it done,” Cwynar adds. “It’s not fair, but this is the world they live in.”
On the mental and emotional side, taking this tip can give you feelings of hope, pride and purpose.
4. Feeling “behind”
If you’ve ever thought, “I make decent money but still feel broke” or “Everyone around me seems to have their lives together and I’m just trying not to overdraft,” you’re not alone. These are common phrases that Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC, an anxiety, trauma and attachment therapist in Los Angeles, hears from millennial clients.
Those sentiments are about the money—we need it to live—but they’re also not about the money. “It’s about shame, self-worth and comparison,” Groskopf says. “A lot of clients are successful on paper but feel like a failure internally. There’s this quiet panic underneath it all, like they’re missing some adult manual every else got.”
What therapists suggest: First and foremost, Groskopf is a fan of normalizing this struggle and eliminating shame.
“This is what it looks like to be a millennial trying to function in an economy that was already stacked against them,” she says.
She also connects what money means—like safety, freedom, guilt or survival—with clients’ past experiences, explaining why their body may go into fight-flight-freeze mode when they think of their bank account. (Little money can remind people of past financial trauma or anxiety.)
5. Debating job satisfaction versus a salary that’s suitable for their lifestyle
This may be especially present in our current political climate.
“As the political climate continues to shift, many people evaluate their value systems and consider career shifts to political, nonprofit or helping sectors,” says Mandolin Moody, LMSW, a licensed social worker with Gateway to Solutions. “However, there is often an internal tension about taking pay cuts to pivot to new industries or restarting their careers in a new sector at the expense of their established title and salary.”
What therapists suggest: Moody encourages clients to focus on two main things: values and long-term fulfillment.
“Whereas many people recognize the benefits that a robust salary affords them personally, they feel the weight of wanting to do more or feeling ‘stuck’ in a position that drains them of their energy and sense of purpose,” she continues. “As a career-changer myself, I can speak firsthand to the benefits of leaning into our deeper values systems to achieve fulfillment far beyond what one may imagine in their present role.”
6. Long-term, existential concerns about how to handle their money
This concern also pertains to, and has shifted because of, the political climate.
“Before the current administration, the number one concern I heard as a financial therapist from millennial clients was financial anxiety, especially around ‘doing money right,’” says Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, LMSW, a financial therapist and founder of the financial wellness business Mind Money Balance. “Now, that financial anxiety is still there, but it’s more existential.”
For example, she’s heard clients ask, “Does it even make sense to invest in the stock market through my 401K?”, “Is it still safe to keep my money in a bank or credit union?” and “Will I have access to treatments and services that I need?”
What therapists suggest: Bryan-Podvin takes several steps with clients. First, she untangles where the financial anxiety comes from (money shame, systemic barriers, unrealistic expectations, etc.) and builds a version of financial wellness that feels doable.
“This means we’re creating if/then safety plans that require financial support,” she says.
She also provides big-picture education about the stock market and the economy, particularly how historically, they go in cycles of growth and recession.
General Money Concerns That Therapy Clients Bring Up
These therapists share additional concerns they’ve heard from clients of all ages.
- The tariffs
- Wanting children but not being able to afford them
- Not having enough money in their emergency savings
- Not having social security or being able to retire
- Guilt about making more than their parents
- Feeling like they have to “earn” rest because they aren’t rich yet
- Fear of being a financial burden in a relationship
- Disagreeing with their partner about how to spend money
- Guilt or intense caution around spending
- Charging too little so they aren’t called “selfish”
- Spending money to cope with stress, then beating themselves up for it
Financial troubles can be overwhelming—there’s no doubt about that. But consider leaning on the fact that you’re in the same boat as tons of other people, and many tips and resources are at your disposal.
Sources
- Monica Cwynar, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker who helps millennials cope with stress, life transitions and anxiety
- Staci Dungee, a therapist at LifeStance Health
- Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC, an anxiety, trauma and attachment therapist in Los Angeles
- Mandolin Moody, LMSW, a licensed social worker
- Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, LMSW, a financial therapist and founder of the financial wellness business Mind Money Balance
- Thriveworks 2025 Pulse on Mental Health Report, Thriveworks
- How Much Does Therapy Cost?, Psychology Today
This article is from Parade. You can read the original here.
