Money stress impacts teens, too, Wells Fargo finds

American adults are feeling stressed about money these days — but not nearly as stressed as their kids.

New research from Wells Fargo shows that U.S. teenagers are showing signs of financial anxiety in much higher numbers than their elders. Across the board, teens proved more prone to worrying about money, more uncomfortable discussing it and more likely to lie about it.

"When we looked at some of that data, it really suggested that there's a high degree of worry, especially in this teen population," said Michael Liersch, head of advice and planning at Wells Fargo.

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The Wells Fargo Money Study found that 60% of adults "overfocus" on how much money they have, compared to 73% of teens. Thirty-nine percent of adults were reluctant to discuss how much their homes are worth, compared to 50% of teenagers. And one-third of adults feared they "may feel judged" over their finances, compared to 44% of adolescents.

Teenagers were also much more likely to tell falsehoods about money. While 28% of adults said they'd lied about their savings, 42% of teens said they'd done this. Thirty-two percent of adults lied about how much they spend on things, compared to 50% of teenagers. And teens were twice as likely to fib about how much money they "grew up with" — 23% said they'd lied about this, compared to just 10% of adults.

"It is very fascinating that we see teens feeling compelled to lie — more than adults — about almost anything we asked them related to money," Liersch said.

The TikTok effect

Why are so many teens feeling anxiety about their finances, and coping with it by lying? Liersch believes part of the reason could be the typical insecurities of adolescence — but that's not the whole story.

"They're emerging into their own identities, and so it's pretty normal to imagine that there's a lot of stress and anxiety," he said. "There's also another aspect of it, which is, you would imagine, they're also mimicking what they see adults do."

Many things could be causing teenagers to lie, Liersch went on. They could be ashamed of their families' finances, influenced by peer pressure or simply imitating their parents' lies — and telling the truth about it to researchers.

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There's also another factor, which both Liersch and financial advisers were quick to point out: The powerful impact of social media.

"There are so many people out there on social media showing off how much money they supposedly have, posting about their luxurious vacations, high fashion clothing and fancy cars," said Carla Adams, founder of Ametrine Wealth in Lake Orion, Michigan. "Understandably, teenagers are going to be extremely vulnerable to feeling inadequate and wanting to appear more wealthy to fit in with all of their friends, who are also trying to put on the same facade."

Fostering future clients

But for financial advisers, there's a silver lining in Wells Fargo's data: Americans are highly anxious about money, but also highly eager for advice. And in this area as well, teenagers surpassed the grown-ups — 67% of adults wished they knew more about managing money, compared to 83% of teens. And 80% of adults wanted to learn new ways of thinking about money, compared to 91% of teenagers.

"We oftentimes think of emerging adults as not really thinking that they need good advice, but they're really one of the most likely populations to want it," Liersch said.

This creates an opportunity for wealth managers not only to alleviate some of teens' anxiety, but also to cultivate some potential future clients. The first step, Adams said, is to dispel some of the misinformation from social media — something younger advisers will be especially well-equipped to handle.

"Advisers can best help their clients' teens by working with them directly … giving teens a better perspective on wealth and the mirage that can so easily be created," she said.

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And those meetings don't necessarily have to include the parents. In Liersch's view, some one-on-one time might work even better.

"I think oftentimes we bundle households — like, let's get the family together to talk about that," Liersch said. "But if you have a constituent who's clearly even more interested than their parents in this topic, how do you get them to the table and give them the open space to ask questions in a really safe space?"

Whether that space is in a conference room or by a water cooler, the bottom line is teens are open to financial advice. And for advisers willing to find ways to work with them, these emerging adults could become clients for years to come.

"The vast, vast majority want to learn more about money," Liersch said. "How do we create a space for them to learn it on their terms?"