Gen Z donʼt know what theyʼre spending each month – thatʼs exactly what utility companies want
8 June 2025, 11:09
Are you reading this on the go on a recently-upgraded iPhone with a whopping data allowance?
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Or perhaps you’re on the computer at home, connected to the latest superfast broadband package?
Either way, do you know how much those contracts are costing you?
If you’re a billpayer between the ages of 18 and 27 – a member of Gen Z – the answer is much more likely to be no.
According to the latest research by my company Nous.co, half of young people who are responsible for bills don’t know how much they’re spending each month on major contracts.
Take water. Half of Gen Z admitted they don’t know what their monthly bill is, compared with just over a third of adults overall.
For home insurance, young billpayers are 50% more likely to be unaware of exactly what they pay, compared to Millennials and Baby Boomers.
Energy bills show a similar pattern: 44% of Gen Z are unsure of the amount they shell out each month, while fewer than a third of Boomers said the same.
Sure – it’s not too outlandish to assume that people are a bit less responsible with money when they’re younger. But the thing is, Gen Z aren’t just being lazy or irresponsible. They’ve been set up to fail.
The whole process required to pay a fair price on our household bills – checking contract dates, staying on top of what exactly we’re paying, inspecting direct debits, scanning the market for better deals – is boring, complicated and time-consuming.
It’s far easier to pick a decent-looking contract, set up a direct debit and forget all about it.
That’s not an accident – suppliers have designed it that way. And the figures about Gen Z will have them rubbing their hands with glee.
For the ostriches ignoring the problem, it’s an expensive mistake. Failing to stay on top of our bills in detail, and allowing things to roll over in the background, costs us many hundreds of pounds each year.
In fact, according to our analysis, a typical household that is out of contract across their mobile, broadband, and energy bills is overpaying by more than £57 a month in total – almost £700 a year. It’s not fair, and it’s why new, tech-powered money-saving tools (like Nous) exist to do it all for us.
Our suppliers hope we don’t find a smart solution. And they hope we don’t do the work ourselves.
They’d much rather we stayed in the dark about what’s leaving our bank account each month, ending up hundreds of pounds worse off for it.
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Greg Marsh is the founder and CEO of money-saving tool Nous.co, and a household finance expert.
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