For Gen Z, ‘little treats' are worth going over budget

Boston Globe

a day ago

'It's something that I can just have and not think about,' Barrales said. 'I don't have to pinch my pennies.'
Advertisement
She and many others in Generation Z have embraced 'treat culture,' the habit of indulging in small luxuries, like a $12 jumbo-size coffee, a $5 baked dessert or a $30 key-ring doll called the Labubu, to reward themselves or practice self-care, even if the treats are outside their budgets. Although many Gen Zers do not feel financially secure, more than half say they buy themselves a small treat at least once a week, according to a new survey of nearly 1,000 Gen Z adults from Bank of America's Better Money Habits team.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
The concept of using treats to cope or celebrate -- which has been around for generations -- gained pop culture traction in 2011 with a television episode of 'Parks and Recreation' in which characters celebrated a day of pampering with the motto 'Treat Yo Self.'
Advertisement
What sets Gen Zers apart from generations before them is how they have built an online community around the tradition, promoting it on their social feeds as a way to care for their mental health during uncertain times. On TikTok, they have shared their latest 'little treat' hauls after failing an exam or doing chores, or just to show off conspicuous consumption.
The TikTok tag 'sweet little treat meme' has resulted in more than 23 million videos. It has become a shared, normalized and celebrated experience that encourages others to indulge or at least feel included, said Jason Dorsey, a generational researcher and a co-author of the book 'Zconomy.'
With rising costs, a shaky job market and financial milestones like homeownership feeling out of reach for many young adults, small purchases offer Gen Z a temporary sense of control or indulgence, Dorsey said.
'If I finished my own schooling and wasn't getting anywhere in the workforce, I would bring myself out for a treat as well,' said Gregory Stoller, a professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, who receives more than five emails a week from students seeking job advice.
But while these treats can offer quick hits of joy, they also could lead to overspending if budgets are not properly managed. After about a month of treating herself three times a week, Barrales, the marketing associate, noticed her checking account was around $50 lower than usual. It was enough to ring alarm bells for her.
'At first, it was harmless, because it was like, 'Oh, it's just $6, whatever,'' Barrales said. 'But it compounds, and that's when it starts eating into my finances.'
Advertisement
Of those Gen Zers who buy treats, 59% say it leads to overspending, according to the Bank of America survey. 'Buy now, pay later' apps and instant-delivery services make it easier than ever to spend impulsively, Stoller said. Often, these 'little treats' are bought in the spur of the moment at stores like bakeries or clothing shops, he added.
Tony Park, owner of Angelina Bakery, which has eight bakeries in and near New York's Manhattan borough, said Gen Zers had played a major role in the growth of his business from two locations five years ago. He leans into the generation's treat culture with eye-catching products like $30 giant croissants and cakes that have burnable tops revealing hidden messages.
More than half of his 11,000 weekly customers are Gen Z, Park said. Young adults may not have much money in their bank accounts, he mused, but 'they will spend money on the experience.'
What starts as a $3 croissant, however, can quickly snowball into a $200 shopping splurge or front-row tickets to a concert. For Angelina Aileen, 23, it was $350 worth of self-care supplements.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023 and landing her first job in New York City, she imagined living out her own Hallmark movie: new apartment, exciting career as an financial analyst and hiking getaways upstate.
But expectations from work and pressure to continuously check in on her professional growth started to overwhelm her. Everyone else at her job seemed to be thriving, Aileen said, so she assumed the problem was her. In an effort to fix things, she began to alter her routine, like skipping her daily caffeine, which she believed was giving her mood swings.
Advertisement
But that didn't work. So when one of her favorite YouTubers raved about a supplement routine, she decided to give it a try, buying supplements that were supposed to help with anxiety and energy.
A month later, when the subscription boxes began arriving again, Aileen felt buyer's remorse. She quickly canceled some subscriptions and adopted a gentler approach to self-care, doing smaller treats like a manicure or massage twice a month after work.
These treats keep her grounded. 'It makes me feel more ready to face something,' Aileen said, now a product development manager for a beauty company.
Alanis Castro-Pacheco also jumped into treat culture impulsively, during her sophomore year of college in 2022. In the campus dorm where she lived with seven roommates, tensions ran high. One roommate frequently brought her partner over despite others' discomfort.
Seeking relief, Castro-Pacheco visited a guitar shop in Enola, Pennsylvania, her hometown. On a whim, she bought a bass guitar and an amp for around $500 with her credit card. She immediately regretted the purchase, but Christmas money and learning how to play the song 'Californication' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers eased the blow.
'Till this day, I still see it in my room, and I'm like, 'OK, I need to get my money's worth,'' Castro-Pacheco said. She is now 22 and recently started taking $75 biweekly guitar lessons.
Her view on treats has shifted: Once a coping tool, they are now a form of celebration. She recently bought a Coach tote bag to mark the start of a new job in July as a strategic partnerships manager at a social media company, upgrading from a tote bag she had bought at Target.
Advertisement
Holly O'Neill, president of consumer, retail and preferred at Bank of America, recommends that anyone participating in treat culture consider setting a realistic budget or finding more sustainable alternatives, like borrowing a book from a library, so it doesn't become impulsive or lead to overspending.
For Barrales, sweet treats are now part of a budget. She sets aside $25 every two weeks from her paychecks.
'Do I go over the sweet treat budget at times? Yes, I do,' she said. 'But understanding what my habit is, I might as well just work around that habit.'
This article originally appeared in