Millennials were told the 2008 recession was a “once in a generation” economic crisis. Almost two decades later, déjà vu has struck.
While the U.S. market rose following President Trump’s decision to pause global tariffs on most countries—and global banks reset their recession risk assessments—lingering fears of economic collapse are driving millennials to TikTok, where they’re passing down survival tips to Gen Z.
“We don’t panic during recessions, we prepare for them,” content creator and marketer Itzett Romero said on TikTok. “Listen to your millennial friends.”
Romero advised her 70,000 followers to “make alliances” by sharing the cost of subscriptions and bulk grocery items with friends and neighbors.
“Cannot stress buying bulk and buying EARLY,” a user commented on Romero’s video. “You don’t want to be in the store when everyone is panicking.”
In a separate video, TikTok user @yaptrapped, who graduated college in 2011, also emphasized sharing. “Make friends because you can share a lot,” she said. “We survived a long time like that.”
@yaptrapped Just my thoughts. #recession #millennial
♬ original sound – yaptrapped
Financial advice was also widely shared across various videos. In one video, TikTok creator Rach to Riches advised that people “Build up your emergency fund, you should have three to six months of living expenses saved.”
Separately, Saprina Danise, a creator focused on personal finance, said she will scale back her retirement contributions. “Anything above my minimal contribution I am diverting into my emergency fund for the foreseeable future,” she said in a video.
@moneywithsaprina Replying to @FAM_embroidery here’s what I’m doing with my money right now
♬ Avoid Copyright – Wolf
Other popular tips offered budget-friendly recipes and grocery shopping strategies. Advice included checking your fridge before heading to the store, meal-prepping with what’s already in the pantry, buying meat in bulk to freeze, stocking up on shelf-stable goods like canned tuna, and cooking from scratch using dry ingredients like beans.
Other millennial creators took a separate approach, simply sharing a glimpse of what life during 2008 looked like. “Working crappy retail jobs, making just barely above minimum wage, living at home with my parents,” user @sellingnwa shared on her TikTok. “On the weekends I was putting on business casual outfits and going to house parties.” She explained how jungle juice—a cheap liquor concoction—was served with no food.
@sellingnwa 2008… what a time to be alive #recession #2008recession #millennial
♬ original sound – 📚Stephanie📚
One user commented on that video saying that millennials “know how to party on a budget.”
“You wan’t to know how to survive a recession,” another user commented. She offered a quick response in the description, “Cheap booze, that’s how.”
Login to add comment
Other posts in this group
It really is mind-blowing how much incredible stuff we can do with images these days.
’Twasn’t long ago, after all, that advanced image adjustments required pricey desktop-computer software and s
Rasmus Hougaard is the founder and managing partner of Potential Project. In 2019 he was nominated by Thinkers50 as one of the eight most important leadership thinkers in the world. He writes for&
Almost 23 years ago, an employee at Apple described Steve Jobs to me as one of the world’s few “rock star CEOs.” At the time, I didn’t understand why anyone would talk about the head of a company
Meta is set to face off against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Monday in an antitrust trial that could force the social media giant to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.
The closely wa
When people talk about how AI might reshape media, the term
President Donald Trump’s administration has been predicting its barrage of tariffs targeting Chi
Jared Isaacman, billionaire, CEO and nominee to become the next NASA administrator, faced questions o
