# 2025 Acorns Money Matters Report™

**Nov 13, 2025**

## in a nutshell
- Americans ages 18-35 are defining a new financial reality through self-reliance.
- Two-thirds of Americans ages 18–35 are still confident they will own a home and retire by age 70.
- Families are starting financial education early, increasing the need for accessible educational tools.

## Table of Contents
- The New Financial Reality
- Turning Anxiety into Action
- Parents are Breaking the Money Taboo
- What can this tell us?
- How Acorns Customers are Leading the Way to Financial Wellness
- Your Money Confidence is our Priority
- Survey methodology
- Money Matters from previous years

## The New Financial Reality
Today’s young adults recognize that the systems that previous generations relied on may not be the same ones that carry them forward.

- 72% of 18–35 year olds believe they’ll need to rely completely on themselves for retirement.
- More than half (54%) of Americans ages 18-35 think Social Security may be gone by the time they’re eligible.
- 67% don’t believe the U.S. will ever fully pay off its national debt.

Top financial concerns vary by generation. 39% of Gen Z mention a lack of savings, while 35% of Millennials say debt is their primary concern.

## Turning Anxiety into Action
Given these possible realities, young Americans are leaning into self-reliance and small, consistent actions—not quick wins —to fuel their financial futures.

- Two-thirds of Americans ages 18–35 believe they’ll own a home someday.
- 65% believe they’ll be retired by age 70.

## Parents are Breaking the Money Taboo
When it comes to the next generation, families are planning ahead. Parents are focusing on education and openness to help their kids grow financial confidence.

- 95% of parents have already talked about money with their kids, but 62% of them say they don’t feel confident doing so.
- 87% of parents with kids ages 6–13 feel optimistic about their financial futures.
- 38% of parents believe ages 5–8 are the best time to start money lessons, validating the Acorns Early mission of providing an easy way for kids to learn money skills.

## What can this tell us?
1. Parents are pushing past discomfort to build financial literacy at home.
2. Parents realize that they don’t have to be experts to give their kids a head start.
3. There is a demand for accessible educational tools, like the Money Missions built into Acorns Early.

## How Acorns Customers are Leading the Way to Financial Wellness
Acorns customers are turning financial optimism into everyday action, according to the Money Matters Report. Thanks to tools like Round-Ups®, Acorns Later, and Acorns Early Invest, customers feel optimistic about their money goals.

- A little more than a third (37%) of Acorns customers associate investing with hope, compared to 30% of the general population.

- 78% of Acorns customers believe they’ll own a home, compared to two-thirds of all young adults.

By investing automatically and consistently, our customers are proving that small actions can help you grow.

## Your Money Confidence is our Priority
Our vision is to be a financial wellness system for the whole family, creating compound growth at every life stage.

- Round-Ups® make it possible to invest spare change.
- Acorns Later is an easy way to save for retirement, no matter what you do for a living.
- Acorns Early Invest helps you invest for the kids in your life now, because time goes fast.
- Earn helps you earn bonus investments when you shop from thousands of top brands.
- Grow your knowledge with our Learn hub because knowledge is power.
- Banking with Acorns offers a checking account with a debit card that saves and invests for you so you can spend smarter.

From acorns mighty oaks do grow. We’ll keep finding ways to make it even easier to grow your oak!

## Survey methodology
The research was conducted anonymously by Opinium Research and commissioned by Acorns. This survey was not directed at Acorns customers. Any response collected from a customer was coincidental. The survey was conducted from September 5, 2025 through September 26, 2025, using Opinium Research's nationally representative online research panel. The sample population consisted of 5,000 U.S. consumers ages 18+, comprised of 2,423 males, 2,555 females, 20 nonbinary and 2 preferred not to say.

This research complements the Acorns 2025 Money Matters Market Survey that was conducted by Opinium in September 2025. This research was conducted by Acorns among 2,494 Acorns customers from September 11 - September 16, 2025.