Greenlight’s Annual Family Trends Report Uncovers Bright Spot in Consumer Finance: Kids are Building Wealth Through Investing

Greenlight®, the award-winning family money and safety app, released its annual family trends report, Greenlight Glimmers, highlighting over $2 billion managed across 6.5 million+ U.S. families. In 2025, parents and kids adopted a “builder mindset,” earning, saving, and investing more, paving the way for a 2026 defined by independence, confidence, and financial growth.

Despite a challenging year shaped by economic uncertainty, inflation, and shaky job prospects, the markets were a bright spot: Greenlight kids and teens invested more than $70M (+65% YoY), doubled their recurring automated investments, and increased their average buy trade to $49.56 (up from $39.70 in 2024). Their top holdings, VOO, NVDA, AAPL, AMZN, TSLA, and a bitcoin ETF jumping from #21 to #12, show portfolios that increasingly mirror tech-focused investors.

“Greenlight’s biggest achievement in 2025 was scaling our Investing service, which was underscored in our annual family trends report,” said Tim Sheehan, co-founder and CEO of Greenlight. “When I was 15, I started learning how to invest, and I became a better and better investor over time. Learning to be a smart investor – like Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch – is how to build true wealth. At Greenlight, we want to enable everyone to become a smart investor and build wealth, and we’re thrilled to see so many parents, kids, and teens gravitating towards it.”

The report also highlights three core themes shaping financial behavior in 2026:

• Spending is down: earning, saving, and investing are up. Kids and teens are increasingly prioritizing building long-term financial stability.
• Building consistent money skills is on the rise: Kids and teens are treating financial management like a daily habit.
• Self-care and financial confidence now go hand in hand: “Self-care chores” such as reading, exercising, practicing instruments, and learning languages continue to surge.

Additional consumer insights:

• Only 15% of parents talk to their kids about money weekly.
• 67% believe they’ll be better off financially than their parents.
• Building an emergency fund ranked among the top 10 savings goals.
• TikTok Shop spending is up 50% YoY.
• Kids and teens spent $3.6M+ on concerts and shows.
• Teens spent $17M at the gas pump.

“Financially, 2025 was a tough year for a lot of U.S. households,” said Jennifer Seitz, Director of Education at Greenlight. “Despite economic headwinds, we’re encouraged to see parents, young adults, and kids move away from impulse spending and trend splurging to intentional earning, saving, and investing. As we look ahead to 2026, we anticipate more robust conversations around money, including how to manage, grow, and protect it.”

As families embrace everyday money moments and kids take more ownership of saving and investing, supported by the 90% who want to learn how to earn and the 76% who say Greenlight builds their confidence, the next generation is on track to develop lasting financial skills.

To read the full report or learn more about Greenlight, visit greenlight.com/glimmers.