• I'm the youngest of three siblings — and the only Gen Zer.
• When I graduated this year, I faced the realities of job-hunting and adulthood.
• I learned lessons from observing my sisters and other millennials navigate their 20s.

After 16 years in the education system, my time as a student ended on a random Wednesday afternoon in April. I was finally free from lectures, tests, and group projects — but thrust into the realities of a scarier world: adulthood.

In this world, there were no set milestones to tell me I was on the right track. Everyone seemed to be on a path to something greater, but I felt directionless.

I know I'm not alone. Every 20-something has probably felt at least a little bit lost in life. But amid mass layoffs and the threat of AI replacing jobs, stepping into the job market as a fresh graduate in 2024 felt like diving head-first into an abyss.

An August report by an early careers platform, Handshake, surveyed 1,925 graduating students. They found that 57% of the students felt pessimistic about starting their careers — an increase from 49% of graduating students last year. Of the 57%, 63% said the competitive job market contributed to their pessimism.

The stress of not knowing whether I could secure a job was compounded by uncertainty about my career. I had studied journalism but wasn't sure if it was the right fit. I had the irrational fear that if my first job turned out to be the "wrong" choice, I'd be relegated back to the start line of the rat race.

Amid a brewing quarter-life crisis, I looked to my sisters, aged 28 and 31. They do many things that people of my generation may scoff at, like watching Instagram reels exclusively and using the laughing emoji. But they seem to have figured out one thing: life after college.

Here's what I've learned from watching them conquer the Roaring Twenties.

Life doesn't end when school ends

Toward the end of college, I mentally prepared myself for the fast-approaching expiration of youth.

"You must treasure your university days," relatives constantly reminded me at yearly Lunar New Year gatherings. They painted adulthood as a bleak portrait of bills, mundanity, and loneliness. So, when the time came, I was reluctant to let go of my identity as a student.

But as the youngest sibling, I also watched my sisters graduate from college, get married, and build their own homes. I saw them achieve promotions at work, find new hobbies, and start a life outside the one I knew of us growing up together.

Adulting isn't easy — I now know that. But there are also so many new milestones and freedoms that come with it, and there is so much to be excited about.

A job is just a job

My elder sister works in communications and the other in architecture. Even when their hours stretched into the night and weekends, they built a whole life outside work.

One started a sticker side business, and the other is now an avid runner.

It wasn't always smooth. My second-oldest sister burned out after working too much in her first job and took a career break. She prioritized work-life balance at her next job.

In that way, millennials and Gen Zers are alike. A 2024 report by Deloitte found that work-life balance topped the priorities for both generations when choosing an employer. When asked which areas of life were most important to their sense of identity, both generations agreed that jobs came second only to friends and family.

Distancing myself from the idea that my job had to be my one true passion lifted a weight off my shoulders. As much as I still want a job that gives me purpose, I also make time for other aspects of life that fulfill me, like working out and spending time with friends.

Just give it time

As with most worries, the fear that I'd never find a job was unfounded. In July, I started my first job as a junior reporter. But when the first day at work finally ended, I trudged home in a daze.

"I have to do this every day for the next 40 years?" I asked my second-oldest sister, who laughed. It wasn't that I didn't like the job. It was the change in routine from school life to a 9-to-5 that unsettled me.

"You'll get used to it," my sister said. Six months in, I still don't know if I will. But seeing my millennial counterparts thrive has encouraged me.

It's not just my siblings who have set an example. At work, my millennial colleagues are a constant source of guidance to the Gen Zers in the office. On social media, millennial influencers brand themselves as "internet big sisters" and give advice on navigating the complex years of their 20s.

Older millennials are now turning 40, but they were once in the position of Gen Zers, being scoffed at by the older generations for being "lazy" and changing work culture.

Now, they've drawn the map for Gen Zers' entry into the strange world of adulthood. It's made adulting just a little less scary.

• Grace Chang occasionally commutes from Washington, DC, to NYC for work.
• She said the four-hour commute is worth it because the job is a good fit for her.
• Remote working arrangements have made it easier for some Americans to become supercommuters.

Grace Chang says the occasional four-hour commute to her job is worth it but could be unsustainable in the long term.

Earlier this year, Chang, 28, felt burned out from her finance job at a hospitality company in Washington, DC. She began exploring new opportunities but struggled to find a role in DC that would allow her to grow and be less demanding.

After expanding her search outside the Beltway, Chang accepted a financial planning and analysis position, which she started in May. The role pays $120,000 annually, but it came with a downside: a commute roughly every other week from DC to New York City. Chang asked that the name of her employer be excluded for privacy reasons.

For her journey, Chang said she wakes up around 4 a.m. on Monday, catches the 5:05 a.m. Amtrak train at Union Station, arrives in New York City around 8:30 a.m., and is at her midtown Manhattan office 30 minutes later. She usually stays in New York until Wednesday or Thursday, and since her company doesn't pay for lodging, she crashes with friends or family who live in or near the city.

"I'm not 100% sure if the job is worth the commute, but it pays the bills and is a good stepping stone for other opportunities in the future," she said.

Chang is among the supercommuters who have embraced long treks to work in recent years: A Stanford University study published in June defined a supercommuter as anyone with a journey of more than 75 miles. The study, which was conducted by Stanford economists Nick Bloom and Alex Finan, found that the share of supercommutes in the 10 largest US cities was 32% higher between November 2023 and February than between the same time period four years earlier.

The economists said this uptick was likely tied to increased remote working arrangements. For example, some Americans who moved away from cities during the pandemic — in part for lower housing costs — decided they could tolerate their commute when their employers called them back to the office.

Supercommuting isn't the long-term goal

Chang said her employer doesn't have a specific in-office policy, but her manager wants her to work in person sometimes, particularly during busier periods.

When Chang landed the job, she never seriously considered moving to New York City. She and her husband have lived in the DC area for over a decade, and her husband works locally.

"We have friends and community here and didn't want to uproot so quickly," she said. "After I started making the commute, I just got used to it."

Staying with friends and family has helped Chang save money on accommodations while she's in New York, but her commute still comes with a financial cost. If she buys well in advance of her trip, she said she can generally get a one-way train ticket for less than $100. She said Amtrak offers a 10-ride ticket pass for $790, which amounts to $79 per one-way ticket.

However, Chang said her role would likely have a lower salary if it were based in DC, in part because the city has a lower cost of living than NYC.

In recent weeks, Chang's manager said she could reduce her commute to once a month. She said she'd previously requested a less frequent commute once she was fully trained for her job: She's been in the role for over six months.

While Chang is open to jobs closer to home, she said she's enjoying her current role and is getting the career development she wanted.

"It's definitely not a long-term goal or aspiration to continue to do this, but what has made this doable is having a positive mentality toward commuting," she said. "If I dreaded it every week, I would have quit in the first month."

Do you have a long commute to work? Are you willing to share your story with a reporter? Reach out to [email protected].

• Many Gen Xers are caring for both their children and parents, and it's hurting retirement savings.
• 56% of Gen X investors were financially supporting either their parents or their kids, Nationwide found.
• The financial burden of supporting two groups has some Gen Xers doubting if they'll retire at all.

Steve Mullen, 54, is being pulled three ways.

On the one hand, he and his wife are caregivers for each of their mothers, which has required them to pitch in up to 40 hours of caregiving a week and tens of thousands of dollars over the course of decades. On the other hand, they are still supporting their college-age son, who needs help with housing and $25,000 for tuition every year. All the while, he runs his own PR business, in which making more money is a "constant" concern.

At times, he said, the burden is extraordinary.

"It's incredibly stressful," he told Business Insider, adding that money was always a back-of-mind worry, despite being relatively financially stable. "I just pray we don't go into another one of these periods where my mother's in the hospital."

His situation is becoming increasingly common among Gen Xers — a generation sandwiched between their retiring parents and still-dependent children — and, more frequently, needing to support both groups at once. It is a dilemma that has put Gen X further behind in saving for retirement compared to other groups, financial planning experts told BI.

There are signs that the dual burden of needing to support kids and parents is becoming more common. A 2020 study from the AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving found that among Gen Xers who are taking care of a parent, around 50% also have a child under the age of 18. A study conducted by Nationwide showed that 56% are financially supporting either their parents or their kids.

Gen Xers in caretaking roles are more likely to show signs of financial strain. Of those who were taking care of a child or a parent, 21% said they had taken out significant amounts of debt, and 20% said they were unable to save for retirement, per the Nationwide study.

According to a separate survey of 35- to 60-year-olds conducted by Carewell, 75% of those taking care of both a parent and a child said they struggled to save for retirement, while 63% said they lived paycheck to paycheck.

Gen Xers speaking with BI said they doubted if they would ever retire, mostly because they were set back by financial obligations related to caregiving.

40% of Gen Xers also expect to work part-time after they retire, a Prudential Financial survey found.

Julie, a woman in her fifties based in Ohio, said she had spent over $100,000 taking care of her mother over the course of 15 years. She has less than $70,000 saved for retirement, well below what's recommended by financial advisors, who say you should have around six times your annual salary saved by the time you hit 50.

"I'm exhausted financially, and, frankly, I didn't consider growing up I'd be the financial rock of my family," she said.

The sandwiched generation

By some measures, Gen Xers are even more ill-prepared for retirement than baby boomers. According to surveys conducted by Prudential Financial, the median retirement savings for 55-year-olds is just under $48,000, with 18% having saved nothing at all as of last year.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of 55-year-olds said they were afraid of outliving their savings. That's the highest level among any age group of Prudential's 2024 survey, with 59% of 65-year-olds saying they worried they would outlive their savings.

Joe Wadford, a Bank of America economist, thinks Gen Xers are uniquely burdened by taking care of their parents and children at the same time, largely because more children are living at home than in previous generations.

Around 57% of men and 55% of women between the ages of 18 and 24 lived at home with their parents in 2022, according to US Census data published this year. That compares to 52% of men and 35% of women in that age range who were living with their parents in 1960.

Satayan Mahajan, the CEO of the financial advisory firm Datalign Advisory, said that caring for parents and children simultaneously was one reason his Gen X clients commonly cited for falling behind in preparing for retirement.

Market crashes during formative times in their career, such as during the early 2000s and the Great Financial Crisis, are another reason why many have less saved up.

"This sandwiched portion of Gen Xers are really in a lot of trouble. I mean, I have to say — and I don't want to sound so negative — but I think they're in a tough spot and they have a bunch of things that hit them pretty hard," Mahajan said.

And the outlook remains uncertain for Gen X. While boomers are estimated to pass on around $80 trillion in wealth, most of that money looks primed to head to millennials, not Gen X, Mahajan said.

"They're kind of in an awkward spot," he added. "And so there's a large swath of Gen Xers who may be in a bit of a lurch."

Uncertainty is also swirling around the availability of government retirement funds. Social Security could be depleted as soon as 2033, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, when most Gen Xers are already retired or in their final decade of work.

Brandon Goldstein, a financial planner at Prudential, said many Gen Xers still have time to catch up on their retirement savings, though he believes many will have to work longer than may want to.

More older Americans are already deciding to postpone their retirement. 19% of adults 65 and over were still employed in 2023, according to a Pew Research analysis.

"For someone to be completely in a spot where they don't need to work again or they feel very comfortable, they're probably going to still have to work a little bit," Goldstein said.

• The red-hot US housing market could cool off slightly in 2025, making it easier to buy a home.
• Expect stable or declining mortgage rates and more housing inventory, according to Redfin.
• However, it's still prohibitively difficult for younger homebuyers to break into the market.

The American dream of home ownership has become increasingly harder to achieve in the last few years. Home prices are elevated, mortgage rates are high, and housing supply is constrained. That's not to mention the growing threat of climate change, which is driving up housing costs such as insurance, HOA fees, and property taxes in high-risk states.

There's both some good and bad news on the horizon for homebuyers, according to housing market experts.

The good news? On the whole, it'll be easier to buy a house in 2025. But the bad news, for younger homebuyers at least, is that's mostly just the case for boomers. Homeownership is actually looking as distant as ever for first-time buyers, especially Gen Z and millennials.

3 reasons it'll be easier to buy a house in 2025

First, housing prices are projected to increase slower than in previous years. Redfin economists Daryl Fairweather and Chen Zhao predict that median US home-sale prices will rise by 4% in 2025. Goldman Sachs has a similar outlook for 2025, predicting that US home prices will increase by 4.4%. That's roughly in line with median wage growth. Considering that US home prices shot up over 40% between March 2020 and January 2024, this sanguine prediction is good news for prospective homebuyers.

Another impediment to homeownership has been high mortgage rates, which have more than doubled in the last few years. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has risen from below 3% in 2021 to around 7%.

While a 7% rate is still high historically, it's a sign of improvement from this housing cycle's high of 7.8% in October 2023. And rates could come down further in 2025, according to housing market experts. Redfin expects mortgage rates to stay the same or decrease next year. Realtor.com forecasts mortgage rates to end 2025 at 6.2%.

Lastly, experts predict that new housing inventory will hit the market, bringing relief on the supply side. A Republican sweep in Congress is a positive sign for homebuilders, as the construction industry will benefit from fewer regulations, according to Redfin.

In October before the election, Jeffery Roach, chief economist of LPL Financial, said that an increase in housing starts, or construction of new residential housing units, was a signal for more single-family homes hitting the market over the course of the next few quarters. According to Realtor.com, housing starts for new single-family homes could hit 1.1 million in 2025, a 13.8% increase.

All of these factors could improve the housing market going into 2025. Redfin predicts that home sales will increase anywhere between 2% and 9% next year.

No houses for young homebuyers

But unfortunately, if you're a first-time homebuyer, you're probably out of luck. Redfin doesn't expect the increase in home sales to be driven by young or working-class buyers. It's looking likely that any new housing inventory that hits the market will go toward older Americans first.

"Instead, affordable homes will be snapped up by older buyers who are priced out of higher price tiers," Fairweather and Zhao wrote in a recent report.

Indeed, first-time homebuyers are having unprecedented difficulty in the housing market. It's typically more difficult for first-time buyers to purchase a home because they don't have funds from selling a previous home to use for a down payment and mortgage payments, Redfin said in a June report, but today's housing environment is especially hostile towards young buyers.

Wages simply haven't kept up with the pace of home price increases over the past five years. According to Elijah de la Campa, a Redfin senior economist, the cost of starter homes have increased twice as fast as incomes during that time. Additionally, for Gen Z and millennials, student loans and credit card debt are emerging as roadblocks to homeownership, as it's difficult to qualify for mortgages with a poor credit score and high levels of debt.

As a result, the median age of first-time homebuyers is now 38, according to the National Association of Realtors — an all-time high. That's up from 35 in 2023. First-time homebuyers are also an increasingly smaller proportion of the market, at just 24% in the 12-month period ending in June 2024. The year prior, that proportion was 32%.

Comparatively, boomers have an advantage in the housing market. According to Edward Yardeni, president of financial research firm Yardeni Research, boomers own roughly half of the nation's net worth and homeowner equity, giving them a leg up in the housing market. Now, as boomers age and look to downsize their homes or move elsewhere for retirement, they can take advantage of the home equity they've amassed from years of home ownership.

"Gen Zers, meanwhile, will keep living with family or renting until well into their 30s," wrote Fairweather and Zhao.

Timothy Danikowski was ready to start his adult life. After four years in a small college town and a fifth year back at home thanks to the pandemic, he finally moved to Seattle in 2021. Soon after, Danikowski landed a respectable accounting job, moved into his own apartment, and signed up for his first credit card, which he intended to use only for emergencies.

At first Danikowski kept on top of his balance well enough, but soon his compulsive shopping addiction and desire to see the world broke his discipline. "I built up points to travel," he told me. "But when I travel, I want to go shopping, and that's where the spending gets out of control."

In three years, Danikowski has racked up about $15,000 in debt across three cards, one of which has an interest rate of 28%. He makes his minimum payments each month — a task that has become much harder since he lost his job this year — and tries to resist the urge to keep using the cards, but his balance doesn't budge.

"When it comes to everyday things, I choose comfort over everything else," he said.

Danikowski and many other Gen Zers are rapidly building up credit-card debt. A TransUnion study found that, adjusting for inflation, the average credit-card balance for someone who was 22 to 24 at the end of last year was $2,834, a 26% increase from the average figure for millennials who were the same age a decade ago. The study also suggested that Gen Zers were much more comfortable with credit cards than prior generations were: They were opening more cards, were more likely to fall behind on payments, and were using the cards for more types of purchases. Alev told me Credit Karma data shows Gen Zers are acquiring debt at a faster rate than any other age group. The combination of an increasingly turbulent economy and Gen Zers' desire to make up for lost time via pandemic "revenge spending" has left many members of the generation overly reliant on credit.

"Gen Z really prioritizes fun over finances when it comes to things like eating out, shopping, and travel," says Courtney Alev, a consumer advocate at Credit Karma. "That combined with the fact that they have just had fewer earning years explains why their credit-card debt is growing at a faster rate."

While Gen Zers' overall debt levels are still lower than older generations', young consumers' early reliance on credit cards puts their financial futures at risk. "The financial burdens that Gen Z is facing today can really have long-lasting effects on their lives," Alev says, "including their ability to achieve key milestones, such as delaying big moments like marriage, buying a home, or starting families until they feel more financially secure."

Part of Gen Zers' interest in credit cards is simply the march of technological progress. The digital natives have more payment options than any generation before them, and they've embraced electronic payments and alternative credit methods like digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later apps. Meanwhile, credit-card companies have targeted young people as eager new customers.

There are also some acute financial reasons Gen Zers have been jumping headfirst into the credit pool. Pandemic restrictions, inflation, and high interest rates hit them hard as they were starting their professional careers and getting their financial footing. As young people sought solutions to financial stresses, and as credit-card balances fell, credit-card companies were more than willing to make Gen Zers an offer. The companies made getting credit easier in 2021 and 2022 by allowing people with lower credit scores to access cards for which they previously would have been ineligible. Young people opened credit cards at a faster rate than any other age group during the pandemic.

The temptation to use those cards was strong. Credit Karma found that its Gen Z members' average credit-card debt increased by 3.2% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2024, while the average debt for millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers increased by 2.4%, 2%, and 1.6%. While credit-card balances in the US decreased early in the pandemic, it didn't take long for American consumers to start racking up debt again. Credit-card balances have risen by $396 billion since the first quarter of 2021, a 51% increase.

Some people accumulated credit-card debt in a wave of post-pandemic revenge spending; some were chasing points and rewards. Still others said they racked up big bills because they couldn't afford not to. Regardless of the reasons, it's clear that many Gen Zers are comfortable with their little pieces of plastic.

Danikowski, for example, told me he fell into the credit-card trap after acquiring an American Express gold travel card with a sky-high annual percentage rate. The card let him build up points, which allowed him to continue traveling. "I got so used to this lifestyle I lived for the last three years that it became hard for me to cut back," he says.

Others, like Nico, a 27-year-old advertising strategist, got caught in a post-pandemic spending cycle. After graduating from college in 2020, Nico moved back home with his mom to save money while working remotely. By late 2021, Nico was ready for a change. After he moved to Chicago, he started using his credit card way more. He was struggling to make his $1,100 rent on a $36,000 salary. In addition to paying his bills and making sure he had groceries, Nico was trying to make new friends in the city.

"I couldn't afford to live, but I'm in a new city, and I want to go out and meet people. I called those my fun expenses," he says. "I started putting all of that on my credit card."

Nico kept reaching his credit limit, and the credit-card company kept extending it. Three years later, he has about $20,000 in credit-card debt and a monthly minimum payment of $400, nearly all of which goes toward interest. Landing a higher-paying job has helped him start to get a handle on the debt, he said. He's stopped using the card and tries to make a payment of $700 to $900 each month in hopes of bringing his total down.

Credit proved vital for Emmaline, a 27-year-old web developer in North Carolina, when she had to make ends meet during a career pivot. She racked up $6,000 in credit-card debt while attending a full-time coding boot camp, using the card to to pay for groceries, car maintenance and insurance, and other life expenses. While the card was a lifeline as she tried to set herself up for a successful career, she felt ashamed and worried about her debt, she tells me. For a long time she kept it a secret. This year she finally opened up to family members, who helped her make a plan to pay it down and offered some financial assistance. After spending a few months throwing nearly every penny she had at the debt, Emmaline was able to pay it all off in November.

"I made sure I was only eating beans and leaving myself money for gas," she says. "I let out a tear or two of pure joy and relief when it was finally paid off."

Gen Zers are far from alone in racking up credit-card debt: The total credit-card balance held by US consumers surpassed $1 trillion in 2023. The number of Americans struggling to pay off their loans is also rising. But the particular danger for Gen Zers is becoming so reliant on credit cards so early in their financial lives. Higher debt, Alev says, can lead to lower credit scores that could make it more difficult to pay for things like a house or a car. From March 2022 to February 2024, the percentage of Credit Karma's Gen Z members with subprime credit, meaning a score below 600, rose by 8 points, to 33% from 25%, while the percentage of millennials with subprime credit scores increased by 6 points. Credit Karma said the average Gen Z credit score dropped to 659 in the second quarter from 671 in the first quarter.

William, a 27-year-old emergency medical technician in Colorado, has about $20,000 in credit-card debt, accumulated over 4 ½ years. His first job out of college in 2020 came with a salary of $27,000. Struggling to get by, William primarily used his credit card for necessities like groceries, bills, and car maintenance. But when a health emergency kept him out of work for weeks, his balance snowballed. These days, William makes his minimum payment, but nearly all of it goes to interest. He says he once dreamed of moving abroad and teaching English but has accepted that his credit-card debt keeps him tethered to a reliable source of income stateside.

"I'd like to have a family one day and be able to settle down and raise kids, give them a good life," William says. "But that's not something I can do until I have a better hold on this."

It's not clear that Gen Zers' habits will change anytime soon. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in August that younger debt-holders were more likely to be delinquent on their credit-card payments than older ones. Falling behind on these payments has given young people a bleak outlook.

"Credit-card debt is an invisible problem," Emmaline says. "You can't see it. It veils you in shame. It eats you like a parasite."

Alev says there are some steps people can take to try to escape credit debt. First and foremost, she cautions people to stay as far away from high-interest debt as possible. She also advises debt-holders to stop using that credit line and make a plan to pay down the debt, such as transferring the debt to a personal loan at a lower interest rate.

Most important, she says, members of the credit-card generation shouldn't bury their heads in the sand. She recommends people create a spreadsheet listing all their debts along with minimum payments, interest rates, and consolidation options.

When William feels suffocated by his monthly payments and interest rate, he can feel tempted to rack up even more debt. "Someone is always willing to give you another credit card," he says.

Danikowski, meanwhile, said feeling hopeless about his debt was pointless. Though he lost his job this year, he still took trips to Europe and New York.

"I know it's not a good decision," he says. "But at least I've gotten to see the world."

Erin Snodgrass is a senior reporter at Business Insider.

• Lululemon has seen sales slide in North America, but it's thriving in China.
• Stiff competition and product mishaps hampered consumer demand for Lululemon in the US and Canada.
• But in China, changing health habits and a struggling luxury sector are helping to boost sales.

China is in its health and wellness era, offering Lululemon a ray of hope as the brand struggles to engage consumers back in the US and Canada, where it was founded.

In its most recent earnings release in August, Lululemon reported that same-store sales in North America fell by 3% during the second quarter versus the year before. The region's share of the company's net revenue during the quarter also dropped to 73% from 78% in 2023.

The results came a month after the company saw its shares slide following its decision to pause sales of its new leggings line after the products were criticized by some shoppers for being poorly designed and unflattering.

Yet, over in China, Lululemon is on the up and up.

The brand, known for selling $100 yoga pants, reported that same-store sales in mainland China increased by 21% in the second quarter, generating a net revenue of $314.2 million — up from 34% from Q2 in 2023. The brand is due to release Q3 earnings later this week.

Lululemon, a premium activewear brand founded in Canada in 1998, seemingly found respite in a Chinese retail ecosystem that has, for the most part, been sluggish as the real estate crisis and rising youth unemployment dampen consumer spending this year.

While China's economic slowdown is throwing many brands off their game — particularly those in the luxury sector — the conditions are ripe for a brand like Lululemon to thrive.

As luxury takes a hit, health and wellness is taking priority in China

Martin Roll, a global business strategist and senior advisor at consulting giant McKinsey said Luluemon's success in China speaks to a trend of consumers focusing on health and wellness in tough economic times.

Roll said it's natural for consumers to realign their focus on their well-being when the economy takes a hit. And while health as a concept is nothing new in China, modern industries built around it are, he added.

"China is kind of waking up in terms of health," Roll said, adding that Chinese consumers are catching up with health habits like yoga, gym, and physical welfare that North American consumers have followed for the last 20 years.

Moreover, in the US and Canada, the company faces increased competition from lower-cost rivals such as Athleta and Fabletics but competition is less steep in China.

Lululemon might also be hitting the spot for Chinese consumers who are shying away from luxury spending but still want to indulge themselves occasionally.

"It's a premium brand, but it's accessible; it's not a Birkin bag," Roll said.

Hooking Chinese Gen Zers and millennials

Olivia Plotnick, founder of Wai Social, an advertising and social media firm in Shanghai, said Lululemon's strategy and positioning in China are yielding positive results as younger generations redefine their spending habits.

As BI previously reported, trend forecaster WGSN said an emerging "rural revival" trend among young people in the Asia Pacific region, predominantly China, placing greater value on a slower-paced lifestyle, sustainability, and health and wellness.

The trend might present a challenge for some companies, but Lululemon has put in the work to be in a prime position, Plotnick said.

"Lululemon entered China with a long-term goal and has invested in a strategic approach to innovation, lifestyle resonance, brand ambassadorship, social media engagement, and global resource integration," she said.

Through in-store activities and nationwide events promoted by influencers, the brand focused on "community building" in China, she added.

The efforts are now paying off, she said, as the health and wellness industry continues to grow — despite the economic slowdown.

"They have done an excellent job at making wellness aspirational yet approachable for younger consumers who tend to consider brand story, quality, craftsmanship, and environmental impact in their purchase decision," she said.

• A woman's creative out-of-office emails sparked debate on professionalism and workplace norms.
• Experts say OOO emails should reflect a company's culture.
• Legal and social issues can arise if OOOs don't align with employer expectations.

The backlash to a woman's creative out-of-office emails has caught the attention of TikTok and ignited a debate over how much personality to bring to work.

Thara Moise, better known as Chef Moise, is a TikTok creator and private chef who also works a regular 9-5 as a catering and sales manager.

In a recent TikTok, which amassed more than a million views, she said she had received the "same talking to" from her boss at her day job multiple times due to her "super cute" out-of-office emails.

The emails would include stories she'd made up, historical facts, or wellness tips.

"Tell me why I had another conversation with this man today about how unprofessional that is," Moise said, adding that she felt like her personality was being "smothered by corporate America."

"Am I wrong?" she asked.

Being creative can work

Some saw her creative automated emails as unprofessional, while others thought it was a sign that her workplace was stifling and restrictive.

"Imagine you sent an urgent email to someone and their automated response was a story instead of letting you know who to contact while they're out," read one comment, which received 21,000 likes.

Workplace analysts are also divided on the issue, saying it may all depend on the specifics of your office and the people in it.

Carla Bevins, an associate teaching professor of business management communication at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh, told Business Insider that OOO emails are an extension of workplace communication.

"While injecting personality can make them memorable, it's important to balance creativity with professionalism," she said.

However, Rich Mehta, the founder of the digital marketing agency Rigorous Digital, said that adding some personality into an OOO email could be beneficial in the right workplace setting.

"From the sendee's perspective, getting an OOO isn't usually a nice experience," he said. "Surprising someone with what can otherwise be a bit of a rubbish experience introduces dissonance, which usually means you'll be remembered."

Issues can arise

In more traditional workplaces, legal issues might arise.

Jo Mackie, a partner and employment law specialist at the law firm Burlingtons, told BI that inappropriate, offensive, or rude messages should never be tolerated, "but that begs the question of who decides what is and is not appropriate."

Raising the conversation three times shows that Moise should take notice, Mackie added, as failing to "follow a wilful management instruction" in employment law can potentially lead to disciplinary action, she said.

"If this continues, there is also scope for an employer to claim there has been a breakdown in trust and confidence between the employer and employee," she said. "And that is grounds for a breach of contract claim and may lead to dismissal."

Reading the room

Joelle Moray, a psychotherapist, workplace dynamics consultant, and the author of "What Are We Doing?! Radical Self-Care for the Hustle Culture," said that Moise's story is an example of the need to "get it right" rather than "being right."

Moray advises that individuals start by reading the room and deciding whether their workplace is more conservative or relaxed.

Then, they should take some time to consider who will read the email and why they want to add a casual tone or anecdote.

"Are you adding a wellness tip because you're the wellness committee chairperson?" she said. "Are you adding a historical factoid because you think they would be interested, or are you adding this so that you appear interesting?"

Moise told BI that she had found the response to her video funny for the most part, though some had veered into bullying or calling for her to be fired, which was "unnecessary," she said.

"Most people expressing negative thoughts are projecting their insecurities about being different or odd," she said. "I am incredibly accomplished on my own and have always navigated the workforce with ease."

Moise's workplace did not respond to a request for comment.

• Barbara Corcoran says it's "disturbing" how young people are being locked out of the housing market.
• The "Shark Tank" investor pointed to first-time buyers getting older and losing out to cash buyers.
• Corcoran said Trump-fueled inflation and stubborn rates are risks, and she doesn't see a bubble.

High prices, steep mortgage rates, and fierce competition are locking young people out of becoming homeowners, Barbara Corcoran says.

The "Shark Tank" investor and real-estate tycoon pointed to "disturbing" data from the 2024 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers during a recent interview on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" on the Fox Business Network.

The founder of The Corcoran Group said the share of first-time buyers dropped from 32% last year to a record low of 24%. The percentage of cash buyers — who tend to be investors or second-home buyers — hit a record high of 26%. Plus, the median age of first-time buyers climbed from 35 to 38.

The report suggests that first-time buyers are increasingly being outbid by investors or people buying second or third homes who are paying in cash, and many are having to wait until they're nearly 40 to become homeowners.

All about that rate

The median sale price for existing homes rose 4% to $407,200 in October, marking the 16th straight month of year-over-year price gains, per the National Association of Realtors. Sales did rise 2.9% from a year earlier, the first year-over-year increase since the summer of 2021.

Corcoran said transactions had picked up because buyers were used to higher rates and "got tired of waiting" for them to dip. Yet she emphasized that a significant fall in rates would be "incredible" for home sales.

"Anything with a 5% in front of it is going to make this market go ballistic," she said.

Bankrate data shows the average 30-year mortgage rate soared from 3.2% at the end of 2021 to a two-decade high of 7.9% in October last year, but has since dropped to 6.9%.

President-elect Trump's plans to cut taxes and impose tariffs have stoked fears that price growth could accelerate, pushing rates higher. "Inflation is on everyone's mind and I think it's risky," Corcoran said.

She predicted mortgage rates would hover around 6% or go lower. Any rise "would slow down the market, it would slow down the whole economy, it would slow down all the support services for the housing market — it would be a terrible thing."

Corcoran also dismissed concerns that the housing market is overheated and headed for a slump. She cited the low percentage of home purchases made as investments, saying a surfeit of investors "creates a bubble big time."

"This is nothing like the last bubble," she said. "I don't see a bubble at all."

• Meredith Whitney expects home prices to fall by 10% to 20% as the frozen housing market starts thawing.
• The veteran researcher said baby boomers aren't selling, restricting the number of homes available.
• Prices rose in September but existing-home sales fell and the share of first-time buyers remained low.

Home prices are poised to fall by up to a fifth as the frozen housing market thaws — and that could help baby boomers sell at last and younger people to become homeowners, Meredith Whitney says.

"It's got to be a two-step process," the CEO of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group told the Financial Sense Newshour podcast in an episode released Saturday.

"You have to have rates come down, but you also have to have home prices come down," she said about revitalizing the housing market. "One doesn't work on its own."

Homebuyer headaches

Housing transactions have stagnated in recent years as soaring prices and steeper mortgage interest rates have fueled an affordability crisis.

Homeowners who locked in cheap mortgages are reluctant to sell and give them up. Prospective buyers are similarly unwilling to pay top dollar for a worse house than they imagined and take on a larger monthly mortgage payment.

Some relief has come from the Federal Reserve cutting its benchmark rate by 75 basis points since September to as low as 4.5%. The central bank raised the rate from virtually zero to as high as 5.5% between March 2022 and July 2023.

Even so, the median existing-home price jumped 3% to $404,500 in the 12 months to September, per the latest National Association of Realtors data.

Existing-home sales fell 3.5% over the same period, and first-time buyers were responsible for 26% of sales in September, in line with lows hit in August this year and November 2021.

Price declines and baby boomers

Whitney was dubbed the "Oracle of Wall Street" after correctly predicting the 2008 financial crisis, which was precipitated by the collapse of a massive housing bubble.

She predicted house prices would fall by 10% to 20% from here, and urged the government to "sit back and let that happen" because that would only lower them to 2020 or 2021 levels. Homeowners would likely despair a sharp drop in the value of their homes, but many have built huge amounts of home equity over time, she said.

As for why younger millennials and Gen Z are struggling to get on the housing ladder, Whitney pointed to homeowners in their sixties and seventies staying put.

"The problem is the baby boomers own 60% of the housing stock," she said, referring to single-family, owner-occupied homes. "They're not moving."

"The older people aren't selling; they have no place to go," she continued, adding that they "can't afford to move." She highlighted increases in property taxes, homeowners' insurance, and homeowners' association fees as one source of financial strain, especially for those on fixed incomes.

Whitney described the situation as a "generational schism" in a CNBC interview last week and warned there will be a "real standoff between sellers and buyers" until more inventory becomes available.

Several economists have predicted a "silver tsunami" as baby boomers sell their homes to downsize or move into care homes, increasing the available supply of single-family homes and reducing prices.

However, a recent survey found that 54% of older Americans intend to remain in their current homes for life, while only 15% said they planned to sell in the next five years.