Being a grown-up isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, according to a new poll, with half of (50%) Brits admitting they don’t feel as though they have enough time for themselves due to the demands of modern adulthood, with 61% convinced that their grandparents had it easier.

The research, commissioned by Compare the Market, has found that 68% of Gen Z and millennials believe that their grandparents’ generation were “better” at adulting than them, and are overwhelmingly still farming out chores to their elders with the most common being changing a tyre (33%), fixing appliances (32%) and helping to read through complex documents(25%).

Nearly three in five (59%) Gen Zs admit to still having the occasional bill picked up by their parents, such as for their mobile phones (46%), rent or mortgage payments (35%), food shopping (27%), and even travel insurance (17%).

For 58% of Brits, the cost-of-living crisis poses the greatest challenge for adults today, with job insecurity (36%) and housing market pressures (33%) also topping the list. Existing within an “always on” culture, primarily due to the pressures of social media, was also cited by 28% as a challenging facet of modern adulting.

When asked which modern adulting tasks they found the most tiring, a quarter of Gen Z said replying to WhatsApp messages (26%) and managing the build-up of TikToks sent by friends (25%) topped the list, followed closely by keeping on top of subscriptions (24%), and cooking rather than ordering off a delivery app (22%).

Gen Zs are also catching up on the realities of adulthood — 24% admitted they didn’t realise electricity bills had to be paid, while 31% thought water was free until they became adults.

Burdened by the challenges of navigating adulthood, an overwhelming 58% of Brits wish that they had been taught how to apply for a mortgage, either at school or at home, whilst over half of Brits (56%) agree that they wish they had been taught about taking out insurance.

Top 10 adulting tasks Brits feel most underequipped for:

Being able to fix appliances and knowing their way around a toolbox (35%)
Filing taxes (30%)
Cooking from scratch (24%)
Understanding life admin such as contracts (23%)
Assembling flat pack furniture (20%)
Sorting bills (19%)
Budgeting and saving (18%)
Navigating without relying on tech / online maps (18%)
Understanding interest rates (17%)
Negotiating rent, job offers, or bills (16%)

The research also found that the nostalgia towards our younger days is experienced on a national scale. One third of Brits (33%) wish that they were still students, with millennials overwhelmingly agreeing with the sentiment (44%).

On ways that the Boomers did it better, 45% of Gen Zs say that they wish they were better at fixing appliances, whilst 33% crave the physical sense of community that their elders grew up amongst – without social media.

On the flip side, Gen Z are embracing adulthood in 2025, sharing reasons such as being able to keep in touch with people through social media (41%), having access to tutorial videos (41%), as well as being able to stream any TV series or film when they want to (35%).

Charlie Evans, Money Expert at Compare the Market said: “There’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to adulthood and taking on ‘adult’ tasks for the first time can feel overwhelming, especially with the pressures of today’s modern society. When making big decisions such as how to budget for the month or which broadband provider to choose, there’s no one-size fits all as every circumstance is different.

“When seeing if you could save on household bills or benefit from a range of money products, using Compare the Market is a great place to start. We make adulting simples, making comparison feel effortless and giving you time back to live life to the fullest.”